The Latest from Iran (17 April): Remember

1700 GMT: Taking Care of the Students. Iranian human rights activists report that from the beginning of academic year, more than 170 students at Tehran's Amir Kabir University were summoned to the Disciplinary Committee. About 40 face suspension and, so far, five others have been banned.

1645 GMT: In Case You're Wondering. In addition to the rhetoric at the opening of the Tehran conference on disarmament (see 1115 GMT) about US as "atomic criminal" who should be tossed out of the International Atomic Energy Agency, President Ahmadinejad has proposed that the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) should play a leading role in global nuclear disarmament.

1445 GMT: Labour Watch. In the run-up to May Day, Rah-e-Sabz reports on the dismissals of workers in Arak and the strike of Keshavarzi Bank employees in Tehran

1400 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist Mojtaba Lotfi, a head of the information unit for the office of the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, has been arrested and imprisoned again.

NEW Iran: Former Tehran Chancellor Maleki on Detention & Green Movement’s “Forgotten Children”
The Latest from Iran (16 April): Grounding the Opposition

1235 GMT: Tehran Friday Prayer in 3 Words. Apologies that, lost in the southeast US, I was unable to give you an immediate summary of Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi's Friday Prayer. Here it is....

Adultery Causes Earthquakes


Or, to be precise, Seddiqi said that reducing sins were necessary for preventing the occurrence of natural disasters. And it seems that many Iranian women who do not abide by the Islamic dress code lead youth astray: “They cause the spread of adultery in society which leads to the increase in earthquakes.”

1230 GMT: Students & Soft War. Khabar Online reports on the naming of committee members in a student organisation which will fight the "soft war" of the opposition and Green Movement.

1220 GMT: Tip of the Iceberg. Beyond the Fatemi Street corruption claims, Khabar Online is featuring insider information about "Buddies of the South" (bachehaye jonub), heads and employees of oil fields who allegedly form a lobby in Parliament and Government that is so influential it can change the Minister of Oil.

The website is also pressing claims against conservative MP Habibollah Asgaroladi over alleged purchases of shares in a Chinese bank (Asgaroladi has denied the story).

1200 GMT: Corruption Watch. Follow this carefully: Jahan News has reportedly given details on "The House in Fatemi Street" insurance fraud. The newspaper links the main person charged, Jaber Alef, with First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi.

We'll need to check this, as the claim about Jahan's coverage has come to us from Peyke Iran, a strongly anti-regime website. However, it should be noted that Jahan is within the conservative establishment, linked to MP Ali Reza Zakani.

1155 GMT: Regime Failure. Visiting the family of detained student and women's rights activist Bahareh Hedayat, Mehdi Karroubi reiterated that the "project of violence" against people's demands had failed.

1135 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rah-e-Sabz has a summary of the concerns over the health of political prisoners such as journalists Emaduddin Baghi and Mehdi Mahmoudian, and labour activist Mansur Osanloo.

1130 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Fars News is pushing the claim that Iran's judiciary has issued a warrant for the arrest of Mehdi Hashemi, the son of Hashemi Rafsanjani. The website claims that Mehdi Hashemi, who is currently in London, will be taken into custody as soon as he enters Iran and that, in case he does not return, other “legal methods” of arresting him are also under discussion.

Fars has a follow-up interview today with a member of Parliament's National Security Commission.

1125 GMT: Claim of Day. Give credit to pro-Ahmadinejad member of Parliament Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash for an attempt to link the international with Iran's internal situation.

Bighash tells Khabar Online that the reason for President Obama's recent "insolence" towards Iran is the meetings of reformist MPs with Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, Mohammad Khatami, and Hashemi Rafsanjani.

1120 GMT: Azeris and the Green Movement. Frieda Afary in Tehran Bureau provides a valuable translation of a 21 February declaration by activists in Iranian Azerbaijan, "Our Standards Concerning the Democracy-Seeking Process and the Green Movement", putting forth 10 "principles and issues".

