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SUMMARY: Linking the issue of Syria and the promotion of Iran’s power against the US and its allies, the Supreme Leader put out remarks on Monday that condemned Western hypocrisy:

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, “We should be powerful against the western world because they have shown that they do not have mercy for anyone and unlike their human rights’ claims and pretensions, their conscience will remain unaffected even if millions of people are killed.”

The Supreme Leader did not directly cite Syria but used the examples of “the Hiroshima massacre, the killing of millions of people in the First and Second World Wars, and the massacre of innocent people of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq” to denounce Washington’s military operations.

He turned that into a call for unity and support from Iranians, “We should boost our internal might and strength in the various political, governmental, livelihood and popular fields.”

Latest Updates, From Top to Bottom

Former FM Salehi: I Warned High Officials About Sanctions

An interesting revelation from Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, now the head of the Atomic Energy Organization: “I warned about #sanctions 2 1/2 years ago, but high officials believed the West could not boycott our oil.”

Rouhani Appoints Masoumeh Ebtekar As VP, Head Of Environmental Protection Organization

Rouhani announced Tuesday that he has appointed 52-year-old Masoumeh Ebtekar, a female politician who once served as a spokeswoman for hostage-takers at the US Embassy in Tehran, as Vice President.

Rouhani’s office tweeted about the appointment, noting that “Dr. Ebtekar was VP under former President @khatami_ir; is a senior politician & scientist who’s also fluent in English”

Ebtekar, the second woman appointed as Vice President under Rouhani, previously served as Vice President in the Khatami Administration, from 1997-2005.

Rouhani: Iran Seeking to Avoid International Military Intervention in Syria

President Hassan Rouhani has said that Tehran is doing its utmost to avert international military intervention in the Syrian conflict, warning of the dangerous consequences for the region.

Press TV quoted Rouhani as saying, “Over the past two weeks, the administration has used all its capacities to prevent a war…Messages were sent for certain powers and the Foreign Ministry is consulting with a number of countries.”

He added, “Syria is of special importance to Iran because it is a member of the [anti-Israeli] resistance front…Even the parliament of Britain, which is the closest ally of the US, voted against to the war.”

However, Fars News, linked to the Revolutionary Guards, quoted Rouhani as saying “If any war is imposed on the Syrian people, the warmongers, fighters and their friends will sustain the most losses.”

Hardline outlets have been using the word “warmongers” to denote the United States.

By contrast, Press TV did not run the same quote, although it did write that “Rouhani added that warmongers and their friends in the region will suffer te the most if a war is imposed on the people of Syria.”

The question then, is whether or not Rouhani actually said the Fars News quote about “warmongers”. Or, is Fars News manipulating Rouhani’s remarks to present a more hardline image?

Former Defense Minister Shamkhani Replaces Saeed Jalili as Secretary of Supreme National Security Council

Former Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani has replaced former presidential candidate Saeed Jalili as head of the Supreme National Security Council.

Shamkhani served as a rear admiral in the IRGC navy and Minister of Defense in the government of Mohammad Khatami between 1997 and 2005.

He has also acted as a military advisor to the Supreme Leader.

His predecessor, Saeed Jalili, was the lead negotiator with Western countries over Iran’s nuclear programme. However, President Rouhani recently declared that the Foreign Ministry will now take the lead in negotiations.

Will The Real Hassan Rouhani Please Stand Up (On Twitter)?

This morning sees another twist in the ongoing saga of the Iranian President’s social media presence.

A Twitter account purporting to be run by Rouhani’s office has changed its handle from @HassanRouhani_ to @drRouhani and issued a series of tweets claiming that it is the only real account for the President and that all others are fakes.

The problem is that there is another English language account — @HassanRouhani — which was opened during Rouhani’s Presidential campaign and which has also said that it is the only authentic account for the President. That account was used during Rouhani’s campaign to put out campaign messages, videos and photographs and live-tweet press conferences and speeches.

