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

• Assembly of Experts to convene on Wednesday.
  • Asr-e Iran speculates about dismissal of Rafsanjani as Assembly of Experts chairman.
  • Rouhollah Hosseinian, parliamentarian, says it would not be "expedient for Mr. Hashemi [Rafsanjani] to lead the prayers" of the Expediency Council and urges Ahmadinejad to attend the meeting.
• Hojjat al-Eslam Hamid Rasayi, parliamentarian, speaking to the Pharmaceutical Faculty at Tehran University:
  • "Behavior towards the heads of the movement of discord including Mehdi Hashemi [Rafsanjani] is a test for the legal institutions of the country..."
  • "It is said about Mehdi Hashemi [Rafsanjani] that he is based in London, but he is not in London, but in Dubai and Mr. Marashi visited him there. The story about his education is a lie, one of many circulating since the election..."
  • "The question of why the Judiciary does not summon him has been discussed in the parliament..."
• Gholam-Hossein Elham, Guardian Council member, criticizing the household of the late Grand Ayatollah Khomeini, says it is not the "genetic lineage which is important; what counts is the proximity of thoughts and ideas."
• Former President Mohammad Khatami thanks those "who demonstrated with dignity" on Revolution Day.
• Mehdi Karrubi makes demands in a public statement.
• Ahmadinejad to travel to South Khorasan province.
• Basirat website of the Revolutionary Guards publishes an old interview with Mir-Hossein Mousavi in which he denounces Sadegh Qotbzadeh, former Foreign Minister hanged on allegations of conspiring against Grand Ayatollah Khomeini, and Grand Ayatollah Shariatmadari, who was forced to live under house arrest because of his alleged "conspiracy against the revolution." Basirat wonders why Mousavi has changed his position towards the "enemies of the revolution."

Diplomacy

• Ahmadinejad receives Speaker of Parliament of Congo.
• Receiving the Foreign Minister of Kenya, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Motakki talks about expansion of relations.
• Ghazanfar Roknabadi is appointed the Islamic Republic's Ambassador to Lebanon.
• Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani travels to Japan.
  • At a press conference in Tokyo, Larijani stresses expansion of Iran/Japan relations.
• Ahmadinejad in Birjand: "The world is preparing to welcome the Imam [of the Era]...The name and memory of the Imam [of the Era] and demanding the truth and justice and monotheism has swiftly become a global demand... Currently, the United States and other oppressors are in decline, fall and disintegration...The United States is the greatest obstacle and the head of the opposition to emergence [of the Imam of the Era]..."
• [E] Sudanese Ambassador to Tehran Sulaiman Abdotavvab Al-Zain praised Iran's efforts in settling the conflicts between the Sudan and the rebels in the Darfur region.
• [E] Ahmadinejad warns against invasion on Iran and regional countries
• [E] Iran blames Israel's decision to add Palestine places to its cultural heritage.

Military and Security

• Abd al-Malek Rigi, Jundallah leader arrested:
  • Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Heydar Moslehi says Rigi was arrested by "unknown soldiers of the Imam of the Era," and "no other country was involved in this success and it is one of the signs of benevolence of God that in this regard we are not indebted to anyone."
  • In a separate interview Moslehi adds that photos of Rigi document that he was present at a United States base in Afghanistan 24 hours prior to his arrest, that he has had a meeting with the NATO commander in Afghanistan at which the NATO commander had shown keen interest in "the idea of Greater Balouchestan."
  • According to Raja News, Abd al-Malek Rigi was arrested by "unknown soldiers of the Imam of the Era" on a Dubai-Kyrgyzstan flight. Link upon request.
  • Photo of Pakistani passport of Abd al-Malek Rigi along with Afghanistan and UAE visas, and a separate photo of him in Afghanistan 24 hours ago. Links to Raja News upon request, lesser quality photos available through this link.
  • According to Raja News Jundullah has recently nurtured contacts with Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization. Link upon request.
  • [E] Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar announced on Tuesday that the ringleader of the Jundollah terrorist group, Abdolmalek Rigi, was arrested by the Iranian intelligence forces outside the country.
  • [E] Ringleader of the Jundollah terrorist group Abdolmalek Rigi was arrested by Iranian intelligence operatives on board a flight from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan, an informed source announced on Tuesday.
  • [E] Iran expounds on Rigi's links with CIA, Mossad.
  • [E] Following arrest of terrorist ringleader Abdolmalek Rigi, Iran’s Information Minister Heidar Moslehi said on Tuesday that secret agents of Britain and US have masterminded terrorist operations from Gibraltar in January 2008.
• Commander Hamadani, Mohammad Rasoul-Allah Revolutionary Guards Unit Chief of Tehran, says Tehran's 6 Basij Nahiyeh [zones] is being expanded into 22 operational Basij zones, each zone containing 600,000-700,000 people. According to Hamadani the Revolutionary Guards will provide for logistics and leadership for the Basij.
  • "In Greater Tehran, especially in the north and northwestern parts of Tehran, we have fewer Basij bases because there are fewer mosques. Therefore we will try to use the mosques and Hosseiniyyeh'swhich will be established as bases. But of course we must also in cooperation with the municipality, other organizations and popular institutions, to expand mosques..." According to Hamadani there are 300,000 Basij bases in Tehran, but "it seems as if this number must be doubled and today's population taken into consideration we must have 600,000 Basij bases. Of course, a number of these bases will be at public offices and other institutions and some of them will be at the mosques." Link upon request.   
• Ahmadinejad addresses Khatam al-Anbia Construction Base of the Revolutionary Guards' chiefs and engineers: "Executives and experts of the Construction Base must ready themselves for entering high end oil and gas activities in order to satisfy domestic needs of the country...In this field we must reach a point where we satisfy the domestic need with higher speed, higher quality and without help from others..."
• Commander Ali Fazli is appointed head of Rahian-e Nour camps of the Basij.
  • Commander Hosseini Motlagh is appointed Tehran Seyyed al-Shohada Revolutionary Guards unit Chief.
• According to IRNA Abd al-Malek Rigi, Jundallah terrorist leader, has been arrested.
• Footage of the riot police raid against Tehran University campus shows that the attack not provoked by the students.
• [E] Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi announced on Tuesday that the country's radar systems are capable of detecting every target in the air.

Nuclear Issue

• Foreign Minister Manouchehr Motakki: "Mr. Amanu's report shoes that he is relatively new in his job. It takes some time until he reaches the maturity of Mr. El Baradei."
• Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani says the latest IAEA report harms the credibility of the agency.
• Ali-Akbar Salehi, Iran Nuclear Energy Organization Director, says the Iranian authorities have not discussed leaving the NPT.
• Mehmanparast, Foreign Ministry spokesman, on Turkey: "Some friendly countries can provide a better explanation or definition of our position with regard to the nuclear issue to the counterpart, but this does not mean they are mediating in this issue."
• [E] Iran announced on Tuesday that it has sent a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief, Yukiya Amano, urging the UN watchdog once again to provide the country with nuclear fuel for its research reactor in Tehran, an offer widely seen as a confidence-building measure.
• [E] Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Iran had offered unconditional fuel swap with the US, Russia and France for Tehran medical reactor.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah Yazdi explains the extent of authority of the Guardian Jurist outside the borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Photo of the Day

• Rigi in Tehran