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 subscribe to this daily newsletter, please visit this page, fill out the "New Subscribers" section, and check "Iran News Round Up" listed under "Projects." 
 
(E) = Article in English

Politics

• Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei addresses students at the Iran University of Science and Technology: "If the hijab wasn’t mandatory by law, what percentage of the ladies would wear it? What I mean is the headscarf. Why have thousands of sermons and notes of advice not had the necessary impact? Of course it has some impact, but what do we do wrong?"
• Fars News Agency attacks Rafsanjani's blog post and accuses him of helping "the British propaganda effort."

Diplomacy

• Acting Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi urges the Lebanese political parties "to preserve their vigilance and unity..."
• Mashaei travels to Albania.
• [E] Iranian Caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said foreign interference in Lebanon's internal affairs has resulted in the failure of Syrian-Saudi initiative on Lebanon.
• [E] Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaei lashed out at the US for blocking over 100 diplomatic bank accounts at the UN, describing the move as an "existential threat to the UN".
• [E] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a phone call with Saudi King Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz wished him a speedy recovery.

Military and Security

• Revolutionary Guards Navy Chief Ali Fadavi: "The Islamic Republic of Iran has not disturbed the balance of power and unity in the region. It has rather been attacked consistently because of its attempts to unite the Islamic nations... Despite attempts of powers outside this region to promote Iranophobia, and especially Guard-phobia, we have witnessed the Guards’ new measures to improve regional cooperation..."
• "Confessions" of a man charged with the assassination of nuclear scientist Ali-Mohammadi.
• Mashregh News releases a backgrounder on late Hezbollah General Secretary Abbas Mousavi's presence in Afghanistan.
• Said Jalili, Supreme National Security Council secretary: "Some powers have pursued a tactic of confrontation, but noticed that this tactic only led to a dead end... We believe that engagement could prepare the ground for cooperation in various fields..."
• [E] A senior Iranian military commander announced that the country has started production of new military ships as part of its broader efforts to boost Iran's military capabilities.
• [E] Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Hojjatoleslam Kazzem Sediqi praised the country's intelligence forces for their success in arresting the terrorists who assassinated a renowned Iranian nuclear scientist last year.

Religion, Society and Culture

• According to Farda News, Iran's National Library does not subscribe to any electronic search engine.

Trade

• [E] Iranian and Pakistani commerce officials agree to boost bilateral trade.
  • [E] Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani welcomed establishment of an Iranian bank in Pakistan, and stressed his country's resolve to boost trade ties with Iran.

Nuclear Issue

• [E] Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili called on the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) to seize the opportunity of the upcoming talks in Istanbul to reclaim the Iranian nation's trust.

Iran in the Afghan Media

• Iran’s ambassador to Kabul Fida Hussain Maleki has warned the Afghan government that Tehran would reconsider trade ties with the country if the Afghan authorities failed to identify and arrest individuals who demonstrated this week in front of the Iranian embassy in Kabul to protest Iran’s ban on fuel shipments into Afghanistan.
  • An Afghan government spokesperson responds: “Kabul is not Tehran. Everyone has the right to stage a protest rally.”
• Iran says it will lift the ban on oil shipment into Afghanistan only after Kabul elaborates on how much fuel the country needs.
• Afghan Minister of Commerce and Industry Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi has urged the Iranian government to lift the fuel blockade of Afghanistan without preconditions.
• Afghanistan warns Iran of trade boycott if Tehran does not lift the fuel blockade soon.

Photos of the Day

• "Imam" Khamenei Garrison.