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

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Mashhad:
  • "One of the great plans of the enemies of the Iranian nation was to create domestic divisions and conflicts using ethnicity, sect, political orientation, factionalism and other excuses..."
  • "If the authorities want to complain of each other which may sometimes be just, they should not express it in the public since it would deal a blow to national unity. I decisively warn the authorities of the country in this regard."
  • "One can solve minor problems through dialogue."

Diplomacy

• Supreme Leader Khamenei discusses regional change:
  • "The recent events in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Bahrain are very important. A fundamental change is taking place in this Arab and Islamic region and is the sign of the awakening of the Islamic community of the believers."
  • "What made the people of Egypt, Tunisia, and other countries come to the streets was the issue of human dignity. Their pride was wounded by unjust rulers... When the people of Egypt saw that their president - who is the head of state – had committed the dirtiest crimes at the behest of Israel, they were wounded."
  • "The behavior of the Americans shows that they have always supported the dictators. They even supported Hosni Mubarak to the very last moment and only when they realized it could not be sustained did they throw him away. Let this be a lesson to the heads [of state] dependent on the United States. When they have surpassed their usefulness, they will throw them away..."
  • "He [Obama] says the people in Azadi Square in Tehran are the same people of the Tahrir Square of Egypt. He is telling the truth, because the people who assemble at the Azadi Square every February 11th [Revolution Day] chant 'Death to America.'"
  • "The Americans and the Westerners claim that we want to enter Libya and conduct military operations in order to defend the people but their claim is not at all acceptable. If they were true defenders of the people of Libya and cared about their well being, they would have not remained sitting while the people of Libya were being bombarded...They do not want to protect the people of Libya, they are only pursuing the oil of Libya... You [the United States] only want to open bases in Libya. You want to use Libya as a step stone to monitor the governments of Tunisia and Egypt which border Libya. Your intentions are evil."

Nuclear Issue

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei compares Libya's nuclear policies under Qaddafi with the Islamic Republic's: "In Libya, despite Qaddafi displaying anti-Western inclinations in his first years in power, he has done them [the West] great services and the people's hearts bled as they saw that with the West's simple and hollow threats, he [Qaddafi] assembled his nuclear facilities and delivered it to the Westerners... On the other hand, the Iranian nation witnessed that the entire world led by the United States, revolted against Iran's nuclear movement, but the authorities of the country not only abstained from making withdrawals in the face of threats and sanctions, but added to their nuclear capacities every year despite deeds of the enemy."

Economy

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei names Persian year 1390 (2011-2012) the year of "Economic Jihad."

Trade

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses crowds in Mashhad, praises the Ahmadinejad government's "intelligent and forceful dealing with Western sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran," and says "gasoline self sufficiency was one of the blessings of these sanctions."

Photos of the Day

• Khamenei in Mashhad.