PHOTO: President Rouhani waves to crowd in Tehran’s Azadi Square on Thursday
Iran’s regime marked the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution on Thursday, but the ceremonies had to fight for attention alongside a Syrian crisis in which Tehran is deeply involved.
State media put out the ritual declaration that “millions of Iranians [went] to the streets in cities and towns across the country” and noted the speech of President Rouhani in Tehran’s Azadi Square.
Declaring that other powers are now “admitting mistakes” in dealing with Iran, Rouhani said, “They are now willing to interact and have good relations with the great Iranian nation.”
He said that, through the implementation of the July 2015 nuclear agreement with the 5+1 Powers, the Islamic Republic managed to “defeat the Iranophobia project” and to show the world that alleged Iranian threats to the global peace and security are “baseless”:
Today…the world’s public opinion has completely accepted that the propaganda campaign of the Zionists and the global arrogance of the US against the Iranian nation has been a lie and devoid of truth. The Iranian people are a peace-seeking people.
The Presence of Syria
However, Rouhani’s speech has already been overtaken by attention to Syria, where Iran has put in more commanders and troops to accompany its political and economic support of the Assad regime.
Three of the top five stories in Press TV’s Iran section are devoted to Thursday’s international talks on the crisis, in which Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was involved. Zarif conferred with the Assad regime’s representative, Ambassador to the UN Bashar al-Ja’afari, and told the 17-nation conference that “negotiations need to be pursued seriously“.
See Syria Daily: International Group Declares Pursuit of A “Cessation of Hostilities”
Press TV also pointedly mentioned the presence of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the elite Qods Force of the Revolutionary Guards, in the anniversary march.
Soleimani was reportedly wounded in fighting near Aleppo city in Syria in November. Rumors swirled of the extent of his injuries, and even of his death, as Iranian media tried to disprove the claims with unverified photographs of the commander.
A picture on Press TV this morning shows Soleimani in civilian attire on a Tehran street:
Since October 7, Iranian media have acknowledged the deaths of 187 troops in fighting in Syria, including at least 10 commanders. More than 50 of the casualties have occurred since February 1, amid a prominent role for Iranian units in an offensive north of Aleppo city.
Rouhani Drops Objections to Election Bans
Rouhani backed away from the recent dispute over the thousands of candidates disqualified by the Guardian Council for the February 26 elections for Parliament and the Assembly of Experts, the body which chooses the Supreme Leader.
Instead, the President emphasized unity and participation in the vote:
True reformists, true principlists, and true moderates are all revolutionary….In our time, being revolutionary means favoring participation, tolerance, resistance, and having our country’s goods be competitive in world markets. It means favoring hope, liveliness, and development….
If people have an issue with the political system and government, for example, they must not take out their anger at the ballot box. This ballot box is the right of the people.
Rouhani initially criticized the Guardian Council’s purge of 60% of the more than 12,000 candidates for the 290-seat Parliament last month, saying it was a process that would lead to a “one-party state”. However, he has pulled as the Council reinstated about 25% of those were disqualified, following discussions with Government ministers.
The Council has also blocked all but 166 of the 801 candidates for the 88-member Assembly. Those barred include the grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini.
See Iran Daily, Feb 1: Election Ban on Khomeini’s Grandson Upheld
Rouhani called for a “JCPOA 2”, a drive for economic recovery after the implementation of the July 2015 nuclear deal, to achieve 8% growth with the help of $50 billion in foreign investment.
