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

• Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami to lead Friday prayers in Tehran.

• Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel to speak at the November 4 commemoration of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

• Fars News Agency discusses the Strategic Studies Center of the Presidency as one of the centers which "deviated the thoughts of the members of the Mosharekat [Participation reformist front]."

• Students at Khajeh Nasir University verbally attack and abuse Ahmadinejad's former Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Saffar-Harandi.

• Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani defends the Rafsanjani family against allegations of economic corruption. Video.

Diplomacy

• Speaker Ali Larijani discusses U.S.-Iran relations:

  • "We can't take a look at this issue without knowledge of the past record of the United States and its relations towards us and we should not take decisions based on superficial studies..."
  • "Before the revolution the United States unfortunately supported the dictatorship of the Shah..."
  • "After the Islamic revolution, the Americans were not punished and continued their attempts to establish their hegemony against our country and one can point at adventurous behaviors of the United States in support of separatist movements in our country..."
  • "In every act of sabotage in Iran the foot prints of the Americans are visible..."
  • "The United States played a central role in arming and supporting Saddam during the imposed war..."
  • "After the end of the imposed war, after the end of the bipolar world order and the international cold war, the Americans emerged in a new dress of the manager of international affairs and attempted to depict themselves to the world as the greatest symbol of liberal democracy..."
  • "After September 11^th, the Americans found an excuse to - through attack against Afghanistan and Iraq and finally Iran - to finalize their project, but the circumstances made for them in Iraq and Afghanistan and the fundamental understanding of the Islamic Republic of Iran of Americans totally dissolved their unilateral acts... Today no one talks of unilateral action any more to the degree that even the President of the United States says that the world should be administered in a multilateral way. Now, the question is this: Who created such achievements to the humanity so that the nations of the world did not live under an international dictatorship…?"
  • "The aim of the Americans and the Zionist regime with that war [Hezbollah-Israel] was to regain their lost prestige, but here it was Iran which did not allow the Americans to impose such behavior towards the people of the world...Also in the recent events on can detect the footprints..."
  • "Is there anyone but the Americans behind the issues in Eastern part of the country and the Jundallah group but the Americans…?"
  • "What effective steps has Mr. Obama made during the months he has been in power for the rights of the Palestinians? Anything but allowing the Zionist regime to expand settlements and by supporting this regime encircling heroic Gaza? Is this the result of the change in behavior of the Americans? Such are the issues and experiences that we should pay attention to when we want to study this phenomenon."
  • "Fighting with America is not a mere slogan for our country, but tells the tale of a reality. The Iranian nation should know what phenomenon it is facing and how this phenomenon has dealt blows to its national interests...The public must declare its position towards this phenomenon since naturally, the Americans are not our friends, they have also dealt blows to us whenever they could...Right now the Americans tell us we have reached out our hands to Iran, but in Eastern part of Iran it is clear what behavior they engage in and from the other side they pass the anti Iranian resolution in their Congress. One must ask, what is this behavior?"

• (E) Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani urged the US to change its policies towards Iran. Larijani expressed disappointed in the new administration and has claimed to see no improvements, despite President Obama’s sweeping remarks. In contrast, he pointed out the transparency of Iran’s policies toward the US, which are based on Iranian national interest and past US policy in Tehran.

• Ahmad Tavakoli, head of the Parliament's Research Center: "What has changed in the United States? Two things have changed: The influence and standing of the United States has decreased among the nations... The United States internal problems have increased since before. But the important issue is that neither the hegemonic strategy of the United States nor its violent tactics have changed. Towards Iran no practical change but raised demands in the nuclear issue and harsher pressures has taken place...The delusion that in the near future the United States will be annihilated and therefore should not be a part of strategic and diplomatic policies is wrong. These affairs should be in the shadow of the hope of divine victory..."

• (E) In a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah offered his approval of Iran’s nuclear program. Furthermore, al-Sabah praised Iran for its important work in promoting regional stability.

•  (E) An Iranian delegation is scheduled to meet with representatives from Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan to discuss the legal regime of the Caspian Sea. The legality of the sea is contentious because it is estimated to contain between 17 billion and 33 billion barrels of oil reserves.

•  (E) Speaking before the UN General Assembly, Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaee highlighted the double standard of nuclear weapon states that cooperate with Israel. According to Khazaee, such behavior undermines the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and limits the relevance of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

• (E) Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mualem is leading a delegation to Tehran to discuss bilateral cooperation. Mualem is scheduled to meet with high ranking Iranian officials, such as Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on his two-day trip.

