Iran News Round Up - August 24, 2018

Iranian electricity company Tavanir spokesperson Mahmoud Reza Haghghi Fam stated that Iran resumed exporting electricity on August 11. Haghghi Fam stated that Iran has been gradually increasing the volume of its energy exports and is currently exporting 200 to 250 megawatts (MW) to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Haghghi Fam noted that satisfying domestic electricity consumption is Tavanir’s priority and that increased domestic consumption during the Summer months prevented Tavanir from exporting power to neighboring countries. The Energy Ministry suspended Iranian electricity exports to Iraq on July 7. (Tasnim News Agency) (Reuters) (E)

French oil company Total SA officially cancelled its plans to develop the South Pars Gas Field on August 20. Total’s withdrawal follows the U.S. Treasury Department’s refusal to grant Total an Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) license to continue its business operations in Iran without being subject to U.S. secondary sanctions. Unidentified Iranian Oil Ministry officials previously claimed that Chinese state-owned oil and gas company Chinese National Petroleum (CNPC) will take over Total’s majority 50.1 percent share, giving CNPC a majority stake of 80.1 percent. (Reuters) (E) (Donya-e Eqtesad) (SHANA)

Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) International Affairs Deputy Artesh Brig. Gen. 2C Mohammad Ahadi stated that the Iranian-made Bavar 373 missile defense system will be unveiled before April 2019. Ahadi stated that the Bavar 373 is more advanced and more capable than the Russian-made S-300. Ahadi’s statements were made before the beginning of Friday Prayers in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province on August 17, before the annually-celebrated Defense Industry Day on August 22. Iran also unveiled its indigenous fighter jet Kowsar on August 21. (Fars News Agency) (Tasnim News Agency)

• Artesh destroyer equipped with first Iranian-made CIWS. Artesh Navy Commander RADM Hossein Khanzadi announced that the Artesh Navy equipped its very first destroyer with the Iranian-made Kamand close-in weapon system (CIWS). Khanzadi noted that the Kamand will be used to counter anti-ship missiles. Khanzadi reported that a second Artesh Navy warship will be equipped with the Kamand system soon. The Kamand CIWS is an Iranian rendition of U.S.-made Phalanx system. The announcement follows an IRGC Navy military exercise near the Strait of Hormuz on August 2 that included the testing of an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). (Tasnim News Agency)

Iranian Kurdistan separatist group Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) claimed an attack against  Iranian border guards in Abolhassan, Baneh County, Kurdistan Province in western Iran close to the Iran-Iraqi Kurdistan border on August 16. The clash resulted in injuries to four Iranian border guards. Baneh County Mayor Mohammad Falahi confirmed the attack but noted that the attackers were “anti-revolutionaries.” The confrontation in Baneh County follows a recent KDPI-claimed attack in Oshnaviyeh, West Azerbaijan Province on August 11 near Iran’s tri-border area with Iraq and Turkey. IRGC Ground Forces Hamzeh Seyyed ol Shohada (Northwest) Operational Base Operations Deputy Brig. Gen. 2C Esmali Khalil Zadeh announced that the militants came into Iranian territory from Iraqi Kurdistan and later fled back into Iraq after the clash. Khalil Zadeh claimed that IRGC forces killed 11 militants and noted that no Iranians died from the fighting. Iran has experienced a significant increase in deadly border violence in northwestern and southeastern Iran over recent months. Iranian officials have threatened to take retaliatory action in cross-border areas if neighboring countries, namely Iraq and Pakistan, are unable to curtail militant activities.  (Alef) (Fars News Agency) (ABNA) (Tamasha) (Mashregh News)

• Iran, Turkey, and Iraq reportedly sign trilateral border security agreement. Iraqi Interior Minister Qasim al-Araji claimed that Iran, Turkey, and Iraq signed a joint-border security agreement in Ankara, Turkey on August 14. The purported agreement aims to bolster border security and counter smuggling between Iran, Turkey, and Iraq. The agreement follows a series of high-level meetings between Iranian, Turkish, and Iraqi security officials. Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) Border Guards IRGC Brig. Gen. Ghassem Rezaei met with Turkish Gendarmerie Commander Gen. Arif Cetin in Maku, West Azerbaijan Province on August 10. Rezaei also met with Iraqi Border Guard Commander Lt. Gen. Hamed Abdullah Ebrahim al-Hosseini in Tehran on August 12. Rezaei noted that border clashes have increased by 500 percent since last year. (Sumaria) (ISNA) (Defa Press) (IRNA) (E) (Mashregh News)

