Thursday
Jun032010
The Latest from Iran (3 June): Karroubi Video Message
Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 19:02
2210 GMT: Made-Up Story of the Day? We close with a supposed "exclusive" (exclusive because no one else is reporting it) from Fars News. The website claims that Mehdi Karroubi was driven from the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini today by a crowd shouting, "Death to the Hypocrite".
Fars' visual support for the story? A picture of Karroubi from last year's Tehran Book Fair.
2115 GMT: Karroubi Watch. Mehdi Karroubi has released a lengthy video message. We've posted the first of six parts below. You can also link to Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.
We are looking urgently for an English translation.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEn4cHR10rM&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
1800 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi says that, following the Supreme Leader's pardon of 81 detainees, a number of prisoners have been released. Still no names of those freed.
1650 GMT: Propaganda Corner. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran claims that Fars News has published a fabricated letter of resignation by Morteza Semyari, the secretary of the Cultural Commission of the student organisation Daftar-Tahkim-Vahdat.
1645 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The sentence of 3 1/2 years in prison and lashes for journalist and filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad was confirmed earlier this week. The response of Nourizad, who has been imprisoned in part because of letters to the Supreme Leader?
He has written another letter to Ayatollah Khamenei before the Supreme Leader leads Tehran Friday Prayers this week: “The damage and harm that we (the religious government of Iran) have caused Islam and religious beliefs of the people is beyond the damage and harm throughout history."
1520 GMT: Reports are coming in that Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard met representatives of Iranian women's organisations today.
1515 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. An admission.... As I tried to read the various political contender set up position for the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini's death --- with both the Supreme Leader and Mir Hossein Mousavi "claiming" Khomeini --- I read summaries of a statement by former President Hashemi Rafsanjani but did not post them.
I did not post the original from the Iranian Labor News Agency or the abridgements from outlets like Radio Zamaneh because the language seemed, well vague: "Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of Iran’s Assembly of Experts urged those faithful to the Islamic Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini not to let “the Revolution to fall in the hands of strangers.” Rafsanjani called on the public not to let the Islamic Revolution to be derailed from its “original and true” path because, once deviations in the Islamic Republic occur, “it will be very difficult or impossible to overcome them”.
So has Rafsanjani issued a veiled warning to the Government, cautioned the opposition not to be too strident, or taken a seat on a tall fence? Answers on a postcard or in our comments section....
0900 GMT: Film Corner. Jafar Panahi, the acclaimed film director released last week after more than three months in prison, has said, "Sometimes I feel that the mere thought of writing a film can be a crime here, just the idea that to do so may be penalized. It may even be enough to go to jail....Now I have to make films in my dreams, sometimes in my head."
0855 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. RAHANA claims several students and activists were released last evening.
Khabar Online reports that Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi is meeting families of detainees on a weekly basis, apparently in an effort to get prisoners to repent.
Kodoom updates on detained teachers.
0835 GMT: Economic Battles. Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has criticised President Ahmadinejad for not implementating the law on privatisation correctly.
The Supreme Audit Court has presented examples of deviations in oil revenues, with $1 billion missing in 2007.
0830 GMT: A Green IRIB? The pro-Government Raja News, in a surprising admission and/or an attack on possible subversives within Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, declares that Mir Hossein Mousavi was favoured over President Ahmadinejad by employees of IRIB by a 7:1 margin.
0820 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rooz Online reports on detained activists in Iranian Azerbaijan.
0810 GMT: Home Box Office in the US has released a new documentary on the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, "For Neda".
(Documentaries from November 2009 by the BBC and by the US Public Broadcasting Service are available elsewhere on EA.)
0700 GMT: The Supreme Leader''s Latest Move. Dave Siav0shi at Iran News Now posts a sharp assessment of yesterday's announcement of pre-election pardons, "The Shrewd Calculus Behind Khamenei’s Release of 81 Political Prisoners".
The names of those pardoned are still unknown.
0635 GMT: We have finally tracked down an English translation of Sunday's letter from detained student activist Majid Tavakoli, "The Will of My Nation Led to Victory", and posted it in a separate entry.
0610 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Kamran Asa, the brother of the slain protester Kianoush Asa, has been re-arrested.
Kamran Asa was first jailed on 16 December and detained for two months.
0550 GMT: One more day before the pace of the politics --- and, possibly, the public contest over the Government and the regime --- quickens.
