(Thanks to Ali Alfoneh for his compilation)
Politics
- Four members of the Iranian parliament ridicule Ahmadinejad’s claims that conditions of life have improved during his presidency. More here.
- Recently dismissed minister of interior Pour-Mohammadi attacks the Iranian president: “Suddenly they claim there is a mafia in this country, and blame them for all things…”
- Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi is appointed acting minister of interior.
- Mehdi Hashemi is believed to be a close associate and a trusted friend of the Iranian president.
- Asr-e Iran’s comments on Hashemi’s background.
- Iranian parliamentarians threaten to disclose “what we have been offered not to present a vote of no confidence against the minister of trade.”
- Parliamentarian Eliyas Naderan says he has become more convinced that the minister of trade should be dismissed, and expressed “worries about the executive leadership of this country.”
- Questioning of the minister of trade postponed to next week. More here and here.
- Agah-Sazi discusses the roots of the Isargaran parliamentary faction.
- Ahmadinejad: “Those struggling for the cause of the nation are blessed by God.”
- E’temad Melli ridicules the Iranian president’s “messianism,” and “global ambitions.”
- Asr-e Iran reports that former president Mohammad Khatami has written a letter of support to former Greater Tehran Law Enforcement Forces chief Farhad Nazari, who suppressed the student riots of 1999.
Economy
- Tahmasb Mazaheri, director general of the National Bank of the Islamic Republic, defies the executive order of the Iranian president and refuses to decrease the interest rate. More here.
- Abrar says capital drain from the Islamic Republic’s banking system has increased upon Ahmadinejad’s executive order to decrease the interest rate.
- Government to increase loans to public servants, members of the armed forces, and people from the rural areas.
- Donya-ye Eqtesad assesses the effects of lowering of the interest rate by presidential decree as “alarming.”
- Kayhan supports the Ahmadinejad government’s decision to decrease interest rates.
- Iranian economist Ahmad Shakiba says inflation in Iranian economy is due to incompetent management of the oil income.
- Donya-ye Eqtesad calls Iranian economic decision makers “half-educated.”
- Iran Insurance and the Foundation of the Martyrs expand economic cooperation.
- Former deputy minister of economy and finance says the entire purpose of having a foreign exchange reserve is now being questioned by the actions of the Ahmadinejad government.
- Pistachio farmers in Iran suffer losses because of the drought.
- Former minister of welfare and social security says the expansion of activities of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee hardly is something to be proud of.
- Ahmadinejad says his government will deal with housing speculators.
- Promises to publicize initiatives in the housing sector next week.
- Reports of taxation of empty houses in Tehran.
- Former minister of Welfare and Social Security asks the current minister of Welfare and Social Security: “Is it possible to make a living on 250,000 rials per month?”
Trade
- Swiss bank denies helping fund Hamas, Hezbollah.
- The Islamic Republic’s representative in OPEC for the past 25 years says he has been dismissed without consultation.
- Iranian academic Abbas Maleki says the Islamic Republic can “easily export oil through the Caspian Sea if the Strait of Hormuz is closed.”
- The Islamic Republic of Iran petroleum minister says the oil industry is in need of $300 billion foreign investment.
- Head of the Iran Customs says the bottleneck at the Martyr Rajai dock due to extreme increase in imports is not serious.
Diplomacy
- Ahmadinejad says the Saudis earlier declined an Iranian offer to “unite the Lebanese against the common enemy.”
- Saudi ambassador to the Islamic Republic invites Expediency Council chairman Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to come to the Islamic Conference in Riyadh.
- E’temad Melli stresses the U.S. involvement in “terrorism” inside Iran.
- Russian minister of foreign affairs says Iran is in need of a security guarantee from the United States.
- The Islamic Republic finalizes security agreements with Turkey and Oman.
- Ahmadinejad: “If the nations of the world have the slightest opportunity, they will uproot Israel.”
- Responding to Australian discussion about bring Ahmadinejad to the International Court of Hague for incitement to genocide, Abrar says Australia is still a British colony, and acts on the orders of the British government.
- Iranian chargé d’affaires of the Islamic Republic summoned to the Afghan foreign ministry after some Afghan villagers beaten up by Iranian frontier guards.
- Iran upset at EU criticism.
Religion, Culture, and Society
- Yazd Municipality prohibits Iranian singer Shahram Nazeri’s concert in praise of Mowlana Jalal al-Din.
- The Islamic Republic of Iran hails Ferdowsi, the creator of the national epic of Iran, whose mausoleum risked destruction in the early years of the Islamic Republic due to the revolutionary leaders’ accusations against him as “the praise singer of usurpers and unjust rulers.” More.
- Head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism organization Esfandiar Rahim-Mashayee claims Ferdowsi was the architect behind “Shi’a nationalism in Iran.”
- E’temad Melli discusses the expansion of the Imam Reza mausoleum in Mashhad.
Human Rights and Labor
- Shipyard workers on strike.
- Disturbing tactics used on jailed workers.
Nuclear Issue
- Iran makes nuclear proposals to UN, EU.
Military and Security
- Minister of intelligence says the ministry has foiled a terrorist attempt against the Russian Consulate.
- Commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards says the Islamic Republic is not threatened from outside, but from elements within.
- The Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces participates in poetry sessions.
- Iran accuses Shiraz bombers—reported a Germany-based monarchist group—of conducting the attack for $100,000.
Photo of the Day
- Ahmadinejad visits town of Miankaleh.
