TEHRAN - Iran’s conservative judiciary on Wednesday called on Culture Minister Ataollah Mohajerani to accept criticism, following the minister’s complaint over a misrepresentation of his meeting with the new judiciary chief.

Reports had said the minister, a close ally of Mohammad Khatami, was "summoned" by judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi-Shahrudi on Sunday in connection with the closure of the Neshat daily.

"You should be able to accept criticism," said Abdol-Reza Izadpanah, advisor to Hashemi-Shahrudi, indirectly mocking Mohajerani.

"That which was said during your meeting with Hashemi-Shahrudi, was the judiciary’s advice on institutionalizing the legitimate freedom (of the press), and facing elements which threaten freedom," Izadpanah said cited by IRNA.
 
 

Council of Experts Slams Pro-Khatami Press, Agence France Presse, September 8

TEHRAN - Iran’s powerful Council of Experts has lashed out at the pro-Khatami press accusing it of launching attacks against the country’s supreme leader, an offence under Iranian law, the official IRNA news agency said Wednesday.

The council, charged with appointing and revoking the Islamic republic’s supreme leader, on Tuesday reiterated its approval of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the country’s head.

"Since the victory of the Islamic republic, certain elements have repeatedly tried to eliminate or weaken the supreme leader ... today, the same elements are back on the scene using the new opportunities of the press," IRNA said citing a statement by the council.
 
 

Oman Denies Planning Exercises With Iran, Reuters, September 8

MUSCAT - Oman said on Wednesday it was not planning to hold joint sea maneuvers with Iran, the official Oman News Agency (ONA) reported.

On Monday, Iran's navy chief Admiral Abbas Mohtaj was quoted as saying the exercises would enable Gulf countries to forge "reciprocal respect."

ONA said a defense ministry source denied as baseless press reports that Oman and Iran were planning joint exercises. "There is no agreement to hold any such joint exercises," the source said.

The Islamic republic, keen on forging regional alliances to offset foreign presence in the Gulf, has tried for a decade to conduct joint military exercises with U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states, which had been wary of the war games Iranian forces.
 

More Educational Restrictions, Reuters, September 6

TEHRAN - Iranian children will start mandatory Koran lessons from their first year at school starting this academic year, an education official said in remarks published on Monday.

"In the past, students had to take up Koran lessons from their third year but under the new program all two million children in the first year will study the (Moslem) holy book," the newspaper Aftab-e Emrooz quoted the education ministry official as saying.

The move is part of a drive by Iran's ruling clergy to encourage religious learning for children and youth in the face of what officials call a "Western cultural onslaught."
 
 

In the Mullahs’ Press, Reuters, September 8

TEHRAN - These are some of the leading local stories in Iranian newspapers.

Kayhan (September 8) - Ahmad Ahmadi, an influential conservative cleric and member of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, accused newspapers of "waging war against God and the holy Prophet (Mohammad)" and aiming to overthrow the Islamic government. The remarks came days after the Neshat daily was closed down.

Khordad (September 7) - Conservative parliament speaker Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri praised the police for quelling riots in July and said the force was being unjustly criticized for its role in a crackdown on pro-democracy student protesters.

Azad (September 7) - Shadowy hardline groups have reportedly added the name of Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri to a list of targets for "revolutionary execution."

Khordad (September 5) - The managing director of the weekly Aban has been summoned to the special clergy court for "propagating against the system."

Azad (September 5) - Some 500 European tourists who had already obtained their Iran visas, cancelled their trips to Iran because of the recent kidnapping of four European tourists by drug traffickers.
 

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