The Latest from Iran (10 July): "I Have No Hope, None at All"

Cartoon of the Day: Nikahang Kowsar's President Ahmadinejad cries out, "We sell smuggled oil"

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- From Repression 1999 to Repression 2012
The Latest from Iran (9 July): Desperately Seeking All-Is-Well Oil News

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2045 GMT: Irony Watch. From Press TV:

Iran has strongly denounced the detention of a prominent Shia cleric and the brutal crackdown of anti-regime protesters in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, which has been a major scene of protests over the past months.

1954 GMT: Oil Watch. Minister of Oil Rostam Qassemi has said that $5 billion of the National Development Fund has been allocated to the South Pars gas field development projects, accelerating Phases 20-24 of the project.

On 2 July, the NDF and the Ministry of Oil signed a deal for the Fund to earmark $14 billion of its assets to oil industry projects.

More than 70% will be spent on the development of oil and gas fields as well as expanding the upstream sector of the oil industry, Qassemi said, with the rest channeled into refining infrastructure.

President Ahmadinejad has claimed the NDF's assets will reach $55 billion by the end of this year. Iran transfers 20% of its oil revenues to the Fund.

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Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- From Repression 1999 to Repression 2012 (Arseh Sevom)

The 18 Tir Protests, 199918 Tir Anniversary

Sunday was the anniversary of the 1999 crackdown on demonstrations of Iranian students, described on page 10 of our report "Attack on Civil Society".

Many consider the 1999 demonstrations as a turning point that paved the way for later developments within non-violent movements in Iran. The events of that time also led directly to the strategies used to control later protests:

A strengthened and more professional Basij militia, under the control of the IRGC and acting on their behalf, answered the rise of the student movement with a renewed mission to protect the nation against the perceived domestic threat posed by liberalizing influences.

The opposition site Kalemeh offers an illustrated review of “18 Tir” events.

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Syria 1st-Hand: Not Quite Angels --- Making the Free Syrian Army Work as An Institution (Rafeeq)

Rebels are not angels. They sometimes act according to their own perception of what is right. They come from different backgrounds, and many are civilians who have never lived a military life.

Many lack the experience needed to handle with extreme situations.

Since its inception, the FSA has been trying to mitigate individual mistakes by training its members and allocating them individual roles. 

Despite the difficult circumstances, rebels, activists and residents are working toward making the FSA work as an institution.

We have so far been succeeding because we have faith in it.

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Syria Audio Feature: "Assad's Latest Performance" --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24

I spoke with Monocle 24 at lunchtime about President Assad's interview with German television (see separate EA feature), considering both the presentation and the politics.

Lots of take-away points, but the most interesting may be the conjunction of the interview with UN envoy Kofi Annan's visit to Damascus today. Could Assad be gambling for his survival on a Russia-Iran-Syria counter-weight to the international pressure upon him?

To get to the interview, go to "The Briefing" page, click on "Play" on the programme for 9 July, and go to the 18:30 mark.

The Latest from Iran (9 July): Desperately Seeking All-Is-Well Oil News

See also The Latest from Iran (8 July): Admitting the "Sanctions Problem"

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1810 GMT: Foreign Affairs Watch (Egyptian and Syrian Fronts). Press TV highlights the latest push by Tehran to present an Iranian-Egyptian alliance under the headline "Egypt Revolution Undoubtedly Inspired by Iran":

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, says the Egyptian revolution was “undoubtedly” inspired by the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.

“We are happy that despite all the difficulties an Islamist [presidential] candidate won in Egypt,” Velayati said in a meeting with the Secretary General of Egypt's Amal Party Magdi Hussein in Tehran on Monday....

Velayati described [Egyptian President Mohamed] Morsi’s victory as “a very important achievement,” saying, “Safeguarding this achievement is more important than achieving it".

Velayati also had some sharp words about the Syrian political crisis, “Certain regional states and aggressive countries such as the US and the Israeli regime have joined hands and hatched a plot against the Syrian government.” He said the public’s problems would undoubtedly be resolved based on the reforms which are underway.

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Turkey Live Coverage (9 July): The Syria and Kurdistan Situations

1700 GMT: Although one-fourth of the text required for a new constitution is drafted by the Parliament’s Constitutional Reconciliation Commission; BDP's Sirri Sureyya Onder, a member of the same commission, criticized the way articles are drafted:

Every article is started with 'national security', 'public order' or 'public morality'. We are weary of this! They are interspersing [these concepts] like a fertiliser. A constitution cannot be made like this!

1640 GMT: Turkish jets have been heading towards the northern Iraqi region from the districts of Semdinli and Cukurca of the southeastern province of Hakkari.

1545 GMT: Following the third judicial reform package, which was passed by Parliament last week, President Abdullah Gul spoke about the situation of jailed deputies:

Now courts will interpret the [newly] adopted laws. They will make their decisions [whether to release jailed deputies] in the light of the information and laws they hold in their hands.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: UN Envoy Annan Returns to Damascus

1818 GMT: Syria. Earlier we saw many reports of shells falling on the small town of Busrah al Harir, in Daraa province (map). Now, the LCC shares this video reportedly showing shells falling on the town:

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Syria Video Feature: President Assad's Latest Interview "I Still Have Public Support"

Jürgen Todenhöfer of Germany's ARD interviews President Assad on Thursday --- the discussion was broadcast last night.

Among the take-aways, Assad claims that he still has public support, that the majority of those killed in the 16-month conflict are "Government supporters" slain by "terrorists" and "outlaws", and that the US carries part of the blame for supporting these "terrorists:

Syria Feature: The Tour Guide Who Joined the Insurgency (Barnard)

A Camel Rider in PalmyraTo the tourists he took on sunset camel rides, Abu Zeid seemed like the freest man on earth.

He was a young Bedouin who worked with his camel, Casanova, among the ruins of ancient Palmyra, in the Syrian desert. He spent his days roaming Palmyra’s bare hills and stone colonnades, and his nights chatting online with foreign friends. In recent years, his biggest complaint with the government was that the police demanded bribes.

So his friends were astonished when he told them that he had joined the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

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Pakistan Feature: The Murder of Farida Afridi, Activist for Women's Rights (Crowstaff)

Farida AfridiLast week Farida "Kokikhel" Afridi, director of the Society for Appraisal and Women Empowerment in Rural Areas (SAWERA), a Pakistani non-governmental organisation dedicated to women's and children's rights, was murdered in the Khyber tribal region area as she travelled to her office. Witnesses saying they saw two motorcyclists following Afridi before they opened fire and sped away --- she was shot once in the head and twice in the neck, dying in hospital of her wounds.

The 25-year-old activist co-founded SAWERA with her sister Noorzia in 2004. Despite threats, she criticised the government, the Taliban, and the patriarchal nature of Pakistani society, which she saw as one of the main obstacles to women's empowerment.

The Express Tribune wrote in an editorial of tribute and regret:

Farida Afridi was shot dead in cold blood for the crime of being a decent, caring human being. As the executive director of the human rights NGO, Sawera, Afridi was working in Fata performing the most thankless of jobs: trying to improve the plight of women in an area where many people have never even considered the concept of women’s rights.

Chris Crowstaff of Safe World for Women, a partner of SAWERA, offers further recollections.

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