Iran News Round Up

Politics

• Hojjat al-Eslam Kazem Sedighi, temporary Tehran Friday prayer leader:
  • "The Guardian Council, in its capacity as the guardian of the legitimacy of the regime and guardian of the constitution, is recognized by the Imam of the Era as a filter.... Should there be no Guardian Council at time of elections, any thief can buy the popular vote with his money. All the attacks against this sacred institution are because of the important role it plays."
• Emar Khosrowjerdi, Raja News' columnist, reacts to the strikes of the bazaar in Tehran and elsewhere:
  • "Many businessmen in our country are devout Muslims with sound economic activities, but the reality is the lack a transparent structure in this part of economy has led to easy profits by certain individuals, and these individuals with the easy profits have also been active in profiteering in land and real estate businesses..."
  • "The ninth cabinet [Ahmadinejad's first government] managed to restrict the profiteering through imposition of several taxes on land and real estate, the Mehr housing project, and introduction of the bar code system. One can also see the hands of the profiteers in the fruit market, where the fruit price increases several fold when it reaches the consumers from the time it is purchased from the peasants. Also in the gold market such profiteers have engaged in smuggling of gold."
  • "Such revolts [strikes] take place in an organized form. One must not ignore the fact that many devout Muslim and sound businessmen in the bazaar have resisted this movement, but this movement which has gained vast power and wealth in the course of the years because of the opaque atmosphere of the bazaar, is using its entire strength to counter the government's attempt to execute the law now that it sees its wealth threatened..."
  • "[Mir-Hossein] Mousavi and his economic team chant the slogan of transparency, but it is also interesting that one of the most opaque structures in Iranian economy, the bazaar of Tehran, sides with him...."
  • "The way of reforming Iran's economy is through distribution. In such a way the prices will be transparent and following reform of the subsidies the prices may not increase and may indeed decrease." Link upon request.
• Alireza, son of Parvin, the sister of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is planning to marry a woman from Turkey.
• [E] Ayatollah Khamenei reinstated by decree three theologians to Iran's Guardian Council (GC).

Diplomacy

• Supreme Leader Khamenei addresses IRGC commanders on Revolutionary Guards' Day:
  • "The true and genuine meaning of such statements [changing of the behavior of the Islamic Republic] is an attempt to change the path of the movement of the Islamic revolution... The Islamic revolution has taken the great Iran - with its strategic position and many interests - out of the hands of the Americans and no longer shows humility in the face of the bullying powers of the world. Therefore they have continued their enmity and conspiracies against the Iranian nation for the past many years..."
  • "The United States is like bully who is demanding protection money internationally, but whose state of affairs is deteriorating for each day... There are those who pay protection money to this international bully in order to remain in business. Some who have relative power become practically political/military hang around of the United States. But there are [also] those who resist the bully and the Islamic Republic stands in the front line of this opposition because of the resistance of its population and authorities..." 
•  [E] In a meeting in Tokyo, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Oceania Affairs and Japanese Foreign Minister conferred on ways to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
• [E] Shahram Amiri, the Iranian national who was allegedly kidnapped by CIA agents in Saudi Arabia last year, returned to Iran on Thursday morning.

• [E] Amiri says he turned down a $50 million bribe by the US for cooperation.
• [E] Iranian Foreign Ministry denied any links between the hand-over of Shahram Amiri and the three American nationals who were arrested by Iranian security forces last July after crossing the Iran-Iraq border.
• [E] Shahram Amiri, the Iranian scholar who returned home yesterday after being allegedly kidnapped by the CIA in Saudi Arabia, said that Israeli agents interrogated him while he was in the US.

• [E] Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki: "Countries should be careful about the identity of Israeli envoys because some of them are Mossad agents.”
• [E] Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says Iran and Afghanistan are seeking a "road map" to enhance relations and help put an end to the "threat" of militancy in Afghanistan.

