The Latest from Iran (26 April): Points of View

2030 GMT: Economy Watch. Mohammad Nabi-Habibi, the Secretary General of the conservative Islamic Coalition Party, has said that the government has not had any major achievement in the privatization process: “Over the recent years, some works have been done to privatize the state-run organizations and strengthen the private sector, but the steps have not yielded any notable result so far."

NEW Iran Document: Mehdi Karroubi “We Will Make The Nation Victorious”
NEW Iran: The Mousavi 4-Point Message "Who Defends the Islamic Republic?"
NEW Iran Exclusive: A Birthday Message to Detained Journalist Baghi from His Daughter
Iran Special: Tehran, Defender of Women’s Rights (P.S. Don’t Mention Boobquake
Iran: The Green Movement and the Labour Movement (Assadi)
Iran: Hyping the Threat from Tehran (Walt)
The Latest from Iran (25 April): Build-Up

2025 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Sama Nourani of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters has reportedly been released on bail.


2015 GMT: Our colleague Josh Shahryar has a new opinion piece at The Huffington Post, "Iranian Diaspora Needs to Act": "What the Green Movement urgently needs from the Iranian Diaspora, especially in the United States, is to come together and form a strong voice of political support for the cause of Iran's democratization - if not outright liberalization."

1525 GMT: Ahmadinejad "Look Over There!" Speaking to Iran's police officers, the President today denounced "satanic tools" of oppression.

This may have initially shocked his audience, but eventually it became clear that Ahmadinejad was not referring to them. Instead, his target was nuclear weapons, military invasions, and the veto power granted to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. The President continued, "America belittles nations, and questions human values, whereas valuing humanity requires culture. Belittling nations only reaps inflexibility, distance, and malice."

1515 GMT: The Der Spiegel Profile of Karroubi (With a Bonus Surprise). The German magazine's piece on Mehdi Karroubi is now out --- it's more a portrayal than an interview --- and features the cleric's defiance, "The people are just waiting for a spark....I am prepared to accept all consequences."

The surprise,however, is not in the Karroubi material: to be honest, we've heard it before from the resolute opposition figure. Instead, the twist comes in an insert on another Presidential candidate, the "conservative" Mohsen Rezaei:

Does he see himself as an alternative to Ahmadinejad? The corners of Rezaei's mouth turn up in a slight smile: "I will serve my people where I can."

The retired general prefers to avoid critical questions, and seems intent on stirring his tea, as if the sugar could somehow solve his loyalty problems. Like Karroubi, Rezaei refers to "Dr. Ahmadinejad" and avoids using the word president. And like Karroubi the reformer, Rezaei the conservative says: "It can't go on like this."

1450 GMT: Over to You, Dr Rahnavard. And now it's Zahra Rahnavard putting out a declaration. She calls on the Government to free all imprisoned workers and teachers and to hold free and democratic elections.

1445 GMT: We have now posted a full English-translated version of Mehdi Karroubi's statement to former reformist members of Parliament, "We Will Make The Nation Victorious”.

1345 GMT: Karroubi Fights Back. Mehdi Karroubi's website Saham News carries a summary of his latest discussion with former reformist members of Parliament. The cleric, who had to deal with false rumours of his ill health last week, denounced the "new wave of psychological warfare" of the regime. He has promised that, despite this campaign, the opposition's resistance will only increase.
1245 GMT: Photo of the Day. Reformist leader and former Minister of the Interior Mostafa Tajzadeh is surrounded by supporters and well-wishers before his return to prison. Tajzadeh, who was on temporary release, was formally given a six-year sentence last week.



1000 GMT: The Oil Squeeze. The chief executive of the French oil company Total, Christophe de Margerie, said today that it will cease gasoline sales to Iran if the United States passes legislation to penalise fuel suppliers exporting to Tehran.

0925 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rah-e-Sabz's latest list of detainees has 2560 names. The website estimates that the total arrested since the June election is probably 18,000.

One of those detainees, journalist Mohammad Reza Yazdan-Panah has been indicted for "acting against national security".

