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

  • Higher Education Minister Kamran Daneshjou: "We will throw out students not following the path [of the regime from the universities] and will not be the least ashamed of doing so."

  • Former President Mohammad Khatami: "Forgetting God is a catastrophe, but even more catastrophic is when we impose our Satanic goals and inhumane ways and traditions upon the people in the name of God and everything which is sacred."

  • Payam Fazlinezhad, addressing Fars News Agency's seminar on Internet News Agencies accuses former President Mohammad Khatami of being a "Freemason."

  • Parliamentarian Bizhan Nobaveh protests against the Judiciary's inaction and apparent immunity of "children of the elites" from prosecution in the unrest.

  • Mohammad-Javad Ardeshir Larijani, consultant to the Judiciary and secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary, addressed students at Imam Sadegh University:  "Today the Islamic Republic has developed into the greatest example of non-secular democracy. This is our greatest deed: Establishment of a civil and political order based upon Islam."

Diplomacy

Military and Security

  • Hojjat al-Eslam Sedighi, Tehran temporary Friday prayer leader:

    • "Arrest of [Jundallah terrorist group ring leader Abd al-Malek] Rigi was due to divine intervention..."

    • "The unknown soldiers of the Imam of the Era created yet another historical epic by their action..."

    • "The imperialist powers had through scientific and psychological [research] identified Rigi as an element with high criminal potential against the Iranian nation..."

    • "The enemies of the Islamic revolution chose to guide Rigi by their spy agencies because he could develop into a center of insecurity for the region..."

    • "Arrest of Rigi has dealt an unprecedented blow to the intelligence services of Britain, the United States, and the spy agencies of some regional countries which can't be forgotten soon..."

    • "Arrest of this rogue has gladdened the heart of the Imam of the Era, his Vice Regent [Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei] and the Iranian nation..."

    • "One of the blessings of this security operation was that prior to [the arrest] the spy agencies boasted of their power, but the unknown soldiers of the Imam of the Era proved that these spy agencies are vulnerable..."

    • "This Mr. Obama who chanted the deceptive slogan of change through which he got the votes of the Americans supports terrorism and the arrested Rigi is an example of this. Now he [Obama] has been unmasked and his honor is questioned..."

  • Mohammad-Ali Ja'fari, IRGC chief, addressing Basij members in Yasouj:

    • "The nationalists, Monafeghan [the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization] and the Monarchists are continuously trying to deal blows to the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic and they started many different movements but thanks to the vigilance of the people who are loyal towards the Guardian Jurist these movements of the enemy were neutralized and frustrated."

  • Ahmad-Reza Radan, Law Enforcement Forces Deputy, addressing theological students and Basij members in Qom: "Even those who chose silence during the discord were among the deviated ones."

  • Revolutionary Guards Navy conducts war game.

  • Nezam Mousavi, Javan executive director, says arrest of an Iranian journalist in Italy shows that "Western security services are in a state of shock and are forced into the defensive" after arrest of Rigi.

  •  [E] Iranian officials announced that the country's airport police have seized 737kg of drugs in the current Iranian year (ending March 20) which shows a 12-time hike.

  • [E] Iran's Prosecutor General Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei said that the judiciary officials are mulling over holding the trial of ringleader of the Jundallah rebel group, Abd al-Malek Rigi, openly due to the Iranian peoples' demand.

  • [E] “The terrorist Abd al-Malek Rigi received funding and intelligence support from the United States, Britain, the Zionists and some Arab states of the region, due to his own characteristics,” said Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, Iran's Chief Prosecutor and the previous intelligence minister, late Wednesday.

Nuclear Issue

Economy

Trade

Iran-Afghanistan

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