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

Military and Security

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei visits the Iran Navy Operational Zone 1 in Bandar Abbas:
  • "The benefits of these seas belong to the nations and both the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the Revolutionary Guards’ Navy are the symbols of the might of the Iranian nation in defending the interest of the country in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman...
  • In the past, the regimes rebelling against God prevented sea faring and naval presence of Iran in regional and international waters, but today you must - through your added struggle - make up for a long era of backwardness... Today, the conditions are very different than in the past. The long shores of this region are controlled by an independent government.  An awake and proud nation which is aware of its national resolve and by trusting in God will impose its will upon any political and military power and will force him to retreat...
  • Thanks to the forceful presence of Islamic Iran, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman are a free and independent area... The era when imperialist powers decided the destinies of nations through their military presence is over, even if some regional governments may be prone to follow the orders of imperialist powers, the nations of the region are awaken and vigilant and consider military presence of the foreigners in the region as a source of insecurity...
  • We have never urged any country to conflict and will not do so, and to the best of our ability, we will abstain from any confrontation, be it accidental or calculated, but those who secure their advance by force and bullying [others] should feel [the presence of] a mighty nation in front of them..."
  • According to Farda News, Khamenei was also greeted by the Yunis Submarine which as "returned from a 68-day trip to the Red Sea."
  • "Expanding the field of dynamism and presence of the Navy in the high seas and providing the infrastructure for this presence makes the Navy a true strategic force... [The presence of the Navy in Bab al-Mandab, Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal] made the enemy panic since the forceful presence of naval units of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the high seas is a source of inspiration and hope to the nations...
  • By increasing its naval, missile and air force capacities, the Revolutionary Guards Navy has expanded and deepened its control, and monitoring capacities in the Persian Gulf."
• Khamenei visits the Revolutionary Guards Navy Headquarters in Bandar Abbas:
  • "Instigating conflicts between ethnic and sectarian groups, between political groups and factions and between various organizations and institutions are among the ways of weakening the national will and the national resolve, but the Iranian nation has prevailed in the face of all their cunning and schemes of the enemies and having a meeting with the presence of the navies and their family members is a sign of the solidarity within the Iranian nation... By seeking God, all should consider avoiding conflicts their national and religious duty..."

Diplomacy

• [E] Israel is experiencing fragile conditions in the Middle-East region today and it should leave the political scene, Ahmadinejad said on Monday.

Trade

• Pirouz Mousavi, South Pars Especial Energy Zone executive director, says Iran has signed a memorandum of understanding, "which [commits it to] export $10 billion worth natural gas from the South Pars... to European countries via Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the Mediterranean."  
• [E] Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaiby played down the effects of sanctions on the bilateral relations between Tehran and Baghdad, and stressed that Iraq welcomes further expansion of cooperation with Iran.

Photos of the Day

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei inspects the Iran’s regular navy.