0920 GMT: Stop Blogging. Now. RAHANA reports that Google-owned Blogger has been filtered in Iran.

0915 GMT: Economy Watch. Khabar Online posts some troubling figures for the Government, with a 4:1 imbalance between Iran's imports and its exports.

0855 GMT: Is the Government Rattled? There is a notable sharpness today in the attacks on opposition figures by pro-regime newspapers. Kayhan announces that even if former President Mohammad Khatami repents, people will not forgive him for his "sedition".

Resalat asserts that staff from the reformist sites Rah-e-Sabz and Balatarin, with former Minister Ataollah Mohajerani as intermediary, received money from British intelligence officials. The newspaper also "reports" that "the dumb Sheikh [Mehdi Karroubi] met with organisers of fitna [sedition], who proposed to restart this on the election anniversary" but that Mir Hossein Mousavi does not want a call for demonstrations.[

0845 GMT: Interpreting Human Rights. Leading reformist Nasrullah Torabi has drawn a lesson from Iran's withdrawal of its candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council, with its negative effects on Tehran's standing: the step confirms the news of Iran's human rights violations.

0843 GMT: Larijani Watch. Just because he is manoeuvring against the President does not mean Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has to go easy on the US --- indeed, because he is criticising Ahmadinejad, there is even more cause to take the tough line on Washington. In his latest speech, Larijani declared that "people will stand against the US with their lives". (sorry, misunderstanding, your IRGC has to do that ;-)

0838 GMT: Removing Mousavi. The new Constitution of the private group of Iranian universities, Islamic Azad University, has removed Mir Hossein Mousavi from the Board.

0835 GMT: Thanks for That, Ayatollah Khamenei. In his speech to Iran's police forces on Sunday, the Supreme Leader said that respect for people is necessary.

0830 GMT: Karroubi Watch. And while we're summarising Mir Hossein Mousavi's latest steps, Rah-e-Sabz offers Mehdi Karroubi's interview with Der Spiegel, in which he declared that he would be pursuing a demonstration "to protect our Constitution" on the anniversary of the election, 12 June, and called the Ahmadinejad Government a "disaster" for Iran. We're still waiting for the German version.

0825 GMT: Whipping the NGOs Into Shape. Mohammad Reza Alipour, the Deputy Tehran Police Commander, said on Saturday that the police intend to organize non-governmental organizations in a “centralized” way. Alipour explained, “The police’s concern is that there is insufficient supervision over citizen organization and in some of them there is administrative chaos….There is no oversight for issuing licenses for these organizations.”

0815 GMT: The Chinese Angle. Amidst the tangle of signals of Beijing on sanctions, oil imports from Iran, and trade, Mehr News Agency is upbeat:

Iranian and Chinese finance ministers met in the U.S. on Sunday and underlined plans to enhance economic ties and increase the mutual trade level to $20 billion. The Mehr News Agency reported that on the sidelines of the World Bank summit in Washington, Shamseddin Hosseni met Xie Xuren.

Hosseini pointed to Iran's immediate privatization policy and said that foreign companies, especially Chinese firms, can cooperate in the country's lucrative investment projects such as oil refineries and petrochemical plants.

Most of the cheerleading for the trade boost comes from the Iranian side, with the Chinese representative "expressing his satisfaction with the Iranian official's suggestions and noted that the two countries were in a reconstructing phase of their economies meant to benefit their nations".

So is Beijing really boosting its economic stake in Iran, just throwing up reassuring noises, or keeping all its economic and political options open?
0800 GMT: Interpreting Mousavi. With Mir Hossein Mousavi making a flurry of speeches this week, we've offered a quick analysis of his four key points, "Who Defends the Islamic Republic?"

0500 GMT: No significant shifts on the news front this morning. The Ahmadinejad Government has been relatively quiet. Speaker of Parliament Larijani continues his sniping at the President and his inner circle, but without making a significant move. Opposition figures such as Mousavi and Karroubi, with their statements, are signalling a build-up in activity, but plans have yet to emerge. And on the international front, the discussions on the nuclear front --- notably yesterday's encounter between Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano --- still offer more the style of engagement rather than the substance of breakthrough.

