Selected Headlines

Press Roundup provides a selected summary of news from the Iranian press, and excerpts where the source is in English. The link to the news organization or blog is provided at the top of each item. Tehran Bureau has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Please refer to the Media Guide to help put the story in perspective.

Madhi: arrest warrants against reformists issued before elections.

BBC Monitoring | Feb. 4, 2010

On February 4, the pro-government Al-Jarida newspaper carried the following interview with Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Madhi, also known in Iran as Seyed Reza Hosseini, who worked in the intelligence branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and is currently living outside of his country:

"...Q: "As a person who knows Hossein Taeb [the head of the Revolutionary Guard intelligence branch], what do you think of him and his like?

A: "When people like Taeb want to control the situation, this is the result. When Taeb worked at the Intelligence Ministry, Intelligence Minister at the time Sheikh Fallahian ousted him and issued an order preventing him from entering the Ministry. However, Taeb returned to the Revolutionary Guard, then went to the religious school for a while and worked in the Guide's office under the name "Maytham." Once could say he was rejected, lost or homeless.

Q: "During that stage, what was the nature of your work?

A: "Officially, I was in charge of the dossier of assassinations from March 14, 1998, until August 25, 2005. However, the internal deals prevented me from doing my job. At the time, a committee of six people was formed to follow the assassinations dossier and included people like Javadzadeh and Ahmed Shikhani who were ousted from the Intelligence Ministry along with Taeb. They were supposed to investigate and identify the murderers and the instigators. Also during those days, a major human tragedy occurred and was seen in the torturing of the wife of Saeed Emami (the assistant minister of intelligence who was the main suspect in the assassinations dossier and was said to have committed suicide in prison).

"Everybody watched what happened through videos delivered to the most prominent officials in the regime. Through this unprecedented torture, they tried to force her to recognize her husband's relations with the Mossad. They even said that foreign agents were implicated in the series of assassinations out of a fear over the information that the woman might reveal...

Q: "You said that you were still in your position until January 2007, and that you left the country a little later. Where are you getting your information about the latest events?

A: "I still enjoy ties with Iran. I am not a person who was able to acquire information in the past and I can still get reports from several sources.

Q: "Who are these sources?

A: "People who are loyal to the regime and officials who enjoy intelligence, security and judicial positions within the regime. There are even clerics who trust me and people interested in serving the population and the principles of the revolution and the imam which were mutilated by the latter who conducted a velvet coup against it while accusing others of having staged it. All of those people help me clarify the facts.

Q: "Over which issues for example?

A: "Some of those people told me that the arrest warrants against the reformist leaders were issued before the elections and that Ahmadinejad's adoption of the policy of creating enemies and playing with people's dignities among other practices gave the impression he had a greater goal on mind and a plan to oppress those opposing the regime.

Q: "One of things that raised surprise during the events seen after the elections, was the unprecedented violence exerted against the protesters, the political forces and the civil society activists. Many are wondering who is behind these practices. What do you think?

A: "Sheikh Mesbah Yazdi played the greatest role in enhancing the position of Ahmadinejad in order to strengthen his own. For that purpose, he needed a final settlement of scores with the reformists. They even planned to get rid of people like Mir Hossein Mousavi whose biggest concern was to rescue the regime. He was considered a national wealth and a respectful figure but they did not spare him.

Q: "How is that?

A: "They drew up a plan before the elections saying that the reformists must not win. The plan was tightly conceived and after Ahmadinejad's victory in his first term, Taeb was chosen as the commander of the Basij. The latter man did not care about anything and anyone, including the Guide and the first victim of these actions was the Guide himself... The actions seen after the elections had one victim: the people's trust and religion. They were both sacrificed by Mr. Ahmadinejad and the Guide for power and to serve their personal plans."

Kahrizak doctor's cause of death announced

Fararu | Feb. 3, 2010

The Medical Examiners Office announced prescription drug overdose as the Kahrizak doctor's cause of death.

