Politics
- The funeral procession for senior Shia cleric Ayatollah Jalaleddin Taheri Esfehanitransformedto a protest scene, as attendees shouted slogans such as death to dictator andcalledfor the release of 2009 presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi from house arrest.
- Severalmembers ofPresident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration and other supportersannouncedtheir candidacies for Tehran city council elections, which is held on the same day as the presidential election on June 14. Current city council member and Ahmadinejads sister Parvin Ahmadinejad and presidential advisor Ali Zabihi will run for council seats, and the current Minister of Transportation and Housing Ali Nikzad will run for Tehran mayor.
- Supreme Leader Ali Khameneisaidhe does not support a candidate in the upcoming elections and added that every vote would be considered a vote for the Islamic Republic.
- Tehran MP Mohammad Esmail Kowsaristated, Service during the 9thand 10thadministrations was exceptional, according to the eminent Supreme Leaders interpretation; therefore, individuals must not undermine government services to attract the peoples vote.
- Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Ahmad Khatamicriticizedsome presidential candidates for giving America a green light because they pretend that if we reconcile with the West all our problems will be resolved. He added, The Western world will not reconcile with Iran because it has a problem with your religion.
- Presidential candidatesGholam Ali Haddad Adel,Ali Akbar Velayati,Mohammad GharziandSaid Jaliliaffirmed their obedience to the Supreme Leader.
- [E] CandidatesMohammad Reza Aref,Mohsen Rezai,Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, andMohammad Gharazidiscussed the roots of the countrys economic malaise and elaborated on their respective policy solutions to lift the struggling economy.
Regional Developments
- Mass protests havespreadto over ninety Turkish cities and a third protestor waskilled. Labor unions have condemned Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogans administration and threatened to strike in protest.
- Iranian mediareportthat the Syrian army has been successful in capturing the Jubar area in northeastern Damascus.
- The Syrian army has reportedlyadvancedand secured the southwestern area of al-Qusayr.
- Armed individualsfiredtwo artillery shells at the Russian embassy in Damascus.
- Lebanese Hezbollahcondemnedyesterdays assassination attempt against Sunni cleric Sheikh Maher Hamoud. Hamoud has vocally supported Hezbollah.
- Violent clashes between Syrian government supporters and opposition in Tripoli, Lebanon,continuedinto the second day, leaving five dead and more than nineteen inured.
- Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and Lebanese senior official representativesattendeda ceremony in Beirut commemorating the death of Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini.
Diplomacy
- Following yesterdays Ministry of Intelligence announcement regarding the discovery of a terrorist network related to one of the regional Arab countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairssummonedthe Qatari charges daffaires in Iran and reportedly conveyed Tehrans serious protests to Doha.
- Head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Parliamentary Commission Alaeddin BoroujerdiwarnedQatar on alleged attempts to disrupt the internal security of the Islamic Republic.
- Iran waselectedthe head of the United Nations Planning and Coordination Committee at the 53rdsession of the committee.
Military and Security
- Head of the Committee for Determining Criminal Instances Abdolsamad Khorram Abaddeniedthe committee had issued an order to filter Mehr News Agency.
- IRGC Greater Tehran Mohammad Rasoulollah Unitissued a statementthat reads in part:Certainly maximum participation in the elections means absolution from the world of blasphemy, a reaffirmation of allegiance with thevelayat, loyalty to the high ideals of the revolutions grand architect and continuation of the martyrs path. The aware and history-making people of Iran, be it the revolutions veterans or the youth generation who are the primary hopes of the revolution and future helmsmen of the holy Islamic system, will defeat all of the enemys political attacks with their stunning presence on [June 14]. They will transform the sweet dreams of [Global] Arrogance to a horrific nightmare by electing a fit individualand will not allow Imam Khomeinis legacy to be placed in the hands of non-confidants.
Economy
- Oil Minister Deputy and National Iranian Petrochemical Industries Company Managing Director Abdolhossein Bayatannouncedplans to equalize liquid and gas feeds of petrochemical units.
By Iran Tracker
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