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Daily Report for Wednesday, August 24, 2016

1

Report for

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 Shahrivar 3, 1395

Highlights, Page 2

News Briefs, Page 3

Other Stories, Page 3

A recap of Iran-Iraq ties, seen from Iranian perspective, Page 5

Senior Iran cleric faces down culture minister over concerts, Page 8

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Daily Report for Wednesday, August 24, 2016

2 Highlights

 Former enemies are now brothers. Iran has proved it and now looks for opportunities for more trade, security, and environmental cooperation.

(See Page 5)

 In Iran, a conservative cleric is continuing to block musical concerts in defiance of the Culture Ministry, leading others to do the same, undercutting the authority of President Hassan Rouhani. (See Page 8)

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Daily Report for Wednesday, August 24, 2016

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News Briefs

* [Correction] Mardom Salari newspaper reports that Tehran Governor‘s Office has said that between 500 to 700 drug addicts are removed from Tehran streets each day.

It said that it would view those addicts who are removed from the streets for two times as ‗criminals‘.

* The BBC Culture‘s recent poll of film critics around the world puts Asghar Farhadi‘s ‗A Separation‘ (2011) at No 9, and Kiarostami‘s ‗Certified Copy‘ (2010) and ‗Ten‘ (2002) at numbers 46 and 98, respectively, among the top films of the 21st century.

* Etemad newspaper reports that Head of Iran Pharmacists Association Dr. Seyyed Mehdi Sajjadi says that the Iranian decision-makers have been ‗unkind‘ [not paying proper attention] towards the pharmacists for a long time, and continuation of this situation will only contribute towards making the pharmacies dilapidated and vulnerable.

* Mardom Salari newspaper reports that Sistan and Baluchistan Province police have arrested a shop owner who used a bank card belonging to one of his customers to withdraw unspecified amount of money without the card owner‘s permission.

* Mardom Salari newspaper reports that Tehran police have arrested two men on charges of faking accidents to steal expensive cars.

* Etemad newspaper reports that ‗some time back‘ Tehran police arrested a gang of thieves who used to rob houses to the east of Tehran. Among the arrested thieves, there is a 30-year-old man who confessed to selling one kilos of opium to one of his friends.

* Mardom Salari newspaper reports that three members of a family die after their Pride crashes into river in Isfahan city‘s east side. The 17-year-old daughter and 7- year-old boy survived, albeit injured, when they escaped the car through a broken glass back of the car.

Other stories

Shamkhani: Russia left

Shahid Nojeh Air Base after completing

“first phase of their mission”

Jomhouri Eslami conservative newspaper reports that Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Ali Shamkhani announced that Russian aircraft left Shahid Nojeh Air Base ―after ending the first phase of their mission successfully.‖

He also specified that Russia left the base on Thursday, August 18, not Monday, August 22.

The Russian Defense Ministry stated on August 22 that their aircraft left the base, the same day that the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced the end of Russian airstrikes from the base ―for now‖.

Russian air strikes from the base reportedly ended on August 18. Shamkhani also defended Russia‘s use of the base.

He stated that Iran ―is using Russia‘s capabilities in air operations alongside ground operations with planners and military advisors from Iran. It is a sign of might and not dependence.‖

According to Fars News Agency, Shamkhani said that Iranian military advisors had ―demanded Russian air force backup to render logistical support for ground operations in Aleppo.‖

The SNSC reportedly authorized Russia‘s use of Shahid Nojeh Air Base.

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Daily Report for Wednesday, August 24, 2016

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Dual national member of Iranian negotiating team reportedly arrested

Nasim Online news website reports that Abdolrasoul Dorri Esfahani, a banking expert on the Iranian nuclear negotiating team, was arrested for selling Iran‘s

―economic information‖ to a foreign country.

He is reportedly a British-Iranian citizen.

Nasim Online based its report on information from a channel on the popular messaging application Telegram.

No Iranian official has confirmed Esfahani‘s arrest.

RGC dismantles terror cells beyond borders

Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has busted up to four anti-Islamic Republic terrorist groups beyond the Iranian border, a senior commander says.

