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The IRGC in the Age of Ebrahim Raisi: Decision-Making and Factionalism in Iran’S Revolutionary Guard
The IRGC in the Age of Ebrahim Raisi: Decision-Making and Factionalism in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard SAEID GOLKAR AUGUST 2021 KASRA AARABI Contents Executive Summary 4 The Raisi Administration, the IRGC and the Creation of a New Islamic Government 6 The IRGC as the Foundation of Raisi’s Islamic Government The Clergy and the Guard: An Inseparable Bond 16 No Coup in Sight Upholding Clerical Superiority and Preserving Religious Legitimacy The Importance of Understanding the Guard 21 Shortcomings of Existing Approaches to the IRGC A New Model for Understanding the IRGC’s Intra-elite Factionalism 25 The Economic Vertex The Political Vertex The Security-Intelligence Vertex Charting IRGC Commanders’ Positions on the New Model Shades of Islamism: The Ideological Spectrum in the IRGC Conclusion 32 About the Authors 33 Saeid Golkar Kasra Aarabi Endnotes 34 4 The IRGC in the Age of Ebrahim Raisi Executive Summary “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] has excelled in every field it has entered both internationally and domestically, including security, defence, service provision and construction,” declared Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, then chief justice of Iran, in a speech to IRGC commanders on 17 March 2021.1 Four months on, Raisi, who assumes Iran’s presidency on 5 August after the country’s June 2021 election, has set his eyes on further empowering the IRGC with key ministerial and bureaucratic positions likely to be awarded to guardsmen under his new government. There is a clear reason for this ambition. Expanding the power of the IRGC serves the interests of both Raisi and his 82-year-old mentor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic. -
Iran Stands up Against Transatlantic Bullying the Tabriz Based Club’S Officials Parted Company with the 49-Year-Old Coach on Tuesday
WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 8 Pages Price 50,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 42nd year No.13829 Wednesday DECEMBER 9, 2020 Azar 19, 1399 Rabi’ Al thani 23, 1442 Zarif advises regional Jordan Burroughs Iranian university Architect Amirali states to exclude West misses competing students runner-up Sardar-Afkhami in regional talks Page 2 in Iran Page 3 at IMC 2020 Page 7 dies at 91 Page 8 Iran completely self-sufficient in building freight wagons Iran stands up against TEHRAN – Iranian railway industry has systems for freight wagons. become completely self-reliant in man- “For the first time this year, national ufacturing freight wagons, Head of the (domestically-made) wheels will move on Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known the national rail,” the official said. as RAI) Saeed Rasouli said. Mentioning the launch of a system for Speaking in an unveiling ceremony for introducing the needs of the country’s railway transatlantic bullying domestically-made wagon brake system industry to domestic manufacturers and and wheels on Tuesday, Rasouli announced companies producing parts for the railway that RAI is going to sign a contract with transportation industry, the official noted domestic manufacturers for the purchase that so far 4,600 parts have been requested See page 3 of 500 monoblock wheels and 500 brake on this website. Continued on page 4 Rouhani: Astana peace talks can protect Syrian territorial integrity TEHRAN — President Hassan Rouhani Rouhani said during a meeting with visiting on Tuesday hailed the Astana peace talks, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad. -
Diplomatic Unease Casts Shadow on Jordan-Iran Ties
16 April 23, 2017 News & Analysis Iran Diplomatic unease casts shadow on Jordan-Iran ties The Arab Weekly staff “It is advisable that the Jordanian king take a passing look first at the statistics released about the Jorda- London nian terrorists joining [the Islamic State] and other blood-spilling and iplomatic relations be- ignorant groups and then make tween Jordan and Iran an opinion on Iran which is on the are going through a pe- frontline of the fight against terror- riod of unease following ism and extremism and striving to the trading of insults be- strengthen security in the region,” Dtween Amman and Tehran. Ghasemi said. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said said it summoned Iranian Ambas- Ghasemi’s “unacceptable” com- sador to Amman Mujtaba Fardousi ments were “a failed attempt to Bour to deliver a “strongly worded misrepresent the central role the protest.” kingdom plays in supporting re- The protest was against a state- gional security and stability and ment from Iranian Foreign Minis- fighting terrorism.” try spokesman Bahram Ghasemi branding comments Jordanian King King Abdullah said Abdullah II made to the Washington Iran was involved in Post as “silly and careless.” “strategic problems” King Abdullah told the American in the region. newspaper that Iran was involved in “strategic problems” in the re- gion. “There is an attempt to forge a Former Jordanian Ambassador to geographic link between Iran, Iraq, Tehran Bassam al-Amoush told the Syria and Hezbollah/Lebanon,” he website AlkhaleejOnline.net that said. the “Iranian transgression against He added that Iran’s Islamic Revo- Jordan needed a strong response, lutionary Guards Corps troops were especially since the proximity of within 70km of Jordan’s border and the Iranians from the Jordanian- Better days. -
