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

• Presidential crisis:
  • Ahmadinejad indirectly criticizes Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei:
    • "There are those who consider themselves so absolute that they think the entire 7 billion population of the world belong to Hell and he alone to the heavens. This is the sign of his downfall... Another problem of this issue is that in the societal context he has the opportunity to impose this thought upon society..."
    • In a more general criticism of the Shi'a clergy, and in an attempt to mobilize the youth, Ahmadinejad continued: "Here and there are people who think like this: Those who don't like to have fun think anyone who wants to have fun most certainly is an infidel..."
    • Opposing the Supreme Leader's demand to decrease the number of holidays, Ahmadinejad said: "There was a meeting to the issue of official holidays and it was said that Iran had too many holidays... But we have 75 holidays, and all countries have 100 holidays... Amusement is a part of life and people must be happy. Why should one want to see the people broken and ill-humored?"
  • Ayatollah Mohammad-Ali Movahedi Kermani, former representative of the Supreme Leader to the Revolutionary Guards, in defense of the Supreme Leader, says that the Assembly of Experts closely monitors the performance of Ali Khamenei and it is not so that the Guardian Jurist can behave as he pleases. Movahedi Kermani continues: "Luckily, the Guardian Jurist whom God has given us after the Imam [Khomeini] is the most suitable individual for this position..."
  • Hojjat al-Eslam Ahmad Salek, Tehran Combatant Clergy Association spokesman: "The current of deviation has reached a point that it says 'we are the government of the Imam of the Era and are in contact with the Imam of the Era ourselves. We talk with him and engage in dialogue. There is no reason to have anything to do with the Guardian Jurist, the clergy or sources of emulation.' … Obama and Netanyahu suddenly defended Ahmadinejad and saw that the events were in the same direction as their own thought... I hope that the evil spirits [around Ahmadinejad] are not British, Israeli or Russian."
  • Bultan [Bulletin] News:
    • "The Islamic Republic and its Leader find itself… in an impasse... During the era of the Imam [Khomeini] the people fought against the enemies, with the Americans at the top of them. But neither the howzeh [theological seminaries] nor other factions such as the conformists and the like could oppose him [Khomeini]... Should we want to wage a war now, we would have great problems... Should the Supreme Leader desire to fight against a group or seriously deal with domestic and foreign issues, which obstacles would he face? Would the holy and the theological seminaries tolerate semi-Socialist programs? Would the different classes [of the people] tolerate war under present circumstances or would they oppose the Supreme Leader concerning such issues? For the time being, there is no great propaganda conglomerate as during the war [with Iraq] which could mobilize the masses. Now we must see how he [Supreme Leader Khamenei] will work for Islam under such circumstances of both domestic hypocrisy and weak intellect of some devout believers."   

Diplomacy

• Asr-e Iran criticizes the government for not demanding war reparations from Iraq because of the 1980 Iraqi invasion of the country.

Military and Security

• Bultan [Bulletin] News warns against mass mobilization of the youth through Facebook.
• An unnamed "high ranking official from the Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shohada Base" says more than 50 members of the PEJAK group have been killed in clashes with the Revolutionary Guards.
• Commentary on Revolutionary Guards involvement in Iran's economy and politics:
  • Rostam Qassemi, former head of Khatam al-Anbia Construciton Base of the Revolutionary Guards, and the new minister of oil: "Khatam al-Anbia Construction Base has filled the void of companies Total and Shell very well... With the parliament's support, underdevelopment in oil and gas production in 22 shared [oil and gas] fields will be balanced."
  • Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani defends Revolutionary Guards intervention in economic projects: "Since the Khatam al-Anbia Base has a powerful presence in the development field, it has been said that opportunities have been taken away from the private sector... But according to my information, I must stress that this is not the case... I arranged a meeting and invited representatives from the private sector. They all believed that the Khatam al-Anbia Base is distributing work among them and that Mr. [Rostam] Qassemi [former head of the Khatam al-Anbia Construction Base of the Revolutionary Guards, currently oil minister] rather than competing with the private sector is supporting it... The other issue which I would like to express is concerning the statements about the Guards entering politics through Mr. Qassemi. This interpretation is wrong. Mr. Qassemi is appointed oil minister as an individual of the Guards and we should be honored that the dear Guards elites accept such important responsibilities... I am informed that the Guards was opposed to Mr. Qassemi taking this responsibility, that the Guards chief [Mohammad-Ali Aziz Jafari] was against [Qassemi] accepting this responsibility. Mr. Qassemi even consulted me and I stressed that I was concerned about the Khatam al-Anbia Base which is losing a good man... Since the Oil Ministry has been without a minister for a time, the Guards has made a sacrifice. Therefore, it would be wrong to interpret this as the Guards effort to seize political power. This is not at all the case that the Guards wants to seize the political situation in the country... One should not deprive the country of the service of the serving forces of the Guards..."
  • Parliamentarian Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh defends appointment of Rostam Qassemi as oil minister, and defends the Revolutionary Guards' record of engagement in Iran's economy.
  • Parliamentarian Ali Mottahari: "Opposition to appointment of Rostam Qassemi as oil minister is not opposition to his person but has to do with the political regimes, especially those of the Islamic Republic of Iran... I distinguish between his person and his legal position, since his personal qualities are amendable... The main issue... is that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a military force should not be connected with the political and economic power. In other words, the Guards should not be governmental... The Guards is the symbol of the unity of the society, just like the clergy. The Guards belongs to all classes of society... Now, the Guards is, rightly or wrongly, accused of seizing development projects in unequal competition with the private sector like the third [mobile phone] operator, and the great oil infrastructure being added to it will not do away with such accusations... "
• According to Hojjat al-Eslam Ali Saidi, representative of the Supreme Leader to the Revolutionary Guards, 11,000 "political guides" will guide the Basij and the Guards up to the parliamentary election in order to "secure election of suitable candidates who strengthen the Guardianship of the Jurist."

Trade

•  Asr-e Iran quotes Reuters' story on $4 billion frozen Iranian assets in South Korean banks.

Photos of the Day

• The Law Enforcement Force strikes against hooligans.