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

• Supreme Leader Khamenei addresses members of the Basij of the Professors:
  • "Today, the greatest need of the country is unity and integration. Any uttering, deed or writing - even that done with the best of intentions but which exacerbates splits and cleavages or injustice towards the individuals - is contrary to the interests of the country and the Islamic regime..."
  • "Preservation of unity, like-mindedness and coherence in society and abstaining from any conflict and split is the viewpoint of the leadership at this sensitive time..."
  • "The contribution of the Islamic revolution was to dismantle all artificial walls from the midst of the nation and transform the entire country into a great arena for the Iranian nation. Now there are some who desire to erect these unjust and untrue walls..."
• Following parliamentarian Ali Mottahari's opposition to the government's attempt to control the Azad University and after accusing his parliamentary colleagues and Ahmadinejad supporters Hojjat al-Eslam Hosseinian and Mehdi Kouchakzadeh of being "Russians," a fight breaks out in the parliament.
• Javan Online warns against establishment of a "psychological operations headquarters" by one of the "delusional candidates from the path of discord." The "headquarters" is composed of "the abolished Mosharekat party and Mojahedin-e Enghelab Organization along with some of the senior advisers of this vanquished candidate."
• Javan Online writes that Mehdi Karrubi has been invited abroad in order to give Mir-Hossein Mousavi greater opportunity to lead the "line of discord" and in order to "abuse Karrubi's simplicity by urging him to speak against the regime from abroad." Ahmadinejad visits Khuzistan.
• [E] Ahmadinejad ordered the implementation of laws allowing Iran to join three international maritime conventions.

Diplomacy

• Supreme Leader Khamenei addresses members of the Basij of the Professors:
  • "Today, even in the American society, there is a deep anger against the powerful presence of the Zionist lobby and despite the harsh methods of the regime of the United States against the people of this country, signs of this anger have become visible..."
  • "…Signs that the imperialist order is on the defensive in the face of the great and steadfast movement in the world of Islam..."
• [E] Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and his Kazakh counterpart in a meeting in Ashgabat conferred on ways to bolster economic relations between the two Asian countries.
• [E] The Iranian Red Crescent Society on Wednesday announced plans to send humanitarian aid to a number of African and Asian countries, including Iran's northern neighbors.

Military and Security

• Commander Ali Fadavi, Revolutionary Guards Navy chief, says the IRGC Navy will transfer its entire naval headquarters from Tehran to Bandar Abbas within a month. According to Fadavi also the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, Marine Industries Organization of the Defense Ministry and other related industries will move their headquarters to Bandar Abbas. 
• Amir-Ghanbar Salahian, Region South Air Defense Zone chief, says Khatam al-Anbia air defense base is using the Iranian-produced Mottale' al-Fajr radar to monitor the region.
• [E] Ahmadinejad: "They all know that playing with Iran is like playing with a lion….The Zionist regime is too weak to launch aggression against Iran. They long to deal a blow to Iran, but wouldn't dare even think about it.”
• [E] A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps stressed that the IRGC will take retaliatory measures if Iran-bound cargo ships come under inspection by the West.

Trade

• Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani receiving Algerian counterpart, expresses readiness of Iranian contractors to participate in development projects in Algeria.
• Plans for a bridge connecting Qeshm with mainland Iran.
• [E] Pakistan has brushed aside the unilateral US sanctions against Iran, saying it will go ahead with the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project as planned.
• [E] Iran announced its readiness to export electricity to the northern city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraq's Kurdistan region.
• [E] Head of Turkey-Iran Trade Society : "As regards attracting investment, Iran and Turkey have done many debates and adopted many measures which have resolved 90% of the existing problems for attracting investment to the two countries.”
  • [E] The annual volume of trade exchanges between Iran and his Turkey has increased to $5.5bln.
• [E] Iran and India are due to hold the 16th meeting of their joint economic commission in New Delhi in early July.
  • [E] Iran-India trade exchanges totaled $14bln over first half of 2010 showing $1.5bln rise comparing to last year.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Supreme Council of the Cultural Islamic Revolution in Iran issues new directives for censorship of books and literature.

Human Rights

• Emad al-Din Baghi, civil rights activist, released from Evin prison after paying 2 trillion rial bail.

Nuclear Issue

·         [E] Brazil's foreign minister Celso Amorim said the adoption of the fourth sanctions resolution against Iran by the UN Security Council was an improper response to Iran's praiseworthy initiative of agreeing to nuclear fuel swap.

·          [E] Iran is capable of producing up to 5kg of 20% enriched uranium per month to be used in its research reactor in Tehran, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said.

·         [E] Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Turkmenistan Thursday attended an international conference on Nuclear Disarmament in Central Asia and Caspian Sea Littoral States.

o   [E] "Nuclear-armed countries are responsible for failure of efforts aimed at dismantling nuclear weapons.”

Iran in the Afghan Media

• Afghan parliamentarian from western Herat province accuses Iran of providing arms and ammunition to the Taliban. Ahmad Wahid Taheri says about 800 kilograms of weapons and explosives entered Afghanistan from Iran recently.
• Afghan lawmakers accuse Pakistan and Iran of providing shelter and weapons to the Taliban.

Photos of the Day

• Emad al-Din Baghi released from Evin.