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

Excerpts of these translations may only be used with the expressed consent of the authors.

Politics

  • Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reacted to recent Syria developments:
    • “We hope America's new position regarding Syria is serious, without deception and a true reversal from their arbitrary and mistaken position of the past few weeks.”
    • “Unfortunately, with an incorrect interpretation of not fighting during Hajj [season], some mistaken [individuals] are attempting to undermine the philosophy of establishing the bara'at az moshrekin [Interpretation of Qur'an referring to political activities that take place socially during Hajj pilgrimage], though fighting blasphemy is one of Islam's most fundamental orders.”
    • “Enemies of Islamic society have noticed that conflict within Islamic sects is to the benefit of the usurping Zionist regime. On this basis, by establishing takfiri groups from one side and creating Islamic and even Shi'a looking media to expand divisions from another, they are seeking to make Muslims fight each other.”
    • “Shi'a elders, including Imam [Khomeini] and others, continuously emphasized Islamic society's unity. Therefore, the Shi'ism that propagates from media in London and America with the goal of expanding conflicts is not in the path of true Shi'a.”
    • “To reach their self-proclaimed national interests, which are in reality the interests of Zionists and great capitalists, they are even ready to fan the fire and violate the rights of other countries and nations.”
    • “We, as a great nation in this sensitive region, must show our grand and humanistic goals that are based on Islam for everyone to see and invite humanity to the achievement of the movement based on Islam with the correct outlook and by using Islamic strength.”
    • “The achievement of the movement based on Islam is the construction of the nation's inner strength that will be achieved with firm faith, peoples' unity, officials' correct behavior, sympathy between the people and officials, and reliance on God.”
    • “The movement of the Islamic system in this path and its ever increasing strength will certainly affect regional circumstances, just as it has been until now.”
  • National Security and Foreign Policy Parliamentary Commission member MP Javad Karimi Ghodousi credited Iran with compelling the United States to forgo a strike on Syria:
    • “When our military commanders introduced Syria as a red line and His Excellency [Supreme Leader] presented enlightening intelligence regarding events in Syria, the Americans noticed that Iran, as the region's superior power, has the capability to cripple America in the Middle East and that no power can ignore Iran's red lines.”
    • “The Resistance's will has prevented the implementation of the Americans' will in the region, and this itself is a great victory for Resistance thought in the region.”
    • “Americans know well that Lebanese Hezbollah, as a superior military power, could and can answer the Americans' military measures and movements. Therefore, the Americans would be facing a big problem called Lebanese Hezbollah in return for attacking Syria.”
    • “The Americans knew that in the case of a military attack against Syria, their destroyers and frigates in the Mediterranean would be struck by the missiles of the Resistance. Even the Occupied Territories [Israel] would be struck by missiles from Syria during the early days of the war. Therefore, imagining half a million dead in the Occupied Territories during the early days of war was very difficult for the Americans.”
    • “In the early months of the Syrian adventure, Qatar led the terrorists, but the Americans accepted Saudi Arabia's proposal to transfer the Syrian case from the House of Khalifeh to the House of Saud, and therefore the Saudis became Syrian field commanders.”
    • “In the deal that the Saudis had with the Americans, it was planned that in return for transferring the Syrian case to the hands of Riyadh, the Americans would remove the Qatari crown prince. It was on this basis that America and Saudi Arabia entered a deal, and in the end the Syrian case was transferred from Qatar to Saudi Arabia and the Americans also removed the Qatari crown prince.”
    • “Competition between the House of Saud and the House of Khalifeh caused the withdrawal of the Qataris from Syrian events and their lack of trust in the Americans.”
    • “America's withdrawal from militarily attacking Syria will have a costly end for Saudi Arabia, more so than others, because they will suffer a heavy defeat in this game for the deal they struck with the Americans.”
  • Fars News Agency characterized President Rouhani's rumored cinema executive appointments, Mohammad Afarideh and Rahman Seifi Azad, as “rumors, the very utterance of which are dangerous, bitter, and intolerable for national cinema enthusiasts.” According to Fars, the two have directed controversial movies that “broke many Iranian cinematic conventions.” 

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