'Principlists' Concentrate Attacks on Rohani
March 12, 2017 15 News & Analysis Iran ‘Principlists’ concentrate attacks on Rohani Gareth Smyth been critical of the 2015 nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehen- sive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with London world powers. Hamidreza Baqaee, vice-presi- hortly after Hossein-Ali dent for executive affairs under Ro- Amiri, Iranian vice-presi- hani’s predecessor, Mahmoud Ah- dent for parliamentary af- madinejad, has already announced fairs, confirmed to the of- he would stand, although he could ficial IRNA news agency well be blocked by the watchdog Sthat President Hassan Rohani would Council of Guardians, which in 2013 seek a second term in the election, barred Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff, due May 19th, the president visited Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. Sistan-Baluchestan, a south-eastern Other principlists have estab- province that polled heavily in his lished the Popular Front of Islamic favour in 2013. Revolution Forces (PFIRF) to agree Front-page pictures of Rohani ris- on a single candidate but are strug- ing for the national anthem along- gling to find a charismatic figure. side Abdul-Hamid Esmail-Zehi, Among the names bandied about perhaps Iran’s pre-eminent Sunni is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the cleric, conveyed a timely image to Tehran mayor who unsuccessfully Iranian voters of a president seeking ran for president in 2005 and 2013. reconciliation but standing firm in “Ghalibaf is the only potential big- an unstable world. name challenger,” said Farhi, “but Rohani’s election platform will he’s mired in a corruption scandal be continued international engage- of his own. The Popular Front of Helped by ment and cautious economic re- Islamic Revolution Forces is strug- divisions. -
Weekly Geopolitical Report by Bill O’Grady
Weekly Geopolitical Report By Bill O’Grady May 28, 2013 prevent the Green Movement from threatening the government. Elections in Iran For the current election, it appears that (Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the next report will be Khamenei wants to avoid a repeat of the published June 10 th .) 2009 elections at all costs. And so, the Iran’s Guardian Council, the government ayatollah is taking a series of steps to body that certifies candidates for elections, prevent a reoccurrence of the last election. published its list of candidates last week. In this report, we will examine the structure Although over 800 Iranians applied to run of the Iranian government and the history of for president, the council approved a group how this government structure has evolved. of eight. The applications of two prominent From there, an analysis of Khamenei’s goals Iranians were rejected. Former president for the upcoming elections will be offered. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar As always, we will examine the Rahim-Hashaei, a close confidant of ramifications of this situation on the President Ahmadinejad, failed to make the financial and commodity markets. list. The Islamic Iranian Republic The last presidential election, which was The interaction of religious and political held in 2009, re-elected Ahmadinejad. power has been fraught with difficulty However, there were widespread claims of throughout history, regardless of the broad voter fraud, and civil unrest followed the religious denomination. Temporal power vote. In something of a surprise, Ayatollah sometimes views spiritual power as a threat. Khamenei, the spiritual head of Iran (and, in At other times, secular powers try to co-opt the convoluted government structure of Iran, religion to enhance its own power. -
The Unexpected Results of Presidential Election in Iran
1 The Unexpected Results of Presidential Elections in Iran By Akbar E. Torbat Iranians voted in the presidential, city and rural council elections on June 14, 2013. The two elections were arranged to be on the same day to boost participations and show support for the Islamic Republic. The Guardian Council had handpicked eight candidates and rejected the rest of the applicants for presidency in violation of the Islamic Republic’s constitution.1 Despite 1.6 million first-time young voters, the turnout was 10% lower than the previous election. Some political factions had indicated that they would boycott the election. However, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei encouraged Iranians to vote by saying “It is possible that some people, for whatever reason, do not want to support the Islamic Republic establishment but if they want to support Iran, they should come also to vote at the polls.” In reality, those who did not support the regime did not have anyone on the ballot to vote for. According to John R. Bird, Canada’s Foreign Minister, the election was “effectively meaningless” because only “regime-friendly” candidates were allowed in the race.2 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had designated his former Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashei as a nominee for president but the Guardian Council rejected him to be on the ballots. As Mashei was pushed aside, the election became a competition between the two wings of the clerical oligarchy; the conservatives (or principalists) and the moderates plus their reformist affiliates. Mashaei who had advocated secular policies and had nationalistic sentiments was considered a threat to the clerics, and therefore they decided to bar his candidacy. -
