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
- The Islamic Republic celebrates the Revolution Day:
- Ahmadinejad addressing the crowd on the Revolution Day praises Iran's progress on all fronts.
- According to Khabar Online, close to parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, there were no placards of Ahmadinejad among the demonstrators celebrating the Revolution Day.
- The crowd in Tehran chanted slogans against Rafsanjani as Rafsanjani and his followers showed up at the Tehran Revolution Day rally.
- Hamid Rowhani, head of the Historical Studies Foundation, calls the Ahmadinejad group "the Hojjatiyeh Society," a reference to the pre-revolutionary semi clandestine Hojjatiyeh Charitable Society banned by Grand Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini. Rowhani also accuses the Ahmadinejad group of believing in "the Satanic thesis that one must spread corruption to hasten the emergence of the Imam of the Era, and of expanding embezzlement, corruption, theft of public funds and moral and economic corruption."
- Ayatollah Mohi al-Din Haeri Shirazi, Assembly of Experts member, says that "the Mahdavi government [government of the 12th Imam of the Shi'a] in Iran began with the victory of the revolution..." Haeri Shirazi added that the Twelfth Imam remains hidden during this government, and "his deputy, His Holiness [Ali Khamenei] is in charge of the affairs."
Diplomacy
- Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani addresses the crowd in Mashhad on the occasion of the Revolution Day:
- "I urge some regional states that were on Saddam's side during the [Iran/Iraq] war and are now conspiring against the Iranian nation along with the United States to stop doing so, since the clemency of the Iranian nation towards them will not be repeated..." Larijani added that the regional countries should not follow the policies of the United States towards Iran hoping to find "burned ground," and concluded: "If there is a conspiracy against our nation, it will spread to the entire region."
- "The foundation of the U.S. hostile policy is not based on economic and financial issues. They have a problem with our regime with a foundation based on the guardianship this problem will always exist..."
- "During the past years, Iran has had political and economic cooperation with Europe and is continuing it. However, if Europe insists on executing the policies of the United States against the Iranian nation, the behavior of the Iranian nation towards them will change."
- Participants at the Revolution Day rally in Tehran carry a 20-meter flag of Bahrain to protest against "the injustice of the rulers against the oppressed people of Bahrain."
- Hossein-Amir Abdollahian, deputy foreign minister, addresses the press in Damascus, Syria: "I strongly dismiss the presence and activities of the Iranian military in Syria. Iran abides by nonintervention in internal affairs of Syria, but continues its political and economic support to Syria."
- [E] Russian top diplomat Sergei Lavrov reiterated his country's strong opposition to using military force against Iran, and urged a negotiated end to the differences between Iran and the West.
- [E] Ahmadinejad will pay an official visit to Islamabad to hold talks with senior Pakistani officials on a joint multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline project.
Military and Security
- Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi, the Islamic Republic's ambassador to Moscow: "Should the United States attack Iran militarily it would be a grave mistake amounting to suicide... Iran has great powers to reach out to in different parts of the world and can deal bitter blows to the United States... Should the United States attack Iran, we have prepared a list of counter attacks."
- According to Zia al-Din Hozni, Qorb-e Kowsar Construction Base of the Revolutionary Guards, the Guards has completed "1,1000 projects" during the past two years. The projects included construction of "2,268 mosques," and improvement of "240 cemeteries of the martyrs."
Media
- BBC Persian reports Iranians are facing increasing problems with accessing Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail and Gmail Plus services in Iran.
- According to Mehr News, the number of Iranians affected by the "connectivity problem" is as high as 30 million.
Photos of the Day
- Revolution Day celebration in Tehran.