The Latest from Iran (6 April): Challenge Resumes

1945 GMT: Parliament-President Compromise? Mehr News reports that the Majlis and Government have formed a joint committee to resolve the disagreement over revenues from subsidy cuts. The move was announced by Gholam-Reza Mesbahi-Moghaddam, head of the special Parliamentary committee studying the economic reform plan.

Still, the move may not be a smooth one. Mesbahi-Moghaddam told Khabar Online, "After many years of studying and teaching economics in universities, why can't I be taken as an economist, but President Ahmadinejad who hasn't studied economy falsely regards himself as an economist?"

NEW Iran Snap Analysis: Playtime’s Over
NEW Iran Document: Mousavi Meeting with Reformists (5 April)
NEW Iran Document: Rafsanjani Meets the Reformists (5 April)
Iran Document: Jafar Panahi’s Wife on His Detention & Health
The Latest from Iran (5 April): Repression

1940 GMT: Karroubi Advisor Tortured? Saham News, the website of reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi’s Etemade Melli party, claims that Mohammad Davari, the detained chief editor, has been subjected to torture intended to force him to cast public doubt on Karroubi’s claims about the rape of post-election prisoners.


Saham News says Davari is in very poor physical and psychological condition. The website reports that he’s been allowed to meet with his mother briefly in jail only three times since his arrest.

1930 GMT:Academic Purity (cont.). Adding to our report that Professor Morteza Mardiha has been expelled from Allameh Tabatabei University, Pedestrian adds two others who have been suspended from their teaching positions: Mir Hossein Mousavi's chief advisor, Alireza Beheshti, and another Mousavi advisor, Ghorban Behzadian-Nejad.

1635 GMT: Oh, This Is Certain to Be Helpful. As the Obama Administration unveils its Nuclear Posture Review --- “If a non-nuclear weapon state is in compliance with the nonproliferation treaty and its obligations, the U.S. pledges not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against it" --- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates decides he needs to add a bit of Clint Eastwood-as-Dirty Harry to the public spin:

If you’re going to play by the rules ... then we will undertake certain obligations to you. But if you're not going to play by the rules, if you're going to be proliferator, then all options are on the table in terms of how we deal with you.

1625 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, spokesman for the Khatami Government and leading member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, has been given a five-year prison sentence.

Another member of the IIPF, Shahab Tabatabaei, has also been sentenced to five years in prison following appeal.

1620 GMT: Academic Purity. Morteza Mardiha, professor of political philosophy at Allameh Tabatabei University, has been expelled from the campus.

1540 GMT: Protest in The Netherlands. A group of Iranian protesters occupied Iran's embassy in The Hague today. There were a number of arrests as the demonstrators were removed.

1530 GMT: The Oil Front --- All is Well! Hamid Hoseini, the head of Petroleum Products Exports Syndicate, has confirmed that oil exports to India, China and Japan have been sharply reduced. In the case of Beijing, the fall is more than 50%. Hoseini warned that sanctions could be "effective" and Tehran cannot be choosy about its customers.

However, Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mir-Kazemi preferred to talk about imports rather than exports, saying Iran has the potential to achieve self-sufficiency in gasoline production amid the threat of sanctions and disinvestment.

1440 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist and student activist Omid Montazeri, arrested in December when he enquired about the detention of his mother, has been given a temporary release. He has been sentenced to six years in prison.

The detention of Kaveh Kermanshahi, human rights activist and member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, has been extended for another month. Kermanshahi was taken into custody at the start of February.

1430 GMT: Karroubi's Message. There is now a Persian summary of Mehdi Karroubi's meeting with the reformist coalition in Parliament (see separate entries for the Mousavi and Rafsanjani meetings) and a short English extract:

Mehdi Karroubi, strongly condemning the growth of lies, rumours, and deception in the name of Islam and religion by a small group, added, “Today I am not only mourning for Imam Khomeini [as the founder of the revolution] and what has happened to the revolution but more than anything I am mourning for Islam and Imam Ali (shia’s first Imam who is the symbol of justice).”

1310 GMT: Corruption and the Ahmadinejad Government. Elyas Naderan, a "conservative" MP and member of the Majlis' Economic Commission, has alleged that First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi is the head of a "corruption network".

0955 GMT: Iranian Spying Down Under? The Australian publishes an article claiming that the Iranian Embassy in Canberra is "spying on Iranian democracy activists in Australia, collecting intelligence on their activities, and reporting back to Tehran".

