Press Roundup provides a selected summary of news from the Iranian press, and excerpts where the source is in English. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Please refer to the Media Guide to help put the stories in perspective. You can follow other news stories through our Twitter feed.

Iran to fire up first nuclear power plant next week

AFP | Aug 13, 2010

Iran is to launch its first nuclear power reactor next week, the Islamic republic and Russia which helped build the plant said on Friday after years of delays to the highly sensitive project.

"We are preparing to transfer the fuel inside the plant next week... Then we will need seven to eight days to transfer it to the reactor (core)," said Iran's atomic energy chief, Ali Akbar Salehi.

"On August 21, the fuel will be transferred inside the building in which the engine" of the Bushehr power station in southern Iran is located, he said, quoted by Iran's Fars news agency.

"It will take six to seven months to reach the maximum power level of the plant," he said.

Iran ready to sell oil in any currency: central bank

AFP | Aug 13, 2010

Iran has made arrangements to start selling its oil in any currency rather than just the US dollar, central bank chief Mahmoud Bahmani said in a report on Friday.

"We will do our trade in any currency possible," said Bahmani, quoted by the ISNA news agency, without giving a launch date for the policy or specifying if Iran would refuse to be paid in dollars.

First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said the policy would affect the single European currency as well as the greenback in a report on Tuesday by leading economic daily Doniye e-Ektesad.

"We are going to remove the dollar and euro from our foreign currency basket and replace them with (the Iranian) rial and all other currencies of the countries which accept to cooperate with us," he said.

Jannati advises officials to work hard to reduce effects of sanctions

Mehr | Aug 13, 2010

Tehran Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati has urged state officials to work hard to reduce the effects of sanctions on public life.

"Disputes among state officials would make the burden of anti-Iran sanctions heavier and all of us should strive on a path to lessen the effects of those sanctions on the public life," Jannati stated on Friday.

Ayatollah Jannati, who is also the chairman of the Guardian Council, further said that, "If state officials want to bring about a glittering future for themselves and the public, they should seek to resolve people's problems by not paying attention to the marginal issues."

Ahmadinejad, Assad discuss ties

Press TV | Aug 13, 2010

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad have stressed the need for sustained cooperation between the two countries.

"It is necessary that Tehran-Damascus relations be further enhanced in various fields in order for the two nations to have a brighter future outlook," President Ahmadinejad noted.

For his part, Assad made a reference to the common perspectives held by the two states and said, "The two countries' similar stance on key political and international issues could benefit both nations and other neighbors."

The Language Of Ahmadinejad: 'The Bogeyman Snatched The Boob'

RFE/RFL | Aug 11, 2010

In a harangue delivered to Iranian expatriates visiting Tehran last week, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad resorted to an odd turn of phrase to describe the futility of Washington's use of threats and allegations against Iran.

"The bogeyman snatched the boob," the Iranian president declared.

The expression is one used by mothers in Iran when they are weaning their children off breast milk. But "mameh," slang for breast in Persian, is not often uttered publicly in a country where words and expressions of even the slightest sexual nature are considered taboo and commonly censored in books and publications.

Iran sanctions strengthen Ahmadinejad regime: Karroubi

Guardian | Aug 11, 2010

"These sanctions have given an excuse to the Iranian government to suppress the opposition by blaming them for the unstable situation of the country," Karroubi said in email responses to the Guardian.

Karroubi told the Guardian: "On the one hand, the government's mishandling of the economy has resulted in deep recession and rising inflation inside the country, which has crippled the people of Iran and resulted in the closure of numerous factories. On the other hand, we have sanctions which are strengthening the illegitimate government."