Iran News Round Up

The Iran News Round Up ran from February 2009-September 2018. Visit the Iran File for the latest analysis.

 

Politics

  • Ahmadinejad attends Cyrus Cylinder exhibition in Tehran:  
    • "The surah Kahf [from Quran], which mentions the just king Zolgharnein is recited…”
    • "At the National Museum, Ahmadinejad drapes a Basij scarf around shoulders of a man dressed as an Achaemenid soldier..."
    • "Kaveh the Smith [Kaveh-ye Ahangar], another symbol of the Iranian nation’s combativeness  and resistance throughout history was also present at the meeting with his banner. The president also draped the [Basij] scarf over his shoulders..."
    • "The third individual who was honored with the draping with the Basij scarf was a Basij youth who raised the sacred flag of the Islamic Republic at the venue to the tunes of saz and naghareh, instruments of traditional music of some parts of Iran which made the scene memorable."
    • "During the inauguration of the Cyrus Cylinder, people wearing traditional dresses representing ethnic groups in Iran celebrated the return of the 'Cylinder of Cyrus the King of the World,' an expression used by the president."
    • "Musician Fereydoun Biglari sang a piece called 'The Day Arash [the mythical archer] defined the frontiers of Iran it was as if [Imam] Ali had given strength to his arms.'"
  • Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, establishes a news agency called Mashanews. One comment released on Mashanews reads: "Iran needs someone like Mashaei to get rid of Mullahs once for all in Iran and bring back the great civilization of Iran minus the Arab mullahs who have polluted and destroyed Iran for the past 31 years. Please bring back true Iran." More, here.  
  • Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami answers a question by Tehran-e Emrouz regarding "Islam minus the clergy thesis" ascribed to Mashaei and his views about the government:
    • "I don't want to speak about individuals. I believe that the clergy has played an important role in the regime. The thesis 'Islam minus the clergy' is fundamentally senseless just like medicine without doctors and has imperialist roots. Its goal is to marginalize the clergy from the arena and to give room to those who have deviated and have fundamental problems with the Islamic revolution and the regime. Therefore, this movement will not find a path among the devout and the principalists."
    • "In some regards we have problems [with the government], when it comes to the president's support for his colleagues and the like, but at the same time, reflecting the views of the Leader we feel obliged to support positive deeds of the government."
  • Fatemeh Karrubi explains the Revolutionary Guards' encirclement of the Karrubi residence on Eid al-Fitr Day:
    • "It is impossible to imagine that a rogue group encircled a residential complex and did whatever they desired without being stopped by anyone..."
    • "From 7a.m., these forces took position outside our residence and anyone who wanted to visit us would call later saying they were not allowed to enter the building..."
    • "The only people who were allowed to visit us were our sons who came along with their families..."
    • "Firstly, thanks to God, and to our bodyguards, that they [the Guardsmen] did not manage to enter our building. We were convinced that they wanted to make us and our children martyrs...The insulted us with the worst language; insulted me, a 60 years old woman, and Mr. Karrubi, who is 73. This is not a method of government. This is not Islam. I don't know what to call such acts."

Diplomacy

  • Parliamentarian Kouchakzadeh condemns establishment of “parallel institutions” in Iran's diplomacy, and demands that Ahmadinejad obey Supreme Leader Khamenei.
  • Hossein Alizadeh, diplomat in Helsinki, Finland, resigns from his position at the embassy and joins the Green Movement.

Military and Security

Nuclear Issue

Economy and Trade

Religion, Society and Culture

  • Filmmaker Ebrahim Hatami-Kiya at the television program "Raz" [Secret].

Photos of the Day

 

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