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 Taamol News, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has replaced his iron ring with Sini calligraphy.
• Mohammad-Jafar Behdad, political deputy at the presidency, says Ahmadinejad will soon make "revelations" about "vindictive conservatives" who have been attacking Ahmadinejad.
• Ten parliamentarians start the process of a vote of no confidence against Economy Minister Shams al-Din Hosseini.
• Secretariat of the Expediency Council denies press reports on "election activities of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani."
• Attacks against Mehdi Karrubi:
  • Mahramaneh News, close to Ahmadinejad, releases an interview attributed to a lady who says Mehdi Karrubi had a "temporary marriage" with her following the passing of her husband during the war with Iraq.
  • Mahramaneh News also accuses the Karrubi family of having secret bank accounts in United Arab Emirates.

Diplomacy

• Fararu publishes a survey of Ahmadinejad's latest trip to the United Nations General Assembly. http://www.fararu.com/vdcivza3.t1auz2bcct.html
• [E] Iranian Supreme Leader's top advisor for military affairs Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi downplayed the importance of the positions and stances adopted by Ankara against the Zionist regime, describing them as political gesture. http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9007040148
• [E] Lawyer of the two American nationals who were released by Iran last week categorically denied the accusations raised by the two against Tehran after their return to the US. http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9007040120

Military and Security

• Hojjat al-Eslam Heydar Moslehi, intelligence minister: "The British intelligence agency has started a new phase of destructive and anti-Iranian activities under the cover of the BBC. The Intelligence Ministry entering the field not only created a dam against destructive activities of Britain, but it also aimed at preventing more individuals entering the trap of the intelligence system of that country... We have arrested a minimum number of individuals, but this is only the beginning of our activities..."
• Mohammad-Hossein Babaei, Golestan province Revolutionary Guards chief, says since the 33-day war of Lebanon "Hezbollah resistance cells" have begun their activities all over the world.
• Basij Chief Mohammad-Reza Naqsi says Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is "in control of all this and otherworldly affairs," and one can reach "salvation by following his orders."

Trade

• Commentary on the South Pars oil and gas field:

• Emad Hosseini, parliamentary energy committee spokesman:
  • "44 million liters of gasoline is produced on daily basis, but the daily gasoline consumption of the country is 65 million liters."
  • On the one hand, the strategic energy reserves of the country are not enough to fill the gap between gasoline production and consumption. On the other hand, gasoline production of petrochemical plants has reached zero, which means there is no other way but to import [gasoline]."
  • "The new oil minister entered office with the doctrine of developing the shared [oil and gas] fields, and the expectation of him is also to concentrate all his energy on these fields revolving around the South Pars [field] so we can solve some parts of the country's energy sector..."
  • "For the time being we are 10 years behind Qatar [concerning gas extraction from the South Pars field]."
  • "We can't solve the problems by one day claiming that we are gasoline exporters and the other day deny the fact that we are importers... The people are surely aware of the realities and one can't hid the statistics and numbers from them."
• Asr-e Iran editorializes: "As the parliamentary energy committee spokesman has confessed, in the South Pars [oil and gas field] we are ten years behind Qatar, even worse, [the sea bed] is leaning towards Qatar and as the field is depleted, in the end Qatar will extract the lion's share of this gas field and the Iranian nation will never receive its share from the largest gas field in the entire history of the world, which is due to mismanagement, economic and technical problems and the sanctions regime... Who knows, maybe the day the Iranian phases of the South Pars field are finished there might be no more gas in this gas field..."
• Ali-Akbar Safaei, Hormozgan Ports and Shipping director, denies claims of arms imports and exports from Martyr Rajaei port facility.

Photo of the Day

• The parliament, in commemoration of the 1980 Iraqi invasion of Iran, praises war-era Revolutionary Guards and Army commanders.