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

• Ceremonies held to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of  Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death end in disorder:
  • Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei indirectly attacks Ahmadinejad:
    • "If we stop, we will be pushed back. And if we are arrogant, we will be thrown into the ground. If the authorities of the country become preys to egocentrism, arrogance... we will be dealt blows into the mouth. The path of progress is one of 'no stop.' We are still on the mountain slopes and there is a distance to the peak. The day when the Iranian nation reaches the peak, the enmities and evils will end..."
  • Ahmadinejad's speech on the occasion of Khomeini’s death anniversary ends in tumult as the protesters chant slogans against Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei. According to Entekhab, the protesters chanted: "Death to Mashaei," "Shame on you Mashaei, leave Ahmadi[nejad] alone," "This entire army has come for the sake of the Leader [who addressed the crowds before the president."
  • As Hojjat al-Eslam Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, tried to deliver his speech, the crowds chanted slogans against him: "Death to the opponent of the Guardianship of the Jurist," "The blood in our veins is a gift to our Leader," "We are not citizens of Kufa so that the Imam would be alone," "This entire army has come for the sake of the Leader."
• Rafsanjani, addressing a group of students from Azad University, attacks Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah Yazdi:
  • "Relying on the people and irreplaceable role of the people in historical events is extremely important. Extremism, on the other hand, is one of the pests dealing blows to the goals of the Islamic revolution. The path of moderation and renunciation of extremism have led to the progress of the revolution. But unfortunately we on some occasions witness some people who did not believe in the struggle against the Shah, or considered that futile or unnecessary, today directly or indirectly lead extremist and radical groups and present solutions [for the problems] of the country."
    • Mesbah Yazdi responds to Rafsanjani's attack while addressing a group of Revolutionary Guards members from the Imam Ali Center of the Guards based in Isfahan: "At the time of the revolution, there were people who did not consider the Imam [Khomeini] as the ideologue of the revolution and solely considered him an instrument to overthrow the Shah... After the revolution, some of these people gained access to important positions in the regime and are now bidding their time as well... There are today some who are trying to monopolize the revolution to the benefit of their own interests..."

Diplomacy

• Mehr News releases the list of provinces in which Afghan citizens are barred from residing, and university courses Afghan citizens are not allowed to attend. 
• Iran executes three Afghan citizens and transfers their bodies to families in Afghanistan.
• [E] Ahmadinejad will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Beijing next week just days before another round of talks between Tehran and the world powers in Moscow. 

Military and Security

• Khamenei: "The noise and threats that authorities of the usurping Zionist regime make against Iran are because of their fear, terror and powerlessness... The heads of the Zionist regime know that today they are more vulnerable than ever. Any incorrect move of theirs will strike their own heads like lightening..." 
• Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah Yazdi: "As Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah [Hezbollah General Secretary] told me, 'We will not wait for the orders of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, but we will discover his inclination and taste.'" 

Nuclear Issue

• Khamenei: "Political circles in the world talk of the threat of a nuclear Iran. They lie and deceive. What they should fear is not a nuclear Iran, but an Islamic Iran. It is Islamic Iran which is shaking the pillars of the power of Global Arrogance..." 
  • "Sanctions can't stop the Iranian nation's progress. The only impact is deepening of the hatred of the Iranian nation against the West..."
• [E] Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will hold another round of talks on mutual cooperation on June 8, the UN nuclear watchdog agency chief, Yukiya Amano, announced on Monday.

Photos of the Day

• Hassan Khomeini greets Khamenei at Khomeini’s death anniversary gathering. 
• Ahmadinejad between political rivals.