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 receive this daily newsletter, please�subscribe online.
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(E) = Article in English

Politics

• Mojtaba Tavangar, Unified Principled Front public relations director, says the Islamic Steadfastness Front is using the archives of the Islamic Revolution Documents Center to fight against political opponents. Tavangar says he will soon publish a two hundred pages long report documenting the Steadfastness Front's disinformation campaign.
  
  • Islamic Steadfastness Front distributes leaflets at the Friday prayer criticizing its opponents.

Diplomacy

• Hojjat al-Eslam Kazem Sediqi, temporary Tehran Friday prayer leader:
  
  • "Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs recently traveled to Azerbaijan. One expects from the government of Azerbaijan not to get close to Israel. All our neighboring countries should know that Israel is their foremost enemy. The schemes of the Westerners are incompatible with the spirit of Muslims and we want that the governments of the regional states, alongside their nations, do not show shortcomings in resisting Israel..."�

Military and Security

• Hamd-Allah Mohammad-Nejad, deputy oil minister, says the Oil Ministry's web had been attacked by a malware but is now up and running normally.
• Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, Revolutionary Guards Air and Space commander:
  
  • "In the first phase [of the IRGC's missile development program] eight missiles and a total not exceeding thirty missiles were imported into the country... Martyr Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam... used two of the first eight imported missiles... for reverse engineering, which was a difficult decision. But he had the boldness to do so... Our units are so numerous that I, despite several visits on a weekly basis, do not have the time to inspect them all..."
  • "Until 2007 our unit was called Revolutionary Guards Air Force... but following the Supreme Leader's decree to expand our responsibilities also to cover the space, our Air Force was changed into Air and Space..."
  • "The enemy uses space capabilities for espionage purposes and we should not abandon this dimension..."
  • "The Ghadir Radar has a one thousand-kilometer range... We also produce radars with 3 to500-kilometer range in various frequencies... They [the United States] have bases in the countries around us, and the Persian Gulf, both air and ground forces bases, all of which are under the constant surveillance of our intelligence services..."
  • "We are no longer concerned about their presence. Of course, when they arrived there was some concern and they were considered threats to us, but now they are truly considered an opportunity for us. We do not have any concerns and they understand this very well..."
  • "Sinking an aircraft carrier is not so complicated... Apart from this, there are so many advanced and sensitive technologies used on board such carriers that friends jokingly say that should a cracker explode on board, it will most certainly damage a part of it. It means that even the slightest explosion would debilitate the carrier... Six thousand people on board such carriers are terrified when passing through the Strait of Hormuz; they are afraid and panicked; people can't do any work..."
  • "We easily extracted data from the captured drone. I'll give four code words here so the Americans understand that we have penetrated the drone... The drone was repaired for technical difficulties in California in October 2010... In November 2010 it was brought to Kandahar... In December 2010 the drone was taken to an airport close to Los Angeles... The drone flew over Pakistan close to the place where bin Ladan was killed..."
• In a video address, Major General Qassem Suleimani, Revolutionary Guards Quds Force commander, depicts the Iran/Iraq war as "paradise lost."

Nuclear Issue

• Hojjat al-Eslam Kazem Sediqi, temporary Tehran Friday prayer leader:
  
  • "The Iranian nation is inclined to negotiation and logic. If the counterpart behaves logically it would be to the benefit of the world and the Westerners. They must have understood what nation they are facing. The time has come for them to show good will in Baghdad, lift the sanctions so they can win the confidence of the mighty Iranian nation..."

Economy

• Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini, Qom Friday prayer leader: "We hope that the authorities... make efforts to solve the unemployment problem. With inflation and rising prices, the unemployed are helpless... There should be plans to solve this problem..."�
• Abolfazl Fath-Allahi, Labor Union Association Executive Committee member, warns of 10% increase in unemployment this year.
• Aftab News reports on unprecedented rise in the price of meat in Iran.

Photo of the Day

• Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati on his way to the Friday prayer in Tehran.

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