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

• Religious praise singer Mansour Arzi addresses the Arg Mosque in Tehran:

  • "For now they have hidden him [Mashaei], if the boys find him they will kill him. This Jew of the community of believers is now within a thousand security walls. Let me say this: Whoever kills him, I'll pay the money for it! They [the Ahmadinejad group] are now working for the presidential [election] two years from now so they can get the vote of the hooligans. They will take this hope to the grave... The people can live with rising prices, they can still live with it, but they will not live with irreligion. Beware of the wrath of the people..." 

  • Iran, close to Ahmadineajd, calls Arzi a "lumpenism" demands an end to "theoreticians of uncontrolled violence," and "propagation of lumpenistic culture in the garb of praise singing." 

  • The Ahmadinejad government intends to submit a formal complaint against Arzi. 

  • Radical "historian" Reza Golpour defends Arzi. 

• Hojjat al-Eslam Mojtaba Zolnour, parliamentary candidate and former deputy representative of the Supreme Leader to the Revolutionary Guards: "Today there are some people in our country who come forward masked with the mask of religion, but have deviated in many regards. The banner of sedition today rests on the shoulders of individuals who once were standing by the Imam [Khomeini]... The path which the current of deviation is following will lead to the United States and Israel and enchantment with them day after day..." 

• According to Mahramaneh News, Mehdi Karrubi's "letter of repentance addressed to the people of Iran" will be released soon. 

• Mostafa Rajavi, son of Masoud Rajavi, in the hands of the late Assadollah Lajevardi, then prosecutor at the Revolutionary Tribunal, following a raid against a house in which Ashraf Rabi'i, Masoud Rajavi's wife was killed. Video. 

Diplomacy

• Ahmadinejad receives the Emir of Qatar. 

• Fars News criticizes Turkey's bombardment of Kurdish positions in northern Iraq. 

• [E] Ahmadinejad underlined Tehran's preparedness to give a crushing response to Israel if the latter dares to make an aggressive move against the country. 

Military and Security

• Basij Chief Mohammad-Reza Naqdi addresses the gathering of "sportsmen supporting Palestine": "We will organize the 2020 Olympics in liberated Palestine." 

• Gholam-Hossein Gheibparvar, Fars Fajr Revolutionary Guards chief, addresses the Basij members: We must be vigilant... so that the future parliament does not end in the hands of irresponsible people... We must be vigilant and prevent mistakes of the pasts so that righteous and trustworthy individuals enter the ninth parliament." 

• Gholam-Reza Jalali is appointed head of the Passive Defense Permanent Committee. 

• [E] A senior Iranian diplomat announced that Tehran has filed a lawsuit against Russia after Moscow backed down on the delivery of the sophisticated anti-aircraft S-300 missile system to Iran. 

Trade

• Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi: "The main part of the oil projects in shared oil fields will become operational soon. Therefore, establishing an oil consortium by the private sector is necessary... What has been predicted for Iran's shared oil fields with Iraq in the fifth [development] plan is not enough because the Iraqis are planning to extract two and half times more from these fields. Therefore, the fifth plan must be reconsidered so that the great oil capital of the country is used... The financial issue is another problem. $50 billion investment in the oil industry is planned, which is two and half times the entire development budget of the country... A part of this budget comes from the national budget, but the main part must be financed through participation bonds..." 

• Abd al-Hossein Bayat, deputy oil minister, says the petrochemicals industry is in need of $50 billion investment. 

Photo of the Day

• Ahmadinejad mourns the passing of Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei's brother.