Both accounts now use the same background picture of Rouhani though both have different profile texts:

This is the profile text of the older account, created during the Rouhani Presidential campaign, and which is likely a genuine account:


Hassan Rouhani
@HassanRouhani
Iranian President’s English Account ¦ Persian @Rouhani_ir ¦ media@rouhani.ir
Tehran, Iran · president.ir/en/

And here’s the newer account, which on Tuesday claimed that it is the only authentic account for the President:


Hassan Rouhani
@drRouhani
Hassan Rouhani’s page, President of Islamic Republic of Iran
Updates in English, French, Spanish and Arabic
Tehran, Iran · President.ir

A selection of tweets from the newer account, @drRouhani. The account appears to be run by someone who is not a native English speaker:

Rouhani: No Progress on Nuclear Negotiations Unless West Adopts “Rhetoric of Respect”

President Hassan Rouhani has said that no progress can be made in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme until the West reciprocates Tehran’s “rhetoric of respect.”

Rouhani said “the rhetoric of the Iranian administration is one of prudence and the rhetoric of the nation is also one of civility accompanied by resistance and perseverance; and if their (the Westerners’) language is not one of respect as well, no progress will be made.”

He continued, “The West must understand that it will not achieve the least success through sanctions and pressure against the Iranian nation.”

“If the West uses the language of logic, reason and mutual interests on an equal footing, the Iranian administration is also ready to respond in the language of wisdom, prudence and logic,” Rouhani added.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif yesterday told reporters that the West needs to revise its policies toward Iran otherwise Tehran will continue to resist.

Zarif said, “Their (P5+1) past policy was wrong and [they] achieved nothing. So, it is necessary that they change such a policy. Otherwise, the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue resistance like the past 10 years.”

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani also added his voice demanding that the West amend their “intellectual and practical” approach to the nuclear issue.

Russian Warships “Take Offensive Arrangement” in Mediterranean, Says MP Boroujerdi

A senior Iranian MP has warned that Russian warships in the Mediterranean have “taken offensive arrangement to take action” if the US attacks Syria.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Chairman of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, stated “Practically, the Russians have lost their bases in the region and the only point that they have kept in the Middle-East is Syria. Therefore, Russians will not repeat their previous mistakes and will not allow the Americans to take control of their allies in the region.”

He added, “The Russian warships have taken offensive arrangement to take action to defend their defined interests in the Middle-East.”

Boroujerdi warned of the unpredictable consequences of an American attack, claiming that Russia will then be forced to intervene, Syria will respond by attacking Israel, and that Obama might face impeachment by the US Congress.

Propaganda of Day: “Syrian Insurgents Behead 30 Civilians”

Fars News, linked to the Revolutionary Guards, features lurid claims about the capture of the Syrian town of Maaloula by insurgents on Sunday:

Armed rebels affiliated to the Al-Qaeda terrorist group beheaded tens of Syrian civilians…in Southern Syria.

[A Fars] correspondent in Northern Syria reported that the Al-Nusra terrorists have attacked the Christian city of Maloula in Damascus countryside on Sunday and cut off the heads of 30 civilians.

The report said that a number of women and children were also among those beheaded by the Al-Qaeda terrorists.

The armed rebels also abducted a total of 15 other Christian citizens in Maloula city last night.

Maaloula, a site of ancient Christianity, was briefly occupied by a range of insurgent groups — including Free Syrian Army brigades as well as Islamist factions like Jabhat al-Nusra — on Thursday before they withdrew as the Syrian military shelled the areas. The insurgents returned on Sunday and held the center, declaring they would protect homes and churches.

Iran Via US Media: We Warned Washington That Syrian Insurgents Had Chemical Weapons

An interesting propaganda move by Tehran on Monday, using the Christian Science Monitor to put blame on Syrian insurgents for any use of chemical weapons….

In “a letter acquired by” the Monitor and supposedly sent this spring, Tehran told Washington that, as a “supporter” of the rebels, the US would be held responsible for any insurgent use of chemical weapons.

The letter reinforces statements by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over the past week that Iran had warned the Obama Administration since summer 2012 that “takfiris” — Iran’s derogatory term for the Syrian insurgency and those who support them — had obtained sarin and other nerve agents

A US State Department official would not verify the authenticity of the letter: “We don’t comment on diplomatic correspondence.”