Eye on Iran: Arms Seized Off Coast of Yemen Appear to Have Been Made in Iran
TOP STORIES
Arms Seized Off Coast of Yemen Appear to Have Been Made in Iran | New York Times
Photographs recently released by the Australian government show that light anti-armor weapons seized from a smuggling vessel near Yemen's coast appear to have been manufactured in Iran, further suggesting that Tehran has had a hand in a high-seas gunrunning operation to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The weapons, a selection of at least nine rocket-propelled grenade launchers, were among thousands of weapons seized by an Australian warship, the Darwin, in February from an Iranian dhow that was sailing under the name Samer. Iran has been repeatedly accused of providing arms helping to fuel one side of the war in Yemen, in which rebels from the country's north, known as the Houthis, ousted the government from the capital, Sana, in 2014... That finding follows a report late last year by Conflict Armament Research, a private arms consultancy, that said the available evidence pointed to an apparent "weapon pipeline, extending from Iran to Somalia and Yemen, which involves the transfer, by dhow, of significant quantities of Iranian-manufactured weapons and weapons that plausibly derive from Iranian stockpiles."
Iran Decides Not to Upset Nuclear Deal over U.S. Sanctions Extension | Reuters
Iran decided not to escalate a stand-off over the extension of U.S. sanctions at a meeting of diplomats overseeing the nuclear deal it reached with world powers in 2015, senior Russian and Iranian diplomats said after the session on Tuesday... When asked whether Iran used the meeting of the so-called Joint Commission to trigger a dispute resolution mechanism set out in the accord for cases where one participating country feels there is a breach of the deal, [Iran's deputy foreign minister] said, "No."
Iran Agrees to Take Steps to Reduce Enriched Uranium Stockpile | Wall Street Journal
Iran agreed to take steps that would push its stockpile of enriched uranium far below the 300-kilogram cap fixed in its 2015 nuclear agreement, potentially eliminating one flashpoint over an accord that President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly criticized during his election campaign, Western diplomats said... In November, the International Atomic Energy Agency voiced concerns about Iran exceeding for a second time the 130-metric-ton cap for heavy water, a material that can be used to produce plutonium. Western officials have also said Iran has come very close in recent weeks to its 300-kilogram ceiling on the amount of enriched uranium allowed in the country. When highly enriched, uranium can be used to fuel a nuclear weapon... there will again be questions about Tuesday's agreement. While U.S. officials insist that only uranium that is "unrecoverable" as nuclear fuel can be exempted, some nuclear experts have raised doubts about the decisions. At the heart of their concerns is the fact that neither the IAEA nor the six powers have spelled out exactly what they classify as unrecoverable material. Some have questioned whether in fact, the material could be converted back into a more dangerous form in future, if Iran decided to walk away from the constraints laid down in the nuclear accord.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Advocacy Group Warns US Automotive Industry: Making Deals with Iran Means Supporting State-Sanctioned Terrorism | Algemeiner
With the North American International Auto Show underway in Detroit, an advocacy group has launched a new campaign to warn members of the industry about the dangers of doing business with Tehran. "Automakers brokering deals in Iran are supporting - both financially and technologically - one of the largest economic sectors in Iran, which is dominated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a sanctioned terrorist organization," United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace said in a statement. "American consumers have made it clear that they will not buy products from companies aiding the leading state-sponsor of terrorism whose rallying cry is 'Death to America.'" UANI Chairman and ex-US Senator Joseph Lieberman stated, "Companies need to think twice before they choose to drive to Tehran"... According to UANI, Fiat Chrysler, Kia Motors, Nissan and Volkswagen all are reportedly in the midst of negotiating deals with the Islamic Republic... As part of its campaign, UANI is running TV, print and digital ads over the course of the next week.
Russia Trading Weapons To Iran? Tehran To Receive Uranium Batch: Report | International Business Times
"No part of the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] obligates the P5+1 to gift the Iranian regime tons of natural uranium, which can be further enriched to build bombs. ... This is one more reckless unilateral concession that the Obama administration should forgo, particularly amid reports that Iran has been close to exhausting its domestic deposits," Matan Shamir, executive director at the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, told the Algemeiner.
IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
Trump Nominee Rex Tillerson to Face Questions About Russia, Climate, Rights | Wall Street Journal
Mr. Tillerson will also discuss the threat of "radical Islam"... as well as the threats posed by North Korea and Iran. His remarks suggest he will back robust enforcement of the Iran deal rather than scrapping it. "We cannot afford to ignore violations of international accords, as we have done with Iran," he is expected to say.
Iran Demands 'Compensation' for U.S. Breach of Nuke Deal | Washington Free Beacon
Iran is demanding further "compensation" from the United States following claims America violated the nuclear agreement by passing new sanctions on the Islamic Republic, according to comments by senior Iranian officials following meetings with the Obama administration in Vienna... A State Department official told the Free Beacon that it would not prejudge its meetings with Iran when asked if further concessions are on the table.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
IranAir Takes Delivery of First Airbus Jet Post-Sanctions | Reuters
The head of IranAir took delivery on Wednesday of the first new Western jet under an international sanctions deal... The 189-seat plane is the first of 100 ordered from Airbus following a deal reached in 2015 between Tehran and world powers to lift nuclear-related sanctions against Iran, in return for restrictions on the country's nuclear activities... The airline has also ordered 80 aircraft from Boeing and is expected to seal an order for 20 turboprops from Europe's ATR.
Airbus Officially Books IranAir Order in December | Reuters
Airbus... has officially booked a deal to sell 98 aircraft to IranAir in December, part of a surge in new orders at the end of last year that allowed it to beat arch-rival Boeing... in the race for new orders.
Iran Attracts $7.2bn Finance from 3 Foreign Banks | Mehr News (Iran)
CBI deputy governor has reported on attraction of financial resources worth 7.2 billion dollars through three international banks. Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) for Foreign Exchange Affairs Gholamali Kamyab, while pointing to foreign exchange projects pursued by CBI in the field of Resistance Economy, said attraction of 10 billion dollars of external resources remained as one objective defined by the central bank in the area of Resistance Economy. "Measures taken by CBI in this regard include extensive negotiations with some foreign banks like Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank), the Italian Mediobank as well as Danske Bank of Denmark," noted the official.
Iran Seeking JV with American Giants GE, Whirlpool | Trend News Agency
Iran is in talks with two American home appliances manufacturers General Electric (GE) and Whirlpool for joint venture, according to Abbas Hashemi, director general of home appliances and metal industries department of Iran's Ministry of Mine, Industry, and Trade. Addressing a press conference, Hashemi said Iran is seeking joint venture and cobranding deals with foreign companies where a minimum 30 percent of the products are exported to regional markets, Trend correspondent reported from the event January 3. In particular he said that the ministry is looking forward to have one or two brands produce split cooler units in Iran.
'US, Italian Firms to Save Iran's Troubled Brands' | Press TV (Iran)
Iran says it has started talks with major American and Italian companies to form partnerships with some of its oldest brands of household devices in what appears to be a policy to prevent their demise. The announcement was made by Abbas Hashemi, the director general for household devices affairs of the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade. Hashemi was quoted by the domestic media as saying that the companies with which talks to were underway on the same front were multinational conglomerate corporation General Electric (GE), the American multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances Whirlpool Corporation, and the Italian Ariston Thermo Group.
Iran, Argentina's Pluspetrol in Talks Over Oilfield Development | Financial Tribune (Iran)
National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) is in talks with Argentinean company Pluspetrol, a leading private exploration and production enterprise in Latin America, to develop and increase the recovery rate of oilfields in the southern province of Khuzestan, the NISOC managing director said. "As soon as negotiations come to fruition, a cooperation agreement based on the Iran Petroleum Contract, new framework for oil and gas contracts, will be signed," Bijan Alipour was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency on Saturday. According to Alipour, this is the first time NISOC is in talks with an Argentinean firm to develop Iranian oilfields. Over the past decade, the most important joint project of NISOC and an oil firm from Latin America was the discovery of new hydrocarbon reserves like Taftan in oil blocks in the Persian Gulf with the help of Brazil's state oil company, Petrobras.
