The Latest from Iran (19 April): Stay Firm, Spread the Word

2045 GMT: Who's "Mohareb"? Ayatollah Dastgheib has repeated his denunciation of the Government's labelling of dissenters as "mohareb" (warriors against God), a charge which carries the death penalty: “The pious would never make baseless accusations.”

Dastgheib also implied that the real "mohareb" are those who have used violence against protesters: “Mohareb is a person who violates people’s right by pulling a gun, a knife or a weapon on them.”

1945 GMT: We've posted the English text of the speech Mohammad Khatami would have given at this week's disarmament conference in Hiroshima, Japan. Khatami was pressured by Iranian authorities not to leave the country.

NEW Iran Document: The Speech Khatami Would Have Given at Japan Disarmament Conference
NEW Iran Document: “Our Sons’ And Daughters’ Agony” (Sahabi)
Iran Document: The Supreme Leader on Nuclear Weapons (17 April)
Iran Analysis: And The Nuclear Sideshow Goes On…And On…And On
The Latest from Iran (18 April): Strike A Pose

1900 GMT: Nuke Talk. Back from extended break to find today's Iran Government uranium talking points in my Inbox.

It's Kazem Jalali of Parliament's National Security Commission putting out the line that the UN-hosted review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), held every five years, will follow up Iran's good work this weekend with its disarmament summit.

Jalali said of the May gathering, "Two fronts will battle out in New York: a US-led one will seek to limit non-nuclear states which are hoping to develop peaceful nuclear technology; the second front will consist of countries with no nuclear bombs that seek global nuclear disarmament."


1255 GMT: No More "Legal" Reformists? Iranian state media are repeating the news, which we reported a few days ago, that Iran's major reformist political parties, the Islamic Iran Participation Front and the Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution, have been banned.

The leading reformist newspaper Bahar, which only recently resumed publication, has again been suspended by Iranian authorities.

An EA correspondent notes concisely, "Seems like it's a case of repression, and more repression, considering the definitive sentences slapped on [reformist politicians] Mostafa Tajzadeh and Mohsen Mirdamadi."

1245 GMT: On the theme of "Stay Firm", we've posted a letter from veteran Iran politician Ezzatollah Sahabi, "Our Sons' and Daughters' Agony".

1050 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist and human rights activist Davood Khodakarami has been arrested in Zanjan, while journalist Rahim Gholami was imprisoned in Ardebil last week.

According to EA colleagues who are maintaining a list of  those imprisoned or on heavy bail but under the threat of re-arrest, the total is now 78 journalists. We hope to post the updated list soon.

1045 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. So did Hashemi Rafsanjani meet with the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, to discuss the possible criminal prosecution of Rafsanjani's son, Mehdi Hashemi?

The judiciary have strongly denied the claim, which Khabar Online says is being spread by Elyas Naderan, the "conservative" MP who is a sharp critic of the Ahmadinejad Government.

At the same time, pro-Ahmadinejad legislator Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash has insisted that Mehdi Hashemi and Rafsanjani's daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, must be prosecuted for "acting against the basis" of the Iranian system.

1040 GMT: Staying Firm. Seyed Hadi Khamenei, the brother of the Supreme Leader, has said that, despite Government pressures and restrictions, the demands of the Iranian people are only increasing.

1030 GMT: Nuclear Shocker --- Iran Proclaims, Media Jumps. Today's ritual declaration in state media of Tehran's nuclear advance comes from Ahmadinejad advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi: "The president has confirmed the designated location of a new nuclear site and on his order the building process has begun."

My reaction is that the 25th or 35th or 235th time the same announcement of new sites --- whether it is 1, 10, or 20 --- is made, it ceases to become news and moves into the category of chanting. Reuters, however, is undeterred from announcing for the 25th or 35th or 235th time, "[This is] part of a big expansion of its nuclear program which has contributed to fears in the West it aims to build a bomb."

