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

• Judiciary Chief Sadegh Larijani attacks Esfandiar Rahim-Mashei, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff: "[Repeating viewpoints about the Iranian school of thought and Iranian Islam] is a fallacy which should not be repeated."
• Attacks against Mehdi Karrubi:
  • Security forces prevent Mehdi Karrubi from meeting Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
  • The media fair in Tehran demands Mehdi Karrubi be defrocked.
  • Hojjat al-Eslam Rasoul Montajabnia of the Etemad-e Melli [National Trust] Party, says the authorities have lifted the ban on activities of the party and he is "investigating possibilities for political activity."

Diplomacy

• Ahmad Mousavi, Iran’s ambassador to Damascus, Syria: "Syria is Iran's strategic depth... the Iranian/Syrian alliance neutralizes anti-Iranian conspiracies in the region... Iran/Syria cooperation has neutralized the American plans for a new Middle East... It is Iran and Syria who create the new Middle East..."
• Hossein Allah-Karam, former high ranking Ansar-e Hezbollah member, praises the seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran.
• [E] Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular, Parliamentary and Iranian Expatriates' Affairs Hassan Qashqavi criticized the US for violating the rights of the Iranian nationals due to its feud with Tehran, saying that the US has jailed 65 Iranian nationals mostly on void and baseless charges.
• [E] Secretary-General of Iran's High Council of Human Rights Mohammad Javad Larijani deplored repeated violations of human rights by the US at home and abroad.

Military and Security

• Commander Masoud Jazayeri of the Revolutionary Guards, speaking about the anniversary of the takeover of the United States Embassy in Tehran, says "today, some embassies are playing the role... which the United States house of spies played before."
• The Islamic Republic produces a new type of drone.

Nuclear Issue

• [E] An Iranian lawmaker urges the West to declare its stance on Israel's nuclear warheads ahead of upcoming multifaceted talks between Iran and the six major world powers.
• Ramin Mahmanparast, Foreign Ministry spokesman, refuses the 5+1 Group's offer of exchange of nuclear fuel.
• Kayhan editorializes: "As the statements of the Westerners become more precise one can see how intelligent Iran's rejection of the Vienna group's October 2009 offer was... The only thing they talk about is 'how to get the nuclear material from Iran,' and there is not even cosmetic mention of providing for the Tehran reactor's fuel. Based upon this discourse, one can only draw the conclusion that the West, also in the past year, had no other goal but stealing Iran's nuclear material and using the nuclear fuel issue of the Tehran reactor as hostage. Now that the true intentions of the West have become known, Iran must demand even stronger guarantees before entering the path of [nuclear fuel] exchange."

Economy

• Ahmadinejad on live television: "As soon as the people see rising prices, they should not shop at those places and they should report it to the authorities... We will deal with [speculators] in such a way that everyone understands that we have filled the reserves for the needs of the public... "
• Ahmadinejad says he has demanded that the Central Bank provides U.S. dollars at their "real price, real meaning that the decline of its price [against the rial] continues."
• Kordestan and Qom provinces will soon receive cash handouts from the government.
• Adel Azar, head of the Central Bank Bureau of Statistics, says the government's 10 million rial gift to newborn babies has not affected the fertility rate in Iran.
• Ahmadinejad says Iran's foreign exchange reserve "is most certainly more than $100 billion."

Trade

• Iran and Syria establish a joint bank.
• Kayhan saysthe Islamic Republic has $39.2 billion holdings in 39 foreign banks, most of which are European.
• According to Tehran-e Emrooz, China is the largest market for Iran's petrochemical exports.
• SAIPA car manufacturer plans an assembly line in Nigeria.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Actor Hedayat Hashemi talks about the removal of billboards showing him in clerical robe.   Photo of the censored billboard.

Media

• Tehran-e Emrooz analysis of the most popular online news agencies in Iran: Fars News Agency, Mehr News Agency, ISNA, IRNA and ILNA. The most popular online news websites include Tabnak, Asr-e Iran, Khabar Online, Aftab News, and RAJA News.

Photos of the Day

• 1980s-era children's television.