According to Press TV, Commander of the IRGC Ground Forces‘ Quds Base Brigadier General Mohammad Marani said that the IRGC forces succeeded in disbanding the groups outside the Iran‘s borders during the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 20).

―One of these groups was led by Amanollah Raeisi which was affiliated to Forqan [terrorist group]. This group sought

to conduct certain [terrorist] acts along [Iranian] borders, in border cities and deep into the country and had possessed some 150kg of explosives,‖ he said.

He added that the IRGC and police forces killed four members of the group in the final days of the holy month of Ramadan (late June).

He noted that Raeisi and other members of their nine strong terrorist group were also arrested and failed in their mission.

He added that the IRGC Ground Forces‘

Quds Base is vigilantly monitoring border areas and possesses precise intelligence of moves by the spying services of Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, and Western states aimed at fomenting insecurity in eastern borders.

He commander said the IRGC forces are closely pursuing the issue of security in all areas such as foreign citizens, smuggling and anti-Iran and terrorist groups.

Ansari visits Turkey

State-owned newspaper Iran reports that Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari arrived in Ankara on August 23 to discuss developments in Syria with Turkish officials. Ansari‘s visit follows recent visits by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu at the two countries‘

capitals to discuss bilateral cooperation in Syria.

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Daily Report for Wednesday, August 24, 2016

5 A recap of Iran-Iraq ties,

seen from Iranian perspective

IRDiplomacy news website: Almost a month before the thirty-fifth anniversary of Iraq‘s invasion of Iran, the two neighbors are strengthening what is seen as their renewed decade-long fraternity. Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri has just left Iran after a visit to discuss regional issues and see into possibilities for further economic cooperation, among them the purchase of construction materials for mass housing projects aimed at reconstructing a war-torn Iraq.

The visit has provided a good context for observers to reevaluate the mutual relations and finger points of future chances. Iran and Iraq share a border of 1400 kilometers, ten border crossings, and a five-million-plus of tourist exchange.

According to the latest figures, 1.6 million Iraqis have visited Iran last year. Only on last year‘s Arba‘een, a Shia Muslim religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura, some three million Iranians went on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Karbala, 100 kilometers south of Baghdad.

Iran and Iraq boast their handling of the security of the Shia Iranian pilgrims, many of whom traveled on foot, in the midst of terrorist attacks undertaken by ISIS across Iraq.

The sides have also revealed their will to abolish the visa regime. But that‘s not the only give-and-take between the two.

According to IRNA, Iran‘s commercial consulate said the annual non-oil trade between the two exceeds $6 b. The figure will become $14b if Iran‘s export of electricity, gas, and engineering services are also taken into account. And a further addition, that of Iran‘s investment in Iraqi infrastructure including power plants, gas pipelines and other giant projects, will make the size of trade even more remarkable.

The most recent update promises a brighter future. Iran has declared its intention to start gas exports to Iraq the next month, more than a year later than it originally planned. Shipments will start at 7 million cubic meters a day to supply a power plant in Baghdad, Hamid Reza Araghi, director of the National Iranian Gas Co., said in an interview with the Iranian Students‘ News Agency (ISNA). A second route to Basra

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Daily Report for Wednesday, August 24, 2016

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will be opened in 2017, with shipments eventually reaching 70 million cubic meters a day.

Iran‘s deputy minister of industry, mines, and trade also called for memorandums of free trade to be signed, which could be commenced as preferential trade between the two countries. Speaking the Iraqi delegation, Valiollah Afkhamirad also said that reconstruction of regions taken back from ISIL needs planning and hard work, suggesting that Iranian companies can take a positive part in doing so.

In recent years, the sides have boosted their political alignment, too. Only a small token is that the sides have sent visiting delegations almost every fortnight in recent years, with their declared aims being expansion of mutual relations, implementation of previously signed agreements, or coordination. Iran‘s ambassador to Iraq has a record number of meetings with Iraqi officials, according to stats published by the Iraqi foreign ministry.