A moment, therefore, to look at some points of view. There's an interchange on Press TV on the latest US Government steps on nuclear weapons which offers an opportunity to hear the thoughts of Tehran University students. There's a readers' discussion, sparked by a Tehran Bureau article on "Azeris and the Green Movement", on issues amongst Iran's ethnic groups and the dynamic with the national challenge to the Government. And there's our own readers' dialogue on the legitimacy of the 2009 election and the politics and "justice" beyond it.

And, for a personal point of view, there are the thoughts of Maryam, expressed in a letter to her father, journalist  Emad Baghi, as he celebrated his 48th birthday in Evin Prison on Sunday.

Iran Exclusive: A Birthday Message to Detained Journalist Baghi from His Daughter

Today is journalist Emaduddin Baghi's 48th birthday. He will spend it in Evin Prison, having been detained for almost four months. Specific charges have not been announced, but his family have been told that Baghi is considered a criminal because, amongst other misdeeds, of an interview with the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri and a book written 21 years ago.

Last Thursday Baghi's family visited him. They reported that "he is still extremely strong but his physical situation is painful because his backache, his respiratory problems, and his heart attacks are problematic for him".

The following is the birthday letter for Baghi from his eldest daughter, Maryam, passed to EA from a valued source. "Mohammad" is her husband:

The Latest from Iran (25 April): Build-Up

My dearest father, salaam.

Greetings to your sublime spirit, greetings to your dignified and love-filled existence, greetings to your strong morale, and greetings to your ailing body. My heart beats strongly for your health, of which you became deprived in a difficult and unsuitable cell in your last period of incarceration.


The Iranian year 1388 ended while you were not with us and today is the 4^th day of the second month of spring, 118 days after your arrest. Until the turning of the year we were so hopeful the doorbell would ring and you would enter. But we heard later that you were a guest at the hospital....

They had accepted your bail and had said that you would come. The Wednesday night before New Year we stared at the prison door until midnight and we were hoping that at the moment of the year turning we would be praying together….But they didn’t let us. It was the same for Mohammad. You stood with us until the middle of the night in front of Evin Prison, and he was not released that night either.

But we continue to rely on the Creator who is aware of all hidden secrets. On the first night of the New Year, when after three weeks we heard your voice, although briefly, on the phone you recited this Hafez couplet: Don’t lose hope as you are not aware of the invisible/Behind curtains there are hidden games, don’t grieve.

This is the fifth spring that for us there is a feel of prison and you are detained. Dear father, I am sorry that because of unwanted self-censorship, I am forced to leave some of the stories of the days without you for another time. Perhaps it will have to wait until you come and I can recite in your ears what has happened and what they have done to us.

This is the third time that imprisonment --– the approach used in undeveloped and Third World countries in order to limit thinkers and as a punishment for speaking –-- has become your share. It was less than a year after your last release that the 12 June elections occurred and our house was emptied from Mohammad’s presence. Not much had passed from his release that the demise of that great  Faqih (the late Ayatollah Montazeri) left cold sweat on our foreheads and it was the seventh day after the demise of that departed dear and on the occasion of Hussein’s Ashura [27 December] that they took you in black mourning shirt from our home.

In the past years that you were imprisoned, I wrote you repeatedly about my grievances about the world and my heavy-heartedness. In those days our fatigue and pain was less understood, and it was not like these days when prison has become more encompassing. We had learned to keep our loneliness inside.I tried to not let mother, sister and others know the great sadness that had formed a home inside my heart, taking its toll.

I thought Mohammad should not be bothered so his pen could be free. They thought the same as well. Even Mina who was younger than everyone and was in elementary school had learned to cover well. Paper and pen was my friend and companion. But during the days Mohammad was not with us, I abandoned covering up in front of you more than anyone else. And you as always kindly asked me to remain hopeful and calm. But in the days you were not with us I again pour my heart out with pen and pencil more than anything else.

