PHOTO: The Supreme Leader’s foreign policy advisor, Ali Akbar Velayati, with Syrian President Assad, May 2015


LATEST


The Supreme Leader’s top aide has repeated Iran’s support for the Russian military intervention in Syria.

“Iran, Russia and Iraq are Syria’s friends and allies. We do not deny cooperation and consultation between Iran, Russia, Syria and Iraq,” Ali Akbar Velayati, a former Foreign Minister, told Iran’s Arabic-language news channel al-Alam on Saturday.

Russia began bombing Syrian rebels on September 30, with the Syrian military launching a three-front ground offensive a week later.

The Russian airstrikes and introduction of advanced battlefield equipment and several hundred “advisors” have eclipsed Iran’s military backing of the Assad regime. However, a sign of Tehran’s continued support — and the cost to the Islamic Republic — came on Thursday when the commander of the Iranian forces in Syria, General Hossein Hamedani, was killed by the Islamic State near Aleppo city.

See Iran Daily, Oct 10: Tehran’s Top Commander in Syria is Killed

Hamedani’s funeral on Sunday in Tehran:

HAMEDANI FUNERAL

Velayati insisted that the Assad regime is the “backbone” of resistance against Israel, and that the uprising from March 2011 was a foreign-backed attempt to break that resistance.

“We do not hide it that we are in consultation with Russia, Syria and Iraq to prevent the realization of the illegitimate demands of foreigners who seek to topple the legitimate Syrian government,” Velayati said.

The aide continued, “[Our] plan suggests that a government should rule Syria which has the support of the majority; Bashar al-Assad, we believe, would win another election, since he has made many sacrifices for Syrian people.”


Rafsanjani Tries to Retrieve Government’s “Engagement” of Saudi Arabia

After more than two weeks of intense criticism of Saudi Arabia over the Mecca stampede that killed 464 Iranians among thousands of casualties, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has tried to retrieve the Government’s policy of engagement with Riyadh over regional crises.

Rafsanjani said, in an interview with journalists published on Sunday:

Ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia can be repaired….If we act properly, we can easily settle our issues with the Arabs. They too need to take appropriate measures. If a wise and moderate individual like [former Saudi] King Abdullah had been in power, he would have settled the differences.

I was earlier a guest of [current Saudi King] Salman in a meeting in Riyadh. Back then I found him a sensible man. I think his inner circle is acting incorrectly and goes to extremes.

Since its inauguration in 2013, the Rouhani Government has worked for discussions with the Saudis, but the effort has been challenged by hardliners. The Government’s task has become tougher with the recent invocation of the Supreme Leader against “engagement”, directly ruling out talks with the US and implicitly cautioning against a rapprochement with Riyadh.

Rafsanjani covered his call for engagement with a firm line against other “foreigners” who “do not want to see a powerful country in this region”: “There are some who favor the breakup of Iran, Iraq and Syria into smaller countries at odds with each other.”


Parliament Ratifies General Outline of Nuclear Deal

The July 14 nuclear deal moved a step closer to implementation on Sunday, as Iran’s Parliament finally ratified the general outline of a “single-emergency” bill on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The bill was approved by 139-100, with 12 abstentions.

Debate on the measure was heated. One hardline MP threatening to bury in cement Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, who led the Islamic Republic’s technical discussions with the 5+1 Powers.

Earlier in the day, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani had criticized Parliament for delays in consideration of the agreement (see below).


Larijani Reaffirms Supreme Leader’s “No Talks with US”

Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has forcefully reaffirmed the Supreme Leader’s command — rebuffing the Rouhani Government’s foreign policy of “engagement” — that there will be no talks with the US about regional issues.

Describing the current situation as the most turbulent since World War II, Larijani told MPs, “aAnew plot is being devised with the aim of blocking Islamic Awakening and imposing a new order in the region. That’s why the anti-terrorist has turned into a political scandal for America and their allies.”

The Speaker dismissed US-led airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, saying that the coalition had only carried out “some reconnaissance flights”.

He then reinforced Ayatollah Khamenei’s line, “The enemy is incorporating different strategies in the region in order to demolish Islamic aims and policies and this is why the Leader has deemed negotiations with the US as wrong and useless.”

See Iran Daily, Oct 8: Supreme Leader Cuts Off Government’s “Engagement” Foreign Policy


Speaker Larijani Criticizes Parliament’s Delays in Reviewing Nuclear Deal

Echoing President Rouhani, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has criticized the Majlis for its delays in reviewing the July 14 nuclear deal.

Larijani told MPs on Sunday that a conclusion of the review is “urgent”.

After weeks of hearings, a Parliamentary commission finally submitted its report last week; however, this was beset by complaints by commission members that the report did not point to positive outcomes of the nuclear agreement and that no vote was held on the final text.

Khabar Online, linked to Larijani, has accused the Steadfastness Front (Peydari) — led by hardline Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi — of obstruction of the deal.

President Rouhani said on Saturday that the Iranian economy is being affected by the slow process of consideration.

Sanctions cannot be lifted until the International Atomic Energy Agency confirms Iranian compliance with the deal, and that process in turn rests upon Tehran’s confirmation of the agreement.

The Government had hoped for the IAEA’s clearance by mid-December.