Iran News Round Up

 A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh, Ahmad Majidyar and Michael Rubin.  To subscribe to this daily newsletter, e-mail [email protected].

 (E) = Article in English

Guardian Council officially approves four candidates; poll shows 58% Azeris support Ahmadinejad; aide says Ahmadinejad not to participate in presidential debates; Karrubi says reform opportunity lost during Khatami’s presidency; Ahmadinejad claims global powers competing to forge relations with Iran; Italian foreign minister cancels visit to Tehran; Iran successfully test-fires new long-rage missile; Ahmadinejad plays down Obama’s recent talks with Israeli premier, says world powers now tolerate Iran.

  Presidential Election: General

• (E) Guardian Council has officially approved the qualifications of four candidates: Mousavi, Karrubi, Rezai, and Ahmadinejad.
• IRNA reports physical fight between Karrubi and Mousavi supporters in Khomeinishahr and Najafabad. 
• Pathfinders of the Islamic Revolution spokesman Ali-Reza Zakani says Ahmadinejad's opponents are led by Rafsanjani.
  • Motalefeh General Secretary Habibollah Asgar-Owladi says he has talked to Rafsanjani and warned him against partisanship which would be unsuitable for the Expediency Council, but adds the conversation does not seem to have had any effect. 
• Zahra Moshir, wife of Tehran Mayor Qalibaf, says she made "a sacrifice to God" so her husband should not run for president. 
• Member of the Islamic Engineers Association Atabak Ja'fari, referring to a poll conducted in Azerbaijan, says 58 percent of the Azeris support Ahmadinejad. 
• Jomhouri-ye Eslami condemns Ilam General Governorate's publication and distribution of materials praising the government. 
• Fars News Agency releases the dates for presidential debates to be aired on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting:
  • June 2, 2009: Karrubi vs. Rezai
  • June 3, 2009: Ahmadinejad vs. Mousavi
  • June 4, 2009: Rezai vs. Mousavi
  • June 6, 2009: Ahmadinejad vs. Karrubi
  • June 7, 2009: Karrubi vs. Mousavi
  • June 8, 2009: Rezai vs. Ahmadinejad.
•  (E) Female presidential candidate, Rafat Bayat, stated that she too will preserve Iran’s right to nuclear development, stating: “Research in the nuclear energy field is a core component in Iran's path to sustainable development, therefore we must not depend on other nations for nuclear technology.”

Presidential Election: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

• (E) According to his aide for media affairs, Ahmadinejad will not participate in televised election debates.
• (E) Ahmadinejad defended his provincial visits even though they have been criticized as a way to unfairly campaign for re-election.

Presidential Election: Mir-Hossein Mousavi

• Mir-Hossein Mousavi to dispatch 50,000 representatives at polling stations across Iran. 
• Mousavi's campaign distributes free green T-shirts.
• Karrubi promises to appoint female cabinet ministers, says Iran/U.S. relations should not become an election issue, complains about the Shahram Jazayeri embezzlement issue plaguing him.
• Karrubi talking with AFP: "The golden opportunity for reforms was lost during the Khatami presidency... Repeating mistakes of the past radicalizes the reform movement... Dealing with the economic hardships are my reform priorities...In case I win the election, I'll get together a team of experienced economists to solve the economic problems...attracting foreign investments is another priority...the method of money distribution, withdrawals from the foreign exchange reserve and isolating many good economic experts are deeds of the past which I will not continue...In case I should get reelected I'll totally disband the moral police patrols from the streets...the nuclear issue will not stop. The nuclear portfolio is not within my sphere of competence but is within the sphere of competence of the Supreme Leader." 

Presidential Election: Mohsen Rezai

• Rezai supporter Ali Ahmadi says Rezai has the key to solving the unemployment problem. 

Politics

• Hossein Anvari, Imam Khomeini Relief Committee head, says payment of cash subsidies to applicants has stopped. 
• Jomhouri-ye Eslami reports frantic government attempt at pay school teachers whose salaries has been delayed before the election. 

Religion, Culture and Society

• E'temad Chief Editor Eliyas Hazrati says the secret behind the endurance of the Shi'ism is the belief in the Imam of the Era as the Savior.
• Mousavi supporter Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad-Ali Ayazi says the next president must fight against spread of superstition in the Iranian society. 
• (E) Several Iranian animations will be screened in the Paris Cinema Festival from July 3^rd to July 14^th.
• (E) Numerous museums opened this week to coincide with Iran’s annual Cultural Heritage Week, including the Department of the Islamic Era at the National Museum of Iran. 

Diplomacy

• Ahmadineajd says the great powers are competing with each other to have relations with Iran. 
• Foreign Minister of Italy cancels his visit to Iran because of Ahmadinejad's wish to receive him in his native province of Semnan. 
• (E) The Iran-Kuwait security pact was sent to the Iranian cabinet for implementation, ensuring that both countries will cooperate to combat illegal drug trafficking.
• (E) Iranian members of parliament met with Bolivian President Evo Morales in order to foster cooperation between the two countries and foster Iranian relations with other Latin American nations.
•  (E) Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili stated that Iran and Iraq share commonalities in the economic sector that should be used to improve not only regional security but also diplomatic relations between the two countries.
  • (E) Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari stated that Iraqi territory will not be exploited to attack Iran.

Military and Security

• ISNA releases Ahmadinejad's speech at the launching of Sejjil II. 
  • Defense Minister Najjar says Sejjil II has entered the phase of mass production. 
  • (E) Iran successfully tested its new missile, Sejjil 2, in the province of Semnan as part of its long-term defense program.
• (E) To celebrate the Iranian recapture of Khorramshahr from Iraq in 1982, the Iranian military launched thirty major projects to improve technological warfare and defense.

Nuclear Issue

• Foreign Ministry of France says it will not suspend nuclear negotiations with Iran. 
• (E) The Iranian Embassy in Beijing released a statement rejecting an American news report that revealed Tehran-Beijing nuclear cooperation. 
• (E) Ahmadinejad responded to recent U.S.-Israeli talks about Iran’s nuclear program by stating: “We regard the trend of negotiations as positive because their tone has greatly changed… They [world powers] have now announced that they have to tolerate Iran – an indication that the Islamic Republic has overcome high mountains.”

Economy

• Donya-ye Eqtesad reports on housing market in southern Tehran. 
• Deutsche Welle Persian reports on economic activities of the Iranians in Dubai. 
• (E) Ahmadinejad inaugurated phase one of the northeast gas pipeline located in the Semnan province.
• (E) Ahmadinejad met with Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni to discuss economic cooperation, including funding for the Ugandan oil sector.

Trade

• Total expresses interest in participating in oil projects in Iran. 

Photo of the Day

• Sajjil II.