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]. 

Politics

• Ahmadinejad promises social justice through reforming subsidies.

  • Parliament votes for the Ahmadinejad’s reform of subsidies.

• Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, son of the former president, remains in London.

• Elias Naderan, parliamentarian, says more will be released (beyond fraudulent degrees) about Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi.

• Rokhdad News Agency releases Khamenei’s 1963 will.

• Ahmadinejad travels to Shiraz.

• Mir-Hossein Mousavi meeting Mehdi Karrubi: "Take a look at how many cabinet ministers, parliamentarians and revolutionary forces have been marginalized. The margins of our revolution are today larger and more important than its center. We have several presidents, several cabinet ministers, parliamentarians, managers and first rate elites who have all been marginalized. Why should all the talent be marginalized?...They constantly give false information to the people thinking that the people will believe them. Just take a look at how many times they have changed the number of the casualties. Afterward they claim electoral fraud is a lie. Some people were mobilized to let as if no fraud has taken place. Specially in the [Voice and] Vision [of the Islamic Republic]. Well, if you are sure about yourself, how come you are concerned about our presence on television? Why don't you not allow our experts to be on television? If you are sincere allow a panel debate with the presence of your and our experts..."

• Ayatollah Abd al-Ali Ayatollahi denies having signed a statement against Ayatollah Dastgheib.

• Bahman Mohammadi, parliamentarian, says not prosecuting the "leaders of the [post election] unrest" is "violation of the rights of the people.

• Naser Soudani, parliamentarian, says one should not differentiate between common people and members of the political class when it comes to prosecution of crimes.

• Fazel Larijani to be appointed as Payam-e Nour University Dean.

• Ahmadinejad addresses the Psychological Operations and the Media Seminar: "In the utopian society which we are seeking, divine insight is accessible to the humanity. We must propagate it...We have to choose between two paths: The path of the guardianship and the imamate and achieving the peak of excellence, or the path of the revolt against God, the path of Satan. The Islamic regime should urge the people to choose the first path and urge the humanity to follow this direction..."

• Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, Head of the Office of the President speaking on Iranian television, says former presidents of the Islamic Republic did not know and were incapable of representing Iran's case at the United Nations General Assembly.

• Abrar reports 29,000 legal cases against Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

• Ghasem Ravanbakhsh, political editor of Partov-e Sokhan,refutes any talk of crisis in Iran and accuses Rafsanjani of trying to present the current state of affair as a crisis.

Diplomacy

• Ahmadinejad: "The Zionist regime wants to establish its base upon the ruins of the civilizations of the region...The uniform shout of the Iranian nation is forever 'Death to Israel.'..."

• Chairman of the Defense Committee of the Austrian parliament expresses hope to expand relations.

• Abd al-Reza Mesri, former Welfare Minister to be appointed as Ambassador to Venezuela. Mohammad-Mehdi Zahedi, former Minister of Science, Research and Technology to be appointed as Ambassador to Malaysia. Ghaderi, former Ambassador to Yemen and Tanzania to be Ambassador to Columbia, Mousa Hashemi Golpayegani, former Ambassador to Belarus and Uzbekistan to be Ambassador to Turkmenistan, and Ashtinai, current director of administrative affairs at the Foreign Ministry to be appointed Ambassador to Bangladesh.

Military and Security

• Hassan Firouzabadi, Commander of the Basij and Chief of the General Staff: "If anyone attempted to topple the regime it is the duty of the armed forces to counter them. It is natural that the Armed Forces work through the path of the law and through the constitution. This means that when the Law Enforcement Forces enter the arena, first they make announcements by loud speaker and announce a certain move is illegal. Afterward, they advance and announce that resistance will be met by force.

  • Commander Rajabzadeh, Greater Tehran Police Chief, claims the Law Enforcement Forces managed to protect the Iranian capital against conspiracy of the enemy "without killing a single person."
  • Law Enforcement Forces Chief Ahmadi-Moghaddam says the force "tolerates the green movement" as long as it does not engage in "riot."

• Commander Hossein Salami, IRGC Deputy, addressing the regional IRGC commanders in Sari, says "the roar of the Sejjil missiles silences the enemies."

• Five Saegheh fighters are added to the Iran Army's Air Force.

  • Army Chief Salehi at the ceremony says the enemy can't "realize its threats against the regime of the Islamic Republic."

• Kordestan Province Justice Administration Chief claims an al-Qaeda group supported by the United States has been dissolved by the security forces. More.

• Alef News Agency highlights major developments within the IRGC under Ja'fari's command.

