Iran News Roundup - April 18, 2017

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghassemi addressed England’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 (the U.S., France, Germany, China, Britain, and Russia) must provide their consent to the deal before Iran and Kazakhstan can move forward. Ghassemi stated, “We hope that the British government will consider its obligations under the nuclear deal.” (Ghatreh)

Hardline Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad discussed the recent U.S. airstrikes against Syria and Iran-U.S. relations during an interview with the Associated Press on April 15. Ahmadinejad stated that the airstrikes did not “have a message for Iran. Iran is a powerful country and people like” President Donald Trump or members of his administration “cannot hurt Iran.” Ahmadinejad stated that the Trump administration’s rhetoric regarding Iran was delivered for the purposes of political posturing, and claimed that President Trump would prefer to avoid war with Iran. (AP) (E)

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghassemi commented on the results of the Turkish referendum increasing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s presidential powers. Ghassemi stated, “The discussion of the referendum in Turkey is a domestic discussion… and we will respect anything that the people of Turkey accept.” Ghassemi further stated, “we hope that this referendum will help peace, stability, security, and consensus-building in Turkey.” (ISNA)

Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated that he would create “five million jobs” and more than double the national income. Ghalibaf promised that he would change Iran’s tax system and “implement a comprehensive and detailed plan for solving the urgent problems of low-income people.” (IRNA)

Former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili stressed that his dropping out of the race “does not mean that our work is finished, but rather that it must continue more seriously than in the past.” Jalili noted that he is not running “so that the revolutionary forces become more integrated and the discourse of the revolution is shaped properly… Certainly, one of the candidates is the fittest. Our task is to identify that person and help him…” Jalili ran and lost to President Hassan Rouhani in the 2013 elections. Mehrdad Bazrpash, one of the finalists to represent the conservative Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces, stated that “the country needs to be changed; the status quo is not acceptable for anyone.” (Fars News Agency) (Tabnak)

First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri addressed his and President Hassan Rouhani’s presidential runs during remarks on April 15.  Jahangiri dismissed claims that he is looking to unseat Rouhani, and insisted that his presidential run is “complementary to Rouhani.” Jahangiri stated that it is “unlikely Rouhani will be disqualified.” (Fars News Agency)

Registration for the May 19 presidential elections closed on April 15. Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, current First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri, Parliamentarian Hamid Reza Haji Babaei, and Mohammad Hashemi, a brother of the late Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, were among the candidates who entered in the final days of the registration period. (Fars News Agency) (E)

Marie Donovan considers former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reasons for registering in the 2017 presidential elections in “Why is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running for president again?”