On the fortieth day, sixtieth day, seventieth day, eightieth day….I have kept them all. Although I am tired of writing, tired of penning letters that all can read, whether they are letters that because of thousand reasons are archived in my memory or unanswered letters to the case judge as well as the ultimate judge or poems registered in my heart because of separation. But the blood in my veins, keeping faith in your compassionate thoughts, cries for resistance. I have written to God as well and know he is the only one who hears me and I calm down only when I remember his verses. “I know what you know not.” (The Baghare: 30); “It is possible that you dislike a thing which is good for you.” (The Baghare: 216). And following you who read the patience verse – “Seek ((Allah)'s help with patient perseverance and prayer” (The Baghare: 45) –-- we patiently wait and fatigue is not an obstacle to perseverance, since you were always for me and us a beacon of that perseverance.

What strange days Fridays have become. Anticipation is grafted with anticipation: “Moments of Descent”. It is the day of anxiety at sunset. The end of two months of incarceration, the day that we expected the end of this stage of imprisonment for the crime of expression of ideas, was a Friday. The fortieth day that the prison bars had surrounded you was also a Friday; the fortieth of the martyr of freedom in the Karbala of resistance and perseverance and fortieth day of being away from you.

Father, what convergences have these days. When they took away Mohammad in front my eyes at midnight on 30^th of Khordad, it was a Friday. And when God released him it was a Friday morning, the eight day of the eight month of year 1388, on the birthday of the eighth Imam. The last day of 1388 was again a Friday and this time with the promise they had given us about your release we were full of hope. I don’t know when will be our last Friday of anticipation leading to anticipation.

This is the fate of our many years: anxiety, inspection, court, interrogation, and imprisonment. Before, you had experienced 1500 days of prison. This means you were absent during Mina’s childhood, adolescence of Monireh and my youth and even at my marriage. Then years ago Mohammad, who was sent to prison after you, was released after a short while. We had not yet exchanged vows, and you were sentenced to several years of prison. With the promise that you could attend our wedding, we were set to exchange vows. The ceremony began while we were still waiting for you. They had said you had to come with prison clothes with tied hands and guards.

You sent a telephone message through a cellmate: "Tell my wife Fatemeh that I will celebrate the wedding of my daughter Maryam here. I know they don’t want me to be present in their happiness this way.” I cried inside throughout the ceremony and when in the last moments, through the efforts of the then Majlis Speaker and others, they brought you the cries inside of me turned into wailing.

During the ninth government [of 2005-2009] you again tasted prison which was more difficult than before and this year –-- this cursed year –-- it was first Mohammad who was sent to prison and then again you. The tall wall of the narrow cells of Ward 240 again became your host and now they are the only image in front of your eyes for days. I wish I could become a guest in your small cell, cover your sturdy shoulders with kisses, and tell you Happy New Year, Father, and that as always I am proud of you and know that your great spirit is not limited by this small cell, a spirit full of honesty, sincerity, and candour.

Although they had not allowed you even a Quran for 50 days, I know that you recited the verses and God’s light shines over you in the cell in which you are closer to Him. There is nothing in that cell but spirituality. Your sin is that you demand tolerance and patience, peace and friendship, respect for human generosity, the right to life and not imprisoning even opponents. You insist that the standard and criteria for good and bad is conduct; the same God considers a measure and tests and distinguishes humans on that basis. “Save those who believe and do righteous good deeds (Tin: 6 – Inshighagh: 25)

These days perhaps away from our eyes watching, it is perhaps easier for you to mourn your teacher’s departure [referring to Grand Ayatollah Montazeri]. You are not here to witness things that always pained you. I can guess if you were here the angst you would feel for each execution order. Whenever a noose was someone’s fate, even if he was guilty, you would make every effort to replace it with another punishment. If the decision was based on retribution, you would try until the last minute before execution to gain the acceptance of the victim’s family, and if execution was awaiting a guilty person, you would do everything from writing letters to authorities to writing articles.