Tomorrow is the anniversary of the death in 1989 of Ayatollah Khomeini and all sides are staking out their positions. Both the Supreme Leader and the President appear at Friday Prayers, and Mir Hossein Mousavi has released his statement --- posted in a separate entry --- to claim the legacy of Khomeini and Revolution for the opposition.
And where there is political manoeuvring, there are also the steps to limit debate. Rooz Online has a summary of "the third round of mass arrest of journalists and political activists". It notes the detentions of journalists Azam Veisameh and Mahboubeh Khansari and claims that security agents failed in their attempt to arrest several reformist activists and one political prisoner’s wife.
The pro-Government Raja News has claimed that Veisameh and Khansari “communicated with foreign media” and discussed “information about certain issues”.
Fars' visual support for the story? A picture of Karroubi from last year's Tehran Book Fair.
2115 GMT: Karroubi Watch. Mehdi Karroubi has released a lengthy video message. We've posted the first of six parts below. You can also link to Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.
We are looking urgently for an English translation.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEn4cHR10rM&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
NEW Iran Document: Majid Tavakoli “The Will of My Nation Led to Victory”
Iran Document: Mousavi “Imam Khomeini, Revolution, and the Green Movement” (2 June)
Latest Iran Video: Ahmadinejad in Ilam “Where’s My Crowd?”
The Latest from Iran (2 June): Where’s My Crowd?
1800 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi says that, following the Supreme Leader's pardon of 81 detainees, a number of prisoners have been released. Still no names of those freed.
1650 GMT: Propaganda Corner. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran claims that Fars News has published a fabricated letter of resignation by Morteza Semyari, the secretary of the Cultural Commission of the student organisation Daftar-Tahkim-Vahdat.
1645 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The sentence of 3 1/2 years in prison and lashes for journalist and filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad was confirmed earlier this week. The response of Nourizad, who has been imprisoned in part because of letters to the Supreme Leader?
He has written another letter to Ayatollah Khamenei before the Supreme Leader leads Tehran Friday Prayers this week: “The damage and harm that we (the religious government of Iran) have caused Islam and religious beliefs of the people is beyond the damage and harm throughout history."
1520 GMT: Reports are coming in that Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard met representatives of Iranian women's organisations today.
1515 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. An admission.... As I tried to read the various political contender set up position for the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini's death --- with both the Supreme Leader and Mir Hossein Mousavi "claiming" Khomeini --- I read summaries of a statement by former President Hashemi Rafsanjani but did not post them.
I did not post the original from the Iranian Labor News Agency or the abridgements from outlets like Radio Zamaneh because the language seemed, well vague: "Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of Iran’s Assembly of Experts urged those faithful to the Islamic Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini not to let “the Revolution to fall in the hands of strangers.” Rafsanjani called on the public not to let the Islamic Revolution to be derailed from its “original and true” path because, once deviations in the Islamic Republic occur, “it will be very difficult or impossible to overcome them”.
So has Rafsanjani issued a veiled warning to the Government, cautioned the opposition not to be too strident, or taken a seat on a tall fence? Answers on a postcard or in our comments section....
0900 GMT: Film Corner. Jafar Panahi, the acclaimed film director released last week after more than three months in prison, has said, "Sometimes I feel that the mere thought of writing a film can be a crime here, just the idea that to do so may be penalized. It may even be enough to go to jail....Now I have to make films in my dreams, sometimes in my head."
0855 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. RAHANA claims several students and activists were released last evening.
Khabar Online reports that Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi is meeting families of detainees on a weekly basis, apparently in an effort to get prisoners to repent.
Kodoom updates on detained teachers.
0835 GMT: Economic Battles. Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has criticised President Ahmadinejad for not implementating the law on privatisation correctly.
The Supreme Audit Court has presented examples of deviations in oil revenues, with $1 billion missing in 2007.
0830 GMT: A Green IRIB? The pro-Government Raja News, in a surprising admission and/or an attack on possible subversives within Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, declares that Mir Hossein Mousavi was favoured over President Ahmadinejad by employees of IRIB by a 7:1 margin.
0820 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rooz Online reports on detained activists in Iranian Azerbaijan.
0810 GMT: Home Box Office in the US has released a new documentary on the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, "For Neda".
(Documentaries from November 2009 by the BBC and by the US Public Broadcasting Service are available elsewhere on EA.)
0700 GMT: The Supreme Leader''s Latest Move. Dave Siav0shi at Iran News Now posts a sharp assessment of yesterday's announcement of pre-election pardons, "The Shrewd Calculus Behind Khamenei’s Release of 81 Political Prisoners".
