Iran Live Coverage: Ahmadinejad Anoints His Right-Hand Man for President

See also Venezuela Analysis: Hugo Chavez's Dubious Legacy for Iran and the Middle East
Monday's Iran Live Coverage: A Complicated Relationship with Pakistan

---

1514 GMT: It's Not About the Nukes. EA's Joanna Paraszczuk reports:

First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi repeated the regime line that the West has not sanctioned Tehran because of its nuclear program. "The cause of the sanctions is not our nuclear science and knowledge, particularly since Iran has officially announced and will also go on record with the UN that Iran is not seeking a nuclear bomb," he explained.

Rahimi added that the West has sanctioned Iran because of its achievements and innovations in science and technology.

The Vice President concluded with comments about the US: "The country of America was formed by a bunch of English malfeasants," adding that America was not superior to other countries in terms of science and technology.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (10 July): "I Have No Hope, None at All"

Cartoon of the Day: Nikahang Kowsar's President Ahmadinejad cries out, "We sell smuggled oil"

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- From Repression 1999 to Repression 2012
The Latest from Iran (9 July): Desperately Seeking All-Is-Well Oil News

---

2045 GMT: Irony Watch. From Press TV:

Iran has strongly denounced the detention of a prominent Shia cleric and the brutal crackdown of anti-regime protesters in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, which has been a major scene of protests over the past months.

1954 GMT: Oil Watch. Minister of Oil Rostam Qassemi has said that $5 billion of the National Development Fund has been allocated to the South Pars gas field development projects, accelerating Phases 20-24 of the project.

On 2 July, the NDF and the Ministry of Oil signed a deal for the Fund to earmark $14 billion of its assets to oil industry projects.

More than 70% will be spent on the development of oil and gas fields as well as expanding the upstream sector of the oil industry, Qassemi said, with the rest channeled into refining infrastructure.

President Ahmadinejad has claimed the NDF's assets will reach $55 billion by the end of this year. Iran transfers 20% of its oil revenues to the Fund.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (2 July): Winners and Losers in the Economic Crisis

See also Iran Feature: A Cleric's Best-Selling DVD Guide "Lovemaking is Like Jihad"
The Latest from Iran (1 July): The European Union Cuts Off Imports of Tehran's Oil

---

2010 GMT: Diplomacy Watch. ISNA highlights an interview with Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who declares, “The other side has no choice but to come to an agreement with Iran. Otherwise, instead of interaction, the next option will be confrontation, and I don’t believe that any rational mind is after confrontation given the latest developments in the region.”

Salehi urged Iranians to be confident, "We have been subjected to sanctions for the past 33 years “come in addition to previous ones, and it isn’t a problem....[We must] show national unity and have resistance and patience against these sanctions because one has to pay the costs for preserving one’s independence."

Click to read more ...