Your book The Right to Life was written in two volumes but ended like many of your other books, which never received a publication permit or were banned, never reaching readers in Iran although they reached readers in Lebanon and Egypt. How wonderful it would be if they could be read in Iran. How much you wanted the culture of peace and toleration to be institutionalized in Iran.

But what happened? Why is the path to freedom, serenity and peace so rocky, dark and narrow? Don’t be saddened, father. This shall pass too….

Now in this cell perhaps you witness the sorrow of others less. I know that other people’s sorrow made you even more hurt. These days you were not here to comfort us for the banning of newspapers. The number of banned newspapers is so high that we have lost count and this lack of employment apparently is supposed to longer than other times.

Father, if in the past the sound of only few seekers of freedom and rights was heard, now the voices have increased. With the imprisonment of one voice, thousands of voices of freedom rise from everywhere. One of your ward mates was recently freed. He was separated from you by a couple of cells and said that he could hear your voice occasionally. A guard told you not to raise your voice and you said: “We are imprisoned; our voices are not.” Your voice from inside the high cement walls of Evin Prison traverses all of Tehran’s streets and now many other voices accompany yours. Your voice is the beacon of freedom and Justice. Then why do they consider you an enemy?

Now the number of people considered enemy is increasing day by day. Many members of families of martyrs (shahid), people who still have sorrow in their hearts, are unbelievably accused of opposing the ideals of the revolution when in fact they are trying to preserve them. The families of Shahid Behehsti, Shahid Rajai, even Shahid Motahhari, Shahid Qadusi, Shahid Bakeri, Shahid Hemmat, the family of Imam, and many revolutionaries are judged this way.

I do not know what they imagine that at times they accuse you and them of cooperating with outsiders in order to harm a revolution that you yourselves created or they call you a hypocrite. What do they mean? I haven’t seen any discord between pen and heart, inside and outside, between thoughts and expression, words and your behaviour. I do not know why expressions are becoming fearless, accusations sharp and baseless and for threatening and limiting critics. Is it not that the reformists only want reform and are loyal to the revolutionary ideals that are the result of hundred years of struggle to get rid of monarchy and dictatorship? Wasn’t freedom along with republicanism and Islam the main slogans of the Iranian Revolution? Didn’t you shout the slogans of independence, freedom, and Islamic Republic in the despot-ridden streets?

When many of your friends were in prison and Mohammad was there too, you could not sit still. It was as though, if you could not find a solution,you had to be in fetters too. Of course even when you were free, it was as though you were in prison. Neither was there the possibility of work nor the possibility of any activities. More than 20 times they had stopped your work and prevented publications of books and newspapers as well as your teaching and research. In the past year locks were placed on the doors of the Association for Defending the Rights of Prisoners, even though you had stepped aside from its leadership, so that your presence would not lead to the prevention of the work of that association. You were left in the corner of the house with an old computer and a pen from which blood was dripping.

They could not even tolerate this. You were a critic and not an enemy, but they harassed you out of enmity every once in a while. Still you taught us, who are stunned and in awe, the slogan of long live my opponent and gave us hope for peace and serenity. Is it not that God swears to olive, that expression of peace and friendship, and to the hometown of the honest one Mecca?

But Father, your ideal city has become a dream in this country. And that friend of yours Qeysar, who is not longer with us, is no longer with us to write long poems in these bitter times. He said it rightly that “poets created an ideal city that they did not even dream in their dreams”. I have only read about the ideal city in poems and stories but this does not mean that your words should be in sheath because we have been created to seek the truth, express reality, try to rid the world of oppression and cruelty, and push society towards happiness. If this is not the case, then what is the difference between us and four-legged animals?

