Back to Brief on Iran
On July 9, the state-controlled English-language daily, Tehran Times, quoted the Commander of the mullahs' Revolutionary Guard Corps, Rahim Safavi, as saying that "enemies wish to see Iran engulfed in insecurity and tension."
The daily added: "Safavi cautioned that the enemies are after misleading the youth and alienating them from their Islamic culture."
"He stressed that the Iranian nation while obeying the guidelines of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, and relying on their faith and efforts will thwart these conspiracies," the newspaper said.
Factional Infighting "Dangerous for Country", Iran Zamin News Agency, July 13
The state-controlled Iran News in its Monday editorial openly revealed the regime's utter fear of weakening.
The daily, referring to the recent speech by the mullahs' supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, at "the Islamic solidarity congress," said that "the leader was also addressing the domestic audience as well when he spoke of unity considering what is going on in the country."
The paper added that "the factional disputes among special groups and individuals during the past few month have escalated in a most heated manner, and should such discord continue, solidarity among people would be impaired."
'We must note that should this factional difference damage the unity of the community, Iran can no longer hope to serve as the symbol of unity in the Muslim world and such a trend will be very dangerous for the country itself.''
Mouthpieces of Rival Factions Under Attack, Reuter, July 13
TEHRAN - An Iranian court on Monday banned a newspaper editor from heading any publications for three years after convicting him of publishing "lies," Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.
It said the court handed down the sentence against Ali Mohammad Mahdavi-Khorrami, editor of the daily Gozaresh-e Rooz for publishing a story which alleged that Iranian officials were transferring large sums to foreign bank accounts.
The court also convicted Mahdavi-Khorrami of publishing "immoral material and pictures" and ordered him to pay 12 million rials ($4,000) in fines, the agency said.
In another case, the court fined Morteza Nabavi, director of the conservative newspaper Resalat, three million rials after convicting him of publishing "lies" about the business dealings of the leader of a left-wing Islamist group which supports President Mohammad Khatami.
An Iranian court last month revoked the publishing license of the daily Jameah.
Official Blasts U.S. Over His Son's Defection, Reuter, July 13
TEHRAN - A senior Iranian official, whose son has sought political asylum in the United States, blasted Washington on Monday for allegedly using the case for propaganda.
"The political exploitation of a psychologically traumatized youth is an ugly political act," said Major-General Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's powerful Expediency Council.
It was the first public statement by Rezaei, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, since his 21-year-old son, Ahmad Rezaei, said earlier this month he had fled to the United States.
Ahmad Rezaei said in the interviews, broadcast to Iran on Persian-language programs of Western radios, he wanted to be free to talk about alleged sponsorship of terrorism and other wrongdoing by Iranian leaders.
Ahmad Rezaei denied Iranian media reports he had been kidnapped or that his flight was the result of a psychological trauma caused after his wife was seriously injured in a car accident.
Wholesale Prices Up 13.6 Pct in Three Months, Reuter, July 13
TEHRAN - Wholesale prices in Iran rose 13.6 percent in the three months to June 21 compared with the same period last year, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.
The figures, which covered the first quarter of the Iranian year, compared with wholesale price rises of 9.9 percent during the whole year which ended on March 20. Consumer price inflation was 17.3 percent in the same year.