Iran News Round Up

Politics

• Abrar provides details of the recent meeting of the Assembly of Experts presided over by Rafsanjani. The report says that Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi was not present due to illness, Ayatollah Vaez Tabasi came late and left the meeting early, and that Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi was sitting in a corner.

• Former president Khatami denies meeting George Soros.

• Televised confessions of reformist theoreticians Said Hajjarian, Mohammad Atrian-Far and Said Shariati at a panel discussion:

  • The interviewer: "While imprisoned, none of you had access to any means of communications. How come have all of you changed to this degree?

    • Said Shariati, a former member of Mosharekat [Participation] reformist Front: "Change of mind does not necessarily require a lot of time and one may change his or her mind in a moment...One must not necessarily study a subject for 15 years and then realize he is mistaken. Therefore, it is quite possible that one realizes he is mistaken during the course of study. There are several historical precedents...The prison environment was really a suitable environment for our thought and provided us with the opportunity to filter our previous thinking. Therefore, one must say that the layers and logic of party politics and organizational logic disappeared and gave us an opportunity to rethink...This was an opportunity for us to study the teachings of the Imam [Khomeini] anew...Of course, I believe that many of our friends who are outside the prison interpret our conditions differently. Had they been subjected to our conditions, they would have reached the same conclusion, but they are still subject to political ups and downs and emotions...Western thought is related to the Western tradition. There have been some deviations in this thought, but we have both forgotten our own traditions in the Islamic order and we have become enslaved by the Western world. And retrogressively, because of our needs of Western technology, we have also become enslaved by Western humanities and Western philosophy which keep us away from our own tradition. Today, being traditional in our society means belonging to the mobs..."

  • Said Hajjarian, the co-founder of the Intelligence Ministry and a reformist theoretician, regrets having carried out reformist activities:

    • "During the reform era, after 1997 and maybe before, in reality after the end of the [Iran/Iraq] war and after leaving behind a lot of problems caused by the war, and because of our backwardness in the humanities in practical terms, we could not solve the problems of the country and address the needs of the country in line with our own religious foundations..."
    • "Therefore, we sought inspiration in methods of government and governance from the Western world, which has its own philosophical foundations...I do not want to mention anyone by name at this tribune, but I can certainly announce that there were some individuals who played a key role in realization of Western foundations and Western thoughts in Iran...Allow me to say at least that some political activists with Marxist, socialist, and even anarchist records, and of course mostly from a liberal viewpoint, propagated such ideas at the university level...The youth are interested in innovation and they have not inherited much from the past. Therefore, they devour such ideas..."
    • "Most of my dear people who are teaching humanities at Iranian universities are themselves educated in the West and they have been exposed to an atmosphere which has indoctrinated this package of thought in them...I am not saying that they are Western cadres but without even being aware of it, Iranian professors who are educated in the West and who have not been trained in the field of critique of [the Western concepts] teach lessons as if they were divine revelations..."

  • Mohammad Atrian-Far, a member of the Kargozaran technocratic faction explains why he has radically changed his mind while imprisoned:

    • "When you are imprisoned you see yourself naked in front of the truth and this is the sentiment that all our friends have been subjected to in prison. When you see someone like [Said] Hajjarian, who has achieved a lot in strengthening the regime and with his insight reaches the point where he abandons everything in his mind which is relying upon Western concepts, it is because he has returned to his true essence, an essence which was shaped during the era of the Imam [Khomeini]..."
    • "There are some who think that experiencing certain conditions at prison has made us reach this point. I must say that prison is not a nice place, but the prison in which we have been imprisoned has not imposed any pressure and problem upon us..."
    • "We have made our own conclusions and we thank God that he has provided us with this opportunity..."
    • "Do not imagine that those who do not speak out are putting up resistance. Maybe they do not have our courage. We have reached the conclusion that at certain points one must speak up about those points which others ignore and do not mention. But if people speak up and do so courageously, wisdom prevails and this shows the path forward...I am of the belief that opportunity must be given to our friends so that they can express their viewpoints in a way that they can prove that they belong to the regime..." 

• Sobh-e Sadegh claims Sheikh Ali Tehrani, husband of the Supreme Leader’s sister, from his home in Gorgan Street in Tehran "is engaged in subversive work against the regime." The paper also accuse his son in Paris in an interview with the Radio Farda has "indirectly called for military action against the regime."

• Sobh-e Sadegh releases the second part of an interview with a certain Engineer Salimi-Namin, criticizing the latest volume of Rafsanjani's memoirs and holding Rafsanjani personally responsible for negotiations for ending the war against the wish of Khomeini. The paper adds that Rafsanjani was the central individual in the Iran Contra affair.

