1 Report for

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Daily Report for Monday, August 14, 2017

1 Report for

Monday,

August 14, 2017 Mordad 23, 1396

* Highlights. Page 2

* News Briefs. Page 3

* President Rouhani appoints two vice presidents. Page 3

* Zarif likely to get vote of confidence. Page 4

* Lack of information over nomination not good. Page 4

* How Iranian standards institute gets its first-ever female chief. Page 5

* Trump wants Iran to leave JCPOA. Page 9

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2 Highlights

 The female chief of the Institute of Standards & Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI) has narrated the story of how she applied for a job at the Institute and finally became the first-ever woman to head the important body. (See Page 5)

 America’s recent move to integrate and expand previous sanctions on Iran does not seem to be able to renew the old sanctions system, after it collapsed with the JCPOA. Not in short or medium terms. The only course remaining open to Trump is a stricter implementation of the deal to overwhelm Iran’s patience, a game in which Iran seems not willing to take part. (See Page 9)

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3 Briefs

* Farsi-language state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports that in a decree released on Monday, Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei appointed Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi, the former chief of the Iranian Judiciary, as the new head of the Expediency Council.

* Farsi-language state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports that Ayatollah Khamenei also appointed Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, Seyyed Mostafa Aqa-Mirsalim, Ahmad Tavakoli and Hojjatoleslam Majid Ansari were also appointed as new members of the Expediency Council.

* Farsi-language state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports that moderate MP Hojjatoleslam Abdulhamid Khadri predicts that most of the President Rouhani’s nominations will be get the vote of confidence.

* Farsi-language state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports that moderate MP from Tehran Parvaneh Mafi predicts that all of the President Rouhani’s nominated ministers will be approved..

* Farsi-language state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports that Russia refuted a media report claiming that Iranian military hardware had been transferred to Russia for repairs. On Sunday, German newspaper Welt am Sonntag had reported, citing an anonymous source in ‘Western intelligence services’, that Tehran had secretly sent some components of heavy offensive weapons to Russia through the Syrian air base Hmeymim for maintenance in defiance of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

President Rouhani appoints two vice presidents

Farsi-language news media report that President Rouhani has appointed two new vice presidents on Sunday.

Issa Kalantari has been appointed as Vice President and Head of Environment Protection Agency, replacing Masoumeh Ebtekar. His previous position was Deputy to First Vice President [Jahangiri] for water, agricultural and environmental affairs. He was also

the Secretary for Headquarters for Reviving Urumieh Lake. He has been actively campaigning for environmental issues, especially water shortage. He has served as Minister of Agriculture during late Hashemi Rafsanjani’s government. He supported Mir Hussein Musavi in the contentious 2009 presidential election. Mir Hussein Musavi is currently under house arrest.

Ali Asghar Monesan has been appointed as Vice President and Head of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, replacing Zahra Ahmadipour. Before his appointment, he served as a member of the board of directors

and managing director of Kish Free Zone Organization.

He has served as deputy for executive affairs at MANA (Iranian Industrial Development Renovation Construction Company), member of board of directors and managing director of Dey Company (affiliated to Bonyad-e Mostazafaran, Veterans Foundation), carried out executive duties at South Pars Phase One (South Pars Refinery) and Pars Special Economic Energy Zone, member of board of directors and deputy for technical and executive affairs at Harris Engineering Company,

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member of board of directors and managing director of Atisaz Company (Bonyad-e Mostafazan, Veterans Foundation). He has also held several posts in Tehran Municipality.

Zarif likely to get vote of confidence

Farsi-language pro-Ghalibaf newspaper Sobh-e No writes that President Rouhani has nominated Mohammad Javad Zarif as the foreign minister in his second cabinet.

It goes on to write that apparently majority of the current MPs support his nomination.

He is expected to easily get the vote of confidence from the Majlis.

He reportedly plans to organize decision- making process within his ministry. He also reportedly wants to facilitate avoiding irresponsible comments on Iran’s foreign policies through legal means. This has provoked criticisms [does not say from whom]. The Foreign Ministry could potentially be using legal means against anyone not working at Foreign Ministry who wishes to express his personal views about Iranian foreign policies or JCPOA.

This would be against freedom of expression.

Lack of information over nomination not good

Farsi-language reformist newspaper Bahar writes that President Rouhani has still not nominated anyone for the post of Minister of Science, Research and Technology.

