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 

IRIB to broadcast six presidential debates; Guardian Council to release final list of qualified presidential candidates on May 20; Mousavi blasts Ahmadinejad’s economic policies; Rezai stepping up election campaign; parliamentarians protest against Ahmadinejad supporters utilizing government facilities for campaigning; Jomhouri-ye Eslami slams government’s release of Roxana Saberi, Iran reportedly establishes missile batteries near Strait of Hormuz; Iran expedites two warships to Somalia to protect Iranian ships; Larijani hails Iran’s nuclear advances as “advance of Islamic countries”

Presidential Elections: General

·        Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Director General Zarghami says "six presidential debates will be broadcast on television."

·        Guardian Council spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodayi says investigation of presidential applicants has taken longer than originally expected and that the name of applicants considered qualified for candidacy for presidential elections will be released on May 20th. 

·        IRNA says secret polls showing declining support for the reformist camp has led reformist candidates Mousavi and Karrubi to mitigate attacks against each other. 

o    Transitional government Foreign Minister Ebrahim Yazdi says only former President Mohammad Khatami can manage to unite the reformist voters in support of a reform candidate for presidential elections.

·        Parliamentarian Ahmad Tavakkoli says he does not support any of the presidential candidates but adds he will not cast a blank vote.

o    Commenting on Basij intervention in politics, Tavakkoli repeats thrust of statements made by IRGC chief Ja'fari.

·        Election Headquarters Chief Kamran Daneshjou says there will be 45,758 voting stations, 14,180 of which will be mobile. 

Presidential Elections: Karrubi

·        Mehdi Karrubi, speaking at Isfahan University, says "the power holders of today have no intention of leaving the throne," cries after display of a film clip about problems of the student movement in Isfahan.

·        Karrubi campaign executive Karbaschi ridicules the Mousavi campaign's use of the color green and says "one can't live up to popular demands by using green bands." 

·        Karrubi, speaking in Ahwaz, says he will continue the Ahmadinejad government's provincial trips initiative, promises to do more for reconstruction of the cities still suffering from war time destruction. 

·        E'temad reports information about members of the Karrubi campaign headquarters.

Presidential Elections: Mousavi

·        Soheila Jelodarzadeh, campaigning on behalf of Mousavi in Zahedan, says if Mousavi does not win "they will force all men to have long beards and the women to wear chador." 

·        Mir-Hossein Mousavi speaking in Yasouj (Kohkilouyeh va Boyer-Ahmad province) attacks Ahmadinejad’s economic policies: "Distribution of money and opportunities as alms is hardly an instrument of growth and development. This is exactly the kind of attitude which lead to expenditure of billions of dollars without knowing what has become of such fabulous revenues... If there is any money, the money belongs to the people and it should be used as the people have decided. The people, through their representatives, the parliament, laws and various councils have decided that the decisions should take place in a rational way... Does the government not speak of fighting corruption? The first instance of corruption is neglecting the law. If we want both republicanism and Islam, we must abide by the rules of both..."

·        According to Abrar, major sources of emulation such as Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi and Ayatollah Nouri Hamadani had initially denied Mousavi an audience during his trip to Qom, and it was only through the intercession of Ali Larijani, who himself was elected from Qom, that the ayatollahs granted Mousavi a visit.

·        Ham-Mihan News discloses that the real name of presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard is  Zohreh Kazemi, and that Mir-Hossein Mousavi in the pre-revolutionary era used the pseudonym Hossein Rahjou. 

·        Abol-Fazl Fateh, embedded journalist to the Mousavi campaign headquarters, publishes his daily notes: "From Shiraz there is news of an enthusiastic welcome for Mousavi... [Abdollah] Ramezanzadeh [Khatami government Spokesman] says representatives of Ahmadinejad and Hojjat al-Eslam Karrubi have renewed their contacts with heads of the Sunni community... The campaign is going well and there is increasing offer of cooperation. After politicians, the time has come to influential people in business... These days the...Karrubi...campaign is attacking Mousavi continuously and sometimes it develops into insult and injustice... E'temad-e Melli is following its partisan coverage... Hambastegi in an unbelievable poll claims Mr. Karrubi comes second and Mousavi comes third...Assaults against Mousavi from several fronts are the sign of their concern about Mousavi's growth. Today I was speaking with an executive from a polling institution in Iran. He knows the truth behind the opinion polls and reported excellent polls for Mr. Mousavi in the polls during registration of candidates... Dr. Arab-Mazar...who is the head of the Planning Committee...has just delivered the Mousavi government's plans for committees, councils and elites of the country...Late at night news came from Qom that the Association of the Scholars and Lecturers at the Theological Seminary of Qom have supported Mousavi with a decisive majority..." 

·        Mousavi demands closure of political prisons. 

Presidential Elections: Rezai

·        Mohsen Rezai meets Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi in Qom.

o    Rezai says the theological seminaries of Qom are not utilized correctly by the government and that the relationship between religion and state has weakened. 

·        Former Finance Minister Davoud Danesh-Ja'fari campaigns on behalf of Mohsen Rezai. 

·        IRNA discloses that Rezai's speech in Qom was disrupted by members of the audience asking him questions about his son fleeing to the United States and questions about how Rezai dares to criticize the government now that the Supreme Leader has declared his support for the Ahmadinejad govenrment. IRNA also discloses that the campaign meeting ends in verbal fights against Rezai supporters and theological students.