"As we previously announced through judicial authorities, the coroner has announced the cause of the Kahrizak doctor's death as poisoning with [prescription] medication and the report has been sent to authorities," said chief medical examiner Hassan Abedi.

When asked why the ME's office had earlier announced the Kahrizak doctor's cause of death to be homicide or suicide, Abedi expressed surprise. "I do not know anything about the Kahrizak doctor's homicide or suicide and this is a matter that judicial authorities or the judge should look into."

Preachers want Mashai to keep quiet for one year

Khabaronline| Feb. 3, 2010

One week after Esfandyar Rahim Mashai's speech in front of members of the Preachers' Society, state news agencies continue to use the incident to write in support of the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chief of staff.

According to Khabar Online, many of the participants in last week's gathering have not been satisfied with Mashai's explanations and some of the participants have requested that Mashai not speak publicly for at least a year.

Meanwhile, one news agency in a guided interview claimed that the members of the Preachers Society had asked Mashai for forgiveness for misjudging him.

Vaez-Tabasi: Why are seditionists blind?

Tabnak | Feb. 3, 2010

The Leader's representative in Khorasan Province, Ayatollah Abbas Vaez-Tabasi, said those who accuse the current Iranian leaders of dictatorship should have experienced the Pahlavi-era repression.

Addressing a crowd of schoolboys in Mashhad of Wednesday, the caretaker of the Razavi Shrine said, "God will not forgive those who accuse the current Iranian leaders of dictatorship; if you had experienced the pre-Revolution situation you would have understood what repression and tyranny mean."

"During the Pahlavi era no one dared say a simple sentence that could be considered impolite about the Shah," ISNA quoted Vaez-Tabasi as saying.

"Why are the seditionists blind? Why are they ignoring their human and Islamic conscience in their quest for power and fail to see this free atmosphere that is allowing the younger generation room for growth, development and advancement? Why are they not proud of the establishment's achievements and [our] national accomplishments? They
are entranced by the foreigners. Of course, God Willing, it is only because of their ignorance."

"Today if one member of the movement opposing the establishment speaks in my praise, I will be under scrutiny and I will ask myself what have I done to cause someone against the establishment to praise me. How is it possible that the heads of Western countries voice support for one or two individuals, and one who is devoted to the nation, and the
prominence and independence of this country; who loves the leader of this Islamic society and the constitution does not shudder upon hearing such words of praise."

"Our dear youth must be thankful for this [positive] atmosphere. I do not want to say we have no problems and I do not want to say I have no criticism about the management [of the country] but we must make calculated judgments and add up the positive and negative points before giving a score [to the performance of the government]," added Vaez-Tabasi, who is also a member of the Expediency Council.

The veteran cleric closed by advising against being influenced by rumors about and insults hurled at the prominent members of the establishment.

Khatami says letter to Leader was confidential

Fararu | Feb. 2, 2010

A reformist website reported that former president Mohammad Khatami wrote a nine-page letter to Iran's Leader, which was hand delivered to Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in the month of Ramadan.

According to Parleman News, the letter contained Khatami's analysis of the incidents that took place on election day and after the vote.

Khatami concluded his letter by offering a list of solutions he believed would help the country exit its current crisis.

Following the publication of reports on Khatami's letter and speculation about its content, the former Iranian president expressed his dissatisfaction with the rumors, stressing that his letter was a private one and not intended for the public.

Khatami added that he has not revealed the contents of the letter or the response he received as it is morally incorrect for him to be the one to go public with this information.

Ban lifted on Parleman News website

Parleman News | Feb. 2, 2010

The ban on the website belonging to Reformist members of the Iranian parliament has been lifted.

According to reports, following talks between high-ranking members of the Majlis minority bloc and authorities the filtering applied to Parleman News was lifted.

