Tehran's Daily Newspaper Review

Most Iranian newspapers focused on the Supreme Leader and Senior Commander of Armed Forces Ayatollah Khamenei’s trip to the southern port of Bandar Abbas to visit the Iranian Army’s naval base on the coast of the Persian Gulf.

The media also reported yesterday of the assassination of the nuclear scientist “Daryoush Rezaei”, who was later found out to be Daryoush Rezaeinejad, not a nuclear scientist but a professor working for the Iranian Defense Ministry.

In his visit to the Army’s naval headquarters in Bandar Abbas, Ayatollah Khamenei stated that “we are not warmongers, but will confront forcefully with bullying powers.” According to Iran, the Iranian Supreme Leader added that the Army and IRGC navy forces are the symbol of the Iranian nation’s power in defending national interests in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman. Ahmadinejad made another counter-criticism against his opponents, saying that “those who besmirch the government are disappointed with citizens’ welfare and comfort.” He added that “they believe there should always be a large group of underprivileged people so they can achieve their goals.” Iran also interviewed sociologists on the recent violent crimes, who argued that “social abnormalities stem from political tensions.”

“The Iranian nation will impose its will over any power” Jomhouri-e Eslami quoted Ayatollah Khamenei. The newspaper also quoted the Commander of Armed Forces saying that “we avoid any incidental or calculated confrontation with other countries.” Jomhouri-ye Eslami also reported Iran's summoning of the German charge d’affaires in Tehran over Berlin’s hosting of the leader of the Kurdish separatist group PJAK, whose members assassinated a senior IRGC official two days ago. On the anniversary of the disclosure of high-profile death of three detained post-election protestors in Kahrizak detention center, the daily’s editorial called for probation on the complicity of former attorney Saeed Mortazavi -now Ahmadinejad's deputy- and serious effort by the Judiciary to remove ambiguities from the case.

“Security of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is the result of Islamic Iran's powerful presence” Kayhan quoted the Leader of the Revolution. Gory massacre in Norway, “Europe’s most peaceful country”, was Kayhan’s second headline. Editorial of the newspaper was an analysis of IRGC’s last week operation against the PJAK guerillas inside the Kurdistan Autonomous region. “Sepah’s recent operation … and killing tens of American and Israeli [trained] guerillas clearly shows how and in favor of who the direction the operational balance tilts” according to Sadollah Zarei, author of the editorial.

Resalat chose “The phantom of death spread over Scandinavia” for the deadly massacre of Oslo. “Iran will force any power to withdraw” the newspaper quoted Ayatollah Khamenei, also citing “The Persian Gulf coast is in the hands of a vigilant government and nation.” Resalat’s editorial written by its political editor Amir Mohebbian titled “Calm: strategy and tactic”, argued that the Islamic Republic needs calm to advance its macro-scale regional and international objectives. Mohebbian called for avoidance of tension by the Principlists and prioritization of national interests. “Principlists should be the heralds of calm, rationality and inspiration” Mohebbian concluded in his article.

“Iranians’ violence at high-alert level” was Shargh’s top headline. According to the Legal Medicine Organization, three citizens are murdered by cold weapon every day, as the last ten years facts and figures show Shargh reported. The newspaper also placed on its front page the government’s denial of the claim made by Ja’far Shojouni -hardliner cleric and a former Ahmadinejad supporter- that Hamid Baqaei, the president’s executive deputy had been detained for some days. “Norwegian Self-Destruction” was the title of Shargh’s editorial written by Ahmad Naghibzadeh. The author criticized the Western governments for the dysfunctionality of their governance system and prognosticated recurrence of similar catastrophes in other Western countries.

Tehran-e Emrooz reported that the government is rethinking the subsidies’ distribution pattern. According to the newspaper, the “clustering” system initially implemented by the government to distribute the liquid subsidies according to financial status of citizens has come back and the allocations may turn “smart”, as they were supposed to be in the beginning. Tehran-e Emrooz also reported that “Iran's gas will be transported to Europe through Iraq and Syria” with the signing of an agreement between oil ministers of the three countries. The newspaper’s editorial, “Persian Gulf and ‘peace management’!” argued that due to Iran's undeniable clout, its neighbors can rely on the country in a region plagued by war and tension.

“Massacre of Vikings” Vatan-e Emrooz published in its front page. It also covered Hamid Rowhani, historian and cleric, interview with Fars News Agency, in which he stated that “Hashemi Rafsanjani’s recent claims against the government originate in his ouster from power.” He also added that deviation started not from Mashaei’s “Astray Current”, but from Hashemi Rafsanjani’s famous letter to the Iranian Supreme Leader a few days before the 2009 presidential election, in which Rafsanjani bitterly complained about Ahmadinejad's accusations against him in televised electoral debates.

* Note: Vatan-e Emrooz does not publish on Thursdays.

Trouble with understanding some terms? Check our Glossary of Iranian Political Terms.

Briefing

Hamshahri (Citizen) is the official daily newspaper of Tehran's Municipality. Its general directions in politics, culture and economy are determined by the mayor of Tehran, currently Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.

Iran is the official organ of the administration.

Jomhouri-ye Eslami (The Islamic Republic) was known as the official organ of the Party of the Islamic Republic, founded in 1979 and disbanded in 1987. Currently, it is an open critique of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's policies and is known to be a mouthpiece of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Kayhan (Universe) is a hard-line conservative newspaper. Its editor-in-chief –currently Hossein Shari’atmadari- is appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader. Shari’atmadari’s editorials often spark off controversy and debate inside Iranian political circles.

Khabar (News) is a principlist daily newspaper which adopts a critical stance towards Ahmadinejad's policies.

Resalat (Mission) belongs to the moderate wing of the principlist camp. Resalat’s best known analyst is Amir Mohebbian, its political editor.

Shargh (East) is a moderate reformist newspaper. It was the most popular and influential reformist newspaper in its first period of publication which lasted from August 2003 until September 2006.

Tehran-e Emrooz (Tehran Today) is a ‘principlist reformist’ newspaper, connected to Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.