A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by AEI�Critical�Threats Project Iran Analyst�Will Fulton.
 

Politics

• Guardian Council Spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei�announced�that the body �may consider the candidates� physical condition when vetting qualifications.�


• Parliament Executive Council member MP Mohammad Dehghan�stated, �Presidential candidates must not be older than 75.�


• 2+1 Coalition member Gholam Ali Haddad Adel�said�the coalition does not accept the political beliefs of former president and current presidential candidate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.


• The tenth session for investigating the 2009 post-election Kahrizak detention center fatalities took place in the Tehran Criminal Court Branch 76 earlier today. The judge�ordered�an additional session on May 22, 2013, to allow the defendants to testify. Defendants include former Tehran Prosecutor Said Mortazavi and several other former Kahrizak officials.


• Fars News�published�some of the speeches of Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini that stress the necessity of accepting Guardian Council decisions. Khomeini said, �Anyone who says the Guardian Council vote is illegitimate is�mofased�[corrupt on earth; a capital crime under Islamic Republic law].�


• Parliament Vice-Chairman and presidential candidate Hojjat al-Eslam Mohammad Hassan Abu Torabi Fard�rescinded�his candidacy today in response to the request of 200 MPs urging him to stay in the legislative branch.


• Steadfastness Front candidate Kamran Bagheri Lankarani�announced�today that he has rescinded his candidacy in favor of chief nuclear negotiator and presidential candidate Said Jalili.

• Fars News Agency�reports�that seven car bombs were detonated in Baghdad and two in Basrah, in addition to three other car bombs that have been neutralized by Iraqi security forces.


• Four Iranians are�killed�and 17 are injured in Basra city bombings earlier today.


• Iranian media�reported�that the Syrian army has expelled �foreign supported paramilitary� fighters from the strategic city of al-Quysair near the Lebanese-Syrian border.


• Mehr News Agency�reports�the holding of an international session in Tehran regarding Syria on May 29, 2013, with many participating countries. The details of this session will soon be published.


• The highest ranking Shia cleric in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani,�condemned�the attack on the head of the Bahraini Ulama Islamic Council and senior Shia cleric Sheikh Issa Qasem by Bahraini security forces last week.


• According to Ahlul Bay News Agency, Bahraini clerics have�urged�the people of the country to participate in a sit-in this coming Friday to declare their solidarity with Sheikh Issa Qassem.

• The Ministry of Intelligence�announced�in a statement that it has �annihilated two terrorist teams�who were transporting large stockpiles of small arms into the country on the eve of the destiny-determining elections.�


• After elements related to the Communications Agency illegally entered the National Cyber space Center building Sunday, a high court�ordered�the Supreme Cyber Space Council to cease all research center activities until further notice.


• Head of the Women�s Basij Society Minou Aslani�said, �Secure elections are one of the priorities of female intellectuals in current circumstances and candidates do not have the permission to make the country�s environment an environment of tension and tumult.�


• Defense Minister BG Ahmad Vahidi�announced�the mass production of a new line of domestically produced �9th Harz� anti-aircraft batteries. According to the minister, distinguishing characteristics are the batteries� mobility and ability to function at night.

• The 2013-14 fiscal debates are�ongoing�in Parliament and some changes in the energy and finance sectors have already occurred. The most notable changes include: determination of currency policies by the Currency and Credit Council; regulations on Central Bank loans to the government; requirement for the Oil Ministry to balance the books with its subsidiary companies every three months and invest in joint oil and gas fields; Central Bank $10 billion allocation to upstream oil and gas projects; and allowing the Ministry of Economy may issue permits, if necessary, to open accounts for Oil Ministry subsidiary companies in foreign and domestic banks.


• The Parliament�s Budget Commission has�cut�the student loans budget allocation by 72% for this upcoming year, as a result of �inattentiveness of some committee members,� according to an official.


• The Customs Agency statistics demonstrate that the country�imported�95% of its black hijab fabrics last year. An Iranian factory has failed to fulfill its promise to mass produce the fabric domestically.