Iran News Round Up - January 18, 2018

Iranian oil tanker Sanchi sank off the coast of Shanghai, China, on January 14 after a collision with a Chinese cargo ship on January 6 that spilled natural gas condensate in the sea and set the adrift oil tanker on fire. The Iranian government declared a national day of mourning while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed his condolences to the families of the 32 crew members who are presumed dead. (Reuters) (E) Tasnim News Agency (E) (IRNA) (E)

State news agency IRNA reported that the government lifted restrictions on Telegram on January 13 after blocking the popular messaging application during the protests. The Associated Press reported that it confirmed with residents in cities across Iran that the government has restored access to the application but reports suggest that regime is still throttling Telegram services. Activists and protesters used Telegram to coordinate and share videos of demonstrations during recent anti-regime protests throughout the country. (Reuters) (E) (IRNA) (E)

Judiciary spokesperson Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei claimed that bullets used to kill protesters during the recent unrest do not match ammunition used by law enforcement and military personnel. He repeated other officials’ statements that Evin and Arak Prison detainees Sina Ghanbari and Mohammad Heidari died from suicide. Ejei stated that 25 people died in the recent protests and 465 protesters remain in custody, including an unspecified European dual national whom police arrested for taking pictures of the protests. Ejei added that law enforcement officials arrested 622 people during the protests’ first three days but later released many of them on bail. Reformist Parliamentarian Mahmoud Sadeghi announced that “more than 40” parliamentarians called for an independent investigation into the deaths of detained anti-regime protesters in a letter to Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. Sadeghi did not name the signatories of the letter. Sadeghi claimed on January 9 that security forces arrested 3,700 protesters since the start of the unrest.  (Reuters) (E) (Radio Farda) (E) (New York Times) (E) (Press TV) (E) (Etemaad)

• Judiciary denies parliamentary request to visit Evin Prison. Sadeghi also said that the Judiciary denied a parliamentary request to send a parliamentary delegation to visit Evin Prison. The Parliamentary Security, Judicial, and Political Committee submitted the request on January 10 to review and monitor security forces’ performance in detention centers. (Radio Farda)

Rouhani administration spokesperson and Planning and Budget Organization head Mohammad Bagher Nobakht stated that while the Rouhani administration “opposes increases” to its 2018-2019 fiscal year budget proposal as a general rule, it will “defend” any proposed increases to the armed forces’ budget by Parliament. The Rouhani administration’s budget proposal already recommends moderate increases to the IRGC and the Artesh’s budgets. Parliament and the Guardian Council must review and approve the Rouhani administration’s budget proposal before it becomes law. Protesters criticized Iran’s involvement in regional conflicts at the expense of addressing domestic needs during the recent unrest across the country. (Defa Press)

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on 14 individuals and entities, including Judiciary head Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani, on January 12. The U.S. Treasury Department targeted Larijani due to his involvement in “ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing” human rights abuses against Iranian citizens. Larijani condemned the U.S. in response and described the designation as an “honor” for the U.S. to personally target him. The Foreign Ministry argued that the U.S. sanctions on Larijani are in violation of international law. The U.S. also sanctioned individuals and entities for their role in censoring anti-regime protests, and for aiding Iran in weapons proliferation. (Treasury.gov) (E) (Treasury.gov) (E) (ABNA) (IRNA)

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Ghassemi denied the Financial Times’ report that  Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif agreed that Iran will hold “intensive and very serious dialogue” on Iran’s ballistic missile program with European officials according to the German Foreign Ministry. Zarif met German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, as well as EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Federica Mogherini in Brussels, Belgium on January 11. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Ghassemi emphasized that Iran’s ballistic missile program is non-negotiable. (IRNA)

President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Ali Shamkhani met with Syrian People’s Assembly Speaker Hammoudeh Sabbagh in separate meetings in Tehran on January 16. Rouhani said that the U.S. presence in Syria is “against international norms” and is an “[attempt] to conspire against Syria’s territorial integrity and regional security.” Shamkhani expressed his concern over “any political or military action… that provides Syrian territory to terrorist groups or [allows] foreign forces to occupy Syrian soil.” Their statements follow announcements of the potential formation of a U.S.-backed Kurdish border security force in northeastern Syria. (IRNA) (IRNA)

Senior Iranian officials reacted to President Donald Trump’s decision on January 12 to issue his last sanctions waiver against Iran unless the U.S. and Europe fix the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’s (JCPOA) “disastrous flaws.” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reaffirmed that Iran would not renegotiate the JCPOA. President Hassan Rouhani stressed that Trump’s efforts to undermine the JCPOA, a “long-lasting victory for Iran,” have failed. Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araghchi said that Iran has successfully isolated the U.S. from its European allies and noted that the EU has not complied with U.S. calls to modify the agreement. National Security and Foreign Policy (NSFP) Committee Chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi dismissed Trump’s threats as saber rattling to withdraw from the deal and said that Trump had no choice but to continue waiving the sanctions. (Reuters) (E) (Reuters) (E) (ABNA) (ABNA) (ABNA)

Frederick Kagan and Marie Donovan write that the regime’s preparations for anti-regime protests and the absence of a centralized leadership of unarmed protesters did not threaten the regime’s survival in, “Don’t Be Fooled: the Iran protests won’t overthrow the regime.”

Frederick Kagan states that the United States and its partners must take action in order to weaken Iran’s position in the region in the wake of the protests in, “Iranian protests give America chance to advance freedom.”

Marie Donovan discusses the political background of Iran’s newly-sanctioned Judiciary Head Sadegh Amoli Larijani in, “Why Did the U.S. Sanction Iran’s Sadegh Amoli Larijani?”

Mike Saidi demonstrates how the recent protests highlighted weaknesses in the readiness of Iranian security forces in a dataset using videos submitted by Iranian protesters. View the dataset here.