1115 GMT: Diversion Alert (see 1030 GMT). Here we go --- Agence France Presse reports:

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an opening message to a two-day nuclear disarmament conference hosted by Tehran, said the use of nuclear weapons was "haram", meaning religiously prohibited, and branded Washington as the world's "only atomic criminal."

Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad went a step further and called for Washington's suspension from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) along with all other nations who possess nuclear arms.

"Only the US government has commited an atomic crime," said a message read out from the all-powerful Khamenei, who formulates Tehran's foreign policy, including its nuclear strategy.

"The world's only atomic criminal lies and presents itself as being against nuclear weapons proliferation, while it has not taken any serious measures in this regard," he said.

1100 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. On a day of remembering, some possible good news. An Iranian activists' website is reporting that two charges against journalist Isa Saharkhiz, who has been detained since soon after the June election, have been dropped.

Meanwhile, 160 journalists, bloggers, and activists have addressed the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, in an open letter calling for the immediate release of journalist and human rights activist Kaveh Kermanshahi.

1030 GMT: In a few hours, the "mainstream" view of Iran is likely to be Tehran's conference on nuclear disarmament, with Iranian state media heralding Iran's leadership for peace (and no prospect of a militarised nuclear programme) and their non-Iranian counterparts looking for signs of challenge to the "West".

So be it. We're going a different route, starting this morning with an interesting interview with Dr Mohammad Maleki, the former chancellor of Tehran University who was detained from August to March until his release on bail. After describing the conditions of his imprisonment, Maleki makes a pointed call for the leaders of the Green Movement to "remember" and put forth the cases of young people who have become political prisoners.

Maleki's words are especially pertinent as the opposition continues to reshape itself after 22 Bahman (11 February) and the attempt by the regime to remove it from existence. Iranian journalist Reza Valizadeh, who has fled the country, writes of the "dubious derision of [the Green Movement's] popular slogans", in particular, Mir Hossein Mousavi's framing of the movement within rather than outside the Islamic Republic. It is also worthwhile to read the readers' responses to the piece, such as "[This is] criticizing those who, under the most difficult conditions, are trying their best to make Iran a better nation."

There is also some sniping from reformist MP Mohammad Reza Khabbaz, who is quoted by Khabar Online as saying that Mehdi Karroubi doesn't speak on behalf of his party Etemade Melli, given that it is "out of service".

Despite the tensions and despite the regime pressure that prevented him from going to a disarmament conference in Japan, Mohammad Khatami persisted with the message on Friday. He said the "goodwill call" for ameliorations and reforms remains, i.e., protests will continue, while reiterating his concerns over the treatment of political prisoners (see yesterday's last update for further details).

The Latest from Iran: Dialogue or Conflict? (9 April)

2005 GMT: I have posted a separate entry about the eerie and comic experience of being "disappeared" by Press TV this evening.

2000 GMT: Rahnavard Praises Women Political Prisoners. Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi, has written in Rah-e-Sabz in praise of the perseverance of female political prisoners: “You Can Never Break Women”.

1915 GMT: Poacher or Gamekeeper? First Vice-President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi has responded to allegations by MPs that he heads a corruption ring (see 0445 and 1035 GMT) with a circular to all government agencies calling on them to fight economic corruption. In a follow-up interview, he called those who had leveled accusations against him "spreaders of slander" who did not deserve a response.

Yesterday "principlist" MP Elyas Naderan, supported by lawmakers Ahmad Tavakoli and Ali-Reza Zakani, said almost all members of an insurance fraud on Tehran’s Fatemi Avenue had been arrested, except “the current vice-president”.

NEW Iran: How I Suddenly Disappeared on Press TV
NEW Mousavi: “Can Repression & Brute Force Solve Iran’s Problems?”
Latest Iran Video: Ahmadinejad and the “Non-Crowd” at Orumiyeh
The Latest from Iran (8 April): Speeches, Visits, & Pictures

1755 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The temporary release from detention of Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh has been extended. Tajbakhsh, arrested last July, was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison; this was reduced to five years on appeal.


