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

Diplomacy and Regional Developments

  • Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, Grand Mufti of Syria, spoke on the occasion of World Quds Day, saying that “the Iranian defense of Palestine is really the defense of humankind.... Imam Khomeini, in announcing World Quds Day, demanded that this place be free and also that Mecca be free from alignment with one family or group…. The Arab and Islamic countries must be united around their goal because the Palestinian issue is one of justice and injustice.” He called for assistance from the Arab and Muslim countries to address the violence and instability in Syria, saying, “If Syria plummets, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia will not remain standing and fire will rise up in the Persian Gulf region.” 
  • The number of foreign officials reportedly planning to attend Rouhani’s inauguration is now 44. Officials are now coming from Sudan, Pakistan, Armenia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Guinea-Bissau, Togo, Qatar, Iraq, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Cuba, Ghana, Swaziland, Syria, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, UAE, Azerbaijan, North Korea, Russia, Congo, Venezuela, Algeria, Kuwait, Malaysia, South Africa, India, Brazil, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Mauritania, Brunei, Palestine, Oman, Moldova, and Spain. 

Military and Security

  • The IRGC, Basij Organization, Defense Ministry and Armed Forces General Staff issued statements commemorating Quds Day, condemning the recent peace talks and reaffirming their support for Hamas. The IRGC’s statement reads in part: “[T]he day is not far when the sword of Islamic resistance and awakening will cut away the disgraceful lifeblood of the usurpers from the sacred land of Palestine.”  
  • Head of Intifadha and Quds Headquarters and IRGC Public Relations Deputy BG 2C Ramazan Sharif condemned the recent peace talks and announced Iran’s support for “jihadi movements and Palestinian resistance groups.” He added, “The only strategy that can help the Palestinian nation achieve its ideals is fighting and resistance against the Zionist regime.” 
  • Armed Forces General Staff Basij Affairs and Defense Culture Deputy BG Masoud Jazayeri commemorated Quds Day and said, “The durability of the usurper Israeli regime is not due to the capability and power of this occupying imposter government, rather it is due to the excessive weakness of Arab countries…. America and the Zionists will have no option but accepting the reality of defeat against coherent global will.”  
  • Deputy Representative of the Supreme Leader to the IRGC Hojjat al-Eslam Abdollah Haji Sadeghi stated, “The primary mission of the Basij and other defense forces of revolutionary values is creating the groundwork for the emergence [of the 12th Shi’a Imam].” 
  • Minister of Science, Research and Technology Kamran Daneshjou discussed his role in disrupting the “2009 sedition,” and said, “Look, If I did not know what happened in the sedition and was purely a scientific figure, I would not have been able to predict the enemy’s plan in relation to the university. I read the enemy’s plan in the universities and sensed 18 Tir [1999 student protests] in my flesh and bones. A few sought to bring chaos to the universities and I knew where 18 Tir [stemmed from] and how it was guided.” He advised that the next Minister of Science should have “a political outlook but not a partisan one," adding, "The Minister of Science must move on the path of the system’s interest. I attempted this, and when I realized that we do not want a secular professor, my view was not at all about [which party he belonged to]. I spoke on the path of the system and said that a secular professor cannot build the Imam [Khomeini] and Supreme Leader’s expected university.” He also said that Rouhani has a “deep understanding” of higher education issues. 

Nuclear Issue

Economy

Photo of the Day

  • Former IRGC Navy Commander Hossein Alaei attends the Islamic Resistance Activists of Palestine conference.