Iran News Round Up

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh and Ahmad Majidyar. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

(E) = Article in English

Politics

• Mohammad-Reza Khatami, brother of the former president Khatami and a member of Mosharekat party, discusses the possibility of changing the presidential system into a parliamentary one: "As long as there are no political parties, neither a presidential nor a parliamentary system makes sense."

Diplomacy

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will address the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran on Thursday.
• Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi declares Tehran's readiness to host the Syrian opposition for talks, and stresses that dialogue is the only way to solve the crisis in Syria. 
• The police round up 1,400 beggars from Tehran prior to the Nonaligned Movement summit. 
• The Iraqi minister of tourism says his country will no longer require visa from Iranian pilgrims visiting Iraq in the near future.
• [E] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is due to come to the Iranian parliament after Iranian parliamentarians criticized the UN chief for his biased attitude towards human rights issues in Muslim states and said they want to question him about his performance.

Military and Security

• Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami addresses the people of Shabestar: "Should the enemies of the Islamic revolution want to inflict the slightest harm to the country, Tel Aviv would be leveled to the ground. And this is our defense force, which we will use if necessary." 
• Four members of the Revolutionary Guards from Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shohada Base are reportedly killed as their helicopter crashes in northwestern Iran.
• Kayhan's editorial writes that "all [U.S.] options are questionable."
• Alireza Sabahifard, Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Force deputy, says "all activities of the enemy are under the magnifying glass of the Air Defense Force."

Nuclear Issue

• According to Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi, the Islamic Republic's nuclear negotiator Said Jalili and EU Foreign Policy Coordinator Catherine Ashton will meet again, but the date of the meeting is not yet clear.

Economy

• Fars News releases the complete report of Economy Minister Shams al-Din Hosseini to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
• Donya-ye Eqtesad stresses the importance of Khamenei's advice to the government on limiting the liquidity. It quotes Khamenei:
  • "Well, this is clear: If there is production [to meet increased] liquidity, if there are products and no scarcity, there would be no problem. However, if the liquidity is higher than domestic production or real imports, it will naturally prove problematic." 

Religion, Society and Culture

• Seyyed Mohammad-Hossein Al-e Ayoub, Syria expert, discusses the role of theological seminaries in Syria:
  • "In 1975, Imam Mousa Sadr and martyr Seyyed Hassan Shirazi infiltrated the presidential palace [in Damascus] and managed to change the mentality of Hafez Assad to the benefit of Shi'a Islam. In this way, Hafez Assad gained interest in the Shi'a and gave them freedom of action [for example by allowing them to establish a seminary in Zeynabiyeh area. Presence of some of the scholars and professors who had migrated to Syria from Najaf... constituted the core of the theological seminary... With the victory of the Islamic revolution in Iran, a new era began in Syria and the good relations between Iran and Syria were so effective that the theological seminary at Zeynabiyeh expanded and gained a new life. As the representatives of the Imam [Khomeini] and representatives of the Supreme Leader after him, the seminary activities in Syria expanded more. And in early 1980's, the Imam Khomeini Theological Seminary and a few other seminaries were established. Back then, Najaf had its own problems and the Shi'a from countries which did not have a good relationship with the Islamic Republic, would come to Syria to pursue theological studies. Therefore, the number of theologians from different countries and scholars and sources of emulation began looking up to the theological seminaries in Syria... Under present conditions, the Imam Khomeini Seminary is thriving. Under the administration of Hojjat al-Eslam Biniaz, new developments have taken place. At present, 1,200 male and 600 female students with different nationalities study at the seminaries in Syria..." 

Photo of the Day

• Iran puts on display cars of assassinated nuclear scientists at the Nonaligned Movement summit.