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

• Anniversary of the 2009 presidential election:
  • As political prisoner Hoda Saber dies because on a hunger strike, the public in front of the Moddares Hospital demands that her corpse be delivered to her family. Video.
  • BBC Persian reports "silent protest" of the public near Vanak and Vali Asr squares of Tehran.
  • Kaleme, mouthpiece of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, reports "silent demonstrations of the people," in Tehran carefully watched by the security forces.
  • Chinejan blog reports stores closed and large presence of security forces in Abbasabad neighborhood of Tehran.
• Presidential crisis:
  • Contrary to previous reports on Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei being under house arrest, Mashaei participates at the cabinet meeting.
  • More than 200 parliamentarians demand that the government postpone merger of the ministries.
  • Parliamentarian Gholam-Ali Meygolinezhad addressing his constituency in Bushehr, explains new dimensions of the disagreements between Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader: "Ahmadinejad left the government to its own devices for 11 days. After that he visited the Office of the Supreme Leader and said things unprecedented in the [history] of the revolution. He told Mr. Khamenei: 'I have four conditions. If you accept them, I'll return [to office] working as president of this country.' Ahmadinejad demanded that [Asghar] Hejazi, the Supreme Leader's deputy chief of staff should be removed; that [Hossein] Taeb, representative of the Supreme Leader to the Revolutionary Guards, should be removed, that [Esfandiar Rahim-] Mashaei should be appointed first vice president, and Mr. Moslehi should return to the Intelligence Ministry only for three months after which he would be removed and replaced by someone else... The Supreme Leader without hesitation responded: 'I don't accept any of these conditions, go back and attend to your work. Ahmadinejad, without any consideration said: 'I'll resign.' His Lordship responded: 'Go and write your resignation right now and deliver it [to me]..."
    • "When Ahmadinejad was leaving the Office of the Supreme Leader someone asked him: 'Do you know that you are opposing the regime and the Leader of the Revolution with what you are doing?' Ahmadinejad answered in a sharp tone: 'I know perfectly well what to do. Now, you continue and see if I or you will be harmed.'" 
  • Mohammad Kowsari, parliamentarian, explains the background to the latest row between Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader:
    • "The Supreme Leader intervened in the issue of removal of the intelligence minister because Ahmadinejad wanted to be intelligence minister himself... Had the president decided to appoint a new minister, the Leader would not have intervened."
• March 2012 parliamentary election:
  • Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani: "If the principalists - as an intellectual current - reach unity, they would be capable of acting more wisely and be more effective... Of course, it is possible that they can't reach total unity, but there should also not be total separation."
  • Daryoush Qanbari, parliamentarian: "The current of deviation is approved of by Ahmadinejad... We may witness three factions within the principalist camp: Those who support the government, those who are rationalist critics of the government and a third group which may not be inclined to seriously criticize the government, and on the other hand are also not involved with the current of deviation. this group is supported by Mr. Mohsen Rezaei."

Diplomacy

• Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani:
  • "The nations of Iran and Egypt are very close to each other. This has very deep historical roots. The Egyptians are mature when it comes to Islamic culture, they have pursued rational and balanced methods as well. They are not like the Wahabis. the Wahabis have sent their reason on holiday and they want all Islamic sects to be like them and this is not possible."
• [E] A senior member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood party said Washington and Riyadh are increasing pressures on Cairo to prevent resumption of bilateral ties between Iran and Egypt.

Military and Security

• The Madhi affair, concerning an individual who says he infiltrated Iranian opposition circles abroad:
  • Hojjat al-Eslam Heydar Moslehi, Intelligence Minister comments: "He [Mohammad-Reza Madhi] was an individual whom they [the Iranian opposition abroad] were planning to use. However, the intelligence organization of the country managed to win him back through intelligence work and to [use him in order to] infiltrate their network. Allah be praised, the individual was utilized very well... They wanted to take him to Israel in order to use him, but they were outsmarted in the middle of their work and their plans were frustrated." 
  • Kayhan editorializes: "Don't get it wrong! Mr. Madhi was not initially sent by the Intelligence Ministry to work as an infiltrator, they recruited him in the middle of the process..."
• Amir-Farzad Esmaili, Iran Air Defense Force chief, says German Chancellor Angela Merkel's plane was denied the right to pass through Iranian territory because of the German pilot’s mistake.

Photo of the Day

• An old photo of Commander Mohammad-Reza Madhi, who says he infiltrated the Iranian opposition abroad.