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

IRGC’s political bureau chief calls for prosecution of opposition leaders; Rafsanjani may lead this week’s Friday prayers; Ahmadinejad to present new cabinet; new confessions implicate foreign powers, opposition leaders in ‘velvet revolution’ against regime; British embassy worker among those on trial in Iran

Politics

• Ahmadinejad says he will present his new cabinet next week.
• Rafsanjani may lead Tehran Friday prayers this week:
  • Rafsanjani will lead prayers, according to Mowj-e Sabz - quoting Rafsanjani's website.
  • Jahan News reports Rafsanjani's website subsequently deleted the news item.
  • Hojjat al-Eslam Masoud Moradi, the Tehran Friday Prayer Headquarters chief, says he has no news of who will lead this Friday's Tehran Friday Prayers: "Every Monday or Tuesday, the Supreme Leader's Office contacts the Friday Prayer Leader that this week to say ‘it is your turn.’ They will report it to the Friday Prayer Headquarters and we will announce it to the press... The Supreme Leader's Office may have informed him but we are not aware of it and no news has reached the Friday Prayer Headquarters."
  • Fararou News reports a government attempt to block Rafsanjani's access to the Tehran Friday Prayers.
• Second session of the Tehran show trials:
  • Fars News Agency releases the complete indictment against the second group of accused individuals, the theme of which is conspiring with foreign enemies to launch a velvet revolution.
  • Nazok Afshar's confessions at the Tehran Show Trials:
    • "Nazok Afshar, employed at the Cultural Center of the French Embassy in Tehran: "I have ruined my reputation," adds "the brothers at the Intelligence Ministry have made me understand my mistake. She said this with tears in her eyes and also reported on the French Embassy's activities. She has been employed in the cultural section of the French Embassy for the past 18 years and said that the heads of the cultural section of this embassy were informed of some of the gatherings after the election.
    • "Based upon decisions taken which were reported to us, in case of scuffles in front of the door of the Cultural Section, if an individual would seek refuge in the embassy, we would give him asylum in the Cultural Section...
    • "Out of ignorance, I would forward some of the e-mails I received to my friends..."
    • "No one demanded that I should engage in collecting intelligence, but I took part in gatherings because my home was near Vanak Square and if anything happened I would know."
    • Speaking of the security forces and authorities, Afshar added: "They were very kind towards me, especially the brothers from the Intelligence Ministry who made me aware of my mistakes." Link upon request.
  • Confessions of Clothilde Rice:
    • "I came to Iran invited by Sharif University to teach French..."
    • "I was wrong in going to the demonstrations and I was wrong to send pictures and e-mails..."
      • Ala al-Din Boroujerdi, Chairman of the National Security Committee of the Parliament: "The legal proceedings against a French citizen shows the resolve of the Islamic Republic in dealing decisively with those engaged in unrest..."
  • Confessions of 20-year-old Arash Rahmanipour's confessions at the Tehran Show Trials:
    • "Arash Rahmanipour, member of the grouping Association of Monarchical Iran accused of participation in a velvet coup confesses: 'Engagement between regime forces and the people was a means of dealing blows to the regime as a part of the plan to topple it and establish a monarchy and rewind the time to the pre-revolutionary era...'"
    • "The Mausoleum of Imamzadeh Zayd in Tehran...was one of the goals for our bombing, but because of high degree of security forces presence we changed our plans..."
    • "A certain person called Jamshid based in Los Angeles gave us directions..."
    • "100 kilogram of explosives had been obtained...to start explosions...to make people stay home and not vote..." Link upon request.
  • Confessions of Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani, an alleged member of the Association of Monarchical Iran.
  • Confessions of Naser Abd al-Hosseini at the show trials:
    • "I want to Camp Ashraf...received training in the hands of an individual called Siavash... We were engaged in spreading propaganda of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization..." Link upon request.
  • Confessions of Hossein Rasam at the Tehran Show Trials:
    • "Hossein Rasam...pointed at his five year’s of employment at the British Embassy in Tehran and described his job as compiling information and news needed by this country through individuals related to the embassy in Tehran and the provinces..."
    • "During the past five years I have recruited 130 individuals to have contact with the British Embassy and during the past year I recruited another 50 individuals and got hold of information through meetings at restaurants and coffee shops..."
    • "Rasam mentioned Atrianfar, Said Leylaz and Shams al-Vaezin as his important connections and added: 'The British Embassy collects intelligence through granting visas to talented individuals...'"
    • £300,000 used to support NGO's in Iran."
    • "Some of our reports and policy recommendations are sent to the BBC Persian in order to be executed..."
