SL reps God; Military chief backs nuke deal, chides Russia

13 Nov 2009 20:552 Comments

Iran's Supreme Leader cannot be removed

Reuters | Mowjcamp | Oct. 13, 2009

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cannot be removed from his post because his legitimacy comes from God, an official close to Iran's most powerful figure was reported on Friday as saying.

Mojtaba Zolnour, a Khamenei representative in the elite Revolutionary Guards, told a gathering of Khamenei's representatives in Iranian universities that the clerical body that chose him, the Assembly of Experts, could not remove him.

"The members of the assembly ... do not appoint the Supreme Leader, rather they discover him and it is not that they would be able to remove him any time they wish so," he said, according to a report on the website Mowjcamp, which backs Ahmadinejad's opponent Mir Hossein Mousavi. In theory Khamenei can be removed by the 86-man Assembly of Experts, which approved him as successor to Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. But the system has never been tested.

"In the Islamic system, the office and the legitimacy of the Supreme Leader comes from God, the Prophet and the Shi'ite Imams, and it is not that the people give legitimacy to the Supreme Leader and are able to remove him when they want," said Zolnour, speaking in the religious city of Qom.

He said the Supreme Leader should try to make himself acceptable to the people. "The legitimacy of the Supreme Leader is from above (heaven), and his acceptability is from the people," Zolnour said.

Feds move to seize 4 mosques, skyscraper linked to Iranian government

AP | Nov. 13, 2009

Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government. In what could prove to be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets.

Iran armed forces chief backs nuclear deal

AFP | Nov. 13, 2009

Iranian armed forces chief of staff General Hassan Firouzabadi said Friday he backed proposals for Iran to ship out most of its stocks of low-enriched uranium in return for fuel for a reactor designed to produce medical isotopes.

"We won't suffer from an exchange of fuel," the Mehr news agency quoted the general as saying.

"On the contrary, in obtaining fuel enriched to 20% purity for the Tehran reactor, a million of our citizens will benefit from the medical treatment it can enable and we will prove at the same time the bona fides of our peaceful nuclear activities."

The general said he had no particular issue with the amount of low-enriched uranium that Iran shipped out --1,200 kilograms under the proposals drawn up by the U.N. nuclear watchdog and approved by the major powers.

Top Iran commander chides Russia over failure to deliver S300 missiles

BBC Monitoring | Nov. 13, 2009

We have some grievance against our Russian friends in our northern neighborhood, said a member of the Supreme Council for National Security, IRNA quoted Joint Armed Forces' Information Center as saying.

"Do the Russian strategists not consider Iran's geopolitical importance in terms of ensuring security for Russia? Why is it that S300 defense missiles, on which the two countries had agreed in order to defend Iran, have not been allowed to be dispatched and the Russian side has been delaying their dispatch for more than six months?" Dr. Seyyed Hassan Firouzabadi added.

He expressed his hope that this reminder would encourage the Russian friends to act more promptly in the dispatch of the subject of the agreement.

Osama lighters popular in south Iran

Tabnak | Nov. 13, 2009

There has been a large-scale distribution of some goods in the southern regions of the country, especially in Khuzestan Province. When these items are switched on the image of Osama Bin Laden appears, which amazes the citizens!

A type of Chinese lighters, equipped with a torch, when switched on reflect the image of the leader of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, on a wall or anywhere else, toward which the beam is directed.

The sellers of the lighters, who have purchased them from other sellers, have also expressed unawareness of this matter.

The lighters have reportedly been imported to the country by seamen who travel from the southern ports, especially from Khorramshahr to Iraq and the [United Arab] Emirates.

The image of Bin Laden appears in a lighted circle wearing a turban and delivering a speech.

The lighters, under the trade name of "olqmpre 2008" [written in English], are being sold in some roadside shops and kiosks.

In Iran, Cyber police spring into action

Press TV | Nov. 13, 2009

Amid the growing use of the Internet in Iran, a senior Iranian police official says a special unit to monitor Internet crimes has sprung into action in the country.

Speaking to Iran's Labor News Agency (ILNA) on Friday, head of the police unit in charge of countering internet crimes General Mehdi Omidi said the special committee would act against "attempted fraud, illegal advertising, insults and spreading lies and falsehood."

"The police will also intervene in political matters in case an illegal act takes place [on the Internet]," Gen. Omidi told ILNA.

He added that the police would deal with individuals as presently there exists little or no major organized crime in cyberspace.

MP against administration takeover of Tehran metro

Tabnak | Nov. 13, 2009

Mousa Servati, a member of the Majlis programming and budget commission, said handing the management of the Tehran Metro Company to the government was in violation of article 44 of the Constitution.

"Article 44 of the Constitution states that the responsibilities of the government must be reduced and passed on to other sectors and returning control of the metro to the government is in violation of this article."

"Returning the Metro Company to the government is a wrong move; and according to Article 44, the government's responsibilities must be reduced," Servati told Mehr News Agency.

"[Pursuant to] Majlis legislation, the management of the Metro Company was handed to the municipalities. If the government wants to regain control of this company, it would also require Majlis approval."

He went on to speculate that the recent remarks by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regarding a government takeover of the Metro Company could be the result of repeated criticism that the government was not doing enough to help the company.

"Either way, the government is obliged to execute Majlis legislation, and if it wants to help the Metro Company this does not require directly stepping in to assume management of the company."

Safi-Golpayegani: Sources will never enter political games

Tabnak | Nov. 12, 2009

Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi-Golpayegani said the Sources of Emulation followed the path of Islam, the Qoran and faith and would not engage in political or factional movements.

"Those who move around the axis of clergy and pursue Islamic objectives will achieve their goals, but those who contemplate inflicting damage do not seek to protect the Leadership as they are betraying Islam therefore they must redeem themselves," he said.

"Internal disputes and disagreements between political parties must be resolved, because internal disputes do not serve the interests of the country and it is damaging to Islam and the independence of the country."

"Majlis must be independent in its decision-making and actions; and it must not be pressured, otherwise it will be compared to the Pahlavi-era parliament."

"If governing the country had been given to the clergy in the Pahlavi era, the country would have advanced and people would have reaped the benefits."

"If the honor of individuals is not preserved and if everyone does anything they want this will be very dangerous because it will help the enemy come closer to achieving its objectives."