Iran News Round Up

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by the AEI Critical Threats Project's Iran research team. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online. 

(E) = Article in English

Excerpts of these translations may only be used with the expressed consent of the authors

Politics

• Addressing senior government officials, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei explicated the “Components of ‘resistance economy’ policies, causes and motivations for the issuing of these policies, and the necessities and expectations from officials in this field.” The fundamental goal of these policies is making Iran less vulnerable to international economic developments, including sanctions and reducing oil revenue reliance. Khamenei also admitted the failure of recent privatization efforts and urged all officials to cooperate in this regard:
  • Importance and reasoning behind “resistance economy” policies: “The broad policies of resistance economy are in reality an indigenous and scientific model resulted from revolutionary and Islamic culture in proportionate with the country’s situations today and tomorrow.”
  • “These policies are flexible and adaptable with various situations. It makes the country’s economy more flexible and alleviates economic friability in various situations.”
  •  “Social justice is the most important among these criteria. The Islamic system does not accept economic growth without social justice. Any progress in the country’s economy must improve the situation of the, in the true sense of the word, deprived sectors of the population.”
  • Components: Creating economic growth and improving macroeconomic indicators; Resistance capability against threatening factors; Reliance on internal capacities; Jihadi approach; “People-centrality”; Securing strategic and primary items, especially food, medicine and self-sufficiency in these products; Reforming the model of consumption; Anti-corruption; Knowledge-centrality 
• Following the meeting of EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton with “seditionists,” a number of female human rights activists, several MPs have written a letter to Intelligence Minister Hojjat –Eslam Mahmoud Alavi asking him to provide explanation for this recent meeting. The letter begins with the following question: “Why did you not prevent the meeting of EU Foreign Policy Chief with the convicts of the [2009] American sedition?” 
• National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Spokesman MP Hossein Naghavi Hosseini claimed that “a cultural coup d’état” is taking shape in the country. He said, “We are in a war that is multiple times the difficulty of the Sacred Defense era. This war is silent and one does not know where he is being hit.” Hosseini also criticized President Rouhani, stating, “It is strange for a President who gives slogans of freedom but has not accepted criticism and considers critiques to be illiterates.”  
• Special Assistant to the President in Religious Minority Affairs and former Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Ali Yunesi announced, “If the administration can act upon its promises regarding citizen rights charter, the rights of minorities will be secured by themselves.” 

Regional Developments and Diplomacy

• Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham announced that President Hassan Rouhani is traveling to Oman for a two-day trip. She added that the travel of EU Foreign Policy Chief Ashton to Iran heralds “new contacts” between Iran and EU that can have “a new looking towards Iran and EU relations.” 
• NSFP Parliamentary Commission Chairman MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi announced the holding of the “Friend of Syria Parliamentary Convention” in Tehran tomorrow. Participating countries include Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Russia and Algeria. Boroujerdi added that invitations were extended to “the two revolutionary Latin American countries” of Cuba and Venezuela. 

Military and Security

• Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Deputy Commander Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami touted Islamic power at the Role of the Islamic World in Global Power Geometry and threatened Israel:
  • “We can destroy all points under the dominance of the Zionist regime with any volume of firepower.”
  • “Today our enemies in the region are pursued by Muslims. So do not think that it is America that is invading, rather the Americans do tactics and operations on the surface and are strategically in decline.  America no longer crease events in the region, rather it is the Muslims who create events and the Americans are forced to be another actor in decline, although not a dominant player. Meanwhile, the Americans have lost operational power against Syria today and this is a great proof for Muslims.”
  • “Islamic has given us the desire, capacity and force to annihilate the Zionist regime so that our hands are the trigger 1,400 kilometers away for the event day.” 
• Representative of the Supreme Leader to the IRGC Cultural and Propaganda Deputy IRGC Brig. Gen. Mohammad Ali Assoudi criticized “seditionists” and said, “The front of revolutionary and faithful culture has always been fighting with the front of compromise and sedition. This fighting has grown much more wide and deeper in the past few years. Those in the front of compromise and sedition who collaborated with Global Arrogance [West] and Israel are taking efforts in tightening the arena for revolutionary artists.”
• Defense Minister IRGC Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan praised martyrdom and said, “The greatness of Islamic Iran is owed to holding alive the culture of sacrifice, martyrdom and resistance.” 

Nuclear Issue

• Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani said, “The nuclear file is still at the hands of the Supreme National Security Council and the Foreign Ministry is only the negotiator, but this file itself has not been transferred to the Foreign Minister.” Larijani then added that the “more concentrated monetary power” of the IRGC Khatam ol-Anbia Construction Base compelled the government to increasingly involve the IRGC in civil projects. 

Economy

• Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh issued a decree excluding ten large Iranian oil and gas companies from the list of companies that have privatization permits, effectively suspending privatization efforts in the Rouhani administration.
• Four recent oil and gas fields have been discovered in southern, western and central Iran, raising reserves from 158 billion to 160 billion barrels of oil.  

Photo of the Day

• Senior government officials and military commanders attend the address of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on implementing “economic resistance” policies.  From second left to right, Senior Military Advisor to the Supreme Leader Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, Artesh Commander Maj. Gen. Ataollah Salehi and First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri.