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

Politics

• Ahmadinejad addressing the City Councils’ seminar says the slogan that “Two children is enough” means there will be no Iran forty years from now. 
• Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami at Yazd Friday prayers: "Today there is only two lines in this country. The first line is the line of the Imam, revolution and the Islamic regime with the Supreme Leader as its vanguard. The nation, the clergy and sources of emulation follow this line. The second line is the line of deviation from the revolution with the United States, Israel, Britain, the monarchists and deniers of the Imam of the Era as its vanguard."
• Karrubi tells the Office of Consolidation of Unity student organization that the Green Movement is the natural right of the people and that the ruling elites should recognize it.
• Office of Mohammad-Ali Karimi, parliamentarian, attacked by pro-government mobs in Kerman.
• Partov editor Hojjat al-Eslam Ghasem Ravanbakhsh, an ally of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, says Rafsanjani will soon be dismissed from chairmanship of the Assembly of Experts and that Hassan Khomeini will be disqualified as presidential candidate.

Diplomacy

• Ahmadinejad addresses the people of Kish Island:
  • "The reason behind the anger of the enemies has to do with the characteristics and circumstances of the Iranian nation. Scholars of history and political science know that world dominance [i.e., the United States] had planned a scheme to dominate the world and plunder the wealth of the nations for three hundred years, but at the very moment they were assured of their dreams the sudden revolt of the Iranian nation disturbed their plans..."
  • Ahmadinejad adds: "We have no enmity against the United States. It is the United States which has based itself near our borders and presence of their ships, missile delivery systems and airplanes near our borders demonstrate their unfriendly thoughts."
• Alef News Agency reports increased travel of Rutgers Professor Houshang Amirahmadi to Iran.
• Ayatollah Ali-Akbar Qoreishi, parliamentarian, says "the President of the United States has no will of his own and can't decide without asking for permission from the Zionists."
• [E] Ahmadinejad unveiled two illustrated bookson the Persian Gulf, namely, ‘Atlas of Persian Gulf’ and ‘Issues and States’.
• [E] The United Nations elected Iran to its Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), handing a four-year seat on the influential human rights body to Tehran.

Military and Security

• Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi tells commanders of the Ali Ibn-e Abi-Taleb Revolutionary Guards unit that the enemy attacks the Guards because the IRGC is growing more powerful.
• Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami says that Iran will threaten the interests of the United States around the world should there be military strikes against Iran.
• Hamid Masouminezhad, Islamic Republic of Iran Vision journalist, released from prison in Rome, Italy, where he had been arrested for arms smuggling.
• [E] Hezbollah secretary general warns Israel of great risks if it decides to once again attack Lebanon or on any other country in the Middle East.

Nuclear Issue

• Ayatollah Emami Kashani, Tehran temporary Friday prayer leader: "Those who desire to reach their goals through the wrong path and by deception will never reach anything... Despite the fact that the Supreme Leader has stressed that from our point of view the nuclear weapon is haram [religiously prohibited], we see that the enemies are making accusations against [our] country and threaten us with sanctions, but in the face of the vigilance of the Iranian nation, they will not achieve anything."
• Ahmadinejad addresses the people of Kish Island: In the world, many revolutions have taken place for the sake of freedom, independence and even for the sake of an Islamic Republic and aside from Iran, three other states are called Islamic republics, but the enemies of the Iranian nation have no problem with them. In the nuclear issue they may even assist [the Islamic Republics] but the enemies of the Iranian nation have understood something from their historical research: Whenever the Iranian nation gets an opportunity, it organizes such a cultural, economic, political and civilizational move which impacts all world affairs."

Economy

• Supreme Leader Khamenei addresses worker representatives ahead of International Workers' Day: "There are some who bypass legislation and purchase factories after which they make a fortune by selling the equipment and assets of the factories and in the end they fire the factory workers. Therefore, all the authorities must be vigilant..."

Trade

• Total's Executive Director says the French company will stop its sales of gasoline to Iran should the United States pass a law to punish exporters of gasoline to Iran.
• Iran to build a third power plant in Syria.
• [E] Italy's Eni says it will not extend its contracts to develop an Iranian oil field as it may lead to US sanctions against the oil firm.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Hojjat al-Eslam Mohammad Saidi, Qom Friday prayer leader: "Unfortunately we witness an unsuitable situation with regard to the hijab and makeup of some women and this is today one of the problems of our society... In some cities, it is unfortunately seen that a small group, out of ignorance, does not abide by the hijab issue correctly..." Hojjat al-Eslam Saidi accused the "enemy" of propagating bad hijab which is "their way of dealing blows to the regime" but added: "They must know that they will take their hopes to the grave."
  • Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami in Yazd and Ayatollah Abolhassan Mahdavi in Isfahan follow the same theme.

Photos of the Day

• Ahmadinejad in Kish.
• Mausoleum of the Prophet Daniel.