Iran Snapshot: Another Grand Ayatollah Launches Major Criticism of Government

In the post-election conflict, this could be a significant statement. Grand Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili declared yesterday: "It is regrettable and sad, however, that what is done by some in the name of defending Islam and Islamic government is against the religion, the law, morality, and human rights, and threatens the spirit of justice, search for the truth, and freedom that must be the basis for any government that is based on Islamic teachings."

Click to read more ...

Egypt, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Dramas with State Security

2030 GMT: Thousands of Moroccans have gathered in Casablanca's Mohammed V Square, demanding government reform and an end to corruption.

Global Voices Online has more description and video:

Click to read more ...

Iran Guide: Ahmadinejad, Rafsanjani, and the Battle in the Assembly of Experts (Khalaji)

The power struggle within Iran's political elite will be on full display during the March 8-9 semiannual meeting of the Assembly of Experts [Editor's Note: We are working with the dates of 7-8 March], the body charged with selecting the country's Supreme Leader and, in the case of the imminent meeting, electing a head of the assembly for the coming year. The assembly is now led by Rafsanjani himself, who twenty-two years ago played the lead role in selecting Ali Khamenei to succeed Ruhollah Khomeini as the country's Supreme Leader. In the present predicament, President Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad and other hardliners are trying to prevent Rafsanjani from maintaining his leadership of the assembly, yet removing him would further narrow the field of Iran's religious and political elite who support Khamenei.

Click to read more ...

EA's US Politics and Economy Special: A Half-Time Reality Check on the Federal Budget

It may be that those who are arguing the debt is unsustainable are just doommongers, panicked needlessly by deficits caused by this relatively short-term blip in the economy. Undoubtedly the present deficit numbers have been made worse by more people receiving benefits from the entitlement programs, and less people paying taxes. But, even recognising that possibility, the numbers being presented in various reports on America's fiscal future are sobering reading.

The issue is only going to grow in importance over the next few months, and the partisan extremes in both parties are readying themselves for the mammoth struggle ahead. What we have seen recently are petty squabbles compared to the brouhaha that will erupt when the Americans from The New York Times poll finally realise what is actually at stake in the forthcoming discussions on the debt crisis.

Click to read more ...

Egypt Video: The Takeovers of the State Security Headquarters

On Friday and Saturday demonstrators, demanding justice for alleged abuses committed by State Security during the era of deposed President Hosni Mubarak, entered security headquarters in Alexandria and the 6 October and Nasr City sections of Cairo.

Sunday Night's Clashes outside State Security Headquarters in the Lazoghly Section of Cairo in Egypt (see updates for details):

The Takeover of the Headquarters in Nasr City

Click to read more ...

EA on the Road: A Celebration in Manchester

EA staff are in Manchester in northwest Britain tonight celebrating recent successes with colleagues from the Clinton Institute for American Studies. 

That means updates on the LiveBlogs for the rest of today will be very limited. Readers, however, are encouraged to keep the news and analysis moving with their links and comments.

I will be back with more features in the morning and we will be back to normal service from tomorrow afternoon.

Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Any Advance?

1800 GMT: My thanks to EA's Ali Yenidunya for covering the LiveBlog while I am in Manchester in northwest Britain. We are going to take an evening break and return early on Sunday.

1630 GMT: Algerian police and pro-government activists foiled a sixth attempt by opposition protesters to march in the capital Algiers.

1620 GMT: According to the Al Watan daily, at least 8 killed and more than 20 wounded in clashes between rebels and loyalists at Ras Lanuf.

1610 GMT: It is reported that Libyan revolutionaries shot down two helicopters in Ras Lanuf & Ben Jwad.

Click to read more ...

Oman Feature: Meet Sultan Qaboos, the "Classy Despot" (Whitaker)

Oman has an exceptionally young population --- 43% are under the age of 15 – and even those who buy the line that Oman is well governed recognise that the authorities face an uphill struggle in providing jobs. "The problem is evolving faster than they can provide solutions," one person who is familiar with the country (and asked not to be identified) told me this week.

But there's another problem too. Even if Qaboos is a Britain-friendly, music-loving ruler with benevolent intentions, he is none the less a despot.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (5 March): The Conflict Just Got Bigger

1320 GMT: The Next March? The Los Angeles Times summarises the call by the opposition for demonstrations on Tuesday in support of International Women's Day.

Mardomak writes about statements endorsing the demonstrations, including one by Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi: "On this day, shoulder to shoulder with our brothers, we will come to the streets to support the popular and broad democratic demands, because achieving ‘equal rights’ is possible only if voiced in a democratic system. But, we must not allow anyone to disregard our demands under the auspices of preventing crisis or avoiding divisiveness."

1310 GMT: The Arrests. We have been reporting, based on the translation of a letter from Mehdi Karroubi's son Mohammad Taghi, that the detention of Mehdi and Fatemeh Karroubi occurred on 17 February. A source informs us that the actual date should be 21 February --- we have corrected entries appropriately.

Click to read more ...

Iran Special: Why the "Green Zone" in Tehran is Important Again

At the end of the day it will be the Iranians on the street who will force the hands of the politicians. It will be a rising opposition movement on the ground that will become the catalyst for change in the political system.

So far, observations about political infighting have been inconclusive, though perhaps this will change soon. Right now, the energy is pouring out of the emails, the Tweets, the blog posts. The opposition is fired up; the Green Zone is refusing to go gently into that good night. 

Like a lime being squeezed, the Green Movement is slipping its bonds. The iron fist of the regime tries to tighten its grip, but the Green Zone expands and slips through its fingers. 

Click to read more ...