Thursday
Aug052010
The Latest from Iran (5 August): Challenges
Thursday, August 5, 2010 at 15:54 
1540 GMT: Culture Corner. Human rights activists Parvin Ardalan and Azin Izadifar are among the recipients of the 2010 Hellmann-Hammett Prize. The award, named after playwright Lillian Hellman and crime writer Dashiell Hammett and administered by Human Rights Watch, recognises literary excellence.1535 GMT: Replacing the Clerics. The names of 12 new Friday Prayer leaders for 12 cities have been published. Each will serve for three years.
Recently 60 Friday Prayer leaders were "retired" by the regime.
NEW Iran-US Special: Obama Extends His Hand “Engagement, Not Conflict”
Iran Feature: Free Speech (and Some Laughs) in the Theatre (Tehran Bureau)
Iran Special: Grenade Attack on Ahmadinejad?
Iran Feature: The Activism of the Women’s Movement (Mouri)
The Latest from Iran (4 August): The President and The Plots
1530 GMT: Keyhan v. Ahmadinejad. More on the feud between the "hard-line" newspaper Keyhan and the President's office....
Keyhan had alleged that one of the those invited to this week's conference of the Iranian diaspora, Hooshang Amirahmadi of the American Iranian Council, was a "CIA associate". Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, denied Amirahmadi had been approached.
So Keyhan has published the official invitation for Amirahmadi.
1450 GMT: The Torture Information. Khodnevis is claiming, from a source close to the Assembly of Experts, that the head of the Assembly, Hashemi Rafsanjani has sent the cases of 22 people who were allegedly tortured to the Supreme Leader. Acccording to the source, Rafsanjani personally delivered details of five cases, including that of editor and university offical Hamzeh Karami, to Ayatollah Khamenei.
(EA reported on the Karami case yesterday but we did not know of the four other claimed cases.)
According to this source, the 22 complaints included allegations against specific officials. One of these is Hossein Taeb, the former commander of the Basij militia and now head of the Intelligence Bureau of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.
1330 GMT: The No-Longer-Missing Lawyer. Human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, who has fled arrest in Iran and is now in Turkey (see 0655 and 1205 GMT), has given an interview to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on his recent experiences and his defense of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, sentenced to death for adultery.
1320 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Activist Ramin Poshtkoohi was arrested in Isfahan on Sunday.
1315 GMT: Twitter and Iran. Dave Siavashi has written a heart-felt, incisive analysis at Iran News Now, "Revisiting what the 'Twitter Revolution' really means".
1310 GMT: Mahmoud's Plans. President Ahmadinejad has declared that "opponents" (in the Green Movement? in Parliament?) are trying to sabotage the introduction of his subsidy reduction plan in October.
1207 GMT: International Front. The Supreme Leader's key advisor on foreign affairs, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, is in Lebanon for talks with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami.
1209 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rah-e-Sabz claims intelligence agents have allegedly called mothers of Evin Prison hunger strikers, threatening them with arrest.
1205 GMT: A Turkish Foreign Ministry official has told CNN that "extradition to Iran is out of question" for Iranian human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei (see 0655 GMT).
1150 GMT: Forget the Grenade, We're Going Into Orbit. Iran's official outlet IRNA highlights a passage from President Ahmadinejad's speech on Thursday in Hamedan, in which he said Tehran would put a man into space by 2017: "The plan is in line with an Iran space agency program to produce and place in orbit a spacecraft at an altitude of more than 35,000 kilometers."
Ahmadinejad has made similar declarations over the last 12 months, including his proclamation of the launch of a rocket which had two turtles, a mouse, and some worms.
1145 GMT: Sanctions Watch. As Iran's Minister of Oil Massoud Mirkazemi visits Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry maintained its careful balancing act on pressure against Tehran: "China's trade with Iran is a normal business exchange, which will not harm the interests of other countries and the international community. As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, China has always observed the council's resolutions."
Earlier this week Robert Einhorn, the special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control at the U.S. State Department, declared that China should live up to the sanctions.
0900 GMT: The Campaign against Jannati. Looks like a development in our ongoing watch on the pressure against Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, and thus indirectly on the Supreme Leader. From the Facebook page supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi:
Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, in reaction to the false accusations made by Ahmad Jannati [a reference to Jannati's speech last accusing opposition leaders of taking $1 billion, with a promise of another $50 billion, from the US and Saudi Arabia to overthrow the regime], have written a joint letter addressed to senior religious figures and Grand Ayatollahs. They have asked them to step in for the sake of “saving the integrity of Islam and religious figures’ statue” and to confront those who pose as clerics and who, obviously and shamelessly, are damaging the stature of Islam and religious figures.
