The Latest from Iran (29 April): Preparations

2020 GMT: A Cleric's May Day Message. Grand Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili, meeting workers in advance of May Day, has said: “Today the problems are many and to solve them either no actions are taken or [the government] is incapable of taking any actions. The main issue is that solving these problems has been assigned to those who are not experts in these topics.”

Mousavi-Ardebili also touched on the charges of impropriety against the Government: “Our expectations from Parliament is to show more resistance against the unlawful actions [of the administration] because if, in the Parliament that is the house of the people and is where the laws are passed, these issues are ignored the situation would be worse in other places.”

NEW Iran Video and Summary: The Mousavi Statement for May Day/Teachers Day (29 April)
NEW Iran: The Establishment Frets Over the Supreme Leader
Iran Document: English Text of Mousavi-Karroubi Meeting (26 April)Iran: President Ahmadinejad’s Joke of the Day
The Latest from Iran (28 April): Making a Date

Mousavi-Ardebili added, “These days to solve the problems there is nothing left for us to do but praying, since when we give our inputs about an issue it is being ignored.”


1940 GMT: Political Prisoner News. Days before National Teachers Day and planned demonstrations, it is being reported that Alireza Hashemi, the Secretary General of the Teachers Organization, has been arrested.

1500 GMT: The Oil Squeeze. It's no longer fresh news that Italy's largest oil and gas company, Eni, is pulling out of Iran projects because of the prospect of tougher US sanctions on any firm dealing with Tehran (see Tuesday's updates). It is significant that the news is now being carried by Press TV.

1455 GMT: We've posted today's Mir Hossein Mousavi video, accompanied by a summary from Radio Zamaneh, as a separate entry.

1330 GMT: Writing About the Crisis. Our German Bureau reports that prominent Iranian poets and writers, including Simin Behbahani, Yadollah Royai, Esmail Khoi and Majid Naficy, have contributed to a new anthology,  "Protest of the Pen", published in Persian.

0945 GMT: Investigation or Cover-Up? Shadi Sadr offers her views on the enquiry into the Kahrizak Prison abuses, leading to the death penalty for two police officers and a prisoner:

Gentlemen! Enough magic! We know and you know that the story cannot vanish with the execution of three individuals; indeed, no injury can be cured by more death and execution. The only thing that can satisfy us is knowing the truth about all victims of Kahrizak; the truth about the death of Ramin Pourandarjani, the assigned physician at the facility; and the description of what transpired from the perpetrators of the crimes, on national television.

0940 GMT: Mir Hossein Mousavi has released a video statement for May Day and Iran's Teachers Day (2 May).

0935 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Green Voice of Freedom has a summary of recent arrests of students and the poor health of some detainees.

0925 GMT: Economy Watch. Voice of America claims that, of an estimated 8200 Iranian companies in Dubai, 400 have closed because of sanctions.

0920 GMT: Clerical Matters. Rah-e-Sabz offers an analysis of the President's relationship with senior clerics in Qom, claiming that there were tensions in Ahmadinejad's first term and that only a few marja are offering greetings for his second term.

0915 GMT: Labour/Political Prisoner Watch. Homayoun Jaberi, a member of the Syndicate of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, has been sentenced by the Revolutionary Court to a year in prison, suspended for three years (effectively a probation).

0835 GMT: Mr Verde is back, offering an analysis of the worries of the Iranian "establishment" over the position of the Supreme Leader.

0820 GMT: Corruption Watch (cont.). Elyas Naderan, the conservative member of Parliament who has been leading the campaign against the Government, has criticised the President for not waging a fight against corruption and for appointing questionable officials (for example, at Iran's Oil Commission), and (at NIOC etc.) because of political motivations.

0745 GMT: Corruption Watch. The drumbeat of criticism from conservative members of Parliament continues. Yesterday we noted Ali Motahari challenging underhanded dealings and nepotism in the judiciary; today we find Ahmad Tavakoli launching an even wider attack:

We have reached a state where political corruption is rampant, with some even trying to influence decision makers through bribes. This kind of corruption is much worse than economic corruption, because in economic corruption individuals pursue base and materialistic interest, but in political corruption it is possible that legal decisions would be made to facilitate certain people’s corrupt pursuits and lead to the interference of some in distributing the enormous oil proceeds.”

Political corruption is the involvement of politicians in economic corruption, whereby they buy and sell laws and regulations. This is a much more important disease that some are afflicted with now by trying to infiltrate the Majlis using bribes, threats or promises. Unfortunately we don’t have comprehensive laws dealing with political corruption.

If this problem is not dealt with today, tomorrow would be very late.

Tavakoli then gets specific, targeting the First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, accused of involvement in a major insurance fraud:"The judiciary is now facing a difficult test, because it has moved forward to investigate two important cases. One deals with an administration official and the other with a relative of a senior regime official. If the judiciary falls short of dealing with either case, in my opinion it would flunk the public opinion test and won’t have any standing left for combating corruption.”

0715 GMT: May Day. Rah-e-Sabz has now published the 15-demand declaration of the coalition of Iranian labour groups.

0645 GMT: So, after a flurry of statements from opposition figures (Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi) and groups (reformist parties, teachers, workers), we see if declaration will lead to action.

My interest is not in President Ahmadinejad's next move. Once more he is trying the foreign distraction, applying for and receiving a visa to attend the United Nations conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty next Monday. That is matched by a roll-call of statements from Government officials and supportive members of Parliament that it is the US who is the nuclear culprit --- see, for example, the assertion of Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Alathat Washington should apologize for its failure to abide by its obligations under international law and the NPT.

No, time will be better spent looking for ripples, as in public gatherings of workers, teachers, and other activist groups for the week around May Day. And then the question is whether there will indeed be another wave for 12 June, the anniversary of the election.

An opening teaser question: will Mousavi, who has repeatedly been kept away by Iranian authorities from mass demonstrations since last June, finally move from statement to open defiance by joining the marchers six weeks from now?

The Latest from Iran (24 April): Speaking of Rights

1850 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. A relative of an Evin Prison detainee has confirmed that a group of political prisoners began their "election anniversary" hunger strike on Friday. The strikers intend to fast every Thursday and then increase the days as they approach the 12 June anniversary of the election.

1840 GMT: Ahmadinejad's Media Strategy --- Get Rid of It.Iranian journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, noting the ban of 20 publications since 2005, contends that the President seeks to exclude critics and concentrate on pro-government voices.

1835 GMT: Corruption Watch. Amin Hossein Rahimi of the Majlis Judiciary and Legal Commission has said the necessary laws exist to confront corruption, but Iran's government and judiciary do not implement them.

NEW Iran: The List of 101 Journalists Who Have Been Jailed
NEW Iran Document: Mousavi on the Green Movement's Strategy and Goals (22 April)
Iran’s Nuclear Programme: The US Strategy
The Latest from Iran (23 April): Rounding Up the News

1830 GMT: Countdown to 12 June. We began this morning by noting the build-up in Mir Hossein Mousavi's statement to a show of opposition on the anniversary of the Presidential election.

Count Mehdi Karroubi in. The cleric has told the German magazine Der Spiegel that he will be seeking a permit to march on 12 June.


1825 GMT: The Teachers Protest. The Coordinating Council of Iranian Teacher Trade Associations has issued a statement to announce that a group of its members will go on hunger strike on 2 May, National Teacher's day, to protest the “illegal execution [of] and imprisonment sentences” handed down to a number of teachers.

The Council's statement says that the executive members of the Teachers Association and associated labour activists will start the hunger strike and called on all Iranian teachers to join the effort throughout 2 May.

The Council called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of all teachers from prison, a withdrawal of all legal and official action against “critical educators”, and an end to the “security atmosphere” in the Ministry of Education. It also demanded job security, better provisions for public schools through oil and gas revenues and the avoidance of all partiality and political manoeuvring in development of school curricula.

1740 GMT: A Serious Look at "Boobquake". As the Facebook comic protest grows against the declaration by Iranian clerics that immorality causes earthquakes --- rallies are now planned in New York City and Washington --- Rah-e-Sabz makes some important points.

The website notes that the Friday Prayers by Hojatoleslam Seddiqi and Ayatollah Jannati are part of the regime's theme of fighting the "soft war" of opposition and that the statements point to more suppression of Iran's youth.

1730 GMT: Labour Watch. After Iranian authorities rejected the request by the "House of Workers" for demonstrations on 1 May, a group of Green supporters in the organisation has invited the people to celebrate the day in support of workers. The gathering is planned for 4 p.m. local time in front of the Vezarate Kar (Ministry of Work). If this is prohibited, there will be a march to the Ministry of Interior.

1450 GMT: Journalists as Political Prisoners. With deepest thanks to our German Bureau, we post their list of more than 100 journalists who have been detained during the post-election crisis.

