Iran News Round Up

The Critical Threats Project team explains the significance of Iran’s upcoming 2017 presidential election and tracks important electoral developments in “Iran Presidential Election Tracker: Updates and Analysis.”

President Hassan Rouhani discussed developments in Syria with Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis in Tehran on January 18. Rouhani hailed the upcoming talks in Astana as the “the real start of peace talks for Syrians.” Khamis, meanwhile, credited the capture of Aleppo as the “result of enduring and unconditional support from Iran.” (Fars News Agency)

President Hassan Rouhani responded to a question on President-elect Donald Trump’s pledges to renegotiate or dismantle the nuclear deal during a press conference on January 17. Rouhani dismissed Trump’s remarks as “mostly slogans.” Rouhani also rejected the notion of reviving negotiations over the deal as “meaningless” and noted that the deal is not a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Iran. Separately, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Head Ali Akbar Salehi stressed that Iran “will not be the first party to violate the accord” and claimed that Iran does not take Trump’s stances “seriously.” (Tasnim News Agency) (E) (Ghatreh)

The Foreign Ministry sent its fourth report on the implementation of the nuclear deal to Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy (NSFP) Commission. The report identifies the election of Donald Trump, Congress’s renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act, and “Iranophobia” as challenges facing the nuclear deal. The report states that Trump’s election discouraged foreign companies from partnering with Iran by creating uncertainty about the deal’s future. The report also emphasizes Iran’s economic achievements following the nuclear deal, particularly regarding oil, however. The Foreign Ministry is required to release reports on the nuclear deal’s implementation every three months. (Entekhab)

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghassemi condemned Bahrain’s execution of three Shia men convicted of a 2014 bombing that killed one Emirati and two Bahraini police officers. The execution sparked protests in Bahrain. The move follows a prison-break of Bahraini Shia detainees on January 1, possibly indicating an expansion of Iranian-backed militant activity on the island. (MFA)

• SNSC Secretary Ali Shamkhani, meanwhile, stressed that Iran “does not pursue the overthrow of the house of Saud” during a recent interview. He added that the “fall of the House of Saud does not mean that its replacement would be better… The government’s fall would likely lead to the partition of Saudi Arabia, and extremist-ISIS ideology would govern large parts of the country.” (Fars News Agency)

Reza Soleimani, the public relations director for the Expediency Discernment Council (EDC), announced that the EDC will cancel its biweekly meetings due to Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s death on January 8. Rafsanjani had been chairman of the EDC since the council’s creation in 1987. The EDC is constitutionally tasked with advising the Supreme Leader and mediating legislative disputes between the Guardian Council and Parliament. (IRNA)

The European Council removed sanctions against Oil Industry Pension Fund Investment Company, West Sun Trade, Neka Novin, and the London-based Bank Saderat PLC on the one-year anniversary of the implementation of the nuclear deal. (ISNA)

Russia’s Inter RAO signed a contract to renovate a power plant in Khuzestan province. Tekhnopromexpor, a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned company Rostec, agreed to build a 1,400-megawatt power plant in Bandar Abbas. (Press TV) (E)