China Opens $1.3bln Credit Line to Finance Iran's Energy Projects | Fars News Agency (Iran)
Deputy Oil Minister Abbas Kazzemi announced that several Chinese companies have opened the first line of credit (LoC) worth $1.3 billion to finance new refinery projects in Iran.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Gas Spats: Turkmenistan Tangles With Iran | Diplomat
Turkmenistan doesn't have many gas customers, despite ample supply, and as of January 1 Ashgabat reportedly cut one customer off over a payment dispute. On January 1, the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) posted a press release that claimed Turkmengaz, the Turkmen state gas company, had cut gas supplies to Iran - violating a 20-year-old gas deal... This morning, due to Turkmens' persistence on threating [sic] to cut gas exports to Iran over claims of a $2 billion debt, the Iranian delegation left the negotiating table to return home. At the airport, Turkmenistan's officials persuaded the Iranian delegation to come back to the negotiating table in hopes for reaching an agreement on gas delivery to Iran... Iranian sources paint Turkmenistan as the villain in this dispute... Because the deal is not public, we can only speculate on what the terms were regarding quantity, quality, and payment; up to January 3, Ashgabat said nothing about the spat.
REGIONAL DESTABILIZATION
Lebanese Leader Defends Iran Ties after Saudi Visit | AP
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said after a visit to Saudi Arabia that his country's close ties to the kingdom's archrival Iran should not impede relations with the wider Arab world... Iran is a longtime supporter of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which represents much of Lebanon's Shiite community and has a military capability rivaling that of the army and police. Aoun, whose Christian party is allied with Hezbollah, said Iran's support for the group "could continue indefinitely." Saudi Arabia halted a $3 billion arms deal with Lebanon in February and banned Saudis and other Gulf nationals from traveling there after what the Saudis described as Beirut's failure to condemn attacks on Saudi missions in Iran by demonstrators angered by the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. Weeks later, Lebanon abstained from an Arab League vote branding Hezbollah a terrorist organization... Aoun said he discussed the arms deal with Saudi officials, without elaborating... Saudi officials told The Associated Press that the Saudi king has promised to review the restoration of the aid package to the Lebanese army but without giving a timetable.
DOMESTIC POLITICS
Iran's Opposition Protests Amid Mourning for Former President Rafsanjani | Wall Street Journal
The funeral for one of the founding fathers of Iran's regime Tuesday provided a forum for a rare demonstration by the country's long-silenced opposition. Mourners packed the streets of downtown Tehran for the funeral procession of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The crowd was estimated by Tehran's governor at up to 2.5 million people and became, in effect, parallel funerals. One featured Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials honoring Mr. Rafsanjani. The other included protests in support of Green Movement opposition leaders... Iranians posted videos and photographs of the protest on social media and sent it to Persian media outlets such as BBC Persian and RadioFarda. Crowds held up pictures of Mr. Rafsanjani and waved green flags the symbol of opposition. Among other slogans were, "Free political prisoners," "Dictator, dictator, respect only comes from God" and "death to Russia"... State television muted the sound from the funeral. Iranians also reported that the internet was slow and both land lines and mobile lines were jammed, in what appeared to be an attempt to prevent news of the protests from spreading. When crowds reached the outposts of state television cameras they chanted, "Microphone is yours, voice of justice is ours."
Iran Leader Faces Test After Ally's Death | Wall Street Journal
Tens of thousands of Iranians filled the streets of Tehran on Tuesday for the funeral procession of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, as moderates grappled with how his death will affect a longtime ally's chances of winning re-election as president in May. The only declared candidate backed by conservatives has a low public profile and there are no official opinion polls to gauge popularity in Iran's opaque electoral system. But Mr. Rafsanjani's death deprived incumbent President Hassan Rouhani, who backed the 2015 nuclear deal and favors improving ties with the West, of his most powerful supporter... Hard-liners have given no indication yet as to how they may position themselves to take advantage of Mr. Rafsanjani's absence. They have many tools at their disposal, including the exclusion of candidates for office through the Guardian Council, a body that oversees elections. It is unclear how the council will approach the upcoming polls, but it has disqualified prominent people before, including Mr. Rafsanjani when he tried to run for president again in 2013. "Rouhani has become a lonely politician who has to fight on many strong fronts and has no support," said Mehdi Khalaji, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "Now he has to prove whether he was a successful president in creating enough of a social power base for himself to get re-elected."