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Artesh Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasir Zadeh as the new Artesh Air Force commander on August 19. Nasir Zadeh will replace Artesh Brig. Gen. Hassan Shah Safi, who finished his ten-year term as Artesh Air Force commander. Nasir Zadeh previously served as Artesh Air Force deputy commander. Former Artesh Commander Maj. Gen. Ataollah Salehi appointed Nasir Zadeh as Artesh Air Force deputy commander in August 2017. (Tasnim News Agency)

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed IRGC RADM Alireza Tangsiri as the new IRGC Navy commander on August 23, replacing IRGC RADM Ali Fadavi. Khamenei also appointed Fadavi as the new IRGC coordination deputy, replacing IRGC Brig. Gen. Jamaleddin Aberoumand. Tangsiri previously served as IRGC Navy deputy commander. IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari appointed Aberoumand to the position of IRGC Soft War Headquarters deputy commander on July 18. (Tasnim News Agency) (Tasnim News Agency) 

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei emphasized that the regime will not negotiate with the U.S. and that negotiations “are prohibited” during a speech on August 13. Khamenei also attributed Iran’s economic shortcomings to “domestic problems” and argued that U.S. sanctions are not the cause of Iran’s economic issues. Khamenei also expressed support for the Judiciary’s crackdown on financial and currency-related crimes. Khamenei’s comment follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s July 30 offer to hold negotiations with President Hassan Rouhani. (Leader.ir)

• Jannati calls for Judiciary to hold financial crime trials publicly. Assembly of Experts head Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati stated that the Judiciary should hold its corruption and financial crime trials publicly on August 14. Jannati argued that public trials will improve the public’s trust in the “revolution and the system.” Jannati’s remarks come after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approved the Judiciary’s establishment of specialized tribunals to prosecute financial crimes on August 11. The Judiciary has arrested several government officials for financial crimes and corruption including Ahmad Araghchi, the nephew of Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araghchi. (Defa Press)

Seminary students in Qom, Qom Province staged an anti-President Hassan Rouhani protest on August 16. Protesters chanted anti-Rouhani slogans and cited concerns over Iran’s poor economic condition. One of the protesters carried a placard with an implicit death threat to Rouhani. Qom-based Shia Marja Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi called the protests a “calamity.” Shirazi also expressed concern over IRGC involvement in the protests. The IRGC issued a statement on August 20 condemning the protesters’ actions and denying any sort of involvement in the protests. IRGC Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (Qom Province) Unit Commander Brig. Gen. 2C Gholam Reza Ahmadi penned a letter to Shirazi on August 21 also denying IRGC involvement in the protests. (Donya-e Eqtesad) (Kayhan) (Twitter) (IRNA) (Tasnim News Agency)

Thirty-three unidentified parliamentarians presented a plan to the Parliament Leadership Board to interpellate Economic Affairs and Finance Minister Massoud Karbasian on August 19. Parliament Leadership Board spokesperson Behrouz Nemati announced that Karbasian will appear before a plenary session of Parliament on August 26 for interpellation. Parliament previously questioned Karbasian on July 31 due to grievances over economic issues and volatility in the foreign currency exchange market. Parliament has increased efforts for impeachment proceedings for Rouhani administration cabinet members following merchant-class protests in Tehran on June 24. Parliament successfully impeached Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare Minister Ali Rabiei on August 8.  (Alef) (YJC) (President.ir)

• Babaei: Jahangiri needs to be held accountable. Hardline Parliamentarian Hamid Reza Hajji Babaei stated that the “head of the nation’s economic team, [First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri], needs to be held accountable” on August 15.  Hajji Babaei also called on President Hassan Rouhani to “change a number of [his] ministers.” Babaei’s comments follow a parliamentary announcement that President Hassan Rouhani will appear before Parliament on August 29 to answer parliamentarians’ questions on a number of issues, most notably on the country’s poor economic condition. Parliamentarians may begin to initiate plans for Jahangiri’s interpellation. (Alef)