La Elección De Hassan Rouhani En 2013 Y El Desarrollo De La Política Interna
El Colegio de México Centro de Estudios de Asia y África FACCIONALISMO POLÍTICO EN IRÁN: LA ELECCIÓN DE HASSAN ROUHANI EN 2013 Y EL DESARROLLO DE LA POLÍTICA INTERNA Tesis presentada por DOLORES PATRICIA MARÍN DÍAZ para optar al grado de MAESTRÍA EN ESTUDIOS DE ASIA Y ÁFRICA ESPECIALIDAD: MEDIO ORIENTE DIRECTOR: DR. LUIS MESA DELMONTE Ciudad de México, 2017 Agradecimientos En primer lugar, quisiera agradecer a mi familia, a mis padres Catalina y Patricio, que me han apoyado en cada una de las decisiones que he tomado en la vida, sin que el hecho de estudiar una maestría en la Ciudad de México fuera una excepción. Gracias por su apoyo incondicional y por las incontables muestras de cariño a lo largo de este proceso y de todos los que tuvieron que ocurrir antes para poder llegar hasta aquí. Gracias también a Guille y Diana, que son elementos primordiales de esta familia y que me han apoyado en todo momento. Al profesor Luis Mesa, no sólo por haber dirigido este trabajo de investigación, sino por el interés y esfuerzo que puso como asesor y como maestro y por la pasión contagiosa con la que impregna cada una de sus clases. A él, toda mi admiración y cariño. A los profesores del CEAA, que contribuyeron a mi formación compartiendo sus conocimientos, especialmente al profesor Khalid Chami, quien nos mostró la diversidad de facetas del (los) mundo(s) árabe(s) a las que uno puede tener acceso a través de la lengua; y cuyas enseñanzas trascienden el salón de clases. A mis lectores, la profesora Marcela Álvarez y el profesor Moisés Garduño, por haberse tomado el tiempo para leer y comentar la investigación, y por haber compartido sus conocimientos a lo largo de este camino. -
Iran Election Update May 31, 2013
Iran Election Update May 31, 2013 • ISNA conducts a poll and asks its readers, “After the first televised debate between the candidates, which economic viewpoint of the candidates did you prefer?” As of Friday afternoon, over 4,500 respondents overwhelmingly chose Mohammed Aref with 40.3 percent. Followed by Hassan Rouhani with 18 percent and Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf with 13 percent. Saeed Jalili only received 6 percent of the votes. (The poll is located on the left side of the homepage, and results are given after the respondent has voted). Asr Iran News asks the same questions to its readers and the results (over 12,000 respondents) were strikingly similar with Mohammed Aref leading in votes with 31 percent and Hassan Rouhani trailing with 29 percent. • English language news PressTV offers a short summary of last night’s first televised debate between the presidential candidates. PressTV also provides multiple short clips of Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf explaining (with English subtitles) that, “National solidarity is needed to alleviate poverty,” and Mohammad Gharazi discussing the nuclear program: “We are not allowed to build an atomic bomb, both in religious terms and according to customary regulations.” PressTV also claims that “Iranian reformists may urge Mohammed Aref to quit presidential race” and become Hassan Rouhani’s Vice President if he is to be elected. • YJC News posts two sets of photos of all the presidential candidates arriving and preparing for the televised presidential debate as well as a behind the scenes look. • Khabar Online lists the final comments of each presidential candidate after last night’s first television debate. -
How Are Iran's Conservatives Preparing for اﺳم اﻟﻣوﺿوع : Presidential Elections? How Are Iran's Conservatives
How are Iran¶s Conservatives Preparing for : ωϭοϭϣϟϡγ Presidential Elections? How are Iran¶s Conservatives Preparing : ωϭοϭϣϟϥϭϧϋ for Presidential Elections? 01/05/2017 : έηϧϟΦϳέΎΗ ΔϣΩϘΗϣϟΕΎγέΩϟϭΙΎΣΑϸϟϝΑϘΗγϣϟίϛέϣ : ΏΗΎϛϟϡγ : ωϭοϭϣϟ 9/23/2021 11:24:23 PM 1 / 2 Iranian fundamental conservatives seek to enhance the chances of one of their candidates in winning the 12th presidential elections, due on May 19, 2017. Apparently, this political current learned much from the previous election when the moderates led by incumbent president Hassan Rouhani overwhelmingly defeated it. This occurred after the conservatives¶main political forces failed to agree on one candidate and to form a political framework with clear binding rules. Eventually, four of the candidates - Saeed Jalili, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Ali Akbar Velayati and Mohsen Rezaee- ran in the 2013 elections refusing to withdraw in favor of each other. Their insistence to stay until the end was one of the main reasons why Rouhani was able to settle the race in his favor winning more than 50 per cent of votes.New FrameworkHence, some fundamental conservative forces formed the so- called Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces (known by its Persian acronym JAMNA). They agreed to develop a list of five candidates and that four of the candidates should withdraw from the presidential race a few days before it starts in favor of the fifth unity candidate. This is primarily to increase his chances in winning the election, and attract the Front¶s popular support base while neutralizing the moderate¶ability to take advantage of internal division among its political forces, as they did in the previous elections.On April 6, 2017, JAMNA, through internal elections involving more than 4000 members, selected five figures as prospective presidential nominees. -
