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 subscribe to this daily newsletter, please visit this page, fill out the "New Subscribers" section, and check "Iran News Round Up" listed under "Projects." 
 
(E) = Article in English

Politics

• March 8-9 convention of Assembly of Experts
  • Supreme Leader Khamenei:
    • "They [the enemy] expected that conflicts would erupt among the Experts, and that it would become an arena for negative rivalry for positions and posts but thanks to the ethics of the Experts and reason, thanks to divine insight, this issue ended to the benefit of Islam and the Islamic Republic..."
    • "[Mahdavi Kani] has been a prominent individual since the revolution."
    • "Great events are taking place in the region and in the country. It is only the beginning and we must do our duty according to our understanding of its great dimensions."
    • In a vague reference to the attacks against Faezeh Hashmi Rafsanjani, Khamenei condemned "unethical behavior" of the youth. 
  • Assembly of Experts demands prosecution of "heads of sedition."
  • Sharq editorializes: "The deceitful and grim enemy did not give up and from the very first days of the victory of the Islamic revolution, targeted the clergy, the fellowship of the Imam [Khomeini] and unity of the people. Every single day it attempted, through schemes and guile, by spreading rumors, through accusations and libel or terror, to instigate division and schism among the tightly woven lines of the people on the one hand and between the people and the clergy on the other... In its latest attempts, the enemy targeted the Assembly of Experts which is the heart of the clergy so it could complete the anti-clerical project so that the clergy and the fellowship of the blessed Imam would fight each other. For this purpose, they chose two comrades and allies through fifty years of struggle and there were some who either knowingly or unconsciously contributed to the mayhem… Today, we witnessed the most beautiful scene of defeat of the enemies and ill wishers of the revolution and Islam when His Holiness Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani from the tribune of the [Assembly of] Experts declared: 'I am not enamored with any position...'"
  • Vatan-e Emrooz editorializes: "Seventy seven percent vote of the Experts to Mahdavi Kani was in reality a clear answer to the demands for taking a position against the sedition. Until the ninth convention Hashemi Rafsanjani on no occasion clearly distanced himself from the sedition. This prominent figure of the regime did not take any position against the seditionists of 2009 or the hypocrites of February despite his valuable service in the history of the revolution... After 28 years the name of Hashemi Rafsanjani was erased from the composition of the board of directors of the Assembly of Experts and Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi was elected first deputy chairman with 50 votes and Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi was elected second deputy chairman with 45 votes."
  • Parliamentarian Ali Mottahari describes Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani's chairmanship of the Assembly of Experts as "the victory of the moderates."

Diplomacy

• Supreme Leader Khamenei tells the Assembly of Experts that Iran’s Islamic Revolution is "the role model" of current revolutions in the Middle East.
• Sobh-e Sadeq predicts rise of irredentism and dissolution of the United States.
• [E] Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani took the Libyan regime of Muammar Gaddafi responsible for the disappearance of the Iran-born Lebanese Shiite cleric and leader, Imam Musa al-Sadr.
• [E] Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri in a meeting in Tehran on Thursday conferred on the latest developments and events in the regional countries, stressing continued consultations between the two states in this regard.
• [E] Ahmadinejad says the era of hegemony and hegemonic powers is over and the world nations will no more allow others to interfere in their internal affairs.
• [E] Supreme Leader stressed the recent events in the region herald imminent demise of the arrogant powers and change in the world equations in the near future.

Trade

• Spain Chamber of Commerce deputy expresses readiness of Spanish investors to invest in Iran's energy, tourism and financial sectors.

Iran in the Afghan Media

• NATO forces have seized Iranian weapons smuggled into western Afghanistan.

Photos of the Day

• Assembly of Experts visits Grand Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum.