PHOTO: Supreme Leader’s top advisor Ali Akbar Velayati with Syria’s President Assad, November 2015


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The top foreign advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader has denounced the ceasefire in Syria’s five-year conflict.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a former Foreign Secretary, said on Tuesday that the “Americans are pursuing regime change in Syria, and the Syrian ceasefire is just an excuse to change the Assad regime”.

He continued:

The Americans failed to remove Bashar Assad through the war waged by their proxies. They have now taken the issue to the UN Security Council and decided that Assad must not remain in power and a hand-picked American regime should be installed.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is absolutely opposed to the Americans’ plan.

Velayati repeated the regime’s line, “Any decision on Syria’s future is only possible with the will of the Syrian people, not with the decisions of the UN or other governments.”

A cessation of hostilities, brokered by the US and Russia, began on Saturday. Violence has decreased across Syria, although the Syrian military has continued to pursue attacks in some areas.

See Syria Daily, March 2: Despite “Ceasefire”, Assad Regime Presses Ground Attacks

Iran has provided essential political, economic, and military assistance to the Assad regime since 2012. Working with Russia, the Iranian military put in more commanders and troops from October 2015 to help pursue multi-front offensives against Syria’s rebels.

Velayati has insisted on several occasions that, despite talks for a political resolution, President Assad must continue to hold power.

See See Iran Daily, Nov 20: Supreme Leader’s Aide — “Assad Stronger Than Ever”


Oil Minister: Exports Up 30% in February

Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has declared a 30% rise in exports in February.

Zangeneh said on Monday that exports increased to 1.75 million barrels per day during the Iranian month from January 21 to February 20.

“This represents an increase of 400,000 barrels per day compared to the same period last year,” he asserted.

Iran has rejected the calls of fellow OPEC members, including Saudi Arabia, and its ally Russia for a ceiling on output because of a 75% decrease in global prices.

Instead Iranian officials have said they will increase exports by 500,000 bpd in the near-future and by 1 million bpd later in the year.

Amid US-led sanctions from 2012, Iranian sales declined from 2.2 million bpd to below 800,000 bpd. They recovered during 2014 and the negotiation of a nuclear deal to about 1.4 million bpd.


Leading Conservatives Ponder Election Defeat

Leading conservatives have spoken about their defeats in Friday’s Parliamentary elections.

Ahmad Tavakkoli, a prominent MP related to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and head of Parliament Sadegh Larijani, said his constituency decided to “vote for new faces”. Alireza Zakani, a loud opponent of the nuclear deal with the 5+1 Powers, said the results “must be respected after verification by legal channels”.

Defying thousands of disqualifications, the centrist-reformist List of Hope won a large minority of seats in the new Majlis, including all 30 seats from Tehran. Conservatives, who have dominated Parliament for more than a decade, relied on results outside the capital for a plurality — but not necessarily a majority — of the 290 MPs.

See Iran Daily, March 1: A “Victory for All” in the Elections

The head of the conservative bloc, Gholam Ali Haddad Adel — a former Speaker of Parliament and member of the Supreme Leader’s inner circle — said on Tuesday that he had not decided whether to appeal his 31st-place finish in the Tehran vote.