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

Diplomacy

• Former Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi criticizes the Foreign Ministry's passivity and Turkey's support for "liberal Islam": "I'm not aware of the restrictions of the Foreign Ministry, but Iran has still not had an active role in the developments - aside from ideological and strategic role played which belonged to the revolution - in the way that some other countries, for example Turkey, which has emerged more activist than us and engages in liberal Islam. 

• Reactions to developments in Libya:

  • The Foreign Ministry congratulates "the overthrow of Muammar Qadhafi, the dictator of Libya... The developments in Libya are due to the resistance of the Muslim people of this country during the past months which is another symbol of the popular movement in the region... The noble people of Libya know well that the international plunderers led by the United States have no other goal but plundering the great wealth of this country and they do not respect the rights of the nations. Therefore, ignoring or paying little attention to their interventions will entail irreparable and dangerous damages." 

  • Kayhan's Hossein Shariatmadari comments on the rebellion in Libya: "Everyone is looking at this role model [Iran’s Islamic revolution]." 

  • Javan warns against "conspiracies of the United States." 

• [E] A senior Iranian legislator reiterated on Wednesday that the domino-like collapse of dictators in the regional countries indicates that the Zionist regime will soon be annihilated. 

Military and Security

• Ahmadinejad praises Iran's domestic arms industry. 

• Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi speaks about Iran's arms industry: "Today, the defense industry has managed to attract 5,000 researchers and 10,000 employees in various organizations and private firms, who are engaged in 900 projects at an operational level and have achieved 200 technologies. It has also managed to create 33 innovative technologies mostly in the field of advanced technologies in missiles, arms, explosives, tactical armored vehicles and in the fields of physiques, electronics, aviation industries, communications, destroyers and software..." 

• Following parliamentarian Naser Soudani's statements about daily imports of 14 million liters of gasoline into Iran, Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi says "for the time being we do not need to import gasoline, but it is possible that we may need some materials in order to produce gasoline." He continued: "We are now self sufficient concerning gasoline production and expansion of the refinery capacity taken into consideration we will become a major gasoline exporter in the world market in the next two to three years..." Discussing the issue of shared oil and gas fields Qassemi continued: "The importance of the large oil and gas fields such as South Pars as well as shared fields between Iran and Iraq, a special plan has been devised so we can extract our rightful amount from these fields..." 

• [E] The Iranian Armed Forces' Headquarters in a statement said that ongoing revolutions and popular uprisings in the region have prepared the grounds for the creation of a comprehensive Muslim front to clinch a final victory over the Zionist regime and free the holy Quds from the Zionist occupation. 

Nuclear Issue

• [E] Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereidoon Abbasi announced that the country has successfully tested the turbine of the reactor of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, and said the plant is reaching full power generation capacity. 

Photos of the Day

• Peddlers at the Tehran Metro.