The deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards today threatened to annihilate Israel in an apparent reaction to the latest Israeli military strikes against Syrian and Iranian military targets in Syria. “Listen!
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani voiced support for the country’s military forces to develop advance weapons, including missiles, to enhance the Islamic Republic’s deterrence capabilities. “I am support the Artesh [Iran’s regular army] and Sepah [Islamic Revolution Guards Corps] to make any weapons needed for defense,” the Iranian media quoted the president as saying at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Iranian Army. He emphasized that the Iranian Army and the IRGC do not need the permission of any foreign power to bolster the country’s defense capabilities.
The office of Hassan Rouhani today announced that the Iranian president has suspended his official account in Telegram, Iranian media reported. Rouhani’s decision came after Supreme Leader Ali Khameni’s office said yesterday that the Iranian leader would no longer use Telegram to “safeguard” Iran’s national security and “remove the monopoly of Telegram messenger”.
Amb. Robert Ford and Charles Lister join host Paul Salem to discuss last week’s U.S. airstrikes in Syria in response to the Assad government’s ongoing use of chemical weapons, what the Trump administration is signaling about America’s plans there, and the escalating standoff between Israeli and Iranian forces in the country.
In the latest sign that the Iranian regime is set to further increase Internet restrictions, the office of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today that the Supreme Leader is leaving Telegram, the most popular messaging service in Iran used by more than a half of the country’s 80 million population. All government agencies have reportedly been prohibited from using Telegram, and today’s announcement indicated that the government plans to shut down the messaging app in the near future.
Fifteen years after the fall of the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein, Iraq is still engaged in the process of transitioning to a system of governance representative of its population. The new Iraq has experienced meaningful progress and serious setbacks. While the upcoming elections, slated for May, promise a further constructive push, Iraq faces serious structural impediments to progress—including a divisive political environment and significant social challenges in the wake of ISIS—and should expect incremental rather than revolutionary change.
A prominent Iranian-backed Iraqi militia group has said that its forces will stand by the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria to defend it against any attacks by the United States and its allies.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian paid a one-day visit to Tehran on Monday to discuss Iran’s controversial missile program and regional activities. Iranian leaders told the top French diplomat that European countries should put pressure on the Trump administration to keep and implement that Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers in July 2015.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Gonul Tol, Paul Salem, Alex Vatanka, and Marvin G. Weinbaum provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the Syria strikes, Turkey’s Assad paradox, the Arab League summit, EU’s view of the Iran nuclear deal, and clashes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
conference in Tehran, Bahram Qassemi said “the aggression on Syrian soil was illegal” and emphasized that the Israeli attack will not go unanswered this time. “Israel will receive the required responses sooner or later,” he told at the briefing. “They cannot take (such) an action and be exempt from punishment,” he added. “The time for hit and run has passed for Israel, and the resistance forces in the region are capable of retaliating fittingly.” The spokesman also said Tehran is considering legal action against Israel, but did not elaborate.
The leader of an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia group has warned that his forces are ready to fight American troops in Syria, Arab media reported. Akram al-Kaabi, the secretary-general of Harakat al-Nujaba, made the comments in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement about imminent missile strikes to punish the regime of Bashar al-Assad for the latest chemical attack in Homs Governorate. Kaabi lashed out at Trump’s remarks on Syria and accused the US president of trying to undo the recent gains of the Assad regime and its allies.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Windhoek yesterday to meet with senior Namibian officials and ways to promote bilateral ties between the two countries, Iranian media reported. Soon after arrival, Zarif spoke at a joint economic meeting of Iran and Namibia, which was attended by Namibian Minister of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development Tjekero Tweya. According to Tasnim News Agency, the Iranian top diplomat is also scheduled to hold meetings with the African country’s top political leaders and parliamentary members.
