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

• Members of the Line of the Imam faction of the parliament meet Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
• According to Tabnak News Agency, last night's meeting of the Combatant Clergy Association Central Committee was headed by former President Mohammad Khatami. The Central Committee lamented "unsuitable behavior towards Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Seyyed Ali-Mohammad Dastgheib," and the continued arrest and imprisonment of political activists.
• Mohsen Rezai, Expediency Council Secretary: "There were two issues [with regard to the presidential election] which I had not predicted. One was Mr. Ahmadinejad’s assault against certain individuals during the debates, which directed the election towards a certain direction - he changed the arena of competition - and second, Mr. Hashemi [Rafsanjani's] response to him. Had one of the two issues not taken place the election would have been different and would most probably have been taken to the second round."
• IRNA releases Said Hajjarian's written declarations in condemnation of his previous beliefs.
• Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani - brother of the former president - appointed head of the office of the Expediency Council Chairman Rafsanjani, replacing Mohsen Hashmei Rafsanjani - son of the former president. More here.
  • Ahmadinejad jokingly says Rafsanjani is on his way out of the Assembly of Experts.
• Parsineh News corrects biography of Marziyeh Vahid Dastjerdi, the first female cabinet minister of the Islamic Republic. According to Parsineh ,the father of Marziyeh Vahid Dastjerdi was Dr. Seifollah Vahid Dastjerdi, former head of the Red Crescent of the Islamic Republic. One of the brothers of Marziyeh Vahid Dastjerdi is a certain Dr. Hamid Vahid Dastjerdi, who is an old student of Iranian religious innovator Abd al-Karim Soroush. Hamid Vahid Dastjerdi has engaged in polemics against now Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, and has more recently also criticized Abdol Karim Soroush.
• Ali-Reza Avaei, Tehran Justice Administration Chief, says there will at least be another open trial of post-election rioters.
• Hojjat al-Eslam Kazem Seddighi to lead this Friday's prayer at Tehran University.

Diplomacy

• Foreign Minister Mottaki visits Washington D.C. in order to inspect the Islamic Republic's interest section at the Pakistani Embassy in the United States. Mottakki says that he has no plans to meet with American authorities.
• Brigadier General Gholam-Ali Rashid, the General Staff Deputy, speaking on the occasion of the Week of the Sacred Defense:
  • "Today, thirty years after the victory of the Islamic revolution we see that Islam's position is more elevated internationally and Iran's position has been elevated too and our enemies are defeated. Are you in doubt? Have the Americans not been defeated in Afghanistan and Iraq? Are the Zionists not defeated in Gaza and Lebanon? Is the Maliki government liked by the United States? This government is liked by the Islamic Republic…!"
  • "Another achievement of ours is that today everyone and the enemies recognize Iran as a regional power and this power in the hands of the nation and the regime has helped us resist against the bullying enemies demanding protection money. This power is truly independent. The Army, the Basij, the Guards and the Law Enforcement Forces and the national resistance of the nation during eight years of sacred defense has counter balanced 200 years of humiliation..."
  • "I said to some friends and dear ones from the Army that it is good that they [the U.S. and allies forces] come to our land. Let them understand our power. They are monitoring our Army and our Guards and they see what is happening from morning to evening. When they see it they realize how hard it is to attack this Army. Six months after collapse of Saddam the Pentagon officially announced that a land invasion of Iran was impossible..."
• (E) Iranian and Turkish Foreign Ministers Manouchehr Mottaki and Ahmet Davutoglu discussed the need for more coordination between the two states at the UN General Assembly in New York. The representatives also expressed the desire for greater efforts to create regional stability.
• (E) Iraq's visiting Parliament Speaker Ayad al-Samarraie emphasized the stabilizing role that Iran has played in the region and called for stronger ties between Baghdad and Tehran.
•  (E) Hovik Abrahamian, Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, is scheduled to meet with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. The meeting is meant to expand diplomatic ties and act as a forum for the leaders to exchange views on international and regional issues.
• (E)Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi condemned the Israeli police raid that resulted in tens of Palestinian arrests at al Aqsa mosque, referring to the police action as terrorism. Qashqavi claimed that this followed a similar trend of the Judaization of Muslim holy places.
• (E) Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to discuss instability in Afghanistan. While pledging to strengthen bi-lateral trade agreements, the two representatives agreed to cooperate to enhance regional security.
• (E) Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the 64^th Annual UN General Assembly. During the meeting, Mottaki asked that the UN recognize the realistic concerns of Iran and consider the severity of Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Mottaki also emphasized that Iran would not back down on its nuclear program, stating ”Iran will not yield to political pressures over defending its rights including proceeding in peaceful nuclear program."
• (E) The Iranian delegation to the UN rejected the statement released by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman, which claimed the Secretary General expressed concern over Iran’s human rights and nuclear program in a meeting with President Ahmadinejad. President Ahmadinejad expressed that he hopes that Ban Ki-moon will look to the International Atomic Energy Association, to which Iran has fulfilled its commitments, as the only legitimate monitor of nuclear power.
• (E) Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani urged the UN to bring Israel to the International Criminal Court for its crimes in Gaza. Larijani described the issue as a test of UN dignity.

