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

• According to Abbas Nabavi, head of the Islamic Civilization and Islamic Development Institute, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has told the Assembly of Experts members that he would not allow them to meddle in his work. According to Nabavi, Khamenei told the assembly members that they were only allowed to supervise the "conditions for leadership." Khamenei added: "First you investigate if the Leader has remained true to those conditions or not. If yes, I will not accept that you meddle in petty details... Should you say, 'The conditions are met totally, but we want to [discuss] why you appointed this gentleman to this position and why you allowed that person [to do a certain thing],' I don't accept that you meddle in it." 
• Ayatollah Emami Kashani, temporary Tehran Friday prayer leader: "The enemies have invested in this [parliamentary] election in order to prevent unity and uniformed participation of the people in it..."
• News stories relating to the 2012 parliamentary elections:
  • Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting's Dirouz, Emrouz va Farda program will transmit the first televised debate in the run up to the parliamentary elections. Fatemeh Aliya, Islamic Revolution Resistance Front central committee member, and Zohreh Elahian, member of the Women's Committee of the United Principled Front, will be debating current affairs. 
  • Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Heydar Moslehi:
    • "From the viewpoint of the intelligence establishment, a full-fledged war is being fought against the Islamic Republic. This is not a slogan or an analysis. I say this based on precise intelligence that we are in the midst of an intense soft-war. The Intelligence Ministry is announcing this based on its precise intelligence and is saying that the enemy has vast schemes on all fronts against the Islamic Republic. This has led to certain threats and vulnerabilities, but also some opportunities." 
    • "The enemies of the regime and the line of sedition are concerned about vast [electoral] participation of the public and are trying to reduce popular participation... which has had negative impact on our society. Fortunately, the atmosphere was changed due to the statements of the Supreme Leader in the Friday prayer sermon..." 
  • Estimates of the popular participation in parliamentary election:
    • According to Fars News' poll, more than 71 percent of eligible voters in Zanjan province will take part.
    • According to Mohammad-Hossein Saffar Harandi, cultural adviser to the Revolutionary Guards commander, 60 percent of the voters will participate in the parliamentary elections.
• Gholam-Hossein Elham, Islamic Resistance Front member, says parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani and Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf "strengthened the sedition" by remaining silent in June 2009. 

Diplomacy

• According to Tabnak News, Oman is trying to mediate between the Islamic Republic and the United States. 
• [E] Ahmadinejad and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari in a meeting in Islamabad warned that enemies of the region are trying to create a rift among the regional and Muslim states in a bid to find a justification for their presence in the region. 

Military and Security

• According to BBC Persian, the Thai police believe the Iranian citizens arrested while producing bombs were planning to target Israeli diplomats in Thailand. The Thai authorities also consider the terror plot in Thailand connected with the plots in Georgia and India. According to the Thai police, the names of arrested individuals are Said Moradi, 28, who lost his legs as the bomb accidentally went off; Mohammad Khazaei, 42, who was shown to the Thai press; and Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, who fled Thailand to Malaysia where he was arrested while trying to catch a flight to Iran and will be extradited to Thailand. A woman, Leyla Rowhani, who had rented the apartment in which the individuals were living, has apparently returned to Tehran. 
  • Tabnak quoting the Prime Minister of Thailand writes that the individuals arrested by Thai police had come to Thailand to produce bombs, but were not engaged in terrorist activities. 

Iran in the Afghan Media

• The leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran have met in Islamabad to discuss regional cooperation. Pakistani President Zardari gave assurances to Ahmadinejad that his country would not side with the United States if it attacked Iran. Video.

Photo of the Day

• Arrested terror suspect Mohammad Khazaei meets the press in Thailand. 
• Iranian suspects partying in Bangkok prior to arrest.