• (E) Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei cautioned the US not to use the chaos in the post-election period as a platform to launch plots against the Islamic Republic. In strong statement, Khamenei said, "As long as the US administration maintains its arrogant spirit and threats, the Iranian nation will not be deceived by the fake conciliatory face of the US administration and will not give up its independence, freedom, national interests and rights at all."

• (E) In a meeting with Algerian Ambassador to Iran Mohammad Amin Daraghi, Iran's Expediency Council Chief Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani emphasized the importance of Islamic unity. Rafsanjani expressed interest in working with Algeria in trade, oil, gas and petrochemistry.

Military and Security

• The Revolutionary Guards declares that it will not allow "any group" to present "deviating slogans and deviating and fraudulent issues in an attempt to harm the strong will [of the Iranian nation.]"

• Greater Tehran Law Enforcement Forces declare that "the Day of God November 4th is the national day of the fight against world imperialism" and that only one demonstration "in front of the United States Den of Espionage has a legal permit" and that the Law Enforcement Forces will deal with "individuals and groups trying to instigate unrest and undisciplined and unlawful behavior."

• Tehran Justice Administration releases an announcement urging the public to be "vigilant" during November 4th demonstrations commemorating the seizure of the United States Embassy in Tehran.

• (E) Iran's Intelligence Ministry arrested five terrorists as part of a plot to assassinate an Iranian political figure. The Intelligence Ministry claims that the orders originated in Washington with the CIA.

• (E) Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Hassan Firouzabadi blamed the US for the key role that Washington’s regional allies have played in the formation of Wahhabi terrorism. Firouzabadi explained that Wahhabi terrorism targets Muslim unity and is anti-Islam. He cited US and NATO presence in Afghanistan as a reason for regional instability.

• (E) Iranian Deputy Interior Minister for Security and Law Enforcement Affairs Ali Abdullahi stated that recent documents have revealed that Washington has actively supported anti-Iran terrorist organizations, such as the Pakistani-based group Jundollah. According to Abdullahi, alleged US support of terror is not a new issue.

Nuclear Issue

• Speaker Ali Larijani:

  • "Whenever [members of the elites questioning the wisdom of certain iconic events in the history of the Islamic Republic] the weight of such national projects are reduced. One can in this field also point at the nuclear issue which is a national issue..."
  • "It is possible that the tone of the Americans changes, but because their violent militarist behavior is loathed by the world public, they had to change their tone."

• Ahmad Tavakoli: "Why should we bereave the Iranian nation which bravely stood behind the President in this issue and paid a heavy economic and commercial price, of having national uranium and why should we give a political and national security concession…?

• Until now no [nuclear] agreement has been signed, but if there are doubts in this issue, basically this agreement should not be signed. That the Westerners recognized us enriching uranium less than five percent is a concession since it is a long cry from closure of everything even the centers for nuclear physics studies at the universities. Now they have even capitulated with regard to the right to less than five percent enrichment which one should be thankful fore... I am against giving away a single kilo of the result of our national nuclear toil. In my opinion the government has not the right to do so..."

• (E) Ali Shirzadian, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said that Iran’s nuclear research reactor is able to continue its work for up to two decades.

• (E)Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Seyed Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi declared that Russia is eager to support Iran in the completion of her first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. However, the inauguration of the Bushehr plant has been delayed in the past and Iranian and Russian officials have offered different dates for its opening.

Economy

• (E) At the 12th Ministerial Meeting of the D8 group in Kuala Lumpur, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki elaborated on the trend of privatization in Iran and opportunities for Malaysian investment. During the meeting, Malaysian officials expressed their willingness to take advantage of Iran’s capacities in trade, finance, and construction.

• (E) Gholam Reza Manouchehri, Managing Director of the Petropars Oil and Gas Company, said that Iran signed a four billion dollar contract with Italy and South Korea regarding phase 12 development of Iran’s South Pars gas field. The South Pars gas field is being jointly developed by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian share of the field is about eight percent of the total world reserves.

Culture, Religion, and Society

• (E) Secretary General of Iran's National Olympic Committee Bahram Afsharzadeh met with Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Ziya Khin to review bilateral sports agreements between the two countries. Khin praised Iran’s participation in the Asian Indoor Games, which are taking place in Vietnam until November 11^th.

• (E) An earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale hit the town of Bam in the Kerman province of southeastern Iran. Reports of damage and casualties have not yet been released. Iran sits on two major fault lines and residents fear a major quake.

Photos of the Day

• A group of students at Khajeh Nasir Tousi University hold their shoes up as a sign of disrespect during the speech of Ahmadinejad's former Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi.