Iran News Round Up

Marie Donovan discusses the political background of Iran’s newly-sanctioned Judiciary Head Sadegh Amoli Larijani in, “Why Did the U.S. Sanction Iran’s Sadegh Amoli Larijani?”

Frederick Kagan states that the United States and its partners must take action in order to weaken Iran’s position in the region in the wake of the protests in, “Iranian protests give America chance to advance freedom.”

Frederick Kagan and Marie Donovan write that the regime’s preparations for anti-regime protests and the absence of a centralized leadership of unarmed protesters did not threaten the regime’s survival in, “Don’t Be Fooled: the Iran protests won’t overthrow the regime.”

Tehran Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi called for the allocation of additional budgetary funds for religious institutions on January 12. Sedighi said the increase was necessary in order to “spread religion.” Sedighi also called for greater budgetary funds in order to help support Iran’s “feeble societal layers,” a reference to Iran’s poor and economically disadvantaged. The allocation of hundreds of millions of dollars to Iran’s religious institutions and billions of dollars to Iran’s armed forces, likely at the expense of cash and non-cash subsidies, may have played a role in sparking the recent wave of anti-regime protests and may be cause for additional future protests. (ISNA)

Former President and popular reformist figure Mohammad Khatami called on all government institutions to “accept their share of the blame” for the recent wave of anti-regime protests in a statement on January 15. Khatami acknowledged that “economic, political, and social shortcomings” played a role in igniting the protests. Khatami advocated for a political environment where citizens can safely express criticism and government institutions can reform without “humiliating the people.” (Jamaran) (Radio Farda) (E)

Interim Tehran Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami criticized a recently released BBC Persian video revealing that the Assembly of Experts intended for Ali Khamenei to hold the position of Supreme Leader only temporarily until a referendum elected a permanent successor to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Khamenei argued in the video that he was constitutionally unqualified for the position and did not have enough experience to lead. Khatami called the video “incomplete,” and claimed that a second video exists that is more complete, and dismissed Khamenei’s remarks as a sign of modesty. (Fars News Agency)

Mashhad Friday Prayer Leader Hojjat ol Eslam Ahmad Alam ol Hoda dismissed claims that he played a role in sparking the recent anti-regime protests in Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi Province on December 28, 2017. Executives of Construction Party head Gholam Hossein Karbaschi claimed that the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) summoned Alam al Hoda in order to investigate his role in directing an anti-Rouhani protest on December 28, 2017 which then inadvertently devolved into mass widespread protests across Iran. In a letter to SNSC Secretary Ali Shamkhani dated January 17, Alam ol Hoda claimed that he was not in Mashhad when the protests began, but instead in Sabzevar, Razavi Khorasan Province. Sabzevar experienced protests on December 29, 2017, one day after the first day of protests. Alam ol Hoda accused the media of repeatedly targeting him with false allegations. Alam ol Hoda also accused unnamed “political figures” in Mashhad of provoking anti-regime protests. (Fars News Agency) (Twitter) (E)

Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) Commander IRGC Brig. Gen. Hossein Ashtari said “None of our officers had lethal weapons” during the protests and suggested that Iran’s enemies were “making up reports of [protesters’] deaths.” Judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei stated that 25 people died in the protests, but that the bullets used to kill protesters do not match ammunition used by law enforcement and military personnel and suggested that the protesters were killed by fellow protesters. (Radio Farda) (ISNA)