Iran Monthly Report 15 Jan 2021 – 29 Jan 2021
18 Jan 2021, Shargh
Chief of General Staff of Armed Forces: we have no intention for offensive moves
The Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, on the sidelines of the final stage of the 15th Great Prophet military maneuver, said: "Holding this exercise shows that the missile power of the Islamic Republic of Iran in short, medium and long range with all forces, is ready to defend the Islamic homeland, national interests and the goals of the Islamic Republic of Iran.“
General Bagheri described the choice of targets at a distance of more than 1,800 km south of the Oman Sea and the Indian Ocean as meaningful and said: "If they have evil intentions in the national interest, the maritime trade routes and our land, they will be targeted and destroyed by our missiles.“
He described the exercise as a demonstration of the defensive power of the Islamic Republic of Iran in protecting national interests: "Although we do not intend to carry out any aggression, we declare with these exercises that if any adversary has any ill intentions towards our country, it will be attacked in the shortest time with full force." Referring to the objectives of this exercise, the IRGC Commander-in-Chief said:
"One of our important goals in defense policies and strategies is
to be able to target enemy warships, including aircraft carriers and warships, using long-range ballistic missiles.“
20 Jan 2021, Javan
Chairman of Iran's Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Zonour: “If sanction not lifted IAEA CCTV cameras will be collected”
Chairman of Iran's Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said that if sanctions are not lifted by Feb.
21, all access of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Iran nuclear facilities will be cut off. Speaking on the sidelines of the Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission on Tue., Mojtaba Zonnour reiterated that if three European countries involved in Iran’s nuclear talks fail to live up to their commitments under JCPOA and/or if Iran’s financial and banking sanctions are not removed by Feb. 21, IAEA’s all access to Iran’s nuclear facilities and also Additional Protocols (AP) will be completely ceased. Under such circumstances,
“Iran’s relationship with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its inspectors will be limited to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Agency will not have access beyond that.
Their CCTV cameras will be collected, but the dismissal of inspectors is not provided under the law and their presence or absence in Iran will be commensurate with the nature of their mission. The purpose of the law is to cut off access of IAEA inspectors to Iran’s nuclear facilities, which will be implemented on Feb. 21, 2021. If someone wants to refuse or neglect implementation of the law, he has committed a crime under Article 9 of the law and serious judicial action is foreseen in the law as an executive guarantee, which will definitely be
realized, chairman of Iranian Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission added.”
20 Jan 2021, Etemad
Parliament Warns Zarif With Two 'Yellow Cards'
The Iranian Parliament on Tuesday on two separate debates voted against accepting answers by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, giving him two “yellow cards”. Javad Karimi-Ghodousi, an Iranian conservative politician and former military commander who represents Mashhad and Kalat electoral district in the Parliament of Iran accused Zarif for the statement he made last year shortly after the assassination of Iranian general Ghasem Soleimani. In response to the question of German magazine Der Spiegel that whether Iran is willing to negotiate with the United States or not? Zarif said, I never rule out the possibility that people change their approach and accept the facts. It does not matter to us who is in the White House. What matters is how they behave.
He accused President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of distorting the statements of the Supreme Leader and said, you announced that you were still ready to negotiate with the United States after the assassination of general Ghasem Soleimani. You had a meeting with an Israeli military officer, Mr. Bergman. The symbol of this martyrdom was JCPOA. JCPOA, which you announced to the Europeans that is alive, but JCPOA died and the stench bothering people. This revolutionary parliament buried it with its revolutionary law. Zarif said, we are moving in the direction of the Supreme Leader. Zarif cited recent remarks from Iran’s Supreme Leader that he said, no
rush for the United States to re-enter the JCPOA. According to his opinion, JCPOA does not stink and buried. He said that the US could return to the JCPOA by abiding by its commitments under the agreement including lifting sanctions against Iran.
Zarif stressed that he and his colleagues had followed Khamenei’s lead over reaching the JCPOA in 2015. In the end, the parliament refused to accept his remarks and gave him the first yellow card.
Farhad Bashiri who is the Representative of Pakdasht people in the parliament of Iran accused MFA for slacking off in the field of Economic diplomacy.
Zarif said, In the past eight years we tried to change the ministry’s approach from political and security to an economic, political and security approach but there is a need for a law and this law should be examined. The parliament refused to accept his remarks about economic diplomacy and gave him the second yellow card again.
