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

• Farda News publishes a list of "parliamentary complaints against the [Ahmadinejad] government."
• As members of the family of Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani land at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran from the United Arab Emirates, Iranian authorities confiscate their passports.
• Morteza Talaei, Tehran City Council Social and Cultural Committee chairman, warns against a "triangle of sedition [the reformist movement], deviation [the Ahmadinejad group] and the counter revolution [other opposition] in smaller cities."

Military and Security

• IRGC Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari urges the public to participate in the upcoming parliamentary election to "neutralize" conspiracies of the enemies, as does Basij Commander Mohammad-Reza Naqdi. 
• Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi: "The security of the Strait of Hormuz is one of the problems with which Iran is dealing... Of course, we have always said that the presence of extra regional countries in the Persian Gulf is unnecessary and is harmful..."
• Ala al-Din Boroujerdi, parliamentary National Security Committee chairman: The policy of the Islamic Republic is to secure the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman through the regional countries. The Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman are not in need of guardians, hence there is no need for the United States to secure this region..." 
• Aziz Nasirzadeh, Air Force coordination commander, says Iran is studying production of jump jets. 
• [E] A top military aide to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the US continued war rhetoric against Iran since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, and stressed that Washington has never been able to put its threats into practice.
• [E] Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi underlined Iran's strong opposition to foreign military presence in the region, and added that such a presence is harmful to all regional nations. 
• Commander of Iran's Basij (volunteer) force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi stressed the Islamic Revolution's growing clout and influence in the world, and said the Iranian Revolution has served as a role model for other nations.
• [E] Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani lauded Iran's recent naval drills as a show of might and power, and warned the enemies that threatening Iran's security means endangering security of the entire region.

Economy

• Gholam-Reza Kiamehr discusses fluctuations in the currency market:
  • "Because of the inflation, purchasing power declines by the day. Therefore, people prefer to convert liquidity to foreign currency or [gold] mint, since importers are in need of foreign currency, and gold has a natural value..."
  • "Grand capitalists don't invest in production and industry because they see the problems. Energy subsidies have been severed. The production cost has increased. Taxes must be paid. There is also the problem of labor law. Also the banks unwillingly give credit to producers. Certainly, rather than investing in industry and production, they speculate in gold and currency which has no economic value for the country and solely creates value for the owner of liquidity..."
  • "Since the government is the largest owner of foreign currency, it is capable of getting rid of its budget deficit by selling foreign currency and receiving more rials from the Central Bank. However, the money which is injected into the economy without the foundation of domestic production is…inflationary, particularly under the circumstance of abolishing the subsidies. This could mean disaster..."
• The U.S. dollar drops to 14,000 rials per dollar.

Trade

• According to Asr-e Iran, Turkey is seeking exemption from the sanctions imposed on the Iranian Central Bank by the United States. 

  • The online news site Tabnak wonders how South Korea can increase its planned oil imports from Iran as the United States sanctions the Central Bank.

Photos of the Day

• Elsewhere in the Persian Gulf: Fishing in Bandar Abbas.