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

• Presidential crisis:
  • Addressing the cabinet Monday, Ahmadinejad once again stressed the importance of obeying the Supreme Leader.
    • At a press conference following the meeting, Ahmadinejad denied recent news stories about exorcism and sorcery among cabinet members.
  • According to Fars News, both Ahmadinejad and Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Heydar Moslehi attended Monday's cabinet meeting.
  • Ezatollah Zarqami, Voice and Vision director general, treats the entire cabinet to ice cream "due to a happy circumstance."
  • Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, Ahmadinejad's media adviser, still wants to see "documentation" for the Supreme Leader's decree which maintains Moslehi in the Intelligence Ministry.
  • Javan (close to the Revolutionary Guards) warns of "continuity of the new sedition” [reference to Ahmadinejad] and "new challenges to the Guardian Jurist."
  • Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, Khamenei's chief-of-staff, says "[Ahmadinejad's] threats will not lead to anything." 
  • Parliamentarian Mohammad-Reza Bahonar continues his attacks against Ahmadinejad.
  • The cabinet will hold its next meeting in Qom, unless Ahmadinejad travels to Turkey.
  • While Ahmadinejad was absent from the third night of mourning ceremonies, Ali-Reza Ahmadinejad, the president's youngest son, participated at the ceremony.
    • Ahmadinejad participates at the fourth night of the ceremony.
  • Hojjata al-Eslam Sediqi, temporary Tehran Friday prayer leader, says "words are not enough," and demands that Ahmadinejad demonstrate his submission to the Guardian Jurist.
  • Mahramneh News, Mashaei's mouthpiece, is no longer filtered by the Intelligence Ministry.
• According to Khodnevis, Industry Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian is to be dismissed from the cabinet following Mehrabian's attempt to register someone else' invention in his own name.

Diplomacy

• The nephew of Egyptian terrorist Khaled Eslamboli leaves Iran to Egypt.
• [E] Tehran's ambassador to Beirut praised the unity agreement recently signed by the different Palestinian groups, saying that the move has disarmed the Zionist regime of Israel by ending discord and promoting unity among Palestinians.
• [E] Iran has asked Pakistani officials to take proper and immediate action against recruitment of Pakistani mercenaries by the Bahraini regime.

Military and Security

• Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Heydar Moslehi says he has "documented information" on Bin Laden "having died a long time ago."
• Omid Kowkabi, nuclear physicist at University of Texas, was arrested during a visit to Iran to see his family. According to Kaleme, Kowkabi is imprisoned at Evin and charged with "connections with a hostile government."
• [E] Senior Iranian military officials announced on Monday that the country's latest home-made missile system, Sayyad 2, has been deployed in all air-defense units across the country.

Nuclear Issue

• [E] Iran's first nuclear power plant in the Southern port city of Bushehr officially started work on Sunday after months of testing and safety precautions.

Religion, Society and Culture

• As Tehran International Book Fair opens its doors to the public, the security forces confiscate books - published with permission from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Iran - by the following authors: Ali-Ashraf Darvishian, Mahsa Moheb-Ali, Ehsan Nowrouzi, Hossein Sanapour, and Ramin Jahanbeglou.

Trade

• [E] The Iranian parliament is likely to introduce a bill requiring a ban on all imports from Saudi Arabia.

Photo of the Day

• Ahmadinejad.