Military and Security

• Supreme Leader Khamenei addresses commanders of the Revolutionary Guards on Revolutionary Guards' Day:
  • " [The United States] speak in such way so we think that behind the threats there is something most dangerous… We must ready ourselves for any eventuality."
• Ja'fari, Revolutionary Guards chief:
  • "The strong arms of the Guards must force the wheel of the revolution into motion and the Guardsmen must look at the strategy of the Leadership as the central strategy... In the thinking of the Leadership, the Revolutionary Guards is the equal of the revolution and since the Islamic revolution has an unprecedented growth internationally, the Guards must change itself according to this unprecedented growth."
• Hossein Salami, Revolutionary Guards deputy at Tehran Friday prayer: "Today, the indigenous missiles of the Guards are ready to target any goal in the region - in any numbers... With regard to the air defense system, we have made acceptable strides and wherever we have been restricted, [that point] has been turned into a point of strength... Today our defensive power has a total national base and the boats of the Guards are capable of creating myths anywhere and against any target, and the Ground Forces are based upon the strength of the Basij which is capable of protecting the territorial integrity of the country and the eagle eyes of the Guards has opened the intelligence realm for us... With regard to internal security, we have no problem since boiling floods from the ocean of the nation full of men and women holy warriors are ready to defend the security and independence of the country."
• Safavi, former Revolutionary Guards chief:
  • "There seems to be a division of labor between the Americans, the British and the Zionists against Iran. In reality, the Americans are tasked with imposing political and economic sanctions against Iran so they can magnify the sanctions through the Security Council, or to detach some European or Arab countries from Iran, which means directing the political/economic pressure against Iran. On the other hand, the British are tasked with missions inside Iran so that they through psychological operations create tension, conflicts, and suspicion between the people and the authorities. Whenever you see conflicts in the country between the authorities and the people, the British are responsible and everyone who consciously or unconsciously expands such conflicts is moving in the path of the British..."
  • "No, we do not have any strategic allies in that sense of the word. Of course, Syria is close to us, and so is Turkey, but we do not have a strategic ally in that sense of the word."
• Mosque bombing in Zahedan:
  • Javan Online reports 22 dead and 160 wounded at two suicide bombings at the Friday mosque in Zahedan.
  • Yadollah Javani, Revolutionary Guards Political Bureau chief, says "[the executed Jundallah leader] Rigi's confessions taken into consideration, one can't doubt about direct responsibility of the United States, the Zionists and some Western countries in the bombing of the Friday mosque of Zahedan."
  • [E] Iranian officials announced that 27 people were killed and hundreds were injured in two blasts at the Zahedan Grand Mosque in the southeastern city of Zahedan in Sistan and Balouchestan province on Thursday night.
  • [E] Head of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Political Bureau: "The enemy seeks out division between Shiite and Sunni Muslims in order to create chaos in the country….One could not doubt the involvement of secret foreign [American and Israeli] services in the efforts to generate tension amongst Muslims.”
  • [E] Zahedan representative in the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) has tendered his resignation following the terrorist attack, citing the inability of authorities to maintain security in his constituency.
  • [E] US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: "I condemn in the strongest possible terms today's terrorist attacks claimed by Jundallah that targeted Iranians at a mosque….”
• Finance Minister Shams al-Din Hosseini questioned for the second time by parliament about privatization of Iran Telecommunications:
  • "50 plus 1 percent of the shares has been privatized based upon decision of the privatization council at the head of which the Economy Minister..."
  • "We desired to make an international market analysis, but because of international considerations, it was announced that one should abstain from taking foreign share holders. The Stock Exchange of our country is not an international market yet and none of our shares has been sold internationally..."
  • Answering the issue of disqualification of the sole representative of the genuine private sector bidding for ownership of Iran Telecommunications, Hosseini said: "When the security institutions raise concerns, we will follow their orders. Concerning the communications share, based upon the request of one of the security institutions, one of the rivals was excluded from the race..."
  • According to Hosseini the value of the privatized shares was "75 trillion rials, 20% of which – 15.62 trillion rials - have been paid to the Chancery."
  • The Economy Minister also stressed that the Communications shares were not sold to the Revolutionary Guards, but to their subordinate companies who are free to engage in economic activities.
• [E] A top Russian military official said the S-300 defense system deal with Iran is pending the decision of President Dmitry Medvedev and has not been cancelled yet.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Judiciary chief Sadegh Larijani: "Is it correct in a country, whose foundation is monotheism and belief in the highest truth and founded upon the Quran, to lean upon the humanities whose hypotheses have under no circumstance any congruity with our religious hypotheses?"
• [E] The Tbilisi State Academy of Arts has opened an exhibition of paintings by two Iranian artists, Farzaneh and Hossein Mahjoubi, during a ceremony held in the Georgian capital.

Trade

• Javad Owji, deputy oil minister, says Russia and Iran to establish a joint oil bank.
  • [E] Russian Energy Minister: "Iran and Russia trust each other, and cooperation between the two sides will not only serve mutual interests, but benefit the whole region.”
  • [E] Iranian Oil Minister: “Relations with Russia are outside this scope [of sanctions] and are based on previous treaties which both sides aim to pursue."
• [E] Tehran and Yerevan have each agreed to pay 50% of the expenses ($160-180 million) to build an oil pipeline that will supply Armenia with Iran's petrol and diesel fuel, an Armenian official said.

Economy

• [E] As part of an overall plan to develop Iran's energy sector, the National Iranian Oil Company plans to issue 9 billion euros of participation bonds soon.

Nuclear Issue

• [E] Russian President Dmitry Medvedev: "I would like to say that Iran is our rather active trading partner and has been tested by time, but that does not mean we are indifferent to the way Iran is developing its nuclear program and we are not indifferent to how the military components of the corresponding program look.”
• [E] EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton in a letter to Iran's Chief Nuclear Negotiator Saeed Jalili proposed that Tehran and the EU resume nuclear negotiations next fall.
• [E] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has ruled out the idea of Turkey and Brazil joining the P5+1 group's talks on the Iranian nuclear program.

Photos of the Day

• Bombing of a mosque in Zahedan.
• Sacrifice of lambs to protect Ahmadinejad against internal and external threats.