A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by AEI Critical Threats Project Iran Analyst Will Fulton and Iran Intern Amir Toumaj, with contributor Mary Ella Simmons. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

(E) = Article in English

Politics

Regional Developments and Diplomacy

  • Ayatollah Khamenei issued remarks in honor of World Quds day (August 2): “Palestine will be free: there should be no doubt of this. Palestine will certainly become free and will be returned to the people, and in that place a Palestinian state will be formed; of these things there is no question. But the disrepute of America and the West will not dissipate. They will still be disreputable. There is no doubt that, based on facts, praise to Almighty God, a new Middle East will come into being. This Middle East will be an Islamic Middle East."
  • Iran’s Parliamentary Head of Protocol said in an interview with Fars regarding Rouhani’s inauguration festivities, “The list of foreign guests for this event is, in reality, not definite, and as such, it is possible that the number of guests will increase. Though he also stated that at this time no new guests had been added to the previously announced list. 
  • Bahrain's February 14 Movement issued a statement commemorating Quds Day, which reads in part:
    • "Quds Day is the vow of Muslims for solidarity with Palestinian goals."
    • “Verily, Quds day is the day of the oppressed nations. Our vow is international solidarity with the slogans and goals of the Palestinian issue.”
    • “This action by Imam Khomeini [establishing World Quds Day] brought the subject of Palestine and [Jerusalem] back to the focus of attention after the neglect of Palestine and its occupation in 1948.” 

Military and Security

Economy

  • NSFP Commission member MP Mohammad Hassan Asefari reacted to reports of a one-million barrel per day oil export reduction as a result of new sanctions: “The Americans must pay attention [to the fact] that there were sanctions against Iran before. Therefore, the recent American decision to sanction Iran’s oil exports is nothing more than a political bluff and they should be certain that, just as Iran circumvented sanctions during the Sacred Defense [Iran-Iraq War], it also knows how to circumvent these sanctions. The Americans must become rational and realize that these pressures will have no results. The matter of sanctioning Iranian oil exports that has been pursued for many years will certainly produce no results and we will not defer to these directives.” 
  • The Central Bank released unemployment rate statistics. Unemployment has increased from 11.9% to 13.5% between 2009-2010, then reduced a percentage point and remained stable at approximately 12% between 2011-2012. 
  • Head of the Parliament Research Center Kazem Jalali announced, “More than $60 billion in Iranian profits have been [frozen] in foreign banks and there is no access to them. This act alone can cause the emergence of numerous monetary issues for the government and the people.” 

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