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

Rafsanjani says, "The most important issue is adherence to the law, even should the result of this not be to our liking" at Friday prayers, which Mousavi attends; the Guardian Council releases a final, 90-page report on the election; the head of Iran's nuclear program resigns; the cellphone network goes out of service across Iran; and the next Non-Aligned Movement summit will be held in Tehran in 2012

Politics

• Reza Taghavi, head of the Political Board of the Headquarters for Friday Prayers, begins the Friday prayers by saying "this forum is not a forum for expressing party political viewpoints..."
  • Taghavi continues: "The Iranian nation knows its enemies and the BBC and the CNN are not lovers of the Iranian nation and the nation is well aware of this...Britain, with its ugly colonialist past, has now started a network [BBC Persian] through which it sheds crocodile tears for the nation..." 
  • Rafsanjani, speaking at Tehran Friday Prayer:
    • "The most important issue is adherence to the law, even should the result of this not be to our liking. Should there be protests against the law, one must see to it that it is corrected...We must also win the trust of the people again since many doubts have been made in their mind...to achieve this goal all must be able to communicate their message and the Voice and Vision of the Islamic Republic must provide the opportunities for this and let the people decide, and in the end one should ask the people themselves...
    • Unfortunately, the Guardian Council did not exploit the five days announced by the Leader to investigate the election result in an exhaustive way, but I am not going to say who is responsible for this... There is no need that a number of people are arrested under such circumstances and the enemy laughs at us because of their imprisonment... One must see to it that the media work within the framework of the law and they must not be restricted. They must not violate the law and the regime must also not take away from them their legal rights so criticism can be formulated in the media freely..."
    • According to Asr-e Iran, some of those praying shouted slogans in support of Supreme Leader Khamenei, others in support of Rafsanjani and Mousavi. The latter also shouted the slogan "Death to Russia" [Editor- which is accused of having masterminded Armed Forces crackdown on demonstrations in Iran.]
    • Asr-e Iran also reports fighting around Tehran University in the aftermath of the Friday prayers.
  • "The Friday prayer of today is not unlike the Friday prayers of the first days of the revolution where people with different political orientations participated..." In response to some slogans shouted by the crowds, Rafsanjani continued: "In the beginning of my speech I must give a fundamental warning to all the prayers. Take care that the sacred nature of the Friday prayers is not polluted with expressions of opinion which are not general and principal. This sacred place is worthy...we pray to God that unity is achieved...we hope that we, in the future, follow the same path of love and solidarity shown during the first days of the revolution..." 
  • (E) Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani led Friday prayers and stated, “Today, we need unity more than ever. All must unite to stand against threats facing the country.” In addition, he urged the government to lift restrictions on the press and release arrested protesters.
  • Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi urges Iranians to show unity during the Friday prayers.
• (E) The Guardian Council released a 90-page report on its handling of election complaints.
• (E) Despite Rafsanjani’s call for unity during Friday prayers, Iranians continue to protest the election in the streets of Tehran.
• Ahmadinejad in Mashhad: "You people know that today we have entered a new phase in the life of the revolution and the historical life of the Iranian nation. A glorious era full of great victories has begun...The June 12th election and presence of 40 million decisive and idealist and justice-demanding revolutionary people in the arena was a turning point not only in the life of the Iranian nation, but also in the world. All the noise being made in the world is the sign of the movement of the Iranian nation and its effects on international equations in the political, economic and societal spheres. Today we have two great responsibilities. First we must build and develop the dear Iran, and we must all work hand in hand and develop all fields and aspects of Iran. We must build in all cities and villages of Iran. Our second mission is correction of the global affairs, and changing the dominant trends of the world..." 
• Ayatollah Ka'bi, Guardian Council member, claims the council has won the trust of the people. 
• Ahmadinejad appoints Esfandiyar Rahim-Mashayi his First Vice President, Hamid Baghayi head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Parviz Davoud advisor to President, and Ali-Akbar Salehi head of Iran's Nuclear Energy Organization. Masoud Zaribafan replaces Hossin Dehghan as the President's Representative in the Martyr Foundation, and Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi is appointed as Senior Assistant to the President. 
• Mohammad-Hossein Saffar Harandi, Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister, delivers a speech reminiscent of a farewell speech to the cabinet. 
• Karrubi visits the family of Sohrab A'rabi, a youth killed by the Basij in street clashes. 
• Mohammad Kowsari, parliamentarian, says the Public Relations Office of the Expediency Council has informed him that Rafsanjani, in his letter to the National Security Committee of the Parliamen,t has not demanded declaration of the election result void. 
• Fars News releases the Guardian Council's complete evaluation of presidential election in Iran. 
• Agahsazi releases biographic information about Supreme Leader Khamenei: "...Children of the Leader of the Revolution have been prohibited by Ayatollah Khamenei from participating in economic activities to the degree that when one of the children of the Leader of the Revolution attempted at establishing a notary office Ayatollah Khamenei demanded that the child should change his name on his ID in order to avoid any doubts about use of the name of the leadership. During his first years of leadership, Ayatollah Khamenei, despite a place being ready for him in Northern Tehran decided to place the household of the leadership in its present location [ed. near Shohada Square] and he stresses upon a simple lifestyle and abstaining from using public money in his personal life...
  • Ayandeh's reporter adds: 'He has four sons all of whom are theological students and turbaned. His sons are Hojjat al-Eslams Seyyed Mostafa, Seyyed Mojtaba, Seyyed Masoud and Seyyed Meisam Hosseini Khamenei and his daughters are Hoda and Bashari Sadat. Seyyed Mostafa is son in law of Ayatollah Khoshvaght, Seyyed Mojtaba is son in law of Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, Seyyed Masoud is son in law of Seyyed Mohsen Kharazi, and Seyyed Meisam is son-in-law of Mr. Lowlachian (a devout bazaar merchant). One of his daughters is daughter-in-law of Hojjat al-Eslam Mohammadi Golpoayegani. Interestingly, six grandchildren of the Leader of the Revolution get together both Thursday and Friday nights in grand father's home. It is also worth mentioning that most of his sons have studied at Alavi School which has a religious atmosphere after which they studied various degrees of religious sciences at Martyr Mottahari and later the Elmiyeh School of Ayatollah Mojtahedi. His youngest son - Seyyed Meisam - is now 32 years old and Seyyed Masoud is 37 years old." 
•  (E) After few public appearances recently, Mir-Hossein Mousavi will attend Friday prayers this week.
  • (E) Iran’s Servants of Construction Party will join Mousavi’s new political organization, the SCP spokesman announced. He added that the new “front should stand up for the rights of the nation, people’s freedom, and their right to determine their own fate based on the constitution.”
• (E) Iranian Minister of Justice Elham criticized the Expediency Council’s decision to ban serving both the Guardian Council and the government simultaneously.

