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.
 
(E) = Article in English

Politics

• Hojjat al-Eslam Mohammad-Taqi Rahbar, head of Parliament’s Clerical Faction, warns Rafsanjani against "becoming an instrument in the hands of sedition."

Diplomacy

• Iranian leaders react to unrest in Britain:
  • Fars News Agency's analyst writes that unrest in London and other cities in Britain is the realization of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's statements about "awakening in the heart of Europe."
  • [E] "As Supreme Leader said popular uprisings will spread to the heart of Europe and today we are witnessing that Britain is experiencing popular protests," member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Karami-Raad told FNA.
  • Ahmadinejad: "I recommend the authorities in Britain pay attention. The world has changed... The era when a few could become first grade capitalists and plunder the world and enslave others is over... The British statesmen should listen to their people... They have created the financial crisis in order to plunder and they have imposed it upon the masses... They may claim that the protesters are hooligans and drug traffickers. If Britain has so many drug traffickers this country must be prosecuted... Rather than deploying troops to Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and plundering the oil of these countries, they should listen to the needs of their own people... Everyone should know that the people are awakened and the era of imperialism has come to an end... Savage behavior toward the people is absolutely unacceptable... The British statesmen should listen to the voice of their people and give them some freedom."
  • Jam-e Jam's editorial: "British gentlemen! Are you having fun? How does it taste? I'm referring to the protests. Is it not interesting? You conspire against the entire world; is it not interesting when all the misery you bring upon other countries and people happen to yourselves? You have probably not forgotten that you instigated unrest in Tehran by intervening through your cronies..." 
  • [E] Uprisings in Europe are the result of European people's growing awakening about discrimination and nihilism, an Iranian parliamentarian said.
• According to Diplomasi-ye Irani's analyst it was the row over Syria which "separated Iran and Turkey."
• Afshar Suleimani, former ambassador to Azerbaijan:
  • "Despite 70% of the population of Azerbaijan is Shi'a, activities of the Sunni population, i.e. 20% of the population, are more organized. The Wahhabis, supported by Saudi Arabia, have coherent activities. During the past year, Baku has become more sensitive toward Wahhabism. All religious activities are free, but they are not allowed to have political objectives or goals... Hezb-e Eslam [the Party of Islam] does not enjoy considerable support. The issue of hijab has attracted attention during the past couple of decades, but majority of women presently do not support it... After Iran and Iraq, Azerbaijan is the third Shi'a country in the world, but one must pay attention to the fact that the Azerbaijani nation has been influenced by tsarism, socialism and communism during the past couple of centuries. Especially over the past century, it has faced great cultural and religious challenges under the Soviet dictatorship. During the two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union and independence, this country has been affected by Western culture and different interpretations of the religion of Islam and the Sunni and Shi'a sects..."

Military and Security

• Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Heydar Moslehi says the PEJAK terrorist group is "on the verge of collapse, thanks to the efforts of the Revolutionary Guards."

Trade

• Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi: "Without doubt, developing and spearheading [oil extraction] in all shared oil and gas fields constitute the greatest priorities of the Oil Ministry... Very soon, a new stride will be made in development of oil fields shared with Iraq and the South Pars field... In the fifth development plan the methods of attracting investments have been predicted, but new ways of transferring financial resources to oil, gas and petrochemical projects will be defined..."

Photos of the Day

• Presence of Rostam Qassemi and absence of Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei at a cabinet meeting.