1 Report for

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Daily Report for Sunday, July 23, 2017

1 Report for

Monday, July 24, 2017 Mordad 2, 1396

* Highlights. Page 2

* News Briefs. Page 3

* Last efforts to finalize the cabinet. Page 3

* 30% increase in women managers approved. Page 4

* Six Fatemiyoun fighters buried in Iran. Page 4

* Will this conservative become Rouhani’s vice president? Page 5

* Iran’s Arvand River key to Iraq’s integrity. Page 8

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2 Highlights

 Rumors have circulated around about seven-time MP Mohammad-Reza Bahonar to serve a key role in Rouhani’s next administration. (See Page 5)

 Iraq’s ongoing negotiations with Iran over the Arvand Rud, the river that serves as part of the natural border between the two states, are particularly significant as the river plays a key role in the Arab country’s territorial integrity.

(See Page 8)

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3 Briefs

* Farsi-language Aftab News website writes that reformist MP Ghassem Mirzaei Niko says that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has still not accepted his defeat in the recent presidential election and is seeking support among the principalists that would serve as a parallel to the mainstream principalists.

* Farsi-language website Nameh News writes that Tehran University Professor Sadeq Zibakalam says that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is doing all he can to create and maintain a status and position in Iranian politics, that Ghalibaf wants to avoid what has happened to former president Ahmadinejad.

* Farsi-language website Aftab News writes that Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi says that Kuwaiti ambassador in Tehran will remain in Iran.

* Farsi-language news website IranWire writes that the head of Expediency Council’s Working Group for Reducing Addiction Saeed Safatian says that researches show that 17% of Iranian population are “inclined” towards using drugs.

* Farsi-language website Aftab News writes that a study shows that one-fifth of Iranian residential units are between 50 to 75 square meters.

Last efforts to finalize the cabinet

Fars-language reformist newspaper Ebtekar writes that President Rouhani has about two weeks to announce his cabinet, as there have been reports that he will submit his cabinet list to the parliament on the same day as his swearing-in ceremony. During a meeting between President and leadership committee of the reformist- backed Omid parliamentary faction on July 19, Rouhani has reportedly said that he would likely “change half of his current [cabinet]”.

Analysts have offered many views about the composition of the next cabinet. However, Ebtekar writes, there is one thing that has dominated the minds the Rouhani supporters: fear. A look at pro-Rouhani websites and social media websites clearly show that his supporters are fearful that the hardliners will not allow Rouhani to go ahead with the programs that the people voted for. It is widely assumed that people voted more for his Rouhani’s programs rather than him personally.

There is also concern that Rouhani might give priority to political factions rather than the people’s interests.

Ebtekar writes that the hardliners have been putting pressure on Rouhani to get appropriate representation in the next cabinet. People are wondering whether Rouhani will cave in. Ebtekar writes that Rouhani and his supporters have no way back. They can move on ahead only. Ebtekar writes that President Rouhani should not disappoint the people who want change, because that is what they voted for.

MP and a member of the women’s faction in the Iranian parliament Parvaneh Salashor says that there should be at one woman minister in President Rouhani’s second cabinet. She said that her faction believes that this would provide an opportunity for Iranian women to elevate their social and political progress in the Iranian society.

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Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi says that a special office has been formed at the Iranian Foreign Ministry to coordinate with foreign dignitaries who will participate in President Rouhani’s swearing-in ceremony. Representatives from Presidential Office are also working at this headquarters. He said considerable number of foreign guests will participate in the swearing-in ceremony this time.

30% increase in women managers approved

Farsi-language reformist newspaper Shargh writes that the Supreme Administrative Council has approved increasing the number of women managers in the “Law on the Sixth Five-Year Economic, Cultural, and Social Development Plan for 1396-1400 (2016- 2021)” to 30% of the total managers. This reformist newspaper writes that it would have been better if the council had waited for President Rouhani to announce his second cabinet.

The details about this approval have not been announced. It is also not clear whether this should be implemented immediately or the percentage should be reached by the end of the sixth development plan.

It writes that Iran has a history of not implementing its own approved laws, such as the fourth development plan. Shargh

then asks: If this approval is not implemented, then where should we complain?

Six Fatemiyoun fighters buried in Iran

Farsi-language state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) writes that six Fatemiyoun fighters have been in Iran.

 Fatemiyoun Brigade fighter Majid Rezaei was buried in Tehran on July 20.

 Fatemiyoun Brigade fighter Khodadad Jafari was buried in Varamin, Tehran Province, on July 20.

 Fatemiyoun Brigade fighter Ahmad Hosseini was buried in Mashhad on July 20.