1645 GMT: Khatami's Warning. In a meeting with Tehran University students, Mohammad Khatami said that, if nothing is done, this year will be one of social crisis.

Khatami, criticising the people in charge of the Ahmadinejad Government, said that  the political atmosphere of Iran is very disappointing; as the government has chosen the strategy of lying, many young Iranian people are now questioning the Revolution itself.

1635 GMT: More on the Ahmadinejad Resignation Threat (1445 GMT). Rah-e-Sabz claims that, on state television, the President said that Ali Larijani is doing everything he can to cause problems for the government and thus the government will not allow him to do this: "This government has 24 million supporters and therefore I will defend those supporters."

Ahmadinejad said that, if the government is not powerful enough to defend the Iranian people's vote, he will announce his resignation on TV.

The website claims from sources that the Supreme Leader has assigned two people, Mr. Mohammadi and Mr Firouzabadi, who are close to the government to resolve this conflict.

1450 GMT: For Your Evening Viewing Pleasure. I will be speaking by phone with Press TV at 1930 GMT about Iran's nuclear programme. The other guest will be Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi of the University of Tehran.

1448 GMT: Bigging It Up. Nothing striking in the Ahmadinejad speech. Instead, Iranian state media is trying to spin nuclear gold from the straw of these announcements:

The head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, claims that Iran now has new, "third-generation" centrifuges, "six times more powerful" than previous centrifuges.

Iran now has produced "dummy fuel" for its programme.

The Bushehr power plant "should be operational by the summer".

1445 GMT: The President Talks. We're now watching President Ahmadinejad's speech for National Nuclear Day. So far, no "big announcement", just a repetition of the call for global nuclear disarmament. And, oh yes, he has unveiled --- ta da! --- a new centrifuge which is supposed to be wicked powerful.

So, while we're waiting, this claim from Rah-e-Sabz: Ahmadinejad has threatened to resign if Parliament does not accept his demands over the subsidy and spending plans.

1145 GMT: Friday Prayer Summary. On National Nuclear Day, it's Ahmad Khatami leading the prayers ahead of President Ahmadinejad's appearance. Here's the take-away line: "If America makes a crazy move, its interests will be endangered by Iran's allies around the globe."

1130 GMT: The lawyer for Morteza Alviri, the former mayor of Tehran, has confirmed that Alviri has received a five-year prison sentence, with four years suspended, from an appeals court for participation in the 15 June demonstrations.

1110 GMT: A new website, "Campaign 11 Esfand", for support of political prisoners has been established.

1035 GMT: The Corruption Feud. Ahmadinejad advisors Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai and Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi have hit back at allegations of corruption against First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi (see 0445 GMT), calling for the prosecution of MP Elyas Naderan "and other liars".

0955 GMT: The Parliament-President Battle. Beyond the Motahari attack on the "despotic" Government (see 0950 GMT), a series of interventions in the struggle over the subsidy and spending plans:

Arsalan Fathipour is quoted by Khabar Online as saying that a law ratified by the Majlis must be implemented. If true, that is a marked shift from Fathipour's line two weeks ago that Parliament should authorise an extra $35 billion of spending, much more than the $20 billion allowed in the bill and close to the President's $40 billion demand.

Ali Abbaspour Tehranifard warns that not implementing laws because of personal bravado leads to chaos and says the Government's reaction is "strange".

Seyed Kazem Delkhosh Abatari asserts that meetings between the Government and Majlis looking for compromise have no legal binding and the issues should be sent to a special Parliamentary commission.

