Iran
Iran’s “Political Prisoner Cleansing”
Reyhaneh Jabbari’s Execution postponed, Pour Shajari re-arrested, Sadeghi missing in custody, Boroujerdi to be hanged
Iran News Round Up September 29, 2014
A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by AEI Critical Threats Project Iran Analyst Mehrdad Moarefian and Iran Intern Amir Toumaj, with contributors Chris Rawlins, Diana Timmerman, and Marie Donovan.
(E) = Article in English
Military and Security
- Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Air Force Commander Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Haji Zadeh said:
- On Iran’s downing of an Israeli Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV): “After this action, some large countries sent us messages of congratulations… the Israeli aircraft did not post information online; but the information was stored in it, so by destroying it, [the UAV] did not send any information.”
- “This is a spy plane, and usually countries do not comment on these UAVs, but given what we know of them in Syria and in some other places such as Karabakh, we are already familiar with this type of aircraft…”
- “Fighter aircraft are created for carrying out military operations and targeting certain parts of the country, and if we can discover them, we can see the damage; but the spy planes are primarily small and secretive… detection, interception, and destruction of these aircraft is very, very difficult.” (Sepah News) Read the rest of this entry »
Iran Unveils New Missiles, Drones
Aug. 24, 2014 – 03:45AM | By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE |
A handout picture released by the official website of the Iranian President, shows president Hassan Rouhani, center, and Iran‘s Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan, second right, visiting Iran’s defense capabilities exhibition on Aug. 24 in Tehran. (AFP)
TEHRAN, IRAN — Iran on Sunday unveiled two new missiles and two new drones it said have been added to its arsenal, in a ceremony attended by President Hassan Rouhani.
The Ghadir (Mighty), with a range of 300 kilometers (185 miles), is a ground-to-sea and sea-to-sea missile, the official IRNA news agency said.
It is in the same family as the Ghader or Qader cruise missile, which has a range of 200 kilometers.
The other missile unveiled on Sunday, the Nasr-e Basir (Clear Victory), is equipped with a seeker homing head. Its range was not given. Read the rest of this entry »
Iran News Round Up April 23, 2014
A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by the AEI Critical Threats Project’s Iran research team. 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
- An editorial in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) weekly publication sobh-e sadegh outlined the seven duties of the IRGC:
- 1. Aiding in the affairs of enforcement, security, control, pursuit, and arrest of anti-revolutionary elements
- 2. Armed fighting against armed anti-revolutionary currents
- 3. Defending against the attacks and occupation of foreigners and their domestic elements
- 4. Effective coordination and cooperation with the armed forces
- 5. Aid in the implementation of the orders of the Supreme Leader and the Islamic Republic government’s prosecution
- 6. Supporting freedom and righteous seeking movements under the Supreme Leader’s supervision
- 7. Aiding in the advancement of civil projects
- IRGC Hazrat-e Seyyed ol-Shohada Unit (Tehran Province) Commander Brig. Gen. Ali Nasiri defended the IRGC’s role in the economy and said “The IRGC has appropriately planned for all sectors of the population across the country and has taken valuable measures in the construction arena.” Read the rest of this entry »
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers message to ‘Revolutionary foster-children,’ aka university students, Mehr reports.
By Haaretz | Feb. 13, 2014 | 1:20 PM
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Photo by AP
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has urged the country’s students to prepare for cyber war, the semi-official Mehr News Agency reported on Wednesday. Khamenei delivered a message to a university students’ association, or his “Revolutionary foster-children,” as he called them, reminding them that they are “cyber-war agents” who must prepare for battle, Mehr reported.
Turkey, Iran seek workaround on Syria
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sign documents in Tehran, Jan. 29, 2014. (photo by Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
“The international political intervention should target not [Syria‘s ruling] Baath [Party] but the actors whose proxy war Baath is fighting,” Taha Ozhan of Turkey’s SETA think-tank wrote on Jan. 25, pointing to Russia and Iran. As the chairman of SETA (Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research) — the main civic mouthpiece of Turkey’s deadlocked Syria policy — penned those lines, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was preparing to go to Tehran.
Summary⎙ Print Ankara and Tehran are attempting to normalize a relationship put off track by Syria.
Author Fehim Taştekin Posted February 2, 2014 Translator(s)Sibel Utku Bila
It was a slapdash article reflecting a grudge toward Russia and Iran for fending off regime change in Syria. Four days later, Erdogan was on a completely different track when he told his hosts that he felt like he was at his “second home” in Tehran.
The Turkey-Iran relationship has always been two-sided, but the Syrian crisis upset the balance, threatening the positive side. Erdogan was in Tehran to bolster that side. Back to a “win-win” mode, he set a target of $30 billion in bilateral trade for 2015. In 2013, the trade volume dropped to $13.5 billion from $21.8 billion the previous year.
Russia plays the Iran card
Russian President Vladimir Putin passes Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during their meeting at the Kremlin, Jan. 16, 2014. (photo by REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin)
The Geneva II conference to be held next week may be the most intriguing event in diplomacy since the Cold War. On the one hand, this is an example of the cooperation of major countries that want to resolve a regional conflict, each for its own reason. On the other hand, this is a classic “great game,” when all participants are afraid to miscalculate and miss out on the opportunities that will arise. All this is happening, yet the result is completely unpredictable. Even the process itself is unpredictable — a few days before the conference is set to begin, it is still unclear who will participate.
