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

Human Rights

• Imprisoned journalist Mohammad-Sedigh Kaboudvand receives British Media Award. 

• Parents of imprisoned Iranian/American journalist Roxana Saberi arrive in Iran. 

• Ayatollah Hossein Kazemeini Boroujerdi, imprisoned for demanding separation of state and religion, complains in a letter to Judiciary Chief Shahroudi about the state of affairs in Evin Prison.

• Father of imprisoned Tehran University student Mohammad Abdollah-Pour is transferred to Ghezel-Hesar Prison.

• A student told Radio Farda (audio) that a classmate, Shabnam Madadzadeh, has been abducted by Iranian security agents. He said Shabnam's brother was told that she is being held in Evin Prison; however, when he went to visit her, he, too, was detained.

• Several members of the One Million Signatures Campaign were arrested in Tehran while visiting the families of political prisoners.

• The lawyer of jailed journalist Massoud Kordpour told Radio Farda that his client has written an open letter to the government asking why talking about the constitution or human rights -- even in prison -- is forbidden. Kordpour was arrested last summer on charges of "spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic through interviews with the foreign media."

Diplomacy

• Ahmadinejad welcomes Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez to Tehran.

• Negotiations between Ahmadinejad and Chavez.

• Mohammad-Reza Sheibani, the Islamic Republic's ambassador to Lebanon, says "there is no upper limit to Iran's financial assistance to Lebanon."

• Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ghashghavi refutes rumors of Iran/U.S. negotiations at the Hague.

• President Assad praises the Iran-Syria partnership. 

Politics

• The Isfahan faction of the reformist camp is trying to persuade former Interior Minister Abdollah Nouri to run for president.

• Mohsen Armin, spokesman of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, says members of his faction have consulted with presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

• Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution has declared its support for Mir-Hossein Mousavi. 

Religion, Society, and Culture

• Ansar News Agency, mouthpiece of the Ansar-e Hezbollah vigilante organization, releases Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi's essay Reasons Behind Intellectual Deviation.

• Senegal-Iran soccer friendly ends 1-1. 

Military and Security

• Asr-e Iran's analyst expresses surprise upon Iraqi Air Force Chief's request of F-16 fighters to counter "the Iranian threat."

• Islamic Republic of Iran army pilots welcome Ahmadinejad to Dezful. 

Nuclear Issue

• Rosatom Chief: "Bushehr nuclear power plant will be finished by the end of 2009."

• Ahmadinejad speaking to the Followers of the Path of Light caravan visiting Iran/Iraq war sites:

• "At the beginning of the revolution, the enemies equipped an idiotic madman with no humane values to attack Iran in very this area. What they wanted was to crush the dignity of the Iranian nation because, with the Islamic revolution, the Iranian nation raised the banner of self confidence and faith which made the Iranian nation an endeared nation...

• They are not opposed to the [nuclear] bomb. They are opposed to the dignity of a nation and this is what the entire dispute in the nuclear issue is all about. They want to crush the dignity of the Iranian nation, because when a nation resists and defends its dignity it becomes a role model for the entire world which has happened. They wanted to annihilate the path of dignity but they were defeated." 

• The Followers of the Path of Light caravan starts a "million signature" campaign in defense of Iran's nuclear activities. 

Photo of the Day

• Sizdah-Bedar.