Persian Press Review
Tehran Times Political Desk

The column ‘Persian Press Review’ features the headlines and leading articles carried by Farsi dailies.

Wednesday’s headlines:

ETELAAT: Non-stop conspiracies against Iran are signs of modern injustice, says the Supreme Leader

IRAN: Rafsanjani’s children cases referred to Tehran court

ASRAR: Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi criticizes administration’s cultural policies

JAVAN: Psychological war against Iranian banks failed (a reference to some media reports last week that two major banks have gone bankrupt)

JOMHUR-E ESLAMI: Once again China opposes exerting pressure on Iran

DOYA-E EQTESAD: Will liquidity soar again?

KAYHAN: Negligence in political issues sometimes is interpreted as treason, the Supreme Leader says

HAMBASTEGI: All banks will levy equal loan interest rate in the next year (starting March 21)

AFTAB-E YAZD: Association of Combatant Clerics urges avoiding deviated slogans (during Bahman 22 rallies)

Leading articles:

‘MARDOMSALARI’ in its editorial has described the subsidy reform plan as an insoluble enigma. Questions on how the subsidy reform plan will be implemented and the categorization of people into three income brackets, based on vague criteria, have caused a widespread confusion among people. Just before the June presidential election, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during a trip to Isfahan, promised that after the implementation of the subsidy reform plan each Iranian national would receive a monthly cash subsidy of $120, but in the plan presented after the election, the amounts of cash subsidies have dropped.

‘RESALAT’ editorial titled “What is the Next Move?” has analyzed the street protests of the opposition groups. A close study of the decisions made in the control center of the riots staged after the presidential election reveals a systematic planning, making it possible to guess the next movement of the rioters. Those who make decisions in the foreign-based command centers (for their next move) have counted on the unquestioning obedience of their infantry in the country. Members of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization, monarchist, and atheist groups are serving in the front line of the riots. But there is a key question: how the ground was prepared for the actions of such groups which were inactive for a long time? What has happened that these groups are now ready to pay price for their actions? The answer is clear: two presidential candidates’ actions, before and after the election, have been in line with the enemy’s soft war plot. Their actions prepared the ground for criminal activities of rioters. The demonstrations staged by protesters on June 15 and 20 last year revived groups opposed to system (and paved the way for the activities of these groups).

‘JOMHURI-E ESLAMI’ editorial headlined “Washington’s Effective Steps in Keeping with Iranophobia Plan” has analyzed the recent plan of the United States for deployment of missile defense systems in some Persian Gulf states as part of the U.S. plan to depict Iran’s activities as a threat to regional and international security. General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, announced that Washington has planned to deploy Patriot missile defense systems in the region. This American commander claimed that Iran posed a serious threat to the security of the Persian Gulf states. Another Pentagon official has said that Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar are the countries in which anti-missile systems would be installed.

‘DONYA-E EQTESAD’ in a commentary has said the inflation rate in the next Iranian calendar year (March 2010-March 2011) can not be calculated. Many factors such as exchange rate, cash flow, and savings from subsidy cuts affect inflation rate. But nothing is clear about such indexes yet for the next year. Will the administration give in to the pressure by firms to inject more liquidity? Will the administration’s proposal for gaining an income of $40 billion from subsidy cuts be passed in the parliament?

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