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Continuing his rhetorical campaign — both towards Washington and his own Government — Iran’s Supreme Leader has again declared that armed forces must boost preparedness to deter any aggression.

Addressing commanders and officials of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base on Sunday, Ayatollah Khamenei pronounced:

Our opposite side, which we refer to with such terms as the arrogant system or the global Zionism, is an evil and deceitful front with oppressive ideas, which is hostile to the Iranian nation’s religious beliefs and independence and refusal to bow to bullying.

One day, this enmity appears in the form of the United States of America, and another day, in the form of a bullying regime such as Saddam [Hussein].

He continued, “In the face of such an enemy, which seeks to undermine the country’s defensive prowess, the Armed Forces’ preparedness must be boosted to an extent that the enemy would not even dare to think about any aggression.”

Khamenei has made such declarations since he became Supreme Leader in 1989; however, they have taken on added significance because of tension with the US after the 2015 nuclear deal, regional issues such as the Syrian civil war, and — perhaps most importantly — regime in-fighting ahead of the May 2017 Presidential election.

The Supreme Leader issued a similar statement last Wednesday as he publicly chided President Rouhani and the Cabinet, implicitly criticizing their possible weakness in standing up to the US. He cited supposed American failure to live up to implementation of last year’s nuclear deal: “This experience teaches us that one cannot trust the promises of any administration in America.”

See Iran Daily, August 25: Supreme Leader Tells Off His President

The statements have also been accompanied by Khamenei’s warning to the President not to begin campaigning for re-election next May, as the Government “must serve the people”.

To back up the Supreme Leader’s latest declaration, the regime released the first video of elements of an S-300 air defense system provided by Russia.

The elements were finally delivered earlier this year, after the initial deal was suspended by Moscow in 2010 and only revived by a decree by President Vladimir Putin in 2015. The system is not yet operational, however, with Iranian officials offering vague statements that it will be ready in 2017.

The Supreme Leader told his commanders on Sunday:

The S-300 system is a defensive and not an offensive system, but the Americans made their utmost efforts to [prevent] the Islamic Republic’s access to such a facility….It is saying that you remain defenseless so that we can attack your country any time we want.”


Regime Confirms Arrest of Nuclear Negotiator

The regime has confirmed the arrest of a member of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team.

Judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei said on Sunday that the the suspect had been released on bail pending an investigation of espionage allegations and added, “His charge of spying has not been proved”.

Ejei did not name the suspect, but a former MP and Iranian websites confirmed last week that he is Abdolrasoul Dorri Esfahani, an Iranian-Canadian national who is a specialist on banking and finance.

The former MP, Hamid Rasaei, declared that Esfahani had received “a monthly salary of $35 million” from English and American contacts for transfer of “sensitive financial and economic information about the Islamic Republic”.

Esfahani, who resigned as a bank director after his name was circulated in June by hardline sites, was detained last month.

See Iran Daily, August 26: As In-Fighting Rises, Regime Arrests One of Its Nuclear Negotiators