In this joint letter Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi called on the Grand Ayatollahs to confront Ahmad Jannati and ask him to provide his so-called documents regarding the accusations he made that the Green leaders have received $1 billion from the United States Government via Saudi Arabia to overthrow the establishment....Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi stated that these false accusations made by chairman of the Guardian Council are “the most striking example of shameless...insults”.
0845 GMT: We've posted two features. Scott Lucas analyses an important signal from President Obama on Iran policy, "Engagement, Not Conflict". And a Tehran Bureau correspondent moves politics into another arena, "Free Speech (and Some Laughs) in the Theatre".
0720 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. An appellate court has upheld the five-year sentence of Mohammad Davari, editor of Mehdi Karroubi's Saham News.
0655 GMT: The No-Longer-Missing Lawyer. Saeed Kamali Dehghan, writing in The Guardian of London, updates on the case of human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, who fled Iran after authorities tried to detain him and arrested his wife and brother-in-law (his wife is still in prison).
Mostafaei is now in Turkey but there is some confusion over his status: Dehghan says the lawyer was arrested on immigration charges on Monday. According to The Guardian, Norwegian and US officials met Mostafaei in prison and offered him asylum, but he was forced by Turkish officials to claim asylum with the UN authorities in Turkey or face extradition.
0630 GMT: Academic Boycott. Minister of Health Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi has confirmed what EA already knew from experience: new restrictions will be applied on students seeking to study in Britain and the US, since they are hostile and have only "limited relations" with Tehran.
(One beneficiary of the policy is Ireland, an English-speaking country towards which students have been directed for some time.)
0550 GMT: We begin this morning with an analysis by Rasool Nafisi of the possible significance for Ayatollah Khamenei of a fatwa by Grand Ayatollah Sistani, the leading Shia cleric in Iraq, which says clerical authority must come from the affirmation of the people.
Meanwhile, as we look for the political fallout from yesterday's grenade/firecracker attack/non-attack on President Ahmadinejad's motorcade....
Political Prisoner Watch
Activists Zahra Rahnavard and Parvin Fahimi, the mother of the slain demonstrator Sohrab Arabi, have met with the families of the 17 political prisoners on hunger strike.
On Air Soon
Rasa TV, the product of Resaneh Sabze Iran, is now on-line and promising to be on-air in the near-future.
Today's Tough Talk
Brigadier General Mohammad-Hassan Baqeri, a deputy commander of Iran's army, lays it out "Any insane move will bring the US nothing but regret and they will get our final response in the scene of action."
tagged Ali Akbar Velayati, Ali al-Shami, Amirahmadi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Azin Izadifar, China, Dashiell Hammett, Dave Siavashi, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, Hellman-Hammett Prize, Hossein Taeb, Human Rights Watch, Iran, Iran News Now, Keyhan, Lillian Hellman, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, Massoud Mirkazemi, Mehdi Karroubi, Mohammad Davari, Mohammad Mostafaei, Mohammad-Hassan Baqeri, Parvin Ardalan, Parvin Fahimi, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, Rah-e-Sabz, Ramin Poshtkoohi, Rasa TV, Resaneh Sabze Iran, Robert Einhorn, Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Saham News, Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Sohrab Arabi, The Guardian, Turkey, Twitter, Zahra Rahnavard in Middle East & Iran
Ali Akbar Velayati, Ali al-Shami, Amirahmadi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Azin Izadifar, China, Dashiell Hammett, Dave Siavashi, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, Hellman-Hammett Prize, Hossein Taeb, Human Rights Watch, Iran, Iran News Now, Keyhan, Lillian Hellman, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, Massoud Mirkazemi, Mehdi Karroubi, Mohammad Davari, Mohammad Mostafaei, Mohammad-Hassan Baqeri, Parvin Ardalan, Parvin Fahimi, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, Rah-e-Sabz, Ramin Poshtkoohi, Rasa TV, Resaneh Sabze Iran, Robert Einhorn, Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Saham News, Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Sohrab Arabi, The Guardian, Turkey, Twitter, Zahra Rahnavard in Middle East & Iran
Reader Comments (27)
Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi in reaction to the false accusations made by Ahmad Janatti (the appointed chairman of the Guardian Council) in a joint letter addressed to senior religious figures and Grand Ayatollahs asked them to step in for the sake of “saving the integrity of Islam and religious figures’ statue” and confront those who pose as clerics and obviously and shamelessly are damaging the statue of Islam and religious figures.
http://www.facebook.com/mousavi#%21/notes/mir-hossein-mousavi-myr-hsyn-mwswy/dadkhwahy-krwby-w-mwswy-az-mraj-dr-py-azharat-jnty-joint-letter-by-mousavi-and-k/415247192605" rel="nofollow">http://www.facebook.com/mousavi#!/notes/mir-hos...
