Politics
- Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with the heads of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches to discuss the implementation of economic resistance policies:
- Supreme Leader Khamenei said the economyis the most important issue facing the country and that the three branches must seriously enter the field and vehemently avoid conflict between each other. He added:
- If the comprehensive policies of economic resistance are pursued and implemented seriously, there is a lot of hope that economic boom and reforming the countrys economic foundations will be resolved in between the time of fulfilling and resolving parts of the peoples problems.
- The trend of implementing the broad policies of economic resistance must continue as a constant and unstoppable movement until reaching results. Each one of the branches must have precise supervision of its work.
- If implementing the broad policies of economic resistance necessitates setting aside some unfavorable laws, the Parliament must identify, and then eliminate them. Also, if implementing these policies require the elimination of some regulations and the adjustment of new facilitating regulations, the administration must undertake these measures by issuing resolutions.
- We must be careful that new laws and regulations do not lead to congestion and conflict.
- The elimination of laws and regulations unfavorable to the broad policies of economic resistance or the ratification of new laws and regulations will facilitate an easier implementation of these policies, which are mostly on the shoulders of the administration.
- Appoint individuals to pursue and implement the broad policies of economic resistance who have revolutionary and popular motivation and the necessary and sufficient beliefs in implementing them.
- The primary axis of these policies must be explicated for the people with correct and logical argumentation, so the policies can gradually settle in the various sectors of society and transform into popular demand.
- Creating discourse regarding economic resistance and its transformation to popular discourse can alleviate many of the problems and facilitate the works.
- Importation, food security and strategic reserves are important axes of the broad economic resistance policies. Aside from these matters, we must prevent unnecessary imports.
- Currently, the field is ripe for the implementation of the broad economic resistance policies. If all branches and organs strive, this work will advance well, with Gods favor.
- President Hassan Rouhani announced his full support and said, The administration is determined to increase oil and natural gas production, while petrochemical expansion is also on the agenda.
- Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani emphasized domestic production using indigenous expertise and the prevention of unnecessary imports and announced, The Parliament has approved appropriate laws to facilitate an environment favorable for business and work. Currently there are no legal problems for investing and utilizing the capability of the private sector.
- Judiciary head Ayatollah Sadegh Amol Larijani emphasized the necessity of media attention to economic priorities and avoidance of political sidelining. He then vowed to confront economic corruption.
- Supreme Leader Khamenei said the economyis the most important issue facing the country and that the three branches must seriously enter the field and vehemently avoid conflict between each other. He added:
- President Hassan Rouhani pledged the development and complete transformation of Hormozgan, during his second provincial visit. Part of this transformation is the development of Jasak port in the very near future.President Rouhani then discussed nuclear talks and Shia-Sunni relations:
- Officials have begun the final steps and the first round of negotiations well. These negotiations will continue with the support of the dear Iranian people.
- There are no differences between Shias and Sunnis.
- Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif addressed the inquiries of National Security and Foreign Policy (NSFP) Parliamentary Commission members earlier today on several recent controversies. They included the meeting of a European delegation with two prominent criminals of the [2009] sedition last month in Tehran and the reason for Zarifs deviatory positionsregarding the bastard Israeli regime and the Holocaust. Committee members also asked why the Foreign Ministry did not take appropriate measures which have led to recent deaths of Iranian nationals abroad in recent terrorist attacks. The MPs later announced that none of Zarifs responses convinced them.
- NSFP Parliamentary Commission member Ghodousi also announced that forty-one MPs have signed a letter to Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Mahmoud Alavi regarding the weakening of national securityduring the Rouhani administration. The letter includes issues such as continued efforts to normalize relations with America by the Foreign ministry and the President, requesting public opinion polls for relations with America, calling the countrys defense power as weak and prevention of holding missile drills.
- Former writer forKayhanthe -unofficial organ for Supreme Leader Khamenei-Mohammad Nourizad detailed his beating by several Intelligence Ministry agents in front of the ministrys building yesterday. Nourizad has protested the seizure of documents that the ministry took from his home during the investigation. Nourizad has been summoned to appear before the revolutionary court tomorrow. He was arrested after writing a letter to Supreme Leader urging him to apologize for the crackdown on protestors after the 2009 election.
- Supreme National Security Council Secretary Maj. Gen. Ali Shamkhani addressed the Veterans of Jihad and Martyrdom Arena conferenceand said, The only way of overcoming economic problems is the implementation of economic resistance policies, and in this path jihadists and warriors are unparalleled line-breakers Economic resistance is neither mathematical nor a war economy; Its an approach that makes the economy resistant against foreign organized attacks, it also takes the countrys economy out of stagnation and negative growth.
- Head of the Expediency Discernment Council Ali Akbar Velayati stated, Fulfillment of economic resistance will not be possible without the cooperation of the three branches.
- Foreign Minister Zarif met with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting officials to discuss the nuclear issueand said, The coordination that took place in this meeting will be utilized, God willing, in the service of the Islamic Republics goals. We hope that an institutional relations has been created between these two institutions during this meeting.
- Editorial on Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) weeklySobh-e Sadeghdiscussed the timing of economic resistance ratification from the Supreme Leader:
- This is while preliminary agreements with the P5+1 have taken shape and these countries are in negotiations with Iran for a final agreement. The timing of issuing these broad policies bring this point to attention that hoping and waiting for them [administration] to overcome issues is not possible through the Foreign Ministry, and this strategy will not lead to anywhere. Also, it has been some time that the Supreme Leader has significantly emphasized reliance on the economys domestic and endogenous forces and factors.
