Iran News Round Up

Mike Saidi demonstrates how the recent protests highlighted weaknesses in the readiness of Iranian security forces in a dataset using videos submitted by Iranian protesters. View the dataset here.

Senior Iranian officials reacted to President Donald Trump’s decision on January 12 to issue his last sanctions waiver against Iran unless the U.S. and Europe fix the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’s (JCPOA) “disastrous flaws.” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reaffirmed that Iran would not renegotiate the JCPOA. President Hassan Rouhani stressed that Trump’s efforts to undermine the JCPOA, a “long-lasting victory for Iran,” have failed. Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araghchi said that Iran has successfully isolated the U.S. from its European allies and noted that the EU has not complied with U.S. calls to modify the agreement. National Security and Foreign Policy (NSFP) Committee Chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi dismissed Trump’s threats as saber rattling to withdraw from the deal and said that Trump had no choice but to continue waiving the sanctions. (Reuters) (E) (Reuters) (E) (ABNA) (ABNA) (ABNA)

President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Ali Shamkhani met with Syrian People’s Assembly Speaker Hammoudeh Sabbagh in separate meetings in Tehran on January 16. Rouhani said that the U.S. presence in Syria is “against international norms” and is an “[attempt] to conspire against Syria’s territorial integrity and regional security.” Shamkhani expressed his concern over “any political or military action… that provides Syrian territory to terrorist groups or [allows] foreign forces to occupy Syrian soil.” Their statements follow announcements of the potential formation of a U.S.-backed Kurdish border security force in northeastern Syria. (IRNA) (IRNA)

Judiciary spokesperson Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei claimed that bullets used to kill protesters during the recent unrest do not match ammunition used by law enforcement and military personnel. He repeated other officials’ statements that Evin and Arak Prison detainees Sina Ghanbari and Mohammad Heidari died from suicide. Ejei stated that 25 people died in the recent protests and 465 protesters remain in custody, including an unspecified European dual national whom police arrested for taking pictures of the protests. Ejei added that law enforcement officials arrested 622 people during the protests’ first three days but later released many of them on bail. Reformist Parliamentarian Mahmoud Sadeghi announced that “more than 40” parliamentarians called for an independent investigation into the deaths of detained anti-regime protesters in a letter to Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. Sadeghi did not name the signatories of the letter. Sadeghi claimed on January 9 that security forces arrested 3,700 protesters since the start of the unrest.  (Reuters) (E) (Radio Farda) (E) (New York Times) (E) (Press TV) (E) (Etemaad)

• Judiciary denies parliamentary request to visit Evin Prison. Sadeghi also said that the Judiciary denied a parliamentary request to send a parliamentary delegation to visit Evin Prison. The Parliamentary Security, Judicial, and Political Committee submitted the request on January 10 to review and monitor security forces’ performance in detention centers. (Radio Farda)

Iranian oil tanker Sanchi sank off the coast of Shanghai, China, on January 14 after a collision with a Chinese cargo ship on January 6 that spilled natural gas condensate in the sea and set the adrift oil tanker on fire. The Iranian government declared a national day of mourning while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed his condolences to the families of the 32 crew members who are presumed dead. (Reuters) (E) Tasnim News Agency (E) (IRNA) (E)