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

  • Supreme Leader Khamenei thanks the Iranian nation for participating in the Revolution Day celebrations: "Are trials and errors of a few arrogant and bullying governments over the past 31 years not sufficient to awaken them from ignorance sleep and teach them that it is useless to try to dominate the Islamic Iran?  Is presence of tens of millions of insightful and motivated people at the 31st anniversary of the Revolution not enough to awaken the enemies and the misguided inside the country who sometimes deceivingly speak on 'behalf of the people,' and show them that the path of this nation is the very straight path [of salvation] of Muhammedan Islam, peace be upon him, and the path of the Great Imam [Khomeini]?"
  • Friday prayer sermons: 
    • Hojjat al-Eslam Kazem Sedighi, Tehran’s temporary Friday prayer leader: 
      • "[The Revolution Day rallies] were the great Iranian nation’s epic, and a demonstration of power, wisdom, insight, allegiance to the Guardian Jurist, unity, and national solidarity all over the country..." 
      • "People’s lively presence once again dismayed and stupefied the enemy and gave hope to the oppressed people in the world. This in itself re-energized the revolution and religion." 
      • "You people are a sea without shores whose greatness is incomprehensible for the world, since you have melted within the greatness of the commander of the faithful..."
      • "The enemies had engaged in widespread propaganda in order to instigate hopelessness among the people, but the lively presence of the people showed that such propaganda has no effect on the revolutionary unity of the nation and even leads to opposite results...Even some domestic newspapers engaged in pessimism and attempted to create a dire atmosphere, but all their schemes did nothing but to strengthen the unity of the people..."
      • Referring to "some individuals who were victims of their own fantasies in the electoral events" Sedighi continued: "These individuals polluted the atmosphere to the degree that there were some who somehow believed that the final victory would belong to the West and the Islamic Revolution was in decline...With such beliefs they moved towards Britain, and some people inside and outside the country coordinated [their activities] to achieve the aims and goals of the West, but God disappointed them...They wanted to create insecurity, but now we see that the atmosphere has become insecure for themselves. Unfortunately they are still unrepentant, but sooner or later they will regret."
    • Hojjat al-Eslam Ghazi Asgar, Supreme Leader’s representative to the Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs, stresses that the Guardian Jurist is Fasl al-Khetab[has the final say] in all affairs. 
    • Ayatollah Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari, Tabriz Friday prayer leader: 
      • "The unprecedented presence of the Iranian nation in February 11, 2010 [Revolution Day rallies] was a heavy blow in the face of world imperialism, and their domestic and international mercenaries who had used this year's election as an excuse to plant discord. They were stupefied!"
    • Ayatollah Sheikh Mostafa Olama, Kermanshah Friday prayer leader: 
      • "The old imperialism of Britain and other countries attempted to damage Islam and Muslims through instrumental use of the likes of Salman Rushdie, but because of the wisdom of His Holiness the Imam and the fatwa [religious edict] he issued to punish the heretic author of The Satanic Verses this conspiracy was controlled and neutralized...The historical verdict of His Holiness the Imam is still valid, which shows the power of Islam and weakness of the enemies and imperialists of the world." 
    • Hojjat al-Eslam Mohammad Saidi, Qom Friday prayer leader: 
      • "The conspirators and instigators of discord should know that if they don't surrender to the nation, they are doomed to annihilation..."
      • "You have helped the enemy for the past eight months and you have distanced yourself from the people..."
      • "The instigators of the discord should know that they have burned all the bridges behind them and that they no longer have any place among the people...Return and tell the people that all what you have said and done was nothing but lies..."
      • One way to return from this path is to depart from [the camp of] external enemies of the regime..."
  • Iran’s Nuclear Energy Organization Director Ali-Akbar Salehi: 
    • "In the nuclear issue Pakistan and even Turkey, Egypt, Algeria and a number of Islamic countries were more advanced than us, but now the nuclear program of our country is beyond comparison with those countries..."
    • "Some may raise the question that Pakistan has managed to build the nuclear bomb, how come we have become the vanguard? But we must know that building the bomb does not mean mastering the nuclear technology in its entirety..."
    • "In the nuclear technologies be it the fuel cycle, planning reactors, exploration or extraction of uranium we have worked. But God forbid, one must not think that we are like Japan in this field. No, we have achieved this technology and we need to mature it, therefore we need time. In other words, we are capable of transporting goods with [Iranian produced car] Peykan and cover all our needs, but we still need time to reach [the level of Mercedes] Benz!..."
    • "Currently we produced the first shipment of 20 percent enriched uranium in 48 hours which in itself is a great achievement...More than 12000 employees, mostly engineers, doctors, and scientists work in this organization...With regard to Bushehr, let me tell you the good news that firstly, all its tests have been conducted and now we are preparing for the final test called 'hot water' [test] which takes almost a month after which there will be no test. God willing, if all affairs advance correctly fuel will be transferred to the heart of the reactor and we hope to witness inauguration of Bushehr Nuclear Plant next spring..." http://www.farsnews.net/newstext.php?nn=8811230089

Human Rights

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