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

·         Rafsanjani urges critics to vote in order not to lose the right to decide their own destiny. 

·         Ahmadinejad 2005 Oral History Program systematically collects, compiles and releases accounts of miracles foretelling Ahmadinejad's 2005 election victory. 

·         Former President Mohammad Khatami expresses concern about impartiality of election monitoring. 

·         Mohsen Rezai accuses the Ahmadinejad government of "moving Iran towards defeat and into the abyss."  . 

·         Mohsen Rezai to visit Khuzistan Tuesday. 

·         Ham-Mihan website releases the Persian translation of Mir-Hossein Mosavi's interview with Der Spiegel. 

·         Parliamentarian Mehdi Kouchakzadeh, speaking at Imam Sadegh University, says the impeached Interior Minister Ali Kordan "was not in our team, but in the team of the opponents. He departed from them, came to me and swore that he wanted to serve. They sent him a message that 'we do something to you to lose face' after which they started the process about his degree."

o   According to Shahab News, the Imam Sadegh University debate was a genuine process against the Ahmadinejad government and Kouchakzadeh fails to convince the students that Ahmadinejad is a Khayyer al-Mowjoudin [benevolent to all beings].

o   Kouchakzadeh recognizes that Vice President Esfandiyar Rahim-Mashayi's statements on "friendship with the people of Israel", attempt at incorporating the Pilgrimage Organization into the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization and the rest, but claims that the vocal opponent of the plan "Mr. [Ayatollah] Makarem Shirazi has probably been disinformed."

o   Commenting on the "disappearance of $1 billion,” Kouchakzadeh says "by discussing side issues they want to dilute us from discussing the main issues."

o   Kouchakzadeh also claimed "the plot of forcing Ahmadinejad to abandon world leadership and attend to the price of tomatoes amounts to burying the thoughts of the Imam [Khomeini]."

o   Defending the cultural policies of the government Kouchakzadeh reveals that "the choice of Minister of Culture was the choice of the Supreme Leader."   

·         Interior Minister Sadegh Mahsouli says "more than a thousand people have registered as presidential candidates through the web portal [of the Interior Ministry] but there are no distinct faces among them...As [a part of the] executive [branch] we register all applicants to the Election Headquarters of the country, including the ladies but the question of their being qualified or not is the responsibility of the Guardian Council...most certainly there are 46,200,000 eligible voters...After thirty years thanks to the expertise of the experts of the Statistics Bureau unique statistical data has been produced..." 

Economy

·         Former SAIPA car manufacturer chief Mehrdad Bazrpash, who has now been transferred to the Social Security Organization, defends his record, attacks his critics of being "the looters who make economic accusations!"

·         Economics and Planning Deputy of the Interior Ministry Ali-Mohammad Shaeri: "Luckily, Iran's economy is going through a fairly calm and stable phase despite the fact that during this period, the number of [U.N. Security Council] Resolutions and economic sanctions of Western countries and the U.S. has been more than before. But economic success of the government in improvement of the economics of the country is unprecedented...Economic growth rate of the country in 2005 was 4.8 percent and during the following years it increased to 5.7, 6.2 and 6.9 percent and the trend is increasing..." 

Media

·         E'temad's journalist claims to have seen Ahmadinejad's campaign video produced by a certain U.S. born film director Nader Talebzadeh. According to this report Ahmadinejad who is sitting in front of the camera speaks about his concerns and cries, tells the audience: "If you vote for me I'll disclose the gangs of power and corruption since we have reached the final phase of identifying the gangs." According to this report, Ahmadinejad also claims his failure to realize his promises are due to the great opposition he has faced in the hands of "mafia gangs."

·         Jomhouri-ye Eslami Chief Editor Masih Mohajeri demands disqualification of Ahmadinejad: "In the history of the Islamic Republic we have never had a government so blatantly ignoring the viewpoints of the Supreme Leader...How would the Guardian Council defend itself at the day of reckoning [should they approve of Ahmadinejad's candidacy]?!" 

o   Mohajeri also attacks the double standards of the Ahmadinejad government in the cases of nuclear negotiator Seyyed Hossein Mousavian, whom the government accused of spying for the foreigners despite the judicial system's ruling in favor of Mousavian and the case of U.S./Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi whose case has had the attention of Ahmadinejad who on several occasions has called for abiding by justice in her case. 

·         The Hammihan Website launches a counterattack against Kayhan editor Hossein Shariatmadari who is engaged in a fierce exchange of accusations against presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi. 

o   Kayhan attacks Mehdi Karrubi of abusing his official position as head of the Martyr Foundation in the 1980's and early 1990's, threatens to disclose more details about economic corruption of the candidate. The anonymous Kayhan staff writer ridiculing Karrubi's insistence of his regular meetings with late Leader of the Revolution Khomeini as a source of his legitimacy says "also Shemr [uncle of the third infallible Imam of the Shi'as, Hussein but betrayed him] met Imam Hossein, does it make Shemr legitimate?!"  

·         Jomhouri-ye Eslami publishes the article of an unnamed parliamentarian who complains about partisanship of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting in favor of Ahmadinejad. 

Military and Security

·         Shahab News reports disruption of trade and unease in Lalehzar neighborhood of Tehran in protest against the Societal Security Plan.

·         A Russian investigative committee claims that among the 29 pirates captured by Russia in Africa's Horn, there are also Iranian citizens. 

·         Shahab News runs a backgrounder on alleged monarchist opposition figure Foroud Fouladvand accused of "organizing a monarchist terrorist group...planning terror bombings inside Iran." 

Photo of the Day

·         Oil refineries in Iran.