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]. 

Politics

• Supreme Leader Khamenei visits Chalus and the people "shed tears out of happiness."
• Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar appoints Abdollahi to be Security Deputy and Sowlat Mortazavi as Political Deputy at the Interior Ministry.
• The parliament will discuss reform of the subsidies system next week.
• Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, Head of the Association of the Professors at the Theological Seminaries in Qom, warns of a conspiracy against the regime and adds: "There are some who claim we recognize the regime and the government, but whenever there is a difference of opinion, they do whatever they want and their deeds deviates from their statements...The ship of the revolution was years ago handed over to someone who does not think of anything but God and has entered the arena for the sake of God."
• Ayatollah Haeri Shirazi warns members of the elite who commit numerous "mistakes" and have received "the red card" from the regime.
• Hojjat al-Eslam Mohammad-Taghi Rahbar, member of the clerical faction of the parliament, says the faction has good relationship with Rafsanjani, has held consultations with him and that Rafsanjani "fundamentally does not believe in claims of electoral fraud."
• Former President Mohammad Khatami visits Said Hajjarian, released from Evin Prison.
• Alef News Agency refutes The Guardian's story on allegedly Jewish origin of Ahmadinejad.
• (E) Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warned against enemy plots to downplay the importance of the incredible turnout in Iran’s June elections. He said “The enemy caused unrest in a part of the country. We see that it is worried about the 85 percent participation of the Iranian nation in the presidential election.” Khamenei urged Iranian citizens to thwart enemy conspiracies to cause civil unrest.

Economy:

•  (E) Data from the Iranian Customs Office showed that Iran’s imports decreased by 21 percent in the first half of 2009. Iraq with $1.781 billion worth of imports was Iran's top export destination, followed by China with $1.33 billion.
• (E) The head of Iran’s Central Bank claimed that Iran has benefitted economically from the replacement of the U.S. dollars with a basket of foreign currencies. Earlier in the year, President Ahmadinejad ordered the replacement of the dollar for the Euro in Iran’s foreign exchange accounts.

Trade

• Hojjatallah Ghanimi-Fard, Investments Deputy at the National Iranian Oil Company, says sanctions "do not constitute a threat to Iran" and that Iran would be able to "use its reserves or through other producers."
  • (E) Iran announced than any gasoline sanctions imposed by certain countries would be futile because of the surplus of refineries and the refining companies' obligation to produce and sell their products. Managing director of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) Farid Ameri explained that Iran does not struggle to supply its gasoline needs.

Media

• Arman is banned.

