[(E) signifies English link]
Terrorism
- Khorshid newspaper, mouthpiece of the Social Security Organization, discloses secret information on Lebanese Hezbollah: “Seyyed Abbas Mousavi was the former chief of Lebanese Hezbollah. Upon his martyrdom on February 16th 1992…Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah – the current secretary general of this party – became his successor. Informed sources have said that in case the Zionists succeed in assassinating Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, Seyyed Hashem Safi al-Din, the executive director of this party in Beirut, will replace him.”
- (E) Four Kurdish terrorists killed in Iran.
- (E) Iran denies Foreign Minister Mottaki was targeted for assassination in Pakistam.
Economy
- The Civil Aviation Organization confirms reports on mass-migration of Iranian pilots to the Persian Gulf countries because of poor pay in Iran.
- In a response to strikes in the bazaars of Isfahan and Tehran, Ahmadinejad postpones the introduction of the Value Added Tax. Strike continues in the Tehran Bazaar.
- Regional heads of the Martyr’s Foundation to convene.
- Baztab publishes statistics government daily gas imports.
- Parliamentarian Daryoush Ghanbari demands Ahmadinejad explain the level of inflation.
- Basij chief Ta’eb says international sanctions create good opportunities for the country.
Religion, Culture, and Society
- Ayatollah Sobhani stresses the necessity of separation of sexes at universities.
- Kayhan describes Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who has migrated to the United States, as “a fooled third-rate actress” and warns against “a mafia aiming to abduct Iranian actors and actresses.” Other media supporting the Ahmadinejad government claim they were “shocked” by “release of semi-nude pictures of the actress.”
- (E) Iran screening a response to the U.S. film “300.”
- Esfandiar Mashayee, vice president and head of the Tourism and Cultural Heritage Organization, defends his earlier statements on the people of Israel, restates that “Iran is the tourist destination of angels” and “tourism belongs among secondary religious obligations.” Following the heated debate and attacks of the clergy, the Organization claims Mashayee has never said such things.
Politics
- Daneshjou, political deputy of the Interior Ministry, says his most important obligation is to “protect the popular vote…, the health of the elections.”
- Tavakkoli, head of the Research Center of the parliament: “Those parliamentarians not in dire need of economic assistance should return the 1,000,000,000 rial cash subsidy.”
- Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, Ahmadinejad’s media advisor, says it is not Ahmadinejad, but Ali Larijani who is responsible for the entire affair of Interior Minister Ali Kordan’s forged Ph.D. since Kordan was Larijani’s deputy in the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. In his personal blog, Javanfekr adds that Kordan is an “able executive.”
Military and Security
- Shahab News Agency publishes more details on intelligence minister Ezheh’i’s interview on the increased activity of “counterrevolutionaries” in Iran.
Diplomacy
- (E) Iran, Turkey to boost television cooperation.
- Three Yemeni citizens summoned to court on charges that they spied for Iran.
- According to Now Andish, the “Wahabi Al-Arabiya [television] web site, which was hacked in retaliation to hacking of Iranian websites, is again operational and, in an insulting remark, demands disappearance of Iran from the map of the world.”
- (E) Karroubi says Iran paid dearly for Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denial.
- (E) Iran seeks to bolster ties with Russia.
Photo of the Day
- Kofi Annan meets Rafsanjani.
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