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

• Davoud Ahmadinejad, the president's brother, accuses an unnamed individual close to his brother of "paying astronomic amounts" to silence criticism.
• During a meeting with war veterans and families of war era martyrs, Mohsen Rezaei, former Revolutionary Guards chief, says the biggest mistake after the end of the war was the marginalization of "capable forces."

Diplomacy

• Parliamentarian Hojjat al-Esalm Ghodratollah Alikhani:
  • "For some time, it has been rumored in the public and especially among the well- educated that the government is providing large-scale financial support to certain countries and that governmental or [even] private companies engage in export of goods and services which is laudable. But the matter is beyond this and in some instances it is worrying... Lately we saw in the media that the president of Afghanistan officially declared that he has received certain amounts from Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, the president's chief of staff. According to Article 80 of the Constitution any aid to governments and countries must pass through the parliament... Our ambassador [to Afghanistan] denies it out of necessity, but the president of Afghanistan confirms it!... How many parliamentarians are aware of such transfers? Why does the president, who has sworn to safeguard the Constitution, engage in an act which counters the constitution...The ambassador of the Islamic Republic to Syria announces that we are spending 5 billion dollars in Syria. Is this number really true? Where does the money come from? What is the annual amount used for reconstruction of the country [Iran]?"
  • Answering Alikhani's criticism, Ala al-Din Boroujerdi, parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee chairman, said that Iran's aid to Afghanistan has gone through all the legal channels, and parliamentarian Hojjat al-Esalm Hamid Rasayi accused Alikhani of "reflecting the viewpoints of the enemy."
    • Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast: "Iran's aid is aimed at rebuilding Afghanistan and establishing its economic foundation; this will continue in the future.
• Parliamentarian Hojjat al-Eslam Hamid Rasayi says that the Bolivian president’s visit shows that "the revolution has been exported to the backyard of the United States."

Military and Security

• Basij Chief Mohammad Naghdi, says the Basij will intervene "as a supplement to the cabinet ministries" should there be problems with the reform of the subsidies system.

Nuclear Issue

• Hojjat al-Eslam Ali Saidi, the Supreme Leader's Representative to the Revolutionary Guards, addresses the "soft warfare" seminar at Imam Hossein University:
  • "[During the Khatami presidency] the deputy speaker of the sixth parliament presented a bill demanding acceptance of the [Additional] Protocol and that we should stop the enrichment cycle of nuclear fuel. This [view] was different from that of the Leader, and today we see the footprint of this organization [Mosharekat reformist front] everywhere, even at the level of sources of emulation. The Supreme Leader said: 'One of these gentlemen issued a religious edict [fatwa] on the nuclear issue [to the effect] that because the nuclear issue is contrary to our national security, it is religiously prohibited [haram]. The problem is that in some phases power came into the hands of liberal Islam, and they managed to influence the parliament and the executive... The two [opposing views] could be effective at various levels. Conflicting opinions are not a problem, but, if this conflict becomes public or if liberal Islam comes into power, it could be dangerous."
    • According to Parsine, Saidi's reference to "a source of emulation fatwa," refers to Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's edict.
      

Economy

• According to Akbar Soheilipour, the exact capital and value of all state-owned companies has reached 6990 trillion Rial.
• According to Tehran-e Emrooz, the people of Tehran will receive cash handouts towards the end of next week.
  • According to Kayhan, cash handouts to East Azerbaijan and Hamedan provinces were transferred to the bank accounts of the applicants today.
• The government tasks 10,000 agents to monitor the level of prices in the market in order to avoid rising prices.

Trade

• Tehran-e Emrooz reports establishment of a new bank, "Bank-e Naft" [Petroleum Bank]. 
• Iran and Bolivia establish a joint bank.

Photos of the Day

• Ahmadinejad at the National Defense University.