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

  • Ahmadinejad responds to Khamenei’s call for unity between the heads of the powers of the state:
    • "I am convinced that you decisively guard the constitution, particularly the fundamental rights of the people, and safeguard the elevated position of the popularly elected president, the second highest official position in the country, and the institution executing the constitution. And you are opposed to any measure which weakens his sphere of competence and important responsibilities."
  • Alef News accuses Ahmadinejad of having become "an instrument in the soft warfare of the enemy against Iran." 

Diplomacy

  • Reports on the anniversary of the seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran: 
    • Hojjat al-Eslam Kazem Sediqi, temporary Tehran Friday prayer leader: "The struggle which began against the United States has a long history, and his Holiness the Lord [Khamenei] too tracks this back sixty years in his analysis, to the shameful coup during which [Prime Minister Mohammad] Mosaddegh was removed. They removed Mosaddegh despite his good intentions towards the United States and they brought the Shah which hurt our religious and national feelings. Ever since those days, the struggle against Arrogance began... The Thirteenth of Aban [November 4th, 1979] had blessings for us. In the revolution, we saw that the world of Arrogance was conspiring against us and the unrest and problems were coming from the embassy of the United States until the Students Following the Line of the Imam did something... The first thing that our revolution did was to crush the prestige of the United States in the world and the Moses stick of the revolution nullified all the values about which the United States was propagating like magic..."
    • Sediqi also said the prayers of the fourth generation of the revolution is "more important than Iran's nuclear technology," and continued: "These kids have not seen the Imam [Khomeini], did not participate in the university of the front [reference to the Iran/Iraq war] but are today in the arena."
    • Basij Commander Mohammad-Reza Naqdi addresses Iranian schoolchildren in front of the former US Embassy building:
      • "They were right to seize this embassy. Was it not here that had become the planning center of the SAVAK ordering the massacre of the Iranian people? When the cursed Shah fled, was it not at this embassy when an American general organized his headquarters, ordered the massacre of the people and planned a coup which was foiled by the vigilance of the Imam and with the people entering the arena? It was reasonable for the Iranian nation to seize this embassy..."
      • "Today, the crimes taking place in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bahrain and especially in Myanmar where Muslims are killed are orchestrated by the evil regime of the United States. In the course of history, no more evil regime can be found which has committed as many crimes. We will reward 10 kilograms of gold to any historian who can prove that there is one regime more criminal than the regime of the United States."
      • "After the severing of relations between Iran and the United States, in the beginning of the Islamic revolution, this country and its allies tried to re-establish relations with Iran and activate their embassy again. On the other hand, during the war, there were some who desired to establish relations with the United States, but the Imam [Khomeini] canceled it with his decisive position."
      • "It would be an illusion to think that the economic conditions of Iran would improve after establishing relations with the United States... How can one expect that establishing relations with the United States would improve the economic conditions when the economic plight of states which enjoy relations with the United States is deteriorating by the day and the United States itself has many debts? Therefore a question arises: How can economic relations improve by establishing relations with an impoverished state?"
      • Naqdi also mentioned preconditions for establishing relations with the United States: "This country must prove that it has become a human being and in doing so has closed its military bases in fifty countries of the world, dissolves the CIA so that this agency no longer plans coups against other states, lets the Palestinian be free, shuts down its torture chambers and prisons. And since this country is not domestically free and the American people do not have the freedom of choice, it should give freedoms to its people. Based on these principles, if it [the United States] desires relations with Iran, it must deliver these reforms and become humane."
    • Kayhan Editor Hossein Shariatmadari and former hostage taker Ebrahim Asgharzadeh discuss the state of Iran-US relations during the commemoration of the anniversary of the seizure of the United States Embassy in Tehran.
    • Mehdi Mottaharnia, academic, says President Obama’s reelection would be more dangerous than a Republican win.
    • Islamic Republic schools in Baku, Azerbaijan and Tokyo, Japan, celebrate the anniversary of the seizure of the United States Embassy in Tehran.
    • [E] Iranians in different cities across the country took part in massive rallies chanting "Death to America" to mark the anniversary of the US embassy takeover in 1979.
    • [E] Commander of Iran's Basij (volunteer) force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi rejected the recent media reports about direct talks between Iran and the US, stressing that Tehran continues pursuing the same stance on the US that was declared by the late Founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini.

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