1025 GMT: Mystery Aide Contest. Khabar Online reports that a group of clergy who serve in the Parliament will meet the Supreme Leader on Monday to discuss Government-Parliament issues, raising criticism of a close ally of Ahmadinejad for "anti-cultural" moves.

So to whom is Khabar Online, the site linked to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, referring?

1020 GMT: Subsidy Battle. The Government may have won an apparent victory with Parliamentary concessions allowing greater spending from subsidy cuts, but the criticism continues.

Khabar Online features the commentary of Professor Hassan Sobhani, who maintains that the Ahmadinejad subsidy cuts will not raise people's purchasing power but reduce it.

1000 GMT: Following Mir Hossein Mousavi's statement to reformist students calling for all in opposition to be "new media" --- for every blog closed, let 100 spring up --- Mehdi Karroubi, in a meeting with activists and families of political prisoners, has declared:

Has our government become so desperate and weak that even the funeral ceremonies of people, either political or non-political, face problems?....Why are you trying to make our strong and powerful system seem weak in the minds of nations and governments? ....Unfortunately it seems like instead of trying to attract most and repulse least, we are trying to achieve the most repulsion and the least attraction.

The government prefer their own views and methods of ruling to the strict rulings of Islam. People have become more cautious and their movement is growing. Stay firm on your legitimate and legal demands and insist on them.

The Latest from Iran (18 April): Strike A Pose

2030 GMT: A Swap --- But Inside or Outside Iran? Amidst all the posturing at disarmament summits, here's the key Iranian statement on talks:

Iran plans to hold talks with all members of the United Nations Security Council over a nuclear fuel swap deal, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said.

"We plan to hold direct talks on nuclear swap with 14 member states of the UN Security Council and indirect talks with the 15th member [the United States]," Mottaki told reporters in a Sunday press conference in Tehran.

And here's the question which, after weeks, still remains: when Iran refers to a willingness for discussions, does that include consideration of the exchange of uranium stock outside the country?

2025 GMT: Irony Alert (Because Hypocrisy is a Not-Very-Nice Word). Press TV reports with a straight face and no reference to recent pronouncement of Iranian authorities on the fighting of "soft war":

Schools in the US State of Pennsylvania have used lent-out laptop computers with spy cameras and "buggy" software to "monitor' students, reports say.

US investigators are probing spying cases of the Lower Merion School District in Pennsylvanian, where school officials have been implicated in receiving unauthorized images of students that borrowed "doctored" laptops from their schools, US media reported on Saturday.

2015 GMT: Picture of Day. It comes from the most recent meeting of women's activists in the Green Movement.

NEW Iran Document: The Supreme Leader on Nuclear Weapons (17 April)
NEW Iran Analysis: And The Nuclear Sideshow Goes On…And On…And On
Iran: Former Tehran Chancellor Maleki on Detention & Green Movement’s “Forgotten Children”
The Latest from Iran (17 April): Remember

2000 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Iranian Students News Agency reports that three prominent reformists --- Mohsen Mirdamadi, head of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, former Deputy Minister of Interior Mostafa Tajzadeh, and Davoud Soleimani have been found guilty of harming national security and propaganda against the regime. Each has been sentenced to six years in jail and barred from involvement in politics or journalism for 10 years.



1730 GMT: Iran's Women Are Needed. Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi, has declared that Iran's "unfinished democracy project" must be fulfilled through the significant presence of women in political movements.

1725 GMT: Attacking the Clerics. A group of plainclothes men have again attacked the offices of Ayatollah Ali Mohammad Dastgheib in Shiraz, vandalising the site by spraying paint.

In December, pro-regime crowds laid siege to the offices in a Shiraz mosque, temporarily forcing Dastgheib, a vocal critic of the Government, and his staff to leave.

1700 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Khabar Online repeats the claim, which we heard a few days ago, that Hashemi Rafsanjani has met judiciary head Sadegh Larijani to discuss the criminal case against Rafsanjani's son, Mehdi Hashemi.

1615 GMT: Laying Down the Law. The head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, has issued a wide-ranging statement. Like his brother, he has seized the nuclear line of criticising the US and "West" for lies.

