Iran News Round Up

Politics

• Javan Online's analyst writes that "the line of discord" is "grooming Seyyed Hassan Mostafavi [Khomeini]" for "leadership." The analyst also slams Shargh's description of Hassan Khomeini as "the young Khomeini."
• Basij members attack Mehdi Karrubi as he tries to attend the memorial service of the father of Mohammad-Reza Aref.
• Gholam-Hossein Elham, Guardian Council member, says transformation of the Azad University into a charity is not charity but "money laundering."
• Yaser Hashemi Rafsanjani, son of the former president, refutes rumors about arrest of the head of his office.
• Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff: "Those who do not understand mathematics will never see paradise."

Diplomacy

• Ali Larijani, speaker of the parliament, visits Damascus, Syria, to participate in Inter-parliamentary Summit.
• Ahmadinejad addresses survivors of chemical attacks of Iraq against Iran during the war, slams "those hoarding weapons and who speak of peace."
  • Said Jalili, Supreme National Security Council secretary, condemns "the United States and 14 European countries which armed Saddam with chemical weapons."
• [E] Iran announced that it is prepared to host a meeting of the Islamic countries' labor ministers.
• [E] Members of the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) plan to hold an emergency meeting in Syria on Wednesday to study ways to help the people of Gaza.
• [E] Ahmadinejad called for the implementation of a bill ratified earlier this month that requires a total boycott of Israeli goods.
• [E] Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani called resistance the sole option for the Palestinians to save their land, claiming that such resistance has intensified “global hatred” for Israel.

Military and Security

• Mohammad-Ali Ja'fari, Revolutionary Guards chief, addresses members of the IRGC Ground Forces in Mashhad:
  • "Remaining loyal to the principles of the Islamic Republic with its rich content has become difficult for some individuals who were once revolutionary and considered themselves as followers of the Imam [Khomeini]. The more the Islamic revolution advances the more difficult it becomes to remain revolutionary and following the revolution... The current path of the Islamic revolution is progressive and is growing compared to the era of construction [the Rafsanjani presidency]... "
  • Discussing the Basij: "Basij has two sections, one military and one non military. The military activities are directed by the Guards Ground Forces evolving around the Imam Hossein brigades and in the non military section facing soft threats the Basij of the Oppressed is obliged to train and organize non military members of the Basij."
• Following the attack against Mehdi Karrubi the opposition leader discloses information about the post-1989 structure of the Basij:
  • "One year after the passing of the Imam [Khomeini], the chief of the Basij came to me and said 'we want to establish organizations and brigades in the cities.' I opposed [the idea] and asked what the reason was. He said that it aimed at countering popular revolts and demonstrations and said that 'we can suppress such demonstrations with the Basij force.' I opposed it again. A few months later and during my tenure as parliamentary speaker, I participated at one of the meetings of the Council of the Cultural Revolution in the absence of the president. The very same individual asked for Basij presence at universities and made some other requests. When I saw that no one else opposed this plan, and because I have always had insight, I understood why they want to mobilize. Therefore I opposed it and said that the university is a place of education and science and knowledge and not the place of military institutions. Following my opposition there were also some others who opposed it and at this time then Basij chief left the meeting. I am most sorry that the Basij which fought for eight years at the fronts during the era of the Imam and defended the country has reached such a point where it faces the academics at the universities, it beats up the people at mosques, cheats at elections, kills the people in the streets, prevents the grandson of the Imam from speaking, attacks the homes, offices and mosques of the sources of emulation and in such way stains the name and memory of the Basij."
• Commander Ali-Mohammad Naini, Basij cultural and social deputy, says the Basij will soon arrange a festival called "Leaving the discord behind" celebrating the "victory of the regime" over the "line of discord."
• [E] Ahmadinejad emphasized the “brotherly” cooperation on defense initiatives that exists between Iran and Bahrain.

Economy

• Abdollah Ka'bi, parliamentary Energy Committee member, says that the government does not announce the true rate of inflation to the public.
• Broadband internet access drops 20% in price.
• Ezzat-Allah Sahabi says it was the late Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti who nationalized Iran's economy in 1979-1980 and pushed for article 44 of the constitution.
• [E] A senior Iranian envoy to the United Arab Emirates dismissed recent reports that UAE banks had frozen several Iranian accounts due to the new UN sanctions.
• [E] Iran is building a storage facility near Qom with a holding capacity of more than 28,316,850 cubic meters (1 billion cubic feet) of natural gas.  It is intended to be finished by the end of next March.

Trade

• Tabnak demands reconsideration of the relations with United Arab Emirates following 400 Iranian commercial firms leaving the UAE.
• Germany seizes a Russian shipment bound for Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant.
• Mehr reports decreased exports from Iran to Iraqi Kurdistan.

Nuclear Issue

·         [E] Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali Asghar Soltanieh: "We have received no new offer for the exchange of nuclear fuel to attend the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting.”

·         [E] Iran, Turkey, and Brazil will resume talks on the supply of nuclear fuel to the Tehran research reactor, said Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

o   [E] Turkey called for the resumption of nuclear talks between Iran and the West over the recent trilateral agreement on the swap of nuclear fuel for the Tehran research reactor.

·         [E] A senior Iranian nuclear official said that Iran's first nuclear power plant at Bushehr will generate electricity by September.

Religion, Culture and Society

·         [E] Dubai's Total Arts at the Courtyard has arranged an exhibition of works by three young Iranian artists.

·          [E] Official statistics show that more than 900,000 children ages 9-13 are married in Iran, 85% of which are girls.

Photos of the Day

• Ali Larijani in Syria.