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 recognizes protesters dead in jail as 'martyrs'

AFP | Aug 25, 2010

Three anti-government protesters who died in a notorious jail have been dubbed "martyrs" by an Iranian official body, a move which would ensure benefits for their families, a report said on Wednesday.

Mohammad Kamrani, Amir Javadifar and Mohsen Ruholamini have been named as "martyrs" by Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veteran Affairs, the hardline Kayhan newspaper reported.

The deaths of the three men caused major embarrassment to the Islamic republic, which after months of denial acknowledged the protesters had died at the Kahrizak detention centre due injuries inflicted while in custody.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the closure of Kahrizak following the reports of abuse.

In June, a military court sentenced two men to death in connection with the deaths. Tehran's feared ex-prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi was held responsible in a parliamentary probe for sending post-vote detainees to Kahrizak.

Banisadr: Mousavi's Revelations Would Destroy the Govt's Legitimacy

IPS | Aug 25, 2010

Responding to pro-government critics, Iran's defiant opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has said several times in recent months that he would reveal "untold secrets" from his tenure.

Mousavi served as prime minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989, until constitutional changes abolished the post. He was a leading opposition candidate in Iran's contested presidential elections last year.

Abolhassan Banisadr, Iran's first president after the Islamic Revolution, who now lives in France, told IPS that he believes Mousavi's life is danger. "Many people who have had access to the regime's secrets or who have tried to reveal them have been murdered," he said.

Last month, Banisadr published what he says is Mousavi's 1988 letter of resignation on his website, Enghelab-e Eslami. The letter was addressed to then-President Seyed Ali Khamenei, now Iran's Supreme Leader. Neither Mousavi nor any of the Iranian government authorities, including the Office of the Supreme Leader, has reacted to the letter's contents.

In the letter, Mousavi explicitly speaks of terrorist activities carried out abroad and about which he claims his cabinet was not aware. In a part of the letter, Mousavi explains his reason for resignation as his inability to carry out his responsibilities, saying:

"The operations abroad... take place without the cabinet's knowledge or orders. You know better [than me] of their catastrophic and undesirable consequences for the country. We are informed only after an airplane is hijacked. We learn only after a machine gun opens fire on a Lebanon street and its sound can be heard all over. I am informed only after explosives are found on our pilgrims in Jeddah. Unfortunately, and against all the losses these actions have brought to the country, the likes of these operations could take place at any moment or any hour in the name of the cabinet," Mousavi's letter reads.

Controversial 'Family Bill' Returns To Iranian Parliament's Agenda

RFE/RL | Aug 25, 2010

Iran's parliament is preparing to discuss a bill this week that would allow men to marry additional wives without the consent of their first wife, and would tax dowries.

It is called the Family Protection Bill, but it is better known as the antifamily bill.

Women's rights activists say the bill, first proposed by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's cabinet in 2007, would pave the way for polygamy, harm the family structure, and set back the battle against discriminatory laws in the Islamic republic, where women have second-class legal status.

Iran says it's ready to sell arms to Lebanon

AP | Aug 25, 2010

Iran is prepared to sell weapons to Lebanon if Beirut asks for help in equipping its military, Iran's defense minister said Wednesday.

Gen. Ahmad Vahidi's comments come a day after the leader of Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah group, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, called on the Lebanese government to formally seek military assistance from Iran.

"Lebanon is our friend," Vahidi was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency. "If there is a demand in this respect, we are ready to help that country and conduct weapons transactions with it."

Iran searching for new domestic uranium deposits

AP | Aug 25, 2010

Iran's nuclear chief says the priority after the September startup of Bushehr nuclear power plant wil be to search for new uranium deposits inside the country.

Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi told the official IRNA news agency Wednesday that only one-third of the country has been explored for uranium deposits.

Iran says it test-fired new missile

AP | Aug 25, 2010

Iran said Wednesday that it has successfully test-fired an upgraded version of a short-range surface-to-surface missile.

Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said the third generation of the Fateh-110, which means "conqueror" in Farsi and Arabic, is equipped with a high accuracy guidance control system. He said the solid-fuel missile was developed domestically by Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization and tested Wednesday.

"Employing a highly accurate guidance and control system has enabled the missile to hit its targets with great precision," Vahidi was quoted by state TV as saying Wednesday.
Tehran frequently makes announcements about new advances in military technology that cannot be independently verified.

Ahmadinejad refuses to implement 'subway law'

Mehr | Aug 25, 2010

Elias Naderan, a member of the Principlist bloc of the Iranian parliament, said the administration's refusal to implement the parliamentary ratification concerning withdrawing $2 billion dollars from the Foreign Exchange Fund for the development of the subway in Tehran and other big cities was unconstitutional and went against Sharia (religious rules).

President Ahmadinejad had said he does not "consider as law" the parliamentary approval about the metro, which has also been endorsed by the Guardian Council.