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

• Mehdi Karrubi: "We don't speak of toppling the regime, but of reforming it."

• Attacks against Rafsanjani:

Mohammad-Hossein Saffar Harandi, former Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister, addressing the cultural office of Ansar-e Hezbollah vigilante group, warns that "Many have gone into abyss because of their children...

Partov-e Sokhan editor Hojjat al-Eslam Ghasem Ravanbakhsh: "Elimination of Hashemi Rafsanjani from the political arena of the country is not inconceivable, but the Leader is against elimination of individuals from the circle of the regime..."

Hojjat al-Eslam Zolnouri, deputy representative of the Supreme Leader to the Revolutionary Guards, accuses the Rafsanjani household of instigating unrest. 

• Rafsanjani’s counterattacks:

Agahsazi, close to Rafsanjani, releases statements of Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi discussing the amendments to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic after the passing of Grand Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989:

-"By its very nature the guardianship of the guardian jurist is absolute, and when he says I conduct the duties of my guardianship through this law and the general tenets of it is the Constitution, there is no doubt since on the one side we speak of absolute guardianship and on the other we say there must be a law to restrict him.

-Rafsanjani pays a courtesy visit to Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, member of the Assembly of Experts.

Agahsazi also releases statements of Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati on the same occasion: 

-"The mere mention of absolute power of the jurist in the Constitution is contrary to the expediency of Islam and Muslims. One can't imagine anyone to have the advantages [of character] which His Holiness the Imam [Khomeini] truly had… I desire restriction of the guardian jurist. If there is no restriction anarchy, disorder and lack of trust will surface."

o ...And statements of Mir-Hossein Mousavi at the same meeting: 

-"Giving such vast responsibilities is in a way denying the responsibility to the executive...Micro management of the Leader will most certainly create problems. Our executive will become powerless and in reality the country will be harmed...It would mean total paralysis of the country." 

o According to Mehdi Khaz'ali, Abbas Palizdar who has earlier made various accusations against high ranking members of the clergy, including Rafsanjani, has met with Rafsanjani and apologized for his behavior. 

o Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani says her father has not made a "behind the scenes deal" to "sell out the demands of the people."

• Ahmadinejad's Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei appoints Hojjat al-Eslam Shahidi to be Head of the Inspectorate of the President's Office.

• 200 academics express their support for Health Minister Marziyeh Vahid Dastjerdi, whose article in an Iranian academic journal reportedly plagiarized from a foreign journal.

Diplomacy

• Supreme Leader Khamenei addresses Foreign Ministry officials and Iranian ambassadors: 

"It is the responsibility of the ambassador and the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to use qualitative, strong and effective diplomacy in order to advance the policy of opposition to the hegemonic order. The necessity of such a policy is logical insistence upon the foundations of the revolution and religious pillars and not feeling bad about such principles and foundation..."

"In the hegemonic order there are two sides: The hegemonic power and the oppressed, but the Islamic Republic announced from early on that it is not hegemonic, and does not accept the hegemony of any power..."

• Ahmadinejad addressing the National and Islamic Solidarity for the Future of Palestine Conference: 

"The president of the Zionists raises the banner of the fight against God, the pure, the justice seekers and those seeking the truth..."

"Wherever a crime is committed, they [the Zionists] and their masters are present...Thanks to divine wisdom and to the Palestinian resistance, it is no longer a secret that the Zionists are irreligious but are fundamentally opposed to the prophets and religion and it has become clear to all that establishment of the Zionist regime took place on a false and untrue background and was the world imperialism's attempt at establishing a base in the heart of the sensitive and decisive region..."

Addressing the "Palestinian and Lebanese resistance and the nations of the region" Ahmadinejad continued: "You should be in utmost preparedness. Should the Zionist regime commit a mistake you should end its shameful life once for all and thanks to divine benevolence the Iranian nation will be on your side and will be your supporter." 

• Final statement of the National and Islamic Solidarity for the Future of Palestine Conference condemns Israel. 

• Mehmanparast comments on Hillary Clinton's statements: 

"It is a strange statement. How can a country whose revolution is 31 years old and has had more than 30 great elections at various levels develop towards a military dictatorship? How does it resemble a military dictatorship…?"

"Because of their anger they make irrational statements..." 

• Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Secretary-General:
  • "The resistance is in the best imaginable situation and managed to stop decline and collapse of the Islamic community of believers and stop the hegemonic ambitions of the Zionists and the Americans. Iran and Syria standing by the resistance means power..."