Following the aggravation of terrorist threats in June 2014, security coordination between the two countries has seen unprecedented levels, with Iran constantly stressing its military consultative role in Iraq‘s soil upon request by the country‘s officials.

In addition, an Iran-Russia-Iraq coordination room was established to counter threats and increase security coordination. These are still apart from the Russia–Syria–Iran–

Iraq coalition (RSII), also referred to as 4+1 (in which the ―plus one‖ refers to Hezbollah), believed to be the strongest of its kind as a joint intelligence-sharing cooperation in the Middle East. Yet, Iran has fresh propositions up its sleeve.

Iran and Iraq should create joint border committees in order to strengthen regional security, Iranian Armed Forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, said Thursday. Different Iranian officials including al-Jabouri‘s opposite number Ali Larijani, Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani, and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif have stressed univocally that the Islamic Republic will stand by the Iraqi government and nation ―under any circumstances‖.

These amicable ties are not limited to politics and economics. Iraq is the first country to host the premiere of Iranian feature films, Majlid Majidi‘s Muhammad: The Messenger of God and Ahmadreza Darvish‘s Hussein Who Said NO, both warmly welcomed not only by Iraqi cinemagoers but also by Shia and Sunni clerics. The two

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Daily Report for Wednesday, August 24, 2016

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countries are coproducing projects in theater, cinema, and television while organizing joint art exhibitions to exchange experiences. The two Shia-dominated states are exchanging academics and students, in order to pave the ground for further scientific cooperation.

Iran and Iraq are now engaged in efforts to counter certain atmospheric and environmental phenomena, most notably including dust coming eastward from Saudi Arabia and Iraq, making it difficult for millions of Iranians to breathe. As the suffering side, Iran has apparently given up hope, as remedies at hand need huge investments and Iraq has more important concerns for the time being.

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Daily Report for Wednesday, August 24, 2016

8 Senior Iran cleric faces down

culture minister over concerts

Al-Monitor news website: In the campaigning leading up to Iran‘s 2013 presidential vote, among the most important promises of Hassan Rouhani were those on cultural issues. After winning the election, Rouhani named Ali Jannati as his minister of culture and Islamic guidance to fulfill his promises. However, since day one, Jannati, who is a moderate son of ultra-conservative Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, has faced resistance from both hard-liners and Reformists.

Hard-liners say Jannati is crossing the red lines of the 1979 Islamic Revolution‘s values, while Reformists charge that he is retreating in the face of criticism and attacks by conservatives.

During the past decade, concerts have rarely made waves, but ever since Rouhani took office, concert organizers have repeatedly faced obstruction and consequent cancellation.

To avoid concert cancellations, which damage Rouhani‘s approval ratings, the administration has issued a circular to prevent other state bodies such as the judiciary and the police from calling them off. The circular states that the police isn‘t allowed to stop concerts. Jannati has said that based on the new law, singers shall request permission to hold a concert from the Ministry of Culture, while the police is only to deal with traffic around the venue. In response, the deputy head of Iran‘s armed forces, Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, ordered the police to continue ―dealing with ethical and misbehavior anomalies in places, including concert venues.‖

Khorasan Razavi province, known as the religious capital of Iran, has set a record in concert cancellations. Situated in the northeast of the country, it is one of the largest provinces, with Mashhad as its capital. Khorasan Razavi is home to numerous religious sites and places of pilgrimage, including the holy shrine of Ali al-Ridha (Imam Reza) — the eighth Imam in Shiite Twelver Islam — and the Goharshad Mosque.

The judiciary and police in the province have recently stopped planned concerts by acclaimed traditional singers such as Shahram Nazeri and Salar Aghili. Explaining the cancellation of Aghili‘s concert, Khorasan Razavi‘s General Prosecutor Gholam-Ali

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Daily Report for Wednesday, August 24, 2016

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Sadeghi said, ―There were some problems regarding thecontent and performance of concerts, as well as the outfits of the audience. … This led to different classes of people [such as] seminarians and senior clerics complaining to the prosecutor‘s office about concert performances in the religious capital of Iran.‖

