Social and Political

Al-monitor – The Iranian government’s passing of a bill on Dec. 7 to change the national currency unit from the rial to the toman — equivalent to 10 rials — has triggered charges that the administration had not thoroughly studied the measure. The bill needs to be ratified by parliament and then approved by the Guardian Council to go into effect. AUTHOR Alireza Ramezani Despite the …

PayvandNews – For the time being, the Islamic Republic of Iran revels in the fulfilment of the “divine promise” embodied by its victory in Aleppo. The Pasdaran, or Guardians of the Revolution, have given their all for five long years. They have steadfastly supported Bashar al-Assad’s shaky army. They have mobilized and trained combat-ready auxiliary Syrian forces, imported thousands of …

PayvandNews – Iran and Kazakhstan have signed five agreements for cooperation on the second leg of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s tour of the Central Asia. Rouhani and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev oversaw the signing of the accords in the capital Astana on Thursday, aimed at expanding economic relations. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) and his Kazakh counterpart in Astana …

RFL/RE – The United Nations General Assembly, over strenuous objections from Russia and Syria, voted to establish a panel to prepare cases involving war crimes and human rights abuses in Syria. The resolution, drafted by Liechtenstein, was adopted by 105 to 15 on December 21, with 52 abstentions, despite warnings from Russia that the assembly was interfering in the work …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force is accused of playing an extensive role in the destruction of Aleppo, an Iranian opposition group says in a new intelligence report. Among other things, the country is building a network of stations around the city and sending militia troops from Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon in to execute the brutal killings, …

Al-monitor – In a Dec. 18 interview, Ali Akbar Velayati, the Iranian supreme leader’s foreign policy adviser, described the developments in eastern Aleppo as “the most important victory during the past five years in which Syria has been entangled in the war on terrorism,” adding that they are “a prelude to future victories.” On the same day, Supreme National Security …

PayvandNews – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran, Russia and Turkey have started the process of finding a political solution to the Syria crisis. There is no military solution to the Syria conflict and the country’s crisis can only be solved through political approaches, Zarif said in Moscow on Tuesday. The Iranian foreign minister was speaking at a …

RFL/RE – A top Iranian security official has revealed that Iran and Russia are sharing a military base in Syria where they are coordinating their support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was quoted by Iranian news agencies on December 20 as saying there is “a shared base in Syria where …

RFL/RE – Iran expects to receive its first jet next month under a multibillion-dollar deal with Airbus for 100 planes, a senior Iranian official said. Deputy Iranian Roads and Urban Development Minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan told Reuters in an interview that the negotiations with Airbus have been finalized and that the deal is expected the be signed on December 20 …

RFL/RE – Iranian President Hassan Rohani has launched a Citizens’ Rights Charter that represents one of his administration’s most conspicuous efforts so far to fulfill campaign pledges he made in winning the presidency three years ago. Although it is not a legally binding document, the text contains 120 articles pertaining to freedoms that critics say are routinely violated in the Islamic republic, …