Iran News Round Up - March 05, 2018

Fox News released a series of satellite images on February 27 indicating that Iranian military forces have constructed a new military base in southern Syria. The new military base is reported to be located eight miles northwest of Damascus in Jabal ash Sharqi, Rif Dimashq, Syria. The Fox News report also noted that the base belongs to the IRGC Quds Force. Iranian military forces have constructed military bases and refurbished existing structures over the course of their nearly seven-year involvement in the Syrian Civil War since 2011. Israeli forces previously targeted a separate Iranian military base eight miles south of Damascus in Kiswah, Rif Dimashq Governorate on December 2, 2017. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) view the position of military bases in southern Syria, near Israel’s northeastern border, as an immediate security threat. (Fox News) (E)

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov held a phone call on Russia’s February 26 veto of a UK-proposed UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution condemning Iran for supplying the al Houthi movement with sophisticated weaponry. The UN ultimately adopted a rival Russian proposal to extend current targeted sanctions on Iran for one year. Zarif and Lavrov’s phone call may indicate ongoing Iranian-Russian cooperation in order to influence the resolution of the Yemeni conflict.  (IRNA)

Two unidentified European officials and one unidentified Iranian official reportedly stated that Iran is in negotiations with the UK, France, Germany, Italy and the EU on regional issues. Iranian and European officials will meet in Italy sometime in March 2018. One European official stated that the Europeans aim to negotiate on Iran’s support for proxy militant groups in southern Lebanon and southern Syria during the meeting in Italy. Iranian officials denied reports that these negotiations will occur. Another unidentified European official stated that European officials “laid out what was expected from [Iran] in Yemen” during a meeting with Iranian officials on the sidelines of the January 2018 Munich Security Conference. (Reuters) (E)

The Central Bank banned import purchases that are based on the U.S. dollar as of February 28. Iran Central Bank Director of Foreign Exchange Policy and Regulations Mehdi Kasraipour claimed that the Central Bank imposed the ban in part because U.S. sanctions on Iran are making it difficult for importers to process transactions. The Central Bank has struggled to address the recent devaluation of the Iranian rial; the exchange rate of the rial has devalued by roughly 25 percent since September 2017. (Radio Farda) (Mehr News Agency) (Forbes) (E)

Artesh Air Force Commander Brig. Gen. Hassan Shah Safi headed a senior Iranian military delegation to Islamabad, Pakistan on February 26 at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart Gen. Soheil Aman. Shah Safi met with Aman, as well as Pakistani Chief of the General Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and Pakistani National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. Nasser Khan Janjua to discuss bilateral relations. Shah Safi and Janjua also discussed security in the region, including Afghanistan. Shah Safi described peace in Afghanistan as a “prerequisite for peace and stability in the region.” (Mehr News Agency) (Defa Press) (IRNA) (Tasnim News Agency)

The Free Trade Union of Iranian Laborers reported that Ahvaz Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) Intelligence officials arrested more than 10 Iranian National Steel Industrial Group (INSIG) workers in their homes on March 1.INSIG workers have been protesting and holding strikes for months over unpaid salaries and other workplace-related grievances. The order for the home raids reportedly came from the Ahvaz (Khuzestan Province) Prosecutor General. The Union called for the immediate and unconditional release of the detained workers. INSIG workers and family members of some of the detained workers participated in additional demonstrations on March 3 in front of the provincial governor’s office. The Free Trade Union of Iranian Laborers reported that LEF Intelligence officials also requested the home addresses of other workers, suggesting the possibility of further home raids if the strikes continue. The INSIG protests in southwestern Iran are a part of larger wave of worker-led protests taking place across Iran, including Khuzestan, Tehran, Golestan, and Markazi Provinces. (Ettehad-e) (Ettehad-e)       

Interim Tehran Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami called for swift punishment of those who instigated the recent Gonabadi Dervish protests during a sermon on March 2. Khatami labeled the protests’ instigators as “domestic ISIS.” Khatami’s comments echo a similar statement by Judiciary Spokesperson Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei.

• Khatami also spoke about the recent protests against the mandatory hijab law. Khatami  reiterated that the hijab is a mandatory requirement and part of God’s law. He also endorsed the Central Bank’s imposed restriction on imports based on the U.S. dollar. (Fars News Agency) (IRIB News)

Interior Ministry spokesperson Salman Samani announced on March 2 that the Interior Ministry ordered all provincial governors to “facilitate” legal public gatherings and demonstrations. Samani stated that the special directive will provide an opportunity for individuals to engage in constructive political dialogue and provide officials with feedback. The Interior Ministry will require provincial governors to furnish a quarterly performance report, in order to supervise the the implementation of the directive. . The Interior Ministry announcement follows multiple requests from various political factions in Iran to hold legal protests in recent weeks. (Tasnim News Agency)  

Mike Saidi discusses the implications of the recent Gonabadi Dervish protest in, “What the Gonabadi Dervish protests tell us about Iran’s protest scene.”

Mike Saidi and Daniel Amir released a new, more comprehensive graphic of the recent anti-regime protests in Iran. View the graphic here.

Marie Donovan lays out how Ahmadinejad’s recent behavior can pose a problem for regime officials in, “Iran’s Ex-president Ahmadinejad Raises the Stakes Against the Political Establishment.”