In the past 118 days I have seen you three times for a short period. Minutes became important and I wish those twenty minutes could be tied to your freedom. Father I have not become used to hearing your dignified voice on the phone. I have not become used to meeting in rooms that in previous years I had also walked in, each time praying to be the last time. I have not become used to your embrace that had to be divided in a short period of time among my sisters, my mother, and I; to Mina’s hands that at the time of saying goodbye would resist loosening their embrace around your neck; to Monireh’s eyes which would follow you until the last second  before the door closed. I have not gotten used to any of this.

Everyone says that our experience with your imprisonments has made everything normal for us but it has never become normal; only our previous injury has become deeper and our wound has become older and now we are more afflicted than ever.

How can I become used to my mother’s face, full of tolerance and patience, giving us an artificial smile? No, Father, I have not become used to the anxiety and heartsickness of my sisters hidden behind the mask of being carefree. I have not even become used to seeing the people who everyday run in the streets like machines in search of a livelihood to fill the empty stomach of their children; children who are being raised with slogans of justice and getting rid of poverty and discrimination and whose parents say nothing because they are afraid of the consequences for themselves and the same children..

Perhaps this is your legacy that has remained everlasting in me since your big sin is that you do not become used to seeing the sorrow of others and abnormal behaviour. I also do not become used to the imprisonment of you and others like you. Every second I do not forget that, behind the tall walls of a prison in the most northwest part of the city and in other prisons, there are people whose only sin is criticism for the sake of reform, the same approach taught to us by prophets and Imams. I say to you, dear Father, who with tied wings but a heart full of faith and steadfast thoughts is sitting in the cage of those who cannot accept criticism, that you are the one truly free of fetters.

Although I wish freedom for you and others, I know that wherever you are Emad’s God is with you. Whenever that great faqih [Montazeri], for whose interview you are now in prison, would see you he would recite from the Joshan Kabir prayer “Emad, who does not have support”. Yes, it is only He who is support for someone who has nothing to rely upon, and I leave that to you whose name is a combination of divine names to the support for existence.

Still every bell that rings, our heart drops, thinking that it might be you. I hope that the curse in the past year stays there and this spring becomes the spring of your freedom from prison. We await you.

In the past when you were in prison one of your friends, Mojtaba Kashani, wrote a poem for you. These days I recite it to myself:

Whoever has Messiah on his essence,
His place is in the midst of a cage.

Wherever there is good-natured chick,
It is afflicted, enslaved and imprisoned.

The fish’s charming dance
Makes the tank its own.

Whoever has goodness in his destiny,
There are days he will hurt
With black voice and crow’s face,
Will fly free to the garden’s middle.

Every canary that crows
Will take himself out of the cage.

As soon as black cloth is worn,
Safe haven is given in the garden

Either crow and freedom
Or canary and being cage-ridden:
Still being in the constriction of the cage
Is better than being bad and ugly in essence.

Being in prison with angel’s luster
Is better than being a raven in a feast.

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 (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 (5 April): Repression

2230 GMT: To close this evening, a photograph of reformist leader Feizollah Arab Sorkhi, temporarily released from prison today, with his family (inset).

2215 GMT: Mousavi's Statement. Back from an evening break to find a summary of Mir Hossein Mousavi's discussion with reformist members of Parliament. We'll have an analysis in the morning but here is the substance....

Mousavi advised Iranian authorities to return to models set up by Ayatollah Khomeini and base policies on “collective wisdom” to remedy the post-election crisis. Had that wisdom prevailed earlier, “we would not have witnessed such bitter incidents.”

Mousavi, as he has done before, criticised both Iranian state media and foreign media. Iran's national broadcaster was “destroying the doctrines of the Imam (Khomeini)”: “In my opinion Seda va Sima [Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting] and the foreign media have been acting like the two edges of a pair of scissors in distorting the luminous face of the Imam.”

NEW Iran Document: Jafar Panahi’s Wife on His Detention & Health
Iran Exclusive: Detained Emad Baghi in Poor Health, House Raided, Relative Beaten
Video: Obama on Iran, Health Care (2 April)
The Latest from Iran (4 April): Renewal

Mousavi also invoked Khomeini to claim the "ability of the country to pass through the crises of the time” was through direct connection of the people with the regime, the government, and the leadership. In Khomeini's time, decisions were made through “rational discussions” and the Imam “provided a basis for the presence of different factions and opinions without barring anyone’s presence”.


