Iran News Round Up

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by AEI Critical Threats Project Iran Analyst Will Fulton and Iran Intern Amir Toumaj. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

(E) = Article in English

Politics

• In a statement, after the announcement of Hassan Rouhani’s victory, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei praised the people’s role in creating the “apex of political epic” with their participation in the elections and added, “The noticeable political growth...is a luminescent truth that was proven with your mass presence at the voting boxes and annulled the illusions of the enemies, the envious and the greedy’s fabrications and exaggerations.”
• President-elect Hassan Rouhani held his first press briefing today. He emphasized moderation as the center piece of his policies and discussed his prospective policies on the nuclear program, sanctions, Syria, United States, regional relations, the economy and cabinet appointments:
  • To the question, “Are you prepared to suspend enrichment after the restart of negotiations,” Rohani replied: “That era has passed. We are currently engaged in special circumstances and I think we have many confidence building paths.”
  • “In my belief the way to end sanctions is mutual trust and further transparency in the framework of international laws and indicators. We will take steps in both fields and, God willing, will reduce these sanctions. Although the first step is to not allow new sanctions to take place and then reduce them and [then] completely resolve [them].”
  • “The present Syrian government must be the internationally recognized Syrian government until future elections, so the Syrian people will announce their opinion in the 2014 elections and decide, and whatever is the people’s opinion should be considered.”
  • “Iran’s relationship with the United States is a complicated and difficult issue. There are old wounds that must be healed. We will not seek the increase of tensions. Logic dictates that the government and the country think about the future and amend the past. Any discussions about America must be based on interests, mutual respect, and equality in positions, but America must clarify that it will never interfere in Iran’s internal affairs [and], secondly, recognize Iran’s rights, such as our nuclear rights, and set aside one-sided and bully-centered policies with respect to Iran. In these circumstances the field will be different, but all must know that the future administration will never back down on the Iranian nation’s rights. We are prepared for a reduction of tension.”
  • “Our priority is to have close and friendly relations with neighboring countries in a framework of mutual interests…. I hope that in the future administration we will have good relations with our neighbors, especially Saudi Arabia.
  •  “The sanctions issue is a problem that we are currently facing, although we all know that these sanctions are oppressive and the Iranian nation has done nothing to deserve sanctions.”
  • “The first priority is the people’s economic and standard of living issues.”
  • “I stated in my election slogans that the future administration will be a non-partisan administration, and all moderate and Principlist-oriented competent forces will be present in it and there are no limits in that.”
• In an interview, president-elect Hassan Rouhani announced that he would use “characters like [Reformist presidential candidate Mohammad Reza] Aref in my cabinet” and that he would “make negotiations with [the P5+1] more active.” 
• A Representative of the Supreme Leader to Iran's universities Alireza Panahian explained that Hassan Rohani’s victory was a result of the people’s dissatisfaction and opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the prevailing perception that Principlist candidates Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Ali Akbar Velayati were associated with Ahmadinejad.
• An editorial on Alef News Agency attributed the Principlist party’s defeat to the lack of a single Principlist candidate and the people’s association of the Principlist party with the Ahmadinejad administration's poor performance. 
• 225 MPs thanked the Iranian people for their massive participation in the presidential elections, congratulated Hassan Rouhani to his victory in a statement, and also announced their preparedness to cooperate with Rouhani’s administration in implementing his policies. 
• Speaker of House Ali Larijani and the Head of the Article 90 Parliamentary Commission, a government oversight committee, Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar summoned current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to court for “violating the Constitution.” Ahmadinejad is set to appear November 26. Pourmokhtar stated regarding the charges on which Ahmadinejad has been summoned, “There have been many matters, and I do not remember to which matter this summoning is related to.”
• None of President Ahmadinejad’s endorsed candidates won a seat in the Tehran City Council elections. Principlists gained the majority seats. 
• Senior Shia cleric Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani congratulated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for the people’s massive participation in the elections. 
• Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda attributed Rouhani’s election to moderation, not reformism, but added that “this depends on his performance, whether or not he will make the reformist current dominant in the country. But regardless, the people’s vote was not to the reformists. Rather it was to moderation.”
• Head of the Principlist Parliamentary Faction and former presidential candidate Gholam Ali Haddad Adel announced his party’s readiness to cooperate with Rouhani. 
• Supreme National Security Council Secretary and defeated presidential candidate Said Jalili reportedly urged his supporters to back Rouhani’s administration.

Regional Developments

• Hamas reportedly congratulated Hassan Rouhani and affirmed its commitment to expanding bilateral relations between Tehran and the Palestinian Islamist organization.
• Russia reportedly said that it would provide the Syrian government with S-400 missile systems, which are capable of targeting Patriot missiles, should the United States implement its plan to arm of the Syrian opposition.
• Head of Iraqi Hezbollah Wathiq al-Batat claimed responsibility for yesterday’s rocket attacks against exiled Iranian opposition group Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) in al-Hariah military base in the vicinity of western Baghdad. 
• A car bomb explosion in Baghdad killed one person and injured seven others. 
• Syrian opposition forces detonated a car bomb at the al-Mazeh military air base by Damascus that reportedly caused widespread fires at the base.
• Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA) claims that the United States was arming Syrian opposition forces well before this weekend’s public announcement that Washington would begin supplying small arms to Syrian rebels.

Diplomacy

• The Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Hassan Danaeifar stated, “Iran’s foreign policy has been drawn and determined and is unchangeable.” 
• Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed his “warmest wishes” to president-elect Hassan Rouhani and affirmed the continuation of “friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries in all fields, including confronting enemy conspiracies…” Lebanese Hezbollah Secretary Hassan Nasrallah also congratulated Hassan Rohani’s election.
• Saudi King Abdollah Ibn Abdolaziz congratulated president-elect Hassan Rouhani and hoped that relations would improve between Tehran and Riyadh. 
• Commander of al-Qaeda in Iraq Abubakr al-Baghdadi announced that its relations with the al-Qaeda affiliated Syrian group Jubhat an-Nushrah will not be severed.

Military and Security

• Armed Forces General Staff Basij Affairs and Defense Culture Deputy BG Massoud Jazayeri expressed hope that “the future president, based on his own central slogans, including a ‘moderate approach’ and ‘rule of law with the guidance of the Supreme Leader’ brings success and new achievements for the Islamic Revolution and the country within the framework of constitutional authority, and by engaging and collaborating with other powers and utilizing national capacities in his important obligations.” Jazayeri also warned: “Everyone should be careful not to create differences with competition. The Iranian nation, more than in any other period, is unified against predatory wolves like the American government and Zionist regime.”
• Representative of the Supreme Leader to the Basij Organization: “According to the Supreme Leader’s command, the Basij [Organization] and basijis will completely support the president-elect. We hope that nation’s pick will move on the path of progress and justice, and, when his work begins, the Basij will present suggestions and review his performance, just as it did with the previous president.”
• Head of the Basij Organization BG Mohammad Reza Naghdi attended the founding of the Basij Agricultural and Natural Resources Organization and stated, “Unfortunately, previous administrations have not properly used Basij capacities, but it is hoped that the new administration will not neglect the massive capacities of the Basij.” 

Economy

• According to Fars News, Iran was the third largest natural gas producer in the world in 2012 with 60 billion cubic meters of natural gas produced. 
• Lavan Oil Refinery Managing Director Mohammad Ali Dadvar announced the increase of gas and gasoil production capacity by seven million liters per day. 

Photo of the Day

• President-elect Hassan Rouhani attends his first press briefing.