Iran News Round Up

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh, Katherine Faley, Ahmad Majidyar and Michael Rubin.  To subscribe to this daily newsletter, e-mail [email protected].

(E) = Article in English

MIRO says Iran facing ‘outright coup’; controversy erupts over Mousavi’s alleged attempts to set up political party; Baztab reports 50% of cabinet ministers to quit; Rafsanjani to lead next Friday Prayer in Tehran; Supreme Leader’s advisor calls Britain, France ‘worse’ than U.S.; Iran protests to China about ‘suppression’ of Muslims; Ahmadinejad describes killing of Egyptian woman in German court as ‘conspiracy’; Karrubi demands release of political prisoners; Iranian authorities embark on new arrests; latest confessions implicate MKO in post-election violence; Central Bank reports 22.5% inflation; Iran to offer world ‘new package’; Iranian would-be suicide bomber arrested in southern Afghanistan

Politics

• Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization protesting against imprisonment of some of its leading members (Behzad Nabavi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, and Feiz-Allah Arab-Sorkhi) issues a public declaration that Iran is facing "an outright coup." 
• Kayhan editorializes: "Should Mousavi choose to establish a party...We announce already that it would be illegal."
  • (E) Habibollah Asgaroladi, an influential Principalist, called Mousavi’s idea to establish a political party “a wise move,” adding that, “To clarify political actions and to show respect for the collective intellect, politicians need to come together in a political formation.”
• Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi announces major changes in the Ahmadinejad government. 
• According to Baztab Online around 50 percent of the cabinet ministers will leave the cabinet. 
  • Hojjat al-Eslam Mehdi Taeb, member of the Path Finders of the Islamic Revolution says the cabinet ministers should not be chosen among members of the "aristocracy." 
• Tehran Mayor Qalibaf, speaking to senior executives of Tehran Municipality: "Today we in a sensitive circumstances and by using our experiences from earlier occasions we must preserve our vigilance since preservation of the regime is of supreme importance and according to His Holiness the Imam we must consider the Guardian Jurist as the authority with the final say so that the regime is not harmed…"
• Ahmadinejad announces that the government has decided to establish "Alborz Province" with Karaj as its capital.
• Friday Prayer in Tehran will be led by Rafsanjani this week.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Religious scholar and innovator Hojjat al-Eslam Mohsen Kadivar releases a statement made by Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, which he says equals a fatwa against government and the Guardian Jurist's suppression of the popular will. 
• (E) Iranian actress Farrokh-Laqa Houshmand passed away at the age of 81 due to brain injuries.
• (E) Iran ranked 11^th this year at the Universiade international sports event held in Belgrade.

Diplomacy

• Ali-Akbar Velayati, former Foreign Minister and current advisor to the Supreme Leader, discussing the recent unrest in Iran tells Iranian state television "Britain and France are worse than the United States."
• Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qashqavi says Foreign Minister Mottakki has contacted his Chinese counter part to discuss the issue of Muslims in China.
  • (E) Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki spoke with his Chinese counterpart and expressed concern over the recent riots in Xianjiang.
  • Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi condemns Communist China's suppression of Muslims, stresses that Iran's diplomatic relations with China should not silence Iran in the face of suppression. 
  • Ayatollah Nouri-Hamedani says the government should take a strong position against the government of China. 
  • Motalefeh Faction international affairs secretary Taraghi defends the government of China, claims the Muslim uprisings is a CIA plot. 
•  (E) Mottaki will represent Iran at the Non-Aligned Movement’s two-day summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
• Ahmadinejad claims the murder of the veiled Egyptian woman in Germany was a premeditated conspiracy. 
  • Tehran Judge Said Mortazavi calls for Muslim solidarity in the case of murder of a veiled Egyptian woman in Germany. 

