IRAN GROK Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
Iran’s Leaders Warn Dissidents Who Have Strayed From Khomeini Legacy [Jun 4]
” Iran’s leaders warned political dissidents Friday that they have strayed from the Islamic Republic’s path, the latest threats in a purge of politicians who once followed the Islamic revolutionary leadership but who are now aligned with the country’s vocal opposition. In key speeches, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, also condemned Israel’s deadly raid early Monday on a pro-Palestinian aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip. Khamenei predicted the end of the Jewish nation, telling millions of worshipers that Israel is “falling into the valley of death” because of strategic blunders. Speaking during the 21st anniversary of the death of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the two leaders said politicians with more moderate interpretations of Khomeini’s will and edicts have betrayed his legacy..” [Complete Report]
Iran Disputes IAEA Assertion on Nuclear Equipment [Jun 4]
“Iran yesterday challenged the International Atomic Energy Agency’s assertion in a report issued this week that a Tehran laboratory in recent months housed sensitive equipment that could aid in separating weapon-usable nuclear material.. ..Experiments conducted at the Jabr Ibn Jayan Multipurpose Research Laboratory were aimed at producing uranium metal from spent nuclear fuel to serve as radiation shielding, Iranian Atomic Energy Organization head Ali Akbar Salehi said, adding without providing details that his country possessed a large quantity of depleted uranium. The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s statement that the facility had carried out pyroprocessing work was a “misinterpretation,” he said. “The experiments have no relation to pyroprocessing,” state media quoted Salehi as saying. “We believe the agency used this false report about a process that has not yet taken place, with the purpose of influencing public opinion.”..” [Complete Report]
Iran Issues Bonds for South Pars Gas Field [Jun 4]
“Iran issued a series of bonds to help finance developments of its South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, Iranian banks said. Branches of the Iranian Bank Mellat in foreign countries began issuing bonds for the development of the giant gas complex in the Persian Gulf, the semiofficial Mehr News Agency reports. Four tiers of bonds worth a total of $1.2 billion would fund South Pars development, the bank announced. Iran is eager to bring foreign revenue into the country as Western countries push for tighter sanctions as punishment for a controversial nuclear program..” [Complete Report]
Formalities of Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline Completed: Qamar [Jun 4]
“The formalities of the Pak-Iran gas pipeline have been completed and physical work on the project would start after a survey on the pipeline is completed, Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Syed Naveed Qamar Shah said on Thursday. The minister made these remarks while answering a question in the National Assembly. Qamar said that Iran would provide 750 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and the project would help in power generation of 5,000 MW. Replying to a supplementary question, the minister said that the existing gas fields in the country were sufficient to meet the requirements for the next 25 years. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader said that 22 oil and gas exploration licences were issued during the last four months. He informed the House that more than one trillion tonnes of salt reserves were present in the country. Qamar said that the country produced 4.7 metric tonnes of gold, 6.4 metric tonnes of silver and 54,543 metric tonnes of copper during the last three years..” [Complete Report]
Iran-Backed Shi’ites are Back on Patrol in Yemen [Jun 4]
“Yemeni sources said fighters from the Iranian-backed Believing Youth, which agreed to a ceasefire in February 2010, were restoring positions and renewing patrols in the Saada province near the border with Saudi Arabia. They said the renewed rebel operations have generated friction with Yemeni security forces. We could quickly return to the same situation as that of a few months ago,” a Yemeni source said.. ..”The Houthis [Believing Youth] have sought to regain control of positions it lost in the war,” the source said. The Believing Youth has acknowledged the bloody clash in Bani Awair, in which six others were also injured. But the Shi’ites said the tribes, equipped and trained by the regime of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, was violating the ceasefire by taking over schools and ambushing rebels..” [Complete Report]
