Iran News Round Up - August 30, 2017

Ebrahim Khalili, a demolitions expert, was killed in eastern Aleppo. Khalili had previously served in the IRGC 27th Mohammad Rasoul Allah Division during the Iran-Iraq War. (Fararu)

• 31 year-old Afghan Fatemiyoun Brigade member Alireza Khavari, was killed near Palmyra, Homs Governorate, Syria on August 6. Khavari was buried in Pakdasht, Tehran Province, on August 25. (Khabarone)    

Kish Air Captain Mohammad Taghi Jadidi announced that Kish Air is set to receive six new Airbus MDs before the end of March 2018. (IRNA)

The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has fined Singaporean energy company COSL for a series of unlawful transactions with Iran. COSL reportedly conducted 55 transactions from  October 2011 to February 2012 that contravened U.S. sanctions against Iran. COSL’s transactions involved importing equipment for oil rigs from the U.S. to Singapore and subsequently exporting them to Iran via the United Arab Emirates. (Mehr News Agency)

Former principlist presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi lauded Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s response to the 2009 Green Movement in remarks on August 26. Raisi stated that “[Khamenei] acted well and in a timely fashion… but some people were unfortunately perverted” during the 2009 protests. Raisi’s remarks follow Green Movement leader Mehdi Karroubi’s hunger strike on August 16-17. Karroubi, as well as Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, has been under house arrest since 2011. (Mashregh News Agency)

• Council head of the principlist Popular Front of Islamic Revolutionary Forces (JAMNA) Hojjat ol Eslam Mohammad Hassan Rahimian stated that the faction would be revising its “structure, organization, and activities” following the presidential election in May 2017. He stressed that “in the near future JAMNA’s activities will become more prominent.” The faction supported Raisi during the presidential elections. (Mehr News Agency)
• JAMNA council member and former Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini stated that the faction is “hoping for improved function in the future and is certain that [its] activities in the future will be better.” (Mehr News Agency)

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reiterated that “all sectors” of the government must prioritize Iran’s economy during a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and his new cabinet members on August 26. Khamenei also disparaged one of Rouhani’s major first term economic achievements, the lowering of Iran’s inflation rate. (Mehr News Agency)

Tehran City Council member Zahra Nejad Bahram reported via Telegram that “certain government officials [and First Vice President] Eshagh Jahangiri in particular are in the process of setting up the conditions for the presence of [new Tehran Mayor Mohammad Ali] Najafi at cabinet meetings.”  (ILNA)

• Tehran City Council member Ahmad Masjed Jamei stated that he “will definitely pursue [Najafi’s] presence at cabinet meetings… Tehran’s mayor must have a prominent presence in the government.” (Jamaran)

Rouhani administration Spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht addressed the house arrest of Green Movement leaders Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard in remarks on August 29. Karroubi conducted a hunger strike on August 16-17 demanding the removal of security forces from his home and a date for a public trial. Nobakht addressed Karroubi’s demands and commented that “a court [for the trial] is in the hands of the Judiciary, but I was present at the meeting of the Supreme National Security Council [SNSC] where precise and positive discussions [on the matter] were presented.” Nobakht added that Intelligence Minister Hojjat ol Eslam Mahmoud Alavi reported that security forces have been removed from Karroubi’s home. (ISNA)

Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy (NSFP) Commission submitted its bi-annual report to Parliament on the state of the nuclear deal on August 29. The report criticized President Hassan Rouhani’s response to the most recent round of U.S. sanctions and stated that none of the steps Rouhani took “were of the kind or spirit appropriate for a response to the broken promises [of the U.S.].” The report stated that if the “other side” fails to abide the nuclear deal - whether by re-imposing “previously removed sanctions” or implementing “new ones,” the Iranian government is “duty bound” to “cease its voluntary cooperation the [nuclear deal] and organize the speedy development of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.”  (Hamshahri Online)

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Association (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi remarked that Donald Trump’s threats of leaving the nuclear deal are for “[his own] domestic, political use.” Salehi stressed that if the U.S. withdraws from the deal but the rest of the [P5+1] remains committed, Iran will remain in the deal. He stated that if both the U.S. and the EU withdraw, Iran will withdraw as well. (Fars News Agency)