Taiwanese man charged in US with Iran exports

WaPo| Feb. 4, 2010

A Taiwanese man has been arrested on charges of exporting a series of prohibited items to Iran, including missile components and engines that can be used in unmanned military drones, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Yi-Lan Chen, 40, arranged at least 30 banned shipments to Iran since 2007, according to an affidavit by a U.S. Commerce Department enforcement agent. Most involved "dual use" items that have both commercial and military applications.

Arrested this week in Guam, Chen waived extradition at a hearing Thursday and will be flown to Miami to face trial, prosecutors said. Court records did not show an attorney yet for Chen, who runs a company in Taiwan called Landstar Tech.

If convicted, Chen faces up to 20 years in prison and $1 million in fines.

Petraeus says strike on Iran could spark nationalism

Reuters | Feb. 3, 2010

A military strike on Iran could have the unintended consequence of stirring nationalist sentiment to the benefit of Tehran's hard-line government, U.S. General David Petraeus told Reuters.

Iran's June election gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term but sparked the worst internal crisis in the Islamic Republic's history, putting internal pressure on a government already facing the threat of more sanctions over its nuclear program.

"There is certainly a history, in other countries, of fairly autocratic regimes almost creating incidents that inflame nationalist sentiment. So that could be among the many different, second, third, or even fourth order effects (of a strike)."

Tensions over Iran's nuclear program have set off speculation that Israel could make good on veiled threats to hit its arch-foe pre-emptively. But Israel's envoy to Washington said in December the U.S.-Israeli dialogue on Iran has not reached the point of discussing the military option.

Prosecutor : Death sentence not final for 9 rioters

Ayande News | Feb. 2, 2010

Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi said the appeals court has yet to confirm the guilt of the nine individuals sentenced to death for moharebeh (militancy).

"As soon as we receive the verdict of the appeals court we will make an announcement," Dolatabadi told ISNA.

Regarding the assassination of physicist Dr. Ali Mohammadi, Dolatabadi said, "Investigations are ongoing in this case and as soon as we reach a conclusion we will make an announcement."

Iran, Uruguay discuss industrial cooperation

PressTV | Feb. 4, 2010

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Uruguay's Minister of Industry Raul Sendic have discussed issues of mutual interests in Tehran.

The two discussed prospects of boosting industrial ties that would include manufacture of light and heavy machinery and construction of power plants.

Mottaki said that Iran is ready to provide the South American country with light and heavy machinery, as well as engineering services for construction of dams and power plants.

The Uruguayan official, for his part, described Iran's achievements in various fields as significant, saying the country's development shows sanctions and international pressure against Iran have proven to be of no avail.

Sendic added that Iran and Uruguay have agreed "to set up special working groups aimed at identify new fields for cooperation."

Upon taking office for the first time in 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made efforts establish closer ties with Latin and South American countries including Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil, Bolivia and Uruguay.

China warns against talks of Iran sanctions

PressTV| Feb. 4, 2010

China has warned world powers against threatening Iran with sanctions over its nuclear energy program, saying such a move could prove to be counterproductive.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Thursday that threats of sanctions will make it harder to find a diplomatic solution to the Western disputes over Tehran's nuclear program.

"To talk about sanctions at the moment will complicate the situation and might stand in the way of finding a diplomatic solution," Yang said during a visit to France.

He added that Beijing wants the continuation of direct talks between Tehran and the so-called P5+1 -- the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

While the West is resolute on imposing more sanction on Iran, China and Russia insist that dialogue is the best way to resolve the issue.

"All countries, Iran included if they obey by IAEA rules, have a right to a peaceful use of nuclear energy," said Yang.

Washington and its allies accuse Tehran of pursuing a military nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), however, has repeatedly said that it has found no evidence supporting the allegation.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, confirming the non-diversion of nuclear material in the country's functional and under-construction plants.

Iran also denies the allegation, saying that it needs nuclear energy to produce electricity to meet the country's growing demand.