0950 GMT: The Majlis and Despotism. We've heard a lot of charges since June that the Government has been despotic. Still, it's a bit different when the claim come from conservative MP Ali Motahari at a press conference:

The Government approach to subsidy reform bill passed by the Parliament majlis tends to despotism. When President Ahmadinejad says I won't enforce a law passed by the parliament, it means nothing except autocracy. Adopting a correct method, he must first begin to implement the plan and if it faced a problem, it will send a bill to the Majlis and resolve it.

It's not an appropriate method for the administration trying to press Majlis to annul its decision while the president begins to threaten the MPs on the issue.

0920 GMT: Bahareh Hedayat, the detained student and women's rights activist, has been nominated for the 2010 Student Peace Prize by the European Students’ Union.

Hedayat was arrested in December of 2009 and is currently facing 16 counts of charges including “propagating a negative image of the regime, taking part in post-election protests, talking to foreign media and insulting the Supreme Leader and the President”.

0840 GMT: Meeting the families of political prisoners Bahareh Hedayat and Ahmad Zeidabadi, reformist leader Mojtaba Tajzadeh --- who is still on a temporary release from prison for and now beyond the Nowruz holidays --- declared that imprisonment is a failed project to suppress people's demands.

0835 GMT: We've posted a full summary of Mir Hossein Mousavi's statement in a Thursday meeting with the reformist Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution party.

0830 GMT: What is Mahmoud's Nuclear Surprise? Earlier this week, the head of Iran's atomic energy organisation said that the President would make a major announcement today about an advance in Tehran's programme, but last night Ahmadinejad was simply restating a vague line.

He told the German broadcaster RTL,"Although we are capable of producing 20-percent-enriched uranium, we still can exchange fuel with no preconditions," without specifying whether that meant a swap could take place outside Iran. He then added his standard self-sufficiency line, "If Iran is not provided with uranium enriched to a level of 20 percent, we will produce it on our own."

0825 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Fereshteh Ghazi, writing in Rooz Online, reports on the thousands of "anonymous" prisoners who face the threat of abuse and adverse conditions.

0640 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Mahmoud Beheshti Langarudi, the spokesman of the Teacher Trade Association, has gone on unlimited hunger strike to protest the harsh conditions of imprisoned teachers such as Rasool Badaghi, Mohammad Davari and Hashem Khastar.

Rasool Badaghi, a human rights activist, is entering the 15th day of his fhunger strike.

0635 GMT: Nuclear Talks. Take your pick of reports on another meeting of the 5+1 powers (US, UK, China, Russia, France, Germany) on Iran's nuclear programme. The representatives said the talks were worthwhile, and there would be more meetings. Press TV emphasises the statement of Russia's Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin for "diplomacy", although the quote from him has a double edge:

I don't think any of us wants to impose sanctions, what we want to have is a diplomatic solution. And all sorts of constructive proposals have been made to Iran. So if, as you mention, Iran wants to negotiate, they should start negotiating.

0445 GMT: After an extended break --- a Ph.D. student of mine went through his final examinations yesterday on his dissertation on Public Diplomacy and Interfaith Dialogue --- let's see if there is any dialogue in Iran this morning.

On the Parliament-President front, the chat isn't very friendly. High-ranking conservative PM Ali Motahari has set down a challenge over corruption to Ahmadinejad: if the accusations against First Mohammad Reza Rahimi in the Fatemi Street insurance fraud stand up, then the President --- if he is serious in his talk about justice  --- should be the first to punish Rahimi.

Ahmadinejad's controvesial aide Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, who is also the target of Parliamentary calls to stand down, has responded that these accusations are put simply to weaken the Ahmadinejad Government.

Ahmadinejad advisor  Mojtaba Hashemi Samareh added a nice twist: Rahimi, like all Government officials, fights economic corruption, and so the allegations against him must be wrong.

Last news about this file is that, Mohammad Dehghaan a member of Board of Governors in Parliament believes that Naderan’s talks are not just random claims, but they are based on the information attained from the judiciary office.
http://alef.ir/1388/content/view/67753/