Persian Press Review

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

Thursday’s headlines

KHORASAN: Government allocates 11.4 billion dollars subsidies to basic goods, agriculture and transportation

JAME JAM: Heads of three branches of government are strongly determined to deal with economic corruption

TEHRAN-E EMROOZ: U.S. citizens released from Evin prison; Iran agrees to $500,000 bail for (each of) the U.S. convicts

JAVAN: We will never back down from dealing with the case of the largest bank corruption, judiciary chief says

HEMAYAT: We are ready for fair negotiation with U.S., Ahmadinejad says

KAYHAN: Regional developments show nations hate the U.S., president tells ABC

SHARQ: Proposal to replace prime minister post with presidential post, (MP Hamidreza) Katouzian announces

DONYA EGHTESAD: IMF releases new statistics about Iran’s economy

Leading articles

FARS NEWS AGANCY, in a news report, has quoted MP Ali Motahhari as threatening to resign if the motion to ask question from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scrapped. However, Deputy Majlis Speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar had said previously the motion has been cancelled because the numbers of signatures are less than what is needed. Motahhari says only 14 MPs have withdrawn their signatures and still 86 MPs are insistent on asking question from the president. The MP added certain lawmakers dropped the motion under pressure from the Majlis Presiding Board. Motahhari was the initiator of the motion to summon Ahmadinejad to the parliament to answer lawmakers’ questions about a number of the irregularities. (According to the Constitution, the president must appear in the parliament to answer questions when at least one fourth of the lawmakers ask the president to provide an explanation for his decisions and measures regarding a certain issue.)

JAME JAM, in a news report, has quoted head of the Organization for Crisis Management Hasan Qadami as saying that drought has affected 75 percent of the country’s lands. Qadami said in previous years, country’s natural disasters were limited to earthquakes and floods but currently drought and forest fire have been added to them, he said. Qadami said declining rainfall as the main reason for drought in Iran.


HAMSHAHRI, in a news report, has said while Tehran Governor General Morteza Tamadon claims that the air quality in Tehran is in a good condition MP Nasrollah Torabi Qahfarkhi has expressed concern over air pollution in Tehran. Tamadon also claimed that during the first six months of the current year the number of clean days in Tehran has greatly increased compared to 5 years ago. However, the director of the Tehran Air Quality Control Company has said Tehran has not experienced even one day of clean air in the first six month of the current year.