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

Sunday’s headlines:
ARMAN: Expediency Council start examining elections’ general policies
ATFAB-E YAZD: Proposal for nuclear fuel swap made the West greedy, says Hassan Rohani (a senior member of the Expediency Council)
ETELAAT: Western countries’ reactions to the IAEA director’s report (about Iran’s nuclear activities)
BAHAR: Election law to be revised
TEHRAN-E EMROOZ: Country’s economic growth to decline
JOMHURI-E ESLAMI: Psychological war waged by the U.S. and the West against Iran’s nuclear activities will go nowhere, says Rafsanjani
RESALAT: Destroyer Jamaran burst bubble of foreign threats
ETEMAAD: Mohsen Rezaii (secretary of Expediency Council) responds to attack by Shariatmadari (Kayhan chief editor); Rezaii defends Expediency Council’s plan (for revising election law)
FARHANG-E ASHTI: Activities of people who are in touch with foreign-based media outlets are monitored, warns Ahmadi-Moqaddam (national police chief)
KAYHAN: Iran’s reaction to (IAEA Director General) Amano’s disinformation
ASRAR: We should pay money to procure nuclear fuel for Tehran reactor, not giving uranium, says Hassan Rohani
JAVAN: Guardian Council’s supervision over elections can not be eliminated, says Mohsen Rezaii
Leading articles:
‘JOMHURI-E ESLAMI’ in its editorial has commented that it is a lie that Americans say they have never been inclined to launch a military attack against Iran. After the September 11 incident, they were determined to invade Iran like Iraq and Afghanistan, but they felt that they were not capable of taking such an action. Many reasons made Americans change their mind. On the one hand, American forces got stuck in the mire of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and were exhausted. On the other hand, Iran was ruled by a powerful government backed by its nation. The economic and political failures of the United States also made a new war less feasible. Today the United States is faced with the same problems and, despite its propensity, it has reached the conclusion that if it mounts an assault on Iran, it will suffer a crushing defeat.
‘MARDOMSALARI’ in its editorial has criticized the principlists for their failure to realize their much touted slogan of justice. Despite pledges by principlists to administer justice, especially economic justice, people are faced with ever-increasing economic problems. Meanwhile principlists, who are caught up in internal conflicts make overambitious slogans to cover up their failures. But they should know that failure to meet this essential demand of the people will only aggravate the current social crises facing the country.
‘KAYHAN’ in its editorial “Worn-out Human Rights” has mocked the U.S.-led Iranophobia project in the region. Americans are seeking to intensify their sanctions plan against Iran by promoting Iranophobia and using human rights issue as a political leverage against Tehran. But they have failed to create an international consensus against Iran. On the other hand, the experience from previous sanctions has proved that these moves have all been ineffective.
‘TEHRAN-E EMROOZ’ in a commentary titled “People’s (Meal) Table Can Not Be Set by Statistics” has censured administrative officials for presenting contradictory economic statistics. Even statistics about a particular economic index presented by two officials does not match. But based on ample evidence it seems that the forecasts about economic growth rate and recession presented by Majlis Research Center chief Ahmad Tavakkoli are closer to reality (Tavakkoli has recently predicted that country’s economic growth would approximate zero next year). Tavakkoli’s remarks raise a key question: Has the country’s economy reached a dangerous point?
‘ETELAAT’ in an article has praised Iranian experts for their scientific achievements in various fields. The news of launching a missile destroyer, like pervious news about Iran’s successes in building long-range missiles, tanks and light planes, delight nation and boost national pride. Display of national defensive power will deter foreigners from imagining to launch a military offensive against Iran. Some people may look at these achievements with doubt which usually arises from Iranians’ lack of self-confidence. But it is valuable that our scientists have been brave enough to start working on high-tech industries.