At the same time, Larijani tried to position himself as the guardian of the law, emphasising his will to persecute corruption. And he took time to warn people of wearing inappropriate outfits.

1515 GMT: The Subsidy Battle. Is the economic feud between Parliament and the President over?

Yes. And No.

Rah-e-Sabz repeats the news that Parliament, in a secret meeting, has accepted the Government's demands for extra revenues from subsidy cuts.

Gholam-Reza Mesbahi Moghaddam, the Majlis Economic Committee member who was critical of Ahmadinejad, said laws were not violated in the agreement. However, he continued to blame the President for insulting MPs as "economic nuts", declaring to Ahmadinejad, "I was the teacher of your ministers and advisors."

1220 GMT: More on the Mousavi Statement. Speaking to the student committee of the reformist Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution, Mousavi called on supporters of the Green Movement to find “ways to expand the media and spread information". They should counter the attacks on the freedom of the press by replacing every banned weblog with “tens of weblogs for defending the people’s rights”.

Declaring that the Green Movement is “limitless” and can “open numerous new windows” for every blocked “opening”, Mousavi said that the opposition should “include every one of the 70 million people of the country, even our opponents".

1130 GMT: Mir Hossein Mousavi has issued a new statement reiterating his long-declared theme, "We All Must Be Media". We will be looking for an English translation.

1120 GMT: Parliamentary Sniping. Gholam-Reza Mesbahi-Moghaddam, who has been a leading actor in the battle with the President over subsidy and spending proposals, has attacked on a new front. He has derided Ahmadinejad's suggestion of paying $1000 to parents for every new child. Mesbahi-Moghaddam said, "[The] president is not the system's strategist. Rather he [is tasked] to implement laws and macroeconomic policies."

1110 GMT: The "Realist" Solution. Kayhan Barzegar of Harvard University captures the spirit of the movement in Washington amongst some Government officials and analysts for a grand settlement with Iran not only on the nuclear programme but on regional issues:

Obama's attempts to convince actors like Russia, China, or Saudi Arabia to impose new sanctions or political pressure are all short-term solutions and will not change Iran's nuclear policy. The United States needs to find a sustainable solution in dealing with Iran, based on a genuine change that can resolve existing strategic issues and in which zero-sum game solutions are finally put to bed.

What is striking is not Barzegar's specific argument but the fact that it has been picked up and featured in Tehran by Iran Review.

1105 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist and filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for "spreading propaganda" and insulting the country's leaders.

Nourizad was arrested in November after writing the Supreme Leader, urging him to apologize to the nation for the post-election suppression of dissent.

(Given my grumpiness about the "Western" media this morning, credit to the Associated Press for picking up and disseminating the news.)

1055 GMT: The Corruption Story. Arshama3's Blog has an invaluable summary, in German, of the dramatic claims in the Iranian press of the "Fatemi Street" insurance fraud, linking the accused to First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi.

1045 GMT: Soft Power Corner. Want a useful alternative to all the nuclear news? Try this from Reuters' Golnar Motevalli:

The television in the corner of the port-a-cabin reception room where Ali Tavakoli Khomeini receives guests outside the Afghan city of Herat is tuned to Iran's state 24-hour news channel.

Large maps of Iran and Afghanistan adorn the walls, and a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hangs alongside one of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. An Afghan cook arranges a spread of Persian cuisine.

While the United States will soon have 100,000 troops in Afghanistan waging war against the Taliban, Iran is quietly exerting influence on its neighbor in a subtler way: through bricks and mortar, railways and road.

Tavakoli, an Iranian engineer, has built some 400 km (250 miles) of highway and railroad in western Afghanistan over the last six years, paving the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road.

His firm is building a dam in rural Herat, and has just finished laying foundations for a railway that could one day link south and east Asia to the Middle East and Europe, reviving some of the most important ancient overland trade routes in the world.