Diplomacy

• Abrar releases the names of U.S. Institute of Peace scholars who will be meeting with Ahmadineajd in New York.

• (E) President Ahmadinejad is scheduled to speak at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. The President indicated that he would address Iran’s role in creating solution to global concerns.

•  (E) Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi criticized France for its defense of Israel. France considered Ayatollah Khamenei’s description of the state in his al-Qods day sermon as the “Zionist Cancer” to be “profoundly shocking.” Qashqavi claimed that such a response exposes a French bias towards Israel.

• (E)The Iran-Vietnam Friendship Association, aimed at strengthening the ties between Iran and Vietnam in a diverse range of areas, began its work to foster increased cooperation. At the opening ceremony, the Iranian envoy to Hanoi emphasized the incredible potential for a friendship association to solidify the relationship between the two Asian states.

•  (E) An Iranian delegation of parliamentary members touring the Congo announced that they are attempting to expand Iran’s ties with Africa during their visit. The head of the Iranian delegation to Kinshasa Hamid Reza Haji Babaee reiterated that the role of the parliaments in each state would be essential for the continuation of this relationship.

• (E) In a meeting with Gonzalo Fernandez, the Uruguayan Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki commented that Iran enjoys a positive relationship with Latin American states. Mottaki discussed Iran’s desire to establish closed economic ties in South America, specifically in the areas of science and technology.

Economy

• E'temad' economic columnist says a survey of data from Iran Statistics, data from the Central Bank and data released by the government and the Petroleum Ministry show that $25 billion is missing from the oil income.  

• Afab-e Yazd's economic panel criticizes the Ahmadinejad government’s economic policies.

Trade

• Foreign Minister of France opposes the idea of gasoline boycott of the Islamic Republic.

• The Islamic Republic plans to prioritize oil refineries in order to secure Iran in the face of possible gasoline sanctions.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Tehran Police warns stores against curvy mannequins "provocatively dressed", and the sale of ladies underwear by male salespersons and the like.

• Sobh-e Sadegh stresses the popularity of the Iran/Iraq war movies and considers production of more war movies as a means of preserving the culture of the "sacred defense."

• According to Sobh-e Sadegh, Shia's in Medina have been attacked by "radical Wahabis".

Military and Security

• Conflicting reports on the crash of an Iranian Army Air Force fighter near Varamin. 

• Commander Mir-Bagher Feisal-Zadeh discusses the history of the Office of Preservation of the Values of the Sacred Defense.

• (E) General Mohammad Hossein Dadras, the Army’s top deputy liaison, emphasized the need for Iran to increase its defensive capabilities. Iran has produced advanced electronic warfare and anti-electronic warfare and radar systems, including information gathering, wiretapping, and orientation. However, Dadras asserted "If we increase our defense power, we will be able to portray Iran as a more independent, more important”

Nuclear Issue

• (E) Farhad Dalq-Poush, a member of the Iranian Parliament, explained that the sanctions that have been imposed on Iran since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979 have allowed the country to become self-sufficient. Dalq-Puosh’s statement followed a threat from the US and its allies to impose greater sanctions if Iran does not agree to change its nuclear program.

• (E) Hossein Ebrahimi, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, expanded upon Dalq-Poush’s statement and claimed that if Iran was not subject to boycotts in the past, the country would suffer from dependence on foreign nations. Ebrahimi specifically referred to the development of Iran’s nuclear program. He commented “today sanctions have become routine for us because during this period we could attain nuclear technology and know-how and launch (the Iran-made) Omid satellite…”

• (E) Despite the threat of fuel sanctions from the US and its allies in response to Iran’s nuclear program, China has agreed to supply the Islamic Republic with gas via third parties. Lawrence Eagles, head of the commodities market for JP Morgan, announced that approximately 30,000-40,000 barrels of petrol a day are being imported by Iran from the Chinese market.

• (E) Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran invited officials from Persian Gulf states to visit Iran’s nuclear sites in order to share technological information. Iran has offered to hold “workshops” to teach other countries about nuclear development, including the United Arab Emirates. Iran has reiterated that the nuclear program in the Islamic Republic is peaceful.

• (E) In a meeting with Alexander Stubb of Finland, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki expressed that Iran was willing to take a lead role in nuclear disarmament. Stubb considered the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, to be “constructive” and advocated that ties between Finland and Iran continue.

Photo of the Day

• Ahmadinejad at the U.N. General Assembly.