The Latest from Iran (27 June): Grumbles

1815 GMT: Rafsanjani (and Supreme Leader) Watching. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani chaired a meeting today about the Islamic Azad Universities. That might not be a significant event were it not for the timing --- the discussion takes place days after the President's move to assert control over the chain of universities, interpreted by some as an attack on Rafsanjani's political base.

Meanwhile, Ayatollah Khamenei gave a speech today at Tehran's Abuzar Mosque, explaining that the first duty of women is motherhood.

1510 GMT: Hmmm.... Iran's deputy head of judiciary, Ebrahim Raeesi, as quoted by Press TV:

"The major violators of human rights are Western states. If the true face of Western countries which claim to be custodians of human rights is shown, you will see that people's rights are violated most severely in Europe, the US and Israel”....He said Iran has committed itself to protecting people's rights as it firmly believes in religious and Islamic principles.

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1410 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rah-e-Sabz reports concerns about the health of detained journalist Isa Saharkhiz in the clinic of Rejai Shahr Prison.

1405 GMT: The Oil Squeeze (cont.). One more piece of information, courtesy of Iranian Labor News Agency: Iran's oil exports fell almost 50% from 1979 to 2008.

1350 GMT: All is Well Alert. Irrespective of the news in this update, Habibollah Asgarowladi is on hand to assure, "Iran has had never a better position in the world than now."

1340 GMT: The Oil Squeeze (cont.). As we learn that Iran's oil revenues have dropped 24 percent over the last year (see 0945 GMT), Roshanak Taghavi provides essential context and analysis for The Guardian.

Taghavi reveals from a source that about 35 million barrels of oil are in offshore storage tankers. This in itself is not unusual --- Iran's summer holdings have been as high as 60 million barrels --- but the political and economic situation has changed:

What is unique this year, and a rising concern for Iran's oil ministry, is the decision by some of the country's important "eastern" customers, including China, India and Japan – who are among the main purchasers of Iran's heavier grades of crude oil – to either reduce their formal term contracts with the Islamic Republic in favour of better prices from other oil producers, or to cut some of their contracts completely.

1335 GMT: President v. Parliament (University Edition). Golnaz Esfandiari of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has written a useful overview of the rising tension between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Parliament over control of Islamic Azad University.

1330 GMT: Visit of the Day. Mehdi Karroubi has visited filmmaker/journalist Mohammad Nourizad, journalist Emaduddin Baghi, and former Vice President and MP Hossein Marashi, all of whom are on bail or temporary release from prison.

1324 GMT: The Hijab Referendum? The head of Iran's police, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, has announced that a poll will be conducted on the enforcement of hijab in every province.

Not quite sure how Ahmadi-Moghaddam gets the authority to declare public referenda, but I am even more vexed by this question....

Given that President Ahmadinejad has been in conflict with other members of the Iranian establishment over the enforcement of hijab, what will be the announced outcome from the ballot boxes?

1320 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Activist and former Army member Firez Yousefi has been arrested, allegedly for giving away secrets in interviews with foreign media.

1215 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The former mayor of Ghasr Shirin, Ghodrat Mohammadi, has been released from detention.

1200 GMT: The Battle Within (Hijab Edition). More feuding within the establishment over the President's criticism of "morality police". Partou, the weekly publication associated with Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, has sharply attacked Ahmadineajad:"Is the hijab situation now better than under former governments?"

And Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami has made the bold declaration, "I insist on all Islamic rules, especially hijab, even if I have to lose my head for it."

1100 GMT: Parliament v. President. Member of Parliament Ali Motahari, a leading critic of the Government, has claimed that pro-Ahmadinejad Mehdi Kuchakzadeh had a central role in this week's organised rally in front of the Majlis, pressuring Parliament to cede control of Islamic Azad University to the President. Motahari said Kuchakzadeh "even threw a paperclip container at me".

1040 GMT: Messages for 7 Tir. Tomorrow is 7 Tir, a date notable in modern Iranian history for  a 1981 bombing that killed 73 leading officials of the Islamic Republic, including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti.

The family of the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri has put out a message: how can you mourn the dead in an atmosphere which knows nothing except violence?

It is reported that the late Ayatollah Beheshti's family will not hold a memorial service for 7 Tir. Ayatollah Behesti's son, Mousavi chief advisor Alireza Beheshti, has been imprisoned during the post-election crisis.

1000 GMT: Happy Father's Day. On Friday, Father's Day in Iran, Mir Hossein Mousavi met the families of detainees Alireza Beheshti Shirazi, Arab Mazar, and Ghorban Behzadian-Nejad.

The central and youth committees of the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front also met the families of political prisoners.

0945 GMT: The Oil Squeeze. Fars reports, without citing the source, that Iran’s oil sales from March 2009 to February 2010 fell by 24.3 percent, from $78.65 to $59.55 billion dollars.

Fars softened the blow by adding that non-oil exports rose by 12.7 percent to $19 billion.

0710 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The three-year prison sentence of law student Abolfazl Ghasemi, who was detained during the Ashura protests of 27 December, has been upheld.

