Iran: Senior Ministers Critical of Economy – Warn of Crisis

In a highly unusual move, four senior members of President Rouhani’s cabinet have written a letter to the Iranian president expressing deep concerns over continued economic recession and the risks of an upcoming economic crisis in the country. Ali Taeb-Nia, Minister of Economy and Finance; Ali Rabii, Minister of Labor; Mohammad Reza Nemat-Zadeh, Minister of Industries; and Gen. Hossein Dehqan, Minister of Defense, signed the letter, which was reported by the Iranian news agencies Mehr and ILNA on Sunday.

In the letter, dated 9 September 2015, the ministers point to the near meltdown of Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), writing that TSE has lost 42 percent of its value since January 2013, with major publicly-traded companies losing some $55 billion of their values. The ministers also point to falling oil prices and other minerals. They warn that if the government does not take immediate actions, the Iranian economy could soon face a crisis, which would take years to come out of it.

Photo credit: The photos of the four ministers signing the letter highly critical of the state of the Iranian economy. From left: Ali Rabii, Minister of Labor; Gen. Hossein Dehqan, Minister of Defense; Mohammad-Reza Nemat-Zadeh, Minister of Industries, and Ali Taeb-Nia, Minister of Economy. (asemandailynews)

Meeting of Iraq & Iran ministers of defense in Baghdad

Still from video published 18MAY15 of Iranian Minister of Defense BG Hossein Dehqan and his Iraqi counterpart Minister of Defense Khalid al-Obeidi, at the entrance of the Iraqi Ministry Of Defense building in Baghdad.

The exchange between Iranian and Iraqi ministries of defense was said to be pre-scheduled but it didn't show on the faces at the Iraqi side of the table; they appear grim and in the midst of a national emergency, following the loss of a second provincial capital, Ramadi.

Photo depictions of IRGC-QF Commander MG Qassim Soleimani in Iraq are again materializing on social media; seen here with Abu Azrael, commander of the Kataib al-Imam Ali brigade.

COMMENTARY: For most of the Battle of Tikrit the pendulum of military influence in Iraq swung towards Iran. Then at the very end of that battle, it swung toward the United States. Now, with the fall of Ramadi, it appears to be swinging back in the direction of Iran.

Also on 18MAY15, Iraqi Air Force C-130J Hercules transport aircraft were in Tehran while an Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force Boeing 747 was in Baghdad, ferrying Iranian military supplies to Iraq for war against ISIL. [source: Babak Taghvaee]

File photo: IqAF Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft

File photo: IRIAF Boeing 747-131(SF)  [photo: Mehrad Watson]

Iranian generals' public statements on the Yemen conflict

At left: NEZAJA Commander Brig. Gen. Pourdastan at an indoctrination renewal ceremony held earlier this week

On the topic of the current conflict in Yemen, the commander of Iran's Army ground force (NEZAJA) Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Pourdastan this week stated, “Despite Saudi Arabia’s airstrikes on Yemen, it should be noted the result of this war will not be decided in the air. The country of Yemen has strong ground forces, therefore this conflict will be determined on the ground.” Pourdastan added, “Saudi Arabia’s aggression against Yemen will clearly confront defeat; its [the intervention’s] consequences over the past two weeks are clearly to be seen.” [source: Mehr News]

Above: Defense Ministers Dehghan and Ryacudu at the Moscow Conference on International Security

At a security conference in Moscow on 16APR15, IRGC Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan, Iran’s defense minister, stated, “The Saudi government, which undertook this military invasion with the help of America and Israel and intelligence help from some regional countries, will not only achieve its own illegitimate goals, but has provided the grounds for its own collapse and irreparable failures and a similar fate of that of Saddam [Hussein] awaits it.”

He added, “The Saudi government should know that by supporting financially, logistically and by training of takfiris and terrorists in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Central Asia and the Caucuses, and attacking Yemen while preventing humanitarian aid, will not turn it into an important country in the region.” Dehghan went on to say Saudi Arabia will become an important country in the region when it can unite Muslims and bring together the different sects, given that they are the custodian of the two holy mosques in Islam. [source: Al-Monitor]

Visible among the Iranian military delegation at the Moscow Conference on International Security include:
- IRGC brigadier generals (x2), IRGC brigadier generals 2C (x3)
- IRIAF brigadier general 2C, IRIAF colonel
- IRIA colonel