(Am not sure this is new... but posted anyway)
Prisoners on Hunger Strike Humiliated by Staff at Evin Clinic
On Wednesday morning, some prisoners on hunger strike were transferred to the Evin prison clinic for physical weakness. Instead of providing the political prisoners with medical care, the clinic staff members shouted insults at them.
http://www.rhairan.us/en/?p=6131" rel="nofollow">http://www.rhairan.us/en/?p=6131
Here's a Rooz Online report on the same subject of Mousavi and Karroubi's criticisms (in various fora) of Jannati: Lying Friday Prayer Leader, Oppressive Basij
..... Taking to a group of Iran-Iraq war veterans on Friday, Mir-Hossein Mousavi pointed to conditions in Iranian prisons and said, “The disaster that is happening now in prisons is the consequence of the views of the chairman of the Guardian Council and his protégés. The Kahrizak tragedy, the attack on student dormitories and assaults on people are consequences of the view that one can clearly see the ugliness and brutality of all aspects of totalitarian and authoritarian tendencies. It really is impossible to forget his statements from the holy podium of Friday prayers praising the judiciary for executing prisoners and encouraging more executions.”
While the statements that the chairman of the Guardians Council made last week have already raised plenty of reactions, the former prime minister continued his criticism and said, “We expect the nation and especially religious figures and grand ayatollahs to demand to see and review the proof of Ahmad Jannati’s claims; and also ask the other Friday Prayer leader, who is an ally of Ahmad Jannati and who claimed that the Guardian Council is approved by the hidden Imam, to provide evidence to show that the hidden Imam was in fact satisfied with him and his allies in the Council, as he has claimed” ......
More; http://www.roozonline.com/english/news/newsitem/article/2010/august/05//lying-friday-prayer-leader-oppressive-basij.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.roozonline.com/english/news/newsitem...
RE: 0630 GMT: Academic Boycott. Minister of Health Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi has confirmed what EA already knew from experience: new restrictions will be applied on students seeking to study in Britain and the US,
These new restictions may also be aimed at starred (banned) students in Iian, whose only hope of continuing their education often lies in being accepted at universities abroad.
For more about starred students: Stars of Deprivation
http://www.gozaar.org/english/articles-en/Stars-of-Deprivation.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.gozaar.org/english/articles-en/Stars...
Yesterday WitteKr posted a link to the translation of Mousavi's declaration on Journalist Day (http://www.facebook.com/notes/mir-hossein-mousavi-myr-hsyn-mwswy/mousavi-our-main-current-goal-is-to-restrict-power-with-full-english-mwswy-mhmtr/414974662605" rel="nofollow">http://www.facebook.com/notes/mir-hossein-mousa...), in which he speaks at length about the events of 1988 (his resignation letter, whether his administration was invloved in the massacres of political prisoners), the Iran-Iraq war, whether and how the "issue of 1988" should be discussed, etc.
All extremely interesting, but the translation and editing are quite deficient, and there is naturally little context provided for those less familiar with the events he discusses because his audience doesn't need it. I'm hoping Mr Verde is going to have a crack at this for us when he gets the time. (Hint, hint - pretty please).
Relocation of offices outside Tehran not viable: MP
Relocation of government bodies outside the capital Tehran is impossible, costly, and not viable, MP Ali-Akbar Olia stated on Wednesday.
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1128718" rel="nofollow">http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?News...
RE: 0655 GMT: The No-Longer-Missing Lawyer.
Mohammad Mostafaei in Turkey + A Letter to His Wife and Daughter on their Birthdays
http://persian2english.com/?p=13319" rel="nofollow">http://persian2english.com/?p=13319
Iran-Iraq War skeletons rattle Tehran
By Farideh Farhi
HONOLULU, Hawaii - Ongoing factional disputes and mounting international sanctions have ignited heated debate among Iran's elites about another critical period in the country's post-revolutionary history - the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LH05Ak01.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LH05Ak...
Catherine, the full translation has now been published - the headline has been changed from
"Mousavi: [My] administration at the time had no role in mass executions of 1988" to
"Mousavi: Our main current goal is to restrict power".
http://www.facebook.com/notes/mir-hossein-mousavi-myr-hsyn-mwswy/mousavi-our-main-current-goal-is-to-restrict-power-with-full-english-mwswy-mhmtr/414974662605" rel="nofollow">http://www.facebook.com/notes/mir-hossein-mousa...
Yes, that's what I'm referring to: your post from yesterday
As Iran and world powers prepare for new nuclear talks, letters by Tehran's envoys to top international officials and shared with The Associated Press suggest major progress is unlikely, with Tehran combative and unlikely to offer any concessions.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100805/ap_on_re_eu/iran_nuclear_4" rel="nofollow">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100805/ap_on_re_eu...
