Iran News Roundup August 25-26, 2010

August 26, 2010

Politics

Ayatollah Mohammad-Baqir Kharrazi, Iranian Hezbollah secretary general, accuses the Larijani brothers of secretly being Jews.
Supreme Leader Khamenei receiving Iranian poets praises the bravery and courage of the Iranian nation.
Ahmadinejad tells students that the movement of discord is not yet dead.
The Martyr Foundation says those individuals killed at Kahrizak Detention Center in the aftermath of the presidential election are martyrs.

Diplomacy

Ahmadinejad appoints chief-of-staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei to be his special Middle East adviser.
Mashaei has handed a message from Ahmadinejad to Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahamd al-Sabah.
Mashaei announces that Iran will make a formal complaint about breaches of its neutrality during both World War I and World War II.
- [E] Iran announced that it is gathering documents on the damages inflicted by the Allied Forces on the Iranian nation during the Second World War to lodge a complaint against them with the related international bodies.
Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani urges the Shi‘a to help "their Sunni brethren in Pakistan."
High ranking Lebanese Amal delegation visits Tehran on the anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Musa Sadr.
[E] Iran is resolved to continue its support for the Palestinian people despite the pressures exerted by certain countries to dissuade the Islamic Republic from its principles, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said.
[E] Outgoing Danish Ambassador to Tehran Thomas Christenssen in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called for the development of ties and cooperation between the two countries.

Military and Security

Mohammad-Javad Hasheminezhad, Habilian association of the victims of the Mojahedin-e Khalq director general, says rumors of death of Masoud Rajavi are false.
Hojjat al-Eslam Heydar Moslehi, intelligence minister, says "the heads of the discord have received more than $1 billion" from foreign enemies and adds former nuclear negotiator Mousavian is a spy.
Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi says Iran is engaged in producing an air defense system resembling the S-300.
A commander of the Revolutionary Guards quoted by a Kuwaiti newspaper: "Should Israel or the United States or both of them target economic and military centers in Iran, Iranian units, especially the missile unit which has been prepared to counter such threats will engage in operations along with the Air Force and will automatically attack all targets in all those countries which have opened their facilities and soil for attack against Iran..."
- Commander Ramazan Sharif of the Revolutionary Guards: "Imperialist media and some regional media produce false interviews quoting commanders of the Guards in order to create a violent and threatening picture of Iran and the Guard..."
Commander Zohreh Abbasi, Martyr Hossein Haj-Mousayi Basij Resistance Base chief, says the Basij is preparing ideological indoctrination courses for newborns.
Hashem Sabaghian, interior minister of the transitional government, complains of Revolutionary Guards intervention in politics.
Sadeq Kharrazi discusses his war time memoirs.
[E] Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi rejected some media reports that members of the Jundallah terrorist group had opened their way into Iran through the country's borders.
[E] Tehran is prepared to equip the Lebanese Army with necessary military tools and weapons, Iranian Ambassador to Beirut Qazanfar Roknabadi said.

Nuclear Issue

Hamid Gul, former head of the Pakistani intelligence service, says "Iran joining the nuclear club is a good thing for the world of Islam."
[E] Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi underlined Tehran's firm resolve to continue nuclear progress and uranium enrichment activities, especially to supply fuel for its nuclear power plant in Bushehr.

Human Rights

Political activist Hamzeh Karami tells tales of torture during his imprisonment after the presidential election.

Trade

Mousa Souri, Pars oil and gas field executive director, says that income from "the remaining phases of the South Pars field will reach $100 million."
Ahmad Nateq-Nouri, parliamentarian, says after the beginning of the operations of the Bushehr nuclear plant, "sanctioning Iran does not make any sense."
Bangladesh expresses interest in participating in the Peace Pipeline project.
[E] Iranian home appliance maker Entekhab Industrial Group is negotiating with the South Korean creditors to buy the country's number 3 electronics firm, Daewoo Electronics.
[E] Tehran and Dushanbe signed a cooperation agreement based on which Iran will earmark two million dollars for exploring minefields in Tajikistan, a Tajik official said.

Religion, Society and Culture

The office of the late Ayatollah Behjat denies rumors that the late Ayatollah had engaged in spreading the story of Ahmadinejad’s halo.
Pop singer Alireza Eftekhari intends to leave Iran because of popular reaction against his reception by Ahmadinejad.

Photo of the Day

Abdollah Nouri receives reformist politicians for iftar.