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 contributor 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 regime officials downplayed Iran’s military support for al Houthi forces in Yemen, despite evidence of likely Iranian involvement in missile attacks against U.S. Navy warships off the Yemeni coast. 

Hojjat ol Eslam Ali Saidi, the Supreme Leader’s representative to the IRGC, stated, “The conditions in Yemen do not require the IRGC to be present [in Yemen]. We also have not received requests for help in this field as well. The IRGC does not have any plans for this either.” Senior Military Advisor to the Supreme Leader Major General Hassan Firouzabadi claimed that Iran “does not have a military presence at all in Yemen.” Iran likely supplied al Houthi forces with the missiles fired against U.S. Navy warships, according to several U.S. officials. Al Houthi forces could have also used older anti-ship cruise missiles previously in service with the Yemeni Navy, but they probably received training or other technical assistance from Iran or Hezbollah. During a briefing on October 11, State Department Spokesman John Kirby acknowledged that Iran had supplied al Houthi forces with missiles that were launched at Saudi Arabia. For more on Iran’s support of al Houthi forces, please see “Signaling Saudi Arabia: Iranian Support to Yemen’s al Houthis.”

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued 18 guidelines for Iran’s electoral process, including a reiteration of the ban on the armed forces interfering in elections. IRGC Political Deputy Brigadier General Rasoul Sanaei Rad issued a statement confirming that the IRGC’s role in the elections will be limited to “explanation and clarification” and will not “enter or interfere with political divisions.” Iranian law prohibits IRGC members from engaging in political activity. Separately, Parliament passed a resolution limiting the timeframe in which the Guardian Council can disqualify electoral candidates. The council must approve the resolution before it can take effect.

Iranian news outlets reported that an Iranian cleric was killed in Hama governorate, Syria. This is at least the second Iranian casualty in Hama governorate in recent months. The majority of Iranian casualties in that time period have been reported around Aleppo, where pro-regime forces have launched ground operations to seize the city.

AEI Must-Reads

• Katherine Zimmerman and Emily Estelle explain the escalations in the Red Sea in the context of broader regional conflicts and the risk to the U.S. in their latest piece, “Escalation in the Red Sea: Yemen’s Civil War, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.”
   
• Paul Bucala and Shayan Enferadi analyze the implications of recent instability in Iranian Kurdistan in “Iran’s Kurdish Insurgency.”
   
• J. Matthew McInnis argues that Washington should expect a new range of potentially escalatory behaviors from Iranian naval forces in “Five reasons the Middle East is becoming more dangerous for the US Navy.”
   
• 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.”

Regional Developments & Diplomacy

• Officials deny military presence in Yemen. Hojjat ol Eslam Ali Saidi, the Supreme Leader’s representative to the IRGC, stated, “The conditions in Yemen do not require the IRGC to be present [in Yemen]. We also have not received requests for help in this field as well. The IRGC does not have any plans for this either.” Saidi added, however, that “the people of Yemen and Ansar Allah  have the ability to respond to the ruthless crimes of the Saudi regime.” Ansar Allah is the political wing of the al Houthi rebel group. Meanwhile, Senior Military Advisor to the Supreme Leader Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi claimed that Iran “does not have a military presence at all in Yemen.” Firouzabadi noted that Iran has only dispatched “medical supplies” to Yemen and “politically supports Yemen’s legal government and people.” (IMNA) (Fars News Agency) 
   
• IRGC political deputy praises Houthis’ missile capabilities. IRGC Political Deputy Brig. Gen. Rasoul Sanaei Rad stated, “Nowadays, Saudi Arabia has entered an economic war in Yemen. It has not been able to advance its efforts, however. The missile offensive of Ansar Allah and the Yemeni army has disrupted all of their calculations.” Sanaei Rad was likely referring to the Houthis’ cross-border missile attacks against Saudi Arabia. (Defa Press)
   
• Jazayeri criticizes Kerry’s comments on Iran’s support for Hezbollah and Assad. Armed Forces General Staff Deputy IRGC Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazayeri dismissed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s statement that Iran’s recent missile activities, its involvement in Yemen, and support for the Assad regime and for Hezbollah “hugely complicate” international efforts to assist Iran in improving its economic transparency and banking system. Jazayeri stated that Kerry’s “venting about the Islamic Republic of Iran’s defensive capabilities does not solve any problems.” Jazayeri said that America’s presence in the region is “the tumor of a malignant cancer” and that “the only way to cure” the cancer is by “removing the tumor and expelling the U.S. from the region.” (Tasnim News Agency)
   
• Quds force commander pictured with Kata’ib Hezbollah commander. Iranian news sites circulated a photo of IRGC Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani accompanying Kata'ib Hezbollah leader and Deputy Chairman of the Popular Mobilization Commission Abu Mahdi al Muhandis. The release of the image coincides with the announcement that Iraqi forces have launched an operation to retake the city of Mosul, which has been under ISIS control since June 2014. There are concerns that the participation of Shia militias in the operation could lead to increased sectarian tensions, however. (ABNA)

