A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh, Ahmad Majidyar and Michael Rubin.  To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.
 
(E) = Article in English

 

Politics

  • Hojjat al-Eslam Jalali, Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah Yazdi's chief-of-staff, says members of the Islamic Resistance Front have reached an agreement with Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani to unite the Principalist ahead of the 2013 parliamentary election.

Diplomacy

  • Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei receives Masoud Barzani:
    • "United opposition of all the ethnic and sectarian groups of Iraq in the face of the pressures of the United States and opposition to the SOFA agreement with the occupying military forces in the end forced the United States to leave Iraq. This is a golden page in the history of this country..."
  • Said Jalili, Supreme National Security Council secretary, receives Masoud Barzani:
    • "With the occupiers of Iraq leaving security will come nearer..."

Military and Security

  • Jomhouri-ye Eslami's editorial on U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and the new "security structure ": "The anarchic state of affairs in some Arab countries which witness popular uprisings has created such confusion in the United States that every political miscalculation of the White House could lead to losing Washington's interests in these countries. Therefore, the United States is going through an abnormal circumstance and every unpredictable change in the region destroys the calculations of this country [the United States]. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the United States, countering Iran is not valid; otherwise the diplomatic machinery of the United States would not officially express its willingness to engage in dialogue with the Islamic Republic of Iran. But the question of when the American statesmen can engage in negotiations with the authorities of the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran depends - as the Leader has announced - on when they abandon their arrogant nature and recognize Iran's preconditions. The American statesmen should know that Iran is a revolutionary country and a revolutionary nation will never capitulate when confronting those who want to impose their will."
  • [E] A senior official of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps dismissed Washington's recent allegations about IRGC's involvement in a terrorist plot in the US, saying that Washington has no proof or evidence to substantiate its baseless claims.

Economy

  • Investigations Committee head Suleimani Jafarzadeh says a new case of embezzlement has been discovered: "Had the parliamentary board not prevented the continuation of the work, we would have been able to document more than $3 billion embezzlement," and adds "documentation for an additional $1 billion embezzlement" have been confiscated from the archives of the Social Security and the Pension Funds Organization.
  • [E] Senior Iranian Oil Ministry officials announced that Iran has increased efforts to explore more oil and gas reserves, adding that exploration projects are already underway to discover more hydrocarbon fields in the energy-rich country.

Iran in the Afghan Media

  • The head of Iran’s consulate in Herat Province says permanent U.S. bases in Afghanistan would further destabilize the country. Hasht-e Sobh condemns the statement as overt interference in the Afghan affairs.
  • Hasht-e Sobh accuses Iran’s Quds Force and its leader Qassem Suleimani of plotting to destabilize Afghanistan and Iraq to create problems for the United States.
  • [E] Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says he plans to attend an upcoming meeting on Afghanistan in Istanbul, Turkey, based on Ahmadinejad’s recommendation.

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