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

• Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, temporary Tehran Friday prayer leader:
  • "The enemy aims to create chaos during the [parliamentary] elections and desires to question the health of the polls. It does not want freedom in this election. The enemy also wants a low popular participation in the election. But they have miscalculated... The people will show an enemy crushing presence in elections and God willing there will be high participation with great freedom and competition."

Diplomacy

• [E] Iran condemned foreign interference in Syria's internal affairs, and praised the reforms President Bashar al-Assad has pledged to undertake as "problem-solving".
• [E] Pakistan's top legislator underlines intimate ties with Iran.

Military and Security

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei visits the families of Ahmadi-Roshan and Rezaeinejad who were assassinated in Tehran. 
• Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, temporary Tehran Friday prayer leader: "This assassination [of Ahmadi-Roshan] shows the misery, desperation, and despicability of the enemies of Islam and the revolution. They claim to fight against terrorism, but are themselves the leader of terrorists and produce terrorists. This scandal and indecency of theirs knows no limit since they also talk about human rights... We saw that following this assassination there were 300 applicants to change their academic majors into studies related to nuclear energy. Following the martyrdom of one Ahmadi-Roshan, 300 other Ahmadi-Roshans grew... This assassination leads to increased resistance and the people of the world will use it as their role model..."
• Islamic Republic Embassy in Ankara refutes allegations that Tehran has deployed hit squads to operate on Turkish soil.
• Ali Sanikhani, a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, writes an open letter addressing both Admiral Hossein Alaei and Jafar Assadi, one of the twelve commanders who has attacked Alaei:
  •  "Why should we be afraid when one of the many commanders of the Guards, a commander from the era of the Sacred Defense, asks such questions? I hope... that society develops to the degree that if there is criticism, even of the Leader, it should not only be expressed by the enemies, and that critics are not considered enemies. God willing, we shall witness a day when we all together, with different [political] preferences, just like during the first decade of the revolution, have solidarity in realizing the goals of our late Imam and our dear martyrs..."

Nuclear Issue

• Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi says Iran will soon present a date for negotiations with the 5+1 group. 
• [E] Japan's finance minister said US sanctions against Iran harm his country's economy and financial market. 
• [E] The United Arab Emirates cautioned the US-led West against the dire consequences of escalating tension over Iran's nuclear activity, and welcomed the remarks by Iran's foreign minister, who on Thursday said regional "peace and tranquility" was in everyone's interest.

Economy

• Tabnak's survey shows a spike in food and fruit prices.

Photos of the Day

• Supreme Leader visits the families of Ahmadi-Roshan and Rezaeinejad.