Iran Marks Anniversary of 1979 U.S. Embassy Takeover

Thousands of Iranians today rallied to celebrate the anniversary of the 1979 hostage-taking at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, as hardliners warned against the “infiltration” of the country by the American and Western supporters, and chanted “Death to America.”

The U.S. embassy was sacked by hardliners in early days of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The ensuing U.S. hostage crisis lasted 444 days and Washington and Tehran have yet to restore diplomatic ties.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a speech yesterday marking the anniversary of embassy takeover and hostage-taking warned the Iranians against trusting the United States in the aftermath of the historic nuclear reached earlier this year. Khamenei also warned against improving and normalizing relations with the U.S. On the streets, some protesters dragged a coffin marked “Obama.” He situation in Iran

“Western countries, especially the United States are trying to take advantage of the situation in Iran after the nuclear deal to normalize relations with Tehran and infiltrate the country,” said IRGC in a statement marking the occasion. (Fars News Agency, 3 November)

Photo: A scene from today's anti-American demonstrations in Tehran, marking the anniversary of 1979 embassy takeover and hostage taking; 4 November 2015 (Ali Abbaspour/Fars News Agency/Twitter)

Majlis Approves General Outline of JCPOA

Leader of Hardliners Threatens to Kill and Execute Zarif and Salehi 

 

Majlis, the Iranian Parliament, on Sunday approved the “general outline” of the nuclear deal with the world power, the JCPOA, by a vote of 139 to 100, with 12 abstention.

The details of JCPOA now will be considered in the next few days. The Majlis bill dealing with the specifics of JCPOA, entitled “Proportional Measures Toward Implementation,” contains sharp criticism of some key elements of the accord.

The Majlis could refer the bill, along with a long list of its concerns over the specific provisions in the agreement, to the country's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) for consideration and final approval. 

The Majlis today was also the scene of the most heated debate in years with some MPs behaving in questionable manner, at times bordering criminal. The leader of the Resistance Front, the parliament’s hardline faction, threatened the country’s foreign minister and chief of Atomic Energy Organization to death. This is how Kamaloldin Pir-Moazen, the MP from Ardabil, described the scene:

“Today the Resistance Front MPs and opponents of Rouhani administration did all they could do (to stop the nuclear agreement bill). They threatened (Atomic Energy chief) Salehi to death and threatened to have (Foreign Minister) Zarif executed.” Pir-Moazen added that Hojatoleslam Ruhollah Hosseinian, leader of the Resistance Front, told Salehi: “We will execute you, bury you inside Arak reactor, and pour cement over you.” (IRNA, 11 October)

To read the account by Iran’s official news agency IRNA, in Farsi, please click here.

Top photo: Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Salehi under attack by the hardliners in Majlis; Tehran, 11 October 2015 (IRNA)

Bottom photo: Hojatoleslam Ruhollah Hoseinian (in cleric dress) threatening to kill AEOI chief Salehi (at the podium) and pour cement over his body; Majlis, 11 October 2015 (ISNA)

Yazdi Defeats Rafsanjani - Elected Chairman of Assembly of Experts

Devastating Defeat for Moderates - Impressive Victory for Hardliners

Iran’s hardliners today scored an impressive victory in the Assembly of Experts (AOE) by electing Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi as its chairman. Yazdi handily defeated Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, the leader of the moderate faction, by a vote of 47 to 24, with two abstentions. AOE selects the country’s supreme leader.

Yazdi’s victory is a devastating defeat for the moderates, including Rafsanjani and the sitting president Hassan Rouhani and his team. It could also be an indication that the now-energized hardliners might try to block the expected nuclear agreement.

File photo: Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the new chairman of the Assembly of Experts. (Tehran Times)

Zarif Warns U.S. Rouhani at Risk if Talks Fail

UPDATE: IRNA Says Zarif Has Denies Reuters Report

Reuters quoting three unnamed Iranian officials reported from Tehran today that the Iranian foreign minister has warned his American counterpart in a recent meeting that a failure in nuclear talks would result in political demise of pragmatic President Hassan Rouhani, further empowering Iran’s hardliners.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif apparently shared his administration’s concerns with Secretary of State John Kerry in their recent meeting in Geneva, adding another dimension to an already complex set of negotiations.      

A senior U.S official, however, denied that any such warnings have been received from the Iranians. “We’ll leave assessment of Iranian politics to the Iranians, but this rumor is untrue,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Playing moderate/pragmatic card might be a negotiating tactic to persuade the Americans to give more ground, but a failure in the talks would severely undermine Rouhani’s position; as he ran for president on a platform of ending the 12-year standoff with the West over the country’s nuclear program, and putting an end to sanctions.

UPDATE: Zarif met Kerry briefly on Saturday on the sidelines of Munich Security Conference.

UPDATE II: IRNA reported today that Foreign Minister Zarif had not talked with Secretary Kerry about domestic issues. IRNA said Zarif has rejected Reuters report as "lies." IRNA did not say where Zarif made the comments. He is in Munich today attending the security conference. 

Rouhani: Hardliners ‘Cheering On’ Other Side in Nuclear Talks

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani today accused the country’s hardliners of effectively “cheering on” the other side in Iran’s grueling nuclear negotiations with world powers.

“The other side applauds their own, but here in our country, it is not clear what (the hardliners) are doing. It is as if they are cheering on the rival team,” Rouhani said in a public gathering in Tehran. (IRNA/Reuters, 31 December)

“And when we ask them what they are doing, they answer, ‘We are criticizing and criticism is a good thing’… This is not criticism, it is sabotage of national interests and favor for partisan politics,” Rouhani added.

Rouhani here is alluding to a widely-held suspicion among the moderates and circles close to him that the hardliners prefer to see the nuclear negotiations fail than letting Rouhani and the moderates get credit for ending a 12-year nuclear standoff with the West and securing the lifting of sanctions, which have crippled Iran’s oil-based economy.

The hardliners are weary that Rouhani and the moderates could parlay the success into important victories in the upcoming elections for the Assembly of Experts and Majlis, scheduled for March 2016. The elections for the Assembly of Experts are particularly crucial, as the next Assembly could find itself in a position to choose a new supreme leader if the current leader would be incapacitated due to illness. Khamenei recently underwent surgery for prostate cancer.

File photo: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (IRNA)