Iran News Round Up - September 28, 2017

The head of downstream technologies at Iran’s Research Institute of the Petroleum Industry (RIPI) Akbar Zamanian stated that Iran plans to construct an oil refinery near the city of Homs, Syria. Zamanian reported the refinery will have a production capacity of 140,000 barrels per day. The construction will be a joint project between Iran, Venezuela, and Syria and will expand on Iran’s efforts to deepen economic relations with Syria. Iranian companies will be building five new power stations in Latakia Province and five power plants in the city of Aleppo. (Fars News Agency) (Reuters) (E)

Khatam ol Anbia Air Defense Headquarters Operations Deputy Brig. Gen. 2C Alireza Elhami announced that the Khatam ol Anbia Air Defense Headquarters has deployed “new missile defense systems” to “western Iran.” Elhami did not specify the kind of missile systems or where exactly they will be deployed. The Khatam ol Anbia Air Defense western command is located in Hamedan Province, and spans Kurdistan Province, among other areas. (Fars News Agency)

Thousands of Iranian Kurds celebrated Iraqi Kurdistan’s referendum in several cities throughout Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan Provinces, including Sanandaj, Baneh, Saghez, and Mahabad. Iranian state media provided scant coverage of the gatherings. IRIB’s Kurdestan service described the gatherings as “calm” and that Iranian Kurds had gathered in order to “congratulate their fellow Kurdish speakers in Iraqi Kurdistan on the referendum.” Neither Iranian nor Western press reported any violence or clashes between Iranian Kurds and security forces during the gatherings. Iran has announced its opposition to the Iraqi Kurdistan referendum and has also conducted military exercises in West Azerbaijan and Kermanshah Provinces, both of which have large Kurdish populations. (Instagram) (Radio Farda) (IRIB)

Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Supreme Leader Ali Akbar Velayati reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to preserving the territorial integrity and unity of Iraq, Syria, and other regional countries following Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence referendum on September 25. Velayati accused Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani of seeking to divide Muslims on behalf of Israel. Iraqi Kurdistan conducted a referendum on September 25 and Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly voted in favor of independence. (IRIB News) (Reuters) (E)

• Defense minister meets Turkish ambassador in Tehran. Defense Minister Artesh Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami met with Turkey’s Ambassador to Iran Reza Hakan Takin in Tehran on September 26. Iran and Turkey have had several high-level military discussions over the last two months ahead of the referendum, including a meeting between Armed Forces General Staff Chief IRGC Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri and Turkish General Huluski Akar on September 14. (Sepah News)
  

Chief of Staff for the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani called the Iraqi Kurdistan referendum a “catastrophe.” Golpayegani also expressed hope that border residents, especially those in West Azerbaijan Province, would help in neutralizing any problems that could arise from the referendum. Golpayegani emphasized Iranian support for Iraq’s territorial integrity and also noted that “Iraq is a country for our Imams,” referring to the many religious Shia leaders housed in Iraq. He also said that the Iraqi Kurdistan referendum was a “Zionist plot” to capitalize on the fact that ISIS is nearing its end. (Mehr News Agency)

Frederick Kagan discusses the inherent weaknesses in the Russo-Iranian alliance in, “The Moscow-Tehran Axis is a Coalition of the Weak.”