Iran News Round Up - Michael Rubin - The Corner on National Review Online

Monday, May 05, 2008

Iran News Round Up [Michael Rubin]

(Thanks to Ali Alfoneh for his compilation)

Nuclear Issue

The Islamic Republic offers to share nuclear technology with Indian Ocean states "in a bid to help provide social welfare in the region."
The Islamic Republic Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: "the history of the 1979 Islamic Revolution proves that threats will not force the Iranian nation to retreat.”
Keyhan warns the 5+1 group against "mistaking Iran today with Iran four years ago...since a lot has happened and Iran's bargaining position has strengthened considerably."

Military and Security

Speaking to the nomadic populations of Fars province, Supreme Leader praised the role of the Basij. More here.
Sobh-e Sadeq's Yadollah Javani discusses possible consequences of U.S. attack (.pdf, left column) against Iran. Continues here.
Amir Mohammad-Pouri, responsible for Student Basij publications in Gilan province, demands a more pro-active Basij approach to internet communications (.pdf).
Hojjat al-Eslam Hossein Tayeb, deputy commander of the Basij, says the Basij will launch a "security presence in different cities from this summer" in order to "increase urban security, and deal decisively with hooligan elements."
Sobh-e Sadeq publishes the viewpoints of commander Majid Khorasani, head of the Basij Construction Jihad.
Hojjat al-Eslam Mohammad-Reza Toysarkani, the individual responsible for the ideological and political training of the Revolutionary Guards, claims the IRGC has launched "Seraj-e Andisheh" home page to support ideological and political teachers in the Revolutionary Guard.
Commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards Ja'fari says the structural composition of the guards should be change, since the IRGC is much more than a military organization. More here.

Politics

Sobh-e Sadeq publishes a comprehensive report on the Supreme Leader's trip to Fars province.
Morteza Saffar Harandi attacks the Khatami movement's liberal tendencies (.pdf).
Sarmayeh editorializes: "Ten ousters and two votes of no confidence against cabinet ministers demonstrates the incompetence of the person appointing the ministers, not the ministers."
Commenting the Iranian Supreme Leader's latest advice to the people of Iran with regard to the economic ills of the country, Mehdi Taghavi of Allammeh Tabatabayee University says it is the "government which should practice financial discipline and avoid waste, not the people."
Hossein Mar'ashi of the election headquarters of the reformist camp says the people were "fooled" in the last parliamentary elections.
Fatemeh Rajabi, wife of government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham, says "The mafia is a reality in this country."
Kayhan attacks former president Mohammad Khatami's interpretation of the words of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Grand Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini.
Regime historian Abdollah Shahbazi attacks Hojjat al-Eslam Hosseini from the Bureau of Publication of the Works of Imam Khomeini, and "discloses" some insights on Said Emami who was instrumental in murder of intellectuals and dissidents in the 1990's. See also Tabnak’s defense of Hosseini.

Economy

According to Sobh-e Sadeq, the Bureau of Privatization of State-Owned Enterprises to be dissolved by presidential decree (.pdf).
The Minister of Trade is summoned the Iranian parliament to face protests of the parliamentarians in the wake of rising prices.
Sarmaye exposes National Bank's manipulations of the inflation rate by pointing to conflicting numbers issued by the bank within just a few hours.
Khorasan reports 100 percent increase in the price of rice.

Trade

Turkmenistan triples natural gas export to Iran.
An anonymous member of the parliament’s energy committee said the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline will extend to Indonesia and Vietnam within 20 years.
According to Kayhan, Resol and Shell try to participate in the South Pars gas field despite U.S. protests.
Iran to import tea.

Diplomacy

According to Sobh-e Sadeq, the United States is preparing herself to occupy Iraq politically (.pdf) while reducing her military presence.
Resalat claims the U.S. president George Bush has ordered terrorist attacks against the Islamic Republic leadership "in the wake of endless defeats in dealings with Iran."
Sobh-e Sadeq's Marhad Mahdavi claims the United States is doing its utmost to propagate divisions (.pdf) in the "world of Islam."
In a lengthy interview with Sobh-e Sadeq, former member of the Revolutionary Guard, Dr. Hossein 'Alayee analyses the U.S. policies towards Iran (.pdf).
The Ukranian ambassador to the Islamic Republic says Qazvin is a safe city, and urges foreign tourists to visit the city.
Tehran Municipality transfers 30 billion rials to reconstruction of Lebanon.
Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani suggests direct negotiations between the United Arab Emirates and Iran with regard to the three disputed islands in the Persian Gulf.

Religion, Culture, and Society

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publishes a book on Imam Ali.
Mohammad San'ati says Tehran International Book Fair hardly can be considered a cultural event.

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