Iran
Tuesday 17 July 2018
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Semyon Slepakov
Russian TV Comedy host and singer
“Russia is ready to host the World Cup. The stadiums are open. The cops are polyglots. That is a quick recap of many years of work.We're not going to lose face in front of the planet. It’s not for nothing we terrified [the planet] with a missile. In general, all is well. But there is only one “but”: Our team, frankly, is sh-t.”
Read more...The International Federation of Football Association, the world soccer authority better known as FIFA, ranked Russia’s national team #70 and labeled it a “worst mover.” -
Vyacheslav Volodin
Speaker of Russia's State Duma
"Imposing new sanctions is another attempt by (our) overseas colleagues to meddle in Russia’s domestic political affairs.”
Read more...Sanctions are tied to Russia’s foreign policy in Ukraine, not internal Russian affairs. -
Maria Zakharova
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman
There is no doubt that the U.S. delegation has something to tell the world. For example, Nikki Haley can share the American experience of dispersal of protest actions, tell in detail how, for example, mass arrests and suppression of the Occupy Wall Street movement were carried out or Ferguson was "cleansed.”
Read more...While the responses to Occupy Wall Street and Ferguson merit legitimate concern, they are not comparable to the protests in Iran. -
Andrei Klimov
Deputy Chairman, Federation Council foreign affairs committee
“Russia does not interfere in the domestic affairs of foreign states. Iran is a sovereign state, they have their own legitimate government, and we in such instances act the same way practically everywhere. As I told you, Russia does not interfere in the domestic affairs of sovereign states.”
Read more...A senior Russian legislator claimed not only that Russia is not interfering in the current situation in Iran, but also has not ever interfered in any foreign state’s domestic affairs. Based on evidence, the second claim is completely false, while the first claim cannot be yet be assessed, with circumstantial evidence suggesting it is false. -
Defense Ministry
Russian Federation
“#RusMoD shows irrefutable evidence that US are actually covering ISIS combat units to recover their combat capabilities, redeploy, and use them to promote the American interests in the Middle East.
Read more...The original social media post contained an image from the video game AC-130 Gunship Simulator. Other photos came from airstrikes in Iraq from last year. -
Мikhail Aleksandrov
Expert with the Center for Military and Political Research, MGIMO
“U.S. actions in Afghanistan are destabilizing, harmful to neighboring countries but above all to Afghanistan itself… ISIS was created by the United States to solve geopolitical problems in the Middle East, [but] now they see it’s not working there and are preparing to move ISIS to Central Asia.”
Read more...The U.S. is actually fighting Islamic State and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan, contributing to the region’s security, as well as its economic and democratic development. -
TASS
Russian state news agency
“Iranian television on Thursday distributed photographs confirming the death of the head of the Islamic State terrorist group, Abu Baqr al-Baghdadi.”
Read more...Russia’s state news agency TASS reported that Iranian TV had published photographic proof that Islamic State leader Abu Baqr al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian airstrike in May. In fact, the same pictures had been circulating around the Internet since 2014. -
Stanislav Govorukhin
Russian lawmaker and film director
"[Russia has] the only constitution in the word stating that any kind of censorship is forbidden."
Read more...This is not even close to true, and Govorukhin need look no further than other nations of the former Soviet Union for constitutions expression banning censorship. The OSCE noted in 2010 that only Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia were the only former Soviet republics not to have censorship bans. -
Sergei Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister
“There is no reason to suspect Russia of violating UN Security Council resolution 2231…. Neither supply nor transfer or sale of military aircraft to Iran took place.
Read more...Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Russia’s use of an air base in Iran to launch bombing raids in Syria doesn’t violate a UN Security Council resolution that bars the supply, sale, or transfer of combat aircraft “for the use in or benefit of Iran.” Independent experts say Lavrov is right – as long as Russia only uses the base, and doesn’t transfer any military capability or skill.