Politics
- Tehran Interim Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani praisedSupreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis approval of the majority vote for President-elect Hassan Rouhaniand discussed the Egyptian unrest:
- With complete regret, today Egypt, which is a country with a rich civilization and wealth that has grown under Islam, is [facing a bleak situation] and this is the result of the enemies work. Egypts present situation returns to the Egyptian nation and [the reason for the bleak situation] is that there is no leadership of justice, jurisprudence andvelayatin that country, but the Egyptian nation itself must pay attention to what is happening around them.
- Judiciary Spokesman Gholam Hosein Mohseni Ejei announced that National Security and Foreign Affairs (NSFP) Parliamentary Commission members visited Evin prison for the second time, this time to inspect the performance of female prison personnel and for face-to-face discussions with prisoners. RegardingPresident-elect Hassan Rouhanis promise to reduce the security environmentin the country, he said, In any form, the tolerance level of administrations is sometimes more and sometimes less. Some administrations are moderate and some are extreme. Of course, the system always has its specific red lines and will confront based on that.
- Head of the Judiciary Branch Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani responded to Mashhad Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Alam al-Hodas recent criticism of the Judiciary and said that the Judiciary has prioritized economic corruption in the country. He added, According to him, it is not tolerable that some careless girls and boys [criticize] the system. This statement is truly correct. Unfortunately, cultural affairs officials have not paid attention to this matter.Hejab[veil] and chastity is a fundamental issue in the country, although the discussion of confrontation is the final discussion. In the first year when this countrys President asked me, Sir, why do you care that someones four strings of hair are [visible]?' I said that our law considers the lack ofhejaband [inappropriate]hejabto be crimes, and our religious law considers this to be against religious law, and [one] must forbid visible violation of religion and prevent crimes. Larijani then stated that it is wrong to send the peoples boys and girls to prison alongside dangerous criminals, and that more prisons should be built in the country.
- In response, Ayatollah Alam al-Hodasaid, With the recognition that I had from Ayatollah Amoli Larijani, I expected more of a criticism-accepting spirit from him.
- The Administrations Representative in theCenter for Fighting Economic CorruptionHojjat al-Eslam Mohammad Reza Mirtaj al-Dini announced the possibility of holding a meeting to finalize measures that have taken place in President Ahmadinejads Administration.
- Society of Qom Seminary Teachers Political DirectorHojjat al-Eslam Mohsen Saleh stated, The 18thTir [1999 student uprising] and the 88 [2009] sedition, and plain, total extremism in the political arena was against moderation.
- Local websites are reporting protests against water shortages in some villages ofKordestanandKermanprovinces.
Regional Developments
- An unnamed source close to Lebanese Hezbollah expressed the complete confidence Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah reportedly has in Michel Aoun, leader of the Lebanese Free Patriotic Movement, stating that the connection existing between Michel Aouns Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah is a strategic relationship." He added that there are some differences of opinion about internal Lebanese issues and this is natural, and the coalition betweenHezbollah and Aoun is an independent cooperationand no embassy or foreign party is involved.
Diplomacy
- Hojjat al-Eslam Akhtari, Secretary-General of the Ahlul Bayt World Assembly and former Iranian ambassador to Syria, is on a trip to Turkey, and met with Salah al-Din Ozgunduz, a prominent Turkish Shia cleric. He visited the Zeinabiyyeh mosque and community in Istanbul, and met with leaders of Turkish Jaafari institutions. He thentoured the building site of the Zeinab mosque and cultural center, which is reportedly going to be the largest religious and cultural center in Europe and Turkey.
- Iranian FM Ali Akbar Salehi made a short trip to Ankara Friday to meet with Turkish FM Ahmet Davuto?lu to discuss issues of regional importance, particularly Egypt. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Eraghchi said in regards to the trip, We hope that this trip helps to bring the viewpoints together for the interest of the people of Egypt and the region.
Military and Security
- IRGC Imam Hossein Educational Complex Deputy BG Mohammad Shabani discussedrelations with the United States,President Obamas letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the 2013 elections and regional developments:
- Some do not know that under this velvet tissue there is a cast-iron hand; can one be friends with his enemy?
- When [Presidents] Bush and Obama say that all options are on the table, it does not mean war, because they do not dare attack Iran and we have passed our test. In [the Iran-Iraq War], we attacked for 792 days and Iraq fought for 309 days.
- We have a dealt a strong slap to the enemies which still leaves a mark, and this slap increased the enemies grudge against us; the Late Imam [Khomeini said], we defeated the powers of the East and the West in this war.
- In [his] letter, Obama addresses the [Supreme] Leadership from a position of abjection, and the [aforementioned] is exactly like the mercy letters that came for Hazrat-e Abbas on the night of [the Battle of] Ashura.
- Obama writes, if a war occurs in the region, Israel alone will enter the war and we will not support it; we are willing to accept Iran as a trading partner. These are signs of our enemies abjection.
- Thirty-five years ago, we ran the Shah out of the country, and regional countries have only recent started to revolt and this shows that Shia are thirty-five years ahead of other Muslims.
- Sciences Minister Kamran Daneshjou announced that approximatelysixty universities in the country are conducting defense research, while before this three to four universities were active in this arena.
- Armed Forces General Staff Commander MG Hassan Firouzabadidiscussed President-elect Hassan Rouhanis cabinet formation and the Egyptian unrest:
- Mr. Rouhani will certainly choose capable, rational and moderate individuals from all parties. Therefore, I have complete trust in the work that he is doing and there is no need for advice.
- The trend of transporting American weapons via air and sea to the region demonstrates that these weapons will be in the hands of individuals who are not with the peoples revolution, but rather [those] who pursue the interests of the Americans and certain other groups. It is here that the people must be sensitive to the violence and not support it, and do something so that the country moves toward peace and the sympathetic can manage the country, and God willing, national interests of the country of Egypt will be secure.
Nuclear Issue
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Abbas Eraghchi reacted to the recent Mojahedin-e Khalgh(MEK) allegations that Iran is constructing a nuclear facility under the Damavand mountainsand said, The lack of credibility of this small hypocritical terrorist group is so extreme that the publication of such news from them does not [warrant] a response.
Economy
- Mehr News announced that theexpansion of Southern Pars gas fields have ceaseddue to the massive reduction in the injection of capital and the turtle-like progress of the process.
- Former member of Stocks and Securities Company Managing Board and Head of the Credit Expansion Institutions Gholam Reza Khalil Arjmandiannounced that the recent growth of stock indicators is not a bubbleand that investors are injecting [approximately] $1.5 to $2.5 million in the stock market everyday.
By Iran Tracker
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