0945  GMT: The Post-Election Dead. Emrooz has posted a list of alleged names and burial places of 50 post-election protesters in Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery.

0830 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Human rights activist Mohammad Rhana Ghaznavids has been arrested.

0710 GMT: The Saberi protests. EA readers update us on the ongoing protests in front on the Japanese Embassy in Washington over the threatened deportation of activist Jamal Saberi.

Mission Free Iran reports on Sunday's demonstration, "Iranian Sweets and a Saberi Solidarity Cherry Tree", and announces another protest for next Sunday.

0700 GMT: We've now updated on the resumed political manoeuvres, posting a full translation of the meeting between Mir Hossein Mousavi and the reformist Parliamentary coalition.

0620 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The families of three of Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s advisors have visited Qom to appeal to senior clerics.

The families of Arab Maziar,  Alireza Beheshti Shirazi, and Ghorban Behzadian Nejad visited Grand Ayatollahs Vahid Khorasani, Mousavi Ardebili and Bayat Zanjani to express concerns about continuing detention and denial of legal rights.

All three men were detained on 28 December, one day after the Ashura demonstrations.

0610 GMT: Looks Like We Have a Theme. "There are a series of unresolved issues that the Parliament could take further" (0530 GMT) --- the Iranian Labor News Agency reports that 233 of the 290 members of the Majlis have written to Iran's head of judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, demanding a fight against "big" corruption.

0600 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Cleric Seyed Ahmadreza Ahmadpour, a senior member in Qom of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, has been given a one-year prison sentence by a clerical court.

The 1 1/2-year sentence of student activist Kaveh Rezaee has been upheld by an appeals court.

0530 GMT: We start this morning with the impression that, after the New Year holidays, the political battle has been resumed, big-time, in Iran.We put up a summary of Mousavi's statement to the reformist coalition at the end of our Monday updates, and we've now posted the exchange between the reformists and Rafsanjani.

We have a snap analysis, "Playtime's Over", of the developments.

Comments

[M. Ali]

It seems they have changed their tactics. Instead of trying to clash with the government, I feel they now want to work with them. Notice, they do not mention anything about the legitimacy of the elections. I think they are now afraid of being completely pushed out of the government and want to step back in

[ange paris]

Do you know why ? because AN will be little by little pushed out and trhere is no an other way !

[M. Ali]

My concern seems to be that this has turned into a power struggle between politicians, with little concern about the Iranian people.

[ange paris]

In french we say "quel culot" !

[Barry]

@M.Ali

"My concern seems to be that this has turned into a power struggle between politicians,"

There was an analysis discussed here some weeks ago - which basically said that this is all about who/what will replace Khamenei when he dies. In other words- jockeying to fill a power vacuum which has yet to appear. If you think it is hectic now - wait until Khamenei does die!

Barry

[Megan]

And we watch the food fight with much pleasure. Let them neutralizes each other until all of them are spent and out of circulation.

[ange paris]

"quel culot" means "what a cheek" ! because mister Ali, after defending the "transparent" elections and praising AN, now he's concerned about iranian people after watching his green comrades fallen in the streets and dead ! and the others raped, beaten and tortured; AND the others still in jail ! please don't worry , it's so hypocrite; if you can, and if you are a man having high principles, fight "against" dictatorship and" for" human rights, only in the memory of young people dead for "DEMOCRACY" and for "YOU".

[Catherine]

Spot the difference:
Publisher arrested for releasing a book about popular opposition figure

A [nationality] whose publishing house distributed a book on the role possible presidential candidate [name] might have in the nation's political future was arrested over the weekend, human rights activists and security sources confirmed.

State security forces on Saturday raided the home of Ahmed M., director of D. publications and distribution, confiscating his computer and copies of "[name opposition figure] and the Dream of a Green Revolution."

M.'s lawyer told the media that she considers her client to be "kidnapped," adding that no one was able to reach him or verify his location. The Ministry of Interior would not comment on the investigation.

http://tinyurl.com/yj65bbz

[danial]

1635 GMT:

Could this be sign that the US government failed at sanctioning Iran, in they way that it meant to of course?

