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, please visit this page, fill out the "New Subscribers" section, and check "Iran News Round Up" listed under "Projects." 
 
(E) = Article in English

Politics

• The Guardian Council considers investigations into the wealth and finances of the authorities and public servants as "contrary to the Shari'a and the Constitution."
• Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, announces establishment of an international Nowruz Foundation and compilation of an encyclopedia of Nowruz.
• Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli addressing the Quran seminar at the Khomeini-Shahr in Isfahan, slams Mashaei's "school of Iran" concept: "Islam, the sect and the clergy maintain Iran."
• Kayhan editorializes: "The naming of [of this year] Economic Jihad is Islamic Iran challenging Western liberal democracy with the role model of religious democracy, and secularism facing the success of religious rule. Now it is the turn of economic Jihad and defeat of Western concepts of capitalism and socialism."
• Reactions to the passing of Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s father:
  • Rafsanjani extends his condolences, praises the Mousavi family as "a family which has done great services to Islam, the revolution and our Islamic nation and have the honor of having sacrificed several martyrs in the path of Islam, the revolution and the fatherland."
    • Ammariyon condemns Rafsanjani for calling the Mousavi family servants of Islam and the revolution.
  • Ammariyon News quoting Mahdavi Kani's memoirs writes that Mousavi considered his own father and other merchants [bazaari] as "leech-like."

Diplomacy

• Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani: "Events of the recent days in Bahrain have been most unpleasant... The Muslims and believers are all of the same spirit and Muslims in Iran can't be indifferent to the destiny of the Muslims of Bahrain who are facing violence of Saudi and Emirati forces... Of course they think they can reach results by deploying forces to the region but I think the Americans have manipulated them and have made some Muslim countries act against the Muslim people of Bahrain so they gun down the people with the weapons they themselves [the United States] has sold to them."
• 257 parliamentarians declare their support for "the revolutionary movement of the people of Bahrain and Yemen," and criticize "mass killing of the Muslim people and the support of the United States to such crimes."
• Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi meeting an adviser to the foreign minister of Sudan promises expansion of relations between the two countries.
• [E] Prominent Iranian MP declares the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council’s accusations against Iran’s interference in Bahrain as "unrealistic, emotional and inexpert".
• [E] Ahmadinejad signs extradition treaty with Afghanistan into law.
• [E] Senior Iranian MP’s likely to visit Egypt in the near future, with plans already being made.

Military and Security

• Guardian Council Spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei criticizes statements of IRGC commander Abnoush about next year's parliamentary election: "All the authorities and all those involved in the affairs of the state should be careful about their statements and the issues they raise... In my opinion those statements were not desirable and will not have a good impact on society. On the other hand, because of the enthusiastic popular presence, there is no need for such discussions. There are no such problems in our society."
• [E] Iranian navy deployed in the Gulf of Aden prevents pirate attack on an Iranian oil tanker.
• [E] Top IRGC commander announces that the country's security forces have killed two of the terrorists responsible for the March 24 attacks in the Western city of Sanandaj in Kurdistan province, which killed two police officers and injured three people.
• [E] Iranian military commander announces air force jets to be equipped with new radar-evading technology.

Nuclear Issue

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to military commanders: "In the nuclear issue, the imperialist powers used all their political, propaganda and economic capacities and tried dissuade the Islamic Republic of Iran by creating mayhem, pressure and sanctions. But now, after eight years, Islamic Iran has prevailed in the face of the imperialist attempts and pressure. By showing considerable progress in the nuclear issue, it has shown that in the war of resolve, it is stronger than the great powers..."

Trade

• According to Vatan-e Emrooz, increased control of Iranian exports and accusations of arms transports are because of "inefficacy of the sanctions regime."

Religion, Society and Culture

• Ayatollah Alavi Gorgani: "Despite some signs of the emergence [of the Imam of the Era], but one can't predict the exact date of the emergence."

Photos of the Day

• Celebration of the Sizdah-Be-Dar at the Israel-Lebanon border.