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 and Iran Intern Amir Toumaj, with contributor Mary Ella Simmons. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

(E) = Article in English

Politics

• Interim Tehran Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati praised the people’s participation in the 2013 elections, and discussed moderation and relations with the United States:
  • “I view this discussed moderation as the Imam [Khomeini’s] line, will, and Sahifeye Nour [collection of Khomeini’s works and speeches], because the Imam stated opinions in all areas. Our position is clear against the hypocritical and anti-revolutionary Americans. Therefore, from my perspective, moderation is The Excellency Imam’s lighting line.” 
• After President-elect Hassan Rouhani criticized unemployment and economic conditions during his Parliamentary address earlier this week, MP Ali Asqar Zarei criticized Rouhani’s “blackening” and warned “[Who knows,] this sort of blackening may entrap the new administration in a future not too far.” 
• The Front of the Followers of the Line of the Imam and Supreme Leader Secretary Habibollah Asgar Owladi discussed the implications of Rouhani’s election and commented on imprisoned 2009 Presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi:
  • “Rouhani’s election fulfilled the prayers of the Supreme Leader.”
  • "If you pay attention to the media, Rouhani has taken a position regarding relations with Lebanon and Syria alongside resistance in the region, and in my opinion his election was God’s will, and we must submit to God’s satisfaction.”
  • A cabinet should be formed that includes “both Principlists and Reformists.”
  • Regarding Mousavi and Karoubi, he said, “Regarding the Imam [Khomeini], Supreme Leader, and the system, in this month of Ramadan that is the month of repentance, [they] should create a situation  in which during the Nights of Qadr they should take this peace that has emerged for the nation to the side of Perfection [God], and during the Eid-e Fitr this year, [pray that] a religious culture will be created for the nation.”  
• Mashhad Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Alam ol-Hoda warned, “Do not allow political events to change you and make you weak in your [faith]. [Political] currents that [change] should not [allow] you to let go of your values and your loyalty to the Supreme Leader and the revolution.”
• Gorgan Province Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Kazem Nour Mofidi discussed the recent Egyptian unrest and said, “If [Mohamed] Morsi had acted rationally he would be successful, but instead of relations with Iran and Syria, he continued relations with Israel…”
• Islamic Engineers Society Secretary MP Mohammad Reza Bahonar discussed 2013 election implications and said, “The people observed eight years of Reformist extremism and eight years of Principlist measures that were accompanied by their insular view…. The people turned to moderation after these sixteen years.” He then praised Rouhani and said, “Not only was Rouhani’s slogan moderation, Rouhani’s [being] was also moderation.” 
• Head of the National Inspectorate Organization Mostafa Pour Mohammadi said that Principlist thought was victorious due to the creation of a “political epic” in the elections, but that “Principlist organizational activities were defeated in these elections and Reformist organizational activities were victorious.” 
• Father of slain Kahrizak detention center detainee Abdolhossein Rouholamini said, “The Kahrizak case has not closed and we will certainly protest [former Tehran Prosecutor Saeed] Mortazavi’s verdict.” 

Regional Developments

• Iranian media reports that “American-supported takfiri forces” launched mortar shells at Seyyeda Zeinab Shi’a shrine near Damascus, killing the shrine’s manager Anas Romani. 
• Hassan Nasrallah responded to messages of congratulations by senior Iranian officials on the anniversary of “the victory of the Resistance in the 33-day War [2006 Israel-Hezbollah War],” and said, “It is not possible for the Lebanese nation to forget the great Islamic Republic of Iran's support of Lebanon’s resistance.” 
• The Free Syria Army reportedly launched missiles at Damascus International Airport, killing at least twenty. The Syrian government has yet to confirm nor deny the report. 
• Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA) reports that head of the Lawa Dawood “terrorist” group Ahmad Mohammad Dak Zadeh has been killed by the Syrian army. 

Diplomacy

• Lebanese President Michelle Suleiman thanked outgoing and incoming Presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani for their messages of congratulations on the anniversary of “the victory of the Resistance in the 33-day War.” He said, “With Rouhani’s election, the region has entered a new stage, and we hope that this new opportunity will set the stage for new evolutions toward the peace between regional nations.” 
• Special adviser to the Supreme Leader's Representation to the IRGC Hojjat al-Eslam Mojtabi Zolnour said, regarding reports of former British FM Jack Straw’s possible attendance at Rouhani’s inauguration, “The policy of the Global Arrogant powers [West] toward other countries, including ours, is a policy of sticks and carrots that sometimes comes as a threat and sometimes as a deception.... If the English want to express their honesty and happiness toward the rise of Rouhani [by using] the title ‘selected by the people,’ [they should] not obstruct our country’s nuclear program; reduce and eliminate the evil sanctions; not strengthen the Islamic Republic’s opposition; and not interfere in the affairs of our nation. But [in order to] pretend, they have turned to such low cost measures." 
• Iranian Ambassador to Jordan Mostafa Mosleh discussed the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran during a one-hour interview on Jordanian television and said, “Although invasion is in their nature, they do not dare attack Iran because they fear Iran’s response.”
• Deputy Foreign Minister for Middle East and African Affairs Amir Abdollahian condemned the recent violence in Bahrain, and said, “Paying attention to the people’s legitimate demands, which are being pursued democratically and peacefully, is the most appropriate solution.... The solution in Bahrain is purely political and consists of moving away from violence and suppression to respect for fundamental human rights; continuing the status quo will not help the security of Bahrain and the region.” 
• In a separate statement, Abdollahian said, “American measures to implement the trend of compromise is doomed to defeat.”
• Iran and Iraq have reportedly signed agreements to expand oil expansion activities in drilling industries.
• Iran-Iraq War researcher and author BG Nikkhah Bahrami suggested that Iran could seek war reparations from Iraq in international courts “in a special way.” 

Military and Security

• Minister of Intelligence Hojjat al-Eslam Heidar Moslehi reacted to recent reports of surveillance equipment found in MP Ali Motahari’s office and said, “This important adventure raises questions from multiple dimensions..." He added that the ministry has been investigating this case since last Thursday. 

Economy

• Minister of Economic Affairs Shamseddin Hosseini announced that non-oil exports have increased in the past year, adding that “nothing is more difficult during sanctions than transferring and transporting currency.”
• Mehr News reports that the Iranian Chamber of Commerce is taking measures to nullify the effects of the sanctions, while Iran's largest trade committee has traveled to Armenia.
• Civil activist Hossein Kan’ani Moghaddam said that civil societies and NGOs have an important role to play in combating sanctions.
• World Bank officials announced that Iran can no longer borrow money from the organization due to non-payment of $679 million of debt.

Photo of the Day

• Representative of the Supreme Leader to the IRGC Hojjat al-Eslam Ali Saidi attends Tehran Friday Prayer.