Iran News Round Up

The Iran News Round Up ran from February 2009-September 2018. Visit the Iran File for the latest analysis.

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by AEI Critical Threats Project Iran Analyst Will Fulton and Iran Intern Amir Toumaj. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

(E) = Article in English

Politics

Regional Developments

Diplomacy

Military and Security

  • Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Mahmoud Alavi stated, “They [enemies] are seeking to harm the country’s security, but the Unknown Soldiers of the Imam of the Age [MOIS operatives] neutralize their tricks.” He added that Qom sources of emulation, Mashhad's Friday Prayer Leader, and senior clerics Ayatollahs Lotfollah Safi Golpayegani and Naser Makarem Shirazi alongside other senior clergy will “aid officials well.”
  • Head of the Basij Organization BG Mohammad Reza Naghdi stated, “Martyrs provide us an opportunity, after periods of forgetting and amnesia toward our grand rights, we can return to ourselves, awaken and know what valuable legacy they have left for us.”

Nuclear Issue

  • Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed the notion that sanctions would cause a change in Iranian foreign policy behavior and discussed nuclear weapons, reiterating previous Iranian positions. He added that President Rouhani would make an announcement regarding nuclear negotiations within the next two weeks:
    • “Sanctions create pressure on the people but will not cause a change in policy. Westerners must understand that pressure does not lead to policy change. We are obligated to reduce pressures on the people, but this pressure has neither caused a change in policies nor will it do so if continued. Sanctions harm normal people, but these people do not expect the country to disregard their rights.”
    • “We do not view nuclear weapons as ensuring our security. Nuclear weapons have no place in Iranian doctrine, and will not only not lead to the country’s security, rather they are a threat for our national security. We are a powerful country and fundamentally do not need nuclear weapons.”
    • “There is a variety of pressures in America, and for this reason [one] must consider this society as a complex system, in which, just as Israel has an active presence, Iran must also perform well. The Iranian complex that is present in America is an important capital for us, which, with their activities, must not allow that a small warmongering group impose its interests not only on Iran, but also on America.” 
  • Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani discussed nuclear negotiations and stated, “Westerners throw stones at our nuclear matter, but we must say that it has been the strength, greatness and honor of our science that caused the Westerns to do this. Because this act is valuable, the Westerners have formed a line against us and the main reason is that our work in nuclear matters is excellent."
  • According to Alef, the unofficial announcement of the transfer of the nuclear cause from the Supreme National Security Council to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been met with positive reactions by specialists and activists and may indicate a shift that the “security aspect must be divested or at least become less colorful, and competent countries should pursue political, legal and technical perspectives.” 

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