In response to the repeated blocking of concerts, Jannati criticized the judiciary on Aug. 7, saying, ―This will be costly for the judiciary. … We should talk with high- ranking officials in the judicial system to resolve the issue. It is not possible for a province not to act under the law. A province is not a separate island.‖

Jannati‘s remarks were met with a furious reaction by the judiciary. Sadeghi stated soon after, ―Calling off concerts costs the judiciary nothing. The duty of the judiciary is to stop illegal acts. … The minimum charge for the [culture] minister‘s comments is spreading lies and disturbing the public opinion. If I, as a judiciary official, were in charge of pursuing his charges, I wouldn‘t have hesitated for one second. I would have summoned him.‖

Enter Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, the ultra-conservative Friday prayer leader of Mashhad and representative of the Supreme Leader to Khorasan Razavi province, who has always been critical of concerts. As tension increased between the Rouhani administration and the judiciary, Alamolhoda got involved to prevent the government from furthering its cultural agenda.

Comparing the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church to Mashhad, Alamolhoda stated Aug. 12 that everyone respects the sanctity of the Vatican. ―We should know that we live in the city where Imam Reza is buried. It is not possible to hold concerts in the city of Imam Reza, and we shouldn‘t argue with people and some narrow- minded officials regarding this. If you want a concert, go live somewhere else,‖

Alamolhoda said.

A few days later, in a clear sign of retreat, the culture minister announced,

―Considering the existence of the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, the holding of concerts has some opponents, including the dear representative of the Supreme Leader to Khorasan Razavi. We respect his opinion, and despite the fact that the concerts posed no problem, we are dissuaded from holding concerts there.‖

When Jannati backed down, there were immediate objections by various officials and activists. Outspoken Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Motahari said, ―The culture

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Daily Report for Wednesday, August 24, 2016

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minister has retreated, and this is not right. Summoning him [to parliament] is possible. … The country isn‘t federal and we can‘t say Khorasan Razavi has autonomy and [implement] particular laws there.‖ Meanwhile, the moderate newspaper Jomhuri Eslami slammed the culture minister, arguing, ―The Mashhad Friday Prayer leader‘s comment is not an obligatory order, because the duties of the Friday prayer leaders don‘t include ordering around officials from the executive.‖

The hard-liners‘ criticism of concerts appear to even be in conflict with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei‘s views. Mohammad-Javad Hojjati Kermani, a moderate cleric who lived with Ayatollah Khamenei in domestic exile before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, told Khabar Online August 14, ―Alamolhoda‘s comment is quite the opposite of the views of the supreme leader, 100%. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei is an artist, poet, musicologist and scholar.‖

The supreme leader has in the past expressed his views on music and concerts. In a notable speech two decades ago, he said, ―The music in our region hasn‘t been used for higher goals, which is in contrast to the path of music in Europe. You know that I am naturally anti-Western. Nothing in the West fascinates me. At the same time, I approve of the positive characteristics of the West. One of those attributes is music. … Informative and meaningful music has long existed there. … In the West, sometimes a nation has been saved by music.‖

Even Rouhani has taken aim at Jannati, who apparently gave up on backing singers after facing rising pressure from hard-liners. Rouhani said Aug. 22, ―In my opinion, none of the ministers should give up in the face of pressure. … Whoever wakes up in the morning and finds a tribune can‘t set the law.‖ The president added, ―It‘s not good to act against the law. I swear to God that this is not good. It is worse when this is being done in the name of religion.‖

Entering the fray, prominent Tehran University professor Sadegh Zibakalam opined,

―Mr. Jannati‘s retreat has made Friday prayer leaders of other cities, under the influence of Alamolhoda, announce that no concert should be held in their cities [either]. … Ali Jannati has shown that he is in essence not a person who sticks to his positions and that he is a person that gives up and caves in at the blink of an eye.‖

Jannati‘s clear retreat in the face of Alamolhoda‘s objections will be costly for Rouhani‘s reputation and lead to more opposition from hard-liners on other issues.

Rouhani will have to decide whether to roll up his sleeves and seriously confront hard- liners or risk losing the people‘s confidence.

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