The Latest from Iran (22 September): Sedition and Treason

2055 GMT: Claim of the Day. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz offers a story which matches our analysis that the Obama Administration is looking to resume talks with Iran on the uranium enrichment issue and on other regional matters from the Middle East to Afghanistan:

Diplomats from the United States and Iran have begun initial contacts to examine the establishment of covert communication between the two countries.

Sources in New York told Haaretz that the two sides secretly convened at the United Nations headquarters in New York, as preparations continue for the UN General Assembly on Thursday. American and Iranian officials discussed a U.S. initiative to establish unofficial diplomatic relations.

2050 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Theology lecturer Ahmad Ghabel, who was recently returned to prison, has put out the message that his renewed detention is because of his revelations of widespread executions at Mashhad Prison.

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Europe and the Middle East: Reading the Questions over the Veil (Iskander)

A week after France’s Senate voted in favour of a ban on face coverings in public, diverse reactions across the Middle East underline that this region cannot be viewed as a monolithic bloc.  It was expected that the forbidding of the niqab and burka would elicit angry reactions: there has been some anger, but reactions have not been uniform nor entirely negative. 

There is no single view on the veil that dominates in the Middle East, with many countries debating the place of the niqab even more urgently than their European counterparts.

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The View from Iran: Ahmadinejad's Propaganda, Stoning, and the Green Movement (Gallo)

A reformist leader in Iran who wishes to remain anonymous summarises, "The society lives in fear, but under the ashes the fire of opposition hasn’t been extinguished. There is now a big gap between a large part of the Iranian people and its government."

The immediate enemy of the Government is the economic crisis. A well-placed journalist notes, "When you speak to Iranians the first thing on their mind is the terrible state of the economy, the inflation and unemployment. Young people are desperate, they see a grim future and many want to leave the country.”  

With the imminent introduction of reductions in the $100 billion-per-year Government subsidies, money will be missing in the pockets of the people. That is now the hottest challenge for the regime, but its effects could reignite the fire under the ashes, reuniting dissatisfied segments of society as resurrecting publicly the opposition of the Green Movement.

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Iran: How the Government Created a Rafsanjani-Led "Conspiracy" with Wiretaps (Ghazi)

Last week we noted a remarkable article in Rooz Online by Fereshteh Ghazi about a 110-page report from the Revolutionary Guard, ordered by President Ahmadinejad in summer 2009 and approved by the Supreme National Security Council in March 2010. The document outlined a "conspiracy", using the June 2009 Presidential elections, to topple the Government and remove the Supreme Leader. The "evidence" included lengthy extracts of statements obtained by surveillance and wiretapping.

This English version of Ghazi's report does not have the extracts, but it is still a dramatic testament to how far the Government will go to defend the Ahmadinejad "victory" of 2009 and to tarnish the opposition. Indeed, there are important lessons even beyond Ghazi's account.

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Latest Iran Video: Ahmadinejad on US Public Broadcasting Service (20 September)

President Ahmadinejad appeared last night on "The Charlie Rose Show" on the US Public Broadcasting Service.

Watch the video and read the snap analysis....

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Iran Update: Mahmoud's Road Show and the "Dazzled" US Media

If the Iranian President was less than successful today in the first of his talks at the United Nations, he could console himself that he got his talking points out through the US and "Western" media. 

I guess The New York Times should at least get credit for recognising what was going on: 

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran ran through his standard talking points at his annual gathering with American journalists on Tuesday — denying that dissidents languish in jail or that economic sanctions were biting, and rejecting the idea that Tehran deserves anything less than a gold star for its nuclear inspection record. 

This does not mean, however, that the Times interrogated the talking points, you know, by offering any consideration of the political prisoners. Instead, the Times is carried away because Ahmadinejad "embroidered his remarks with a little fresh bluster". And what dazzled them?

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A US Deal for Iran & Ahmadinejad: How Twitter Revealed the Plan on Afghanistan

We're working on a major analysis of the Obama Administration's approach to Iran --- think the pressure of sanctions linked to hopes for talks with Tehran on not only the nuclear issue but other regional matters --- but in the meantime, let's turn it over to Vali Nasr to give a sneak peek on Twitter.

For some in the Administration, this is the deal for Mahmoud in New York (and for the Supreme Leader in Tehran?): Give us the public appearance of coming back to the nuclear talks --- without insisting at this point on unilateral enrichment of uranium inside Iran --- and we can work together for mutual benefits in Afghanistan.

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A New Advertising Partner: Tavaana

EA WorldView is pleased to announce a new advertiser. Tavaana offers Persian and English e-learning resources for Iranian civil society. From their About page:

Tavaana--meaning "empowered’ and ‘capable" in Persian--is an e-learning space for Iranian civil society.  Through partnerships with international universities and civic training organizations, and in collaboration with leading Iranian scholars and civic leaders, Tavaana leverages the internet to empower Iranian civil society. Tavaana offers e-courses as well as case studies of global civic struggles, video interviews with civic leaders, a democracy and human rights resource library, media monitoring of Iranian civil society developments, an e-newsletter featuring civic activism resources and more. Tavaana holds a vision for a free and open Iranian society, one in which each and every Iranian enjoys equality, justice and the full spectrum of civil and political liberties.

For further information, visit the Persian or English versions of their site.

Turkey, Taxes, and Basketball: An Update

Last week we reported that each member of Turkey's basketball team had been awarded $1 million ($18.7 million for the squad) after it reached the final of the 2010 World Championship.

We now have a figure for comparsion. Each player of Team USA, which won the gold medal, received $25.000. Indeed, the Dream Team that won the 2008 Olympics had been awarded with the same amount of money.

Meanwhile, Serbia's 27-year-old pivot Nenad Krstic spoke to Jack McCallum from Sports Illustrated: "I wish I had come to this world as a Turk." Serbia was defeated by Turks in semi-finals. 

As Turkey's captain Hidayet Turkoglu said: "Materiality is not our priority but we are awaiting support."

Nice work if you can get it, eh? 

Afghanistan: 2010 Deadliest Year for International Forces as 9 Die in Copter Crash

Reuters reports:

Nine coalition troops were killed on Tuesday when a helicopter crashed in Afghanistan's south, the NATO-led force said, making 2010 the deadliest year of the nine-year war.

Two NATO service members, an Afghan soldier and a U.S. civilian were wounded in the crash. They were taken to hospital for treatment, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

There was no indication of the nationality of the dead troops, ISAF said in a statement. An ISAF spokesman said more information would be released later.

There was no enemy fire in the area when the aircraft crashed and the cause is under investigation, ISAF said.

The deaths take the toll so far in 2010 to at least 529, according to monitoring website iCasualties.org. Last year, the previous deadliest, 521 foreign troops were killed.

Violence in recent months has soared to its highest levels since the removal of the Taliban by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001....

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