Iran News Round Up

Newly appointed Information and Communications Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi stated that there are ongoing negotiations to unblock Twitter in Iran.  Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei oversees the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, which controls which websites are blocked. The regime has banned everyday Iranians from using Twitter since the 2009 Green Movement protests. Some senior regime officials, such as Khamenei, use Twitter nonetheless. (Radio Free Liberty) (E)

Newly appointed Justice Minister Ali Reza Avaei stated that “if the government requests it, I am prepared to follow up [Mehdi] Karroubi’s demands with the Judiciary.” Avaei’s statement follows Green Movement leader Mehdi Karroubi’s hunger strike on August 16-17. Karroubi demanded the removal of security officers from his home and a date for a public trial. Karroubi, as well as Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, has been under house arrest since 2011. Avaei previously served as President Hassan Rouhani’s Special Inspectorate head and Tehran’s Chief Prosecutor prior to his appointment as Justice Minister. (ISNA)

A meeting of the Global Resistance Front took place during the Union of Independent Student Organizations’ International Conference at Allameh Tabatabaei University on August 24. Representatives from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the al Houthi movement, Lebanon, and Kuwait reportedly also attended the meeting. Representatives discussed matters relating to Yemen, the Axis of Resistance, and Israel. Iran uses the term “Axis of Resistance” to describe its network of proxies and anti-U.S. allies, including Hezbollah and the Syrian regime. (Defa Press)

Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission member Morteza Saffari Natanzi said “according to international laws, no country has the right to interfere with the military affairs of another country.” U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley recently pressed the IAEA regarding access to Iranian military sites. The nuclear deal permits the IAEA to request access to military sites under certain conditions. (Tasnim News Agency)

• Parliamentarians issue statement on Ambassador Haley's visit to the IAEA. Parliamentarians issued an official statement expressing that “Iran will never permit the IAEA to take advantage of [Iran] for one specific country’s political objectives.” (ISNA)
• Iran’s representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Reza Najafi echoed Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s criticism of Haley’s visit to the IAEA. Najafi stated that “multiple reports by the [IAEA] indicating Iran’s abiding by its promises in the nuclear deal demonstrate America’s defeated policy of attempting to foment anti-Iranian sentiment.” (Mehr News Agency)

Head of the Organization of Foreign Investment Mohammad Khazaei and Central Bank representatives signed a $10 billion loan with South Korea’s Export-Import Bank. This deal comes after Iran signed a $7.1 billion deal with China’s Export-Import Bank for powering a rail line between Tehran and Mashhad and after a 2.2 billion euro deal with Russia for transportation and energy development. (ABNA) (Mehr News Agency)