Iran News Round Up - September 26, 2017

Bpifrance CEO Nicolas Dufourcq announced that the French investment bank will provide a $600 million line of credit to French companies operating in Iran starting in 2018. The companies include Airbus and PSA Peugeot Citroen. This would be the third European bank to make a similar deal following the signing of the JCPOA in 2015. Austrian Oberbank and Danish Dankse Bank signed similar deals with several Iranian banks earlier this month. (IRNA) (Press TV) (E) (BBC Persian)

State-run Iranian media outlet IRIB News released a video on September 23 claiming that Iran had successfully tested the Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile. Iranian state media did not specify the location and time of the ballistic missile test. Western officials initially interpreted the IRIB report as an indication Iran had tested the missile on September 23. Western press outlets later reported that a test did not occur recently, and that the footage was from a January test of the Khorramshahr. The IRGC displayed a Khorramshahr missile during a September 22 parade commemorating the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War. (IRIB) (Mehr News Agency) (Fars News Agency) (Mehr News Agency)

IRGC Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani spoke at a memorial ceremony for IRGC Col. Morteza Hosseinpour on September 21. Soleimani claimed that ISIS will be defeated in three months and Iran, Russia, Syria, and Iraq should celebrate the victory. (Sepah News) (Press TV) (E)

Iranian news outlet Tabnak circulated a report from the Arabic newspaper Asharq Al Awsat claiming that IRGC Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani was in Sulaymaniyah ahead of the Iraqi Kurdistan referendum. Soleimani admonished Kurdish officials for their participation in the referendum. Soleimani also reportedly told Kurdish officials that Tehran has pressured Baghdad to resolve long-standing budgetary and land issues between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi central government. (Tabnak)

Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) spokesman Keyvan Khosravi announced the cancellation of all of commercial flights from Iran into Sulaymanieh and Erbil. The SNSC also announced the closure of Iranian airspace to all flights emanating from Iraqi Kurdistan. The SNSC decision reportedly came at the behest of the Iraqi central government. (Fars News Agency)

• Artesh Ground Forces conduct military exercises near the Iraqi Kurdistan border. The Artesh Ground Forces started the “3rd round” of the Heydar-e Karrar military exercises on September 24 near the Parviz Khan border crossing in Qasr-e Shirin, Kordestan Province. The Artesh 35th Airborne Special Forces Brigade, which is based in Kermanshah Province, is participating in the exercise. It is unclear when the Iranian press announced the Heydar-e Karrar exercises. The exercises are noteworthy due to their proximity to the Iraqi Kurdistan border and occurrence on the eve of the Iraqi Kurdistan referendum on September 25. (Fars News Agency)
• IRGC conduct military exercises in NW Iran near Iraqi Kurdistan border. IRGC Commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour announced the completion of the Muharram military exercises conducted in Oshnaviyeh, West Azerbaijan Province near the Iraqi Kurdistan border. The Muharram exercises are an annual event that occur during the month of Muharram. This year’s exercises occurred on September 23-24. The exercises featured armored special forces as well as army aviation, artillery, commando, missile, and drone units. This year’s Muharram exercises are significant due to their occurrence just before the Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum on September 25. (Sepah News) (Defa Press) (Sepah News)

President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed the importance of preserving Iraq’s territorial integrity and national unity, as well as regional security during a phone call on September 24. Rouhani also spoke separately with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi on September 24. Rouhani assured al Abadi that Iran “fully supports the Iraqi central government.” (President.ir) (President.ir)

• Rouhani also addressed the referendum during a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 25. The two sides also talked about fostering better trilateral relations between Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan. (Mehr News Agency)
• Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al Jafari, and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu issued a joint statement that voiced their consternation with the Iraqi Kurdistan referendum. The statement noted that Iran, Iraq, and Turkey would “consider taking counter-measures in coordination.” The statement did not include any details on the possible countermeasures. (Reuters)

Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Supreme Leader Ali Akbar Velayati stated that Iran rejects any “negotiation or revision to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” during a meeting with the Director of France’s Academie Diplomatique Michel Duclos on September 24 in Tehran. Velayati added that European countries must adopt “more independent policies” on the nuclear deal. (Press TV) (E) (Mehr News Agency)

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif addressed the Trump administration’s stance on the nuclear deal during an interview with the New York Times on September 21. Zarif claimed that the U.S. wants Iran to make concessions on the agreement but is unwilling to make any new concessions itself. Zarif said that Iran would only consider changing the nuclear deal if the U.S. and the rest of the P5+1 reconsider the concessions that Iran provided under the deal. Zarif dismissed the possibility of negotiating an addendum to the agreement, and stated, “Why should we discuss an addendum?... if you want to have an addendum, there has to be an addendum on everything.” Some American officials have indicated the possibility of addressing the Trump administration’s objections to the nuclear deal by negotiating an addendum to it. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has stated that the nuclear deal would need to be revised if in order for the U.S. to remain committed. (New York Times) (E) (Defa Press)

• Anti-Trump protests erupt in cities across Iran. Thousands protested President Donald Trump’s September 19 speech at the UN General Assembly following Friday prayers on September 22. Protests took place in several Iranian cities and towns all across the country. (ISNA) (Fars News Agency)