This column features excerpts from editorials, commentaries, and news articles of the leading Iranian newspapers.

MARDOSALARI in its editorial on Moscow’s announcement that it will not deliver S300 missiles to Iran and refuses to permit certain Iranian officials to visit Russia writes as experts had been warning Moscow is attempting to forge closer relations with Washington at the behest of betraying Iran. However, Tehran officials shrugged off warnings by experts that Russia is not trustworthy. The writer says no official was ready to hear these voices and there was an insistence on having cordial relations with the Kremlin. Less than one month ago, Russia’s General Nikolai Makarov (chief of Russian armed forces) at a luncheon with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Moscow is looking to the future in its relation with Washington and again this did not come as a wakeup call to Iranian officials.
EBTEKAR in its editorial says the former Iraqi regime invaded the Iranian territory in the September 1980 and the international community did not respond to this astonishing and savage move at the time and until this date Iraq has not paid a penny for the war damages. However, the writer says now political authorities are searching for cemeteries and museums to find evidences of World War II documents to get compensation from the West (the Allies used Iran as route in the war against Hitler). It is admirable to be sensitive toward national interests, but the strong demand on the public side that Iran must seek war reparations from Iraq will never be forgotten in the memory of Iranians.
JAM-E JAM in a report says more than two months since the transfer of Cultural Heritage Organization civil servants from Tehran to Shiraz, they are still running a hard life and the promises of officials in this regard have not been materialized. The main problem in transference of state employees is lack of proper planning. One of the employees has been quoted as saying that the organization last year announced it intends to fire almost 170 of its employees, however, when the move faced a strong resistance the concerned authorities postponed the plan. However, this year the Cultural Heritage Organization started to relocate its employees sooner than other state bodies as they knew the employees would refuse to leave Tehran and will resign.