1030 GMT: We're Great, You Suck. Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani scales the nuclear high ground (can't let his rival Mr. Ahmadinejad steal all the applause, can he?) with a statement to the Majlis:

The [Washington] conference not only eluded the issue of disarmament but audaciously prescribed the use of atomic weapons. In fact, all the nuclear conference in the US did was weaken the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty]. The use of other weapons of mass destruction was permitted under the pretext of concerns about 'nuclear terrorism'."

1015 GMT: OK, as we need after an extended break to catch up with news inside Iran, let's get the chest-puffing diversions out of the way.

We've got a special analysis on the latest sideshow of Tehran's disarmament conference complemented by US Government spin, put out through The New York Times, on the threat of Iran's nuclear programme. And this morning, the poses just keep a-comin':

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday Iran had the military might to deter attacks, his comments coming as Western pressure mounts on the Islamic state to dispel fears it is developing nuclear arms.

Speaking at a military parade that marked Iran's armed forces' day, Ahmadinejad said the "unrivalled" power of Iranian military secured stability in the Middle East....

"Iran's armed forces are so strong today that the enemies will not even think about violating our territorial integrity," Ahmadinejad said in a low-key speech at the parade.

Low-key in comparison to his Saturday opening salvo at the Tehran disarmament conference, I guess --- let Iran lead the global way for an end to nuclear weapons, chuck the US out of the International Atomic Energy Agency --- but obviously not low-key enough to avoid being splashed as Breaking News by Reuters.

The Latest from Iran (14 April): Ahmadinejad's Struggle

1720 GMT: Ahmadinjead Brings Culture to the World; Students Aren't Sure. The President's adivsor, Somreh Hashemin, has told university students that "world discourse" has changed because of Ahmadinejad's statements --- therefore it now has culture, science, and ethics.

Students at Allameh Tabatabei University may not have been convinced, however, as both reports and video indicate:

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

Iran’s Nukes: Can Tehran and the US Make A Deal?
The Latest from Iran (14 April): Ahmadinejad’s Struggle

1715 GMT: Out of Jail and On-Line. Former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, jailed for several months after the election and selected for a high-profile "confession" in August, has resumed blogging.


1710 GMT: Economy Watch. MP Alireza Mahjoub has predicted a continuation of the poor situation, with 40% inflation, poverty, and economic "suffocation".

1700 GMT: Absence or Protest? Khabar Online reports that one-third of MPs were missing from the Majlis today.

1555 GMT: The Corruption Case. MP Elyas Naderan, the leading Parliamentary critic of First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, has sarcastically thanked the Government for accusing him of making false charges. Naderan assured that he will continue to press the corruption case.

1545 GMT: The Row Over the 15 June Demonstration. Morteza Tamaddon, the Governor of Tehran Province, may have denied his reported statement that the large 15 June protests were authorised. Kalemeh, the website of Mir Hossein Mousavi, however, is persisting with the claim. The website documents Tamaddon's apparent approval of 15 June rally.

1525 GMT: The "Other" Khamenei. Continuing his show of support for reformist leaders, Seyed Hadi Khamenei, the brother of the Supreme Leader, has visited Mohsen Mirdamadi, the chairman of the Islamic Iran Participation Front. Mirdamadi is on temporary release from his prison sentence.

1510 GMT: But China Eases the Pressure? And while there is the ongoing public show over Beijing's will-it-won't-it join international sanctions, this news --- coming as other oil firms stop imports to Iran --- is striking:

State-run Chinaoil has sold two gasoline cargoes for April delivery to Iran, industry sources said on Wednesday, stepping into a void left by fuel suppliers halting shipments under threat of U.S. sanctions....

While others back out, Chinaoil has sold a total of about 600,000 barrels worth around $55 million to the Islamic Republic.

The cargoes were Chinaoil’s first direct sales to Iran since at least January 2009, according to Reuters data. Chinese firms have previously sold through intermediaries, traders said.

1445 GMT: Is Third-Party Enrichment Back On? Reading President Ahmadinejad's bluster in recent days, we asked (1040 GMT), "Is the President actually holding the door open for another push at a deal on uranium enrichment?"