Domestic Politics

• Parliament re-approves resolution limiting Guardian Council’s vetting powers. Parliament passed a revised resolution limiting the timeframe in which the Guardian Council can disqualify electoral candidates on October 16. The resolution asserts that Iran’s current electoral laws prohibit the Guardian Council from disqualifying candidates after it completes its final round of qualifications review, which is scheduled to take place before each election day. The resolution follows a controversy from the parliamentary elections in the spring of 2016, when the council made the unprecedented move of disqualifying a reformist candidate after she had already won a seat. The Guardian Council, which has veto power over all parliamentary legislation, rejected an earlier version of the resolution in mid-September. The revised resolution passed on October 16 must go to the Guardian Council for review again. The council is unlikely to approve the resolution, as Guardian Council Chairman Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati has previously defended the Guardian Council’s decision to disqualify the reformist candidate after election day.
  • Moderate-conservative Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Motahari, who supports the resolution, stated that the Guardian Council may nonetheless approve the resolution because a representative from the council was present while the revisions were being made. Motahari also vowed that Parliament would send the resolution to the Expediency Discernment Council, which mediates disputes between Parliament and the Guardian Council, if the Guardian Council vetoes the resolution again. (Tasnim News Agency) (Hamshahri)
     
• Khamenei releases election guidelines. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei released 18 general guidelines for elections on October 15. The guidelines focus partially on campaign financing. They prohibit electoral candidates from receiving “support and resources from foreigners” and also call for financial transparency in campaigns. The Guardian Council has previously warned of small-scale “vote-buying” problems in the spring 2016 elections.
  • Khamenei also called for the “accurate vetting of candidates” and reiterated the Guardian Council’s “final say in approving candidates,” “investigating complaints,” and “confirming or annulling elections.” The guidelines also state that the Guardian Council must provide written explanations of its decisions when responding to disqualified candidates’ requests for reconsideration. Politicians have called for greater transparency in the Guardian Council’s management of elections.
  • Principlist parliamentarians attempted to block the passage of the resolution limiting the Guardian Council’s vetting powers on October 16 by calling the resolution a violation of the Supreme Leader’s guidelines, which empower the Guardian Council to supervise the “processes, dimensions, and stages” of the elections. The guidelines also call for “relative stability” in electoral regulations and for changes to receive the support of a two-thirds majority in Parliament. The October 16 resolution received only 151 votes in favor, falling short of the 194 that would be needed in a two-thirds majority. (Tasnim News Agency) (Kayhan) (Raja News)
  • The guidelines also bar the armed forces from interfering in elections. IRGC Political Deputy Brig. Gen. Rasoul Sanaei Rad issued a statement confirming that the IRGC’s role in the elections will be limited to “explanation and clarification” and will not “enter or interfere with political divisions.” (Asr Iran)   
     
• Soleimani to meet with moderate-reformist faction. Parliamentarians in the moderate-reformist faction will meet with IRGC Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani on October 23, according to the faction’s spokesman. They will reportedly “have conversations about security issues.” The spokesman added that the faction will also meet with President Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet at an unspecified date. (Ana)

Military & Security

• Artesh Navy repels two pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden. The Artesh Navy 44th Fleet reportedly repelled a multi-phased attack on Iranian merchant ships by “pirates from the Gulf of Aden, primarily the Somali coast,” on October 17. In the first phase, eight pirate ships attacked an Iranian ship “46 miles south of Aden.” In the second phase, 13 ships attacked an Iranian ship “55 miles south of Aden.” The pirates “fled” after the two sides conducted “an extensive exchange of fire” in both attacks. The 44th Fleet consists of the frigate Alvand and the support vessel Bushehr. Iran dispatched the fleet to the Bab el Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden in early October in order to “protect trade vessels traversing the area.” It is possible that these reports are intended to justify the deployment of the 44th Fleet off the Yemeni coast, where the U.S. has launched cruise-missile strikes against radar sites in al Houthi-controlled areas. (Tasnim News Agency) 
   
• Iran and Azerbaijan preparing to hold joint naval drills. An Iranian Navy fleet departed for the Azerbaijani capital of Baku on October 16. The Iranian vessels also held a joint naval exercise with the Azerbaijani Navy. (Tasnim News Agency)
   
• Artesh Air Force kicks off three-day drill in Esfahan province. The Artesh Air Force began a three-day exercise called “Followers of the Velayat 6” in Esfahan province on October 17. Su-24s, F-4s, F-5s, MiG-29s, and F-14s participated in the drill, along with Boeing 747 and 707 aerial refueling aircraft, “a variety of drones,” and C-130 transport aircraft. (Fars News Agency) (Fars News Agency) 
   
• New Artesh Ground Forces coordination deputy appointed. Artesh Ground Forces Commander Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Pourdastan announced that Artesh Brig. Gen. Nozar Nemati will replace Artesh Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Arasteh as the new Artesh Ground Forces coordination deputy. Nemati was previously the commander of the Artesh 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade. (Tasnim News Agency)

Economy

• Iran Air plane sale delayed. Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araghchi said that the delivery of planes from Boeing and Airbus to Iran Air depends on the “finalization of negotiations” and sorting out of “technical and legal issues.” The U.S. Treasury Department approved a deal signed in January between Iran and the airline manufacturers, although many complications remain. Araghchi stated that Iran Air is  expected to receive the planes in the near future. (Press TV) (E)

Casualties in Iraq & Syria

• Four Pakistanis buried in Qom. Four members of the Pakistani Shia militia Zainabiyoun Brigade were buried in the city of Qom. They were killed in Syria. (Jamaran)
   
• Cleric buried in Qom. An Iranian cleric, Said Bayazi Zadeh, was reportedly killed in Hama governorate, Syria. He was also buried in Qom. (Tasnim News Agency)