Iran News Round Up

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by AEI Critical Threats Project Iran Analysts Mehrdad Moarefian and Marie Donovan, with contributors Farzin Farzad and Diana Timmerman. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

Key takeaway: IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Salami said that Ansar Allah possesses “long-range missile capabilities,” and “missile, armor, and artillery fire capabilities.” Student Basij members stated they intend to form “battalions of hackers… [to] disable Israeli facilities and factories…” in support of an overall effort to “achieve…the destruction of the…regime of Israel.” 

IRGC Deputy Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami stated, “Yemen has many options to fight Saudi aggression. Ansar Allah is capable of attacking the Saudi Navy and to deal with a Saudi ground invasion…Ansar Allah has long-range missile capabilities. They have missile, armor, and artillery fire capabilities. In the region they almost have the capabilities of a powerful army.”  Salami also said that the “failures of America and defeats of the Zionist regime” in Iraq and elsewhere in the region “led to the formation of a new policy…A point of intersection is being made between the House of Saud’s strategy and America’s strategy.” Salami indicated that the “intersection” of Saudi and American strategy led to “what happened in Yemen.”

Student Basij members of 22 universities sent an open letter to IRGC Qods Force Commander Major General Qassem Soleimani. In the letter, they state, “the student movement is aware that the Supreme Leader has hinted that, ‘Whether or not there is a final nuclear agreement, it will not provide the security of Israel… we have made operational plans to achieve the goal of the destruction of the occupying usurper regime of Israel.” The students enumerate several objectives to fulfill that effort, including “[use of] military education task forces” and “establishing and organizing battalions of hackers…[to] target and disable Israeli facilities and factories…”  

Official Statements

• Salami: Ansar Allah’s long-range missiles can reach Saudi cities. IRGC Deputy Commander Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami analyzed Saudi Arabia’s military operations against Yemen and the missile capacity of Yemen’s Ansar Allah in a lengthy interview with Lebanese media outlet Al Mayadeen. Salami stated:
  • “Yemen has many options to fight Saudi aggression. Ansar Allah is capable of attacking the Saudi Navy and to deal with a Saudi ground invasion.”
  • “Ansar Allah has long-range missile capabilities. They have missile, armor, and artillery fire capabilities. In the region they almost have the capabilities of a powerful army.”
  • “The Saudis and the Americans have a common goal, to create a political system that is coordinated by America and Saudi Arabia. If we put together these strategies, it is because their strategies failed, and they [America and Saudi Arabia] were forced to change their strategy.”
  • “Of course, aside from the common points in their strategy, America and Saudi Arabia have their differences.”
  • “Unfortunately, the Islamic world, especially the Arab world, has witnessed the formation of one of its sections of history. The Saudi regime’s unreasonable and unjustified military offensive against Yemen, and the formation of an Arab coalition for the attack against a poor and oppressed country is among the worst events in Islamic history.”
  • “You know well that in the past few years, America has been searching to create a new Middle East, and seeking to create a new order in the Middle Eastern region; but despite all of this… they have failed to stop the defeat of the Zionist regime in four wars with Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups; they failed to implement the road map to Israel’s security…They failed to reach their desired political order in Iraq.”
  • “These failures of America and defeats of the Zionist regime led to the formation of a new policy to continue this work. A point of intersection is being made between the House of Saud’s strategy and America’s strategy; rather than directly paying the developments in the region, create their cases directly, to avoid the cost of using the united regimes in the region.”
  • “So what happened in Yemen is the product of a series of political failures and of political deadlock; [what] has emerged in the policies and strategies of America, has also emerged in the policies and strategies of the Saud regime.”
  • “As part of these strategies, these two systems are in common. For example, on the topic of Syria, both the Zionist regime and also America were seeking to overthrow Assad. In the case of Iraq, the Saudis and Americans share a common interest in creating a regime which is amenable to following America and the Saudi regime. In Bahrain, the Americans and the Saudis have shared goals.”
  • “In Yemen, the Americans and the Saudis have had shared goals, and it is a political system which would work in accordance with the Saudi regime and America.”
  • On Iranian defense: “[Iran] essentially has very strong defense and security power. We have a lot of experience, which we obtained from the eight-year war [with Iraq].”
  • “Essentially, we operate under the assumption that we will have to face the greatest world powers and along with encountering threats on the eastern, western, southern, or northern borders. Therefore, our defense system is ready for these challenges.” (Tabnak)
     
