Short News Summary for Tuesday, September 6, 1397 (Iranian Calendar) - Read the most important news from Iran and the world on the sixth day of September 97 here moment by moment.
A meeting of an "American delegation" with a Syrian security official: A senior security official supporting Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, stated that an American delegation consisting of official security and intelligence officials entered Damascus in June and met with the highest security official in Syria. Previously, the newspaper al-Akhbar, close to Hezbollah, reported that this delegation had a four-hour meeting with Ali Mamlouk near Damascus airport. Reuters, citing two American intelligence officials who preferred to remain anonymous, wrote that negotiations are underway between this group and the Assad regime. Topics of negotiation include the expulsion of the Islamic State group from Syria, the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons, and the fate of Austin Tice, an American journalist missing in Syria, whom Americans believe is in the hands of the Assad government or its allies.
Abadi: Iraq will send a delegation to negotiate about Iran's sanctions to the U.S.: The Prime Minister of Iraq stated that the country intends to send a delegation to negotiate with the U.S. regarding Baghdad's financial exchanges with Tehran. Haider al-Abadi announced in his weekly press conference on Tuesday that Iraq does not support economic sanctions against any country. His remarks are the first official comment from an Iraqi official following last week's Reuters report that Iraqi officials intend to request the U.S. to overlook some sanctions compliance by Baghdad against Tehran due to economic proximity. Abadi, who previously stated that due to Iraq's national interests, he is compelled to comply with U.S. sanctions against Iran, later clarified that he only complies with U.S. regulations regarding dollar transactions. He was supposed to make an early visit to Iran, which was canceled after these remarks and the displeasure expressed by Iranian officials.
62% increase in apartment prices in Tehran compared to Mordad 96: The Central Bank of Iran has reported that the average price of a square meter of residential property sold through real estate agencies in Tehran was 7 million 400 thousand tomans, indicating a 6.1% increase compared to the previous month and a 62.1% increase compared to Mordad last year. The report, published on Tuesday, adds that the number of residential apartment transactions in Tehran in Mordad this year reached 12 thousand units, showing a decrease of 11.2% and 33.2% compared to the previous month and the same month last year, respectively. According to the Central Bank report, units built within the last five years accounted for 44.3% of the total.
U.S. Defense Secretary: Iran has been warned: The U.S. Defense Secretary announced on Tuesday that Iran has been warned and must be held accountable for its misconduct in the region. Jim Mattis made these remarks at a joint press conference with General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Pentagon. He also referred to the joint military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea, stating that there will be no further suspension of exercises with South Korea. The U.S. had previously halted some large-scale exercises to show "goodwill" in negotiations with North Korea earlier this summer. Mr. Mattis also reported on the review of the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen, stating that Washington's support for Riyadh is not unconditional. He warned Saudi Arabia about civilian casualties in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia: The likelihood of a complete halt to Iranian oil exports is low: An advisor to the Saudi Minister of Energy stated that the likelihood of a complete halt to Iranian oil exports due to U.S. sanctions is low. Ibrahim al-Muhanna, who has held the position for years, said at a conference in Norway that Iran will likely be able to export one million barrels of oil daily. Iran currently exports more than double this amount. He also deemed the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb by Iran in retaliation for sanctions as "unlikely," stating that Iran cannot even close these straits in a limited manner.
National Security meeting of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies with Nikki Haley and Brian Hook: Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, will attend the annual National Security meeting of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies on Tuesday, September 6. At this meeting, which will be held at 6:45 PM Tehran time, Ms. Haley will be honored with the Foundation's "Governance" award. Additionally, a representative from the Southern District of New York and FBI agents involved in the case of "circumventing Iran sanctions by Turkish government officials" will also be honored. Furthermore, Brian Hook, who has recently been appointed as the head of the Iran Action Group at the State Department, will also speak at this meeting.
Impeachment proposal for the Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade submitted to the Parliament's Board of Directors: The spokesperson for the Parliament's Board of Directors stated that the impeachment proposal for the Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade has been submitted with 50 signatures. Behnam Nematian noted that the impeachment of Mohammad Shariatmadari will be referred to the Industries and Mines Commission for legal proceedings. He added that the impeachment proposal primarily focuses on issues such as "disorder in currency distribution for importers, violations in the field of car imports, and the continuation of problems in production and industrial units" and will be reviewed after legal proceedings. The Parliament recently dismissed Masoud Karbasian from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance through impeachment. On August 7, Ali Rabiei was also dismissed from the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare by the Parliament's vote.
Zolnoor: The status of referring questions from Rouhani to the judiciary will be determined on Sunday: Mojtaba Zolnoor, one of the questioners of Hassan Rouhani, stated that the status of referring the questions from the Iranian President to the judiciary will likely be determined on Sunday, September 11, in discussions with legal representatives of the Parliament. He added: "We will examine how the President's performance regarding the four questions that representatives were not satisfied with his answers has been, and if this performance is based on a violation of the law, the question will be referred to the judiciary." Mojtaba Zolnoor added: "If no violation of the law has occurred, there is no reason for referral." Hassan Rouhani answered five questions from some members of Parliament on Tuesday, of which only one satisfied the representatives.
Court session for 19 individuals accused of "causing a 2500 billion toman blow to the currency system": A court session for 19 individuals accused of "disrupting the currency market" in Iran was held, and the judge accused them of causing a "2500 billion toman" blow to the "currency system of the country." According to Fars News Agency, the first session of this court was held on Tuesday, September 6, in Branch 2 of the Special Court of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Ahmad Zarghami. The judge addressed the defendants, stating, "You have taken actions that have created problems for the people, and on the other hand, the enemy will be pleased with this work." The judiciary has, contrary to previous practices, announced the names of the defendants in cases related to "disrupting the currency market" and "importing mobile phones with government currency."
Spokesperson for the Parliament's Board of Directors: Currently, the discussion of referring representatives' questions to the judiciary is not on the table: While the members of the Parliament have only been satisfied with one of Hassan Rouhani's answers, Behnam Nematian, spokesperson for the Parliament's Board of Directors, stated: "Currently, the discussion of representatives not being satisfied with the President's answers regarding the questions and referring it to the judiciary is not on the table" and "this issue is contingent upon the summary and legal opinion of the Parliament and the Board of Directors." In the session on Tuesday, September 6, the Parliament members were only satisfied with the response regarding banking sanctions, while they found the answers to the other four questions from Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, unsatisfactory. Behnam Nematian, in an interview with ISNA, responded to the question of whether the questions from Hassan Rouhani would be referred to the judiciary according to the regulations, stating: "In the note of Article 213 of the regulations, it is mentioned that if the representatives of the Parliament are not satisfied with the President's answers, if the issue relates to a violation or refusal to comply with the law, it will be referred to the judiciary, so the judiciary discussion is not yet on the table." He noted that the legislative assistant and legal experts of the Parliament and its legal commission must provide the necessary alignments with various laws to determine whether a violation or refusal has occurred.