Nuclear Issue

• Gholam-Reza Aghazadeh, Iran's Nuclear Energy Organization Chief resigns, succeeded by Ali-Akbar Salehi, Iran's former representative at IAEA and former Sharif University Dean. 
• (E) US Defense Secretary Gates expressed his concern about Iran’s nuclear program, stating: “Iran is the one that concerns me the most because there don't seem to be good options (or a scenario) where one can have any optimism that good options will be found.”
• (E) Incoming IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano commented on Iran’s nuclear program, stating: “The nuclear issue of North Korea is very different from that of Iran… Iran's problem is that it has conducted nuclear activities without reporting them to the IAEA in the past two decades.”

Military and Security

• Radio Farda aired an exclusive interview with Reza, a 21-year-old plainclothes security agent involved in Iran’s post-election protests. He admitted to confronting “those whom you call protesters, and I call agitators,” but denied carrying pepper spray or tear gas. [listen in Farsi]
• Intelligence Minister Ezheh-i says the editorial members of Ayandeh and Jomhouriat - supporting Mousavi - websites have been arrested: "The Intelligence apparatus will deal decisively with all those sites engaged in destructive activities against the regime and acting against national security of the country." 
• The mobile phone network is out of order all over Iran. 
• Ezheh-i urges the public to avoid making the Tehran Friday prayer into "an unpleasant scene." 
• Rowshanak Siasi, Women's Faction's head of Kargozaran technocratic party, arrested.

Human Rights and Labor

• Iran's judiciary recently enacted a law allowing it to revoke attorney licenses at its discretion. A prominent Tehran lawyer told Radio Farda that, “This new law aims at making lawyers bow to the judiciary for fear of losing their licenses." [read in Farsi]
• Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, an attorney who co-founded Defenders of Human Rights, was arrested on July 8. His lawyer said his whereabouts and condition are still unknown. "Dadkhah worked pro bono, mostly defending students," he said. [read in Farsi]
• (E) Confessions from those found guilty of post-election unrest may be aired on television.

Religion, Culture and Society

• Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, Head of Imam Khomeini Research Institute in Qom, meeting with commanders of the Revolutionary Guards: "Don't worry about the transformations and the infirmities of time and know that God has created the world to test us...There are those who only respect and recognize the Guardianship of the Jurist because it is law...and there are some whose respect for the Guardianship of the Jurist is limited to the framework of legislation...Let there be tests for them to so anyone who has not honest intentions is caught..." 
• Academic Sadegh Zibakalam deplores underdeveloped state of political science in Iran, criticizes the cultural revolution. 
• Popular writer Esmail Fasih passes away in Tehran, 75 years old. 
• (E) The Kowsar observatory in Isafahan will provide live online coverage of the solar eclipse.
• (E) The Chief Executive of Iran's Mes Kerman Football Club rejected reports that the Premier League was suspended, adding that “Everything is ready for the resumption of the training sessions.”

Diplomacy

• The Foreign Ministry summons France’s Ambassador to Tehran to protest against rough treatment of Iranian citizens on the anniversary of July 14th festivities in France.
• (E) The next Non-Aligned Movement summit will be held in Tehran in 2012.
• (E) Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki met with Cuban President Castro at the Non-Aligned Movement summit.
• (E) President Ahmadinejad entreated UN Secretary General Ki-moon to investigate the fatal stabbing of Egyptian Marwa el-Sherbini in Germany.
• (E) UAE President offered his condolences to President Ahmadinejad for the recent Caspian Air plane crash.
• (E) In a meeting with Iran’s Ambassador to Beirut, Lebanese President Suleiman stressed the need for regular discussions with Iranian officials on world issues.

Economy

• (E) Mahmoud Bahmani, Head of the Central Bank of Iran, stated that the Money and Credit Council is considering the establishment of new private banks.
• Pensioners’ retirement benefits exempted from taxation. 
• (E) In Mashhad, Iran unveiled the Middle East’s first bio-gas power plant for generating electricity.

Photo of the Day

• Ahmadinejad in Mashhad.