Iran News Round Up - January 18, 2017

Artesh Navy Commander RADM Habibollah Sayyari stated, “The presence of [Iran’s] Navy in South Africa signals Iran’s power.” The Artesh Navy 44th Fleet docked at the city of Durban, South Africa, in November 2016. Sayyari claimed that the fleet entered the Atlantic Ocean during that trip. (ISNA)

Russia’s Inter RAO signed a contract to renovate a power plant in Khuzestan province. Tekhnopromexpor, a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned company Rostec, agreed to build a 1,400-megawatt power plant in Bandar Abbas. (Press TV) (E)

The European Council removed sanctions against Oil Industry Pension Fund Investment Company, West Sun Trade, Neka Novin, and the London-based Bank Saderat PLC on the one-year anniversary of the implementation of the nuclear deal. (ISNA)

First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri and Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis presided over the signing of five "economic expansion" agreements between their two countries. The agreements allow Iran to open a mobile service provider and establish an industrial oil storage facility in Syria. The agreements also provide Iran with “5,000 hectares of farmland” and rights to operate phosphate mines in Sharqiya, located near Palmyra. Khamis and a large business delegation traveled to Iran on January 17 to discuss Syria's economic development after the civil war. (Press TV) (E)

Reza Soleimani, the public relations director for the Expediency Discernment Council (EDC), announced that the EDC will cancel its biweekly meetings due to Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s death on January 8. Rafsanjani had been chairman of the EDC since the council’s creation in 1987. The EDC is constitutionally tasked with advising the Supreme Leader and mediating legislative disputes between the Guardian Council and Parliament. (IRNA)

Guardian Council member Nejatollah Ebrahimian announced that the council has not formally “discussed” the qualifications of President Hassan Rouhani to run for a second term in the upcoming presidential elections. Ebrahimian’s comments follow Guardian Council Spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodaei’s January 4 remark that sitting presidents are not guaranteed approval to run for second term. It is unlikely that the Guardian Council would disqualify Rouhani, however, given the regime leadership’s interest in ensuring political stability. (Tabnak)

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghassemi condemned Bahrain’s execution of three Shia men convicted of a 2014 bombing that killed one Emirati and two Bahraini police officers. The execution sparked protests in Bahrain. The move follows a prison-break of Bahraini Shia detainees on January 1, possibly indicating an expansion of Iranian-backed militant activity on the island. (MFA)

• SNSC Secretary Ali Shamkhani, meanwhile, stressed that Iran “does not pursue the overthrow of the house of Saud” during a recent interview. He added that the “fall of the House of Saud does not mean that its replacement would be better… The government’s fall would likely lead to the partition of Saudi Arabia, and extremist-ISIS ideology would govern large parts of the country.” (Fars News Agency)

The Foreign Ministry sent its fourth report on the implementation of the nuclear deal to Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy (NSFP) Commission. The report identifies the election of Donald Trump, Congress’s renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act, and “Iranophobia” as challenges facing the nuclear deal. The report states that Trump’s election discouraged foreign companies from partnering with Iran by creating uncertainty about the deal’s future. The report also emphasizes Iran’s economic achievements following the nuclear deal, particularly regarding oil, however. The Foreign Ministry is required to release reports on the nuclear deal’s implementation every three months. (Entekhab)

President Hassan Rouhani responded to a question on President-elect Donald Trump’s pledges to renegotiate or dismantle the nuclear deal during a press conference on January 17. Rouhani dismissed Trump’s remarks as “mostly slogans.” Rouhani also rejected the notion of reviving negotiations over the deal as “meaningless” and noted that the deal is not a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Iran. Separately, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Head Ali Akbar Salehi stressed that Iran “will not be the first party to violate the accord” and claimed that Iran does not take Trump’s stances “seriously.” (Tasnim News Agency) (E) (Ghatreh)

President Hassan Rouhani discussed developments in Syria with Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis in Tehran on January 18. Rouhani hailed the upcoming talks in Astana as the “the real start of peace talks for Syrians.” Khamis, meanwhile, credited the capture of Aleppo as the “result of enduring and unconditional support from Iran.” (Fars News Agency)

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated that Iran is “opposed” to America’s presence at peace talks on the Syrian conflict in Astana, Kazakhstan next week.

• Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Ali Shamkhani similarly stated that “there is no reason for America’s participation in the leadership, management, or guidance of current policy initiatives of the Syrian crisis.” Shamkhani stressed that “Iran, which has had the primary role in supporting the legitimate government of Syria in the fight against terrorism, will have a strong and active presence in the political process, including the Astana talks.” 
• Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Supreme Leader Ali Akbar Velayati praised the Astana talks as “the result of the victories of the government and the nation of Syria and their allies” during a meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis on January 18. Velayati stated that there is “growing concern that tomorrow Saudi Arabia and Qatar will be present at the [Astana] negotiations despite their involvement in creating and equipping terrorists.” Velayati also said that the Syrian ceasefire recently brokered by Russia and Syria is a “positive step, provided it does not provide the terrorists with an opportunity to rebuild.” (Tasnim News Agency) (E) (Tasnim News Agency) (Mashregh News Agency) 

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.”