Iran News Round Up

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by the AEI Critical Threats Project's Iran research team. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online. 

(E) = Article in English

Excerpts of these translations may only be used with the expressed consent of the authors

Nuclear Issue

• Deputy Head of the Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Ahmadian said that Iran “will be able to take advantage of other countries’” nuclear technology and expertise if it reaches an agreement with the P5+1 over its nuclear program. Regarding the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plan, Ahmadian expressed hope that “by summer of this year play its part in supplying energy to the country, especially in the southern region.”
• International and Legal Affairs Deputy to the Foreign Minister and senior nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi announced that Iranian Permanent Representative to the IAEA Board of Governors Reza Najafi and Foreign Ministry and International Director Hamid Baidinejad will be traveling to New York for the upcoming Preparatory Committee for the NPT Review Conference at the end of April. 

Military and Security

• Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) Headquarters Chief Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi discussed “jihadi management” and the armed forces’ role in the economy, denying that the military has “interfered” in the private sector:
  • “This type of management, which began in the construction jihad and the fronts, flows in the armed forces. We have not had a manager who does not possess the quality of jihadi management. That [the Supreme Leader] pointed out defense advancements as an example and model, alongside nanotechnology and nuclear advances, is the result of jihadi management in the armed forces.”
  • “Armed forces…have economic work and perform a role in the economy. The armed forces will enter and perform its duty, if necessary, in supporting the administration…We have raised this issue with officials and First Deputy to the President and have announced our preparedness to support the administration.” 
  • “The armed forces has not intervened in the private sector. They do projects that either lack contractors or could make use of [Iran-Iraq war]  era technology.” 
• AFGS Headquarters Basij Affairs and Defense Culture Deputy Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri announced the formation of a working group to formulate the execution of the four elements constituting the Supreme Leader’s slogan of the year: “Economy and Culture, with National Determination and Jihadi Management.” He added “Executive and operational organizations have taken shape, and we hope to implement the Supreme Leader’s strategy.”
  • Regarding the Supreme Leader’s statements on nuclear negotiations: “Nuclear energy is not a matter than can be ceased. From another side, pessimism towards the American side still persists.” 
  • Jazyeri then credited former AFGS Chief Brig. Gen. Ali Sayyad Shirazi as “a model for coordinating between the country’s two defensive pillars, meaning the Artesh and the IRGC.” Today is 15^th anniversary of Shirazi’s assassination by the Mojahedin-e Khalgh (MEK). 
• Speaking at the anniversary of Shirazi’s assassination, Artesh Commander Maj. Gen. Ataollah Salehi condemned the EU’s recent resolution concerning human rights in Iran and said “We consider the enemy’s threats to be similar to shouting while moving backwards, not forward. The enemy has been defeated and has not achieved its goals, whether in the arena of assassination, irregular or regular warfare.” 
• Islamic Republic of Iran Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari spoke at the fifteenth anniversary of the death of Lieutenant General Ali Sayyad Shirazi and confirmed recent reports that Iranian naval forces conducted separate exercises with Pakistan and Oman. Sayyari said the exercises with Oman was conducted “in order to dominate the region” and that the exercises with Pakistan was conducted “near Bandar Abbas.” 

Politics

• Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani told the “Pilgrims of Peace” activist group that resolving the Syria crisis “is only feasible through political means and dialogue among all Syrian parties, and holding national elections in this country..”
• Judiciary Branch Human Rights Headquarters Secretary Mohammad Javad Larijani discussed Iran’s nuclear program at an administrative council meeting in Qazvin and said:
  •  “We placed ourselves in a situation where we did not have to beg for nuclear technology and no adjustments or modifications will suspend the nuclear program.”
  • “The West’s opposition to Iran having nuclear technology stems from the fact that the Islamic Iran has become a powerful country.” 
• Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli addressed reporters regarding diplomatic efforts aimed at determining the fate of an Iranian border guard, allegedly killed by Jaish al-Adl: “By no means do we accept that Jamshid Danaeifar has been martyred and the Pakistani government and those who were responsible should be accountable.” 
• Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham announced “We have formally stated that the treatment of the representative of the Islamic Republic to the United Nations is not acceptable, and Dr. Hamid Aboutalebi is the most qualified diplomat in the Islamic Republic, with diplomatic experience in Italy, Belgium, and Australia and in the 70s received an official visa from the United States to attend the UN.” 
• MP Behram Biranvand announced that more than 100 of his colleagues are signing a letter to the Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting urging the presence of Geneva Accord critics in national television programs “to criticize this accord.” 

Regional Developments

• Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper reported that several former Ahmadinejad administration cabinet members are shareholders in companies involved in various economic projects throughout Iraq. The piece criticized their “constant back and forth” travel to Iraq, including Basra: “It raises the question that why so many trips? How did these individuals gain access to such resources for private investment? Some former officials travel in charter flights in such cases.” A self-identified Ahmadinejad supporter Mohammad Hassan Rouzi Talab listed some of their names on his Google Plus profile: former senior IRGC commander and former Oil Minister Rostam Ghassemi, former Housing and Urban Development Minister and Tadbir Construction Development Company (involved in various important Iraqi projects) Executive Board Director Ali Nikzad, former Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Mehdi Qazanfari, and former Head of the Central Bank Mahmoud Bahman.  
• Minister of Justice Mostafa Pour Mohammadi met with his counterpart Hassan al-Shammari in Iraq and they discussed judicial and legal issues of mutual concern. At the meeting the parties emphasized further developing judicial relations while understanding the purpose of the Agreement for the Transfer of Sentenced Persons recently passed in the Iraqi parliament. The Iranian Minister mentioned the nearly 3 million people who traveled between these two countries this past year, and spoke about issues such as how to develop judicial cooperation, organize cross-border and border police stations to deal with traffic, dealing with those who are arrested and convicted, and expanding bilateral economic, tourist, and pilgrimage activities.

Economy

• Parliamentary Economic Commission Spokesman MP Mohammad Alipour announced “Connecting the private sector with the economy is the secret to the resistance economy’s fulfillment. The private sector is, without a doubt, the best element for the people’s participation in the broader economic plans.” Alipour said that providing equipment to investors, eliminating wasteful bureaucracy, and encouraging producers can contribute to the resistance economy’s fulfillment. 

Photo of the Day

• Joint Naval exercises of Iran-Pakistan in the Strait Hormuz.