Iran News Round Up

Iran launched the Simorgh space launch vehicle on July 27. The Simorgh can reportedly carry satellites of up to 250kg in weight for a distance of up to 500km. (Tasnim News Agency)

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani continued his response to U.S. sanctions in remarks on July 27. Larijani stressed that the sanctions presented “nothing new” and that media outlets in Iran should not “create unreasonable anxiety.” He added that this was true since “the effect [of the sanctions]... on the lives of [most] people is very negligible.” (BBC Persian)

• Basij Organization Commander IRGC Brig. Gen. Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar responded to the U.S. referring to the IRGC as an organization “supporting international terrorism” in the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act voted on in the House of Representatives on July 25. He stated that “with these remarks the region has become more unsafe for [the U.S.].” Gheibparvar stressed that the people of Iran are “united and coordinated and will never come up short against [their] enemies.” (Fars News Agency)
• Head of the Nuclear Committee of the Parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mojtaba Zolnour suggested that Iran should respond in kind to U.S. sanctions. He stated that “[Iran] should… restore centrifuge activities to previous levels or increase the level of our enrichment [activities].” Zolnour added that the bill responding to U.S. sanctions was “perhaps 20%” of a sufficient response to U.S. actions. (Mehr News Agency)

Qom Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Saeedi called on President Hassan Rouhani to not merely condemn the new sanctions, but "unite with Russia and North Korea to give a tough answer to U.S.”

• Interim Tehran Friday Prayer Leader Hojjat ol Eslam Kazem Sadighi stated that “Iran would not have these problems” if the government had obeyed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s warning which "urged Iranian diplomats not to trust the U.S. at the beginning of the [nuclear] talks." (BBC Persian)