The Latest from Iran (30 January): Threat

2355 GMT: Just checking in to say we have posted a video of a Tehran University academic defending Thursday's executions of Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour.

1910 GMT: We're taking an evening break. We may be back for a late-night wrap-up. If not, all the latest news will open our Sunday updates.

NEW Latest Iran Video: Defending the Executions (30 January)
NEW Iran Document: Mousavi-Karroubi Declaration on Rights and 22 Bahman (30 January)
NEW Iran Patriotism Special: Wiping the Green From The Flag
The Latest from Iran (29 January): Sideshows and Main Events

1900 GMT: Pressure on Ahmadinejad. The "conservative" campaign against the President's advisors has not ceased. The high-profile member of Parliament Ahmad Tavakoli has attacked the controversial Deputy Minister of Culture, Mo-Amin Ramin, and Ahmadinejad aide Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai.

1855 GMT: Rah-e-Sabz reports that Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri, Hassan Rohani, and Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani have not attended meetings of the Combatant Clergy Association since the June election.

1845 GMT: On the Economic Front. Raja News reports that a 20-day ultimatum has been given to 100 people, most of them well-connected, who have not repaid $20 billion in funds from national banks. The article has a lengthy discussion of the reasons for this uncontrolled spending and problems in gettng the money back.

The website also quotes Arsalan Fathipour, chief of parliament's economic commission, that $15 billion of National Development Funds has been given to banks.

1840 GMT: Reza Mahabadian, children's rights activist & member of the Assembly of Iranian Writers, has reportedly been arrested.

1835 GMT: For the second week in a row, family members of the martyrs of 7-Tir, the terrorist attack in the early days of the Islamic Revolution that killed 72 people including Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, held a prayer ceremony at the grave of Ayatollah Beheshti to protest the detention of his son, Alireza Beheshti, a key advisor to Mir Hossein Mousavi.

1800 GMT: The Regime's Accusations. An Iranian activist has posted a summary of the allegations against one of the Ashura defendants in today's trial:

Participation in gatherings and collusion in acts against national security. Insulting the Leader by sending e-mail to the International [Criminal] Court in The Hague, propaganda against Islamic Republic. Soft war, membership in Facebook and [Iranian Web portal] Balatarin, mass distribution of news to foreign media outlets. Participation in illegal protests...and preparation and forwarding a complaint against the honorable Leader to the World Court in the Hague.

The defendant's testimony:

I did participate in illegal protests...and did chant slogans against the regime. After the speech of the honourable Leader, I participated in three more protests in my car only and honked the horn. I was present in front of Laleh Park in the afternoon of Ashura (27 December) only as an observer. I read the news on sites like Balatarin and did send information and news to foreign news outlets. The first three weeks after the election I did chant Allah-O-Akbar (God is Great) on my rooftop. I did sent about 100 SMS (text messages) informing people of gatherings on 4 November and 7 December.

I was a member on Mohsen Sazegara's news site. Thinking because he was an ex-member of the establishment and is a dissident now, I believed him saying there was cheating in the election.

Regarding the letter to the World Court in the Hague, the petition was published on Balatarin site. I did sign this petition and encouraged my friends to sign it.

1755 GMT: We have posted a full summary and quotes from today's meeting between Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi about the rights of the people and the marches on 22 Bahman (11 February).

1745 GMT: Rah-e-Sabz reports that 40 people were arrested at a 40th Day memorial service for Grand Ayatollah Montazeri yesterday. Eight are still detained.

1725 GMT: Labour News. The Flying Carpet Institute reports that Reza Rakhshan, a leader of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Workers’ Syndicate was released on 19 January after 17 days of detention. Rakhshan was freed on $150,000 bail money—a hefty sum for a workers’ family.

1710 GMT: "Confessions". Back from a break to learn more about the regime's manoeuvres with the threats and trials. An Iranian activist reports that, on Wednesday night, Iranian television featured the "confessions" of four post-election detainees: Mahmod Dowlatabadi, Mehdi Saiedi, Abbas Balikhani, and Borzo Kamrani. The activist considers that the show may be setting up the "mohareb" (war against God) charges and executions.

More on the charges in the trial of Ashura detainees today (see 1415 and 0945 GMT): looks like subscribing to the newsletter of supporters of IRGC founder and current regime critic Mohsen Sazegara constitutes a threat to national security.