  • "Ever since my last speech in the memory of the commanders of the resistance, not only have we not heard any threatening statements from Israel, but they have also changed the tone of their language and Israel's confessions about its final withdrawal from Lebanon amounts to confessing defeat and I say to them that you have left Lebanon forever and you will never be able of returning to Lebanon..."

  • "All the talk about Syria and Iran, or the resistance and Syria distancing themselves, from each other is a total lie."

• Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Monday strongly criticized the US administration for its support for the well-known anti-Iran terrorist individuals and groups, like Jundullah and Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO).

• Iran's foreign minister says former US President George W. Bush's so-called war on terror has actually served as a guise for training terrorists.

• Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has warned against efforts made by arrogant powers to paint an unrealistic picture of Islam.

• [E] Ahmadinejad called on the D8 (the eight developing Islamic countries) to promote the group to an international body.

•  [E] Larijani on Sunday reiterated Tehran's continued and strong support for the Palestinians against Israel, saying that Iran has and will always side with the oppressed Palestinian nation.

• [E] Ahmadinejad offers arrangement of charter of Palestine's liberation and liberated Palestine.

• [E] Ahmadinejad called on the D8 (the eight developing Islamic countries) to promote the group to an international body.

•  [E] Ahmadinejad offers arrangement of charter of Palestine's liberation and liberated Palestine.

Media

• E'temad banned.

• Mohammad-Ali Ramin, secretary of the Supervisory Board of the Media, on the banning of E'temad, Iran-Dokht and Ebn-e ina: "In the Supervisory Board, we issued authorization to thirty publications today. Why don't you mention that? Start reporting the good news!"

• The Islamic Republic to launch "an Iranian Google." 

Military and Security

• Hojjat al-Eslam Ali Saidi, Representative of the Supreme Leader to the Revolutionary Guards, defends interventions of the Guards in the politics of the Islamic Republic and attacks Hojjat al-Eslam Hassan Khomeini's declaration of support to the protesters. Link upon request.
  • Hojjat al-Eslam Ali Saidi, the Supreme Leader's Representative to the Revolutionary Guards: "The heads of the discord are aware of their own mistakes but are not man enough to recognize and confess their mistakes..."

  • Hojjat al-Eslam Ali Saidi, the Supreme Leader's Representative to the Revolutionary Guards, in an open letter to Mohammad-Ali Ansari, of the Center of Preservation and Publication of the Works of His Holiness the Imam [Khomeini] defends the Revolutionary Guard's interventions in politics.

• Hojjat al-Eslam Zolnouri, Deputy Representative of the Supreme Leader to the Revolutionary Guards, says "The Guard will stand in the way of any movement which tries to oppose the Leader." 

• The Islamic Republic soon to issue biometric passports. 

• Mohammad-Ali Ja'fari, Revolutionary Guards Chief, says Khatam al-Anbia Construction Base must not compete with small companies.

• Yadollah Javani, the Revolutionary Guards Political Bureau chief, in an interview with Sobh-e Sadegh:
  • "Recently, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, the Foreign Minister of the United States, in her regional visit to the Middle East clearly subjected the Guard to her propaganda attacks. Some European countries have even discussed sanctions against the Guards in their national parliaments. The counter revolutionary movement has worked against the Guards for years. Inside the country, the green movement of discord has created a scene against the Guards and the Basij continuously..."

  • "They do so because the Guards are the main obstacle to their goals. Such actions clearly show that the Guards have hitherto managed well to live up to its duty of safeguarding the revolution and its achievements..."

• Ali Ghaderi, Asr-e Iran columnist: 
  • "Saudi authorities should not forget that crossing Iran's red line means a declaration of war on Tehran and the history of the Middle East has shown that the people of Iran don't joke with invaders and their allies…!”

• Commander Ahmad Nourian, the Revolutionary Guard's Culture, Education and Training Deputy, discusses the Guard's cultural program.

• New details about the Rigi arrest:
  • Foreign Ministry of Kyrgyzstan in an official statement writes that a Kyrgyz flight from Dubai to Bishkek was indeed forced to land in Bandar Abbas, but denies the claim that two of the passengers of the flight were arrested by Iranian authorities.

  • The Islamic Republic Foreign Ministry summons the Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to protest against Abd al-Malek Rigi's use of this country's airliners.

  • According to Fars News Agency, Abd al-Malek Rigi had a flight to Kabul and from Kabul to Dubai two days before his arrest and he wanted to visit the United States base in Manas through Bishkek, but the airplane carrying him was forced to land in Bandar Abbas after which he "and his followers" were arrested by Iranian authorities.

