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: IRGC Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani praised Iran’s role in Syria as defending the region from ISIS and criticized Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince for downplaying the threat of terrorism.

IRGC Major General Soleimani spoke at a mourning ceremony for an Iranian brigadier general killed in Syria last year. He stated, “We are not just defending Syria. We are defending Islam and the Islamic Republic... If we had not faced these groups in Syria, all of these regions would be fighting ISIS.” He also claimed that Mohammad bin Salman al Saud, the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia, is “hotheaded” and considers the Iran-Syria relationship to be more dangerous than ISIS. Soleimani has become increasingly vocal on political issues over the summer but recentlyindicated that he will not run for office.

The IRGC Navy issued a statement warning Saudi Arabia that Iran “will not tolerate any provocative movement” of Saudi vessels in the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia began naval wargames in the Gulf on October 4. The IRGC’s statement accuses Saudi Arabia of “undermining security” and “escalating tensions” in the Persian Gulf, where Iran has repeatedly asserted itself as the guarantor of security. The statement is the latest iteration in tension between the two countries. A senior Iranian defense official called Saudi Arabia the “main threat” against Iran in remarks on October 3, a day before the naval exercises began.

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.”
   
• J. Matthew McInnis argues that Iran has likely recognized its limit in managing Iraq’s fractious political sphere in “Big questions in Iran’s great Iraq game.”

Regional Developments & Diplomacy

• Soleimani defends Iranian involvement in Syria. IRGC Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani delivered a speech during a mourning ceremony for IRGC Brig. Gen. Hossein Hamedani, who was killed in the vicinity of Aleppo city on October 8, 2015. Soleimani stated that he was with Hamedani “hours” before his death and praised Hamedani for being an “important influence” on Iran’s “victories” over terrorist groups. Soleimani called ISIS “worse than the Kharijites,” a Muslim sect that rebelled against early caliphs and assassinated Imam Ali in the seventh century, and stated, “We are not just defending Syria. We are defending Islam and the Islamic Republic... If we did not face these groups in Syria, all of these regions would be fighting ISIS… Today the takfiris have been defeated or are currently being defeated on all fronts.”
  • Soleimani also stated that Mohammad bin Salman al Saud, the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia, “is hotheaded, and he might kill the king [Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud] himself.” He also claimed that the deputy crown prince once called Iranian-Syrian relations more problematic than ISIS. Soleimani stated that Mohammad bin Salman told a Syrian official that if Syria “ended its relationship with Iran, all of this will be over.” (Fars News Agency)
     
• Zarif and Larijani cancel meetings with visiting German minister. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani cancelled their meetings with German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel in Tehran on October 4. No official reason was given. An Iranian state news agency reported that the cancellation was caused by Zarif’s “busy schedule.” Gabriel made several controversial remarks before his trip, however. Before arriving in Tehran, Gabriel told a German magazine that Iranian-German relations could improve only after Iran “accepts Israel’s right to exist,” called for Iran to act “responsibly” in Syria, and claimed that the alternative to moderate President Hassan Rouhani’s administration is “a return to the times of great confrontation.” On October 3, Judiciary Head Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani claimed that Gabriel should have been denied admittance to the country after his criticism of Iran’s human rights record. (Press TV) (E)
  • Separately, Larijani met with Iraqi National Intelligence Service Head Mustafa Kadhimi on October 4. Larijani stated that Iran’s policy in Iraq is to promote solidarity among Iraqi groups and added, “Some Western leaders believe that they can put an end to their problems in the region by dividing up countries, while this is a completely wrong idea.” (Press TV) (E)
     
• Foreign Ministry denies supplying Houthis with rockets. Foreign Ministry Spokesman  Bahram Ghassemi denied a claim from U.S. officials that Iran supplied the Houthis with “shoulder-fired rockets” that recently struck a UAE ship. Ghassemi added that the U.S. should not “make accusations” when American weaponry is “being used to kill thousands of innocent people” in Yemen. (Tasnim News Agency) (E) 
   
• Iranian ambassador to Russia calls for enhanced security cooperation. Mehdi Sanaei called for increased security relations with Russia “as terrorism and extremism are two factors hindering stability and security” in the two countries. Tehran’s ambassador to Moscow made the comments during a ceremony commemorating Iran’s National Police Week in the Russian capital. (Fars News Agency) (E)
   
• Rouhani begins Southeast Asia tour. President Hassan Rouhani arrived in Vietnam with a political and economic delegation on October 5. He is expected to sign several bilateral agreements during the trips. He will also visit Thailand and Malaysia, where Rouhani stated he is eager to revive relations. (Jamaran)

Military & Security

• IRGC Navy warns Saudi Arabia over exercises in Persian Gulf. The IRGC Navy issued a statement asserting that Iran “will not tolerate any provocative movement” of Saudi vessels participating in ongoing wargames in the Persian Gulf. The statement accuses Saudi Arabia of “undermining security” and “escalating tensions” in the Persian Gulf. It also warns Saudi vessels to refrain from passing through or even “approaching” Iranian territorial waters. The statement notes that the IRGC Navy is “in full combat readiness to maintain sustainable security in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz and will promptly and powerfully respond to any Saudi vessel disrupting the security of Iranian territorial waters.” (IRNA) (E) (Tasnim News Agency)
   
• Thirty-nine dual citizens fired from government posts. Hossein Naghavi Hosseini, the spokesman for Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, claimed that the Ministry of Intelligence and Security investigated 79 civil servants that held dual nationality. He added that 39 were fired from their positions. (Damadam) 

Casualties in Iraq & Syria

• Four Pakistani and Afghan fighters buried in Qom. Iran news outlets reported that four members of the Afghan Shia militia Fatimiyoun Brigade and the Pakistan Shia militia Zainabiyoun Brigade were buried in the city of Qom. All four were reported to have been killed in Syria. (Serat News)