Iran News Round Up - December 14, 2017

Leaders from the IRGC Saberin Special Forces Unit and the Artesh 65th NOHED (Airborne Special Forces) Brigade held a joint session on December 11. Saberin Commander Col. Ramazan Ebrahimi Atani met with 65th Airborne Commander Col. Cyrus Amanollahi during the session. The Artesh 65th Brigade and IRGC Saberin commanders emphasized the importance of joint exercises to promote unity between the IRGC and the Artesh. The Artesh 65th Airborne and the IRGC Saberin are expected to conduct joint exercises on an unspecified date.  (Defa Press) (Defa Press)

Congress chose not to reimpose sanctions lifted under the JCPOA. President Donald Trump announced on October 13 that continuing U.S. sanctions relief as mandated by the JCPOA does not support U.S. national security interests. His decision initiated a 60-day review period during which Congress was required to decide whether continued sanctions relief supports U.S. national security interests. The review period ended this week. President Donald Trump must certify whether continuing nuclear sanctions relief meets U.S. national security interests again in mid-January. Decertification would prompt another 60-day congressional review period. (Reuters) (E) (ABC News) (E)

• Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi commented on Congress’s December 13 decision to not reimpose sanctions and said that the “most important thing for Iran is that the U.S. adheres to its JCPOA commitments.” Ghassemi reiterated senior officials’ statements that Iran is prepared for any scenario and is prepared to respond accordingly to any U.S. violation of the JCPOA. (IRIB)

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley presented evidence on December 14 of Iranian involvement in Yemen, including a ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh, Saudi Arabia by al Houthi militants on November 4. Haley unveiled components of an Iranian-made Qiam-1 ballistic missile, anti-tank guided (ATG) Toophan missile, Qasef-1 kamikaze drone, and guidance equipment from a Shark-33 unmanned boat. Defense Department spokesperson Laura Seal stated “all four include parts made by [the] Iranian government-run defense industry, and all could have only come from Iran.” Haley’s presentation indicates that the U.S. is ramping up pressure on the international community to address Iran’s ballistic missile program and destabilizing regional behavior. (NBC News) (E) (Twitter) (E)  (Defense.gov) (E)

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson met with President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Ali Shamkhani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, and Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) head Ali Akbar Salehi during his visit to Tehran on December 9-10. Johnson highlighted the importance of the continued implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as well as the expansion of economic and banking relations between Iran and the UK during his meetings. Johnson also discussed the case of jailed Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. (Reuters) (E) (ILNA) (ILNA) (ILNA) (IRNA)

President Hassan Rouhani presented the Parliament with a budget proposal for the upcoming year (beginning in mid-March 2018) advocating for an increase in Artesh and IRGC budgets. The Rouhani administration noted that the proposed budget will work toward achieving full employment, eliminating poverty and creating social justice. The proposed budget allocates approx. $500m to the Ministry of Defense (approx. 30 percent increase from the previous year’s proposed budget), $7.5b to the IRGC (approx. 15 percent increase), approx. $2.7b to the Artesh (approx. 25 percent increase), and approx. $330m to the Basij Organization (approx. 2 percent increase). The government also allocated approx. $72m to the Khatam ol Anbia Central Operations Base in a separate budgetary line. This is the first time that the government will allocate a separate line of the budget to the Khatam ol Anbia Central Operations Base. The proposed budget will now be assessed by the Parliament’s relevant committees where parliamentarians can offer suggestions and revisions to Rouhani’s proposed budget. (Telegram) (Tasnim News Agency) (Telegram) (Radio Farda) (E) (Reuters) (E)