• IRGC releases statement for Army Day. The IRGC released a statement for Iran’s National Army day, stating that the “unity and integration of the country’s Artesh and IRGC are…important elements for the strength and preparedness of the country’s defense.” The statement added that under the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s leadership, the military has become a “reliable and effective deterrent” against “arrogant powers” and any practical threat from the enemy would be a “strategic error” that “will face a severe and devastating response.” (Tasnim News Agency)
   
• Ayatollah Kermani warns against collapse of Saudi kingdom. Tehran Interim Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani questioned the Saudi kingdom’s faith and said, “You [Saudis] have carried out a blood bath in Yemen and have killed 2,500 women and children.” Regarding Saudi airstrikes on Sunni students and homes in Yemen, he said, “Sometimes it is God’s will that regimes be overthrown at their own hands, and I think the fall of the Saudi regime is close.” The Expediency Discernment Council member also called for the swift punishment of those responsible for harassing Iranian pilgrims at the Jeddah Airport.
  • On sanctions: Kermani insisted that sanctions be lifted on the final day of negotiations. He added that the Iranian people will not allow strangers and spies into the country and “each proposal wants to take Iran’s technological development from the people, and the [Supreme Leader] rejects it.”
  • “Mr. Obama says that if Iran is in violation of a millimeter, all sanctions will return. We also say that if America is in violation of half of a millimeter, the dream of an agreement with Iran will be buried.” (Mashregh News)
     
• Zarif stresses need for inclusive dialogue in Yemen. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated that the ongoing crisis in Yemen is an internal matter and urged foreign countries to stop meddling in Yemeni affairs. Zarif reiterated Tehran’s position on the issue: “There needs to be dialogue among various groups in Yemen… Others should not participate in the talks…” (YJC)

Military and Security

• Dehghan: Iran will receive updated S-300 without need for consultants. In an interview with RIA Novosti, Defense Minister IRGC Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan said Iran will receive an advanced and updated model of the S-300 Missile defense system from Russia that does not require the presence of Russian consultants and advisers. (Fars News Agency)
   
• Pourdastan discusses the Artesh forces. Artesh Ground Forces Commander Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Pourdastan stated, “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s military is now responsible for a large part of our country’s borders, and the nation of Iran’s soldiers are defending the dignity and authority of the system.” Pourdastan also praised the Khatam ol Anbia Base’s controlling “domestic and international flights,” as well as the Artesh’s helicopters for their involvement in counter-terrorism activities, and the Artesh Navy’s ensuring the “security of shipping and maritime economy.” He also highlighted the Artesh’s activities at the beginning of the Islamic Republic, stating, “the first battalions were organized against the enemy’s conspiracy, and bore arms; the Artesh of the Islamic Republic of Iran was fighting ‘chest-to-chest’ against counter-revolutionary forces.” Pourdastan stated, “As the armed wing or the system, we have a responsibility, and have created a defensive capacity proportionate to the threat; all forces are well prepared.” (Fars News Agency)
   
• Basij student movement sends open letter to Soleimani. The Basij students of 22 universities’ letter to IRGC Qods Force Commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani stated: “It seems as though a historic opportunity has been provided to defeat the Zionist [Israeli] enemy and the Iranian students…acknowledge [this].” They added, “Meanwhile, as the international community is focused on the nuclear negotiations, the student movement is aware that the Supreme Leader has hinted that, “Whether or not there is a final nuclear agreement, it will not provide the security of Israel… and we have made operational plans to achieve the goal of the destruction of the occupying usurper regime of Israel.” The letter enumerated the following objectives and missions to fulfill the effort:
  • “Military education task force, establishing and organizing battalions of hackers… [to] target and disable Israeli facilities and factories, establish a propaganda and art battalion to enlighten public opinion and young people of arrogant [Western] countries, prepare and identify a list of commanders in Israel, prepare a list of Israeli companies that should be sanctioned by the Muslim Ummah [community], prepare a list of cultural and social leaders, and political figures, in the Islamic world that can wage significantly…against Israel.” (ISNA)