1445 GMT: A Very Different Video. In contrast to the video below of the apparent boasting of a  Revolutionary Guard commander about torture and rape, a clip from the Nowruz meeting of Green Movement women with publisher Shahla Lahiji (the first speaker in the video), Zahra Rahnavard, lawyer Nasrin Sotudeh, and many other important activists.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQs5MwSxgQg[/youtube]

1430 GMT: In Praise of Abuse? This video of a speech by Revolutionary Guard Commander Sardar Saeed Ghasemi is racing around the Internet. Critics claim that Ghasemi is endorsing the abuse and rape of detainees (see translated passage below the video). Readers' feedback is welcomed:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13JaMr9_cUo&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

If they want to oppose the regime intellectually, there isn't a problem, we pray for them, but if they dare to come on the streets and challenge the establishment, be it if they are my own child or even if they are a martyr's son, the establishment is duty bound to deal with them, so be aware..and you lot [the audience] tell them not to be obstinate; otherwise they will be taken to a place with sauna and jacuzzi [laughter by the audience] or those things that Karroubi has claimed [laughter again --- Note: Mehdi Karroubi claimed in July 2009 that detainees had been abused and raped], which haven't happened of course, but you never know things can happen,

Of course one can't play with convictions, you see a lot of them are still putting up a resistance, but those who have broken down have really broken down, so tell them they will be taken to those kind of places and then they will confess to everything in less than twenty days [laughter].

1330 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Another purported letter from detainees to senior clerics --- in this case, Ayatollahs Mousavi Ardebili, Makarem Shirazi, Safi Golpayegani, Vahid Khorasani, Sane'i, Bayat Zanjani, and Dastgheib --- is published today in Kalemeh:

We know and also heard that you are also against these behaviours and actions, but we expect from you to act and defend the oppressed and to show your beliefs to the people. Don’t let some individuals who call themselves the unknown soldiers of the hidden Imam (the agents and interrogators of Intelligence Ministry) and who have caused us all these sufferings damage you, your religious teachings and our hope. Is there anyone who would answer to the cry for help of us, the oppressed?

1325 GMT: Today's Revolutionary Guard Chest-Puffery. Another day, another declaration by the IRGC of how tough it is and will be against the threat of the "West". Brigadier General Amir Ali Jazideh, "The super advanced bomber drone, manufactured by the Revolutionary Guards, will be operational in the second half of this [Iranian] year," which ends 20 March 2001.

1315 GMT: IRGC "We'll Take Care of the Oil". Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Yadollah Javani has told the Iranian Labor News Agency, ''Today the Revolutionary Guards are proud to have the ability and know-how to easily replace large international firms; for example, we can replace Total and Shell in Assalouyeh big projects''

Shell has recently pulled out of development of a natural gas field in Iran, but Javani, the head of the IRGC's Political Bureau, said western sanctions were ''baseless''.

1300 GMT: Prominent reformist and former Deputy Minister of Interior Mostafa Tajzadeh has been ordered to return to prison to serve his six-year sentence, after his request for an extension of temporary release was denied.

The order came soon after Tajzadeh was contacted by Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili, who wished him good health after the recent surgery on his back. Mehdi Karroubi visited the recuperating Tajzadeh yesterday.

Tajzadeh agreed to report to the prison Sunday morning after consultations with his doctors.

0715 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Foad Shams, arrested by Intelligence Ministry agents in front of Tehran University on 2 December and subsequently detained for 97 days in Evin Prison's Ward 209, has been sentenced to 6 months imprisonment and 6 months suspended detention on the charge of propaganda against the Islamic Republic.

As journalist Emaduddin Baghi enters his fifth month in detention, RAHANA reports that a new charge has been filed against him, relating to his book --- written 21 years ago --- Of Realities and Judgements.

0640 GMT: A fairly busy Friday gives way to a quieter start to Saturday. In the lull, two stories continue to ripple.

Mir Hossein Mousavi has now established a pattern of speaking to reformist parties and activists, and his latest statement, presented to the National Religious Front, re-asserts his general vision of the Green Movement: “What happened in the 25th of Khordaad [15 June] last year in Tehran with that heavy and kind presence of people together accompanied by an environment of peace, endurance, perseverance and kinship along with their reaction as civil dissidents is a perfect example of a desired civil society.”

We have a full summary, courtesy of Khordaad 88, in a separate entry, but mark this down: it is now seven weeks until the 1st anniversary of the Presidential election, and both the rhetoric and substance of Mousavi's words are pointing towards a renewed show of the opposition challenge on and around that date. Whether 12 June will see mass action and whether Mousavi will back his statements with participation, well, that's a matter for specualtion rather than certainty right now....

On the international front, the ripples are over Tehran's reported withdrawal of its candidacy for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. It's important here, I think, to separate the global political spin from the significance within Iran.

The non-Iranian media will make great play today of a "Western victory" over Iran, as the core issue of rights is entangled with the manoeuvring over Iran's nuclear programme and the discussion of sanctions. I am far more interested in how this news is received, or even if it is known, inside Iran. Will the regime acknowledge a setback for its self-presentation as a defender of rights and will the opposition use the development as a marker of the shallowness, and even hypocrisy, of that claim?

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.