Iran News Round Up

(Compiled with the assistance of Ali Alfoneh)

Nuclear Diplomacy

Interior Minister: “Attempts of the enemy to stop our nuclear program: ‘Rigor Mortis’.”
Supreme Leader’s designated mouthpiece, Hossein Shariatmadari: “The era of reforms was the era of concessions to the foreigners in the nuclear field.
Iranian parliamentarian Elias Naderan brushes aside a Saudi proposal: “Iran is not in need of enriched uranium from external sources.”
Mohammad Kiyarashi, Iran’s former representative at the IAEA: “The United States is defeated by Iran’s clever nuclear stratagem.” but also added: “Some states currently opposing the United States might change their approach if their interests dictate otherwise.”

Diplomacy

Remembering the 1979 U.S. Embassy seizure:
Hojjat al-Islam Mousavi Khoeini-ha accepts responsibility for storming U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979.
Masoumeh Ebtekar, colleague of reformist former President Khatami defends taking U.S. hostages: “It was a rational decision.”
Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani, former chief of Revolutionary Committees: “Prolongation of the hostage affair was not in Iran’s interest.”
Outlet close to former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezai: “Every year the presence of official institutions at anti-U.S. demonstrations commemorating the attack against U.S. Den of Espionage [the former U.S. embassy] increases, and presence of voluntary participants decreases.”
Iranian authorities await the ruling of Interpol on Iranian involvement in 1994 Buenos Aires bombings.
U.S. and Israel, not Iranian terrorism, to blame for tension with Argentina.
Bahraini minister of foreign affairs: “British newspaper has misquoted the Crown Prince…We await a visit by Iranian president Ahmadinejad.”
Ambassador of the Islamic Republic to Baghdad, Hassan Kazemi Qomi: “Iran’s consulate in Erbil to reopen tomorrow.” In English.
Kucinich proposal to impeach Cheney headlines Iranian press.

Politics

Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, speaking while under house arrest: “Court rulings against university students contrary to Islamic law.”

Economy and Trade

Central Bank Governor of the Islamic Republic of Iran proposes an eight-point plan to control inflation, pleads: “Take our proposal seriously.”
World Bank cuts back loans to Iran in response to U.S. sanctions against Iran.
Iranian car manufacturer Khodro aims to export 600,000 vehicles by 2015.
Greater Tehran City’s military commander promises a new key of distribution for rationed petrol to “certain” commuters.
“Reduce consumption” orders Interior Minister in the light of sanctions against Iran.
Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly [parliament] releases a comprehensive study of the economic performance of Iran during the past Seventeen years.
Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela to set up joint shipping line?
Frustration that foreign partners aren’t meeting Iranian expectations in energy sector.

Society, Culture, and Religion

Punishing adultery by stoning may be revised, says Mohammad-Javad Larijani.
Iranian police target ‘academic mafia’ selling university degrees.
Hedayatallah Behboudi, editor of Iranian Historical Studies Quarterly: “The Baha‘i sect is a political grouping… Our studies remove the shroud of ignorance from complicated dealings of this sect with Israel and the United States.”
Rafsanjani calls for creation of an “Islamic Center of Scientific Studies.”

Military

“Iranian Air and Space Program guarantees peace and Iran’s national security,” says Defense Minister.
(Space program provides cover for ballistic missile development)
Professor Ajab-Shiri-Zadeh: “Iran and Russia to build a $500 million telescope.”
(Does program provide cover to import sensitive instruments?)

Human Rights and Labor

Ma’soumeh Mansouri, a student at Tehran’s Amir Kabir Technical University missing after she was arrested by an Iranian security agency.

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