Military and Security
- Rahim Safavi, former chief of the Revolutionary Guards and current top security adviser to the Supreme Leader says, “In case of war, not a single boat can float in the Persian Gulf outside the reach of the coastal missile systems of the Revolutionary Guards Navy, and this is one of the achievements of the tripartite forces of the Guards.”
- (E) Defense Minister: Iran is guardian of Strait of Hormuz.
- (E) Ahmadinejad tells NATO to stay out of Caucasus.
- (E) Iran denies sleeper cells in GCC states.
Nuclear Issue
- (E) Iran’s IAEA rep: U.S. must accept Iran’s nuclear ‘realities.’
Trade
- Christophe de Margerie, head of Total, refutes “distortions” of his words regarding activities of Total in Iran and says “We are still in Iran, and intend to stay.” As proof of continuing Total activities, he points to “renewed expansions at Do-Roud oil field on Kharg island which produces 120,000 barrels of oil per day, and Saveh [cooking] oil company located 100 kilometers from Tehran.” Commenting his earlier statements the Total head said: “What I said was that today, Total can’t take the risk of heavy investments in Iran. Even now our operations are done with difficulty because of U.S. sanctions, and one can’t rule out the possibility of more severe sanctions.”
- (E) Total still wants a piece of Iran.
- Aftab News publishes a lengthy article on the Crescent bribery scandal in the Islamic Republic.
Economy
- Deputy chairman of the Economics and Finance Committee of the Iranian parliament criticizes Ahmadinejad government’s withdrawals from the foreign exchange reserve.
Human Rights and Labor
- Ten school teachers arrested after declaring their intent to participating in a demonstration protesting against poor living conditions of school teachers in Iran.
- Mojtaba Bayat, former member of the Office of Consolidating Unity student organization, summoned to the Revolutionary Tribunal.
- Ehsan Mazandarani, student activist at the journalism university, summoned to the university disciplinary committee.
- The Committee on Unauthorized Arrests publishes its sixteenth bulletin discussing arrest of civil rights activists in Iranian Kordestan region.
Politics
- Reformist theoretician Said Hajjarian says if the ground is not prepared for healthy elections, he will not vote at presidential elections of 2009.
- Aftab-e Yazd’s questions parliamentarians engaged in an attempt to impeach Ahmadinejad because Vice President Mashayee expressed friendship to the people of Israel, but discovers the impeachment schemes have been abandoned.
Religion, Culture, and Society
- Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi praises Iranian film makers who responded to “Fitna,” a Dutch film critical of Islam.
Diplomacy
- Syrian president Bashar al-Assad says only “close relations between Iran and Israel, and a close relationship between the Arabs and the United States” can harm the relations between Iran and Syria.
- Prime Minister of St. Vincent says Iran extends a $7 million dollar grant for development of an airport facility.
- Ahmadinejad meets Armenian foreign minister
Photo of the Day
- Studying the Quran during Ramadan.
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