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Iran Stockpiling Uranium Far Above Current Needs | UANI Advisory Board Member Olli Heinonen for FDD
In a televised speech on January 1, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran had imported 200 metric tons of yellowcake uranium and would import another 120 tons at an unspecified future date. The imports are permitted by the nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but nonetheless significantly exceed Iran's needs for natural (that is, unenriched) uranium over the next 15 years. Iran's import of such high levels of uranium suggests it may be stockpiling uranium to reach nuclear breakout before the deal's initial limitations expire in 2031... Given the complexity of the JCPOA's terms, transparency is necessary to ensure strict and meaningful enforcement. That should entail releasing Iran's research and development plans to lay out its current and future nuclear needs, and whether these plans impact the JCPOA's parameters for a one-year breakout time. The P5+1 - and Norway - should explain what measures have been put in place to ensure that the yellowcake will not be enriched above 3.67 percent and that the uranium will not be used for reprocessing without their consent, even when the JCPOA limits ultimately expire.
Rafsanjani's Thorny Legacy | Armin Rosen in Tablet
Rafsanjani isn't just alleged to have presided over the government that funded and organized the AMIA attack-he also knew about the specific plot well in advance, and gave the official final go-ahead. Remembrances of Rafsanjani treat the AMIA massacre as if it's incidental to his broader career. The New York Times obituary makes fleeting reference to "Argentina ....[accusing] Mr. Rafsanjani and other senior Iranian figures of complicity in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires;" in The Atlantic, an essay on the Rafsanjani's "long career" doesn't mention the attack at all. Yet the AMIA bombing encapsulates why Rafsanjani was so significant: He succeeded in convincing observers of his moderation at the same time his government funded a globe-spanning terrorist network and helped make the Islamic Republic into an ever-more mainstream member of the international community without sacrificing the regime's ideological trappings or expansionist aims... Rafsanjani pioneered the brand of obfuscation, kleptocracy, survivalism, and international terrorism that characterize the present-day Iranian regime, which has pursued an aggressive foreign policy and resisted any serious internal reform while also enjoying dramatically improved relations with the U.S. and Europe.
Sons of the Iranian Revolution: Rafsanjani, Khamenei, and the Friendship-Cum-Rivalry That Shaped a Country | Karim Sadjadpour in Atlantic
While Rafsanjani likely hoped to be remembered by history as a modernizing nationalist hero... historians are not likely to be so generous... Rafsanjani's political career spanned a period in which Iran exiled millions of its inhabitants, imprisoned and executed tens of thousands, and needlessly prolonged a war, with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, that brought about some half a million casualties by one estimate. Rafsanjani was at worst directly complicit in these policies and at best a silent bystander. He advocated mercy and moderation when out of power, but he exhibited insufficient amounts of it when he was in power... The impact of Rafsanjani's death on Iranian politics will be better understood in the coming months. President Hassan Rouhani, a Rafsanjani protege, is up for reelection in May 2017. Whatever the outcome, however, Rafsanjani's death is not likely to change the longstanding fundamentals of power in Tehran that Rafsanjani helped shape. Though he was called Machiavellian in numerous obituaries, he was vanquished by the man whom he appointed, Ali Khamenei, whose careful cultivation of Iran's security forces made clear he understood the most important Machiavellian rule of all. For authoritarian leaders it is preferable to have people's fears rather than their affections. Rafsanjani had neither.
