Iran News Round Up

(Thanks to Ali Alfoneh for his compilation)

Politics: General

Secretary of the Hezbollah Front: “The enemy tries to infiltrate the armed forces of Iran in an attempt to change the regime.”
Ali Larijani, former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic: “Mousavian is not a spy…Don’t make the nuclear issue the center of factional dispute; we are in need of unity.”
Tehran mayor Qalibaf meets Grand Ayatollah Sistani.

Politics: March 2008 Parliamentary Elections

Ali Mazrou’i of the Islamic Participation Front: “Disqualifications of parliamentary elections legitimize the sit-in and hunger strikes of members of the sixth parliament.”
Jalal Jalalizadeh, also a member of the central committee of the Islamic Participation Front defends the actions of the members of the sixth parliament.
Three intruders handcuff the night guard of the headquarters of the Islamic Participation Front in the middle of the night and search the headquarters for hours
Jomhouri-e Eslami expresses apprehension upon the decrease of clerical members of the Iranian parliament.
Mehdi Karrubi says he has done “everything in my power to increase the number of qualified candidates… but the political past of some candidates can’t be defended.”
Mehdi Karrubi says the complete candidate list of his National Trust party will be published Saturday.
Mehdi Karrubi’s latest meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei produces 160 pro-Karrubi candidates in the 290 constituencies ahead of the parliamentary elections.

Human Rights and Labor

Execution of a youth in Isfahan:
The sister of a young man who was executed today gave an interview to Radio Farda. Javad Shojaee is accused of killing a friend in a fight eight years ago when he was 16. Under international law which Iran has
signed, crimes committed below age 18 cannot be punished by death. The sister said that the authorities let Shojaee wait for eight years in prison until he was above age 18 to execute him. The family of the victim refused to pardon him.
Workers in Iranian Kurdistan sentenced to lashes for participating in 2007 May Day demonstration.

Economy and Trade

Iran, China to sign $16 billion gas deal today.
Tehran mayor Qalibaf’s press conference in Baghdad: “Iranian companies will soon start working in Baghdad…Working conditions in Iraq are difficult, but we will do anything we can to help the Iraqis.”
Keyhan considers the Expediency Council’s critical comments on the national budget a “dangerous innovation.”

Diplomacy

Lebanese judge Samih al-Haj issues an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Qadhafi, whom the Lebanese judge accuses of abduction of Imam Musa Sadr.
Ansar, close to the Ansar-e Hezbollah vigilante group, slams Dutch funded Radio Zamaneh and Rooz Online, which it accuses of being anti-Iranian.
Diplomasi-ye Iran wonder if China will support the U.S. in the U.N. Security Council after the latest IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear program.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki: “The Iranian president’s visit to Iraq will open the avenue for further cooperation between the two countries.”
Tabnak News Agency claims the 14 Iranian citizens in U.S. captivity in Iraq are subjected to torture.
The Islamic Republic’s ambassador to France warns France against following the U.S. in its policies towards Iran. In English.
China and Iran to seek educational cooperation?

Nuclear and Ballistic Missile Issue

IRGC chief Ja’fari: “Who could have believed that we would celebrate a nuclear victory in the middle of economic sanctions?”
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei praises the “resistance of the president and the parliament” in the nuclear issue.
In a separate report, the praise is only for the Iranian president.
In English.
IAEA reveals new information about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Radio Farda interviews Senator Kyl on Iran nuclear issue.
The Persian translation of the complete text of the U.N. Security Council Resolution regarding the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities provokes a nationalist outburst in Alef News Agency’s homepage.
More details on Iranian rocket.

Religion, Culture, Society

Student protests continue at University of Shiraz:
Hundreds of students of the University of Shiraz (southern Iran) continued
today to demonstrate against university management and the services provided to the students (dorms, cafeterias). Mehdi Ahmadi of the Islamic Union of Students and a student of the Medical Faculty told Radio Farda described the reasons of the demonstrations and said that the dean of the university ignored their demands. The students chanted slogans such as “University is no Army,” and “They may close the nuclear file, they can’t close the students’ file.”
According to Tabnak, the first issue of the weekly Baztab features interviews with former Revolutionary Guards commanders.
IRGC Chief Ja’fari says the revolutionary spirit of the Guards is its main characteristic and warns against “soft regime change.”
Iranian film maker Moniri complains against “merciless rejection of film plans” by censors ahead of the Fajr Film Festival.

Photo of the Day

Comments