Iran News Round Up

(Thanks to Ali Alfoneh for his compilation)

Diplomacy

• Car bomb near Iran’s embassy in Baghdad.
• Ahmadinejad heading to Rome.

Nuclear Issue

• Newly elected parliament speaker Ali Larijani says that if the IAEA releases yet another ambiguous report on Iran, the Islamic Republic must consider using “force.”
• Adds that the latest IAEA report is “influenced by U.S. and Israeli spy agencies.”

Religion, Culture, and Society

• Ayatollah Moqtadayee elected new dean of the Elmiyyeh Theological School in Qom.

Trade

• The Islamic Republic resumes export of natural gas to Turkey.
• The Islamic Republic to import natural gas from Azerbaijan.
• Chinese interested in investing in Kish Free Trade Area.
• Iranian aviation authorities negotiating assembly of Tupolev planes in Iran.
• Iran building seven refineries to boost capacity.

Economy

• Donya-e Eqtesad wonders why the government does not learn any lessons from its economic mistakes.
• Executive director of Ports and Shipping Organization of the Islamic Republic says Astara port is ready for privatization.
• Chairman of the Rice Association of Iran says there is absolutely no relation between rising rice prices in Iran and world market prices of rice.
• Detergent reaches 20,000 rials per ½ kilogram on Qeshm.
• People of Lavizan stage demonstrations against Bonyad-e Mostaz’afan [Foundation of the Oppressed] after the Revolutionary Court ruled to its favor of the foundation in a real estate dispute.
• According to Donya-ye Eqtesadi, the Iranian textile industry is vanishing from the international market.
• Donya-ye Eqtesad reports on the Ahmadinejad government’s promises with regard to the housing market.

Military and Security

• Defense Minister Mostafa Najjar says “Iran’s reaction to Israeli aggression will not be limited by geography or time…”
• Adds: “The Israeli regime has degenerated to such a degree that it even can’t counter Hezbollah…”
• Najjar also claims the Islamic Republic’s missile program is peaceful, and that the IAEA’s report is a misunderstanding.
• English.

Human Rights and Labor

• Car workers protest firings.
• Kurdish teacher death sentence confirmed.

Photo of the Day

• Damaged Achaemenid inscription on Kharg Island.