Iran in the Afghan Media

• Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta has declared that Afghanistan will not allow its territory to be used by any foreign country to launch attacks against neighboring countries.
•  A large number of Afghan parliamentarians, politicians, and tribal leaders held a gathering in Kabul to condemn a decision by Iran’s Supreme Court to execute an Afghan young citizen, Abbas Hussein. The meeting called on the international human rights organizations, Islamic countries and the European Union to prevent the execution of Hussein. They also called on the Afghan government to strongly condemn the decision, suspend all diplomatic relations with Iran, and expel the Islamic Republic’s ambassador from the country.
• Afghanistan’s government-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reports on rumors that Iran has opened a border crossing to allow Afghans without legal documents to enter Iran. The governor of Herat Province, bordering Iran, has confirmed the rumors and tasked a team to investigate the case.
  • Afghanpaper reports that 350 Afghans without passports and visas entered Iran through Dogharoon border point.  According to the report, a great number of Afghans are therefore heading to Iran’s border. The news has also pushed up travel fares from Herati cities to the Iranian border from 150 to 250 Afghanis to 500 to 600 Afghanis.
  • Hasht-e Sobh says the border was rumored to have been open for two days. Afghan and Iranian officials, however, reject the reports as baseless. “Everyone crossing the official border needs to have a passport. But over the past recent days it is possible that some people have entered Iran illegally,” the head of Iran’s Consulate in Herat said. According to the report, some people in western Afghanistan describe the incident as a political maneuver by Iran.
• Afghan opposition daily Jawedan accuses Iran of meddling in Afghanistan’s internal affairs and criticizes Karzai’s close relationship with Ahmadinejad. The author says:
  • “The Islamic Republic of Iran played a major role in the recent Afghan election. Not only did Ahmadinejad support Karzai financially, but he also persuaded Shi’a Afghan leaders to back Karzai.”
  • The writer says Ahmadinejad backed Karzai’s re-election for three main reasons:
    • “First, Karzai is a weak president and Afghanistan’s neighbors do not support a strong leader in the country.
    • Second, Ahmadinejad is capitalizing on souring relationship between Karzai and America, with aim of creating trouble for the West through Karzai. It is also possible that Ahmadinejad has come to believe that after eight years Karzai has now become independent, and that with the departure of Bush from power, he is no longer an American puppet. He may also believe that Karzai will not allow the Americans to attack Iran from the Afghan soil…
    • Third, both Ahmadinejad and Karzai are accused of rigging the elections and they lack legitimacy at home and abroad…”
  • The writer, however, points out that political structures in the two countries are different. “In Iran, Ali Khamenei is the leader and commander of Ahmadinejad. But in Afghanistan, the commanding officer of Karzai is Obama.”
  • “The Iranian media justified support for Karzai because he enjoyed the backing of Shi’as in Afghanistan… But the election results showed that Karzai failed to secure the Shi’a vote despite massive fraud, and that most of the Shi’as voted for either Ramazan Bashardost or Dr. Abdullah.”
  • “Contrary to claiming brotherly relationship with Karzai, Ahmadinejad has been using the innocent and oppressed Afghan refugees to exert political pressure on the Afghan government…”
  • “Afghan leaders should adopt a balanced policy toward the West and neighboring countries, which should be on the basis of Afghanistan’s national interest, not based on personal relationships. Undoubtedly, Afghanistan needs good relations with the neighboring countries…but friendly relations with neighbors that would make the West our enemy will prove dangerous for Afghanistan…”
  • “The great people of Iran and Afghanistan… deserve better leaders than Ahmadinejad and Karzai. Until the two countries are ruled by self-centered, incompetent, and deceitful leaders, they cannot enjoy peace and prosperity,” the article concludes.

Military and Security

• Alef News Agency confirms earlier reports that Hojjat al-Eslam Hossein Taeb, former Basij Chief, has been promoted to Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Department Chief. Taeb replaces Gholam-Hossein Ramezani.
• Commander Mehdi Tavakkoli, Qom Law Enforcement Forces Chief, says his force will energize its "moral patrols" at city level to increase morality in the public space.
• Supreme Leader Khamenei, addressing the graduation ceremony at the Officer Academy of the Navy of the Regular Army, stresses that the military might of the Islamic Republic is not a threat "to any of the nations of the world."
  • Khamenei urges the officer corps to consider the blogosphere as an arena of "soft warfare" of the enemy against the Islamic Republic.
  • War game in the Caspian in honor of Supreme Leader Khamenei.
• Derafsh [the Banner] gunboat enters the Islamic Republic's Caspian Fleet.
• (E) According to Iran’s Aerospace Research Institute, the Islamic Republic is planning to deploy another research satellite by March. Mohsen Bahrami, the director of the Aerospace Research Institute, hopes to send animals into space within the next two years to pave the way for a manned space mission.

