Iran News Round Up - February 21, 2017

Tehran and Moscow began constructing a thermal power plant in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas on February 20. Tasnim News Agency reported that Russia is covering 85% of the project’s financing. The plant is expected to take five years to complete. (Tasnim News Agency) (E)

The IRGC Ground Forces kicked off the “Great Prophet 11” exercises in the Dasht-e Kavir desert in central Iran on February 20. The exercises will run for three days. IRGC Ground Forces Commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour stated that exercises featured the firing of a number of rockets, including the Fajr 3,4, and 5 rockets. (Fars News Agency)

• The IRGC Ground Forces also carried out another exercise “on the sidelines” of the “Great Prophet 11 drills.” The exercises featured defense of “residential areas during simulated urban warfare” in the city of Taybad, Khorasan Razavi province. (Kayhan) (E)

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghassemi reacted to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s February 19 statement at the Munich Security Conference that “Iran wants to turn Syria and Iraq… Shi’ite.” Ghassemi stated, “Those who have carried out meddlesome, illegal, and illegitimate measures, supported terrorist groups, and caused bloodshed and escalation of tensions and instability in the region cannot evade liability for such moves” by blaming other countries. The Foreign Ministry summoned Turkish ambassador to Iran Hakan Tekin in response to Çavuşoğlu’s comments. (Fars News Agency)

• Ghassemi also commented on the state of Russia-U.S. relations. He stated, “There are deep, fundamental, and ideological problems in the relations between the two countries. America is not interested in a powerful Russia.” Ghassemi also criticized Saudi and Israeli representatives’ calls for a renewed effort against Iran at the 53rd Munich Security Conference. Ghassemi claimed that Saudi Arabia and Israel’s “coordinated stances” against Iran were “not accidental,” and accused the two countries of working to “provoke” the international community against Iran. (Tasnim News Agency) (E)

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke at the Sixth International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada, which is taking place in Tehran from February 21-22. Iran’s Parliament organized the conference, and leaders from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Lebanese Hezbollah, as well as heads of Parliament from Syria, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania, were among the attendees.  

• Khamenei stated that the “Resistance” against Israel has achieved “very important phased goals” over the course of previous “intifadas and a continuous resistance.” Khamenei stated that that the “cure” for the “tumor” that is Israel “should be developed in phases, and claimed that a “third intifada” is ongoing.  By “Resistance,” Khamenei is likely referring to a larger amalgamation of anti-Israel countries and entities. It is unlikely he is referring to the “Axis of Resistance,” Iran’s smaller and more exclusive group of proxies and partners such as Lebanese Hezbollah.
• Khamenei dismissed “compromise” of any kind with Israel as the legitimization of “a usurping regime by violating the rights of a nation… a grave and unforgivable mistake in itself.” Khamenei stated that “existing crises in several Islamic countries in the region” - likely a reference to the civil wars in Syria and Yemen - “have caused the support for the issue of Palestine… to be undermined.” Khamenei stressed that neither “differences between Islamic and Arab countries” nor “differences between various Palestinian groups” should interfere in the “ultimate goal” of “the complete freedom of Palestine.” Khamenei also warned, “If a group puts down the flag of Resistance, another group will undoubtedly emerge from the heart of the people of Palestine.”
• Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani stated that Israel “intends to escalate division in the region” as a way of ensuring its survival. (Khamenei.ir) (E) (Tasnim News Agency)

Reformist Former President Mohammad Khatami said that “we should not forget the past, but we should also not remain in the past and [should] focus on preparing for a better future.” Khatami reiterated that Iran must achieve unity in order to overcome the various “threats” it faces, likely in reference to recent comments regarding Iran by President Donald Trump’s administration. Khatami’s statement is likely an indirect response to recent criticism from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other conservatives of Khatami’s “national reconciliation” initiative. (Khatami.ir)

Judiciary Head Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani thanked the Rouhani administration, “especially the Foreign Ministry,” for their “appropriate positions” on “some issues” regarding threats from the U.S. and its allies against Iran, but stated that “at the right and appropriate time, a firmer and more decisive response must be provided.” (Tasnim News Agency)(E)(Asr Ahwaz)

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed recent electricity and water shortages in Ahvaz, a major city in the southwestern province of Khuzestan on the Iran-Iraq border, following several days of protests. Khamenei called on the country’s officials to “address” the shortages, and stated that it is the “definitive, immediate, and permanent duty of governments to think of their people.” Khamenei stated “it is not enough to say that the current situation is the result of previous officials’ indifference… After a while, others will say the same things about us, asking why nothing has been done to solve the people’s problems.” (Khamenei.ir) (E) (Leader.ir)

• Members of Parliament’s Energy Commission, including commission head Abdul Hamid Khedari, convened an extraordinary meeting to discuss the issues in Khuzestan province. Khedari stated that some of the commission’s members, and possibly Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian, and Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, will travel to the province on February 23. (Tasnim News Agency)

Matt McInnis discusses the evolution of Iran’s military doctrine in his latest report, “Iranian concepts of warfare: Understanding Tehran’s evolving military doctrines.”

Fred Kagan argues that the U.S. cannot use Russia to contain Iran in Syria and throughout the Middle East in “Pitting Russia against Iran? Get over it.”