Iran News Round Up

Politics

• Supreme Leader Khamenei calls on all authorities to cooperate with the Judiciary.

Nuclear Issue

• Kayhan on Iran’s nuclear program:
  • "For more than a year, the Westerners have been trying to change Iran’s standpoint and calculations through preconditions for negotiations. [U.N. Security Council] Resolution 1929 was issued for the sole purpose of changing the negotiations over Iran's nuclear program to the liking of the West. The Westerners knew and still know that they must return to the negotiation table after the resolution. The only thing was that they thought the resolution would force Iran to enter the room in which the chairs are arranged according to their own tastes. More importantly, they would force Iran to negotiate as the West desires it. Despite all this, Iran has decided to show to the West that Iran will not only not change its calculations, it will also ready itself to add new elements to it which are completely unknown to the Westerners. A new surprise is in the waiting..."
  • "Despite all the noise created by the Americans, [the resolutions] will not deal with Iran's non-military economy."
  • "The sanctions imposed by the European Union... target the oil and gas, especially Iran’s natural gas industry. Here are two problems. First, the European Union knows that by accepting these sanctions it will do a great service to its rivals around the world who have decided not to impose such sanctions. Even within the European Union, small and medium size companies are preparing themselves to replace some big companies that are forced to follow the policy of Western countries. In the worst case, the resolution changes Iran's trade partners and increases the costs to a degree, but no one, not even the CIA director believes that these resolutions will stop Iran. Second, it will take a year before members of the European Union, including Cyprus, Greece, Malta, and Switzerland who have energetically opposed sanctions against Iran, change their domestic legislation to execute the new resolutions of the Union. Within this time the political and economic atmosphere will see fundamental changes."
  • "Finally, the United States Congress is trying to target Iran's gasoline through unilateral sanctions... But why should companies not present in the American market fear this law?"
  • "Just in order to help the think tanks in Washington and Tel Aviv: Iran's nuclear program is an inseparable part of its national strength. If it should abandon it for any reason, its national and regional power will evaporate fast... Iran's second calculation is that any foreign pressure will increase domestic unity... Iran also calculates that there is no effective sanction. And if there is such a sanction there will be no [international] consensus about it... Iran also calculates that the West will return to the negotiation table and it has no other solution but to continue negotiations with Iran... Iran also calculates that any military attack is canceled."
• Ahmadinejad on nuclear diplomacy:
  • "Sarkozy's statements are about continuing the negotiations and exchange [of nuclear fuel]. We are ready and will continue the dialogue about exchange."
  • "Iran's negotiations with the 5+1 Group about most important issues of the world continued for months until it reached the issue of exchange. Despite the fact that we had the capacity to enrich 20 percent enriched fuel, we accepted the exchange program for the sake of steering the world atmosphere towards cooperation and engagement."
  • "But they have targeted our independence and rights of the Iranian nation... Therefore, it was natural that the negotiations would not succeed."
  • "Because of your misbehavior, we will postpone the negotiations... This is fine, because it seems that they need to be punished so they can learn how to engage in dialogue with nations."
  • "Those who want to engage in dialogue with us must announce their viewpoints with regard to a couple of issues. First of all, they must announce their opinion about the Zionist regime's nuclear bomb. Are they for or against it? We will decide the basis for the talks according to their viewpoints. Naturally, we will negotiate with those who support the Zionist regime's nuclear bombs in a certain way, and with those who are against it in a different way... Secondly, they must announce if they want to be part of the NPT or not?... Thirdly, do those who want to engage in dialogue want to engage in enmity or do they desire friendship?"
    • [E] Ahmadinejad announced three conditions for continuing nuclear talks with the world powers: all parties must “declare their views about Iran's questions transparently,” “announce their stance on the Zionist regime's atomic bombs,” and “declare what they are seeking through talks with Iran.”
• Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani speaking in Lorestan Ali addresses "the Westerners":
  • "If you think you can shut down Iran's nuclear program you will take such hopes into the grave..."
  • "The era has past when you could change the will of the nation by force and with your angry antics. Today the people are united and defend the achievements..."
  • "Do they imagine they can stop the nuclear technology with resolutions? It is not so and they know it themselves. They want to harm Iran's economy. I have no doubt that their steps will have no impact on Iran's will to [achieve] nuclear technology. But they also pursue a different goal. They want to impact the economic conditions of the country."
• [E] The Iranian foreign ministry confirmed on Tuesday that it sent letters to every UN Security Council member state to protest their “illogical approach” towards Tehran.
•  [E] Major Spanish oil firm Repsol has withdrawn from Iran's gas projects in response to unilateral US sanctions targeting Iran’s energy and financial sectors.
• [E] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the need for a negotiated end to Iran's nuclear issue and asked the two sides to resume talks.
• [E] Russia complained to the Security Council on Monday about Germany's seizure of items bound for the Bushehr light-water reactor in Iran, saying that such moves were "not in line" with U.N. rules.
• [E] Russia's Foreign Minister called for a meeting between Iran, the United States, Russia, and the IAEA on nuclear fuel delivery for an Iranian medical reactor.

Military and Security

·         [E] Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Tuesday rejected the possibility of a US or Israeli military attack on Iran.

o   [E] "As regards a military attack against Iran, we do not see any chance for the US, let alone its illegitimate child, the Zionist regime [of Israel].”

·         [E] Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad said the anti-Iran “terrorist” Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) is nearing its end, as indicated by its recent demonstration in France.

·         [E] Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC): "The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought to produce or acquire biological weapons and as one of the greatest victims of the weapons of mass destruction has always been against such inhuman weapons.”

·         [E] Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen warned that any military action against Iran would be "incredibly destabilizing" to the region.

Trade

·         [E] Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has called for the expansion of energy ties with Iran in the wake of recent quarrels with Moscow over the cost of gas supplies and transit fees.

·         [E] Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian energy firm Gazprom, is looking to expand its foreign operations into oil-rich Iran and Cuba.  Gazprom Neft deputy head said the company was keen to conclude preliminary talks to develop the Anran oilfield in Iran by the end of the summer.

·         [E] In a bid to enhance Iran-Oman business and tourism ties, Mahan Air will launch its first Tehran-Muscat flight on June 30.

·         [E] Senior Iranian and Bahraini officials started the second meeting of the two countries' high joint economic cooperation commission in Tehran.

·         [E] Iranian Economy Minister in a meeting with Azeri Minister of Economic Development announced Tehran's readiness to launch a joint investment company with Azerbaijan.

·         [E] Iranian Interior Minister urged members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) to expand their security cooperation by forming a joint police force.

·         [E] Head of the German parliament's Foreign Policy Committee Ruprecht Polenz plans to pay an official visit to Iran this weekend.

Religion, Society and Culture

·         [E] Iran’s security forces discovered and seized 146 tons of illicit drugs in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan during the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2010).

·         [E] Slovakia's International Festival of Theatre Schools, Istropolitana Project, has awarded Iran's Last Supper, directed by Ahmad Soleimanifar.

Human Rights

• [E] Khamenei granted amnesty to 708 convicts on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Shiites' first Imam, Imam Ali.

Photo of the Day

·         Ahmadinejad meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa.

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