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

• Referring to Ahmadinejad’s recent call for fight against corruption, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says, "Sloganeering does not solve the corruption problem."

Diplomacy

• [E] Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in a meeting with Iranian Presidential Advisor Mehdi Mostafavi reiterated that his country viewed Iran as its “real friend.”

Military and Security

• Yadollah Javani, the chief of Revolutionary Guards political bureau, discusses internal dynamics of the Guards:
  • "It is not an accurate analysis that the Guards had an economic approach during the tenure of commander Safavi and it changed into a political institution following the replacement of its chief and due to the characteristics of the individuals. The change in the Guards policies at different eras of the revolution has not been dependent on its leaders, and this issue must be understood within the existential philosophy and the mission of the Guards.
  • "Today, we in the Guards are honored to have accomplished such capacities and scientific capabilities that we can easily replace large foreign companies, as we replaced Total and Shell in grand projects in Asalouyeh."
  • "Fundamentally, ever since 1997, when the reform [movement] was shaped, we have had such an approach [fighting against soft threats], and this period also include a part of commander Safavi's tenure, and attacks against the Guards also happened after 1998/99."
  • Commenting on reformist theoreticians and former members of the Revolutionary Guards Mirdamadi and Atrianfar, Javani continued: "One should not consider this [their opposition against the regime and the Guards] as organizational dissolution of the Guards, since some individuals were at some point members of the Guards, but left the Guards while preserving their revolutionary character, but parted from the main path of the revolution because of membership of [political] parties...If certain individuals were expelled from the Guards, they are not allowed to call themselves Guardsmen."
  • Commenting on reformist theoretician Said Hajjarian, Javani says: "This person who considers himself the theoretician of reforms says we desired to exclude the religious rule and the guardianship of the jurist in order to reach democracy. Well, this is [regime] toppling and the Guards has certain missions in this regard."
• Yadollah Javani, Revolutionary Guards political bureau chief, analyzes the future of the Green Movement:
  • "Return of the movement of discord to the bosom of the regime and their repentance because of their deeds could be the first scenario...The second scenario is a situation in which the movement of discord, because of its humiliation and debacle in a realistic approach, decides isolation and marginalization. So it no longer bothers the Islamic Republic. But the third scenario is that the movement of discord seeks to rebuild its capacities within the movement and waits for an opportunity for future steps."
• Mesbah 1 anti-cruise missile enters industrial production.
• [E] Iran on Tuesday inaugurated production line of a “powerful missile defense” shield to destroy incoming cruise missiles, the defense ministry announced Tuesday.
• [E] A senior Iranian army commander announced on Tuesday that an Iranian navy plane has captured US aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower on film during a reconnaissance operation over the Sea of Oman.
• [E] The Iranian Army plans to hold a six-staged naval maneuver, codenamed Vellayat 89, in the Strait of Hormuz and northern Indian Ocean, a senior Iranian commander announced on Tuesday.

Nuclear Issue

• Ahmadinejad at a press conference prior to his departure for New York: "The greatest threat to world security is production and stockpiling of nuclear weapons. Over the past sixty years, the nuclear threat has greatly affected all world affairs... Unfortunately, the IAEA has not been successful in achieving its goal. No nuclear disarmament took place; spread of nuclear weapons was not stopped; new states acquired the nuclear bomb; and other countries were not allowed to utilize its legal right to nuclear technology and production of nuclear fuel. This weakness has existed for years...The nuclear bomb has become an instrument to bully others and for expansionism. Some states prevent independent states from using their right to peaceful nuclear energy with the excuse of nuclear nonproliferation..."
• Ahmadinejad in New York: "The great Iranian nation is not in need of nuclear weapons."
• [E] Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Undersecretary for International Affairs and Foreign Policy Ali Baqeri strongly rejected the possibility for suspending Iran's peaceful nuclear activities.
• [E] UN Security Council member states China and Turkey have reiterated commitment to finding a diplomatic solution to the impasse over Iran's civilian nuclear program.
• [E] Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast urged Western states Tuesday to “give a reasonable answer” to the Iranian president’s remarks at the NPT review conference in New York.
• [E] The Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday Iran is “constantly” ready for fuel exchange that would help resolve the nuclear dispute.
• [E] Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman “denounces as irrational" remarks by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in New York.

Economy

• Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in a meeting with Industry and Mines Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian criticizes the privatization trend in the Islamic Republic:
  • "Execution of the Article 44 of the constitution and transfer of ownership of affairs to the nongovernmental system was not only meant to allocate resources from one sector to the other, but was also designed because the system had certain shortcomings. The system was meant to be changed; productivity was meant to increase; and the production capacity of the country was meant to be modernized... Reports from various sources show that this article has not seen progress as designed...We agree that the 'justice shares' scheme must be realized, but it must be done in a correct way...We can't just change the executives as a cosmetic change..."
  • Addressing the issue of 'rapid result generating schemes' Larijani continued: "This is not a small issue. Cash flow has taken place in the society but the expected result has not been achieved... If someone makes an investment he must know that if there is no economic result at an expected time the economy will most certainly be affected by inflation."
• Central Bank Director General Mahmoud Bahmani says the inflation rate has been reduced to 10.4 percent and adds that liberalization of price mechanisms and expectation of rising prices will cause a rise in prices in the wake of reform of the subsidies system.
• Masoud Pezeshkian, parliamentarian, complains of soaring unemployment in Iran.
• A French company is tasked with improving the Iranian state's tax collection.

Trade

• The Islamic Republic's ambassador to Germany says the call for sanctions against Iran has not affected trade between Iran and Germany.
• China, Turkey and "several European countries" are involved in negotiations about expansion of the trans-Iranian railroad network.
• Gholamreza Manouchehri, Petropars executive director, says Venezuela has asked Iran for $90 million in credit to expand an oil field. According to Manouchehri, Petropars is also involved in an oil project in Angola.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Majid Jafarzadeh, a senior legal advisor to Ahmadinejad: "Hijab is a personal issue and we do not tell the Iranians abroad what to do. You have seen that Ahmadinejad meets unveiled ladies and no problem has arisen...We don't tell the Iranians abroad to abide by the hijab or not. It has nothing to do with us. They must respect the laws of the country in which they reside and they should behave according to traditions of those countries."

Iran in the Afghan Media

• Iran under fire in Afghanistan’s lower house of Parliament:
  • Some parliamentarians claimed body parts of the Afghan citizens, executed in neighboring Iran, were removed.
  • Parliamentarian Ramazan Bashardost stressed a protest movement against the Iranian government. "If we pour onto on the streets, a million of Kabul residents would join us", he said. Bashardost suggested the protestors should encircle the Iranian embassy till Tehran stopped its cruel treatment of Afghans.
  • The neighboring country executed Afghans on a daily basis without any consultation with the Afghan government, said Alami Balkhi.
  • After a prolonged debate, Speaker Yunus Qanuni said the Afghan foreign minister and the Iranian ambassador should be summoned to the house during the next session.
  • The issue of executions was raised a month back by a lawmaker from western Herat province, bordering Iran. Gul Ahmad Amini said 45 bodies of Afghans executed in Iran had been transferred to the province.
  • But Karzai's national security advisor, Dr. Rangin Dafar Spanta, said only six Afghans were put to death by the Iranian government.
  • In mid-April, a report sent by an Afghan diplomat to the foreign ministry in Kabul said at least three Afghan nationals were burnt to death in the Iranian province of Qazvin.

Photo of the Day

• Ahmadinejad delivering speech at U.N.