A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by AEI Critical Threats Project Iran Analyst Will Fulton and Iran Intern Amir Toumaj, with contributor John Lesnewich. 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

Diplomacy and Regional Developments

Military and Security

  • Senior Military Adviser to the Supreme Leader Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi discussed passive defense and future threats at the sixth Iranian Geopolitics Association Congress:
    • “At the present moment, threats have expanded from the military to other arenas and threats are forming with a new form and different shape. These threats are moving from the military arena to economic, cyber, cultural and soft war arenas.”
    • “Passive defense must seek to observe and monitor threats, identify their types, and take the necessary measures to confront threats with a preventive look before the country faces this threat, causing internal effects.” http://farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13920807000278
  • Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan discussed recent meetings with foreign military delegations, future satellite launches, the Iran-Russia S-300 anti-aircraft missile agreement, and naval defense at the 15th Naval Industry Conference, which President Rouhani attended:
    • “In these meetings, we pursued the expansion and activation of Iran’s military and defense diplomacy, the goal of which is creating stability and security in the region. We gave them the message that Iran is not a threat to regional countries, that spreading anti-Iranian thought is not beneficial and that it is foreigners who can create instability in the region. This diplomacy aids in alleviating misunderstandings or suspicions between Iran and other countries and causes the creation of increased trust between the sides.”
    • “At the present moment, we have an acceptable capabilities in constructing transports and managing and launching satellites…. We are prepared for the next satellite launch, which will be executed at an appropriate time.”
    • “Russia must act upon its obligations regarding the S-300 agreement and the recommendations of America and its allies must not prevent the implementation of this agreement, especially since it was signed before the issuing of [UN] Security Council resolutions [which Moscow cites as the reason it has not executed this agreement].”
    • “To the degree that we invest in coastal regions and naval manufacturing, we can raise national security to the same degree.”
    • “If we want to consider enjoying the security of oil resources, we must be sufficiently powerful in naval fields in order to achieve a level of deterrence against the enemy.”
    • “The best naval missile systems and most advanced submarines have been constructed for defense of our borders, and for protection, stability, and peace in the region,.” 
    • “The countries surrounding us do not dare attack our borders, and even American cannot militarily attack our country on the ground.” 
  • Head of the Armed Forces General Staff Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi criticized statements made by several US officials, saying they were made with the “logic of the era of slavery”:
    • “The logic of John Kerry, US Secretary of State, is the logic of the era of slavery. He says that we must undertake anything for American interests.”
    • “Are the American people your slaves such that you can spy on them in different ways? Are the people of France and Germany your slaves, such that you allow the officials and people of France and Germany to be spied on?”
    • “What happened in Syria showed that some of your calculations are not correct and are stricken with egregious errors. Therefore, returning to the logic of freedom and equality and moving in the framework of international law is the correct path that you must choose.”
    • “Today, the curtain of the American government’s hegemony and arrogance has been moved to the side, its movements and speech exposed, and public opinion of the world awakened.” 
  • The first Intelligence Coordination Council meeting of the Rouhani Administration took place earlier today. The council is composed of Intelligence Ministry and armed forces intelligence officials and is chaired by Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Mahmoud Alavi. Mr. Alavi emphasized proportionate responses to intelligence events and said, “To confront intelligence events, novel and different methods than in the past must be used. To this end, codifying a comprehensive long-term document for the intelligence community with attention to new circumstances and transformations is necessary.” 
  • In an interview with the IRGC’s weekly newspaper Sobh-e Sadegh, Sadegh Sadegh Daghighi, who directed the Iran-Iraq War era film, “The Small Big Man” in his debut, lamented the lack of officials’ support for Iran-Iraq War era movies and said that IRGC and Basiji support can proliferate “value movies” within Iranian cinema with their support. 

Nuclear Issue

Economy

Photo of the Day