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

Diplomacy

• News stories concerning the attacks against the British embassy compounds in Tehran:
  • According to Fars News, in response to the British government's demanding closure of the Iranian embassy in London, the Iranian Foreign Ministry will demand closure of the British embassy and expulsion of all British diplomatic personnel from Iran.
  • Norway closes its embassy in Tehran.
  • Germany recalls its ambassador for consultations in Berlin.
  • Ala al-Din Boroujerdi, parliamentary National Security Committee chairman: "The British government must live with the consequences of the closure of the Iranian embassy in London."
  • The Foreign Ministry expresses its regrets concerning the attacks against the British embassy and the Qolhak Garden.
  • Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani: "Downgrading relations with Britain was the wish of the nation... This is the result of insulting Iran."
  • Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani: "It was not the move of the students which was shameless; it was the behavior of the British government over the past five decades which has been shameless"
  • An unnamed "security official" urges the students to disperse, promises that the official channels will "resist Britain."
  • In their second public statement, "students" who seized the British embassy demand severing of all ties between Iran and the United Kingdom.
  • Farda News releases an "inside" account of the looting of the library of the British embassy.
  • Ala al-Din Boroujerdi, parliamentary National Security Committee chairman: "The student gathering in front of the British embassy reflects their pure inner thoughts... This step should not at all be a source of concern to other diplomats and embassies... The student is the symbol of the struggle against arrogance and the symbol of defending the national rights..."
  • Islamic Association of Engineers supports the attacks.
  • According to Mehr News, the Law Enforcement Forces have arrested a number of "students" who participated in the siege of the two British embassy compounds.
  • Criticism of the seizure of the British embassy compounds:
    • Asr-e Iran's editorial criticizes the seizure of the British embassy compounds, says it can serve as a propaganda victory for the British government.
    • Alef News writes that embassy seizure is only legitimate under specific conditions.
  • [E] A senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement praised the Iranian university students for their courageous occupation of the British embassy in Tehran, saying that it is natural for any given country to expel its enemies.
• Shi'a News slams the government of Azerbaijan for arresting Azeri religious activist Hajj Mohsen Nowrouzof who is the relative of Ramin Bayramov, editor of the online Azeri Islam gazette.

Military and Security

• ISNA releases the last will of Hassan Tehrani-Moghadam, head of IRGC’s Self-Sufficiency and Industrial Research Center: "Write on my tombstone: This is the grave of someone who wanted to annihilate Israel."
• [E] The Iranian Army's Navy equipped its vessels with powerful anti-ship Qader (Mighty) cruise missiles, a senior Navy commander announced on Wednesday.

Photos of the Day

• Looted items from the British embassy in Tehran: Book by Abbas Milani's inscribed to the British ambassador, and a poster of Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.