There is speculation there is a lot of

sensitivity behind-the-scene about this ministry. The debate over who should be the minister has been taken place behind the close doors so far. The people, especially the 24 million who voted for President Rouhani, have no idea what is going on concerning the ministerial nomination. The government has offered no information to the public about why President Rouhani has not submitted his candidate for the ministry and what is holding up the process.

It is very possible that President Rouhani is facing considerable opposition and hurdles in nominating the minister. Lack of information to the public right at the beginning of President Rouhani’s second term would surely create disappointment and frustration among his supporters.

Iranian universities have traditionally been a center for political activism. On August 20, 2014, Majlis impeached the then minister of science Reza Faraji-Dana. It was seen as a major setback to the implementation of Rouhani’s campaign promises of a more tolerant policy in the universities. Former president Ahamdinejad had tried to depoliticize universities, especially after the 2009 post- election protests in Iran, by sacking professors and expelling students who were involved in the protests. When he became minister, Faraji-Dana allowed some of these expelled students and professors, labeled as seditionists by conservatives, back into the universities—

something he was heavily criticized for by conservative parliament members. There is speculation that Rouhani is once again facing the similar problems again.

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5 How Iranian standards institute gets

its first-ever female chief

As regards the ISIRI’s status after the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and the removal of anti-Iran sanctions, Pirouzbakht said today ISIRI is deemed as an important and leading organization across the world so much so that no meeting on standards is held without Iran’s presence.

Referring to the number of goods produced based on Iranian national standards, she said at present about 1,000 Iranian-made goods and 8,000 imported goods are produced within Iranian national standards.

She went on saying that setting standards for domestically produced vehicles has been one of the most challenging tasks of ISIRI over the past years, and added, “I personally don’t cast doubt on the quality of our vehicles but to promote their quality, we have already put together a plan in cooperation with Policy-Making Council of Auto-Making Industry.

She went on to say that the number of standards set for the vehicles in Iran will increase to 83 in the near future and added the production of the vehicles violating the standards would be stopped.

Pirouzbakht pointed to some reports on the import of non-standard vehicles into Iran under international sanctions and said the number of imported non-standard vehicles doubled during the sanctions.

The head of ISIRI also referred to the rumors about the safety of the Iranian food products, particularly on the cyberspace, and said the ISIRI has been conducting various tests on the Iranian food markets and production processes.

“Today, the quality of our food industry is making considerable progress day by day and the producers observe the standards set by the ISIRI strictly.

Nayyereh Pirouzbakht is the first Iranian woman to head of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI). In a Farsi interview with the Farsi-language newspaper Shahrvand, she said she has achieved the post without nepotism.

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“I applied for a job in the ISIRI after coming across an advertisement in a daily paper.

I made progress in my job step by step. First, I was employed as an expert in one of ISIRI’s laboratories.”

“My last post before becoming the ISIRI chief was the general manager of the department responsible for evaluation of the quality of exported and imported goods,”

Pirouzbakht went on to say.

“President Rouhani’s executive deputy introduced me to the cabinet as the head of ISIRIR and they endorsed me,” she said.

As regards the ISIRI’s status after the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and the removal of anti-Iran sanctions, Pirouzbakht said today ISIRI is deemed as an important and leading organization across the world so much so that no meeting on standards is held without Iran’s presence.

“Interestingly, after US President Donald Trump’s travel ban prevented Iranians from entering the US, the ISO convened its meeting in France instead of the US so that the Iranian representative could participate,” she noted.

Pirouzbakht said during its 57-year life, the ISIRI has set 32,000 standards of which 13,000 were set only over the past three years. “This means that the government of president Rouhani has set about one-third of all the national standards established over the past nearly 60 years,” she said.

According to Pirouzbakhat, after 15 years of active diplomacy, Iran has managed to achieve the coordinating role of the Committee for Near East, CODEX Alimentarius.

“This comes 46 years after Iran joined ISO,” she noted.

When asked about the quality of some standard products, she said you can’t compare the Iranian-made goods with, for example, those of Japan but the Iranian producers are capable of making progress if people support them by purchasing their products.

Referring to the number of goods produced based on Iranian national standards, she said at present about 1,000 Iranian-made goods and 8,000 imported goods are produced within Iranian national standards. “In fact, there are 1,700 seeds of imported goods with each including 5 goods. To put it differently, we have 8,500 imported goods produced as per our national standards,” she added.

