A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh and Ahmad Majidyar. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

(E) = Article in English  

Politics

  • Arya News reports on divisions within the Islamic Steadfastness Front.
  • According to Alef News, Ahmadinejad is trying to blame Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Heydar Moslehi for the constant drop in the value of the Iranian currency against the U.S. dollar.

Diplomacy

Military and Security

  • Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast, in an interview with Al-Alam, says "certain statements of commander Ja'fari quoted by media were selective, incorrect and politically motivated." Mehmanparast added that "Iran does not have any military presence in the region, particularly in Syria."
  • Mohammad-Hossein Rajabi, Kurdistan Beit al-Moqaddas Revolutionary Guards unit commander:
    • "Intelligence superiority of the Guards has increased considerably inside and outside the borders of Kurdistan, so that the security of the province is at its best... The Beit al-Moqaddas Guards of Kurdistan is a special [operations] unit compared with other Guards units. Therefore, some plans have been made in the past three years to increase intelligence superiority... Currently, 100% of the Basij members employed at the Beit al-Moqaddas unit of Kurdistan are indigenous people. Apart from them, approximately 90% of the official forces and almost a majority of the commanders too are locals. This is an important achievement of the Beit al-Moqaddas unit of Kurdistan."
    • Rajabi also added that the force under his command has organized more than 400,000 Basij members in the province.
  • Mohsen Kazemeini, Tehran Mohammad-Rasoulallah Revolutionary Guards unit commander, announces a major war game in the capital in mid October.

Trade

  • Ahmad Nikoufar, Law Enforcement Forces social deputy, says his force has discovered "a 32,000-meter long pipeline smuggling [state subsidized gasoline] fuel in the waters of Hormozgan [province]."
    • Ahmad Moradi, Bandar Abbas governor, had earlier reported the discovery of a 10-kilometer fuel smuggling pipeline from the village Gachin to the warm waters of the Persian Gulf.
  • The drop of rial against the dollar disrupts rice imports into Iran.

Photos of the Day

  • Negotiation fashion: EU Foreign Policy Coordinator Catherine Ashton meets Saeid Jalili in Istanbul.