Politics
- Foreign Ministry Political and International Director Hamid Baidinejad announced thatIran will receive its fifth installment of previously frozen cash next week under the terms of the Joint Plan of Action. Baidinejad said As of today four of the eight installments of our countrys assets have been released and the unlocked assets will add up to $2.65 billion after the fifth tranche is released next week.
- Tehran interim Friday prayer leaderAyatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani reiterated Supreme Leader Ali Khameneis messagethat Iran will not give up its right to nuclear energy and said It is the right of the nation and must go ahead in all dimensions and directions.
- Supreme National Security Council Secretary Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Maj. Gen.Ali Shamkhani underwent emergency heart transplant surgeryafter going into cardiac arrest. His surgery was reportedly successful and doctors have cleared him to return to his normal activities.
Military and Security
- Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps(IRGC) Deputy Commander Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami warned of the Wests agendaand said Some assume our challenges with the West will be resolved...Relations with the West will not change hostilities; the enemy seeks a hidden strategic agenda. Salami added In order to be successful we must make use of our internal capabilities.
- IRGC Air Force Commander Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Haji Zadeh commented onnegotiations with the West and the legacy of the Iran-Iraq war:
- America and Western countries do not talk about sanctioning Iran in defensive matters. They know that sanctions are ineffective, therefore they propose negotiations.
- There are some individuals in the country who are opposed to the martyrs, their memorial and probing efforts to identify their bodies and therahian-e noorthey oppose revolutionary movements and the ideals of Imam [Khomeini]. This matter has been around since the first of the revolution. It exists today as well. The honorable Iranian nation and those who believe in the Imam, Supreme Leader and this holy system are certainly victorious, and they are in the majority. The Supreme Leader determined a path in his recent speeches that he gave in therahian-e noorareas, so the people know the situation.
- IRGC protects some sensitive facilities and IRGC bases and units. We cooperate with the Artesh in some cases where they need it."
Diplomacy
- Political Deputy to the Chief of Staff and President Rouhanis nominee for Representative of Iran to United Nations Hamid Abu Talebi said thatlegislation passed by the US Congress denying persons who pose a national security threator have engaged in terrorist activities entry to the US created a new procedure from a legal perspective, that national parliaments can trample international agreements.
- The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Pakistan Ali Reza Haghighianannounced that the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit Iran in early-mid May.
Economy
- Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh led a delegation at agathering of Iranian and German companies in Berlin. During the meeting Nematzadeh invited German businesses to increase their presence in Iranian markets.
- President HassanRouhani chaired the second meeting of the Resistance EconomyCoordination Headquarters. Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh briefed Rouhani on barriers to private sector investment in the mining industry.
- First Deputy to the President Eshhagh Jahangiri announced thatthe administration has yet to decide on the income ceilingthat will determine receivers of cash handouts from phasing out commodity subsidies. He added thatcitizens private banking account information is a red line for the administration.
By AEI Critical Threat
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