Iran Early bird-Monday

Iran President Ahmadi-Nejad participated over the weekend in a conference in Qatar on regional economics and development. In a meeting with the emir of Qatar, Ahmadi-Nejad stressed that the presence of foreign forces in the region exacerbated rather than alleviated tension in the area. The Iranian president also used the opportunity to again harshly slam "the Zionist regime," charging that "it has come to the end of its road and will not benefit from the additional crimes that it is committing [against the Palestinians]. Ahmadi-Nejad commented in his address on the global economic crisis and ways to deal with it. 2. The chairman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Reza Aqazadeh, has declared that Iran is determined to build modern nuclear power stations, noting, too, that Tehran has even proposed the establishment with other countries in the region of a consortium for the construction of light-water nuclear power stations. Meanwhile, Atomstroiexport, the Russian company that is building the reactor in Bushehr, has announced that it will be sending an additional 2,000 workers to the construction site in order to complete the facility on schedule. Yesterday saw the opening in Tehran of the first international seminar on "Nuclear Power Plants, Environment and Sustainable Development."



3. According to Tabnak, a website affiliated with the moderate Conservatives, a number of senior religious figures have sent messages recently to Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to express dissatisfaction and disappointment with the government's performance in the economic and cultural spheres. The religious figures expressed concern that the current government's improper performance would undermine the regime and harm its leaders.









1. The commander of the Iranian Army's naval forces has again stressed the ability of the country's naval corps to block off the Strait of Hormuz whenever they choose, commenting: "Let anyone who doesn't believe so give it a try."



2. According to Tehran, the Iranian opposition organization, Mojahedin-e Khalq, has adopted a new method of recruiting members and collaborators. The organization, officials say, is approaching Iranian journalists who have personal blogs on the Internet with offers of cooperation.



3. Iran's Revolutionary Court has imposed the death penalty on three people convicted of being responsible for an explosion in April at a mosque in Shiraz. The court ordered the executions to be carried out in public, close to the site of the blast. Lawyers of the three have appealed the sentence.



4. The "social order" program went into effect yesterday morning in Tehran, with the focus on the fight against traffic offenses and social "irregularities." The program will be carried out over a three-year period.



5. Iran's chief of staff has announced that army forces fired on a foreign aircraft that entered Iranian airspace. The chief of staff stressed that the Iranian people would not allow anyone to infiltrate its borders.

1. Ahmadi-Nejad will outline his economic reform program to the Majlis on Wednesday.



2. A senior Iranian Oil Ministry official has announced that in light of the fall in oil prices, the ministry has amended the sum stipulated in the law proposal on the importing of fuel from $8 billion to $5 billion.



3. Iran has broken its gas-production record, which stands now at 485 million cubic meters a day. According to the National Iranian Gas Company, the number is growing daily and there is a balance between production and demand.



4. The head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce has proposed the establishment of a common Islamic market that would include Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and Malaysia, and would focus on the setting up of common banks and transportation companies and boosting trade ties between the countries.



5. Main points from a Central Bank report on Iran's economic situation that has been submitted to Ahmadi-Nejad:

· In 2007, Iran recorded the highest inflation rate in the region

· Economic growth this year reached 6.9 percent

· Iran's population this year numbered 70.5 million residents

· Unemployment this year fell to 10.6 percent







1. A new fashion trend in Tehran: Kaffiyehs have become a hit among the capital's youth, and some Iranian rap singers and bands are appearing with kaffiyehs wrapped around their necks.



2. The Iranian Health Ministry has announced that the government's Cultural Committee has reconfirmed the ban on the sale and use of hookah pipes in public and at coffee bars. The Interior Ministry will be responsible for enforcing the decision.



3. The religious college in Qom will this week host a seminar on sex-change operations from a religious law point of view. The seminar will discuss rulings on the matter by senior Shia sources of emulation, and also include a scientific-medical debate and the screening of a film on the subject of sex changes.



4. An anti-Internet propaganda film that was aired on Iranian Television warns the country's youths of the dangers of the Web, such as "chatting with a member of the opposite sex" and "listening to banned music such as pop and rap."



5. Hojatolleslam Mojtaba Lotfi, spokesman for the office of Ayatollah Montazeri, has been sentenced by the special court for religious figures to four years in jail and five years banishment. During his time in exile, Lotfi, who was arrested some 50 days ago, will not be allowed to take part in any cultural activities or write and publish any articles.



6. Iranian security forces have arrested Mohammad Reza Lavaei, a Turkish minority poet, writer and journalist in Tabriz. Lavaei was detained a week ago but his family has yet to be informed of his whereabouts or the charges against him.