• Parliamentarian Zohreh Elahian claims the Basij is not a military force and is allowed to intervene in politics.

• Yahoo refutes rumors that it cooperated with the Revolutionary Guards.

• Hassan Firouzabadi, Chief of the General Staff, addressing a group of Revolutionary Guards:

  • "Based upon planning during the past two years, the Revolutionary Guards Ground Forces has been established and Basij defense units will be organized and used by them..."
  • Firouzabadi, Chief of the General Staff speaking at the Psychological Warfare Seminar: "After the end of the reform movement in a conversation with the Student News Agency I said that the government of reform based its policies upon news of foreign broadcasts the result of which was defeat. Therefore, one must pay attention to the cultural and political orientations of the media...My only recommendation to the media is that they should be national and not international. They are indigenous and not Westernized or Eastern. They should move along with the beliefs of the Iranian nation, which means their pact: The Constitution, territorial integrity, freedom,  ational interests, independence of Iran and they should also pay attention to cultural assaults and preying of the West against oil and human resources [of Iran]...It is in the field of psychological operations that the nuclear technology becomes very important. The West has hitherto claimed that Iran is backward, but suddenly faces its peaceful nuclear technology. In reality it sees that it [the West] has used billions of dollars to claim that independence, freedom, neither West nor East is bad, but suddenly it sees the blossoming of the talents of a country..."

• Four individuals arrested during the election unrest to be executed.

Economy

• The joint consortium of the Cooperative Foundation of the Revolutionary Guards and the Social Security Investment Company is considering purchasing SAIPA car company.

  • SAIPA car manufacturer tries to attract foreign investments.

• The parliament passes Ahmadinejad’s subsidies reform plan which will result in higher gasoline prices.

• Morteza Talayi, Tehran City Council member, urges the National Bank to declare bills with "counterrevolutionary slogans" on them worthless.

• Central Bank Director General says the level of foreign exchange reserves of Iran has reached "unprecedented" levels but that he cannot disclose the actual amount.

Trade

• The National Iranian Oil Company, Total and CNPC to meet to discuss development of the 11th Phase of the South Pas Gas Field.

• Ras al-Khaimah to import natural gas from Iran.

• Abrar releases different official statistics on Iran's need for gasoline imports.

  • Abrar-e Eqtesadi points out that 20 percent of the gasoline used in Iran is consumed in Tehran.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Supreme Leader Khamenei issues a fatwa prohibiting card games, but Grand Ayatollah Sistani, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, and Ayatollah Javadi Amoli say card games are fine so long as no gambling involved.

• Turkmenistan reestablishes the private home of Imam Reza, the eight Imam, as a pilgrimage site.

• Law Enforcement Forces Chief Ahmadi-Moghaddam criticizes joint male and female martial arts competition.

Nuclear Issue

• Ali Shirzadian, the Nuclear Energy Organization's spokesman, says purchasing enriched uranium is more economical than producing it in Iran.

  • Ali Shirzadian says Iran will produce nuclear fuel enriched to 20 percent in case the country's attempt to purchase the fuel abroad fails.

• Ahmadinejad meets experts on live television:

  • "Our evaluation of the Geneva talks is positive. People are free to express their position. We know that there are some conflicts of opinion between governments, which means even within France, Britain and the United States, there is difference of opinion between various levels. Some statements are also made because of the position of the individuals. It is also clear that the Iranian nation will not wait for others, as it has not done so until now..."
  • "The Iranian nation has always insisted upon its rights and it does so now...For now, the dialogue revolves around Iran's incentive package which we are promoting. If other issues are raised, then we must all be treated equally since dialogue in an atmosphere of inequality does not make sense..."

• Ahmadinejad addressing the Psychological Warfare and the Media Seminar: "All this noise is because their imperialist order is collapsing, which itself is a sign of realization of divine prophecies. Their anger in the nuclear issue is because of resistance of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution and the Iranian nation which smashed their prestige and disrupted the unjust Security Council..."

• Ala al-Din Boroujerdi, Chairman of the Foreign Policy and National Security Committee of the Parliament: "The British were subverting the Geneva talks and engaged in bad work. The public opinion of the Iranian nation has always been negative towards them and we hope that in the future it is not so..."

Human Rights

• Mowj-e Sabz discusses Judge Said Mortazavi's involvement in violation of human rights and demands justice.

Photos of the Day

• Homeless in Tehran.

• A piece of the shirt of Hussein, the third Imam, at Mecca Museum.