1745 GMT: Spin of the Day. Press TV rewrites the critical letter of Ali Larijani (see 1615 GMT) to the President:

"As the Ahmadinejad government and Parliament move to iron out the details of the subsidy reform bill, Speaker Ali Larijani said Monday lawmakers would do their utmost to cooperate with the president, asking him to do the same."

1740 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Kalemeh reports that the release from detention of senior reformist Feizollah Arab-Sorkhi (see 1340 GMT) is for only five days and comes with a bail of $1 million.

1615 GMT: Larijani Responds to Ahmadinejad. We noted earlier today that the President had made an appeal, in a letter to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, for revision of the legislation on subsidy reform and spending.

Larijani has now replied sharply. In his letter, he defends the approach of the Majlis and criticises Ahmadinejad's speeches and request for a public referendum. He accuses the President of intervention and interference in the Majlis' affairs.

Larijani aligns himself with the Supreme Leader's recent advice for more co-operation between the Majlis and the Government. However, he asks Ahmadinejad to answer two questions:

Firstly, what is the Government forecast for the rate of inflation in each of the two scenarios of an extra $20 billion spending (The Parliament-approved bill) and an extra $40 billion"(Ahmadinejad's demand)?

Secondly, what would be the Government's estimate of economic growth in each of the scenarios?

1600 GMT: Nowruz Snub for Ahmadinejad? According to Khabar Online, only one-third of the Majlis' members attended the Norouz meeting held with the President.

Ali Larijani (head of Parliament), Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi Fard (First Deputy Speaker) , Mohammad Reza Bahonar (Second Deputy Speaker), Ahmad Tavakoli (Director of Majlis Research Center), Elyas Naderi, and a number of other well-known MPs are amongst those who did not attend the meeting.

1340 GMT: Arab-Sorkhi Released. EA has learned from a reliable source that Feizollah Arab-Sorkhi, the leading member of the Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution party detained since last summer, has come out of Evin Prison.

1320 GMT: Mahmoud's Nuclear. Oh, good, this should lead to a lot of heated press speculation. The head of Iran's atomic energy programme, Ali Akbar Salehi, has foreshadowed Iran's revelation of a "series of scientific achievements" on National Nuclear Technology Day: "The President [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] will have good news for the nation on Friday."

1245 GMT: Economy Watch. Kalemeh that 150 workers of a textile factory in Ardebil province in northwestern Iran gathered in front of the governor's office of the governor to protest unpaid wages for the last seven months.

The demonstration is politically significant because the factory was launched as part of the Ahmadinejad economy agenda in his re-election campaign. It is reported that the factory has cut its workforce by 85%.

1240 GMT: So Much for Development. Mizan Khabar reports that the Industrial Development and Renovation Organisation has prohibited the use of laptops, external drives, and other hardware by its managers on their foreign trips.

1235 GMT: Nuke Chatter. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has repeated its current line, without any sign of compromise, "Iran is still ready to negotiate a solution to its nuclear stand-off with the West, but only on the condition that foreign powers agree to a fuel swap on Iranian territory. "

1140 GMT: President's Subsidy Appeal. The Iranian Labor News Agency reports another intervention from President Ahmadinejad on the issue of subsidy reform and spending. He has written Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani to claim problems in the implementation of the Parliament-approved proposal and to call on the Majlis to help the Government.

1130 GMT: The Big Repression Question. An EA correspondent gets to the politics of the recent nes of detentions, in particular the contest with former President Hashemi Rafsanjani:

The next big question is whether all the high-profile political prisoners will go back to Evin, given that they were let out for the Nowrouz holidays and we are way past the end of them. In the case of Marashi, Rafsanjani's close associate, it seems that his period of liberty has come to an end.