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7 Car industry standards; impact of sanctions

She went on saying that setting standards for domestically produced vehicles has been one of the most challenging tasks of ISIRI over the past years, and added, “I personally don’t cast doubt on the quality of our vehicles but to promote their quality, we have already put together a plan in cooperation with Policy-Making Council of Auto-Making Industry. As per the plan, which has been implemented since March 20th, we will monitor the industry more seriously.”

She went on to say that the number of standards set for the vehicles in Iran will increase to 83 in the near future and added the production of the vehicles violating the standards would be stopped.

Pirouzbakht pointed to some reports on the import of non-standard vehicles into Iran under international sanctions and said the number of imported non-standard vehicles doubled during the sanctions.

“The sanctions inflicted a heavy blow on our country because most of the vehicles which used to be imported from the Europe began to be imported from third countries like the UAE and other Persian Gulf states without going through the standardized procedures,” she noted.

According to Pirouzbakht, the standards of the regional states in auto industry are not acceptable for Iran. “To cope with the problem, we have done our best to stop the trend. Today, if you check the website of Iran’s Industry Ministry, you will find out that the number of imported vehicles have decreased over the past year,” she said.

The head of ISIRI also referred to the rumors about the safety of the Iranian food products, particularly on the cyberspace, and said the ISIRI has been conducting various tests on the Iranian food markets and production processes.

“Today, the quality of our food industry is making considerable progress day by day and the producers observe the standards set by the ISIRI strictly. The progress is even more tangible in our export markets. Today, the export markets admit that the quality of our foods has improved significantly compared with previous years. Now we can compete with other international food industry in terms of quality.”

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“Sometimes, our food standards are more accurate compared with foreign standards.

Meanwhile, we are active in Halal industry and this promotes our status compared with others. I recommend our people not to take seriously the rumors on the cyberspace,” she added.

Pirouzbakht concluded that the ISIRI has set up a special unit to register the complaints filed against it and added, “We follow up the complaints immediately and fine any producer violating our standards.”

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9 Trump wants Iran to leave JCPOA

Rouhani was inaugurated as Iran’s president for a second term last week while his political priority seems to be the preservation of the nuclear deal in the next four years.

Beside the President’s acknowledgement that Iran would not be the side that violates the deal first, international media outlets highlighted Rouhani’s warning directed at the Trump administration officials.

It is not only Iran or other countries involved in the nuclear talks who are concerned about Trump’s approach to the nuclear deal.

Zarif has warned Mogherini during their meeting [last week when she was in Tehran]

that the EU should be vigilant about Trump’s effort to undermine the JCPOA and blame Iran.

French, German, and UK officials who visited Tehran to attend the formal

inauguration of Hassan Rouhani have stressed two principles in their meetings with Iranian officials, namely to expand and improve comprehensive ties with Iran and to preserve the JCPOA.

While Barack Obama successfully pushed an unprecedented consensus at global levels to intensify nuclear sanctions on Iran, culminating in a colorful sanctions regime, Trump has brought an unparalleled consensus on support for the nuclear deal with Iran, one that readily excludes Washington.

Words in President Rouhani’s inauguration speech were arranged in a way to demonstrate that Washington’s threats of undermining the deal would prove US’

untrustworthiness in Iran’s contemporary history, a thousandth time for the Iranian nation and for US partners and allies across the globe.

To withdraw from the nuclear deal, Trump at least needs two preconditions: a) politically bribing International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to confirm Iran’s non- compliance; and b) convincing European states to cooperate.

The only course remaining open to Trump is a stricter implementation of the deal to overwhelm Iran’s patience, a game in which Iran seems not willing to take part.

Farsi-language reformist newspaper Etemad: Rouhani was inaugurated as Iran’s president for a second term last week while his political priority seems to be the

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preservation of the nuclear deal in the next four years. Even from an economic point of view, Iran needs to accelerate its use of economic opportunities realized with the deal. That explains why Rouhani took the opportunity to comment on the deal’s fate under the Trump administration during his sworn-in.

