A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by the AEI Critical Threats Project's Iran research team.

Politics

• Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed staff members of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). Khamenei urged his country’s nuclear negotiators to maintain a position of strength against the “arrogant powers”, stressing Iran’s right of nuclear research and development and said:
  
  
  
  • “Our Country’s negotiators should not approve of any sort of language of force by the other side.”
  
  
  • “None of the country’s nuclear achievements can be shut down and no one has the right to make a concession over them and no one will do such a thing.”
  
  
  • “Of course negotiations do not mean the Islamic Republic of Iran will give up its scientific nuclear endeavor.”
  
  
  • “The nuclear case is an example of the issues that they [West] tried to use as a pretext for creating a bad environment against the Islamic establishment.”
  
  
  •  “[IAEA] relations with Iran must be normal not extraordinary.”
  
  
  
  


• President Hassan Rouhani met with Azerbaijan’s President IIham Aliyev in Tehran to discuss regional cooperation and to work towards settling the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Following the meeting Rouhani held a joint press conference with the Azeri president and said “We must all try to settle differences within the framework of political and peaceful issues.” Rouhani added “no change in geographical boundaries in the region is acceptable.”


• Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Mahmoud Alavi announced “In the Eleventh Administration all political parties have entered the arena to serve the people and all of their activities are under the umbrella of the velayat-e faghih [guardianship of the jurisprudence].”


• Judiciary Head Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani slammed the EU Parliament’s recent resolution concerning human rights in Iran, calling it “blatant meddling” in Iran’s internal affairs. Larijani said the Baha’i faith is “Westerners’ fictitious religion to disrupt Islamic countries” but that Iran’s “judicial confrontations” with its followers are aimed at “those who spied for the foreigners or acted against national security.”

• Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif addressed the press following the final day of the third round of nuclear talks in Vienna. Zarif stressed that “sufficient and serious resolve” will be needed in order to reach a final solution. Zarif added:
  
  
  
  • “We have now reached the halfway point of negotiations on the comprehensive agreement. Over the past three months, the entire issues considered by both sides were taken into account.”
  
  
  • “For the next round of talks the parties will first agree upon a specific framework, and afterwards details will be brought into the framework to pave the way for the final accord.”
  
  
  
  


• Foreign Minister Zarif and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton held a joint press conference in Vienna. Zarif stated “There is still serious work ahead to clarify the differences that naturally exist and we are now entering the next stage of talks and we will try to narrow the gap.”


• Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) head Ali Akbar Salehi unveiled Iran’s advanced control room for its Tehran Research Reactor during an exhibition marking National Nuclear Technology Day. Salehi said “The control represented a breakthrough and is the first of its kind designed in Iran.”


• International and Legal Affairs Deputy to the Foreign Minister and senior nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi discussed the nonnegotiable aspects of nuclear talks such as Iran’s ballistic missiles. Araghchi stated:
  
  
  
  • “We will not negotiate about the country’s ballistic missiles and defense system and will not debate them; only the nuclear issue will be discussed in talks between Iran and the [P5+1].”
  
  
  • “Enrichment will continue. It will neither be suspended nor stopped, but its dimensions will be determined during the talks.”
  
  
  • “We have entered talks with seriousness and goodwill while insisting on our positions and rights; we expect that the negotiations will be finalized by [the July 20 deadline]. However, it cannot be predicted when this will happen.”
  
  
  
  

• Artesh Navy Forces Coordination Deputy Admiral Peyman Jafari Tehrani, announced that Iran hopes to reduce the influence of “countries outside the Indian Ocean region seeking interests other than creating security,” after Iran’s vote excluded the US from the list of participants in the next meeting of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium.


• Head of the Basij Organization Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naghdi stated “The two missions of culture and economy, which are not homogenous, have been announced [by the Supreme Leader] with the two characteristics of national determination and jihadi management; these two characteristics mean Basiji [thought].” Naghdi then added that the Basij has proposed 10 “resistance economy” proposals to the administration, but “the administration has not given a response yet.”

• Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also met with Azerbaijan’s President in Tehran. Khamenei called strong government “relations with the people and their religious beliefs” the “guarantor” of their success and said “Some groups must not be allowed to destroy national unity by spreading religious extremism and creating division among Islamic sects.”


• Lebanese Hezbollah Deputy Secretary Sheikh Na’im Qassem announced that “the Syrian opposition and their Western and Arab supporters must accept that Bashar al-Assad will be a candidate in this year’s elections and will win.”