Iran Today: The "Defending Shrines in Syria" Line

Saturday's Iran Today: "Supreme Leader is the Ultimate Decision-Maker"

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Foreign Affairs Watch (Syrian Front)

General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, the head of Iran's ground forces, has restated Tehran's line on assistance to the Syrian regime.

Pourdastan said the Islamic Republic i"would help train" the Syrian army if Damascus seeks such assistance, "but [we] won't have any active involvement in the operations".

The General repeated the comment of the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari, from last autumn, "The Syrian army has accumulated experience during years of conflict with the Zionist regime (Israel) and is able to defend itself and doesn't need foreign assistance."

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The Latest from Iran (15 July): Worries Over the Economy

Iranians line up to buy cheaper chicken as the price of meat rises sharply

See also The Latest from Iran (14 July): Sanctions Watch

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2135 GMT: All-Is-Well Alert. Minister of Economy Mehdi Ghazanfari, speaking in the religious city of Qom today, said, “The Iranian economy is dynamic, which will not be influenced by sanctions."

More interesting than Ghazanfari's rhetoric was the effective admission that he had come to Qom after senior clerics had protested over inflation. The minister insisted that difficult days have passed, that the situation in the market is good, and that “we have a sufficient stock (of goods)".

2129 GMT: Morality Watch. ISNA reports that security forces and members of the "morality police" raided 87 cafes and restaurants in a district of Tehran on Saturday, shutting them "for not following Islamic values, providing hookah to women, and lacking proper licenses".

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The Latest from Iran (19 April): Supreme Leader Seeing "Positive" Nuclear Talks?

See also Iran Analysis: Obama's Special Advisor Offers 3 Signals on Nuke Talks
The Latest from Iran (18 April): Trust Us, All is Well

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2025 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. On a slow political day, both the pro-Ahmadinejad IRNA and Fars give top billing to the President's appearance at the commemoration of the 13th-century poet Saadi. Ahmadinejad told the audience that the poems "reflect the recommendations and instructions of divine prophets for a happy life".

1425 GMT: Oil Watch. Additional notes on a busy day on the oil front....

Minister of Oil Rustam Qassemi has warned that an agreement for a Chinese firm to develop a phase of the giant South Pars oil and gas field could be cancelled, giving Beijing one month to resume activity.

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