Comments on: The Latest from Iran (6 July): Covered in Dust

By: Scott Lucas

Scott Lucas — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:36:48 +0000

KTC/m.s.,

Just catching up from Dublin. Thank you for this very useful information. Having read the blog and also failed to track down a first-hand source for the “congratulations”, I agree that the significance is in manoeuvres (and “spinning” the story), rather than the supposed message from Larijani.

One to keep watching,

By: m. s.

m. s. — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:34:56 +0000

No one knows if there has been any words of congratulation because the meeting was held behind doors, and by the way I couldn’t find the news of the meeting on Mehr while there are many other sources that have cited Mehr, interesting!

By: keepingthechange

keepingthechange — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:45:59 +0000

Hi there,

Just discovered your blog a few days ago and have been following it religiously. I did want to point on one small issue with the reports you have posted regarding Larijani today. First, (my Farsi may be rusty) but I’m pretty sure that Yazdi wasn’t the one to send the letter to Larijani — it looks like it came from his disciple Qasem Ravanbagsh. Second, the second hand summary of the original Mehr News Report you cite (also cited by Pitney) on Larijani’s decision to congratulate Ahmadinejad is weak proof at best (if you have the original Mehr News Report please post a link)— it explicitly says that the meeting took place behind closed doors but provides no source for the claim that Larijani threw his support behind Ahamdinejad during the visit.

For more, please see:
http://keepingthechange.blogspot.com/2009/07/disciple-of-ayatollah-yazdi-urges.html

Thanks for all your hard work!

By: Evan Siegel

Evan Siegel — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:31:27 +0000

By their very nature, confirming these things is almost impossible. We have to keep tracking the rumors–and debunking them when we can.

By: Scott Lucas

Scott Lucas — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:03:13 +0000

Evan,

Thanks — I’m pleased to make contact, as I’ve learned about your website. Please stay in touch. We have not been able to verify any of the rumours about IRGC resignations/turnings against the regime, but they are persisting.

By: Scott Lucas

Scott Lucas — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:58:16 +0000

A.,

Thank you so much. It is an embarrassing mistake, and we will try not to repeat it!

By: Evan Siegel

Evan Siegel — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:04:24 +0000

On the Revolutionary Guards, I see you are following rumors about divisions inside them. So am I. See http://www.qlineorientalist.com/IranRises?p=68

By: A.

A. — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:56:04 +0000

Dear sir,

For a time now I’ve been following your updates with great interest. I must add though that IRGC stands for Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and not Islamic Republican Guards Corps (Republican Guard was Iraqi).

Sincerely,

By: Scott Lucas

Scott Lucas — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:37:40 +0000

m.s.,

I apologise — I now recall the police chief’s claim of 1032. That was a few days ago, and there have been subsequent detentions.

By: m. s.

m. s. — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:45:12 +0000

“The missing detail? Neither the police chief nor Press TV mention how many people were detained”. In a prevoius statement Ahmadi-moqaddam said that 1032 people were detained in the aftermath of th election.