There Are No Reformers in the Iranian Regime | Seth Frantzman in Jerusalem Post
Reading news about Iran it almost seems every western news agency and major media receives talking points from some unseen super-news media word database. "When writing about Iran there are two political parties, the reformers or moderates and the hard-liners, use these key words when describing everything." But there are no reformers in Iran. If there were reformers and moderates then we would see reforms. What "reforms" are there. Are women allowed to dress as they want?... The reformers and moderates still hang people in Iran as well... Women are jailed for trying to attend volleyball games. Journalists are jailed. Activists. People dancing in the video "happy" were sentenced to be whipped 91 times. Was it a "moderate" lashing? Was it a reformed type of whip used? When a person is being whipped for singing, in a scene more reminiscent of the 15th century Inquisition than 2017, why is that called a "reform" and a "moderation." The reality in Iran is that the choice is not between reformers and hard-liners, but the extreme religious right and the extreme nationalist religious right. There are no liberal leaders in Iran. There are only militarists, theocrats, nationalists, extremists, the extreme right, the populist right, the fundamentalists, the fundamentalist right, the Inquisition leaders, and floggers and executioners. ... The new story Tehran is pushing is that Donald Trump will erode the influence of the moderates. If a regime always has to threaten you that its "liberals" will be eroded by some foreign election, then it means there are no liberals in the first place... There may be Iranian liberals among the people. There may be many Iranian reformers among the long-persecuted minorities, such as Kurds, Baloch, Arabs, Azeris, Bahai and others. But they have no influence and often no rights... [U]ntil there are real reforms in Iran, towards freedoms for average people, freedom for women, and minorities, one has to hold the regime accountable for the reality that exists.
Rafsanjani's Death Could Increase the IRGC's Succession Role | Mehdi Khalaji in Real Clear World
Unlike in 1989, the Revolutionary Guards and other powerful Iranian institutions will probably play an outsize role in determining and influencing the next Supreme Leader, especially now that another major revolutionary figure has passed away... In practical terms, Rafsanjani's positions as head of the Expediency Council and a key member in the Assembly of Experts will presumably be filled by a figure who is more loyal to Khamenei and the regime's hardcore military camp -- no surprise given his advocacy for replacing the position of Supreme Leader with a leadership council. Yet such an appointment would not necessarily produce a more united hardliner front. If regime "moderates" become even more marginalized following the death of one of their main boosters, new divisions will likely emerge in the radical camp as various figures jockey for position in order to take power post-Khamenei... In short, while the key decisionmakers in appointing the Supreme Leader's successor in 1989 were a handful of prominent, largely cooperative individuals like Khomeini's son and Rafsanjani, the next succession will likely be driven by a wide array of competing institutions, with the IRGC on top. Consequently, the identity of the next Supreme Leader may be less important than it was in the past because the institutions that bring him to power will expect him to implement their agenda, using their ample leverage to convince him to protect their interests above others. In that case, one could reasonably assume that the IRGC will be Khamenei's de facto successor... The incoming U.S. administration should be prepared to witness a great deal of political transition in Iran over the next four years, including the death of Ayatollah Khamenei and the rise of a new Supreme Leader... Khamenei's successor stands to inherit his effective control over the region's vast Shiite military and financial network. This fact-coupled with the old age of Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the powerful Iraq-based cleric who represents the last remaining alternative to Tehran in terms of transnational Shiite authority-should put the new leader in a comfortable position to expand Iran's influence abroad and defy the interests of the United States and its allies.
What Rafsanjani's Death Means for the Supreme Leader's Succession | Caitlin Shayda Pendleton and Paul Bucala in AEI's Iran Tracker
Former President Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's unexpected death on January 8 marks a significant blow to President Hassan Rouhani and his centrist allies. Rafsanjani was one of Iran's wealthiest men, a kingmaker for Iran's centrist politicians, and a prominent member of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical council charged with selecting the next Supreme Leader. The most important consequence of his passing is to weaken the influence of the centrist camp in that selection... The loss of Rafsanjani will hurt the ability of the centrist camp to influence the formal process to replace Khamenei. Khamenei's age and rumored health issues indicate that the Assembly may exercise its constitutional duty to choose a successor soon. The conservative-moderate bloc that Rafsanjani led to victory in the 2016 elections will not be as influential without him. Other networks in the Assembly, like those centering around hardline Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati and Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, will now have a freer hand in selecting the next Supreme Leader. Indeed, many signs indicate that one hardline cleric in the Assembly, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, may be the regime's top pick for Khamenei's successor. Rafsanjani's unexpected death will transform the Iranian political system. It remains to be seen how Rouhani and his centrist allies will manage the loss of Rafsanjani before the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for May 2017. It is clear, however, that the Supreme Leader and regime hardliners have lost a major obstacle in ensuring that their policies continue in the post-Khamenei era.