·        Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi grants Rezai a visit, but stresses that he is impartial in presidential elections. 

·        Mohsen Rezai to speak at Roud-e-hen University.  Report of speech here. 

Presidential Elections: Ahmadinejad

·        Parliamentarian Hojjat al-Eslam Rouhollah Hosseinian demands Ali Larijani’s open declaration of support for Ahmadinejad.

·        Saidlou, vice president for Executive Affairs denies rumors that the Guardian Council warned Ahmadinejad to cut his provincial trips during the election season.

·        Parliamentarian Majid Nasir-Pour says the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee has paid record amounts to applicants for financial assistance. 

·        Parliamentarian Ali-Reza Zakanai explains the role of the Rahpouyan-e Enghelab-e Eslami [Pathfinders of the Islamic Revolution] which allegedly is a spontaneous popular formation in support of Ahmadinejad. 

·        Members of the parliament protest against Ahmadinejad supporters utilizing the general governors, official buildings and state logistics for campaign purposes.

Politics

·        Namjou, head of the Sewage Organization of Iran, who entered parliament with Energy Minister Parviz Fattah, beaten up in the parliament’s mosque by a parliamentarian unhappy with his performance.

·        Defending the Ahmadinejad government's closure of the Planning and Budget Organization, Hojjat al-Eslam Mahmoud Nabavian Yazdi, an associate of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, says the Planning and Budget Organization was anti-Islamic.

·        The Judiciary complains about budget cuts. 

·        Khamenei meets with Kurdish intellectuals. 

·        Ma'soumeh Ebtekar, spokeswoman of the embassy hostage takers, says the ninth government "does not believe in presence of women [in the field of politics]." 

·        Travel costs for the ninth government reach $21 billion.

·        Rafsanjani leaks another page of his memoirs from the second half of the 1980's in which he publishes sections of Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan's letter to Khomeini in which Bazargan refers to Rafsanjani quoting Khomeini for not being inclined to continue the war after liberation of Iranian territories and asks Khomeini why he has changed his opinion and is supporting the slogan "War, war until victory" which may end up with "war, war until annihilation."

Diplomacy

·        Jomhouri-ye Eslami slams the Ahmadinejad government's release of U.S.-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi whom the newspaper accuses not only of espionage but also "sexual deviations" and "alcohol abuse."

·        Ahmadinejad visits Abdul Aziz Hakim hospitalized Iran.

·        Foreign Minister Mottaki, addressing the question about whether Vali Nasr is in Iran, says: "Iranians all over the world can come to Iran whenever they want to."

·        Presidential advisor Professor Hamid Mowlana speaking at the seminar "The People, Media and Better Elections" praises the communication strategy of Ahmadinejad: "During the past couple of years Ahmadinejad has spoken of things about which no one else had spoken previously. One could say that since the collapse of the Soviet Union, silence had taken over the entire world and the only person who managed to break the silence was Ahmadinejad...Today Ahmadinejad as President is a one-man international media... Dialogue among civilizations can't take place without having a civilization of dialogue and Ahmadinejad's presence at the Geneva summit served the purpose of communicating the message that we should have a culture of dialogue... As a person who has witnessed 13 presidential elections in America and elsewhere, I can say that elections in Iran is one of the healthiest and most democratic elections in the world..."

Military and Security

·        Saudi Al-Watan claims Iran has established missile batteries near the Strait of Hormuz.

·        Basij Public Relations Department Chief Jamal Aberoumand explains the Basij's role in countering "soft threats of the enemy." 

·        Tabnak discloses the Revolutionary Guards' attempts to combat internet crimes and pornography. 

·        Iran expedites two war ships to Somalia to protect Iranian ships.

·        Moral Security Police Chief Commander Ahmad Rouzbehani says his section will establish regular patrols in public spaces to reinforce Ahmadinejad’s Societal Security Plan. According to Rouzbehani, the Moral Security forces will also increase their presence at fashion boutiques in to fight against decadence and will deal "decisively" with "internet and mobile phone crimes" especially those transmitting inappropriate materials through blue tooth. 

·        Judiciary Chief Shahroudi warns against police state methods. 

Nuclear Issue

·        Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani visiting his Yemeni counterpart says Iran's nuclear advances "are the advance of Islamic countries."

o    President of Yemen says he supports Iran's nuclear program. 

Economy

·        Najafi, Plan and Budget Committee Member in the Tehran City Council says the private sector is "disinclined to make investments" in Tehran public projects.

·        Central Bank Director General Mahmoud Bahmani reports 40 requests for establishing private banks.

Trade

·        Oil Minister Nowzari says in case of emergencies, the "gasoline scheme" would be operationalized within 48 hours.

·        Petropars Company to be responsible for development of the 20th and 21st phases of the South Pars Gas Field.

Religion, Society and Culture

·        Anthropology professor Ebrahim Fayyz says the Kurds in Iran consider themselves Iranian. 

·        Hassan Ebrahimi, member of the parliament’s foreign policy and national security committee, says ethnicity is no barrier for serving Iran. 

Photo of the Day

·        Iranian Kurdish audience listens to Supreme Leader