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

Saturday’s headlines
HAMSHAHRI: Javadieh Bridge with 3 pillars opens in south Tehran
JAM-E JAM: IRIB chief says documentary films are key to development of national media
TAFAHOM: Economy minister says interest rate will not change
JAM-E JAM: Countdown starts for the implementation of subsidy reform plan
JAVAN: Ahmadinejad says we don’t desire to become European
JAHAN-E SANAT: Rate of public transportation may rise from 4 to 18 percent
TEHRAN-E EMROOZ: Councilor says (proposed) selection of mayors by government is a step backward
HEMAYAT: Political crisis in Iraq ends after 8 months
HEMAYAT: Judiciary chief says tarnishing the image of the Islamic system is betrayal to its objectives
KHORASAN: Governor of Mashhad apologizes for long queues for CNG
FARHIKHTEGAN: Chinese PM apologizes to Iran for the use of fake name ‘Arabian Gulf’ for the Persian Gulf in the opening ceremony of 2010 Asian games   KAYHAN: Iranians to celebrate festival of housing ownership at the end of the 10th government (current government)
GOSTARESH SANAT: Ahmadinejad says population control was one of the greatest mistakes
MELLAT MA: (Tehran city council chief) Mahdi Chamran says crisis after crisis grips the councils
 
Leading articles
DONYA EQTESAD in an editorial on the currency clash between the U.S. and China says it should be pointed out that the leaders in Beijing and Washington are more radical than their predecessors in regard to their national economies. Obama’s government two years ago introduced its economic program with aid packages for bankrupt and inefficient economic organizations. Hu Jintao’s government also 8 years ago suspended some economic reform plans adopted by the previous administrations and increased the government’s intervention in economy. Both the U.S., China are standing against each other and insist on their positions to justify their protectionist policies, and each side considers the economic measures by the rival as unjust. The government says until interventions by politicians in China and the U.S. are not stopped, the situation would remain the same in two countries.
EBTEKAR in its editorial has commented that the single party rule is not the desired political system, because this system can not create the vital political dynamism and liveliness during the election campaigns. The competition between principlists and reformists has always heated up during the previous elections, and without the involvement of a major rival in the next elections (due to the elimination of the major reformist parties after the June 2009 presidential election), competition becomes meaningless. The writer proposes that the ruling principlists should try to bring the reformists back to the country’s political scene to resolve the current situation, or the principlists who have opposing views should branch off and form a new political group so that the next elections become competitive.