Iran News Round Up

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif addressed the Trump administration’s stance on the nuclear deal during an interview with the New York Times on September 21. Zarif claimed that the U.S. wants Iran to make concessions on the agreement but is unwilling to make any new concessions itself. Zarif said that Iran would only consider changing the nuclear deal if the U.S. and the rest of the P5+1 reconsider the concessions that Iran provided under the deal. Zarif dismissed the possibility of negotiating an addendum to the agreement, and stated, “Why should we discuss an addendum?... if you want to have an addendum, there has to be an addendum on everything.” Some American officials have indicated the possibility of addressing the Trump administration’s objections to the nuclear deal by negotiating an addendum to it. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has stated that the nuclear deal would need to be revised if in order for the U.S. to remain committed. (New York Times) (E) (Defa Press)

• Anti-Trump protests erupt in cities across Iran. Thousands protested President Donald Trump’s September 19 speech at the UN General Assembly following Friday prayers on September 22. Protests took place in several Iranian cities and towns all across the country. (ISNA) (Fars News Agency)

President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed the importance of preserving Iraq’s territorial integrity and national unity, as well as regional security during a phone call on September 24. Rouhani also spoke separately with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi on September 24. Rouhani assured al Abadi that Iran “fully supports the Iraqi central government.” (President.ir) (President.ir)

• Rouhani also addressed the referendum during a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 25. The two sides also talked about fostering better trilateral relations between Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan. (Mehr News Agency)
• Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al Jafari, and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu issued a joint statement that voiced their consternation with the Iraqi Kurdistan referendum. The statement noted that Iran, Iraq, and Turkey would “consider taking counter-measures in coordination.” The statement did not include any details on the possible countermeasures. (Reuters)

State-run Iranian media outlet IRIB News released a video on September 23 claiming that Iran had successfully tested the Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile. Iranian state media did not specify the location and time of the ballistic missile test. Western officials initially interpreted the IRIB report as an indication Iran had tested the missile on September 23. Western press outlets later reported that a test did not occur recently, and that the footage was from a January test of the Khorramshahr. The IRGC displayed a Khorramshahr missile during a September 22 parade commemorating the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War. (IRIB) (Mehr News Agency) (Fars News Agency) (Mehr News Agency)

Bpifrance CEO Nicolas Dufourcq announced that the French investment bank will provide a $600 million line of credit to French companies operating in Iran starting in 2018. The companies include Airbus and PSA Peugeot Citroen. This would be the third European bank to make a similar deal following the signing of the JCPOA in 2015. Austrian Oberbank and Danish Dankse Bank signed similar deals with several Iranian banks earlier this month. (IRNA) (Press TV) (E) (BBC Persian)