Diplomacy

• Ala al-Din Boroujerdi, National Security and Foreign Policy Committee chairman of the parliament, says Hamas leader Khalid Mish'al's use of the word "the Arab Gulf" is "unpardonable."
• (E) Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has blamed the US for the disappearance of Iranian Umrah pilgrim, Shahram Amiri, in Saudi Arabia. While Mottaki criticized the Saudi forces for their failure to protect the Umrah pilgrim, Mottaki claimed to have discovered documents proving US interference.
• (E) Head of Iran-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group Fatemeh Alia underlined the importance of parliamentary relations between state governments. Marc Innes-Brown, the Australian Ambassador to Tehran, agreed that cooperation between Iranian and Australian parliaments could lead to stronger ties between the two countries. 
• (E) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to meet with Afghan and Pakistani leaders Hamid Karzai and Asif Ali Zardari in late November. Karzai hopes to strengthen ties between Iran and Pakistan and discuss the multi-billion dollar pipeline that was supposed to bring gas from the South Pars field in Iran to India via Pakistan.
• (E) Bahrain’s Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa explained that Iran brings stability and peace to the region in a meeting with Iranian Envoy to Manama Hossein Amir Abdollahian. Al-Khalifa rejected allegations that Iran was a regional threat and praised the country for its patience regarding the development of nuclear energy. Al-Khalifa agreed that all countries have the right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program.
• (E) In a meeting with Iraq’s former Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki expressed that Iran has always supported the independence of Iraq and specified the current occupation as a major obstacle peace and security in the country. Iran's Expediency Council Chief Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani focused on the fragmentation of the Iraqi population, with competing sects vying for power, as an impediment to peace imposed by foreign nations.
• (E) An Iranian parliamentary delegation met with other parliamentary leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina and discussed the mutual interest in expanding economic, political, cultural, and parliamentary ties.
• (E) Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili emphasized the strengthening ties between Tehran and Baghdad, explaining that the growing relationship is important for regional stability. The top nuclear negotiator for Iran also expressed interest in cooperating and transferring knowledge to Iraq.
• (E) Iran's Agricultural Jihad Minister Sadeq Khalilian met with the Kenyan Minister for Foreign Affairs Moses Wetangula in Tehran about mutual cooperation between the two states, specifically in the agricultural arena. The Kenyan Minister also hoped to implement a joint agreement on road construction and the establishment of an Iranian bank in Kenya.
• (E) Iran officially joined TRACEA, a transport corridor established in 1998 to expand road, transport and economic cooperation among neighboring countries of the Caspian Sea, Black Sea and Caucasus. This move brings significant economic and political interests for Iran.

Religion, Culture, and Society:

• (E) Zarbahang, an Iranian music group, is scheduled to introduce Persian art during a concert in Hong Kong on November 12^th. The band hopes to extend their tour to Germany, but details have not been confirmed.
• (E) The Iranian national futsal team won the championship at the International Futsal Friendship Cup, beating teams from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
• (E) A Time to Love, an Iranian film directed by Ebrahim Forouzesh, was awarded at Canada’s Carrousel International du Film de Rimouski film festival. The film, which showcased a short animation, was granted the CIFE (the Centre International du Film pours l'Enfance et la Jeuneusse) award and the jury’s prize.
• (E) A blazing fire raged through Teheran’s Grand Bazaar on Monday evening and nine Iranian firefighters were injured. Experts are still determining the cause of the fire.
• (E) The Iranian film Ashkan, Sacred Circlet and Some Other Stories directed by Shahram Mokri will be showcased in Pusan, Sao Paulo and Mumbai film festivals. The film depicts the story of a jewelry heist and describes how the culprits became involved in the crime.
• (E) Tehran sent a letter to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) complaining that London had refused to grant visas to the Iranian athletes hoping to compete in the upcoming gymnastics event on October 17^th. According to Iran's Gymnastics Federation President Ahmad Mohtashami, Iran’s Gymnastic Federation applied for visas four months ago.

Nuclear Issue:

• (E) Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi has hailed the 5+1 talks in Geneva as a success because of Iran’s refusal to bow to the West. Qashavi exclaimed “"We achieved the outcome of  Iran's resistance [to foreign pressure over its nuclear program] in Geneva talks.”
•  (E) President Ahmadinejad publicized that Iran is looking to purchase uranium for Tehran’s research reactor. While Ahmadinejad explained that Iran has received offers from various countries, he would consider a French offer for uranium to support Iran’s nuclear program. He reiterated that the development of nuclear energy in the Islamic Republic is for peaceful purposes and condemned the use of nuclear weapons.

Photos of the Day

• Khamenei in Nowshahr.