21 Jan 2021, Javan
Rouhani: Iran nuclear deal stays alive and better than yesterday
Rouhani stated in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, in lunar hijri year 99, the time of a tyrant ended and he was overthrown, and today, in the solar hijri year 99, is the end of another tyrant’s time, who in all his four-year term, had nothing for his people and the world except for oppression and tyranny.
He said, Today, the dark chapter of Trump will be closed forever. This guy, whose ominous administration is reaching the end, has left a legacy of polarizing American society over the past four years. On the inauguration day, Washington D.C. has turned into a garrison town. All these troops came to the city to maintain its security. And this is the outcome of Trump’s naïve and authoritarian works, which polarized American society,” Rouhani stated, adding that Trump’s legacy is the U.S.
isolation in the international arena.
He described Trump as a “stupid terrorist” because he ordered the strike that assassinated the top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani.
Underlining the end of Trump’s political life, Rouhani also called on the incoming Biden administration to return to commitments and clear the stains of the past four years. He said, “The last four years were replete with cruelty and law-breaking. [But] Today, we expect the incoming U.S.
administration to return to the rule of law and commit themselves, and if they can, in the next four years, to remove all the black spots of the previous four years,”
“If they (the Biden administration) sincerely return to law, it’s naturally we will return to our commitments. It became clear for the world and our nation that the policy of maximum pressure and economic terrorism against Iran has failed 100%,”
Rouhani stated.
“Despite all the pressure of sanctions and economic war, today the Iranian nation is victorious and our non-oil exports are getting back on track and oil exports from are far better compared to previous months, which means a complete failure
of US policy towards Iran.”
“If the new government in White House have learned a lesson from the previous administration, they will make up for the mistakes. The previous president was a tower builder and did not know politics, but the new US administration understands politics and has political experience.”
“Today, the ball is in the court of the United States and Washington. If they fulfil their commitments, we will do the same. Trump died, but JCPOA survived. All the efforts of American extremists, regional reactionaries and the Zionists were for the JCPOA to die, but it is alive today, Trump left with his black record, but the JCPOA is alive.”
Emphasizing that it is very clear today that the situation of three years ago will not be repeated, Rouhani added, "People should know that the sufferings of the past three years will not be repeated and we will see its signs, the currency will move towards balance and the statistics of activities show this”.
22 Jan 2021, Etemad
Araghchi: There will be no JCPOA plus, no new agreement, and no new negotiations about the JCPOA
Iran Deputy Foreign Minister said: "At the moment, we are not interested in making any direct contact and we think that Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is the right format and the talks should be conducted in that format. We do not have a specific position on transfer of power between two governments. We are just waiting to see how the new US President wants to correct
Trump's wrong positions. What we saw during the attack on Congress raises the question of whether it is really the United States that wants to teach the world what 'rules of law' and 'democracy' are. What happened in Washington shows us the true face of American democracy. It is now clear that they have no right to tell anyone in the world how to solve political problems.”
"Iran's request is realistic, and that is for the United States to lift sanctions and return to the nuclear deal," he said of Iran's request to the Biden administration regarding the JCPOA.
He said, I do not see any other alternative. We negotiated in good faith and acted in good faith to JCPOA. It is the new US administration’s turn to make up for the mistakes of the previous administration. The United States must lift all sanctions in order to return to the nuclear deal. We are ready to fulfill all our obligations under the UN Security Council, provided that the Americans return to their commitments and lift the sanctions.
In response to a question about his secret contacts with new US administration, He said: "No, we have not had any contact and we have no intention for that. Naturally, we expect them to be fully in their positions and then start working."
Regarding the efforts of the European members to reach a nuclear agreement on non-outcome issues in JCPOA, Araqchi said: "There will be no Plus JCPOA, no new agreement, no new negotiations on it.“
He went on to call Iranian missiles as the "only reliable defense tool for Iran, and there is no negotiation about this issue."
He said, about other issues, everything depends on how the nuclear deal will be implemented. Regarding the security of the Persian Gulf, he said, this is an issue that can be the subject of dialogue between the countries of the region without foreign interference. Regional security can be discussed collectively.
Italy has always been one of Iran's first trading partners
Araghchi said, Iran and Italy have always had a good relation and there has been mutual respect between them. Italy has always been one of Iran's first trading partners. If sanctions are lifted, economic relations between two countries could resume.
He concluded: "If the sanctions are not lifted, the two countries can create mechanisms to strengthen their relations."
