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 subscribe to this daily newsletter, e-mail [email protected].

(E) = Article in English

 Diplomacy

• Asr-e Iran releases the full text version of Ahmadinejad's speech at Durban II Summit in Geneva. http://www.asriran.com/fa/pages/?cid=70217
  • Alef News Agency praises "iconoclastic speech" of Ahmadinejad at Durban II Summit in Geneva.

  • Asr-e Iran "outs" countries which boycotted Durban II Summit as countries "vulnerable to Zionist pressure."

  • As Abou-Torabi-Fard, first Vice Speaker of the Parliament, thanked Ahmadinejad's "anti-Zionist speech" at Durban II Summit, parliamentarians started shouting "Death to Israel" while others shouted: "Dowlat-e Enghelabi, Tashakkor, Tashakkor!" [Revolutionary Government, Thank You, Thank You!]. 

  • Iran praises Ahmadinejad's "scream of justice in the heart of Europe." 

  • Asr-e Iran condemns cancellation of Ahmadinejad's speech at a Swiss University "because of Zionist pressure." 

  • International affairs expert Hojjat al-Eslam Ghasem Ravanbakhsh says "the epic of [Ahmadinejad's speech at] Columbia [University] was repeated in Geneva."
    • Ravanbakhsh also says Ahmadinejad's speech and the "insolent reactions to it" resembled the speech of then President Ali Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader at the United Nations General Assembly.

  • Ahmadinejad meets with Iranians in Geneva. 

  • Ahmadinejad on Swiss Television: "This is a reality, and today the entire world knows that the Zionist regime is the symbol of racism...If the European countries claim they are afraid of the Iranian nation they should investigate the roots of their fear in their own behavior. The Zionist regime kills women and children in Palestine and afterwards they [the Israelis] condemn them [the Palestinians] for defending themselves. This is because the Zionists consider themselves superior to others. This is racism...If the Holocaust is a historical event where did it take place, and why should the people of Palestine pay the compensation? Why should the people of Palestine compensate racism in Europe? Instead of answering this question they scream and shout and call me a warmonger..."

  • France condemns Ahamdinejad's statements at Durban II Summit in Geneva.

  • Tehran City Council member Morteza Talayi supports Ahmadinejad's performance in Durban II Summit in Geneva and claims "[Ahmadinejad] the artist awakened the sleepy spectators with his call for justice...”

  • Ahmadinejad returns to Tehran. 

• Returning to Tehran, Ahmadinejad is welcomed at Mehrabad Airport by "several hundred university youth" and says:
  • "Conditions of the world are changing fast to the benefit of divine interests and to the benefit of the nations. For more than 50 years, some imperialist countries have with deceptive slogans such as accepting the opponent, tolerance, engagement and freedom of speech have imposed such baseless words upon the world...With their colonialist policies they insulted the dignity of the nations and divine values, and on the other hand they invited the people to [engage in] freedom of speech, but we saw that the very same people, at the Geneva Summit which had planned themselves, were not willing to hear the voice of opposition...

  • Such are the poses of Western capitalist thought and liberalism, and when I was speaking with one of the authorities arranging the summit, I was told that world conditions are changing and you should speak more softly and we will try in our final communiqué not to equal the Zionist regime with racism. But I told them, do you expect me not to speak of the crimes committed against the rights of the people of Gaza, or occupation and crimes against the rights of the people of Lebanon and Iraq…?

  • Those who for the past 50 years imposed themselves to the world in the name of world community were ousted as a few individual during the summit who impose themselves upon the world with no shame...After this I will participate in all international summits to the displeasure of all enemies...If they leave we will arrange all the summits, but it is such a strange thing that they are not ready to even listen to parts of the crimes they have committed against humanity. How are they going to prepare for the prosecution [awaiting them]…?

  • Thanks to divine wisdom the criminal heads of state of Western countries will soon be tried for their crimes against humanity...Those arranging the summit had planned everything, they had invested a lot to weaken the Islamic Republic, but as usual they had not counted on one thing, which is the divine deception and cunning from which the Islamic Republic benefitted...We had no preparedness, we only thought of the speech and the fact that the summit as usual was being filled with futile speeches of some gentlemen, but God removed their masques and demonstrated that they don't tolerate hearing the voice of the opposition..."

• Mir-Hossein Mousavi comments on "insults against Ahmadinejad in Geneva": "This discussion encompasses two dimensions. The first is the deplorable treatment our President as the symbol of the nation and the state has been subjected to which is a source of grief to any free man and we protest against it. The other dimension is that one should truly complain about why the advisors of the President do not advise him on what scenes to expect and why predictions are not made so insult against the Islamic Republic and the nation can be avoided…?