  • Video footage of Abd al-Malek Rigi at Bandar Abbas Airport.

  • The Islamic Republic Voice and Vision soon to broadcast "100 minutes of televised confessions" of Rigi.

• A senior Iranian military commander on Monday announced that the Army is due to test-fire an optimized version of the country's 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) smart bombs, Qassed (Messenger), in the near future.

• “An S-300 missile system in Iran will strengthen peace in the region,” head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran's Parliament, Alaeddin Boroujerdi told ISNA on Tuesday.

• [E] A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Sunday reiterated Iran's control over the world's energy supplies, warning that Iran has the power to cut energy supplies to the Green Continent whenever needed, especially in the cold season.

• [E] Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast dismissed media reports on the possibility of military attacks against Iran, saying that such threats are made to create horror and panic among people of the region.

• [E] A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Sunday reiterated Iran's control over the world's energy supplies, warning that Iran has the power to cut energy supplies to the Green Continent whenever needed, especially in the cold season.

• [E] Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast dismissed media reports on the possibility of military attacks against Iran, saying that such threats are made to create horror and panic among people of the region.

Human Rights

• According to JARAS, "20,000 individuals were arrested on Revolution Day of 2010 which is an unprecedented mass arrest in the history of Iran."

• According to JARAS, "many individuals arrested since the presidential election subsequently released have been contacted by the authorities who attempted to persuade them to participate in interviews at Evin prison." 

• Mohammad-Javad Mozaffar, Abdol-Reza Tajik and Shams al-Va'ezin are released from Evin Prison.

• Film director Ja'far Panahi arrested in his home along with his daughter and fifteen guests visiting him.

• Ala al-Din Boroujerdi, parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee chairman, commenting on 18 minutes of attack footage against Tehran University Dormitory broadcast by BBC Persian says "The BBC is not trustworthy...the Campus Dormitory footage is under investigation."

Trade

• Russia’s GAZPROM to develop Azar oil field.

• [E] Iran and Pakistan are slated to sign a final agreement to launch implementation of a project for exporting Iran's rich gas reserves to the energy-hungry south-Asian nation through a long-waited multi-billion-dollar pipeline, a senior Iranian oil official announced on Tuesday.

• [E] Tehran's envoy to Turkmenistan said on Monday that the volume of Iran's exports to the Central Asian state witnessed a significant increase last year.

Nuclear Issue

• Supreme Leader Khamenei: 

"The Islamic Republic has announced from the very beginning that it is pursuing scientific nuclear know-how and technology in order to utilize it for peaceful fields including energy..."

"The propaganda and mayhem of some Western countries including the United States, Britain and the Zionists are a total lie and they themselves know that they are lying..."

"Despite the pressure, the Islamic Republic has made great advances in the field of nuclear technology and will progress as far as it is necessary so that it reaches self sufficiency in this scientific and technological field...

Some of the actions of the [International Atomic Energy] Agency demonstrate the lack of independence of this international organization..."

"The IAEA must not be under the influence of the United States and some countries since such unilateral actions harm trust in the Agency and the United Nations and are very bad for the dignity of such international forums..."

"More attention must be paid to qualitative diplomacy and each visit or statement in the field of diplomacy must be completely calculated and based upon correct predictions...Public diplomacy is one of the innovations of the Islamic Republic of Iran and greater attention must be paid to it..." 

• [E] Iran's former chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani criticized the recent report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief, Yukiya Amano, on the country's peaceful nuclear activities for its politically-driven allegations against Tehran.

• [E] Iran, in an open letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, reminded the UN body of the West's dishonesty in nuclear deals and cooperation with Tehran in the last few decades, and blasted the US, France and Germany for disregarding their agreements with Iran.

• [E] Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) insists that Tehran is “fully" cooperating with the nuclear watchdog.  Talking to Press TV on Monday, Ali Asghar Soltanieh rejected remarks by IAEA's new chief, Yukiya Amano, that Iran is still not giving sufficient information on its nuclear activities.

Religion, Culture, and Society

• A Kish Air flight from Tehran to Shiraz mistakenly lands in Kish.

  
  

Photos of the Day

• Former President Mohammad Khatami's mural removed from Imam Khomeini Metro Station in Tehran. 

• Baghcheh Restaurant announces: "Please abstain from any political discussion in this place..."