Iran�s military engaged in some tough talk on Friday, with the deputy head of the armed forces, General Masoud Jazayeri, saying US interests in the region�will be �completely destroyed��in the event of any attack against the Islamic Republic.
Jazayeri was responding to US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said in a Thursday interview that if Iran did not carry out November�s interim nuclear deal, �the military option that is available to the United States is ready and prepared to do what it would have to do�.

Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, the spokesman for Parliament�s National Security Committee, said that�the US was carrying out the threats�because of Israeli pressure: �These statements are indicative of the US double standards and will bring about nothing but tarnishing the US image.�

Saeed Jalili, a leading hard-liner who ran for President in 2013,�added his warning: �The enemy does not have the ability to oppose our domestic progress, and our peaceful nuclear technology will not be destroyed by the military option�.The enemy�s greed will not make us retreat from the nuclear issue.�



Etemad-e Melli Party Urges President �To Pursue Lifting of House Arrests� of Opposition Leaders Mousavi and Karroubi
Members of the Etemad-e Melli Party�s Central Council�have urged President Rouhani��to pursue the situation of lifting the house arrests� of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard.

Karroubi, who founded the Party, was detained in February 2011 with Mousavi � who �lost� to President Ahmadinejad in the disputed 2009 Presidential election � and Rahnavard.

The Party�s appeal comes amid criticism by hard-liners of the �sedition� of Mousavi and Karroubi, who also ran in the 2009 election.

Well-placed sources in Iran indicate that, in return for getting the Supreme Leader�s support for an interim nuclear deal and future negotiations, President Rouhani has said he will not press the cases of the three detainees.

See�Iran Special: Rouhani & Supreme Leader Deal � Protecting A Nuclear Agreement, Giving Up Political Prisoners & �Freedom�
Rowhani to Foreign Investors: Inflation Below 10% Within 3 Years
Seeking foreign investment while at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, President Rouhani�has pledged, �We have gotten the rate of inflation under control and seek to lower it below 10% within three years by executing a comprehensive plan.�

Rowhani told companies and investors, particularly from the automotive and energy industries. �Different political and economic risks in Iran are in a state of decline, while the Iranian economy is dawning again. There are rare opportunities for lucrative investments in Iran.�

Rowhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, and Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh have used the Davos trip to court foreign investment for Iran�s oil and gas fields and for other sectors. The President said:

As evidenced by contemporary history, no country in the world is able to grow and develop a stable economy in isolation�.My administration is determined to use this experience to upgrade its economic status in the world by making a more open and more competitive Iranian economy.

By EA WorldView

 

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