[Arshama]

@ 1440 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch

More than 3,500 petition Iran to free journalists, writers, including Martin Amis, Jon Lee Anderson, Margaret Atwood, E.L. Doctorow, Jonathan Franzen, Thomas L. Friedman, Nadine Gordimer, Gwen Ifill, Ahmed Rashid, Jon Stewart, and Mario Vargas Llosa: http://cpj.org/2010/04/3500-petition-iran-release-jailed-journalists-writers.php

And an upcoming event by PEN American Center:

Wednesday, April 19 at 7 p.m., The New York Public Library, Celeste Bartos Forum: 5th Ave. & 42nd St. (Enter on 42nd St.)

Who's Afraid of Iran?

Shohreh Aghdashloo, Sussan Deyhim, Roya Hakakian, Azar Nafisi, Shirin Neshat, and Lila Azam Zanganeh

As the media tracks the growing nuclear threat of Iran and its potential as an ideological powder keg, the Islamic Republic looms larger than ever in the American imagination.Yet beneath it all, Iranians remain shrouded in myth and stereotypes. So who in the world are Iranians in these shifting times?

[ange paris]

"the U.S. pledges not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against it”

danial
it's the same statements "as usual", threatening to start a war , but for the first time they speak to do it with nuclear weapons !! really lots of nonsense "n'importe quoi !!!!"; in fact they are crazy !

[danial]

Interview: Reza Kahlili (alleged former Revolutionary Guard working as insider for the CIA).

http://www.michaeltotten.com/2010/04/our-man-inside-irans-revolutionary-guards.php

@Scott Lucas...

Have you heard of this person before? I want to know if this is some sort of scam

[Scott Lucas]

Danial,

I am treating this with great caution --- this gentleman, who is promoting a book, may indeed have worked for the CIA. However, he left the IRGC in the 1990s so I don't see how he is any position to assess current Iranian intentions/actions.

S.

[ange paris]

danial
I am reading your article but just to say you that I have seen the logo of " time to betray"in the comments on Moussavi 's facebook, somebody sends the comment that " be ready, as soon as time to betray will arrive"; I have thought that it was a joke,( it's as a video and you click on) and this person has made a film and it's for its advertising !

[danial]

Thank you Proffesor for letting me know

[danial]

@ange paris...

what kind of advertising? this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVMPssN7Mr0

If this is what you mean, it still doesn't make it reliable

[danial]

Re: my own post #12...

from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Totten

"Michael J. Totten is a journalist who has reported from the Middle East..."
and

and
"Totten's work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, City Journal, the New York Daily News..."

it seems like he's a recognized journalist

[ange paris]

Danial
post 16: yes it's the video which I saw few weeks ago ! reliable or not I don't know !

[ange paris]

Danial
I have just finished your article, it's terrible, like a scary movie !

[rezvan]

Does no one think it is depolorable and disgusting that Obama should keep the option of pre-emptive nuke strikes against Iran and N Korea. Whatever might be one's opinion about the governments presiding over these countries, is this not a declaration of war against the ordinary people of Iran and N Korea who would be the ones who would bear the ill effects of an nuclear strike for generations to come. As the US is the only country who has actually used a nuke, not once but twice, such a threat from its Commander in Chief surely should not be taken lightly. And if it is not seriously meant than is such kinds of scare mongering and bullying not psychological abuse for which Mr Obama and his administration should be taken to task.

[Megan]

I understand this video was shown on VOA today. I understand the video has been released very recently- do not know by who. The video allegedly shows rape victims in Kahrizak. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_IHeYjiFlY

[Catherine]

Heavy stuff. All I can say is that the images show exactly what the victims described. We need to know much more about the origin of the video.

[Megan]

Catherine,

I am thinking the video might be one of the proofs Karroubi claimed to have in his possession. As how the video found its way to Karroubi, I believe money and bribe in Iran can buy you anything your heart desires including presidency.

[Bill]

Scott,

Maybe once your able to verify this video Megan posted you can put a story up about it. If true it is quite damning evidece against the regime. However the video itself is not proof. We need the story behind it from a reliable source.

Thx
Bill

[Bill]

Megan and Catherine,

What a trully disgusting video. For the sake of the victims I hope its not a "rape" video but if so the light should shine bright on it. However I am not sold on the veracity of the film. I question it because the guy laying down seems to have either bullet wounds or stab wounds. I know in the medical practice the first thing to come off is clothes to treat someone as this may be the case here. Do you you gals have anymore background on this.

Thx
Bill