Well, have a look at Iranian state media's presentation of the latest words from the head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, in an interview with a Russian newspaper:

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says Tehran would accept a nuclear fuel swap, should the West manage to win back its trust.

The US-proposed UN-backed deal requires Iran to send most of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing and conversion into fuel rods for Tehran's research reactor....

Salehi said that Iran had agreed to the IAEA-backed proposal [for third once it was proffered but needed guarantees from the West that it would deliver the fuel in a timely manner — a demand shrugged off by the West.

"We did not refuse. We agreed at once and we agree now. The only problem is guarantees. They suggested that we hand over a thousand pounds of our 3.5% low-enriched uranium. And wait until the entire amount of uranium has been enriched to a level of 20%," he said. 'Suppose we have given all our uranium. But where is the assurance [that we receive the fuel in a timely manner]?"

1430 GMT: The German Squeeze. The German carmaker Daimler has announced that it will
almost entirely cease business in Iran.

Daimler's chief executive Dieter Zetsche  told shareholders, The policies of the current Iranian leadership have compelled us to put our business relationship with that country on a new footing. In general, our business activities with Iran will now be limited to meeting our existing contractual obligations and continuing our cooperation with established customers."

Daimler will relinquish its 30 percent stake in Iranian Diesel Engine
Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Iranian Khodro Diesel.

The move is further testimony that behind the public rhetoric of leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for state-based sanctions on Iran, the real pressure is coming from the disinvestment of private companies. Daimler's move following the pullout from Iran of two of Germany's largest insurance companies.

1110 GMT: And, cutting through the Presidential rhetoric and posturing, we've posted an analysis by Julien Mercille on the possibility of a US-Iran deal on enriched uranium for Tehran's medical research reactor.

1040 GMT: Blowing Smoke. How many dramatic foreign policy pronouncements do we get to enjoy from President Ahmadinejad this week?

Following his assessment of foreign leaders as "retarded" and his letter to the United Nations implying that the US Government set up 9-11 for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the President has said that "[US President Barack] Obama cannot do anything in Palestine, they won't let him do anything and he has no chance" and there is no possibility of success in Iraq and Afghanistan: "What can he do in Iraq? Nothing. And Afghanistan is too complicated."

So Ahmadinejad concludes, "Mr. Obama has only one chance and that is Iran. This is not an emotional comment, it's scientific."

Which only leaves the question, success with Iran through what? Is the President actually holding the door open for another push at a deal on uranium enrichment?

1000 GMT: The 15 June March. Still some confusion over whether Iranian authorities --- specifically, Morteza Tamaddon, the Governor of Tehran Province --- said they had authorised the mass demonstration three days after the election.

The Green Voice of Freedom repeated the claim of Parleman News, itself taken from an alleged Tamaddon interview with a magazine, that the march "was actually held with legal authorisation". It appears, however, that GVF has not noted Tamaddon's subsequent denial, which we reported yesterday, of the supposed statement. His line remains that the protest, which brought hundreds of thousands and possibly millions on the streets, was illegal.

0245 GMT. Rafsanjani Watch. Make of this what you will: Hashemi Rafsanjani has made a well-publicised visit this week to Seyed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the late Ayatollah Khomeini.

Hassan Khomeini has been under sustained pressure from the Government throughout the post-election crisis over his apparent support for opposition demands,

0240 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Ashura protester Hossein Vahed has received a two-year prison sentence.

0230 GMT: Economy Watch. Khabar Online reports that Iran has "lost" $2 billion on oil fields.

0215 GMT: You Can't Keep A President Down (Or Can't You?).

The President-Parliament battle over economic plans escalates. Ahmadinejad has insisted that all changes will be implemented this year.

Key legislators and Ahmadinejad critics are not being so positive, Ahmad Tavakoli has declared that an agreement between two or three MPs and the President doesn't mean an agreement between the Majlis and the Government. That line is also taken by Elyas Naderan.

How serious is the dispute? Vice President Fatemeh Badaghi has threatened MPs by asserting that immunity for their actions exists only in Parliament.