Iran News Round Up

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by AEI Critical Threats Project Iran Analyst Will Fulton. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

(E) = Article in English

Politics

• The Council of Explaining Basij Student Positions of Greater Tehran released a statement warning that President Ahmadinejad, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, and Judiciary Chief Sadegh Amoli Larijani would be branded "traitors" if they continued their disputes, and that the organization will "...certainly confront you [officials] in the way that is suitable."
• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei established "national production and support of Iranian work and capital" as the the Islamic Republic's foundational policies for the upcoming year and specified 23 points where the government can accelerate the implementation of these policies. 
• Member of the Steadfastness Front's headquarters council Majid Mottaghifar stated that the influence of "deviatory elements" is an impediment to the advancement of the Islamic revolution:
  • "Deviatory elements, from the freedom movement and Second of Khordad movement [reformist movements that fueled Khatami's election] to deviatory elements embedded alongside the ninth and tenth administrations [Ahmadinejad's administrations], have impeded the Islamic revolution's acceleration towards progress and justice." 
  • He also announced that the party's election slogan is "34 years of resistance against sedition and deviation."

Diplomacy

• Iranian ambassador to Iraq Hassan Danaifar denied Iran's role in the 10 February attack on Camp Liberty near Baghdad, that killed and inured some members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) and Iraqi police:
  • "We condemn the attack against Camp Liberty and know it as an attempt to create crisis and media tumult and accuse Iran."

Military and Security

• Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani said that the Islamic Republic would not hide its support of Hezbollah and Hamas and added, “In the eight-day war, Hamas struck a blow to Israel’s mouth with Iranian weapons.... Israel is a cancerous tumor in the region and we support the Palestinian people, and even provide them with weapons support.”  
• Armed Forces General Staff Deputy for Industrial Preparation, Support, and Research BG Mohammad Hejazi said Iranian ballistic missiles will be more accurate and that new advancements have been made in the field of tracking airborne targets:
  • "These behaviors [Western downplaying of Iranian technological achievements] are shabby policies to belittle the achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran, because anytime our country has made new advances the enemies have attempted to deny or or alter it, but in the end, they have inevitably accepted reality."
  • "The insightful Iranian nation is cognizant of the spiteful nature of these claims and knows that these statements seek to downplay our country's power in the minds of nations, and is in line with psychological operations against the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Nuclear Issues

• Head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Association Fereydoun Abbasi Davani said that the IAEA system is not secure:
  • "It is necessary to speak more wisely during negotiations and avoid contentious topics in order to reach mutual confidence and clarify misunderstandings."
  • "Agency executives have to notice that, unfortunately, their system does not possess sufficient security, and that the Islamic Republic has emphasized this point many times. It is necessary [for them] to pay more attention in how they interact with Iran."
  • "All the activities of Iran's Atomic Energy Agency are conducted according to [IAEA] provisions and under surveillance of Agency cameras."
  • "Be certain that any form of media reporting regarding [Iranian] agency activities takes place after accurate notification of the Agency, and in reality, the media do not discover anything. The interesting point is that our country's classified reporting session takes place a short time after the presence of inspectors and their notifications."
  • "We use nuclear energy that has thousands of peaceful benefits in producing energy, curing difficult diseases, expanding national agriculture and industry, and [as per] international agreements, we report all of these activities to [the IAEA] in a timely legal manner."

Economy

• OPEC's January 2013 report announced that the Iranian heavy crude oil price has increased $1.96 in the past year, up to $108.52 per barrel.

Photo of the Day

• Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf attends an unveiling of metro rail system facilities.