Trade

• CNPCI petroleum company of China, NICO and INPEX petroleum company of Japan invest in Azadegan oil field South West of Ahwaz.
• Aminollah Eskandari, Coordination and Production Supervision Director of the National Refined Petroleum Projects, says gasoline sanctions against Iran are "impossible": "Today, gasoline is being produced at various refineries all over the world. It is not a petroleum project monopolized by a few companies so it can be used as a pressure point against the Islamic Republic...Gasoline production sources in the world are so many that gasoline sanction against Iran is only a propaganda and psychological warfare issue which can't be realized..."
• Hamid-Reza Katouzian, Energy Committee Chairman of the Parliament, refutes reports on cancellation of gasoline import schemes from Venezuela.
• (E) Head of Iranian Nanotechnology Initiative Council (INIC) Saeed Sarkar and Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Yoshi Uramoto signed an agreement to establish an international nanotechnology center. This move is significant as it signals Iran’s scientific potential at the international level.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Secretary of the Academy of Islamic Sciences Hojjat al-Eslam Monir al-Din Hosseini predicts a new phase in the history of the Islamic Revolution in which "the revolution will be engaged in an all out conflict with the Western civilization."
• Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi criticizes those who "say one should pray so that the Imam of the Era emerges and nothing else will do" in order to flee from responsibility.
• (E) Iranian films One Day after the 10th Day and Twenty were awarded prizes at the Batumi International Art-House Film Festival in Georgia. Parviz Parastoee won the award for best actor in a feature film for his role in Twenty. One Day after the 10^th Day received the Grand Prize in the Young Filmmaker’s section.
• (E) Iranian athletes ranked first in Asian Junior Powerlifting Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Mohammad Zarei received one gold medal and two bronze medals in his 85-kg category. Hamid Malaki received a bronze medal in his 77-kg category.
• (E) Be Calm and Count to Seven, a film by Iranian filmmaker Ramtin Lavafi will be screened at Calgary and Vancouver international film festivals in Canada. The story depicts the lives of Iranians whose lives become tightly intertwined.

Military and Security

• Student unrest on the occasion of the beginning of the new academic year:
  • The Law Enforcement Forces deny news of arrest of students protesting against Ahmadinejad at the beginning of the academic year two days ago.
  • Raja News Agency claims the student movement has largely ignored the Green Movement's call for demonstrations against the government. [Link upon request].
  • A so-called "independent" student group from Sharif University in Tehran condemns unrest at Sharif University.
  • Alef News Agency releases Morteza Bargestan's open letter to Mir-Hossein Mousavi whom he accuses of having instigated the students to revolt against the government.
  • Qom University Basij Chief Mohammad-Reza Khalili accuses Mehdi Karrubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi as the instigators of the unrest at universities in Tehran.
• IRGC Chief Ja'fari says the enemy has understood "our military capabilities" following the latest missile tests in the Islamic Republic.
• Donya-ye Eqtesad runs a backgrounder on the "privatization" of Iran Telecommunication which in reality is a transfer of ownership of the company to the Revolutionary Guards.
  • Pishgaman-e Yazd Company which lost the bid to the IRGC says it was "thrown out of the race" on security grounds.
• Developments in Iranian Kurdistan:
  • Esmail Najjar, Interior Minister delivering an interview in Sanandaj comments terrorism in Iranian Kurdistan:
    • "Following arrest of one of the heads of these terrorist elements, their cell's headquarters in Sharif-Abad of Sanandaj has been identified and during Sunday's operations three members of this group were killed and a considerable amount of arms were discovered..."
    • "These individuals who were Wahabi have confessed to their crimes in serial terrors in Kurdistan and in the near future their confessions are to be broadcast on Voice and Vision [of the Islamic Republic] in order to inform the public..."
    • Najjar also specifies that it was "the unknown soldiers of the Imam of the Era", or the Intelligence Ministry's Special Forces, who were engaged in operations against the group.
    • Regarding the political/ideological orientation of the group Najjar said: "World Imperialism as provoked its elements - who have a distorted understanding of Islam - and they have started a sectarian conspiracy against the sect and they are engaged in activities against unity and they are engaged in planting discord but the vigilance of the people and their all sided cooperation will be neutralized..."
  • Intelligence Minister Moslehi:
    • "Terrorists engaged in terrorist activities in Kurdistan cooperated with foreign intelligence agencies..."
    • "[T]hey wanted to disrupt the good security situation which was created after the Supreme Leader's visit to Kurdistan through acts of terror and their targeting both Shi'as and Sunnis is a proof of that..."
    • "Two of our forces have become martyred, one a member of the Unknown Soldiers of the Imam of the Era and another was one of the brothers of the Guards..."
    • "They were Al-Qaeda members and connected with foreign intelligence agencies..."
• Azizi, Revolutionary Guards Chief addressing a seminar on academic study of the Iran/Iraq war criticizes the authorities for not learning from the experiences of the Iran/Iraq war, praises unity and solidarity between the Revolutionary Guards and the Regular Army during the war, but stresses that it was the Guards' "innovative approach to war" in addition to "failed classical military doctrines during the leadership of [President] Bani-Sadr" which helped the Islamic Republic "prevail."
• (E) The Iranian Anti-Drug Police Squad is due to set a world record and open fire on 600 tons of illegal narcotics as part of “Police Week.” Brigadier General Hamid Reza Hosseinabadi Commander of Anti-Drug Police Squad criticized international organizations for not recognizing Iran’s role in limiting illegal drug use and allocating more funds to Iranian anti-drug groups.
• Kamran Daneshjou, Higher Education, Research and Technology Minister, addressing members of the Student Basij at the former American Embassy in Tehran says Iran's engagement in a defense war during the Iran/Iraq war was not sacred because of "regaining territory or in order to achieve welfare" but because it was fought in order to "preserve Islamic values" and continued: "The most important reason why it was sacred was because it was fought in the path of creation of the rule of the promised Mahdi [Imam of the Era]. This is why dying in this sacred path is considered sacred..."  
• (E) Iran launched a new vessel, capable of launching missiles into the Caspian Sea. “Sina”, the vessel is equipped with over 100 radar systems, missiles, artilleries, electronic and telecommunication systems, defense capability against electronic and anti-electronic invasion. The Iranian Defense Minister said that the vessel simply enables Iran to maintain peace in the region. 

