Iran News Round Up

Politics

• Ahmadinejad attends Cyrus Cylinder exhibition in Tehran:  
  • "The surah Kahf [from Quran], which mentions the just king Zolgharnein is recited…”
  • "At the National Museum, Ahmadinejad drapes a Basij scarf around shoulders of a man dressed as an Achaemenid soldier..."
  • "Kaveh the Smith [Kaveh-ye Ahangar], another symbol of the Iranian nation’s combativeness  and resistance throughout history was also present at the meeting with his banner. The president also draped the [Basij] scarf over his shoulders..."
  • "The third individual who was honored with the draping with the Basij scarf was a Basij youth who raised the sacred flag of the Islamic Republic at the venue to the tunes of saz and naghareh, instruments of traditional music of some parts of Iran which made the scene memorable."
  • "During the inauguration of the Cyrus Cylinder, people wearing traditional dresses representing ethnic groups in Iran celebrated the return of the 'Cylinder of Cyrus the King of the World,' an expression used by the president."
  • "Musician Fereydoun Biglari sang a piece called 'The Day Arash [the mythical archer] defined the frontiers of Iran it was as if [Imam] Ali had given strength to his arms.'"
    • JARAS News Agency condemning human rights violations in the Islamic Republic calls the Cyrus Cylinder "a stranger in its own home!"
• Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, establishes a news agency called Mashanews. One comment released on Mashanews reads: "Iran needs someone like Mashaei to get rid of Mullahs once for all in Iran and bring back the great civilization of Iran minus the Arab mullahs who have polluted and destroyed Iran for the past 31 years. Please bring back true Iran." More, here.  
• Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami answers a question by Tehran-e Emrouz regarding "Islam minus the clergy thesis" ascribed to Mashaei and his views about the government:
  • "I don't want to speak about individuals. I believe that the clergy has played an important role in the regime. The thesis 'Islam minus the clergy' is fundamentally senseless just like medicine without doctors and has imperialist roots. Its goal is to marginalize the clergy from the arena and to give room to those who have deviated and have fundamental problems with the Islamic revolution and the regime. Therefore, this movement will not find a path among the devout and the principalists."
  • "In some regards we have problems [with the government], when it comes to the president's support for his colleagues and the like, but at the same time, reflecting the views of the Leader we feel obliged to support positive deeds of the government."
• Fatemeh Karrubi explains the Revolutionary Guards' encirclement of the Karrubi residence on Eid al-Fitr Day:
  • "It is impossible to imagine that a rogue group encircled a residential complex and did whatever they desired without being stopped by anyone..."
  • "From 7a.m., these forces took position outside our residence and anyone who wanted to visit us would call later saying they were not allowed to enter the building..."
  • "The only people who were allowed to visit us were our sons who came along with their families..."
  • "Firstly, thanks to God, and to our bodyguards, that they [the Guardsmen] did not manage to enter our building. We were convinced that they wanted to make us and our children martyrs...The insulted us with the worst language; insulted me, a 60 years old woman, and Mr. Karrubi, who is 73. This is not a method of government. This is not Islam. I don't know what to call such acts."

Diplomacy

• Parliamentarian Kouchakzadeh condemns establishment of “parallel institutions” in Iran's diplomacy, and demands that Ahmadinejad obey Supreme Leader Khamenei.
• Hossein Alizadeh, diplomat in Helsinki, Finland, resigns from his position at the embassy and joins the Green Movement.

Military and Security

• Abbas Ja'fari Dowlatabadi, Tehran’s prosecutor general, says evidence shows the three U.S. citizens jailed in Iran were engaged in espionage.
• [E] The Iranian Navy's presence in the high seas and international waters is part of Tehran's strategy for displaying its might and power to the world, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said on Monday.
• [E] A statement by the Iranian Defense Ministry has strongly condemned the recent insult to the Muslims' holy book on the 9/11 anniversary in the U.S., and warned Washington and Zionists of the dire consequences of their provocative act.
  • [E] The U.S. plan for burning Muslims' divine book on the 9/11 anniversary is a move to divert attention of the public opinion from the real causes of the incident, a high-ranking Iranian military official said on Monday.

Nuclear Issue

• Ali-Akbar Salehi, Iran Nuclear Energy Organization director, says accusations by the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization about military nuclear activities in Iran are attempts to influence the United Nations General Assembly.
  • Salehi adds there are no undeclared nuclear installations in Iran.
• [E] Tehran on Monday blasted the recent report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog Chief, Yukiya Amano, on Iran's nuclear program for copying certain parts of the “illegal” U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929 while leaving untouched major facts about Iran's nuclear program.
• [E] Iran renewed its preparedness to resume negotiations with the Vienna Group on the swap of nuclear fuel, but it meantime underlined that such talks can only be conducted within the framework of the Vienna Group.

Economy and Trade

• Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi complains about rising prices, describing statistics showing declining inflation as untrue.
• Mohammad Nahavandian, Iran Chamber of Commerce director, says the chamber has established a special committee providing consultancy to Iranian merchants targeted by the international sanctions regime.
• Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr, deputy oil minister, says Iran has no problems with exporting crude oil and "the international demand is such that Iran even makes conditions for selling crude oil." Mohammad-Ali Khatibi, Iran's representative to OPEC adds that repair of oil refineries resulted in decreased oil exports.
• Hamid Borhani, foreign exchange deputy at the Central Bank, says the Central Bank will never be subjected to the international sanctions.
• Lebanese banks join anti-Iran sanctions.  
• [E] A senior official of Iran's largest auto-manufacturing company, Iran-Khodro (IKCO), said that the Iran Khodro Industrial Group is ready to construct a new car production plant in Venezuela after receiving the final approval of the Latin American country.
• [E] Iran plans to aid Comoros with its developmental projects by investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the country, Comorian Ambassador to Tehran Ahmad Najid al-Marzouqi announced on Monday.
• [E] Malawian Foreign Minister Etta Banda underlined her country's willingness to bolster cooperation with Tehran in different fields, especially in the private sector.
• [E] Head of Iran-South Korea Parliamentary Friendship Group Seyed Kazzem Hejazi asked the Tehran government to downgrade relations with all those states which comply with Washington's unilateral sanctions against Iran, including South Korea.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Filmmaker Ebrahim Hatami-Kiya at the television program "Raz" [Secret].

Photos of the Day

• Ahmadinejad at the Cyrus Cylinder exhibition.
• The Islamic Republic: A Dead End.