(Thanks to Ali Alfoneh for his assistance in compiling)
Diplomacy
- Ahmadinejad and the White House are closer to a rapprochement, writes Tabnak, close to former IRGC chief Rezai.
- Ahmadinejad says he received “secret messages” from the United States.
- Ahmadinejad refutes criticism of his recent trip to the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Summit in Doha, which ended in a communiqué supporting the United Arab Emirates’ territorial claims against Iran: “There are those who criticize just about anything, even the sun, despite the fact that there is nothing wrong with the sun.”
- Saudi foreign minister: “We are ready to expand diplomatic relations with Iran.”
- Sarkozy: Iran-Israel war is likely.
- Incoming Chinese ambassador meets with Iranian foreign minister.
- Ahmadinejad to go to Egypt after restoration of diplomatic relations.
Religion, Society, and Culture
- Oliver Stone’s visa processed; director to visit Iran.
- Former president Khatami delivered a speech before 5,000 students at the University of Tehran on the occasion of the Day of Student. Some students chanted “Death to the dictator,” but most chanted “Long Live Khatami.”
- Khatami said: “The religious traditionalist and the anti-religious thinkers both agree that religion is irreconcilable with freedom… But tradition alone can’t mobilize the young population and anti-religious thought alienates the majority.”
- Ahmadinejad to become a “Hajji,” planning pilgrimage to Mecca.
- More, in English.
- Sixty non-Iranian theological students celebrate their marriage in the holy Shi’ite city of Qom.
- RAJA reports of crack down against “communist cells at universities in Iran.”
- Said Hajjarian, Khatami’s former strategist, commenting upon suppression of Sufis in the Islamic Republic: “Suppression of the Sufis in Iran endangers Shi’a minorities in the Muslim world.”
Politics
- Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to visit to Yazd province.
Military
- Rafsanjani, commenting the controversial issue of the reasons behind the Islamic Republic’s accept of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 598 which ended military hostilities between Iran and Iraq in 1980: “Saddam thought we accepted the ceasefire because of weakness, but we did so because of our wisdom and because we wanted to avoid chemical bombardments of our towns.”
- Summary, in English.
- Baqer Zolqadr appointed deputy of Armed Forces Joint Command with the Basij Resistance Force.
- Commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards, Ja’fari: “Imam Hossein University plays a crucial role in the future of the Guards.”
- Commander in Chief of the Iranian Army: “Not a single movement in the region evades our attention… No one in the region can harm Iran.”
- Representative of Supreme Leader Khamenei to the Revolutionary Guards: “There is no doubt about the things that Imam Khomeini has said about the [non-intervention of the] Guards [in politics in his Divine and Political Testament], but on another occasion he has stressed that the Guards should bar impermissible people from taking over the control of the regime.”
Economics and Trade
- Iran brags about building supercomputer with U.S. parts while evading sanctions.
- Ahmadinejad: “We will soon announce the reasons behind rising prices.”
- Minister of Social Welfare and Security: “Hotels owned by the ministry of social welfare and security soon to be privatized.”
- Turkey welcomes liberalization of foreign investment in Iran.
- Inflation reaches 16.8 percent.
- Tax revenue accounts for 26 percent of Iranian government’s income; petroleum export accounts for 61 percent.
Photo of the Day
- Printing table clothes in Isfahan.