 Fatemiyoun Brigade fighter Reza Hosseini was buried in Gol Tappeh, Tehran Province, on July 20.

 Fatemiyoun Brigade fighter Ramazan Rasouli was buried in Shiraz, Fars Province, on July 20.

 Fatemiyoun Brigade fighter Mokhtar Hosseinzadeh was buried in Nazarabad, Alborz Province, on July 20.

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5 Will this quintessential conservative

become Rouhani’s vice president?

 As speculations heat up about the composition of Hassan Rouhani’s second cabinet, rumors have made the rounds that Principlist Mohammad-Reza Bahonar may join the Rouhani administration.

 Humbly thanking for such speculations, however, Mohammad-Reza Bahonar has told media outlets that he would not use Bahonar if he were in the President shoes because of serious political and cultural differences.

 The younger Mohammad Reza Bahonar matriculated to study architectural engineering in Iran’s University of Science and Technology seven years before the Islamic Revolution.

 Bahonar found his path to political influence during the second parliamentary election, when he was voted in to represent Baft, a small city in Kerman Province.

 During his seven terms in the parliament, he has been a board of directors in the fourth and fifth, deputy speaker in the seventh, eighth, and ninth parliaments, as well as a high-profile member to various committees, including construction, economy, and budget planning.

 Almost since the fourth parliament, when he founded the Islamic Society of Engineers, he has turned into an influential figure of the Right, known today as Principlists.

 His political alliance with Nategh Noori and the remarks he made during

Ahmadinejad’s second term in office convinces every observer to categorize him as a conventional conservative.

Nameh News moderate website: As speculations heat up about the composition of Hassan Rouhani’s second cabinet, rumors have made the rounds that Principlist Mohammad-Reza Bahonar may join the Rouhani administration. The rumors went so far that some analysts began to say a ministerial post is too unbecoming for him, and he should be used as the Vice President. Humbly thanking for such speculations, however, Mohammad-Reza Bahonar has told media outlets that he would not use Bahonar if he were in the President shoes because of serious political and cultural differences.

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Here, we shed some light on the lesser noticed aspects of his life.

His brother helped him rise to prominence. Mohmmad Javad Bahonar, 19 years his senior, was one of the most influential men on the cultural side of the struggle that led to the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran which toppled the pro-West Pahlavi regime.

The cleric Mohammad-Javad Bahonar was the second Prime Minister after the Revolution but was killed in a terrorist bombing.

The younger Mohammad Reza Bahonar matriculated to study architectural engineering in Iran’s University of Science and Technology seven years before the Islamic Revolution. When he failed to get into the sixth parliament, the Reformist- dominated Majles, in late 1990s, he achieved a master’s degree in economic development and planning from Allameh Tabataba’i University.

Bahonar found his path to political influence during the second parliamentary election, when he was voted in to represent Baft, a small city in Kerman Province. In the third, fourth, and fifth parliaments, he represented Tehran. He was not given a seat in the Reformist-majority sixth parliament and had to resort to his birthplace for a comeback in the seventh. In the eighth and ninth parliaments, he served as a Tehran representative again. During his seven terms in the parliament, he has been a board of directors in the fourth and fifth, deputy speaker in the seventh, eighth, and ninth parliaments, as well as a high-profile member to various committees, including construction, economy, and budget planning.

Almost since the fourth parliament, when he founded the Islamic Society of Engineers, he has turned into an influential figure of the Right, known today as Principlists. It was perhaps for the same reason that he became conservative Ali Akbar Nategh Noori’s campaign director in the 1997 presidential election. The defeat, followed by a successive one in the 6th parliament, marginalized him until Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in capital Tehran.

“My friendship with Ahmadinejad had been 25 years old. In the second city council, where the Principlists scored a victory, we had several candidates including Ahmadinejad. Incumbent Intelligence Minister Ali Younesi had warned us against his mayorship. I asked him to tell his allies and the President [Khatami] not to worry about Ahmadinejad’s mayorship because he was our next president. I was perhaps the first man on earth, who predicted his presidency,” Bahonar has been widely quoted on Persian media outlets.

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However, Bahonar cannot be considered as a proponent of Ahmadinejad, even if we take into account the fact that his uncle Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi was one of the ex- president’s insiders. His political alliance with Nategh Noori and the remarks he made during Ahmadinejad’s second term in office convinces every observer to categorize him as a conventional conservative. The main question today is about Bahonar’s political future. Will he be among the Principlists’ candidates for the 2021 presidential race? Is he planning for the 2019 parliamentary election? Or will he work with President Rouhani in his cabinet?

None of these can be answered with certainty. However, one thing is for sure.