There was no delivery of S-300 to Iran from Belarus has said Novosti, the spokesman of the militaro- industrial comity insisting that his country respect all international decisions :
http://nanojv.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/iran-azerbaidjan-bielorussie-s300/" rel="nofollow">http://nanojv.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/iran-aze...
Clip from Hamedan: people carried with buses to AN's speech, leave the half-empty stadium as soon as possible http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVvc2Gzn-Rs&playnext=1&videos=Eg8wS3Mb758" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVvc2Gzn-Rs&play...
Death row Prisoner of Conscience challenges Iran's rulers
Statement released by Ali Saremi, 62, a political prisoner currently on death row, after the Iranian authorities upheld death sentences for a group of political prisoners for supporting the main opposition group People's Mojahedin (PMOI).
http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21300:death-row-prisoner-of-conscience-challenges-irans-rulers&catid=5:human-rights&Itemid=27" rel="nofollow">http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=co...
US fines Barclays $200m for breaking Iran sanctions :
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-23863819-us-fines-barclays-dollar-200-million-for-breaking-iran-sanctions.do" rel="nofollow">http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business...
New Iranian website with cartoons denying Holocaust angers Israel :
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/08/05/iran-publishes-new-holocaust-denying-cartoon-website-condemned-israel/" rel="nofollow">http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/08/05/iran-pu...
US hiker in Iranian jail allowed brief call to mom :
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100805/ap_on_re_us/us_iran_us_hikers_1" rel="nofollow">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100805/ap_on_re_us...
Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi was harassed by "angry" people on Thursday as he attended a mourning ceremony at a mosque in Tehran, Fars news agency reported.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100805/wl_mideast_afp/iranoppositionkarroubi_20100805153059" rel="nofollow">http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100805/wl_mideast...
The lack of culture of AN appears in payvand news as well :
'England Is A Small Island West Of Africa,' Says Ahmadinejad :
http://www.payvand.com/news/10/aug/1052.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.payvand.com/news/10/aug/1052.html
Don't speak a lot not to make mistakes especially when you are uncultured !
Iran sees regional alliance to counter NATO :
Iran's president told the leaders of Afghanistan and Tajikistan on Thursday that the three neighbors could provide a counterweight to NATO in Asia once foreign troops quit the region.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100805/wl_nm/us_iran_afghanistan_ahmadinejad_1" rel="nofollow">http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100805/wl_nm/us_ir...
Is Obama's Iran Strategy Working?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20100805/cm_atlantic/isobamasiranstrategyworking4605_1" rel="nofollow">http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20100805/cm_at...
Pedestrian published segments of Rafsanjani’s memoirs that refer to the executions of 1980/1981. "It may give us a half hearted glimpse into the role officials played during that era."
http://www.sidewalklyrics.com/?p=6933" rel="nofollow">http://www.sidewalklyrics.com/?p=6933
Mousavi urges prisoners to end hunger strike. “Now that that your message and your families’ struggle has spread across the globe and within the country, the nation is concerned about your health as green assets for the country. We urge you to end your hunger strike and call on prison officials to respect the rights of all prisoners based on the flawed rule and regulations that exist and not to allow for the country’s reputation to be further tarnished in the eyes of the world’s nations.”
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2010/aug/05/2231" rel="nofollow">http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2010/aug/0...
Iran Central Bank no longer in charge of announcing major economic indicators. "Paris-based economist Fereidoun Khavand told Radio Farda that Iran's Central Bank has been responsible for calculating and announcing the country's inflation rate since it was established in 1960. He said he thinks the reason for the switch is that the bank is refusing to follow government orders. Khavand said that appointing the Statistics Center of Iran as the final authority to announce the inflation rate indicates that the government is trying to impose greater control over how the statistics are announced." - "The bank knows that Iran's economic growth rate was around 0.5 percent in 2008," said Khavand. "But it has been under government pressure not to publish it as it is in contradiction with Mahmud Ahmadinejad's words in this regard."
http://www.rferl.org/content/Irans_Stats_Center_Takes_Over_Reporting_Of_Economic_Indicators/2119863.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.rferl.org/content/Irans_Stats_Center...
Iran pays 25 pct more for gasoline. Sanctions on Iran's fuel imports are forcing the Islamic Republic to pay well above the market rate for its gasoline, figures from the Turkish government seen by Reuters showed on Thursday.
The data from TUIK, the Turkish statistical institute, showed Iran was forced to pay a premium of around 25 percent for its imports even before U.S.-led sanctions took full effect, as the Islamic Republic turned to a dwindling number of suppliers.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/6/worldupdates/2010-08-05T233846Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-506632-1&sec=Worldupdates" rel="nofollow">http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010...