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. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

(E) = Article in English

Politics

• Representative of the Supreme Leader in Kerman province and Kerman Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Yahya Jafari said during a meeting with Tehran Mayor and presidential candidate Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, “One night [I] was with [Quds Force Commander] Haj Qassem Suleimani and I asked him, 'Who will you vote for?' Haj Qassem Suleimani said 'Qalibaf.' I also said I would vote for Qalibaf.” 
• Head of IRGC Public Relations BG 2C Ramezan Sharif said in response to the report about Suleimani's support for Qalibaf, “The IRGC cannot confirm news related to remarks that friends in some corners are attributing to IRGC commanders.”
  
  • When Sharif was asked by another agency if it is true that he had denied Suleimani made such remarks, Sharif said, "I have not used such words.This has been the mistaken misperception of the media."
• Presidential candidate Gholam Ali Haddad Adel announced that, if elected, his first foreign state visit will be Syria, and added, “The Syrian people and government are the model for the success of Islamic resistance.”
• 2+1 Coalition members Ali Akbar Velayati, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, and Gholam Ali Haddad Adel met with the head of the Assembly of Experts Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani and announced that each presidential candidate would remain in the race, backtracking from previous promises to introduce a single candidate. 
• Head of the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazi endorsed the candidacy of Supreme National Security Council Secretary Said Jalili.
• Jalili met with fifty Steadfastness Front and Principlist MPs and said, “We vehemently avoid anyone who deviates from the Supreme Leader and cannot accept anyone, especially in the government, who takes an angle [away] from him.”

Regional Developments

• Twenty-one bombs reportedly exploded in Shi'a neighborhoods in Baghdad, leaving 176 dead and wounded.
• According to Ahlul Bayt News Agency, the Syrian army is in control of 80% of the city of al-Qusayr, a week after launching the offensive to capture the rebel-held stronghold. 
• 200 “armed terrorists” have been reportedly killed while attempting to capture Aleppo’s central prison in northern Syria. 
• In a statement, Lebanese Hezbollah condemned the alleged killing of three Lebanese army soldiers by Syrian opposition forces and declared its support for army measures to restore stability in Lebanon. 
• Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir warned South Sudan that it would cut off oil exports if South Sudan continues supporting rebels inside Sudan.

Diplomacy

• Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Akbar Salehi met with his Indonesian counterpart, characterized the Syrian crisis as the most important international issue and criticized “some countries” for arming “extremist groups” in Syria.  
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Abbas Ali Eraghchi criticized the EU for lifting the prohibition of arms transfers to the Syrian opposition and said, “Saudi accusations [of Iranian spy activities in the kingdom] do not resolve regional issues.” Regarding recent Bahrain official statements that prohibited Bahraini opposition connections with Lebanese Hezbollah, Eragchi said, “These statements are unfortunate. Hezbollah is a strong movement against all Muslims’ common enemy, meaning the Zionist regime. It is a primary member and component of the axis of resistance, and all measures, battles, and jihads it has undertaken have been against...the Zionist regime. It has done that to help Lebanon’s security, stability, unity, and territorial integrity.” 

Military and Security

• Head of the Basij Organization BG Mohammad Reza Naghdi stated, “On the security front, both America and its allies have started a total war against the Islamic Republic of Iran. They should be certain that they will suffer a humiliating defeat.” 
• Deputy Representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC Hojjat al-Eslam Abdollah Haji Sadeghi said that the IRGC will not support a specific candidate but that “at the same time it has never been indifferent to principles and values and will plainly explain indicators.”
• Law Enforcement Forces Commander BG Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam announced that 300,000 forces will provide security for the upcoming June 14 presidential elections.

Economy

• A week after the Russian energy company Gazprom purchased the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, Armenian Prime Minister Tygran Sargsyan announced the cessation of gas imports from Iran due to high prices, but National Iranian Gas Company executives denied any suspension in gas exports to Armenia. 
• According to ISNA, the female workforce has decreased by 900,000 and only one in 3.7 Iranians have income.

Photo of the Day

• Presidential candidate Said Jalili meets with members of Parliament.