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

• Mohammad-Javad Larijani, secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Islamic Republic, says Iran is "the only democracy in the Middle East."

• Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani: "Those movements who desire to exclude Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani are not important."

• Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Parliament: "Character assassination of personalities of the country is not good, but under present circumstances I imagine the situation has become calmer...."

• Parleman News publishes Mohammad Khatami's National Organization for Civil Registration ID.

Diplomacy

• Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast addresses university students:

"We have never said that we desire to establish relations [with the United States] and that we will shake their hand should they stretch it out to us. We classify states into three groups: One is the illegitimate Zionist regime, with which we have nothing to do and consider the cause of all the discord, especially in our region, and which we do not recognize. Among other states the United States is a special case, since the discord it has caused in the history of our country and the efficacy of its discord will not be easily erased from the mind of our people. This special situation continues. And then, there are the rest of the states..."

"We are dependent on the Supreme Leader and no one is pursuing establishment of relations, but it is possible that unofficial individuals who do not have any responsibility in our regime, have some opinions, but their opinion is only respectable as their [personal] opinion. For the time being no discussion has been defined for us as negotiation with the United States." 

• [E] Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology Sergio Machado Rezende lauded Iranian scientists for their progress and achievements in different fields of science and technology.

• [E] Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has charged that the United States and Britain are engaged in spreading terrorism in the region. "The United States and Britain and their forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan are encouraging acts of terror in the region," Mottaki said in an address to a regional conference in Tehran.

Military and Security

• PEJAK chief Abd al-Rahman Haj-Ahmadi reportedly arrested in Germany.

• West Azerbaijan Justice Administration Chief Hojjat al-Eslam Mohammad-Ali Mousavi says "the main elements behind assassination of Khoy Prosecutor General have been arrested."

• Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi says Nasr I cruise missile has been put into production.

• According to JARAS, the Revolutionary Guards has organized "18,000 Guardsmen" to counter "soft warfare."

• Raja News accuses Hojjat al-Eslam Hadi Ghaffari of taking a "suspicious visit to Sistan va Balouchestan" to meet with "the Salafis." Link upon request.

• [E] Larijani on Monday said that Tehran has initiated diplomatic measures to extradite the arrested ringleader of the PJAK group from Germany.

• [E] The anti-drug squads of Iran's Law Enforcement Police have disbanded 149 major drug-trafficking gangs in the country's central province of Isfahan during the last 12 months, a provincial police chief announced on Monday.

Nuclear Issue

• Salman Safavi, an instructor at the University of London and brother of former IRGC chief Rahim Safavi:

"Exchange of enriched uranium is a clear fraud...Should this exchange take place, it would have been a political deal and not a technical and legal exchange. I'm personally opposed to Iran exchanging uranium with the Westerners and Russia. Should this take place it would be a political deal..."

"The Westerners thought they were facing a bunch of kids in Iran, but Iran has many notable people who correctly oppose this international fraud. The Tehran medical reactor is in need of nuclear fuel and it is among our rights to purchase it and receive it and there is no reason for exchange..."

"Unfortunately, there are some in Iran who hope that by being dependent on Russia, they can resist the West, but the recent events in Iran and especially the issue of uranium exchange where Russia has joint the front of France and the United States has shown that the interests of the Russians are tied to the interests of the Westerners. These gentlemen in Iran should wake up: They can't resist the West counting on Russia. We must only count ourselves since the macrointerests of Russia are connected with the West more than with Iran..."

"Sanctions will be effective and they are not only a scrap of paper, but it will not be decisive and I believe that these sanctions will not lead to change of the policies and behavior of Iran with regard to the nuclear issue and the American policies...The nuclear file is an open file. We need to use the resources of all experts and experienced diplomats of the country since this issue is a national issue. We should view it as a national issue..."

Economy

• Former Finance Minister Davoud Danesh-Ja'fari:

"One can't expect realization of the [reform of the subsidies] plan without inflation and rising prices in its aftermath. By abolishing the subsidies, the prices will raise either directly or indirectly. The [production] cost increases. One can't deny this...But the nature of the scheme, should it be executed well, means compensating the rising prices and increased [production] cost to all three economic players: The people, the state and the agencies..."

"In the economic field the government must first and foremost do away with monopolies..."

"For the time being the government has no choice but to distribute the subsidies equally among all the people…."

"In the current system category one, one-tenth of the population - the economically weakest - only receives 2 percent of the subsidies, while category ten receives 30 percent of the subsidies. This is how the system works prior to reform. Now, should the subsidies be divided equally, what would happen? Imagine the government giving the same amount [of cash] to everyone. Should this happen, the lower categories would be better off than prior to execution of the scheme, since the amount would be a significant rise in the income of such families while the cash handout would constitute a very small part of the income of high income households. This is justice..."

"[But] should you want to categorize 70 million people [each receiving a different amount according to the various income categories they belong to] you will most certainly face problems..."

"Now, imagine all the protest and the government's attempt at answering all the protests..."

"The subsidies constitute around 29 percent of the GDP..."

Trade

• Iran and China sign a $143 million contract to develop oil fields in the Persian Gulf.

• Russia’s GAZPROM soon to sign a contract to develop the Azar oil field in Ilam.

Religion, Culture, and Society

• Zahra Rahnavard, Mir-Hossein Mousavi's wife, issues a statement on the occasion of International Women Day, pays tribute to Zahra and Zeinab as well as female figures from the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi.

Iran in the Afghan Media

• Ahmadinejad to visit Kabul on Monday.

• Afghan officials in Nimroz Province say Iranian authorities have deported 3,400 Afghan refugees to the province without prior consultation with the local authorities. There are around two million Afghans living in Iran, and only 900,000 of them have residence permit.

Afghanistan’s acting minister for refugee affairs plans to travel to Tehran after Iranian authorities expelled 105 Afghan families from Sistan va Balouchistan Province. Nimroz Governor Gholam Dastagir Azad says Iran has ordered all Afghans living in Sistan va Balouchistan to leave the province.

Photo of the Day

• Supreme Leader Khamenei addresses the Islamic Republic's ambassadors.