Tehran's Daily Newspaper Review
The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks on Wednesday were the top headline of Tehran's newspapers today. In a meeting with the Iranian Army personnel, Ayatollah Khamenei stated that “it is not reasonable to overlook the impact of the great Iranian nation’s awakening on the region’s Islamic awakening.” He also added that the world will see how [enthusiastically] the Iranians’ are going to participate in the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) nationwide rallies --in commemoration of the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Speaking in a conference on Islamic Unity in Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned about the imperialism’s re-domination of the nations by the use of media, wealth and power. In its front page report, Iran claimed that some legislators are worried that the motion submitted by 79 MPs calling for Ahmadinejad's summoning to Majles may cause them lose a portion of their votes in the upcoming parliamentary election.
Kayhan reported of massive strikes in Israel and the Army personnel’s meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei on the front page. “We would not come victor out of the 33-day war if it wasn’t for Iran's aids,” the newspaper quoted Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrullah. The newspaper’s editorial cast a look on the nature of the Islamic Revolution, and its impact on the Middle East pro-democracy movements 33 years after its victory.
“We have credible evidence about the enemy’s efforts to provoke crisis at the time of elections,” Resalat quoted Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi. In another electoral remark, Brigadier General Kazemeini, Commander of IRGC’s Tehran Corps announced that the Revolutionary Guards are prepared to deal with any type of insecurity in the election. The newspaper’s editorial called for massive participation of the nation in the 22nd of Bahman rallies as a political “preemptive” measure in response to the West’s diplomatic and military threats.
Shargh quoted the government’s legal advisor that the president is ready to attend a parliamentary session to answer the MPs’ questions, at a time when the Majles is unofficially enjoying a long holiday less than a month before the election. Another hardly veiled war between Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad seems to be under way as the former and his allies have questioned the process of Farhad Daneshjou’s election as the new head of the Islamic Azad University, once chaired by Hashemi’s close aide Abdullah Jasbi, as Shargh reported that the delegation appointed by Ahmadinejad to negotiate with Rafsanjani –who serves as the head of the board of trustees of the university- in order to convince the ayatollah to sign Daneshjou’s credentials as the new head of the billion-dollar wealth academic institute.
Tehran-e Emrooz reported of Tehran and Beijing’s decision to remove the US dollar from their transactions. Poet and reporter Mohammad-Hossein Ja’farian criticized the ineptness of the diplomatic apparatus at a time when pressures have emboldened even the neighbors to press Iran for concessions. The newspaper’s editorial was written by Parviz Esmaili, former head of the Mehr News Agency, called for a more liberal attitude towards political and intellectual question posed regarding the Islamic Revolution, and paving the way for productive discussions on the philosophical and political aspects of the 1979 revolution.
Vatan-e Emrooz
* Notes:
The editorial section of Iranian newspapers is not the work of the editor-in-chief or the senior editorial staff of the newspaper by default, but can be a contribution by experts and politicians (typically agreeing with the newspaper’s political stance.) The newspapers may also occasionally publish without an editorial.
Vatan-e Emrooz daily does not publish on Thursdays.
Trouble with understanding some terms? Check our Glossary of Iranian Political Terms.
Briefing
Iran is the official organ of the administration. Its current editor-in-chief is Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, former media advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
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 critic 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 directly appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader. Shari’atmadari’s editorials often spark off controversy and debate inside Iranian political circles.
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, Tehran Mayor and a likely candidate of the 2013 presidential election.