Iran News Round Up

[(E) signifies English link]

Diplomacy

Basirat News, unofficial mouthpiece of the Revolutionary Guards, claims 9/11 is a “pathetic version of a Western conspiracy.”
Oxford University threatens legal action against Interior Minister Ali Kordan should the Iranian interior minister insist upon authenticity of his doctoral degree from the British university.
(E) Iran will stand by Palestine until final victory.
(E) Iran regional influence increasing “despite US antagonism.”
(E) Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki in Moscow.

Military and Security

Basirat News republishes conclusions of a Washington Institute for Near East Policy report on the Revolutionary Guards Navy.
(E) English-language coverage of Washington Institute report.
Kuwaiti Shi’a newspaper Ad-Dar republishes news on Russian declaration of interest in establishing military bases in Iran.
Commander Mousavi appointed Human Resource chief of Basij.

Politics

Presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi says he welcomes the candidacy of Rafsanjani protégé Hassan Rowhani and even the candidacy of former president Mohammad Khatami.
Inaugurating a number of facilities for war veterans in Tehran, Mayor Qalibaf urges the public to file complaints against him on the day of reckoning should he and other executives display a mood and character different than the one they had during the war against Iraq.
Shahab News publishes the verbal exchange between Kayhan editor Shariatmadari and interior minister Ali Kordan over, among other things, Kayhan’s accusations that Kordan accepted bribes from the UAE oil company Crescent.
See also BBC Persian’s background article.
Following Kayhan’s article accusing Kordan of improper in Crescent’s activities in Iran, Ahmadinejad orders Kordan remove himself from involvement in negotiations.
Alef News Agency publishes a background article on the UAE Crescent company bribery affair involving Kordan.
Interior minister Ali Kordan says he survived parliamentary questioning prior to his appointment because of the “halo of divine light” around him.

Religion, Culture, and Society

IRNA denies reports on death of 1960′s and 70′s rock/pop star Koroush Yaghmayee.
A 17-year-old boy arrested on grounds of claiming contact with the Imam of the Era.
Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi attacks Abdol-Karim Soroush and other intellectuals “who question the fundamentals of Islam and the Islamic Republic.”
Shi’a News slams “Ramadan Musical in Paris” attended by “homosexual mayor of Paris.”
Shi’a News slams the Chinese authorities’ prohibition against fasting and beard-growing during the month of Ramadan.
Shi’a News condemns the U.S.-produced Iran documentary “Stoning of Sorraya.”

Nuclear Issue

Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Company denies all U.S. accusations of participation in Iran’s nuclear program.
German police arrest a dual Iran-German citizen on charges of purchasing €600,000 Euros of dual use components.

Economy

Supreme Leader Khamenei urges Islamic Republic executives not to take “hasty decisions” on “grand issues,” but also urges them not to abstain from launching policy initiatives out of fear of fiasco. The Supreme Leader also urges cooperation among all institutions in realization of the economic reform initiative of the Ahmadinejad government which would convert subsidies into oil dividends.
Ahmadinejad explains what groups oppose his economic reform scheme and stresses the necessity of economic reform.

Trade

According to Alef News, the UAE is contemplating construction of a $200 billion oil pipeline to lessen the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz.
Zahedan parliamentarian Shahriari wonders why the Islamic Republic contemplates exporting natural gas to Pakistan when “extremist Wahabis kill Shi’a in Pakistan.”
20 killed in an attack against a Shi’i mosque in Pakistan.

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