Iran News Round Up

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh, Katherine Faley, Ahmad Majidyar and Michael Rubin.  To subscribe to this daily newsletter, e-mail [email protected].

 (E) = Article in English

Larijani refuses to endorese any candidate; Ahmadinejad, Mousavi to hold televised debate on June 3; Karrubi hints at possibility of dropping out in favor of Mousavi; Mottaki says U.S.-Iran relations “not on the table”; Ahmadinejad says no power able to threaten Iran; Iran’s police chief expresses concern over rise of organized terrorism in Afghanistan threatening Iran’s security, tightens security along eastern borders; controversy heating up over $1 billion missing from national budget

Presidential Elections: General

• Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani refuses to disclose which candidate he supports. Parliamanterian.
• Zohreh Elahian in an open letter to Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani demands a definition of the expression "rajol-e siasi" [Political men/political grandees] being among whom is a precondition for running for president in the Islamic Republic of Iran and demands to know if women are allowed to run for president?
• (E) Ahmadinejad and Mousavi will hold televised debates on June 3 as one of six 90-minute debates for the presidential candidates.        
• (E) Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani remarked that a high election turnout will strengthen the Iranian government and advised Iranian citizens to elect a well-qualified candidate.
• (E) The Interior Ministry has allocated each presidential candidate 17 hours of television and radio time for campaign purposes.

  Presidential Elections: Mehdi Karrubi

• Faced with a Basij member who, during Karrubi's campaign at Ardebil University asked him why he has chosen former Tehran Mayor Gholam-Hossein Karbaschi "with his criminal past" as his campaign manager, Karrubi urged the people of Ardebil to attend to the issue of "gasoline smuggling from Ardebil" to Turkey in the 1990's in which current Interior Minister Sadegh Mahsouli and Ahmadinejad are accused of having been engaged. Karrubi is also attacked by the head of the Islamic Society of the university who asked what relationship members of the so called "nationalist/religious faction" and individuals like Ataollah Mohajerani the exiled Culture and Islamic Propagation Minister of Mohamamd Khatami will play in his cabinet. Another questioner attacked Karrubi for economic crimes in the Martyr Foundation when he headed the organization, and a third questioner condemned Karrubi's support for former nuclear negotiator Mousavian.
• (E) Karrubi insinuated that he may drop out of the presidential race and endorse Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

  Presidential Election: Mahmoud Ahmadineajd

• Ahmadinejad, speaking to the clerics and religions scholars in Semnan: "We believe that forming a government in order to realize the ideals of the Islamic Revolution and [attending to] the responsibilities is nothing but execution and pursuit of divine ideals. This government - from this point of view - is doing its best to serve in propagating the pure Islamic thought and culture...I believe that during the absence of the Infallible Imam there is no mission but missionary work for the Imam of the Era and there is no path to perfection but through the path of the Imam... The imperialist world order is the greatest obstacle towards establishment of a world government... The only place which has a clear school [of thought] and illuminated path for human beings is the Islamic Republic of Iran and the great mission of the Iranian nation specially the clergy is to present this school [of thought] to the people of the world."
• (E) Ahmadinejad heralded the merits of seeking justice while on a tour of the Semnan province as part of his promise to become more familiar with local grievances and social issues.

  Presidential Elections: Mir-Hossein Mousavi

• Mousavi promises to establish a foundation for preservation of the languages of Iranian minorities.
• Amir Moghaddam, former Head of Office of Mohammad-Reza Bahonar, joins Mousavi's campaign. 
• (E) Mousavi’s wife, Zahra Rahnavard, has called for women’s social freedoms while campaigning on his behalf, stating that, “The democracy we seek is a religious democracy, which would allow young women of our time to thrive and flourish by providing them with security, freedom, and employment.

  Diplomacy

• Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki speaking at Tehran Pedagogical University says U.S.-Iran relations are not on the table.
• Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Education and Research Head Ali Ahani speaks in Moscow.
• (E) Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman offered his condolences to Indonesia for the recent military plane crash. 
• (E) Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Mashaallah Shakeri announced that Iran will provide Pakistan with electricity to help assuage its growing power crisis.
• (E) Ahmadinejad challenged all military aggressors stating that, "Today Iran has the power to turn any base that fires a bullet at Iran into hell… In the past some [world powers] threatened Iran but today they cannot threaten Iran with their military power.”

  Military and Security

• Commander Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam reports improved security in eastern parts of Iran as a result of investments in border security.
  • (E) Iran’s police chief Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam cites organized terrorism in Afghanistan as a major security concern for the country, noting tightened surveillance along the border.
  • (E) The UN commended Iran’s efforts to restrict illegal drug trafficking along the Afghani border, in which more than 3,700 Iranian security personnel have died since 1979.
• 63 Iranian pilgrims imprisoned in Saudi Arabia on charges of drug smuggling.
• Interior Minister of Bahrain meeting Iranian ambassador Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stress the importance of increasing security sector cooperation between the two countries.

  Economy

• Iran Khodro produces natural gas-fueled automobile.
• Expediency Council member Majid Ansari asks with what authority the Ahmadinejad government distributes cash among the voters.
• The fight about the missing $1 billion continues as four different governmental institutions provide four different explanations and conflicting statistics on what became of the money from the national budget.
• Former National Steel Work Executive Director Mohammad-Rahim Rasti explains chaotic decision making in Iran.
• (E) Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Mohsen Talaei expressed concern about the world economic crisis, acknowledging that international funds are scarce for Iranian economic development.
• (E) Ali Salehabadi, Head of Iran’s Bourse Organization, noted the rise of the Iranian bourse index by 1,000 units this year.
• (E) Paolo Scaroni, chief executive of Italian energy firm Eni, denied investing 1.5 billion dollars in Iran’s Darkhovin oil field.
• (E) Gholamreza Kord-Zangene, chief of Iran’s Privatization Organization, announced that state-run Bank Saderat will be sold to private investors by the end of the month.

  Religion, Culture, and Society

• (E) Iranian exhibitions of photography and handicrafts are opened in Porto, Portugal in honor of Iran’s Culture Week.

  Photo of the Day

• Ahmadinejad meets members of the clergy and theological students, and families of the martyrs, in Semnan.