Iran News Round Up - July 27, 2017

Fatemiyoun Brigade fighter Ali Ahmad Ebrahimi was buried in Zamanabad near Ray, Tehran Province. Ebrahimi was reportedly killed in Syria. (ABNA)

Forces from the IRGC 33rd al Mahdi Special Forces Brigade undertook exercises in China in preparation for this year’s International Army Games. (Tasnim News Agency)

Artesh Ground Forces Commander Brig. Gen. Kiomars Heydari provided details of a restructuring under his command in remarks on July 26. Haydari stated that General Staff Chiefs had ordered the “offensive and mobile elements” of infantry forces to be emphasized and that “accordingly, 21 mobile assault brigades have been created in the Ground Forces. An ‘infantry brigade’ no longer exists in accordance with [its] old meaning; all brigades have been made into mobile [assault brigades].” (Mehr News Agency)

Minister of Industry, Mines, and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh stated that he will not be a minister in President Hassan Rouhani’s second-term cabinet, but would be open to another post that entails “lighter responsibility.” Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi stated that he will not retain his position in Rouhani’s second-term cabinet. (Tasnim News Agency) (Tasnim News Agency)

Hamid Baghaei, a former Vice President under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was released from prison on a bail of 20 billion toman ($6.1 million) and transferred to a hospital due to poor health. (Radio Farda)

Basij Organization Commander IRGC Brig. Gen. Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar stated that atmosphere was “friendly and intimate” in the meeting between senior IRGC commanders and President Hassan Rouhani and affirmed the IRGC’s readiness to cooperate with Rouhani’s government. (Mehr News Agency)

Government Spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht commented on President Hassan Rouhani’s meeting with top IRGC commanders on July 24. Nobakht stated that the “spirit of the meeting was very good and proper.” He stressed that “without a doubt institutions as well as different [military] forces must stand beside one another” in order for the country to complete large projects. (ISNA)

Reformist leader Mehdi Karroubi was reportedly hospitalized on July 24 following a heart attack. Karroubi has been hospitalized six times since his house arrest began in 2009 for his role in the Green Movement after the 2009 presidential elections. (BBC Persian)

• Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Motahari responded to new of Karroubi’s hospitalization and commented that it was “a good opportunity… to bring the sad story of his house arrest to an end.” (BBC Persian)

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari met with Karbala provincial governor Aghil Tarihi on July 25 as part of a trip to Iraq. The two parties reportedly discussed matters relating to pilgrims in the region as well as “civil” relations between Iran and Iraq. Jaberi Ansari also met with officials working on the renovation of the Imam Hossein Shrine at Karbala. (Mehr News Agency)

Iranian and Turkish officials signed a memorandum of understanding on security cooperation after a two-day meeting in Tehran. The two sides agreed to coordinate against terrorism, smuggling, and illegal immigration on their borders. (Tasnim News Agency)

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani met with former Duma Speaker and Foreign Intelligence Service head Sergey Naryshkin in Moscow. (Mehr News Agency)

• Senior foreign policy advisor to the Parliament Speaker Hossein Amir Abdollahian met with the Duma’s Russo-Iranian Friendship Group Head Gennady Sklar in Moscow. Abdollahian stated that “Russia… should play a greater part in regional developments” and called the meeting “constructive.” (ISNA)
• Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi met with representatives from Russia’s state nuclear power corporation Rosatom to discuss the two countries’ nuclear cooperation. (ILNA)

Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission head Alaeddin Boroujerdi and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc head Mohammad Raad in Tehran. Zarif congratulated Raad on Hezbollah’s gains against Jabhat Fatah al Sham in Arsal in northeast Lebanon. (Tasnim News Agency) (IRNA)

U.S. sources reported that the coastal patrol ship USS Thunderbolt fired warning shots at an IRGC vessel after the IRGC vessel came into close proximity with the U.S. ship during a training exercise off the coast of Bushehr in the Persian Gulf. IRGC sources responded to these reports and stated that U.S. actions were “provocative and unprofessional” and that the IRGC was successful in removing the ships from the area. (Radio Farda) (IRNA)

President Hassan Rouhani addressed the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of a bill imposing new sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program and the IRGC in remarks to his cabinet on July 26. Rouhani accused the U.S. government of “continued hostility towards... [Iran] and the people of Iran.” He added that Iran will “respond as is necessary” in the face of the sanctions. Rouhani stressed that America “used every excuse to impose new sanctions against the nation of Iran” and commented that Iran “will reinforce all of its defensive weapons” regardless of external pressure. (President.ir)

• Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani criticized the sanctions vote during a meeting with the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc (Hezbollah’s political wing in the Lebanese parliament) head Mohammad Raad on July 26. Larijani congratulated Raad on Hezbollah’s gains in Lebanon and stated that “it is entirely clear that obvious that these sanctions are due to the U.S.’s spite for the Axis of Resistance.” (Mehr News Agency)
• Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Supreme Leader Ali Akbar Velayati stated that the recent sanctions bill is “in direct contravention of the nuclear deal.” Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the sanctions vote would “have an effect” on the nuclear deal and referred to the sanctions as “a completely clear hostile act” against Iran. Armed Forces General Staff Spokesman IRGC Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazayeri warned the U.S. that Iran would make the U.S. regret imposing the new sanctions. (Fars News Agency) (Mehr News Agency) (Radio Farda)
• Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghassemi stated that the U.S. has “cast the [nuclear deal] into jeopardy” following the July 25 vote. Ghassemi stressed that “nothing can stop [Iran] from pursuing and implementing its policy… of increasing [its] defensive capabilities.” (Mehr News Agency)
• Head of the Nuclear Committee of the Parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mojtaba Zolnour stated that this round of sanctions was “indeed the mother of all sanctions against Iran.” He added that the sanctions make the nuclear deal “null and void.” (Fars News Agency)