Media

• Alef News Agency notices a significant change in BBC Persian's coverage of Iran, points to lack of BBC reports on demonstrations on the occasion of commemoration of the 1999 student uprisings in Tehran and lack of interviews with those involved in demonstrations in Tehran. Alef News concludes that Supreme Leader Khamenei's warnings against British "interference in internal affairs of Iran" has produced a change in BBC's behavior, but also puts forward the hypothesis that the change of behavior may be due to "limited number of demonstrators." 
• Asr-e Iran condemns IRNA official news agency's role as "defender of Communist China" when it comes to "massacre of Muslims in China," after IRNA says the suppression was Beijing’s attempt to "defend China against a velvet revolution supported by the CIA."
• According to Fars News Agency the Law Enforcement Forces will intensify raids against satellite dishes. 

Military and Security

• Karrubi, in an open letter to Judiciary Chief Shahroudi, demands release of imprisoned political activists and journalists.
  • Abbas-Mirza Aboutalebi, Hambastegi Faction Deputy Secretary General and former parliamentarian who was deputy manger of the Mousavi campaign in Tehran is arrested. 
  • Press photographer Majid Saidi arrested. 
  • Family members of recently imprisoned civil rights activists write letters to the sources of emulation in Qom asking for support. 
• Colonel Mehdi Ahmadi, the Law Enforcement Forces Information Bureau Chief, claim "a small number were arrested in Tehran" on the occasion of commemoration of the 1999 student uprisings "all of whom were engaged in destruction of public property.
• Iranian/American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh, who according to Alef News Agency is "a secret representative of the American Soros Foundation," was arrested in Tehran Thursday and his computer was confiscated by the security forces. According to Alef News "in the recent events...he has been involved in coordinating some internal elements with academic and intelligence institutions outside the country..." Alef News Agency also releases forced televised confessions of Tajbakhsh, made during an earlier arrest of the academic. 
• Alef News Agency releases a backgrounder on Peter Ackerman and Ramin Ahmadi whom the news agency accuses of training Iranian dissidents in non-violent methods of toppling the Islamic Republic regime. 
• According to Fars News Agency, imprisoned Islamic Republic of Iran "diplomats" Baqer Qeibshavari, Majid Qaemi Heydari, Abbas Hatami Kasavand, Mahmoud Farhadi and Majid Dagheri will return to Iran tomorrow. 
• Sistan va Balouchestan Judiciary authorities say "God willing" brother of Jundallah leader Abd al-Malek Rigi and a number of other terrorists will be executed next week. 
• Saudi Arabia's Coas Guard arrests Iranian fishermen in Saudi territorial waters.
• Brigadier General Firouzabadi, Armed Forces Command Council Chief writes an open letter of sorrow [ranjnameh] to the Imam of the Era complaining about Mousavi and the reformist camp. 
• (E) A computer crimes law, passed by the Majlis and confirmed by the Guardian Council, has been implemented by President Ahmadinejad.
• (E) In Qazvin, seven Iranian detainees have admitted their connection to Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) and their role in inciting post-election violence.
• (E) Iran reported that efforts by its security forces to reduce smuggling in Iran were successful, noting a $400 million decrease in smuggled commodities.

Economy

• The Central Bank reports 22.5 percent inflation.

Trade

• (E) The Turkish Energy Minister said of Iran’s potential role in the Nabucco gas pipeline project: "We can also easily see Iran in this project as a supplier in the future.”

Nuclear Issue

• Foreign Minister Spokesman Qashqavi says the Islamic Republic is preparing a new "package to the world" with regard to Iran's nuclear program and a general worldwide nuclear disarmament. 

Iran in the Afghan Media

• Afghan commentary says Arab nations are concerned about U.S. diplomacy with Iran. The author writes that Arab countries, especially Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are worried about Iran’s growing interference in regional countries and its attempts to spread Shi’a Islam. The writer adds that talks between the United States and Iran could split the Arab world. He quotes an Egyptian journalist as saying: “We Arabs must talk to reach a unified position before talking to Iran.”
• Afghan security forces in the southern province of Helmand have arrested an Iranian national allegedly carrying out a suicide attack mission in southern Afghanistan. The national security chief of the province, Gen. Mohammad Naeem, said the Iranian national had been trained as a suicide attacker in a madrassa (religious seminary), called Hefaz Qazi, in Al-Bandeen region in Baluchistan Province [of Pakistan].

Photo of the Day

• Masoud Khamenei, son of the Supreme Leader.