PHOTO: Iranian special forces in Aleppo Province, April 2016


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Iran’s regime has admitted that more than 1,000 Iranian or Iranian-led fighters have been killed in Syria’s conflict, amid the Islamic Republic’s sharp military escalation alongside Russia in support of the Assad regime.

“Now the number of Iran’s martyrs as defenders of shrine has exceeded 1,000,” Mohammadali Shahidi Mahallati, head of Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs, said.

Up to Tuesday, Iran had only acknowledged 400 deaths, including more than a dozen commanders since October 2015, when Tehran put in units and Iranian-led foreign militias to accompany Russia’s airstrikes and Hezbollah ground forces.

Many Afghan fighters, enticed and/or coerced onto the Syrian battlefield and used as frontline “shock troops”, have also been killed.

Mahallati’s statement was unclear in whether the “more than 1,000” referred just to Iranian troops or was a total including the Iranian-led Afghan, Iraqi, and Pakistani militias as well.

Iran has been essential to the survival of the Assad regime since 2012, when the Revolutionary Guards began organizing a 50,000-strong Syrian militia to support the under-pressure regime army. Tehran has also provided billions of dollars in oil, supplies, and funds to prop up the Syrian economy.

Tehran used to mask its involvement with the public line that all of the casualties were volunteers defending the Sayyed Zeinab shrine in southern Damascus. However, since the late 2015 escalation, it has acknowledged the front-line involvement of Iranian troops and the Iraqi, Pakistani, and Afghan militias. The Supreme Leader has led tributes to “martyrs” and their families, and exhibits have allowed Iranians to pose in staged battlefield situations.

See Iran Photo Feature: Tehran Rallies Public at Book Fair — “You Can Pose as A Fighter in Syria”


Supreme Leader: We Will Respond If US Sanctions Act Renewed

The Supreme Leader has promised that Iran will respond if the US Congress and President renew the Iran Sanctions Act for another 10 years.

Last week the House of Representatives voted for the extension of the 1996 act. The Senate is expected to follow before Congress adjourns next month, sending the measure to President Obama for signature.

Ayatollah Khamenei told members of the Basij paramilitary in Tehran on Wednesday.

So far, the current US government has committed several violations with regard to the nuclear agreement. The most recent of them is the 10-year extension of the sanctions. If these sanctions are extended, it will surely constitute a violation of the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] and they should know that the Islamic Republic will definitely react to it.

Khamenei did not specify the response but other Iranian officials have indicated that Tehran could resume installation of advanced centrifuges and the production of 20% enriched uranium.

The centrifuges were restricted in the July 2015 nuclear agreement, and Iran gave up all stocks of the 20% uranium as well as ceasing production.

Last week, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, asserted, “If you extend the sanctions, this will mean kicking the JCPOA away and we will confront it through implementing powerful technical packages.”


Regime Splits Over Cancellation of Deputy Speaker of Parliament’s Address

The Iranian regime has fractured over the judiciary’s cancellation of a speech by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ali Motahari.

Motahari, known for his criticism of regime actions including the continued detention of opposition leaders, was blocked by the city prosecutor from appearing in Iran’s second city Mashhad on Sunday.

The MP wrote President Rouhani, “I wonder whether these Daesh [Islamic State]-type actions are carried out deliberately, or out of ignorance?” He asked for clarificaiton of who rules Khorasan-Razavi Province”.

See Iran Daily, Nov 22: Judiciary Shuts Down Speech by Deputy Speaker of Parliament

Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani said on Tuesday that the cancellation was “regrettable” and “divisive” and added that an investigation is ongoing.

The statement could Larijani at odds with his brother, Sadegh, who heads the judiciary.

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli warned that “harshening the atmosphere is not in the country’s interest.” He claimed that if Motahari had given his speech, “nothing would have happened”.

However, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani, a Tehran Friday Prayer Leader and the Secretary-General of the Combatant Clergy Association, said Motahari’s remarks “are not in the country’s interest”: “

The prosecutor’s statement must be accepted. This does not mean that we must shut mouths, but we must shut mouths against the Supreme Leader and to please God.