The names of those pardoned are still unknown.
0635 GMT: We have finally tracked down an English translation of Sunday's letter from detained student activist Majid Tavakoli, "The Will of My Nation Led to Victory", and posted it in a separate entry.
0610 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Kamran Asa, the brother of the slain protester Kianoush Asa, has been re-arrested.
Kamran Asa was first jailed on 16 December and detained for two months.
0550 GMT: One more day before the pace of the politics --- and, possibly, the public contest over the Government and the regime --- quickens.
Tomorrow is the anniversary of the death in 1989 of Ayatollah Khomeini and all sides are staking out their positions. Both the Supreme Leader and the President appear at Friday Prayers, and Mir Hossein Mousavi has released his statement --- posted in a separate entry --- to claim the legacy of Khomeini and Revolution for the opposition.
And where there is political manoeuvring, there are also the steps to limit debate. Rooz Online has a summary of "the third round of mass arrest of journalists and political activists". It notes the detentions of journalists Azam Veisameh and Mahboubeh Khansari and claims that security agents failed in their attempt to arrest several reformist activists and one political prisoner’s wife.
The pro-Government Raja News has claimed that Veisameh and Khansari “communicated with foreign media” and discussed “information about certain issues”.
tagged Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi, Ali Larijani, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, BBC, Daftar-Tahkim-Vahdat, Dave Siavoshi, Fars News, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Home Box Office, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Iran News Now, Iranian Labor News Agency, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Jafar Panahi, Kamran Asa, Khabar Online, Kianoush Asa, Kodoom, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Nourizad, Morteza Semyari, Neda Agha Soltan, Public Broadcasting Service, RAHANA, Radio Zamaneh, Raja News, Rooz Online, Zahra Rahnavard in Middle East & Iran
Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi, Ali Larijani, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, BBC, Daftar-Tahkim-Vahdat, Dave Siavoshi, Fars News, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Home Box Office, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Iran News Now, Iranian Labor News Agency, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Jafar Panahi, Kamran Asa, Khabar Online, Kianoush Asa, Kodoom, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Nourizad, Morteza Semyari, Neda Agha Soltan, Public Broadcasting Service, RAHANA, Radio Zamaneh, Raja News, Rooz Online, Zahra Rahnavard in Middle East & Iran
Reader Comments (30)
Jafar Panahi's film "Offside" was shown on German Arte yesterday. In the interview he said: I can make films only in my imagination, even dreaming of them is a crime. http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/sie-dachten-ich-filme-sogar-in-der-zelle-jafar-panahi-berichtet-aus-der-haft-in-teheran/1850602.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/sie-dachten-i...
MEP condemns invitation to Iranian : MEP Struan Stevenson said: "This is not the place to allow despots and representatives of fascist regimes to peddle their views."
http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/world-news/mep-condemns-invitation-to-iranian-2204740.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/world-n...
UN council expects to move on Iran sanctions soon (Reuters):
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6515VW20100602" rel="nofollow">http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6515VW201...
US seeks UN vote on Iran sanctions by June 21 : AFP
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100602/pl_afp/irannuclearunus" rel="nofollow">http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100602/pl_afp/ira...
Reuters: Iran is enriching nuclear material to higher levels as a backup plan because it fears it will not receive foreign fuel for a medical research reactor, Tehran's envoy to the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Wednesday.!!!!!
Are they pushed for time for the sake of medical issues ?!! have they forgotten all the people in prisons and the conditions in which they are imprisonned !! come on !! some are ill and need medecines and they have not their treatement !!
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6514XC20100602" rel="nofollow">http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6514XC201...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip prevents arms smuggling and Iranian influence in the Hamas- controlled territory.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-02/netanyahu-says-israeli-blockade-stops-iranian-control-update1-.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-02/net...
The Iranian national accused of stockpiling guns and ammunition in a storage unit near the U.S.-Canada border has been indicted.
http://www.katu.com/news/95478004.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.katu.com/news/95478004.html
Sanctions will not stop Iran nuclear drive: Larijani :
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100602/tpl-sanctions-will-not-stop-iran-nuclear-b04fc5e_1.html" rel="nofollow">http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100602/tpl-sancti...
Nobody has said that you are not right to have peaceful atomic energy !! is it so hard to understand ???
Iran denounces European 'intolerance' over burqa :
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100602/twl-iran-denounces-european-intolerance-3cd7efd_1.html" rel="nofollow">http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100602/twl-iran-d...
