Political Persecution and Protest
· Reformist Rah-e-Sabz: Ministry of Intelligence operatives responsible for the murders of Neda Agha Soltan and Dr. Masoud Alimohammadi (1)
· Rah-e-Sabz: 250 pro-green IRGC commanders to be laid off (2)
· Michael Singh: Green Movement is repeating Iranian history (4)
· Javan: Green Movement strategy shifted from street protests to media-centered activities to win West’s support (5)
Internal Political Affairs
· IRGC Commander appointed to the board of Yazd University (6)
International Affairs
· Ahmadinejad: US to start a war against Iran in an attempt to save the Zionist regime (7)
· Keyhan: attack on Iran is not a real option, just a psychological and media strategy aimed at creating domestic disagreements (8)
· Tehran dismisses EU sanctions as "ineffective" (9)
· Head of Rosatom: preparations for the launch of Bushehr nuclear power plant must be finished by the end of August (10)
Economic Affairs
- Iran saves US$ 11 billion through gasoline rationing (12)
- Iran to resume gas exports to Turkey after exploded pipeline is fixed (13)
- Aftab News: instead of admitting its mistakes, the government is blaming the private sector for unemployment (15)
· Abrar-e Eghtesadi reports $3 billion decrease in Iran’s cash deposits in foreign banks (16)
· Deputy Energy Minister: Iran’s electricity consumption increased by 9.5% late July due to heat wave (17)
· Biggest Iranian telescope unveiled (18)
Full Report
Political Persecution and Protest
1. Rah-e-Sabz: Ministry of Intelligence operatives were responsible for the murders of Neda Agha Soltan and Dr. Masoud Alimohammadi – The leading reformist news site claims that not only the Ministry was responsible for shooting Agha Soltan during the June 2009 post-election protests and for the explosion that killed nuclear scientist Dr. Alimohammadi in January 2010, but also, according to sources, that another such incident occurred three weeks ago, when a car bomb failed to kill a wealthy businessman. Two Ministry of Intelligence operatives were allegedly arrested and are being held, with a third person, in the Ministry cellblock in Evin Prison. According to Rah-e-Sabz, the two men work for Hamidreza Daneshmandi, the Director of Internal Security at the ministry. Further investigation allegedly revealed that the same team was responsible for the deaths of Agha Soltan and Dr. Alimohammadi and may also be responsible for the explosion in the Khomeini Shrine a few days after the June 2009 elections. Rah-e-Sabz says the investigation has led to tensions between the police and judiciary on one side and the Ministry of Intelligence on the other.
2. Rah-e-Sabz: 250 pro-green IRGC commanders to be laid off.
3. Photo-blogger and computer scientist detained – Hamed Saber, a photo-blogger and computer scientist, has been detained for more than a month. More than 70 Iranian university graduates and academics have launched a campaign calling for Saber’s release.
4. Michael Singh: Green Movement is repeating Iranian history – In an article titled "Iranian Re-Revolution: How the Green Movement is Repeating Iranian History", Michael Singh, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says: "The international community should not worry that the Green Movement is doomed, but it should harbor no illusions that its success would inevitably lead to peace and democracy in the long term. Indeed, the United States and its allies should be considering not only how best to support the democratic aspirations of Iranians but also how to prepare for the real possibility of instability in Iran should the opposition prevail."
5. Javan: Green Movement strategy shifted from street protests to media-centered activities to win West’s support – The IRGC-affiliated daily Javan published an editorial titled "Seditionists at the Last Stop", which points to a shift in the strategy of the Iranian opposition: from street protests to media-centered activities. Javan states that the opposition "wants to show its foreign allies that it still deserves their financial and moral support." Another commentator discusses the activities carried out by Iranian reformists before and after last year’s presidential election to introduce Mir-Hossein Mousavi to the public and to create "credit" for him. The commentator believes that these activities have failed, and says that the reformists’ claims about Mousavi’s popularity are based on “false information" (Javan, July 26).
Internal Political Affairs
6. IRGC Commander appointed to the board of Yazd University – IRGC Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari has been appointed to the board of Yazd University by Minister of Science and Higher Education Kamran Daneshjoo.
International Affairs
7. Ahmadinejad: US to start a war against Iran in an attempt to save the Zionist regime – During an interview on Press TV, Ahmadinejad said: "We have precise information that the Americans have devised a plot, according to which they seek to launch a psychological war on Iran. They plan to attack at least two countries in the region within the next three months". He explained that the US seeks to achieve two main objectives: "First of all, they want to hamper Iran’s progress and development since they are opposed to our growth, and secondly they want to save the Zionist regime, because it has reached a dead-end, and the Zionists believe they can be saved through a military confrontation." Ahmadinejad advised US President Barack Obama not to follow the policies of George W. Bush, and warned Russian officials to avoid playing into the hands of Washington, "because that would go against their national interests." Earlier this week, Ahmadinejad said that Moscow has made "a U-turn" in its policies regarding Iran’s nuclear issue, and is now playing a scenario written and directed by the US; he added that "the US scenario first came into play by the Russian President, Dmitriy Medvedev," and said he would disclose further details of the scenario in the near future.