Hassan Lahuti, Faezeh Hashemi's son and Rafsanjani's grandson, will have to face court proceedings and will therefore be barred from returning to London. The court proceedings of Rafsanjani's children, Mehdi and Faezeh Hashemi, are also going to happen within the near future, according to Rah-e-Sabz.

1035 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The authorities have not only put Hossein Marashi, ally of Hashemi Rafsanjani and a former Vice President, in jail; it appears they have also taken his blog off-line. A cached copy of Marashi's last entry, written on Sunday just before he was returned to prison, seems to be available.

(An EA correspondent reports that he can access Marashi's latest post, but I am still having no luck. In it, Marashi confirms his return to jail and says that he does not see the new period as that of a prisoner of the Islamic Republic but rather as a new duty and experience.)

1030 GMT: Economy Watch. The Central Bank of Iran claims that the annual inflation rate has declined sharply to 10.8% for the year ending 20 March 2010. This compares to 25.4% for the previous 12 months.

0900 GMT: One to Watch. Parleman News reports that delegates of the coalition of reformist parties, the Imam Khomeini Line, are in meetings with Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, Hashemi Rafsanjani, and Mohammad Khatami. Details are promised soon.

0830 GMT: Journalist and filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad, the imprisoned journalist and filmmaker, will appear in court today, offering his family the first chance to see him during his 107-day detention. Nourizad was reportedly not allowed to make a phone call for more than three months because of his refusal to accept interrogators’ demands and conditions. In the only call allowed to his famtily, he assured, “I am standing firm with an iron will.”

0545 GMT: One of the striking features of the debate over Iran's legal and political situation on Race for Iran, the blog of Flynt and Hillary Leverett, is the near-total refusal of regime and Ahmadinejad advocates --- including the Leveretts --- to discuss or even acknowledge the Government's detention and treatment of opponents. (That is a major reason why they focus on the question of the vote count in the Presidential election; it allows them to shut away the less savoury developments of the next 9 1/2 months.)

Occasionally, there will be a repetition of the regime line that the abuses at Kahrizak Prison, including the three deaths, were recognised by the Supreme Leader, but this is followed by the implication that this resolved any difficulties.

So this morning we begin with more news of political prisoners. Yesterday, we reported from an absolutely reliable source on the poor health of detained journalist Emad Baghi and the harassment of his family. In a few minutes, we'll post a disturbing message from the wife of imprisoned film director Jafar Panahi on concerns for his well-being.

In an audio interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, the son of journalist Isa Saharkhiz says his father’s condition has deteriorated since a hunger strike in March. Mehdi Saharkhiz said that his father has lost 20 kilogrammes (45 pounds) over the past few months and that solitary confinement and the harsh prison environment have threatened his health.

Pedestrian reports on a bit of good news with the release of student Sourena Hashemi after more than three months but adds this context: there is no word of the fate of his friend Alireza Firouzi, who was detained at the same time.

One of the reasons for Hashemi's arrest was his appearance in a campaign video for Mehdi Karroubi. All the students involved were expelled or suspended from their universities.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-Q_gyPkw0&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Of course, these are events which are not highlighted by the Iranian state. Yesterday, for example,there was a focus on the declaration of Iran's top nuclear negotiatior, Saeed Jalili, after his trip to Beijing that there were increasingly close relations between Iran and China. (More importantly, no word from Jalili about the substance of the negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme and threatened international sanctions.) Look also for big play of the story that China and India will attend Tehran's conference on nuclear disarmament on 17-18 April.

And many in the Western media can be distracted. A lot of the US press corps is being taken along with the book promotion of a "former Revolutionary Guard turned CIA agent", Reza Kahlili (a pseudonym), a story which could be true but is more than a decade old. Still, that doesn't stand in the way of headlines for Kahlili's headline assertion, "Iran will be a nuclear-armed state in the very near future....The only way to stop that from happening may be to attack Iran now, before it gets a nuclear weapon."

Top prize for scary distraction, however, goes to the  Financial Times which, with almost no support, announces, "US Fears Iran Could Use Powerboat as a Weapon."