I think they have a plan for iranian women in the future !!!!
Iran officially denied Wednesday that key nuclear equipment had disappeared from a facility in Tehran, saying a corresponding report by the UN atomic watchdog was "wrong".
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100602/tpl-iran-denies-nuclear-gear-vanished-fr-59299dc_1.html" rel="nofollow">http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100602/tpl-iran-d...
Ange,
Oliver King alias Hamid Malekpour was just driving around his rifles, tut tut. Is that a crime? After all, what is a man without his guns ;-)
http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/attachments/month_0801/jesus_sitting_nra_GYLGjBroxY3c.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/attachments/month_...
[...] post: The Latest from Iran (3 June): 10 Days to Shake Tehran? | Enduring … (۰) [...]
Rafsanjani Watch:
"Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of Iran’s Assembly of Experts urged those faithful to the Islamic Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini not to let “the Revolution to fall in the hands of strangers.” ILNA reported today that Hashemi Rafsanjani has published his views on Ayatollah Khomeini for the anniversary of his passing and called on the public not to let the Islamic Revolution to be derailed from its “original and true” path. The head of the Expediency Council writes that once deviations in the Islamic Republic occur “it will be very difficult or impossible to overcome them.”
Ange mentioned it yesterday, quoting Payvand. It was also mentioned on the website of Radio Zamaneeh and today on the Facebook page linked to Mousavi. Does anyone know what it means? Any Rafsanjani watchers out there?
Wittekr
I think in his language means come out, demonstrate,shout and call for your rights ! it's more clear than usual his statement because there is always two meaning in his speech and each part believes that he's with him !
Scott
"the Revolution to fall in the hands of strangers.”
I understand, if we don't do anything to find a solution for our internal crisis, a "coup" will come from the outside and sure it won't be an islamic republic but a "Republic of Iran".
Wittekr
Perhaps our dear "Artesh", Artesh of great Iran,where there are true men and not "mozdours" and thugs, will finally enter in the game inshallah !
It's the duty of Rafsanjani to save iranian people; it's because of his choice, Mr Khamnei, that country is in this traumatizing situation; some people killed, others raped and tortured, all of them and their "family"carring the heavy load of what has happened until the end of their lifes; the others, like you and me, will keep all those bloody images, noises, screams in the head and we will never forget; so, if his son living in UK hear me, he has to say to his father that it's time to redeem himself; Good luck.
I no longer trust the so-called Green leaders. Watch what happens. The regime will stonewall the request for a permit until the day before the anniversary. At that point the grassroots leaders won't be able mobilize people b/c Internet bandwidths will have been throttled and SMS service disrupted. So you'll have a lot of small, disorganized groups putting their lives on the line, who will unfortunately be easy prey for the battalions of goons stationed in Tehran.
I'm sure Mousavi will once again propose his genius idea of releasing green balloons as an act of civil disobedience.
Wafflers like Mousavi remain free, while true leaders like Majid Tavakoli are rotting in prison.
Bozorg
Moussavi is like a "General" behind the battlefield making the roads and the strategies and Tavakoli is his soldier in action; they are both complementary.
Election anniversary day watch: Iran Baha'i Leaders Scheduled In Court On Election Anniversary
"Seven Iranian Baha'i leaders incarcerated since 2008 are scheduled to appear in court on June 12, the Baha'i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva has told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
Diane Ala'i said on June 2 that it was not clear why the hearing has been set for the anniversary of Iran's disputed presidential election.
The seven have been accused of "acting against Iran's national security," "collaboration with foreign countries," and "corruption on earth," among other charges."
http://www.rferl.org/content/Iran_Bahai_Leaders_Scheduled_In_Court_On_Election_Anniversary/2061066.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.rferl.org/content/Iran_Bahai_Leaders...
Sounds like any red-blooded American to me. ;-)
But seriously, I'm originally from the NW and am back in the region just now. I'll keep a lookout for more on this. Thanks.
Sadly, it's true. I don't like netanyahu and the rest of the israeli government one bit but unfortunately our situation is so grave that even they are more truthful sometimes and the IR.
Basically he means act now and stop them or you will be stuck for another 30 years. Wise words.
Mousavi has a certain amount of immunity, in the sense that either him or Karoubi are arrested, the people will most probably explode. There's a reason why he's still free...
Just another reason for the people to come out on June 12. We need to help protect the lives and rights of the Baha'i of Iran.