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

• According to Alef News, Ahmadinejad has enacted 26 bills approved by the 8th parliament. 

Diplomacy

• Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Guardian Council secretary: "We will soon see the collapse of the United States and the bullies of the world."
• Former nuclear negotiator Hojjat al-Eslam Hassan Rowhani visits Vienna dressed in non-clerical dress and with a regular Iranian passport.
  • IRNA says Rowhani’s visit is unofficial. 

Military and Security

• Commemorating the "Day of the Islamic Republic," the Iranian Army General Staff declares readiness to defend the country against potential threats: "Iran's responses to enemy threats will be decisive and will make them repent."
• Army Commander Ahmad Pourdastan says the Army has been "transformed," but did not provide details. 
• Iran's "Ninja Girls" complain about a Reuters report describing female practitioners of martial arts as "terrorists."

Economy

• Central Bank Director-General Mahmoud Bahmani warns of increasing inflation rates in the new year.
• According to Baztab-e Emrouz, inflation has already increased and is likely to reach 50%.
• Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani says the sanctions against Iran are "expansive," and urges the government to "support domestic production."
• Asr-e Iran releases a historical review of the exchange rate of the Iranian currency during the past three centuries.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi slams Ahmadinejad's speech in Tajikistan in which he praised Ferdowsi, the author of the Iranian epic Shahnameh, as the "savior of the faith of the prophet." 

Iran in the Afghan Media

• Afghan senators condemn Ahmadinejad’s remarks on the U.S. policy in Afghanistan as a sign of Iran’s interference in Afghanistan.
  • “This is the Iranian government which funds and trains the Taliban and has established military bases for the Taliban in a number of key Iranian cities,” said Khaliqdad Belaghi, a senator from Kabul. He also alleged that President Karzai remained silent to Ahmadinejad’s anti-American tirade because he receives money from Iran.
  • “The arrival of foreign countries to Afghanistan has at least paved the way for rebuilding the country’s infrastructure. Now the Iranian government wants to fuel civil war in Afghanistan and turn this country into ruins,” said anther senator Nesar Haris.

Photos of the Day

• Traditional Turkmen wedding.