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

Thursday’s headlines
JAVAN: 20-percent enrichment will be tripled, director of the atomic energy organization announces
KHORASAN: Science Ministry says (Presidential Office Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim) Mashaii, certain ministers and vice presidents are members of founding board of Iranians University
HEMAYAT: Judicial body will seriously deal with environmental crimes, Judiciary chief insists
HAMSHAHRI: Central Bank increases the value of dollar
TEHRAN-E EMROOZ: Science Ministry seeking to discourage study abroad
KAYHAN: OPEC agrees with Iran’s view, oil output will not increase
MELAT MA: Screening filter of Guardian Council in regard to deviant currents
JOMHOURI ESLAMI: U.S. to establish secret army in Iraq
MARDOM SALARI: (Lawmaker Ali) Motahari vows to renew his attempt to ask questions from president with 90 signatures
DONYA EGHTESAD: Iran responds to U.S. threat by deciding to triple 20-percent enrichment
QODS: New shock to foreign exchange market
Leading articles
In a perspective column in the Hamshahri newspaper entitled “Secret behind Increase in Value of Foreign Currency” Mohammad Khoshchereh, a former lawmaker and economic expert, says the Iranian economy has been a victim of inexpert policies and decisions over the past years to the extent that if the economy was not gifted with God-given potentials it would have faced serious problems. An excessive allocation of reserves from the Foreign Exchange Fund to the government and the granting of loans to fast-yielding projects -- which has resulted in more than 60 billion dollars in bank defaults -- are some among inexpert economic decisions. Also an unfettered importation of consumer goods, recession in the housing market, and a sudden fall in oil prices led to a low economic growth in the past years. An implementation of the economic reform plan which is preceded by injection of money into the economy through cash subsidies and the government’s lack of commitment to allocate a 20 percent of revenues, gained from the subsidy reform plan, to the business sector have put the economy in a more difficult situation. In such a situation, the government, which has faced a shortage of incomes from taxes and oil revenues, has resorted to the unmeasured and illogical policy of increasing the value of foreign currency and gold in order to compensate for a decline in revenues. What is clear is that increase in the value of foreign currency will lead to high inflation and a consequent decline in purchasing power and devaluation of national currency. The writer also says when a promise by the president that the price of foreign currency will not increase does not hold even for two weeks it is inevitable that businessmen will lose their trust of the government which will negatively affect economic investment.
JAVAN newspaper in a front page story carries statements by maraja taqlid (Shia clerics who are regarded as sources of emulation) who have protested the wounding of a young clergyman, Farzad Forouzesh, as he had tried to prevent a kidnapping of a young girl by two hooligans. Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani, and Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani have asked government, judiciary and police to arrest and immediately punish the criminals behind the injury of Forouzesh and asked the respective bodies to devise a plan that nobody dares to “destroy public virtue” or undermine civic security. Makarem Shirazi said the attack against the clergyman is an instance of “mofsed fil-arz” (corruption on the earth). Makarem Shirazi said mofsed fil-arz is different from mohareb (enemy) and asked the judiciary to deal seriously with such incidents otherwise nobody dares to do the duty of amr bil maroof (ordering for acknowledged virtues) and nahi anil munkar (forbidding from sin). Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani also asks security, police and judicial officials to take a proper and immediate action against the attackers and draw up a proper plan to prevent the occurrence of such events. Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani also asks police to forcefully implement an “ethical security” plan in order to prevent such events from happening. The Students Islamic associations of 49 universities across the country also write an open letter to the president demanding a serious action against the morally corrupt persons. Farzad Forouzesh is the Friday prayer leader of Tehran Medical University whose right eye was seriously injured by two hooligans late Tuesday