Iran News Round Up - January 12, 2017

Parliament voted to approve a cap on salaries and benefits for managers of government agencies on January 12. The move is the latest development in a scandal in which leaked documents revealed that certain government employees had been receiving excessively high salaries. The controversy hurt both President Hassan Rouhani, who portrays himself as an anti-corruption candidate, as well as hardliners, who faced accusations that the astronomical salaries began under former hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Corruption and the Iranian economy will be leading issues in the May 2017 presidential election. (Alef)

Reformist daily Shargh featured an editorial praising the role of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died on January 8, in securing and supporting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The editorial read, “Any person or tribune that analyzes the role of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani must reflect on his position toward the nuclear agreement and JCPOA. Ayatollah Hashemi believed in interaction with other countries and reducing tensions… From the beginning of Hassan Rouhani’s election and the start of nuclear negotiations, one could call the Ayatollah the nuclear agreement’s greatest defender.” (Shargh)

IRGC Brig. Gen. Mohammad Ali Haghbin hailed Iran’s efforts in Syria during a sports competition in Gilan province. The IRGC 16th Quds Division Commander praised the “defenders of the shrine” for breaking the opposition’s siege of the towns of al Zahra and Nubl north of Aleppo in February 2016. Iran lost over 40 fighters during the first half of February, most of them likely involved in that operation. Soldiers from the IRGC 16th Quds Division have also deployed to Syria over the last year. Haghbin noted that if Iran was not involved Syria, the “enemy would certainly attack our country.” Haghbin’s comments highlight Iran’s existential interest in supporting Bashar al Assad’s regime. (Tasnim News Agency)

 IRGC Brig. Gen. Mohammad Jafar Assadi claimed that “the Islamic Defense has reached the Mediterranean” during a ceremony commemorating IRGC Ground Forces Commander Brig. Gen. Ahmad Kazemi, who was killed in a plane crash in 2006. Iranian opposition groups have claimed that Assadi is one of Iran’s top commanders in Syria. News agencies described Assadi during the ceremony as “a senior advisor to the head of Khatam ol Anbia Central Headquarters.” Khatam ol Anbia Central Headquarters is situated at the top of Iran’s operational chain of command and is charged with interservice command and control of IRGC and Artesh units. In June and July of 2016, Khamenei institutionalized Khatam ol Anbia’s role in the chain of command by separating its leadership from the Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) and staffing the headquarters with long-time professional officers. For more on the role of Khatam ol Anbia within the Iranian military, please see “A New Era for Iran’s Military Leadership.” Assadi is also a former IRGC Ground Forces commander and is a member of the IRGC Command Network. (Fars News Agency)

 President Hassan Rouhani discussed developments in Syria and the upcoming peace talks in Kazakhstan during a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on January 12. (Tasnim News Agency)

Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), provided further details on the January 10 meeting of the nuclear deal’s Joint Commission during a televised interview. Kamalvandi claimed that U.S. officials “promised other members of this commission that the renewed Iran Sanctions Act [ISA] will not have any practical impact.” Congress voted to extend the ISA for another ten years in late 2016. Top Iranian officials repeatedly criticized the move by claiming that its renewal violates the nuclear deal. (IRINN)

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.”

Paul Bucala and Caitlin Shayda Pendleton discuss how Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s death will upend Iran’s political landscape in “What Rafsanjani’s death means for the Supreme Leader’s succession.”