Iran:Khamenei's missile muscle-flexing is to cloak his damaged position caused by the nuclear deal and the election outcome

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

Nuri Industries and Movahed Industries are major centers in building nuclear-warhead-capable missiles

The Iranian regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei whose position has been severely damaged by the nuclear deal and last month’s sham elections desperately tries to prop up his lost status through missile muscle-flexing. Speaking on this matter he said today: “Today is the time for both missile and diplomacy”. The missiles Khamenei is talking about are the nuclear-warhead-capable missiles that were tested last month.

Drawing on this muscle-flexing, Khamenei attacked his rivals in an unprecedented fashion: “Those who say the future is in negotiations, not in missiles, are either ignorant or traitors”.

These remarks demonstrate that Khamenei is mustering all his power to continue with the nuclear and missile projects in breach of UN Security Council resolution and that diplomacy and talks are merely a cover to advance these projects. He is also attempting to cloak the regime’s internal crises while getting the upper hand in the infighting within the regime.

This is despite the fact that Rouhani is completely in line with Khamenei in these anti-Iranian projects. Seventy days prior to the recent missile test on December 31, 2015, Rouhani wrote in a directive to the defense minister: “The program to produce all types of missiles needed by the armed forces should continue with seriousness and speed.” He went on to add that the regime has never “negotiated on its missile program with anyone and shall not accept any restrictions in this realm”. He has also stated that in the two years of his presidency, the regime’s weaponry has grown by 80% with respect to a decade ago. This means that on average, without taking into account inflation, expenditures on weaponry have grown fivefold.

Syria’s Opposition Says Cannot Attend Talks if Third Party Joins

Riad Hijab, head of the council representing Syrian opposition

RIYADH - A Syrian opposition council backed by Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it will not attend January 25th peace negotiations with the Syrian regime if a third group takes part, a reference to a Russian bid to widen the opposition’s team.

Riad Hijab, who heads the council formed in Riyadh last month, accused Russia of impeding negotiations, and also told a news conference in Riyadh that the opposition could not negotiate while Syrians were dying from blockades and bombardment, Reuters reported, Jan. 20th.

He also announced the names of opposition figures that would negotiate on behalf of the council in any talks.

They included Mohamed Alloush, a political figure in the Jaysh al-Islam (Islam Army) rebel group that is deemed a terrorist group by Damascus and Moscow.

'The opposition delegation is now ready,' George Sabra, an opposition politician also named as a negotiator, told opposition channel Orient TV. Asaad al-Zoubi, another opposition figure, was named as the head of the negotiating team.