Bahonar is a politician who senses risky situations. This could be seen in his reluctance to nominate himself for the tenth parliament. Thus, a better choice for him would be to keep his political, partisan reputation and engage in state-building rather than to join the administration. He may as well feel it is time for retirement, and stays away from politics just before turning to 70, just like his master Nategh Noori.

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8 Iran’s Arvand River key to Iraq’s integrity

 Iraq’s efforts to hold talks and settle its border disputes with Iran and to facilitate its access to the Persian Gulf not only show Baghdad’s close relationship with Tehran, but are regarded as an initiative to increase the costs of attempts by separatists in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.

 The Iranian and Iraqi governments have very close and cordial relations and, by the admission of Iraqi officials and people, Iran was the only country to stand by Iraqis (including Arabs, Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis) to help rid the nation of ISIS terrorists.

 In addition to having positive economic effects, and at a time when the hostile policies of the Israeli regime and other enemies of Iraq are targeting the country’s territorial integrity, the beginning of expert talks in order to settle a historic border dispute based on international relations amounts to the consolidation of friendship and strategic alliance between Iran and Iraq.

 If Iraq’s access to the Persian Gulf is facilitated, that will definitely make the situation more difficult for local elements and foreign governments that urge Iraqi Kurds to separate from Iraq.

Payvand news website: Iraq’s efforts to hold talks and settle its border disputes with Iran and to facilitate its access to the Persian Gulf not only show Baghdad’s close relationship with Tehran, but are regarded as an initiative to increase the costs of attempts by separatists in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.

The new round of meetings of the Iran-Iraq Joint Legal-Technical Committee was held in Baghdad on Sunday, July 23, with top officials and relevant experts from both countries in attendance. The meetings are co-chaired by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari and Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Nizar Khairallah, and will continue until Monday. Delegations from both countries comprising political, legal, military, surveying, and ports and shipping experts are present at the talks.

The negotiations are held on a rotating basis in Tehran and Baghdad. On the agenda is the latest situation of the Arvad Rud (known as Shatt al-Arab by Arabs), the river which lies on the two countries’ common border. Ways of boosting cooperation in order to utilize the waterway to boost economic growth in both countries is also a topic of discussion.

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The fresh round of border talks between Iran and Iraq is being held in the wake of the ISIS terrorist group’s defeat amid reports that there are certain elements seeking to hold a referendum for independence of the Iraqi Kurdistan region. This shows the Iraqi central government is determined to safeguard its territorial integrity and is trying to improve its economic situation by easing access to the Persian Gulf waters.

Iraq is not capable of efficiently utilizing its oil reserves because it is a land-locked country and has very limited access to the Persian Gulf. This has triggered border disputes between Iran and Iraq. After all, before Baghdad launched its eight-year war on Iran in the 1980s, former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein tore up the 1975 Algiers Accord between the two countries and tried to occupy Arvand Rud’s bank on Iranian soil.

However, the situation is different now. The Iranian and Iraqi governments have very close and cordial relations and, by the admission of Iraqi officials and people, Iran was the only country to stand by Iraqis (including Arabs, Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis) to help rid the nation of ISIS terrorists. Now after the defeat of terrorists, there are fears that the sweet taste of victory over ISIS might be soured by threats to Iraq’s territorial integrity. Under such circumstances, the Iraqi government seeks to take advantage of its friendly relations with Iran and, through dialogue and diplomacy, draw Iran’s cooperation to help stabilize its territorial integrity. Joint efforts to revive and dredge Arvand Rud will not only give fresh impetus to the transportation of cargo and

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passengers, but can also facilitate access to the Persian Gulf and to get Iraq connected to the high seas, a great advantage that would make the horizon ahead of Iraq brighter.

In addition to having positive economic effects, and at a time when the hostile policies of the Israeli regime and other enemies of Iraq are targeting the country’s territorial integrity, the beginning of expert talks in order to settle a historic border dispute based on international relations amounts to the consolidation of friendship and strategic alliance between Iran and Iraq. It seems negotiations between Tehran and Baghdad at this juncture in order to revive the geopolitical role of Arvand Rud is a clear and strong message to all by the Iraqi central government. The message is that Baghdad will not succumb to efforts by some elements to separate Kurdistan from Iraq, and that Kurdistan’s separation from Iraq will jeopardize Kurds’ medium-term and long-term interests as well.

If Iraq’s access to the Persian Gulf is facilitated, that will definitely make the situation more difficult for local elements and foreign governments that urge Iraqi Kurds to separate from Iraq. The establishment of a landlocked country under the pretext of seceding from a country with access to the high seas is irrational enough for Iraqi Kurds to rethink their calls for separation.