Iran News Round Up - March 11, 2017

Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei announced that the Damavand, a Mowj-class corvette, the Derafsh, a Sina-class missile boat, were among the ships that entered the port of Makhachkala on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. (ISNA)

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Head Ali Akbar Salehi stated that the Foreign Ministry is pursuing the issue of Britain’s decision to withhold its consent to Iran’s agreement to purchase 900 tons of yellowcake uranium from Kazakhstan. The members of the P5+1 negotiating bloc (U.S., France, Germany, China, Britain, and Russia) must provide their consent to the deal before Iran and Kazakhstan can move forward. Iranian news outlets reported recently that Britain reportedly reneged its consent to the agreement “at the last moments.” (Tasnim News Agency) (E)

IRGC Quds Force Advisor Iraj Masjedi discussed Iraqi political developments, the future of Iran’s involvement in Iraq, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) during a press conference on March 8. Masjedi was appointed Iran’s ambassador to Iraq recently.  

• Masjedi praised the national reconciliation efforts by the National Alliance, the pan-Shi’a political bloc within the Council of Representatives, and stated, “Iran supports these convergences and alliances towards unity in Iraq. I doubt that Baathists can take advantage of the alliance.”
• Masjedi “stated that as in the past, Iran will help strengthen the Iraqi security structure after the liberation of Mosul.” Masjedi stated that “the formation of popular intelligence services and security groups in the different provinces and the use of new equipment could be a big help to providing security.” Masjedi stressed that “Iran can help with the security organizing of Iraq.”  Masjedi also stated that Iran is creating “networks on the Iran-Iraq border” to keep terrorists from entering Iran. Masjedi did not provide a further description of the networks. Masjedi also stated that after the liberation of the Mosul, ISIS will be a “security group.”
• Masjedi indicated that “Iran has always been on the side of all the ethnic groups and the tribes in Iraq,” and stated that “there are efforts to increase convergences in Iraq.” He continued, “If the Kurds see that their needs” are at the attention of “the government and the law, I do not think they will raise the issue” of independence. Masjedi stated, “Fortunately, all the ethnic groups have their own contributions in building the new Iraq; together, they [write] their country’s Constitution and approve this law… Today, the Kurds in Iraq have a good condition. According to the Constitution, they added the Kurdish language and regulate their own autonomous region.” Masjedi stressed that the Iraqi people alone should decide the issue of Kurdistan’s independence, but reiterated Iran’s support for a unified Iraq.
• Masjedi referred to the differences between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and stated, “[Kurdistan Regional President Massoud] Barzani and [KRG Deputy Prime Minister] Qubad Talabani are friends of Iran… We have had good cooperation together; however, the differences which have existed between them... Iran does not welcome this dispute, and has even tried to unify them. Historically, Iraq’s Kurds have shown support for, interest in, and friendship towards the Islamic Republic after the Islamic Revolution.” (Mehr News Agency)

Interim Tehran Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani stated that the “impact of the Resistance Economy” doctrine cannot be limited to “long-term planning,” and must have “effects in the lives of the people” during his sermon on March 10. Emami Kashani praised the Assembly of Experts, who criticized President Hassan Rouhani’s implementation of the Resistance Economy doctrine on March 8, as “the guardians of truth.” Emami Kashani also stated, “Some Islamic rulers in some countries are with the Zionists and Islam’s enemies. These [Islamic rulers] are not people.” (Tasnim News Agency)

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei discussed President Hassan Rouhani’s progress in implementing the Resistance Economy doctrine during a meeting with the Assembly of Experts on March 9.

• Khamenei praised the “remarkable steps” officials such as Rouhani have taken to implement the Resistance Economy. He continued, “If all the necessary steps” regarding the Resistance Economy “had been taken, today, we would have observed a tangible difference in the country’s economic conditions and people’s lives.”
• He stated, “I have told the esteemed president that expressing macro indicators is good, of course, if those figures are not disputable. At any rate, these [indicators] do not affect the life and livelihood of people in the short and medium terms.” Khamenei stressed that the Resistance Economy, “with its strong intellectual and theoretical foundations, is the sole way for solving the country’s problems and it must be implemented.” (Leader.ir) (E) (Leader.ir)