Beside the President’s acknowledgement that Iran would not be the side that violates the deal first, international media outlets highlighted Rouhani’s warning directed at the Trump administration officials. Inside the White House, a team of US president’s confidantes is supposed to prove by October, in efforts parallel to the State Department’s, that Iran has failed to comply with its commitments under the deal. At the same time, Mike Pompeo has assigned a new CIA team to find new means to impose pressure on Iran. Means of the kind are expected to test and ultimately break Iran’s patience, making it to walk out of the deal.

In the presence of Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Rouhani vowed not to remain idle in the face of continued US non-compliance, warning the US of retaliation from Iran. Rouhani’s main motto in the past 4 years has been cooperation with the world. Today, not only Rouhani but also Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stresses on Iran’s intention of working with the world. The number and variety of guests in the inauguration ceremony, who represented foreign nations and international organization, indicate that the JCPOA is still surviving, if the unpredictable factor, namely Donald Trump of the USA, stops threatening it.

It is not only Iran or other countries involved in the nuclear talks who are concerned about Trump’s approach to the nuclear deal. Several other countries, timidly returning to Iran after years, look forward to the end of years they were banned from political and economic ties with Tehran. Under Trump’s constant threats, Federica Mogherini bears most of the weight. She has reiterated that EU guarantees the continued implementation of the nuclear deal. At the same time, and in the absence of diplomatic channels between Tehran and Washington, EU is also playing intermediary role between the two main sides of the deal.

Under the Obama administration, the then State Secretary John Kerry frequently contacted his Iranian opposite number. In the past seven month since Trump took office however, there has been no meeting between Iran’s Javad Zarif and State Secretary Rex Tillerson, even though Zarif stayed in New York for a week just recently. Another issue that makes it difficult for such a meeting to take place is blunt

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remarks made by US officials, including Tillerson, acknowledging US efforts for regime change in Iran. Zarif has warned Mogherini during their meeting [last week when she was in Tehran] that the EU should be vigilant about Trump’s effort to undermine the JCPOA and blame Iran. Mogherini’s response is to be found in a statement published by the EU on her visit to Tehran. The press release emphasized EU’s “unwavering commitment” to the deal. States, party to the nuclear talks, have also expressed their continued support for the deal. French, German, and UK officials who visited Tehran to attend the formal inauguration of Hassan Rouhani have stressed two principles in their meetings with Iranian officials, namely to expand and improve comprehensive ties with Iran and to preserve the JCPOA.

From consensus on sanctioning Iran to global support for the country

The former [Obama] and sitting [Trump] presidents of the US seem to be both particularly good at building consensus. While Barack Obama successfully pushed an unprecedented consensus at global levels to intensify nuclear sanctions on Iran, culminating in a colorful sanctions regime, Trump has brought an unparalleled consensus on support for the nuclear deal with Iran, one that readily excludes Washington.

States that subscribed to US decisions in most foreign policy issues for several decades now take seats in Iran’s parliament, listening to the Iranian president-elect’s speech. Words in President Rouhani’s inauguration speech were arranged in a way to demonstrate that Washington’s threats of undermining the deal would prove US’

untrustworthiness in Iran’s contemporary history, a thousandth time for the Iranian nation and for US partners and allies across the globe. The US administration’s lack of commitment had a precedent in the minds of those foreign officials listening. It has not been long since the US withdrew from Paris climate pact.

To withdraw from the nuclear deal, Trump at least needs two preconditions: a) politically bribing International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to confirm Iran’s non- compliance; and b) convincing European states to cooperate. Washington has reportedly begun efforts in IAEA to shed doubt on Iran’s commitment. According to some sources, US officials have handed in a proposal to escalate inspections from Iranian nuclear and military facilities during the last meeting of the joint commission of the JCPOA.

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The IAEA has so far acknowledged Iran’s commitment to the deal in six comprehensive reports. Washington appears to be unable to use the mechanism at least for the foreseeable future. To convince Europe to help isolate Tehran seems more like a mirage, either.

Europeans have already started to pick economic fruits of the nuclear agreement. In the past 20 months, they have signed a long list of billion-dollar agreements with Tehran. America has only succeeded to deprive its own monetary system from trade with Iran.

US recent move to integrate and expand previous sanctions on Iran does not seem to be able to renew the old sanctions system, after it collapsed with the JCPOA. Not in short or medium terms. The only course remaining open to Trump is a stricter implementation of the deal to overwhelm Iran’s patience, a game in which Iran seems not willing to take part.