It is felt in #Iran that Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan have outwitted the Iranian authorities/policy-makers as tensions with the group is rising. After a border incident in late April, now Iranians want to conduct a census of Afghan population in Iran. 1
Remarks by a member of Majlis National Security & Foreign Affairs Cmte: Fada Hussein Maleki are important too.
He predicts #Taliban’s political life is reaching its end. He states: #Iran isn’t silent or ignorant about what Taliban or Takfiri groups do on its eastern borders. 2
According to lawmaker Maleki, Iranian authorities are really worried. He adds: #Iran’s appeasement is not bcz of #Taliban but out of respect for people of #Afghanistan. He blames the Taliban for incidents happening on borders either by Takfiris or by the Taliban forces. 3
#Iran couldn’t hide its happiness when #US forces left #Afghanistan hastily and the #Taliban took power in Kabul. But recent incidents and clashes on border, continuing water dispute and explosions at #Shia, Hazara mosques have worried Tehran. 4
And here I see the #Taliban have prevented the family of former president Hamid #Karzai to travel to #Iran. They planned to get the visa of a European country, but were banned from leaving #Afghanistan.
Fars News Agency in a piece has written #Iran asked Iraqi parliament speaker Al-Halbousi to follow up the case of #Israel’s presence in #Iraq’s Kurdistan region, pressure KRG against normalizing ties with Tel Aviv, even ban & criminalize normalization with #Israel. 1
According to Fars: #Iran had sent at least 24 warning messages to Iraqi foreign ministry against Israel’s presence on its soil. Iran reportedly not only warned Iraq but also Azerbaijan, Bahrain and the UAE that Iran’s red line is Israel’s presence around its borders. 2
Fars’ analyst quotes commander of #IRGC’s Aerospace & Missile Unit, Amir-Ali Hajizadeh as saying: “Tehran knows the majority of servicemen stationed at Al-Harir Air Base (near Erbil/#Iraq Kurdistan) are Israelis. 3/END
ONE year since General #Soleimani’s assassination what position #Iran holds in #Iraq today? A Thread 👇🏼
#Iran’s power in Iraq has been declining since the #IRGCQF head was targeted by #US and you don’t need to be a political analyst to recognize it.
It seems Iran can’t rely on its tradition Iraqi allies anymore. We saw it when Ammar al-Hakim, a man whose family always enjoyed #Iran’s generous support insisted on al-Kadhimi’s premiership, against wishes of Iran and PMU. Iran disliked al-Kadhimi. #Iraq
Another traditional ally Muqtada al-Sadr distanced himself from #Iran totally. He recently warned Iran & US to settle their scores out of #Iraq. Big rifts appeared within Popular Mobilization Units following death of their powerful head Abu Mehdi Muhandis alongside #Soleimani .
Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisian has criticized the #UK for not delivering millions of masks #Iran bought in preparations ahead of #Covid19 outbreak. The London govt. refused to deliver them citing US sanctions!
While #US just criticizes #Iran and @jzarif calls their offer of help “hypothetical” and the #UK refuses to send the masks Iran had bought earlier, this is #China and few neighbors that helped Iran in time of combating #Covid19.
Deputy Health Minister Raisian: so far 30 million (out of 83mn population) registered, screened through ministry’s established website salamat.gov.ir. They fill a form, answer few questions and health personnel will contact them if they feel sth wrong. #covid19#Iran
With recent protests about plane crash subsiding I have to write a few lines, some may not like my conclusion, but that’s what I see as an observer since more than 10 yrs ago: number of people who attended these protests where hundreds not even 10s of thousands.
The social class of this week’s protestors were mostly upper middle class, university students. I have told a friend or 2 that the are from the same classes who attended 2009 post-election protests in large number. I call them political protesters. They usually live in Tehran.
These 👆protesters are totally different from those who participated in winter 2018 and November 2019 demos which were nationwide (small cities) or on the suburbs of big cities while Tehranis stayed away from them. I call them economic protesters.
President #Rouhani reportedly told Reformist figures at an Iftar party: The government has no authority in foreign politics, doesn’t know where/when it is allowed or not to negotiate; cultural policies, IRIB state TV, mosques & cyberspace aren’t under govt. control. #Iran#US
#Rouhani tells Reformists -who insist on possibility of negotiations- that he opposed talks (with #US) under current circumstances. #Iran’s president tries to shed responsibility for #JCPOA defeat of his govt. & himself by telling Reformists they want sth that’s not in his power.
Reformist political activist Jalaei-pour who was at #Rouhani's Iftar party May 11 quotes the Iranian president as saying "President #Obama requested to meet with me 19 times! but I had no authority to respond to his request". #US#Iran
Sobhe_no newspapers publishes some details about #Syria Pres. #Assad trip to Tehran February 25. According to report, Assad and #Soleimani left Damascus on same day with a small plane. Neither FM al-Muallem nor Syrian ambassador in #Iran were aware of the visit.
In #Iran the number of people that knew about #Assad’s visit was less than fingers of 2 hands. #Rouhani was told a day before, but he preferred not to inform anyone. His chief of staff @Dr_Vaezi even didn’t know who he is going to welcome at the door of president office. #Syria
#Assad and Soleimani left Mehrabad airport at 9 am, with a small but very strong escort directly drove to SL #Khamenei’s office in downtown Tehran, then met #Rouhani who didn’t put #Syria’s flag in meeting room to avoid raising suspicions. #Iran