1415 GMT: The Great Regime Change Conspiracy. Rah-e-Sabz has a lengthy account of today's trial of 16 Ashura detainees. Amidst the statements of the defendants, not only the BBC and CNN but also Balatarin, the Iranian portal for Web stories, and Facebook emerges as evil instigators of violence against the Iranian Government.

1405 GMT: Rafsanjani's Balancing Act. The Los Angeles Times, noting the statement from Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi (see 1105 GMT) calling on their supporters to join 22 Bahman rallies, also picks up the more cautious declaration from Hashemi Rafsanjani:

[Rafsanjani] called on Iranians "of all groups and camps" to turn out en masse for the holiday, but warned that any violence will serve the interests of Tehran's "enemies."

"I invite all people and political camps across the country to march on 22 Bahman and renew their allegiance to the Islamic Republic despite certain differences of opinion," he said in an address to the powerful Expediency Council.

1330 GMT: Blair and Iran. I had intended to refrain from comment until Monday on the former Prime Minister's testimony to the British enquiry into the 2003 Iraq War --- anger needs to subside in favour of reflection. (We have posted, however, a 2005 item from our archives which pointed to Blair's agreement --- in a March 2002 meeting with then-US Vice President Dick Cheney --- to join the US in a military invasion for "regime change".)

That said, The Guardian of London sizes up Blair's rather extraordinary attempt to avoid blame for Iraq 2003 by putting forth an Iran 2010:

Tony Blair has been accused of warmongering spin for claiming that western powers might be forced to invade Iran because it poses as serious a threat as Saddam Hussein.

Sir Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador to Iran, accused Blair of trying to make confrontation with Iran an electoral issue after the former prime minister repeatedly singled out its Islamic regime as a global threat in his evidence to the Iraq war inquiry yesterday.

Blair said many of the arguments that led him to confront the "profoundly wicked, almost psychopathic" Saddam Hussein seven years ago now applied to the regime in Tehran.

"We face the same problem about Iran today," he told the Chilcot inquiry....

"One result of Tony Blair's intervention on Iran – he mentioned Iran 58 times – is to put the question of confronting Iran into play in the election," [Dalton] told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

"We need to be much clearer, as voters, with our politicians and with our candidates that we expect a different behaviour and a greater integrity in our democracy next time."

The silver lining in yesterday's travesty is that the illusions and delusions of Blair's approach to Iraq --- whether or not one agrees that military action was necessary for regime change --- are exposed by his easy analogies with today's situation and his equally-easy implication that war is a simple answer. And it is a 2nd silver lining that there is no one in the current British Government who shares that illusionary/delusionary approach to Iran 2010.

1215 GMT: Press TV has published its English-language report of today's trial, recycling the points made in Iranian state media and summarised below.

1105 GMT: Taking a Stand. Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, after meeting this morning, have expressed sorrow over Thursday's executions, denounced other sentences and the "continuation of the current situation", and called on their supporters to participate in rallies on 22 Bahman (11 February).

With the statement, Mousavi and Karroubi have gone beyond their positions on Ashura (27 December). On that occasion, neither made a call for public demonstrations.

0945 GMT: The Trial. IRNA's website simply lists the charges against each of the 16 defendants. Everything from "support of terrorism" to "Communist tendencies" makes an appearance. Significantly,as previewed by Iranian officials this week, five of the 16 are charged with mohareb (war against God), a crime which carries the death penalty.

Fars' report focuses on the prosecution's opening statement, headlining the "terror training" abroad for the protesters. Here is an example of such training: the well-known terrorist centre The Brookings Institution in Washington apparently put out a report, a few months before Iran's Presidential election, setting out economic strategies.

0930 GMT: Threat. It is no pleasure to report how quickly both our headline and our morning analysis have been upheld by the regime this morning: "Iran Puts 16 Protesters on Trial". Both the Islamic Republic News Agency and Press TV feature the hearing for demonstrators arrested on Ashura (27 December), with the prosecution putting out the ritual rhetoric: "The defendants have confessed to spying, planning bomb attacks and damaging public and private properties....The defendants sent videos on the clashes between protesters and Iranian police to the ''foreign hostile networks."

