The presence of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in parliament to answer questions by MPs about how nuclear talks with P5+1 are managed was on the cover of many Iranian newspapers on Wednesday. The apparently unstoppable drop in crude prices on global markets and a plan by MPs to cut the dependence of the country’s budget on oil revenues made front-page headlines too.
Abrar: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected in Iran later in January.
Abrar-e Eghtesadi: Japanese refineries have renewed their purchase of Iranian oil for 2015.
Asr-e Rasaneh: The head of the Chamber of Commerce has warned about the growth of corruption.
Donyay-e Eghtesad: “Advancing factional goals at the expense of national interests is an unforgivable sin,” Foreign Minister Zarif told an open session of parliament.
Ebtekar: “Next round of nuclear talks [between Iran and P5+1] will open in Geneva on January 18,” said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi.
Eghtesad-e Pooya: “We do not pursue factional interests in nuclear talks,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told MPs.
Emtiaz: Imports of rice and sugar have been banned.
Emtiaz: Tehran Stock Exchange continues its free fall.
Ettela’at: License plates won’t be issued to five makes of car because they pollute the air.
Hambastegi: “The Intelligence Ministry nips any security threat in the bud,” vowed the Iranian intelligence chief.
Hemayat: In a statement 230 MPs reiterated that the continued house arrest of the seditionist leaders [presidential candidates who disputed the results of the 2009 elections and sparked widespread unrest] is legal.
Iran Daily: Forty foreign enterprises ready for gas investment [in Iran].
Jamejam: The licences of five doctors who kept overcharging patients even after the Health Ministry urged them to stop have been revoked permanently.
Javan: The judiciary has released a statement in response to an open letter principlist MP Ali Motahari sent to it with regard to the continued house arrest of those who sparked post-election unrest in 2009. Motahari does not seem to know the difference between house arrest, detention and punishment, the statement says.
Jomhouri Islami: The explanations of Foreign Minister Zarif about the trend of nuclear talks in parliament satisfied the MPs.
Jomhouri Islami: “Extremism is a deadly virus. The Muslim world is now grappling with the scourge of division,” said Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in a gathering of Azad University officials.
Kaenat: The Iranian Oil Ministry says it is in talks with Afghanistan to sell crude oil to our neighbor to the east.
Kayhan: The Bahraini regime has crushed protests against continued detention of [Shiite cleric] Sheikh Ali Salman.
Kayhan: “Government should stop threats and interference; parliament has a duty to supervise,” said Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in reference to illegal withdrawal by the government of money from the National Development Fund.
Khorasan: Oil prices have dipped below $50 a barrel.
Resalat: “Some 10 million high-income individuals have been identified,” said the minister of welfare.
Resalat: Police say a huge soccer betting ring that operated across the nation has been busted.
Sharq: Parliament has unveiled a plan to cut the dependence of the country’s budget on petrodollars.
