Iran News Round Up - August 15, 2017

Media sources announced that four Fatemiyoun Brigade members will be buried in Qom on August 16. (Defa Press)

• Sources stated that the body of a fifth Fatemiyoun fighter, Qassem Nazari, will arrive in Kerman on August 15 ahead of his burial on August 16. Nazari was reportedly killed in Palmyra, Homs Governorate, Syria. (ISNA)

Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh commented that “we must allow the private sector to enter into the petrochemical industry… I welcome the entrance of the armed forces... into the petrochemical industry, but [their] presence [in it] must be to a particular extent.” Zanganeh’s comments follow a recent spat between President Hassan Rouhani and IRGC officials over the IRGC’s role in Iran’s economy. (Fars News Agency)

Artesh Shahid Babaei Air Base Commander Brig. Gen. Massoud Rouzkhosh announced that the Artesh Air Force tested “new weapons and missiles successfully” aboard F-14 and F-7 jets. Rouzkhosh did not provide further details regarding the weaponry. He also stated that they “created combat capabilities [for] the PC-7 aircraft and successfully mounted and tested machine guns [on them].” He also noted that F-14 and F-4 jets “are capable of maritime conflict,” and that that the Artesh Air Force had cooperated with Iranian universities to upgrade the F-14’s radar system.  (Mehr News Agency)

Artesh Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami, President Hassan Rouhani’s pick for his second-term Defense Minister, discussed his proposed agenda during a meeting with independent parliamentarians. Hatami indicated that his Defense Ministry would continue with previous plans for the development of Iran’s ballistic missiles. (Fars News Agency)   

• Hatami announced the creation of five Artesh Ground Forces quick response brigades and an additional five quick response brigades in the IRGC Ground Forces. Hatami stated that the purpose of the new brigades was to “ combat terrorism seriously.” (Tasnim News Agency)

Armed Forces General Staff chief IRGC Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri is travelling to Turkey on August 15 to meet with senior Turkish military and political officials. The meetings will focus on terrorism, regional developments, and defense cooperation. (Mehr News Agency) (E)

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on August 12 and 13, respectively. Jaberi Ansari reiterated the regime’s claim that “there is no military solution” to the Yemen crisis. (Fars News Agency)

Parliament passed a bill on “Countering America’s Mercenary and Terrorist Actions in the Region” by 240 votes and one abstention on August 13. The bill grants $300m each to the IRGC’s Quds Force and Iran’s ballistic missile program respectively and requires the foreign and defense ministries to provide periodic reports to Parliament on U.S. activities in the region. The bill imposes sanctions on members of the U.S. military. (Fars News Agency)

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli met with Iraqi Interior Minister Qasim al Araji in Tehran on August 14. The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Rahmani Fazli stated that Iran and Iraq would further cooperation in security, trade, economy, and tourism. Rahmani Fazli addressed the upcoming Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum and noted that “although certain agents are seeking to undermine the integrity of a neighboring country, we believe that solidarity can turn Iraq into a potent and powerful country.” (Mehr News Agency) (E)

Newly appointed Tehran Mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi reacted to accusations regarding his health on August 12. Najafi acknowledged that he discovered he had a heart condition in 2013, but noted, “three and a half years have passed so please rest assured, I have no problem.” (ILNA)  

Security forces arrested Reformist newspaper Etemad’s deputy editor Sassan Aghaei on August 12. The charges against Aghaei, who is imprisoned in Evin prison, are not clear. Aghaei was previously arrested during the 2009 Green Movement and released four months later. (Radio Farda)

IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari accused groups and individuals in Iran of being part of a “weakening” of Iran’s defensive capacities in remarks on August 13. Jafari stated that in addition to U.S. sanctions, “unfortunately some [groups] domestically lap up the promises of [our] enemies and don’t realize the depth of our enemies’ plots and plans for the weakening of [our] defensive capabilities, but still support them.” Jafari’s comments follow a protracted spat between President Hassan Rouhani and senior IRGC figures over the IRGC’s role in Iran’s economy. (Radio Farda)

Reformist Women’s Council Member Ashraf Boroujerdi met with reformist former President Mohammad Khatami on August 14. Boroujerdi reported that Khatami “believes that the capacities of capable women should be employed in government and [that] there are, of course, obstacles that must be removed from women’s paths.” (ILNA)

• Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Motahari commented that Rouhani’s proposed second-term cabinet is “good, all in all, but it ultimately depends on the opinions of [Parliament’s] representatives.” He added that “there are principlists and reformists present in the cabinet, which shows there is no prejudice in the cabinet over group or faction.” (ISNA)
• Reformist Policy Council Secretary Zhaleh Faramarzian criticized Rouhani for choosing “ministers incompatible with his plans” in order to guarantee stability during his second term in office. She added that “if this was not expediency he could have chosen more effective, stronger individuals.” (Tasnim News Agency)

Members of President Hassan Rouhani’s proposed second-term cabinet met with various parliamentary factions ahead of votes on their respective appointments this week. Intelligence Minister Hojjat ol Eslam Mahmoud Alavi met with reformist-backed Omid parliamentary faction on August 12. Alavi stated that “the atmosphere was very friendly and fraternal” and added that “no one among them has any animosity or malice” towards Alavi remaining in the role for a second term. (ISNA)

• Proposed Health Minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi met with Omid members on August 12. Ghazizadeh characterized the meeting as “relaxed” and added that the faction’s members “provided guidance that [he] will definitely put to use.” (Mehr News Agency)
• Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Omid members on August 12. Zarif stressed that “the Foreign Ministry was the first branch [of government] to make use of the presence of women as deputy ministers and ambassadors” during Rouhani’s first term in office. Zarif’s comments follow continued criticism of Rouhani’s proposed cabinet selection for lack of gender diversity. (ISNA)
• Zarif met with members of the principlist Velayat faction on August 13. Zarif stated that “economic diplomacy and attention to the region are the two priorities of the Foreign Ministry” in Rouhani’s second term in office. He added that “concentrating on our neighbors is a new policy that we will define [in due course]. We will present our ‘neighbors policy’ as a new discussion for the Islamic Republic during the twelfth government.” (Mehr News Agency)

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi for a five-year term as Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council. Shahroudi’s appointment follows the death of the Council’s previous chairman, former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in January 2017. (BBC Persian)

• The six new appointees to the Council include: Assembly of Experts member and recently-retired Tabriz Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari; former conservative presidential candidate and custodian of the Imam Reza Shrine Ebrahim Raisi; former Tehran Mayor and conservative presidential candidate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf; Ahmad Tavakoli, a principlist former parliamentarian and Minister of Labour (1981-3) under former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi; Mohammad Sadr, former advisor and Deputy Foreign Minister to reformist former President Mohammad Khatami and founding member of the reformist Islamic Iran Cooperation Front; and Mohammad Mirmohammadi, the former chief of staff to former President Akbar Ali Rafsanjani. (TNews)