• Mehdi Karrubi's mouthpiece E'temad-e Melli: "According to Karrubi, our Islamic goals can only be reached within the geographical framework of Iran, the center of Shi'ism in the world. This is the experience we have gained in our dealings with the Arab states during the past three decades...Be assured that in a Karrubi government, issues which have nothing to do with us such as the Holocaust issue will not be raised. But be also assured that we will not abstain from expressing the Islamic and humane dimension of affairs. We can't recognize Israel. What should be recognized is primarily the nation and the government of Palestine..."

• Ahmadinejad on U.S.-Iran relations: "We desire relations based upon respect and justice and we are the followers of dialog and logic...One should pay attention to the fact that the U.S. government unilaterally severed its relations with us, but despite this matter I sent a message to Mr. Bush and I demanded from him that we should debate in the United Nations. I even sent a message to Mr. Obama, which is a great deed but I have not received any answer...
  • The Iranian nation has not attacked the United States, and has not supported coup d’état or terrorist groups in this country. We have not expedited troops to U.S. borders and our president has not said that we want to annihilate the American nation. But the U.S. government have done such things [against Iran.] The U.S. has always had problems with us, but we have never been opposed to the American nation and we are their friends...Obama must take serious and great decisions. This is, if the Zionists allow it. We are awaiting genuine change in Mr. Obama's behavior..." 

• Deputy Representative of the Supreme Leader Hojjat al-Eslam Mojtaba Zolnour attacks the posture of the reformists towards the United States:
  • "We have still not forgotten how the members of the Sixth Parliament spoke of negotiations with the U.S. and in a letter to the Supreme Leader of the Revolution demanded that he should drink from the chalice of poison [and normalize relations with the U.S.]...Today we are facing the same thing. The Obama administration's policy and slogan of change is a lose-lose policy, and Obama's policy towards Iran is a lose-lose situation...The Americans know today that if they enter negotiations with preconditions they have already lost and that Iran will not accept it. They know that Iran will not ignore the rights of its own nation..." 

• Jomhouri-ye Eslami editorializes: "Obama is only a mirage…! Obama's decision in support of the torturers of the CIA and guarantees not to start a legal process or punish them, continued bombardment and missile and aerial attacks against civilian areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan, passing of and continuation of the sanctions against Iran and boycotting the World Summit against Racism are all signs of continuity of U.S. policies in the world. By boycotting the Durban II Summit, Obama and his associates practically demonstrated and showed that they either are incapable of changing the policies or decision-making in the U.S. or deceptively shout the slogan of change, but fundamentally have never been and are not thinking of change. Whatever the reality may be about one issue there is little doubt and this is the fact that global expectations from Obama have not been met and will maybe never be met. This bitter reality proves that Obama is only a mirage."

• Kayhan reflects statements of Noam Chomsky about "the U.S. being criminal." 

• 500 titles from U.S. publishers about physical training and sports to be exhibited at Tehran International Book Fair.

• Ahmadinejad writes letters to heads of state to solve the global economic crisis. 

• (E) Iran and China have vowed to strengthen cooperation to deal with the global economic crisis.

• (E) Afghan Parliament Speaker Mohammad Younis Qanooni is on a four-day visit to Tehran, where he will meet with Iranian government officials.

• (E) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met his Swiss counterpart Hans-Rudolf Merz to discuss energy and economic ties.

Politics

• Election Headquarters Chief Kamran Daneshjou: "I'll guard the popular vote, with the vote of the people the best individual will be elected," but adds: "It seems that Mr. Ahmadinejad with his development work in the country is the main candidate of the Principalists and will have another four year term!"
  • Statistical data on number of eligible voters in each province.

  • An unnamed academic research center's poll shows 60 percent interest in participation in presidential elections.

• Spokesman of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Mohsen Armin, speaking at Mir-Hossein Mousavi's election headquarters in Sanandaj, says participation of multiple reformist candidates in elections does not harm the reformist cause. 
  • Former Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Abd al-Majid Mo'adi-Khah recalls Mir-Hossein Mousavi's performance as Prime Minister. 

  • Spokesman of the Kargozaran technocratic faction says all the "capabilities of Kargozaran are at disposal of Mir-Hossein Mousavi."

  • Hojjat al-Eslam Mojtaba Zolnour, Deputy Representative of the Supreme Leader in the Revolutionary Guards, speaking at the monthly meeting of the Association of the Devotees at the Ma'soumiyyeh Theological Seminary in Qom says society is sensing "danger" from the quarters of Mir-Hossein Mousavi and expresses his support for the Ahmadinejad government.

  • Presidential canddiate Mir-Hossein Mousavi says he is against polygamy. 

• Presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi, speaking to assembled Tehran bazaar merchants and guild representatives, demands a liberalized "atmosphere of dialog so the people can speak freely and without worries, so they can speak..."