In Iran, Part of the Revolution Passes On | Stratfor
With former reformist President Mohammed Khatami under a media ban and other notable reformist leaders such as Mehdi Karroubi under house arrest, Rafsanjani emerged in recent years as the ideological leader of the country's more moderate camp. Moreover, he was able to challenge the Iranian political establishment's views in ways no one else could, in part because he helped to create it as one of the Islamic Republic's founding fathers. Iran's moderate leaders will no doubt struggle to fill the hole he leaves behind... In the coming decade, the next generation of political leaders in Iran - including Rouhani, parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, judiciary head Sadeq Larijani, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari and others - will likely have to steer Iran's political path without revolutionary bona fides such as Rafsanjani and Khamenei. Moreover, because Khamenei has outlived Rafsanjani, the Assembly of Experts will lose a powerful voice that could have helped nudge the selection of the next supreme leader in a more moderate direction. Though Rouhani has accrued his own support and respect through decades of experience as a moderate politician, it will be difficult for him to fill Rafsanjani's shoes. As Rouhani prepares to run in the next presidential election, he will need to demonstrate that he can handle a period of uncertainty in U.S.-Iranian relations, manage a recovering Iranian economy, and maintain the revolutionary ideals that the country's leaders are charged with protecting. And now that Rafsanjani is gone, leaving Iran's moderate and reformist camp with no obvious replacement, Rouhani will become that figure by default.
Whitewashing Rafsanjani's Bloody Legacy in Iran | Hamid Yazdan Panah in Middle East Monitor
The death of Hashemi Rafsanjani offers an interesting case study on the discourse surrounding the Iranian regime. While apologists for the regime in Tehran eulogise and lionise Rafsanjani's legacy, Iranian[s] who have lived through the last 30 years have an altogether different recollection... Iranians recollection of Rafsanjani's reign is a view not characterised by fond memories of an elder statesman, but the harsh realities of life under his rule. Rafsanjani's rule in Iran was anything but moderate. The use of torture, murder and mass killings became the norm during the height of Rafsanjani's power, and coincided with bloody purges of dissidents inside and outside the country's borders... There is substantial evidence that Rafsanjani was the chief architect of one Iran's darkest and bloodiest eras... Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi correctly points out that Rafsanjani also presided over the infamous "chain murders", whose victims included more than 80 writers, activists and dissidents, including the 1992 assassination of four Iranian Kurdish dissidents in Berlin... Far from being a supporter of change and reform inside the country, Rafsanjani justified the suppression of student protests in 1999 and "praised the use of force by the state". A decade later Rafsanjani would opportunistically attach himself to the popular uprising in 2009, and somehow portray himself as the protector of a population that protested the theocracy he helped create... This is to say nothing of his own thievery, lies and corruption in amassing a fortune for himself and his family while also entrenching the IRGC in the Iranian economy. Rafsanjani's policies not only destroyed and dismantled Iran's opposition movements, but solidified the regime in its current mafia ruling structure, while playing a cat and mouse game of appeasement with the West... Rafsanjani was not interested in reform, but political posturing and survival. Nor was he a moderate in deeds or words, but a cunning politician who deftly played his enemies against each other yet remained closely attached to them. His brand of politics meant that everything was negotiable for the right price, so long as you were willing to sit with the mullahs of Iran. It is no wonder that both Khamenei and the United States government expressed remorse over his passing. Make no mistake about it, Rafsanjani's goals were to prolong the existence of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in its current state, so long as he and his cohorts were given the lion's share.
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Wed, 01/11/2017 - 15:30