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 Marie Donovan, Paul Bucala, and Caitlin Shayda Pendleton with contributors Ken Hawrey and Alice Naghshineh. 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.

Key takeaway: Senior Military Advisor to the Supreme Leader Yahya Rahim Safavi stated that Iran should reconsider its relationship with Turkey.

IRGC Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi called for Iran to adjust its “political, security, and economic relations” with Turkey given the latter’s cooperation with Israel and the U.S. during remarks delivered at the National Conference on West Asian Geopolitics on April 28. At the same conference, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani claimed that the U.S. has refused to “meet its obligations” under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) because it has kept “Tehran locked out of the international financial system.” Larijani claimed that Iran will “force” the West to fulfill its commitments under the nuclear deal if necessary.

Voting for runoff parliamentary elections will be held on April 29. There are 68 seats available in the elections to the 290-member Parliament, making the runoff elections a crucial determinant of the new Parliament’s composition.

AEI Must-Reads

• Matthew McInnis discusses prospects for the Persian Gulf’s regional powers to collectively manage regional security issues, including proposals for an OSCE-style collective security organization, in his latest blog, “Can Saudi Arabia really ‘share the neighborhood’ with Iran?”
   
• The Iranian Foreign Ministry identified key challenges for the nuclear deal, including Iran’s financial system and U.S. “sabotage,” in its first official report evaluating the deal’s implementation. The Critical Threats Project translated an excerpt from the report here.
   

Regional Developments and Diplomacy

• Safavi: Iran must reconsider its relationship with Turkey. Senior Military Advisor to the Supreme Leader IRGC Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi stated that Iran should adjust its “political, security, and economic relations” with Turkey given its cooperation with Israel and the U.S. Safavi also stressed the importance of “West Asia” to world powers and urged Iran to develop a “comprehensive political, economic, social, along with military strategy for the issues of the region.” Safavi also called for Iran to become a permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in order to counter NATO. Safavi was speaking at the National Conference on West Asian Geopolitics held at the Center for Strategic Defense Research in Tehran. (Defa Press) (ISNA)
   

• Dehghan: American deployment to Syria constitutes “interference.” Defense Minister IRGC Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan stated that Iran considers the U.S. deployment of an additional 250 military personnel to Syria to be “ interference, flagrant aggression, and contrary to international norms.” (Donya-e Eqtesad)
   
• Jannati: We won’t send Iranians on Hajj if our concerns about pilgrims’ safety are not observed. Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati stated, “We have told the Saudis our reservations about the safety, honor, and dignity of pilgrims [during the Hajj pilgrimage], as well as other issues, which must be observed.” He warned that if these issues are not addressed, Iran will not send pilgrims on Hajj. (Tasnim News Agency)
   

• Larijani: We will force the U.S. to implement the JCPOA. Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani addressed America’s refusal to “meet its obligations” under the Joint Comprehensive Action (JCPOA) by “keeping Tehran locked out of the international financial system” during remarks delivered at the National Conference on West Asian Geopolitics on April 28. He stated, “The Westerners are not trustworthy, but if they don't fulfill their commitments, we will force them into implementation with our own means.” Larijani added that Iran has “its own means to make [America] regret” its refusal to “implement” the nuclear agreement fully, but he did not provide further details. (Press TV) (E)

Domestic Politics

• Rouhani defends disqualified reformist parliamentarian. President Hassan Rouhani spoke out in defense of Minoo Khaleghi, a reformist parliamentarian whom the Guardian Council disqualified on March 19 after she had won a seat in Esfahan in the February 26 parliamentary elections. Her case has been uniquely controversial because the Guardian Council conducted every other disqualification during discrete rounds of qualifications review before the elections took place. Rouhani criticized the Guardian Council for overstepping its legal authority by disqualifying Khaleghi outside of this official timeframe, stating, “Based on the Constitution, any representative who is elected in a district after voting takes place must then have credentials reviewed in Parliament. No other institution can interfere in this.” Reformists have previously called upon Rouhani to defend Khaleghi, but these are his first public comments doing so. The Guardian Council has not announced its reason for Khaleghi’s disqualification. (Entekhab)
   
• Voting for runoff parliamentary elections to be held on April 29. There are 68 seats available in the elections to the 290-member Parliament, making the runoff elections a crucial determinant of the new Parliament’s composition. (Fars News Agency)