Iran News Round Up

(Thanks to Ali Alfoneh for his compilation)

Politics

Government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham denies all rumors of cabinet reshuffle.
Minister of Education reshuffles ministry.
Fatemeh Karroubi of the National Trust Party on the Revolutionary Guards: “Some people who according the degree of the Imam [Khomeini] are prohibited from intervening in politics, intervened despite the orders. Therefore, the parliamentary elections is not reflective of the popular will.”
Delivering a presentation the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C., Ebrahim Yazdi, the former foreign minister, says there is no appetite for revolution in Iran.
E’temad’s political analyst says no political faction was able to mobilize their voters for a maximum presence in the new parliament.
E’temad’s Ja’far Golabi concludes: “For the time being, regardless of the conditions, around 60 percent of the electorate participates in elections. In the current political atmosphere, rejection of candidates has become a normal procedure in the eyes of participants. The reformists would enjoy popular support in fair elections [but] the reformists have accepted their narrow presence in the parliament. The effect of disruptions in the relations between the reformers and the electorate is still there. The electorate is not willing to sacrifice for the sake of the reformists. The conservatives don’t need to engage in greater irregularities during the elections because of the preliminary procedures [barring the reformists from running]… The political movements’ distance from a final defeat and depression is not so long. The populations can be managed.”
According to E’temad, most development projects in Iran are engineered to be inaugurated right before the presidential elections.
National Trust Party leader Mehdi Karroubi says he will work to strengthen party political activity.
The reformist theoretician Hajjarian discusses political underdevelopment in Iran.
Ahmadinejad’s unexpected presence in the Expediency Council [Ahmadinejad usually boycotts gatherings in which Rafsanjani participates], led Rafsanjani to remark: “The Supreme Leader has announced that this year is the year of Innovation and Blossoming, and the presence of our dear president in the Council today is an example of innovation.”
The Iranian parliament revises the statute of the Foundation of the Martyrs.
Iranian parliamentarian Nour al-Din Pir-Moazzen, currently residing in the U.S., does not show up for the funeral of his mother.
Raja News discloses that a conflict between former commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards Mohsen Rezai, and former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic, Ali Larijani is due to release of a political tract bearing the pictures of Rezai, Larijani and Tehran mayor Qalibaf, all of whom are veterans of the Revolutionary Guards.
April 25th run-off to decide final 21 parliamentary seats.
Reformist theoretician Isa Saharkhiz predicts an uncompetitive second round of parliamentary elections in Iran.

Economy and Trade

The National Bank of the Islamic Republic says inflation reached 18.4 percent last year.
15.4 percent of the work force holding college degrees are unemployed.
The Islamic Republic’s petroleum minister says Iran’s oil production has exceeded 4.2 million barrels per day for the first time since the Islamic Revolution; last year’s oil revenue exceeded $70 billion.
Donya-ye Eqtesad criticizes the right of the provincial governors to fix prices (.pdf) in order to fight inflation.
Cement price (.pdf) is reaching 1.7 million rials per ton
Saffron production in Iran declines 20 percent.
According to the Guardian, Israel purchases Iranian oil.
Ahmadinejad: “OPEC should do its utmost to protect the rights of the oil producers.”
Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani urges Muslims to boycott Dutch products.
Parliamentary speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel says countries insulting Islam should be boycotted. In English.

Nuclear Issue

Gholam-Hossein Elham speaks of “good nuclear news to be announced soon.”
The Islamic Republic to celebrate the “Nuclear Technology Victory Day” on Tuesday.

Human Rights and Labor

Between 20,000 and 40,000 workers live and work in miserable conditions in Assalouyeh.
Student activist Behrouz Karimizadeh still imprisoned in the Evin prison four weeks after arrest.
The Revolutionary Court of the city of Mariwan, in western Iran, sentenced Kurdish activist Hiva ‎‎(Abdolvahed) Boutimar to death for the second time. Although the written judgment has not yet ‎been served on Boutimar due to the Iranian New Year, a judge verbally notified Boutimar’s attorney of the ‎judgment.
Mahmoud Salehi freed.

Diplomacy

Kayhan editorial attacks the “blind road” the U.S. has chosen.
According to Asr-e Iran, the United Arab Emirates distributes Salafist propaganda in the name of “Hazrat-e Muawiyah” in southern Iran. More.
Pictorial account of demonstrations at the Dutch Embassy in Tehran.
Gholam-Hossein Elham says Iranian-American academic Hooshang Amirahmadi did not meet Ahmadinejad.

Religion, Culture, and Society

Head of the Law Enforcement Forces says 22 percent of the New Year commuters in the Islamic Republic were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The Baltica Brewery says its beer only contains half a percent alcohol and protests against Shia News’s allegations that the company is selling “alcoholic drinks” in the Iranian market.
Tabnak News, close to former commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guard, hails Karim Sajjadpour’s monograph on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Military and Security