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

• According to Interior Minister Mohammad-Mostafa Najjar, 225 candidates have been elected into parliament and 130 candidates will contest in a run-off for the remaining 65 seats. 
• Kayhan comments on Mohammad Khatami's participation in the parliamentary elections:
  • "Despite his treason in the sedition of 2009, Khatami has understood that during the past years his work has been futile…  His authority inside the country has declined so much that no one, not even his closest allies, would follow his call for boycotting the election. Therefore, his participation in election undoubtedly shows that he has reached a dead end,... from which he wants to escape." 
• According to analyst Sadeq Zibakalam, it is too early to say that "Ahmadinejad has been weakened in the ninth parliament..."
  • "Yes, Parvin Ahmadinejad [the president's sister] was defeated in her native Garmsar. But the truth is that the president's sister, rather than being a political figure close to her brother, was a regular and quiet member of the Tehran City Council... Success of a number of candidates from the Islamic Resistance Front in Tehran, including Aqa-Tehrani, was in reality Ahmadinejad's victory... Should anyone do a statistical analysis of the discourse and positions of the Resistance Front it would be apparent that their criticism was directed against the Principled camp rather than Ahmadinejad. The Resistance Front never uttered a word in stark opposition to Ahmadinejad... Ahmadinejad's other success was the high vote for [Gholam-Ali] Haddad Adel in Tehran. Ahmadinejad's hard principled opponents such as Ahmad Tavakoli, Ali Motahari and Elias Naderan will in the best case be elected into the parliament in the second round of the election. The very fact that Ahmad Tavakoli, Naderan and Motahari did not achieve a high vote was in reality a victory for Ahmadinejad. Another victory of Ahmadineajd is the challenge to Ali Larijani's position as parliamentary speaker. He is being challenged by Haddad Adel... Ahmadinejad and his supporters will do their utmost to remove Ali Larijani from the position as parliamentary speaker and replace him with Haddad Adel... Moetalefeh's defeat was another victory for Ahmadinejad..." 
• Judiciary Spokesman Hojjat al-Eslam Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ezhehi says he is not aware of any news about the end of Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi's house arrest. Ezhehi adds that the execution ruling for Amir-Mirza Hekmati, Iranian-American citizen convicted of espionage, has been reversed. 

Diplomacy

• [E] Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani warned Islamic nations against the plots hatched by the arrogant powers to create a rift between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. 
• [E] Deputy foreign minister says Iran is in possession of documents substantiating involvement of the US and a number of Arab countries in the smuggling of large weapon cargos into Syria. 

Military and Security

• Sobh-e Sadeq editorializes:
  • "During the 2009 elections, the biggest, most complicated and most serious conspiracy against the revolution and the regime of the Islamic Republic was executed by the triangle of the hegemonic regime, the traditional counter revolutionary movement, and extremist claimants of reforms. The result of it was a deep sedition which was defeated by the epic of the nation that very same year... The movement which started the sedition believed it could revive itself in the arena of the ninth parliamentary election and achieve its goals in the 2013 presidential election which it failed to achieve in 2009. The conditions set by Mr. Khatami and the Combatant Clerical Association for entering the electoral arena pursued the same goal: end of house arrest of the gentlemen Mousavi and Karrubi, release of prisoners... and removal of the ban on the media... The movement's analysis was that by creating such conditions, and support from foreigners and from the counterrevolutionary movements, it could have a strong parliamentary presence in a tense and emotional atmosphere. As they failed in doing so, they were forced to challenge the legitimacy of the regime. This is how the ninth parliamentary election became the arena of challenging the Islamic regime... But the people created another epic through their participation..." 

Nuclear Issue

• [E] Iran's Representative Office at the International Atomic Energy Agency announced on Tuesday that the country will be ready to provide the UN nuclear agency with one-time access to its Parchin military test facility once modalities of Iran-IAEA cooperation have been agreed on, reminding that the facility is a highly sensitive military site already visited by inspectors twice. 

Economy

• Parliamentary Budgetary Committee complains against lack of transfer of $4.6 billion to the treasury. 

Trade

• Ahmadinejad inaugurates the production line of Winston cigarettes at the Gilan Dokhaniat Company which includes $220 million foreign investment. 

Religion, Society and Culture

• The parliament passes a bill which states there will be no legal requirement for registration of temporary marriages. The bill also stresses that men do not need the consent of their permanent wife to engage in temporary marriages. The bill was opposed by the female members of the parliament. 

Photos of the Day

• Hugs and kisses at first parliamentary session since March 2 elections. 
• Turnout in Ilam beyond 100%.