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Iran News Round Up

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Nuclear Issue

Religion, Culture, and Society

Human Rights and Labor

Politics

  • Commenting the potential candidacy of former president Mohammad Khatami Kayhan editorializes: “It is no secret that the reform movement is dead…even [reformist theoreticians] Behzad Nabavi and Sa’id Hajjarian have acknowledged this…not even the Messiah can bring it back to life from the dead…”
  • Agah-Sazi attacks Ahmadinejad’s track record: “Unending slogans and promises of the ninth government at the beginning of its work raised a lot of expectations among the revolutionary and Principalist people of Islamic Iran. But most unfortunately [the government] did not appreciate this opportunity to realize the slogan and promises…”
    • Agah-Sazi also republishes 21 points made by Ahmadinejad in his last televised speech as presidential candidate in 2005 to illustrate how the promises have gone unrealized. These include:
      • Expert city planning and expert housing policy
      • Decentralized decision-making
      • Removal of politicians from “palaces”
      • Financial support for artists
      • Revitalization of higher education, especially in the sciences
      • Greater political expression in the universities.
      • Support for meritocracy, especially to fight against gender discrimination.
      • Decentralization of the public sector (so that tea organizations are based in the north, copper in Kerman, etc., and not all based in Tehran).
      • Coordination among ministries.
      • Heightened productivity in public companies
      • Willingness to boycott countries with insulting foreign policies (e.g., like Argentina, which accused Iran of terrorism)
  • Ahmadinejad meets representatives from South Khorasan and says “religious minorities constitute an inseparable part of the great family of Iran.” More here, and (E) in English.
  • According to Alef News Agency the Iranian parliament is ready to impeach Kordan.
    • An increasing number of parliamentarians withdraw their threat to impeach Kordan.
      • But, parliamentarians Mottahari and Dehghan demand ousting of interior minister Kordan on grounds of “lying to the parliament.”
      • Tehran parliamentarian Ali Mottahari: “Ali Kordan has lied about his degree and must resign.”
      • Official government news agency IRNA claims the entire issue about the Interior Minister Kordan’s doctoral degree was “the trap of Oxford University,” a conspiracy which the British laid for Kordan eight years ago.
    • Following public disclosures of Interior Minister Ali Kordan’s forged doctoral degree, Raja News, usually a supported of the Ahmadinejad government, supports Kordan’s ouster.

Media

  • Agah-Sazi: “In the latest weeks, the government has accused certain media of disturbing the public mind by writing about the doctoral degree of Interior Minister Ali Kordan…Now that the matter has been fully disclosed, is it not the right of the media to file complaints against the government?”

Economy

Trade

Military and Security

Diplomacy

  • While the United States government has provided a license for Houshang Amirahmadi, a Rutgers professor and apologist for Hamas and Hezbollah, to open an office in Tehran for the American Iranian Council, an organization which lobbies for the lifting of sanctions and seeks rapprochement. The Iranian government has yet to provide any authorization, though.
  • Ahmad Jannati, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, speaking at Tehran Friday prayers: “Just as the Americans are joyful about economic problems in Iran, we are happy that, with the tumultuous U.S. economy which has even reached Europe, they are seeing the result of their own misdeeds. It is God’s punishment.”
  • Tabriz Friday prayer leader claims “Israel’s collapse is near.”
  • (E) Iran refuses to join any regional grouping that includes Israel.
  • Mehr News slams the Italian government as “puppet of world Zionism.”
  • Speaking at the Friday prayer of Kufa, Iraq, Moqtada al-Sadr demands the Iraqi government to declare the security pact with the U.S. void.
  • Tabnak News Agency claims Iranian visa applicants at the Embassy of France were questioned about their political preferences ahead of the Iranian presidential elections.
  • Diplomasi-ye Irani slams the Persian Gulf Arab leaders’ “pro-Israeli foreign policy orientation.”
  • Fars News Agency notices German ambassador’s absence at the German Unification Party at the German embassy in Tehran.
  • Fars News Agency publishes an interview (Part One; Part Two) with Sadeq Mahsouli, former commander in Revolutionary Guards and war veteran:
    • “I entered Science and Technology University…at that time Mr. Ahmadinejad and some other friends whom you may know, Mr. Samareh Hashemi and Mr. Borghe’i were active in the Islamic Student Association… Mr. Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi was the Friday prayer leader of the entire university and even those who were not members of the Islamic Student Association but were Muslims would join us for group prayers in the mosque…
    • Martyr Bahonar was the uncle of Mr. Samareh Hashemi. Because of my friendship with Mr. Hashemi, I also developed some relationship with the blessed Bahonar. We also participated at classes of martyr Moffatteh at Ghaba mosque…and much later I developed a relationship with martyr Beheshti… Mr. Ahmadinejad was present at the meetings.
    • He lived in Narmak area of Tehran and held separate meetings and we did not necessarily attend the same meetings…Student Associations of universities became extremely active after the revolution, and naturally the Islamic Association of Science and Technology University was very active to the degree that the Supreme Leader once said ‘Science and Technology University is the Feyziyyeh of the universities.’
    • At the inter-university meetings of the Islamic Student Associations, the Office of Strengthening of Unity was established in which there were representatives from different universities. Some representatives from four universities presented the plan to attack the U.S. embassy, but did not inform representatives from all universities…
    • In the beginning Mr. Samareh Hashemi was the representative of Science and Technology in the Office of Strengthening of Unity. Unfortunately the discussion of attacking the U.S. embassy had not been presented to the general assembly of the organization and those four other universities and representatives from other universities did not involve Science and Technology University in the plans. Some problems rose out of presence of Mojahedin-e Khalgh who wanted to abuse he affair. The Combatant Muslims Movement; i.e., the Peyman Group, wanted to abuse this affair, and we were against involvement of the impure in the affair…
    • There was no opposition to the fundamentals of this act [attack against the U.S. embassy]…Mr. Ahmadinejad was not the representative of Science and Technology University at the Office of Strengthening of Unity.
    • Secondly, no one informed people from our university what was going to happen so that we could declare opposition or support [to the plan of attacking the U.S. embassy.]…
    • I really don’t remember Mr. Ahmadinejad having been against the attack. One must talk to himself in this regard…
    • After the take over of the embassy no university opposed the fundamentals of the scheme…After the take over there was a feeling that the Den of Espionage must not develop into lucrative business for opportunist elements…I was not present [on the day of the embassy take over]…I don’t think that he [Ahmadinejad] was informed prior to the day of the take over…The fundamental thesis behind the cultural revolution came from the Science and Technology University…”

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