8. Keyhan: attack on Iran is not a real option, just a psychological and media strategy aimed at creating domestic disagreements – The ultra-Conservative daily Keyhan published a commentary titled "Beyond the Bustle", in which it refers to the recent statements about the possibility of a US attack on Iran. The author says that "America tries to show the dimensions of its new strategy, which was designed in proportion to the political developments in Iran in the aftermath of the June 2009 election. Recent reports about the inevitable military attack on Iran are just a middle phase of America’s new strategy." The author goes on to say that the possibility of a military attack on Iran by the US is not a real option, but just a psychological and media strategy, which is aimed at "creating domestic disagreements, implementing sanction sand conducting negotiations with Iran by their own rules and terms" (Keyhan, July 26).
9. Tehran dismisses EU sanctions as "ineffective" – Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said that Iran "deeply regrets and condemns" a new set of tough European Union sanctions. He added that "These sanctions will not help in resuming talks and will not affect Iran’s determination to defend its legitimate right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program." Mehman-Parast further reminded Iranian companies’ capabilities, and added, "Iranian companies and experts are able to handle oil and gas projects in the country by themselves."
10. Head of Rosatom: preparations for the launch of Bushehr nuclear power plant must be finished by the end of August – Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom), said regarding the launch of Iran’s first nuclear power plant in Bushehr that "Everything is going according to plan. As has been planned, the preparatory work on the first phase of the physical launch must be finished by the end of August." He added that the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant would not be affected by the UNSC sanctions against Iran: "No one is against the development of Iran’s civilian nuclear program; the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant is being carried out under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency." The Iranian Minister of Energy Majid Namjou announced that the power plant will start operation in September.
11. Iran is considering a ban on tourist trips to the UAE in reaction to “mistreatment of Iranian nationals” – Hamid Baqayee, Iranian Vice-President and Head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO), said that if the Foreign Ministry officials approve, "We will cancel tourist trips to the UAE." He added: "The issue is completely political and is related to the ties between countries, so we have asked the foreign ministry to decide on it, but have not received a response yet." Kazzem Jalali, Rapporteur of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said on the matter: "Given the bad news coming out about the humiliating treatment of Iranian citizens at the country’s entrance and exit points, the tourist agencies should stop tours to the UAE, in a move to defend the reputation of Iran and the Iranians."
Economic Affairs
12. Iran saves US$ 11 billion through gasoline rationing – Farid Ameri, Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Distribution Company (NIODC), said that since the implementation of the gasoline rationing plan in 2007, where 17 million fuel "smart cards" were distributed to Iranian auto drivers, some US$ 11 billion has been saved through the cut in gasoline imports. Ameri said that had the gasoline rationing plan not been implemented, fuel consumption nationwide would have reached as much as 98 million liters per day.
13. Iran to resume gas exports to Turkey after exploded pipeline is fixed – An explosion targeted the pipeline that carries gas from Iran to Turkey near the eastern Turkish town of Dogubayazit, close to the Iranian border on Wednesday (July 21); firefighters managed to control the blaze after Turkish authorities turned off the flow of the gas. Iran had said exports would resume as soon as the pipeline was fixed: "We can resume natural gas export to Turkey within three days if no particular problem happens," said Valiollah Dini, the director of the eight regional gas transmission operations. Iran, which sits on the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves after Russia, is Turkey’s second biggest gas supplier after Russia, and sells nearly 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey per year.
14. Iran’s 7th cross-country gas pipeline inaugurated in the presence of Ahmadinejad – The 902-kilometer pipeline is considered the first phase of the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project, a proposed 2,775-kilometer pipeline to deliver natural gas from Iran to Pakistan and India, dubbed "The Peace Pipeline". It extends from Assalouyeh in the southwest of Iran to Iranshahr in the southeast, and is projected to transfer natural gas from the South Pars field to some southern provinces as well. The IPI route is designed to transport Iranian gas to Pakistan and India, though the signing of a final deal agreement has been delayed several times over price and political issues.
15. Aftab News: instead of admitting its mistakes, the government is blaming the private sector for unemployment – An editorial by Aftab news agency added that critics are right in assuming that the Ahmadinejad administration continues to control companies by using subsidiary firms with non-government names.
16. Abrar-e Eghtesadi reports $3 billion decrease in Iran’s cash deposits in foreign banks.
17. Deputy Energy Minister: Iran’s electricity consumption increased by 9.5% late July due to heat wave – Mohammad Behzad, deputy Energy Minister, announced that Iran’s electricity consumption level reached 41.5 megawatts late July, showing an increase of 9.5%, compared to 39.26 megawatts in the same period the previous year. As a result of a major heat wave – the worst in Iran in the past 70 years – Tehran residents were asked to consume as little electricity as possible so that the officials in charge would continue to meet the high demand and avoid planned power outages. In late July, temperatures in Tehran reached
18. Biggest Iranian telescope unveiled – First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi unveiled the country’s largest domestically-manufactured telescope, nicknamed "Tara", in a ceremony attended by a number of lawmakers as well as the governors of the Isfahan and Markazi provinces. The telescope was manufactured by Golpayegan’s Astronomy Society, using a US$ 80,000 fund, to be used in the fields of astronomy, medicine, and military. Ahmadinejad said recently that Iran plans to launch its first manned shuttle to space by 2019.