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 Analysts Marie Donovan, Paul Bucala, and Caitlin Shayda Pendleton and contributors Hirad Yaldaei and Ali Javaheri. 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.

Key takeaway: Senior military and political officials commemorated the religious festival of Ashura, which marks the death of the third Shia Imam.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, and IRGC Quds Force Commander Major General Qassem Soleimani attended events marking Ashura in Tehran. Meanwhile, prominent cleric Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi criticized individuals who “have closed their eyes to the crimes in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen” during a speech commemorating Ashura in the city of Mashhad. Iranian media has recently started referring to Raisi as an ayatollah, a rank above his previously-held title of hojjat ol eslam. Some observers have considered his new rank to be a signal that the regime is grooming Raisi to succeed Supreme Leader Khamenei by bolstering his religious credentials. In March 2016, Khamenei also appointed Raisi as head of the Astan Quds Razavi Foundation, a charitable endowment that manages the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad and is worth an estimated $15 billion. A Washington Post article recently described Raisi as a likely candidate to replace Khamenei as the next supreme leader due to his close ties with Iran’s Judiciary and security apparatus.

IRGC Political Deputy Brigadier General Rasoul Sanaei Rad denied a report from the Saudi-owned news network Al Arabiya that an IRGC member from Khuzestan province was “tortured and killed” because he refused to fight in Syria. Sanaei Rad called the rumor a “joke” and claimed that Saudi Arabia chose to spread the rumor “to cover up its latest dirty crimes in Sana’a,” referring to the Saudi-led airstrike in Yemen that killed over 140 individuals and wounded more than 500 on October 8. He added that the IRGC has such a high volume of volunteers to fight in Syria that it “does not have the capability” to send them all.

Artesh Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced that Iran will dispatch the Navy’s 43rd Fleet to Tanzania, South Africa, and into the Atlantic Ocean if “weather conditions” allow. 

AEI Must-Reads

• Paul Bucala and Shayan Enferadi analyze the implications of recent instability in Iranian Kurdistan in “Iran’s Kurdish Insurgency.”
   
• The Critical Threats Project team explains the significance of Iran’s upcoming 2017 presidential election and tracks important electoral developments in “Iran Presidential Election Tracker: Updates and Analysis.”

Domestic Politics

• Officials commemorate Ashura. Astan Quds Razavi Foundation Head Ebrahim Raisi delivered a speech commemorating Ashura in the city of Mashhad. He attributed the world’s “current problems” to those with “dormant consciences” and criticized individuals who “have closed their eyes to the crimes in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.” Astan News reported on October 9 that “Ayatollah Raisi” has begun teaching advanced courses in religious jurisprudence three days a week, suggesting that the religious establishment is attempting to elevate Raisi’s religious credentials. (SNN) (Astan News)
  • President Hassan Rouhani expressed grief for the plight of those affected by the “evil of aggressors and terrorists” during a speech commemorating Ashura in Tehran. Rouhani told reporters that he “hopes that the people of Yemen, who are under brutal bombings by aggressors, and the people of Syria and Iraq, who are facing barbaric attacks by terrorists, can be freed.” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, IRGC Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, and former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also attended Ashura commemorations in Tehran. (Tasnim News Agency) (Khamenei.ir)
     
• Senior cleric says conservatives are uniting. Hojjat ol Eslam Mohammad Taghi Rahbar stated that there are “signs of unity among principlists” during an interview on October 12. Rahbar, who is a member of the central council of the influential Combatant Clergy Association, identified unity as a “requirement” for conservatives to be successful in the upcoming presidential election in May 2017. He called upon conservatives to decide on “one or two” candidates and to “set aside one individual for the benefit of the other in the last stage of the election.” Conservatives have lost the past several elections to a moderate-reformist alliance in part due an inability to unify behind their own candidates. (Tasnim News Agency)
   
• Intelligence minister criticizes misuse of spying allegations. Intelligence Minister Hojjat ol Eslam Mahmoud Alavi asserted that “it is not right to accuse people of spying… when they actually have not conducted espionage according to the experts.” Regime hardliners have repeatedly accused individuals close to the Rouhani administration of espionage in recent months. Alavi, however, did not refer to any specific cases. (ISNA) 

Regional Developments & Diplomacy

• IRGC deputy: We have so many volunteers that we cannot send all of them to Syria. IRGC Political Deputy Brig. Gen. Rasoul Sanaei Rad discussed Iranian deployments to Syria in remarks on October 12. He claimed that “all deployments to Syria are volunteers” and added that the IRGC has such a high volume of volunteers that it “does not have the capability” to send them all. He added, “Today even Artesh soldiers are volunteering to be deployed to Syria and defend the Holy Shine. At the same time, the Basijis are also scrambling to defend the shrine.” Sanaei Rad also dismissed a “rumor” from the Saudi-owned news network Al Arabiya that an IRGC member from the southwestern city of Ahvaz was “tortured and killed” because he refused to fight in Syria. He claimed that the rumor was a product of Saudi propaganda efforts. (Mizan Online)

Economy

• Economy minister: Iran seeks better ties with the World Bank and the IMF. Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Ali Tayyebnia expressed Iran’s desire to increase ties with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after meetings with representatives from European and Asian countries. Tayyebnia noted that he discussed American “disloyalty” in the implementation of the nuclear deal and the need for Euro-Iranian banking relations during the meetings. (IRNA) (E)

Military & Security

• Artesh Navy plans to send ships into the Atlantic. Artesh Navy Commander RADM Habibollah Sayyari announced that Iran will dispatch the Artesh Navy’s 43rd Fleet to Tanzania, South Africa, and into the Atlantic Ocean if “weather conditions” allow. Sayyari announced that the 43rd Fleet will depart after the 42nd Fleet returns to Iran. Sayyari added that the ships will be protecting trade ships and oil tankers from piracy off the African coast. (Fars News Agency) (E)
   
• “Defenders of the Shrine” rally to be held in Tehran. Iranian news outlets reported that a “2000-person” rally will be held in Tehran on October 21 to commemorate casualties from the Fatehin, a Basij special operations unit, in Syria. (Tasnim News Agency)