    • "The First Secretary of the British Embassy...as a tourist...visited Rasht and Qom and visited the campaign offices of Mr. Mousavi and Mr. Ahmadinejad. But in Tehran he went to Mousavi's campaign headquarters and had meetings with the propaganda executives and his advisers..."
    • "Some diplomats would participate in the unrest, including the First Secretary of the Embassy... The Third Secretary joined the demonstrators dressed in green..."
  • Confessions of Reza Rafi'i-Foroushan:
    • "I participated in the election in good faith, was a Mousavi supporter and joint the street protesters upon his invitation... They told us that there has been fraud in the election and that we should demand our rights and I - without any evil intentions - participated in demonstrations and prepared reports about the street gatherings which I distributed through Facebook..."
    • Because of being involved in starting Mr. Karrubi's satellite channel and also another channel, I had to cooperate with the Emiratis and when I came to Iran, my relationship with the intelligence bureau of that country was severed until they demanded something at the time of election and, answering their demands, I released some classified documents on Facebook..."
      • More detail on the connection with the UAE intelligence services.
  • Javan claims the family members of imprisoned political activists who are confessing their alleged crimes speak of forced confessions because of the pressure they are subjected to from the reformist camp.
  • Fars News Agency "discloses" "secrets" about involvement of the Soros’s Open Society Institute and the Einstein Institute allegedly funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and allegedly involved in planning of velvet revolutions to bring to power pro-American governments all over the world.
  • Hossein Taghavi, member of the National Security Committee of the Parliament:
    • "The second convention of those indicted in the latest crises took place in conformity with all the legal and judicial principles at which some other accused individuals made confessions in an answer to the indictment..."
    • "Confessions of the accused individuals has shown the hands of the foreign powers and enemies of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic in recent crises and unrest..."
    • "Rumors may have spread after the first confessions claiming that the confessions were not true, but today's confessions and today's trial shows that the same confessions were made..."
    • "If the people are informed about the trials and watch the proceedings on the national media live the greater public will be informed and the people would understand that the crises and unrest was a pre- planned conspiracy..."
    • "I am convinced that if our people are informed about such matters, even those who protested against the election result and voted for someone other than Ahmadinejad will not accept such people be active in society and will definitively demand their being trialed and punished."
  • Gholam-Reza Karami, member of the National Security Committee of the Parliament:
    • "Unrest in Tehran was certainly a regime toppling movement engaged in a velvet revolution... A similar movement grew in former Soviet states such as Georgia and Ukraine and had vast dimensions..."
    • "In my view transmission of the proceedings  could demonstrate the scope and dimensions of this regime toppling movement in people who do not believe in it and the people would be informed of the secret dimensions of if...This tribunal has managed to put on this place various elements such as regime toppling movements, the hypocrites [Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization], separatist movements, but also party political movements inside Iran whose faces are revolutionary but unfortunately have been transformed into movements alienated from the regime. This is positive and it should be transmitted at a time when it reaches the highest audience..."
  • Mohammad-Karim Abedi, parliamentarian, demands trial of Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khtami and Mousavi as the "main triangle of the unrest and the true directors of the post election events...Rafsanjani wanted to exceed his two term limit as president and wanted to establish something similar to [republican] monarchy in Egypt... The Khatami government was the servant of the United States... Clerical palace dwellers have plundered public money..."

Human Rights

• Wife, brother, and sister-in-law of Ali Tajer-Nia, who were waiting for him at the entrance of Imam Khomeini Legal Complex prior to Saturday's show trial, arrested by the Law Enforcement Forces.
• The 56-year-old daughter of Nationalist-Religious political alliance leader Ezatollah Sahabi was arrested during the protest at the Iranian parliament. According to one activist, police sprayed tear gas in the faces of people who tried to prevent her arrest. "Witnesses saw that Sahabi's head was bloody in the car, which took her to an unknown place." Audio in Persian

Diplomacy

• Jahan News condemns display of 12 caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in Skanderborg, Denmark, as an insult to Islam and Muslims.

Military and Security

• The Revolutionary Guards demands "ethical guidelines" for journalists.

Photo of the Day

• Second session of the Tehran show trials.