Nuclear Issue

• Tabnak News Agency warns that in December, there could be increased UN sanctions against Iran.
• Venezuela's Minister of Higher Education and Research denies reports on nuclear cooperation between Venezuela and Iran.
• Fars News Agency runs a backgrounder on Said Jalili, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic, with the 5+1 Group.
  • Said Jalili travels to Geneva.
• Brigadier General Gholam-Ali Rashid, the General Staff Deputy, speaking on the occasion of the Week of the Sacred Defense: "In the nuclear issue Iran resisted, and let me here say that the ninth government truly counter balanced the retreats of the eight cabinet, bravely resisted, acted based upon the guidelines of the Supreme Leader and balanced all the retreats in the nuclear issue to the degree that gradually consensus has been reached to recognize a nuclear Iran..."
• (E) Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki claimed that Iran has a positive view of the upcoming talks on October 1^st between the Islamic Republic and the member states of the UN Security Council and Germany. While the 5+1 countries hope to address Iran’s nuclear program, state representatives have repeatedly answered that the nuclear issue is closed.
• (E) Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi announced that Iran would soon discuss a timetable for inspection of its new nuclear facility to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The new plant will produce enriched uranium, up to five percent. The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has reiterated that Iran has no intentions of creating nuclear weapons and hopes to use the energy for peaceful purposes.
• (E) Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki urged nuclear states to fulfill their commitments to disarmament to create a more peaceful world. Referring to the upcoming 5+1 talks, the Iranian representatives insisted the West to develop a constructive view.
• (E) Iran announced plans to purchase 19.75 percent enriched uranium for its nuclear reactor in Tehran. The sale of uranium to Tehran is on the agenda to be discussed in the 5+1 talks this coming Thursday, October 1^st. President Ahmadinejad claimed that the talks provide a unique opportunity for the West, “this is an opportunity for some European countries and US government to change their situation in the world, to rectify the way they interact with other countries and to behave according to justice and mutual respect.”
• (E) Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili left Tehran for Geneva to begin the 5+1 talks with American, Chinese, Russian, French, British, and German representatives. Jalili left Iran in eager anticipation if the meeting, asserting “Today, we enter the dialogue with a positive attitude and with goodwill.”
• (E) Hassan Ghafourifard, a member of the Iranian Parliament, warned that Iran would withdraw from the NPT agreement if the upcoming multi-lateral talks lead to a discussion of sanctions and punitive action. He explicitly stated that Iran would not stop its enrichment program under any circumstances, and offered the West to take advantage of the prospect of resolution at the upcoming meeting.

Human Rights

• Intelligence Ministry co-founder and reformist theoretician Said Hajjarian is freed from imprisonment.

Iran in the Afghan Media

• [E] Iranian border police detain 1,756 Afghans.
• Afghanpaper criticizes the Iranian government for not helping Afghanistan to replace opium with saffron.
• Iran’s ambassador to Kabul blasts international community’s inaction to fight narcotics. Holding a meeting with foreign ambassadors to Kabul, Feda Hossien Maliki said that combating drugs was not just the responsibility of regional countries, but that the world community should help to tackle the problem.

Photos of the Day

• War-era photos of Rafsanjani, Rezai, Mousavi, Ahmadinejad, Qalibaf, Fattah, Mahsouli, and Safavi.
• Said Hajjarian freed from imprisonment.

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].