Iran News Round Up

    A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh and Ahmad Majidyar. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

(E) = Article in English   

Politics

• Bultan News quotes Fatemeh Hashemi Rafsanjani’s interview to Rooz Online, which is published abroad:
  • "Yesterday we went to the Evin prison with some things for Mehdi [Hashemi Rafsanjani] which they did not accept from us. They said, 'We did not arrest him, we can't accept this.' We asked where Mehdi is now, but they did not give any answer. We don't know where he is and we don't know in which condition he is... Faezeh [Hashemi Rafsanjani] is in the female section of the Evin prison and she is happy. She has asked us not to take any action for her release or leave... The aim is to deal with Mr. Hashemi [Rafsanjani]. This movement has existed since before the revolution and still continues. They want to purge Mr. Hashemi [Rafsanjani]."

Diplomacy

• Davoud Ahmadinejad, brother of the president, says Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is opposed to negotiations with the United States, a line proposed by president Ahmadinejad in New York. 
• [E] Fars News: Beijing will continue its efforts to defuse tensions between Iran and the West over the former's nuclear activities, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said. 
• [E] Fars News: Ahmadinejad condemns Israel’s “crimes” against the Palestinians and other world nations, and adds that the “Zionists' biggest crime” is that they attribute themselves to the Jewish community who are peace-seeking people. 

Military and Security

• Reza Seraj, director of the Future Research program at Imam Hussein University of the Revolutionary Guards, predicts 70% of the electorate will vote in next year's presidential election. 
• [E] Iranian defense experts are modifying certain features of S-200 anti-aircraft missile system to give it a dual use to hit both high and mid-altitude targets, Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli announced. 

Economy

• Iranian rial is now trading at 27,200 to the U.S. dollar.

Trade

• [E] Fars News: Iranian and Pakistani officials in a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York stressed the necessity for the rapid implementation of a multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline project that is due to take Iran's rich gas reserves to the energy-hungry Pakistan.

Religion, Culture and Society

• [E] Fars News: “Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani condemned the insults leveled against the prophet of Islam (PBUH) in a recent US-Israeli movie and a French magazine, and said such sacrilegious moves indicate that enemies are deeply fearful of the Islamic Awakening.” 

Photo of the Day

• Rafsanjani and his son Mehdi.