A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by the AEI Critical Threats Project's Iran research team.

• Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) Deputy Hojjat al-Eslam Ali Khazaei, addressing Mashhad Friday Prayers,�announced the arrest of 30 individuals connected to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in the past month in Iran.
  
  
  
  • He blamed Israel and the United States for the expansion of ISIL in Iraq and pointed out the organization�s hostility with both Shi�as and Sunnis, citing �recent crimes in Mosul, Iraq.�
  
  
  • Khazaei emphasized MOIS�s efforts in �indiscriminately confronting matters related with al-Qaeda in the country following the September 11 incident� and highlighted that �one of the MOIS Khorasan-e Razavi Office personnel lost both of his hands during a fight with one of the al-Qaeda elements over the past years.�
  
  
  • �The Islamic Republic of�Iran is a lion in which the Takfiri terrorists cannot play with. Just like they felt the sharp wrath of [Iran] in Syria, they will face the same fate in Iraq.�
  
  
  
  

 

• Minister of Intelligence and Security Hojjat al-Eslam Mahmoud�Alavi vowed�to crush any threats to Iranian internal security from �terrorist groups�, as �Unknown Soldiers of the Imam of the Age have plunged their iron fists into the throats of the enemies of Islam and have deprived the opportunity to conspire.�
  
  
  
  • �Services who imagine that they are taking measures against Iran in the real cyber realm�organized and anonymously are very complacent. They must know that all of their activities are within the powerful fists of the Iranian nation.�
  
  
  
  

 

• Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Supreme Leader Ali Akbar�Velayati expressed Iran�s �deep concern� regarding the situation in Iraq in a meeting with Germany Foreign Ministry �Political Director�Hans Dieter Lucasand said �matters will be resolved quicker if other governments refrain from interfering �in the affairs of regional countries.�

 

• Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA) announced that senior cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has�issued an edict of Jihad directed at anyone who can take up arms�and is able to volunteer in combating ISIS.

 

• Head of the Isfahan Province Foundation for Martyrs and Self-Sacrificers Propaganda and Publications Mohammad Reza Alaeddin�announced�the burial of Mostafa Hosseini, who was killed �defending the Seyyeda Zeinab shrine in the vicinity of Damascus.�

 

• Representative of the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Hojjat al-Eslam Ali�Saidi said that Iran facilitates the arrival of the 12th�Shi�a Imam�Mahdi and that �The coming requires preparedness at the individual, regional, and international level�The region of the Middle East must undergo a fundamental transformation.�
  
  
  
  • �The perseverance of the Iraqi and Syrian people on matters, policies, and comprehensive Islamic principles and the teachings of Imam [Khomeini] and the Supreme Leader are towards creating this type of preparation, which we are witnessing today.�
  
  
  
  

 

• International and Legal Affairs Deputy to the Foreign Minister Abbas�Araghchi said�achieving a comprehensive nuclear deal is possible despite �differences� between Iran and the P5+1. He added �it would be disastrous for all if a comprehensive deal is not reached�Iran will resume 20 percent enrichment.�

 

• Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad�Zarif contacted his counterparts�from Turkey, Qatar, and the UAE and urged �Islamic unity, joint measures, and coordination in confronting terrorism and supporting the government and nation of Iraq against the growing wave of terrorist attacks.�

By AEI Critical Threats

 

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