Iran Denies Military Presence in Syria, Seriously!

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham today denied the presence of Iranian military personnel in Syria.

“Iran is just extending humanitarian aid to Syria,” Afkham was quoted as saying by Iran’s semiofficial Fars News Agency on Wednesday.

Echoing Afkham’s denial, Fars report also quoted a 2013 statement by the IRGC public relations director, Brig. Gen. Ramezan Sharif, that Iran “is only present in the country at the level of military attaches to transfer its defense experiences to the defenders of Syria.” (Fars News Agency, 10 June)

Iran is giving us new definitions of “humanitarian aid” and “military attaches.” In Syria, for example, the Iranian version of military attaches number in hundreds; deploy and lead the operations of thousands of Hezbollah and other foreign Shia militias; direct military operations centers in different parts of the country; operate heavy military equipment and UAVs; etc. They are probably doing it for humanitarian purposes, as Ms. Afkham would say.

File photo: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham (Mehr News Agency) 

Iran Denies Khamenei Has Recently Sent Letter to Obama

Iran has denied that its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has sent a letter in recent weeks to President Obama, as was reported by The Wall Street Journal on Friday. Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said, “Such claims are part of unprofessional media hype.” (Fars News Agency, 15 February)

“There has not been new letter sent by the Supreme Leader to the white House in recent weeks,” Afkham added. She acknowledged previous correspondence from the president to the Iranian leader, adding that Iran has responded to some of the letters. She did not give any exact date on the last letter sent by Khamenei to Obama.

The Journal said Khameni’s letter was sent in “recent weeks,” and was respectful but non-committal in responding to Obama’s suggestion that the two countries should cooperate in battling the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria should the two sides reach a nuclear agreement.

File photo: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (khamenei.ir)

Iran Officials Criticize Kerry

IRGC Commander Major General Ali Jafari dismissed what he called U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's threat of military action against Tehran over its nuclear program, Iranian media reported.

Kerry had said that the military option was still on the table if Iran did not live up to its nuclear commitments under Geneva’s Joint Plan of Action it signed with the six world powers in November. Kerry made the comments in response to a question at WEF in Davos that what happens if Iran did not implement its commitments under the Geneva deal.

Gen. Jafari called the threat “ridiculous.” He asked Kerry to stop repeating “bankrupt strategies such as the use of military power.” Jafari added that such comments help the cause of the "revolutionary Islam."

“Mr. Kerry must know that direct battle with the US is the biggest dream of pious and revolutionary people across the world. Your threats offer our revolutionary people the best opportunity,” Gen. Jafari said. (IRNA, 25 January)

IRGC deputy commander was more blunt and repeated Iran’s own old threat.

“The interests of the United States in the region will be completely destroyed in case of any military attack against Iran,” said IRGC Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri. (Press TV, 25 January)

On Sunday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said Kerry’s comments were in violation of international laws.

“These remarks are undiplomatic and have been made under the pressure of the opposition to Iran's recent nuclear deal with the world powers,” Afkham said. (IRNA, 26 January)

Kerry also elaborated on some of the outlines of a permanent deal with Iran.

“Iran must accept extensive verification, abandon plans to build a heavy-water reactor that can produce plutonium, and resolve longstanding concerns by the International Atomic Energy Agency,” Kerry said. (AP, 25 January)

File photo: IRCG Commander Ali Jafari in a press conference in Tehran in September 2012. (IRNA)

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Denies Kayhan’s Report

Zarif at Hospital for Nervousness and Muscle Spasm After Reading the Report

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs today denied that Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had told the national security and foreign policy committee of the Majlis that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei had characterized Rouhani-Obama phone call and Zarif-Kerry meeting in New York as “missteps.” (ISNA, 8 October)

The hard-right daily Kayhan had run the story with huge banner headline on its front page earlier today. The headline read, “Zarif: Rouhani’s Telephone Conversation with Obama and My Long Meeting with Kerry Were Missteps.” The newspaper, whose influential editor – Hossein Shaiatmadari, is the official representative of Ayatollah Khamenei at Kayhan, is still carrying the story on its website, hours after the denial by the foreign ministry.

Aside from denying Kayhan’s report, the foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham did not give any details on Zarif’s report to the Majils on the Iranian delegation’s visit to New York. There were speculations in Tehran tonight that Shariatmadari will stick with the story in tomorrow’s edition of the paper.

Meanwhile, Zarif told semi-official news agency Mehr that he became so upset at Kayhan’s huge headline that he fell sick and had to go to the hospital with severe muscle spasm. He also added an entry in his Facebook page at 9:30 pm local time about his condition.

“I just returned from the hospital and could sit down to write you this post. This morning, after seeing the huge headline in one of the newspapers, I felt severe pain in my back and my feet, so bad I could not walk or even sit. I did conduct only two foreign meetings and cancelled the rest of my schedule… 4-5 hours later the pain persisted and I left the ministry and went to the hospital… They said the problem was of nervousness and muscle spasm and will be treated with exercise... In any case, it was a day of bitterness. I learned to say what I want to say only in public.” (Facebook/Mehr News Agency, 8 October)

File photo: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (Mehr News Agency)

Iran and UK Agree to Exchange Diplomats

Iran and Britain have agreed to exchange diplomats and begin talks aimed at further improving relations, officials from both countries confirmed today.

“Pursuant to a decision by the Iranian parliament, it was agreed that from today the two countries have a relationship at the level of non-resident charges d'affaires,” announced foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham. (ISNA/Al Jazeera, 8 October)

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said that he and his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, had agreed to appoint non-resident charge d’affaires, which would discuss the eventual reopening of the British embassy in Tehran and the Iranian Embassy in London.

British embassy in Tehran was closed after a mob overran the building in late 2011. Iranian embassy in London was also closed.

The recent election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has raised hopes of a thaw between Iran and the West.

Hague told lawmakers the coming months “may be unusually significant” in British-Iranian relations.

“It is clear that the new president and ministers in Iran are presenting themselves and their country in a much more positive way than in the recent past. There is no doubt that the tone of the meetings with them is different,” he told the House of Commons. (Al Jazeera, 8 October)
Photo credit: Iran’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham announcing the resumption of diplomatic thaw with United Kingdom. (EPA/Al Jazeera)