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

• Alireza Mahjoub, parliamentarian, demanding political liberalization says "even Hitler and Mussolini established political parties!"
• Jahan News discusses which universities have delivered the most alumni to Ahmadinejad's cabinets.

Diplomacy

• Ramin Mehmanparast, Foreign Ministry spokesman, addressing theological students at Marvi Seminary in Tehran:
  • "Today, the Islamic Republic has become a superior and decisive power in international affairs. If a country chooses undiplomatic behavior we will certainly deal with it and should statements be made against our nation we will most certainly answer it..."
  • "For the present our main target audience must be international public opinion. We must talk with the people of the world and explain our viewpoints in various ways...the supreme leader has again and again pointed at the importance of public diplomacy and at our latest meeting with him he stressed this issue strongly..."
• Houshang Amirahmadi, Rutgers Professor [and apologist for Hamas and Hezbollah], back in Iran.

Military and Security

• Ahmadinejad addresses the people of Kashan: "[In New York], a journalist asked me if I had threatened the Zionist regime. I said: No one kicks a corpse!"
• Reza Garmabedari, Sobh-e Sadegh columnist, explains why sanctions against Iran will prove ineffective:
  • "1...Commercial companies can't disregard their economic interests to the benefit of the United States, even in case the United States should compensate them since this would harm their international prestige...According to the New York Times at the minimum 74 companies are engaged in business both in the United States and Iran..."
  • "2...The Iranian nation will resist sanctions after which they will prove ineffective..."
  • "3. The United States has very limited options..."
• Academic Sadegh Zibakalam says Ahmadinejad has reached the same conclusion as the reformists:
  • "Mr. Ahmadinejad and Principalists who came to power from 2005 … believed that the enrichment program had to be pursued with all force and we must pay any price, be it economic and the like... My feeling is that the view of the Principalists is changing and they have understood that paying a high price for the sake of advancing enrichment is not correct. Now they are faced with the question, enrichment for what price? Is it worth the economic and societal price we pay under the sanctions…?"
• The destroyer Jamaran test fires torpedo. More here.
• Navy Chief Sayyari to visit Abu Dhabi.
• [E] Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says the country is ready to provide substantial evidence of direct US backing and involvement in Pakistani terrorism. 
• [E]Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the third Indian Ocean Naval Symposium. 
• [E]The Iranian Air Force tested a series of newly updated air-to-surface missiles on the sixth day of the Army's massive war games in the Strait of Hormuz and northern Indian Ocean, a senior Army commander announced on Monday.
• [E]The Iranian Navy's heavy submarines on Monday successfully test-fired home-made torpedoes at subsurface targets on the sixth day of a series of naval war games, codenamed Vellayat 89, in the Strait of Hormuz and northern Indian Ocean.
• [E]The Iranian Army's Air Force has recently equipped its fighter jets with newly-developed sophisticated electronic warfare systems, a senior Iranian army commander announced on Sunday.

Trade

• Finance Minister Shams al-Din Hosseini says Iran attracted around $3 billion in Foreign Direct Investments last year.
• [E] Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman says an upcoming meeting of the Group of 15 (G15) will present a good opportunity for cooperation to member states. 
• [E]Iran has given Shell and Repsol two weeks to make their final decision on investing in key gas projects in southern Iran. 

Religion, Society and Culture

• Daryoush Ghanbari, parliamentarian, comments on the cultural state of affairs:
  • "It is deplorable that publishers and books which have a legal publishing permit from the Ministry of [Islamic] Guidance are prohibited to exhibit at the [Tehran International] Book Fair and restrictions are imposed on their activities..."
  • "The Book Exhibit is a cultural space and naturally widespread presence of the security forces is not very pleasant."
• Basirat website expresses concern that Tehran will become "Andalusia" should the bad hijab situation continue in the Iranian capital.
• Basirat website warns of jewelers selling jewelry bearing "symbols of the monarchists.”
• The Islamic Revolution Documentation Center releases a book titled Seyyed Kazem-e Shariatmadari Be Revayat-e Asnad [(Grand Ayatollah) Seyyed Kazem Shariatmadari according to the Documents].

Human Rights

• Farzad Kamangar, Ali Heydarian, Farhad Vakili, Shirin Alam Houli, Mehdi Eslamian executed in Evin Prison convicted of "armed struggle" against the Islamic Republic. According to ILNA the individuals were engaged in "terrorist acts in administrative and population centers in various cities of Iran."
• JARAS reports deterioration in imprisoned human rights activist Emad al-Din Baghi's health.

Media

• Turkey’s TRT channel about to launch a Persian service.

Iran in the Afghan Media

• Controversy over executions of Afghans in Iran continues to mar relations between Kabul and Tehran:
  • Afghan Parliament’s lower house summons Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rasool to protest the government’s inaction towards the recent executions of Afghan citizens in Iran.
  • [E] Zalmay Rassol plans to visit Iran to assess the state and number of Afghans on death-row there, after conflicting reports that dozens of prisoners had been executed. Rassol said that according to the Iranian foreign ministry, nine Afghans had recently been put to death. Another 3,000 are said to be on death row, most of whom have been convicted of drugs offences
  • More, here.
  • Iran’s ambassador to Kabul, Fida Hossein Maleki, describes the reports on executions of Afghans in Iran as “media propaganda” by embassies of Western countries to “damage relations between Iran and neighboring countries.”
  • Amnesty International expresses worry over executions of Afghan citizens in Iran: Video.
  • Afghan minister of foreign affairs says he has no knowledge of exact number of Afghans hanged in Iran: Video.

Photos of the Day

• Rafsanjani at the Iran-Iraq war front.
• Young people arrested because of a house party.