0705 GMT: The Attack on the Clerics. Video, claiming to be new footage of the attack earlier this month on the houses of Grand Ayatollah Sane'i and the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, has been posted.

0655 GMT: Breaking the Quiet? Ahh, this might stir things up. Looks like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has delivered a statement on the lines of "we need executives who implement the law correctly".

Executives, not Parliament. And judiciary, take that as a directive from y9ur President.

0630 GMT: It appears to be a very quiet morning in Iran.

Iranian state media is preoccupied with criticism of the latest US sanctions. Most of the showpiece reaction is cut-and-paste defiance, as in the statement from Iran's armed forces, "The ploy of imposing sanctions on the Iranian nation is ineffective because the establishment and the people have succeeded in finding their path."

Still, there is a nice touch in one featured critique, from Alaeedin Boroujerdi, the head of Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee: "The US move to impose sanctions on Iran is in fact imposing sanctions on their own firms."

On the international front, Tehran is claiming --- after a phone call between Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki --- that the two will meet Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in the near-future to discuss further steps over Iran's uranium enrichment.

Inside Iran, there is growing concern over the health of teacher and activist Ali Akbar Baghani, who has been detained for more than two months.

Comments

[Catherine]

Scott,
You should start gearing up for another fight with the Princes of the Polls over election results because head of Iranian security forces, Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam, has announced that they will take a poll on the enforcement of hijab in every province. http://www.zamaaneh.com/enzam/2010/06/veiling-restrictions-to-b.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.zamaaneh.com/enzam/2010/06/veiling-r...
You guys can duke it out province by province, even! :-)

[Arshama]

@ 1040 GMT: Messages for 7 Tir

Scott,

I beg to differ on the number of victims. German Wiki reports on 85 persons killed, deliberately reduced to 72 persons to assimilate it to the pivotal Battle of Kerbela. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Beheschti" rel="nofollow">http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Beheschti

What should we expect from a regime, which denies the death of its own followers?

Arshama

[Arshama]

More Protest Victims?

Mohsen Sazegara referred today to GM activists, reporting that several arrested protesters were killed and buried in the deserts between Kahrizak and Qom. 7 IRGC and Bassiji members who refused to participate in these killings are now imprisoned in the IRGC HQ prison in Afsaryeh (SE Tehran), along with many other IRGC personnel who refused to follow such orders (unconfirmed).

Sazegara's other news: prices for industrial electricity have been raised by 30%, which is likely to have immediate effects on a series of goods.

New clip from attack on Ayatollah Sanei's home in Qom, the crowd is shouting "nirouye entezami, khejalat, khejalat" (security forces, shame on you):
http://www.peykeiran.com/Content.aspx?ID=18535" rel="nofollow">http://www.peykeiran.com/Content.aspx?ID=18535

[Arshama]

AN's Promises (bringing oil revenues at the people's tabels)

ILNA cites a UN report, according to which malnutrition of Iran's population went up by 8.5% since 2004 (AN came to power in 2005), heavy malnutrition is currently at 4.1%, and children's malnutrition went up by 3% since 2004.
http://www.ilna.ir/newsText.aspx?ID=131857" rel="nofollow">http://www.ilna.ir/newsText.aspx?ID=131857

[Arshama]

Germany beats England 4:1 !!!!
Highest defeat for the British team at a worldcup, late revenge for 1966 (Wembley).
Don't beat me -- I'm only reporting ;-)

[ScottLucas11]

I just want to repeat that I have only been visiting England for the last 25 years and have no connection whatsoever to this afternoon's events....

[WitteKr]

Corruption watch... MehrNews reports: Annual Judiciary gathering held in Tehran
"At the meeting, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani stated that the Judiciary will soon reveal the identities of a number of financially corrupt individuals. “We should allow the cases to run their legal courses and avoid spreading rumors about the names of financially corrupt people,” Ayatollah Larijani noted.
He said that the Judiciary has identified a number of major cases of financial abuse, and he dismissed the allegations that the cases are politically motivated."

AN also spoke: "The president stated that the Judiciary is shouldering heavy responsibilities and said its main duty is meting out justice. Ahmadinejad stated that governance and justice are inextricably intertwined. “If justice is left out of the government, nothing will remain of the government,” he noted. The president said the first step in the administration of justice is the creation of just laws and added that loopholes should be identified and eliminated from the legal system."
"If the most just laws are in place but those who implement them are not just and do not have a clear understanding of justice, efforts are wasted, the president observed." And...
"Ahmadinejad also said that his administration is ready to lend its full support to the judicial system."
Isn't that nice of him?
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1107924" rel="nofollow">http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?News...

[Catherine]

RE Khamenei today's speech at Tehran's Abuzar Mosque (his jubilee celebration): first duty of women is motherhood

Not according to His henchmen: Mansour Osnaloo’s Daughter-In-Law Suffered Miscarriage After Officers’ Attack
http://www.roozonline.com/english/news/newsitem/article/2010/june/27//daughter-in-law-suffered-miscarriage-after-officers-attack.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.roozonline.com/english/news/newsitem...