Regional Developments and Diplomacy
- Commander of Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militant group Zolfaghar Brigade, Abu Shahd al-Jabouri, has been reportedly killed in Ghanitareh, southern Syria, alongside forty fighters in a heavy clash with takfiriterrorists.Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Qazanfar Roknabadi met with the new Lebanese Foreign Minister Jabran Basilto discuss bilateral and regional issues. Roknabadi also announced Iranian willingness to cooperate with Lebanese security forces in capturing the perpetrators wanted for bombing the Iranian cultural mission in Beirut.
- In his only interview, al-Jabouri said, We will sacrifice for the Seyyeda Zeynab and Imam Khamenei until our last drop of blood.
- The third photograph in the article from left to right: Zolfaghar Brigade Second-in-Command Abu Hajer [killed in September 2013 and photographed in Iran in August; seeIran News Round Up September 18, 2013]; Zolfaghar Brigade Commander Abu Shahd and Abu Fadl al-Abbas Brigade Commander Abu Ajib.
- Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyahwill travel to Tehran and meet with his counterpart Foreign Minister Zarif.
Military and Security
- Security Deputy to the Interior Minister Ali Abdollahi announced that the five border guardskidnapped by Jaish al-Adl earlier this month are safe and that Iran is expecting Pakistan to fulfill its security commitments in securing their release.
- Defense Minister IRGC Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan unveiled twenty-one electronic and radar defense projects. The projects include upgrades for early-warning radar, naval, aviation and weapons systems. Dehghan praised the Iran Electronics Industries (SEI) and the [largest SEI subsidiary] Shiraz Electronic Industries for their research and production efforts.
- Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Imam Hossein University Commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Hassaniaddressed the Asymmetrical Defense Inventions convention. He emphasized sciences role in achieving the final stage of the Islamic Revolution, the establishment of a modern Islamic civilization. Hassani advocated an asymmetrical method for confronting the US, rather than the Soviet way:
- The Islamic Revolution is not fully complete. Just as the Supreme Leader stated, our Revolution has five stages, the stages of the Revolutions victory and establishing Islamic system has been accomplished successfully; however, the stages of establishing Islamic government, forming Islamic society and a modern Islamic civilization in the world are still left. We have stayed at the stage of establishing Islamic government and have not surpassed it yet. We have faced problems and sometimes deviations in this stage.
- The Supreme Leader has an undeniable role in our scientific awakening. Just as he introduced scientific jihad, we must know that scientific jihad seeks to establish a modern Islamic civilization.
- The only way of achieving international power is scientific strength. Scientific strength necessitates scientific authority. Therefore, a jihad must take place throughout the countrys organs in order for this act to be fulfilled.
- We must criticize Western science because there are other ways of reaching scientific discussions.
- Must we build expensive equipment step by step with the Americans? In my opinion this is an error. Our strategy, with attention to short cuts and asymmetrical defense inventions, can neutralize the weak spots of American achievements. We must pay attention to their weak spots and our approach must be with attention to scientific and university intellectuals.
- Asymmetric strategy and jihadi movements were the two components of Hezbollahs victory against the Zionist regime.
- Achieving scientific authority is not our ultimate goal, rather this will create the groundwork for achieving modern Islamic civilization.
- Asymmetric Defense Innovations and Inventions Convention Secretary IRGC Brig. Gen. Gholam Hossein Kazemiannounced, The IRGC has deprived enemies of sleep with reliance on asymmetric technologies. It has shaken the enemys back in the region and the world with its achievements and will target the house of threat not only in Haifa and Tel Aviv, but anywhere. The goal of holding this convention is breaking the border of knowledge and science and creating construction and serious competition and identifying the countrys intellectuals in the defense arena.
- Armed Forces General Staff Headquarters Basij Affairs and Defense Culture Deputy Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazayeriemphasized the pursuit of economic resistance policiesand warned not to be deceived by the enemies smiles because, The enemy considers internal disintegration as the method of confronting the Islamic Revolution and believes that the Islamic Republic must regret its path with external and internal pressures and begin coordinating with the West. America considers the Islamic Republic and groups allied with the Islamic Revolution such as Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad as obstacles to the fulfillment of Americas interests in the region.
- Artesh Navy Forces Operations Deputy Admiral Siavash Jareh attributedthe 30% decline of piracy in the past year in the Gulf of Aden to the Iranian navy.
Economy
- The Iranian Statistics Center published the macroeconomic indicatorsfor the first six months of the current Persian calendar year [March-September 2013]: -2% economic, -2.1% agriculture sector , -5.4% industrial sector, -0.6% services sector growth.
- Oil Minister Bijan Zanganehaddressed comments by Pakistani officials about ceasing purchases of Iranian natural gas and stated, Since international sanctions against Iran are serious, the Islamabad government cannot do anything more. I do not have official information regarding the stopping of Iranian gas imports by Pakistan.
- Senior Advisor to the President Akbar Torkanannounced that the country annually spends $124 billion on keeping fuel prices artificially low and that the point-by-point inflation has decreased from 45% to 28% since Rouhanis inauguration.
- Economic and Finance Minister Ali Tayebnia briefed reporters on important provisions of the second phase of the targeted subsidies policy. Provisions include identification of high-income and low-income earners through bank accounts, vehicle, and property locations for direct subsidy payments.Fuel prices are also slated to increasebetween March-May 2014, but Tayebnia emphasized that price increase with be gradual.
By AEI Critical Threat
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