0800 GMT: While catching up with this morning's news, we have posted a special analysis of the latest regime move (indeed, gamble), "We Will Kill You". We also have published the English translation of the questions put by the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front to Iran's head of judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, over the executions of Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour.

Comments

[Greeny]

Mousavi and Karoubi meet Saturday and protest against the two executions .

From Rah-e Sabz:
http://www.rahesabz.net/story/9089/

[Greeny]

Rah-e Sabz is reporting that Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili (the second IR Head of Judiciary, and current Grand Ayatollah) has travelled to Tehran from Qom to meet with SL and some other current and previous officials:
http://www.rahesabz.net/story/9085/

Rah-e Sabz is also reporting that the commander of Mohammad Rasoul-o-Allah command of Revolutionary Guards (this command has control over Tehran) has said that they will not allow the Greens to show any presence on 22 Bahman. He says that 22 Bahman is not for protesting. He says we will confront protestors with severity:
http://www.rahesabz.net/story/9092/
(looks like a lot of warnings to people who he says are very few in number)

[Catherine]

RE GMT 11.05 - M and K take a stand
I'm glad to hear this news and am looking forward to a more complete English translation to see how far they've really gone in their "stand". The fact that the open letter to Larijani (Judiciary chief) has come before their statement strengthens their position if they chose to take a strong stand (hope they have) because the questions and conclusion of the open letter point to the violation of the rule of law by politically motivated executions. The farther Mousavi and Karroubi (finally) run on the firm ground of the issues laid bare in the letter, the better

I have been very disappointed in Mousavi and Karroubi's persistent silence regarding, for example, the many politically motivated arrests, death sentences and executions of Kurds, Persian juvenile offenders and hapless individuals sentenced for moral offenses since they’ve been (ex-)candidates , let alone their initial delay in reacting to the execution of Arash Rahmani Pour and Mohammad Reza Ali-Zamani.

[Catherine]

‘You Can’t Punish Someone Before He Commits A Crime’
Arash Rahmanipour's father, Davoud Rahmanipour, told Radio Farda broadcaster Baktash Khamsehpour about what he called an unjust sentence against his son.
http://www.rferl.org/articleprintview/1943349.html

[Catherine]

Controversy over Tehran Symphony performance in Rotterdam
http://www.payvand.com/news/10/jan/1296.html

[Arshama]

Raja News reports that all ministers shall be equipped with a Bassiji "advisor" in order to eradicate "illiteracy"! http://www.rajanews.com/detail.asp?id=43762
It's really no joke, but their news headline. Bale digeh, dig be dig migeh...
(The pot calling the kettle... ;-)

[Roe Lassie]

I think the regime were in a way testing the water with these two murders. If there was no real fuss, that would give them carte blanche to do what they wanted. The fact that Moussavi & Karroubi have condemned them AND called for protests on 22nd Bahmam is huge.

The regime have obviously tried to terrify the people before 22nd Bahman and instead they have emboldened the opposition, IMHO that leaves the regime with no more cards to play.

As Iranians say 'there is no color above black'.

[Arshama]

Yogi and Ingo were flown back to Germany, SPON's headline: "Love-mails from the German Embassy" http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,674935,00.html
Apparently IRI authorities had scanned private mails, sent by a German security officer to his Iranian girl-friend. Love in the Time of Cholera...

[S]

People shouldn't be disappointed with Mousavi or Karroubi's political maneuvering over the last couple of months. The very fact that they've stood up to the big man Khamenei should prove to you guys that they're not backing away. I feel that there is a trust issue with that is damaging the movement, especially from the Iranians living outside Iran.

The fact of the matter is, their life is tied to this movement. If it dies, they will die with it. You guys should trust the leadership for now.

[Sahar]

FYI: Just a side note/footnote: Please also don't say SL "supreme leader"...I think when foreign media used the word "leader" then the intelligence ministry protested saying that journalist are crossing read lines and they asked for the word "Supreme leader" and that is why inside Iran people had to use this word.....

[Arshama]

Sahar,

By SL we mean (at least I do) "supreme liar" ;-)

Roe Lassie,

Thanks for your comment. Obviously the killings have backfired on the regime, strengthening the decision of Greens to show up on 22 Bahman and giving even more reasons for international sanctions.

