Anwar Mohamad Gargash, the minister of state for foreign affairs of the United Arab Emirates, blamed Iran’s “interventionism” for the war and human suffering in Yemen.
The Iranian media extensively covered Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud’s recent trip to Malaysia. State-run and semi-official outlets close to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.), in particular, discussed in details the growing economic and trade ties between Riyadh and Kuala Lumpur.
First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri has warned that soaring unemployment has become Iran’s “biggest challenge” and revealed that a staggering number of 500,000 Iranians are annually added to the list of those already without jobs in the country.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif blamed Western countries for the failure of international efforts to tackle drug trafficking and claimed that the Islamic Republic pays a high price for its contribution to combating the global illicit narcotics trade.
Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, one of Iran’s most senior clerics and a staunch supporter of the Iranian regime and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene
The daughter of Abdolfattah Soltani, a prominent human rights lawyer jailed in Iran, says hardline Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi is blocking the release of her father although he is legally eligible
Iran’s Fars News Agency (FNA), a mouthpiece of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.), has published interviews with Iraqi politicians and militia commanders about Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir’s February 25 visit to Baghdad and its potential implications for the war against the Islamic State and for Iraq’s relations with Iran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, in a meeting with a top moderate figure has reportedly promised not to wage a campaign of repression against the moderate and reformist factions in the lead-up to the May 2017 presidential elections.
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has responded to claims by the leadership of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) about the number of successful operations the latter has carried out in recent years.
The Iranian Navy on Sunday launched large-scale maritime exercises near the strategic Strait of Hormuz by showcasing warships, submarines and attack helicopters as well as test-firing new, advanced missiles. According to the Iranian media, the naval drills marked the last phase of Iranian Navy’s annual war game – dubbed “Velayat 95” – and covered an area of two million square kilometers, stretching from the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman to north of the Indian Ocean and Bab al-Mandab Strait.
As the Trump administration is considering designating Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” two senior Iranian civilian leaders have strongly defended the I.R.G.C.’s military involvement in the Middle Eastern conflicts. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif this weekend praised the I.R.G.C.’s efforts to fight “terrorism” in the region and argued that Washington’s threat of designating Iran’s elite military unit will be futile.