• Said Abou-Taleb, Principalist former parliamentarian critical of Ahmadinejad, warns of a "return of dictatorship to the country": "When Mr. Ahmadinejad started his campaign of slogans, no one asked how he was able to realize all those promises and what managerial history he has...When Mr. Ahmadinejad launched the slogan of bringing the oil money into the tables of the people, no one asked to what degree this slogan was in conformity with the Development Plan." 

• Alef News' analyst claims the alliance formed to defeat Ahmadinejad has itself been defeated. 
  • Kayhan urges the Principalists to unite to prevail in elections, says hardships of the government are a promise of even greater future achievements. 

• Ridiculing the Ahmadinejad supporters use of the phrase "the miracle of the third millennium" about Ahmadinejad, Agah-Sazi's analyst accuses the government of having a policy of both portraying itself as a victim while slinging mud at its critics. 

• Ayatollah Seyyed Bagher Kharrazi speaking at the summit of Islamist Parties of the Islamic World attacks the political elites of the Islamic Republic: "In our country, the rightist and the leftist faction are the clubs of two powerful gangs and none of them are religiously based...the Principalist and reformist gentlemen have no intellectual foundation and therefore the public is confused...the political groupings are like powerful mafia gangs and each faction is struggling to exclude Hezbollah and this is what they agree upon...?" 

• Former Revolutionary Guards Commander in Chief Mohsen Rezai to run for president demanding a national unity government. 

• Hamid Nasiri, director general of the Imam Khomeini Relief Organization, meets parliamentarian Mohammad-Reza Tabesh to discuss his organization's performance in Ardakan. 

•  (E) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized a 2006 parliamentary legislation that raised the voting age to 18 and is advocating for the voting age to return to 15.

• (E) The Iranian government warned the country’s Audit Committee to stop releasing hasty reports that could tarnish the government’s image. 

• Tehran Municipality Cultural and Planning Deputy Vaez Mahdavi resigns. 

Military and security

• IRGC Ground Forces Chief Assadi:
  • "The Revolutionary Guards' presence in the eastern parts of the country is due to planning of the enemy in these areas and if we hesitate we will be facing many problems...

  • Border control is still the task of the Law Enforcement Forces and will remain so and the Rasoul-e Akram base is tasked with providing the border guards with logistics...

  • Despite this [division of labor] because of some of the issues of this region the Revolutionary Guards has been tasked with the job of countering them in the eastern and southeastern parts of the country...Today in some of the areas of the country, despite the areas being mountainous and being remote with small equipments one can find out that the enemy is present there, even in areas were there are no roads. This is no mean achievement...

  • Today we are facing some conspiracies of our enemies which means the corrupt powers and we must think of how to counter them. The individuals are a few petty mercenaries...The Guards' presence in the eastern parts is not because - God forbid - of problems with our Sunni or Baluchi compatriots since they have always supported the regime.

  • It is the enemies of the country who are planning in these areas and if we hesitate they will make many problems for us through their mercenaries and their media and as long as these criminal countries exist our problems can't be solved...

  • The Quds base is one of the ten bases run by the Revolutionary Guards Ground Forces and undoubtedly this force has plans in this regard which will be reported [to the public] in due time." 
    • (E) The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has focused its attention on Iran’s eastern borders to counter an “on-going enemy plot” in the region. 

• Ahmadinejad tells Swiss television: "They [Israel] are too small to attack Iran. They don't even count in security and political calculations of Iran. They even can't preserve themselves. How can they speak of attacking a great country like Iran? With regard to a military attack there is one important question: How come this false regime has threatened Iran with a military attack more than hundred times, and if threats are bad, how come European and U.S. leaders are silent…? The Iranian nation chooses its own path of life, we are moving within legal frameworks and we utilize our own rights. We shall never try to satisfy our enemies when it comes to the question of our way of life. They are bullies, but their demonstration of power is futile..."

Economy

• Tehran real estate prices decline 20 percent. 

• (E) Iran is going to allow foreign banks to establish branches in the country for the first time since the 1979 Revolution.
  • (E) Four American banks, including Citibank and Goldman Sachs, have applied to the Central Bank of Iran to open a branch in the country.

• (E) Iran Khodro Company (IKCO) had unveiled Iran’s third domestically-made car, the Runna.

Trade

• (E) Iranian and Pakistani businessmen have signed cooperation agreements. 

Nuclear Issue

• (E) Deputy Head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) Abdallah Solat-Sana told IRNA that Iran is ready to export nuclear fuel.

• (E) Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview that the West needs to find a different approach to deal with Iran’s nuclear program.

Human Rights and Labor

• (E) Iran’s Judiciary Chief orders a fair and quick appeal for Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi.

• One hundred (of two thousand) workers of Sabalan textile company protest against lack of pay for the past two months. 

• Ahmadinejad returns from Geneva.