To all: An interesting (German) review on Jeffrey Herf's "Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World", studying the Palestinian's antisemitism and related issues: http://www.welt.de/die-welt/kultur/literatur/article6035106/Dann-schickte-Allah-Adolf-Hitler.html

[Roe Lassie]

Arshama

"When a people/nation's time is over, nothing they do will work for them"
Ferdowsi

I believe this is what we are now seeing.

[Norman]

Catherine said "I have been very disappointed in Mousavi and Karroubi’s persistent silence regarding, for example, the many politically motivated arrests, death sentences and executions of Kurds, Persian juvenile offenders and hapless individuals sentenced for moral offenses since they’ve been (ex-)candidates , let alone their initial delay in reacting to the execution of Arash Rahmani Pour and Mohammad Reza Ali-Zamani."

It's sad to think she's right...

The green movement is silent since the Ashura and i am afraid this movement does'nt exist any more :-(

[Roe Lassie]

Norman,

I don't often respond to such comments - I mean they're not even subtle.

But perhaps before you'd be better waiting until after 22nd Bahman before you make such outlandish statements.

[Arshama]

For all Greenies... and those, who like to join us :-)
Iran 2012 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rezfi-IPG7A

[Catherine]

Norman,
I don't think you understand what I meant. I was referring to their silence on many executions and death sentences for minorities, juvenile defendents and cases of adultery, as well as their own people, broken today over the executions of Arash Rahmani Pour and Mohammad Reza Ali-Zamani, *not* the silence of the Green Movement in general. I think their reps and supporters inside and outside Iran have been quite vocal!

[Megan]

S,

"You guys should trust the leadership for now."

Never again. No repeat of 1979. In 1979 people trusted leadership, the same leadership who became their murderers.

You can trust them all you want and that is your right but please do not ask us to follow like fools.

[Arshama]

Roe Lassie,

Could you please send me Ferdowsi's verses in Finglish?
ba sepas

Radio Zamaneh currently hacked by IR Cyber Army: http://www.radiozamaneh.com/

And IRGC-site False News temporarily hacked by Greens: http://www.iranpressnews.com/source/072098.htm

[Roe Lassie]

Arshama,

Your wish is my command:-)

Cho terah shavad mard raa roozgar
Hame aan konad kash nayayad bekar

[Hossein]

Norman is wrong, the Green live much stronger every day, they are everywhere and are becoming more savvy so that the goons and the thugs cannot harm them so readily. A head rapist, Hamadani, said today that he will come down strong, blah blah, but people laugh. Let us not undermine our strength. Support freedom does not entail playing to the hands of the rapist IR. Rage is everywhere as the reaction to the hangings, but it must be channeled and directed. Lend support and think positive, there is much power in group solidarity and in collective positive thinking. FREEDOM.

[THE FLYING CARPET INSTITUTE]

http://theflyingcarpetinstitute.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/cnn-mottaki-accuses-protestors-of-killing-shooting-and-firing/

[Arshama]

Roe Lassie,

Thank you so much :-)

I only wonder about the origin of this verse. While the author Reza Ghassemi and others relate it to Ferdowsi, Farhang-e Dehkhoda quotes it as a translation from Tarikh-e Yamini: http://tinyurl.com/yzkjcud

Sorry for getting off the Green track ;-)

[Bahman]

Megan, I agree with you that we should not blindly trust anyone, including leaders of the green movement. But we should not grab every opportunity to express doubts in these folks either.

If you take an honest look at how the green movement has come about, you would easily see that had it not been for the actions of Mousavi/Karrubi/Khatami, the movement would have never gotten off the ground.

We can keep trying to tear these folks down for their past mistakes or what we each wish they would do now or we can encourage their positive steps and support them for as long as they remain on the side of the people.

If they reach a point that they can no longer remain on the side of the people, we'll thank them for going as far as they could and we will keep pushing ahead along those who are able to sustain their drive.

[Bahman]

I have not heard anything about Ayatollah Sanei since Montazeri's funeral. Has anyone heard anything? If he under house arrest?

[Catherine]

RE Radio Zamaneh
Their English site wouldn't load yesterday when I first tried at around 9:30 (CET = GMT+1) and stayed that way during the day, but without the Iranian Cyber Army page. That must have been put up in the evening. Here in Holland people take their weekend very seriously so the editors may not even know of this yet :-). I'll try to contact them.