• Boroujerdi: Iran will not be the “first to violate” the deal. Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy (NSFP) Commission head Alaeddin Boroujerdi said that “our policy in reference to the nuclear deal is completely clear and we will certainly not be the first to violate [it].” (ISNA)

UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura met with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on August 28 in Iran. The negotiations centered on the Syrian crisis, especially the Astana talks. De Mistura met with Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari prior to meeting with Zarif. (IRNA) (Mehr News Agency)

Ali Akbar Velayati, the Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Supreme Leader, continued to oppose U.S. inspections of Iranian military sites in remarks on August 29. “Americans… will not be granted permission to inspect our sensitive and military locations. Americans should take the desire to visit our military locations to the grave, whether under the pretext of the nuclear deal or any other pretext.” He added that “[Donald] Trump... knows that he has neither dignity nor influence in the region.” Velayati’s comments follow U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley’s visit to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last week. (Fars News Agency)

• Senior Military Advisor to the Supreme Leader and former Armed Forces General Staff Chief Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi stated that “in the Islamic Republic of Iran no foreign or Iranian official - even an unauthorized [Iranian] armed forces official - has the right to visit Iranian military bases without the permission of the Commander-in-Chief [Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei].” (Fars News Agency)
• Parliament’s Nuclear Committee head Hojjat ol Eslam Mojtaba Zolnour echoed Velayati’s opposition. He stated that “no country in the world can force the Islamic Republic to do anything.” He added that “the [IAEA] will also not accept such pressure, since the resurfacing of this issue means the death of the nuclear deal.” (Mehr News Agency)
• Defense Minister Artesh Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami stated that “Nikki Haley is not in a position to make such claims, nor is her claim worth presenting.”  (Mehr News Agency)

Artesh Navy Commander RADM Habibollah Sayyari met with high-ranking Russian naval officials at their behest on August 26 during his final day in Indonesia for the Symposium on Maritime Security. Discussions focused on establishing security in the Caspian Sea exclusively by countries that border it. (Mehr News Agency)

The Artesh unveiled four new defensive systems to mark the anniversary of the opening of the Khatam ol Anbia Air Defense Base: the “Basir,” “Sami,” “Sama,” and “Samet 1.” The “Basir” system is a radar and navigation information and communication system; “Sami” is a mobile listening and radar intelligence gathering system;  “Sama” is a meteorological system; and “Samet 1” is an additional intelligence gathering system. Artesh Air Defense Commander Brig. Gen. Farzad Esmaili was also present at the event. (Defa Press)

Defense Minister Artesh Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami stated that “the most important principle of Iran’s defensive doctrine is comprehensive defense with an approach of active deterrence” and that Iran is “continuing to increase its missile capabilities.” He added, “Although we have responded with missiles to terrorists once, we hope that [our] enemies will not test our missile capabilities.” Hatami’s comments likely refer to the IRGC’s missile strike on ISIS positions in Deir ez Zour Governorate, Syria, in June 2017. (ISNA)

Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) Chief IRGC Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri discussed the future of the Artesh, Iran’s conventional military, and the IRGC during a ceremony appointing Artesh Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahim Mousavi as the Commander of the Artesh.

• On the role of “direct engagement” in combat readiness: “Relying on education and training does not result in the growth of a force and the meeting of its needs. There must be a direct engagement on the front and confronting of the enemy in order to prepare a force. For this reason, Artesh and defensive forces ( نیروهای ارتش و پدافند) must upgrade [their capabilities] on the borders and fronts where the Islamic Revolution is present.”
• On the IRGC and the Artesh: Bagheri stated, “The IRGC and the Artesh can be better supplements for one another. There are foundations and capabilities in the IRGC that can be at the Artesh’s disposal, and vice versa, in order to make the country better than before.” Bagheri stressed that the Artesh and the IRGC are “two strong arms,” and together with the Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) form “one unit in the defense of the revolution.”
• On the Artesh’s role in resolving Iran’s economic problems: Bagheri stressed that the Artesh could play an important role in “resolving [the people’s] livelihood problems.” (ISNA)