From the Urdu Press No
From the Urdu Press No. 71 16 May-15 June 2013 5 Rajab- 5 Shaban Hijri [Note: Using editorials as an indicator, this series presents views, understanding and attitude of the Urdu periodicals in India towards various developments concerning the Middle East. The selection of an item does not mean the endorsement or concurrence with their accuracy or views. Editor, MEI@ND The Siasat Daily (The Politics Daily), Hyderabad Editorial, 1 June 2013, Saturday 1. Providing Weapons to Syria resident Bashar al-Assad has warned Israel of dire consequences for its unsolicited attacks inside Syria. If the Syrian crisis escalates into a regional war, it will add to the P woes of the suffering civilians. Assad is under pressure from regime supporters inside the country to respond to Israeli attacks and if Syria opens a battle front at the Golan Heights, it will bring back memories of the 1967 war. Israel had started using the Golan Heights for domestic purposes since 1981, but it remains an occupied territory. The crisis has led to immense loss of life amidst continuing violence. It is Israel which is responsible for the current situation in Syria. Syria and Israel have been in a war-like-situation since 1948 though Israel has remained muted since it was defeated by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. A 1967 war-like fighting will lead to huge loss of life for the people living around the Golan. The international players have thus far remained non-committal on the events in Syria and the US has not cleared its stance, despite heavy loss of life. -
Iran's 2017 Presidential Election
Iran’s 2017 Presidential Election Implications for Human Rights Iran’s 2017 Presidential Election Implications for Human Rights Copyright © 2017 by the Center for Human Rights in Iran All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including mechanical, electric, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Center for Human Rights in Iran. Center for Human Rights in Iran New York Tel: +1 -347-689-7782 www.iranhumanrights.org Iran’s 2017 Presidential Election Implications for Human Rights Iran’s 2017 Presidential Election Implications for Human Rights April 2017 www.iranhumanrights.org About us The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights in Iran. CHRI investigates and documents rights violations occurring throughout Iran, relying on first-hand accounts to expose abuses that would otherwise go unreported. We bring these violations to the attention of the international community through news articles, briefings, in-depth reports and videos, and work to build support for human rights inside Iran as well. CHRI engages in intensive outreach and international advocacy aimed at defending the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Iranian people and holding the Iranian government accountable to its human rights obligations. Key Findings > Iran’s presidential election, scheduled for May 19, is taking place within a context of the growing suppression of political voices in the country by hardliners who wish to prevent the centrist incumbent president, Hassan Rouhani, from winning a second term. -
Internal Factors and Its Impact on Iranian Foreign Policy
Przegląd Strategiczny 2018, Issue 11 Radosław FIEDLER DOI : 10.14746/ps.2018.1.15 Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań https://orcid.org/ 0000-0003-1573-9898 INTERNAL FACTORS AND ITS IMPACT ON IRANIAN FOREIGN POLICY A state’s foreign policy is the process interconnected with several influential factors and complicated interplay between internal (domestic) and external policies. The external policy always reveals internal conditioning, but also in reverse (Rosneau, 1967). In the democratic model the state’s foreign policy is thoroughly discussed and should have minimal societal acceptance. In case of collisions between societal expec- tations and the chosen course of foreign policy, it could bring about severe criticism, empowering the opposition, but in the long run it may bring rising support for the government. The problem of the nature of a democratic system is the electoral calen- dar. It is a relatively short time for a deep change of foreign policy and to convince the public opinion of its main assumptions. The main ambitious projects are difficult to achieve. However, the assumption of public support as a precondition of a steady governmental policy is often misleading. The most evident example is Neville Cham- berlain’s appeasement strategy towards Hitler’s demands. It gained heavy societal sup- port and was pursued according to public’s its expectations. Picture the moment when the triumphant Prime Minster Chamberlain was greeted as the only savior of peace just after Munich. In 1940 the opposition condemned this as a naïve and dangerous course which even accelerated the war. The appeasement policy is treated as a historical mis- take and improper answer to the rising power of the Third Reich.