The Latest from Iran (12 April): Signals from Mousavi & Rafsanjani?

2120 GMT: Dramatic Gesture of the Day. It looks like it was not enough for the Iranian President to call foreign leaders "retarded" over the nuclear issue. The Islamic Republic News Agency is reporting that Ahmadinejad has claimed the high ground on "terrorism".

Writing United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged the UN to condemn the support of foreign forces in Afghanistan for the Jundullah insurgency's activities in Iran.

"We expect your Excellency....to condemn NATO's support for terrorism in the (Middle East) region and those who have supported this criminal [Jundullah leader Abdolmalek Rigi, captured by Iranian authorities]."

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As for alleged terrorism upon other countries, Ahmadinejad called for an investigation into the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States which he said were "used as a pretext for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq".


2115 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Human rights activists reports that 17 detainees in Orumiyeh prison are on hunger strike.

1420 GMT: Ahmadinejad "Nuclear Weapons & Retarded People" Shocker. In what of course is not at all a diversionary statement (see 0950 GMT), the Iranian President used a domestic tourism industry event to pronounce on the Obama-led nuclear summit thousands of miles away:

World summits being organized these days are intended to humiliate human beings...These foolish people who are in charge are like stupid, retarded people who brandish their swords whenever they face shortcomings, without realizing that the time for this type of thing is over.

1240 GMT: The Clerical Challenge. An interesting interview in Tehran Bureau with Professor Said Arjomand on relations between the state and senior clergy: "Let me answer your question as to whether this challenge to the legitimacy of velāyat-e faqih and its official interpretation is new and serious."

1205 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Concerns are growing over the physical condition of journalist Mehdi Mahmoudian, who helped exposed the Kahrizak Prison abuses. Mahmoudian suffers from lung diseases and prison officials have allegedly not treated him.

Mohsen Safaei Farahani, a senior member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, has been sentenced to five years in prison following appeal.

Safaei Farahani, a former head of the Iranian Football Federation, was arrested on 20 June and charged with “acting against national security”, carrying out propaganda against the system, insulting state officials, and creating public anxiety. He was temporarily released earlier this year on a bail of more than $700,000.

The six-year sentence of Ali Tajernia, another IIPF member, has been reduced to a year in prison following appeal. He was convicted of assembly and collusion to endanger public security and of propaganda against the Islamic Republic.

Student activist Mahdiyeh Golrou has been sentenced to 28 months in prison.

1145 GMT: Economy Watch. Peyke Iran claims that
Zagros Terminal workers and bus drivers in Ahwaz have not been paid for several months.

1140 GMT: The Corruption Case. Looks like Iran's head of judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, is walking a political tightrope. He has insisted that the judiciary "has no fear" in pursuing big cases, i.e., the Fatemi Avenue insurance fraud and alleged involvement of First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, but he has also insisted that those who make public claims for political reasons will be prosecuted.

1130 GMT: Did We Mention Signals? The Green Movement is picking up not only on Rafsanjani's meeting with leading reformist Behzad Nabavi (see 0950 GMT) but also on a Sunday statement in which the former President that it would be best if people again had confidence in the elections.

Rafsanjani again was careful to emphasise his "excellent understanding with the Supreme Leader" --- the battle is with the Ahmadinjead Government --- and said he would again lead Tehran's Friday Prayers when he felt the need for it. Rafsanjani has not made a Friday prayer address since 17 July.

Meanwhile, signals from another political quarter: we have a summary of Mir Hossein Mousavi's meeting with student activists: "Spring is Unstoppable".

1025 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Tahereh Saeedi, the wife of detained film director Jafar Panahi, has told Rooz Online that she has met with Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi but received no answers about Panahi's condition. (See separate entry for Saeedi's recent letter expressing her concern about the harsh treatment of Panahi and the effect on his health.)

Saeedi added that "making a film without a permit and wearing a green scarf at the Montreal World Film Festival" are among the charges against her husband.

1015 GMT: Economy Watch. And this little item might also deserve a think, in light of the connections between economic approach and power in the regime:

Iran has transferred shares in six petrochemical plants and power stations to a social welfare investment organisation of the Islamic Republic's armed forces, state-owned Press TV said on its website.

"The transfer was reported to have been in lieu of the government debt to the Armed Forces Pension Fund," Press TV, an English-language satellite station, said on Friday evening.

The stakes, transferred following a cabinet decision, ranged from 23 percent to 100 percent, it said. The companies included Bushehr Petrochemical Company, Marun Petrochemicals and Pars Petrochemicals.

"In return, SATA (Armed Forces Social Welfare Investment Organization) is obliged to complete and commission the Bushehr petrochemical project within four years," Press TV said.

0950 GMT: A later start today because of the time difference while I'm in the US. Many thanks to EA readers for getting the day out to a start with their discussion on yesterday's LiveBlog.

Another case today, on the 10-month anniversary of the June election, of keeping eyes open for developments inside Iran. Most of the non-Iranian press are now comprehensively distracted by the nuclear issue. Even Nazila Fathi, one of the best reporters for a US paper on Iranian topics, is swept up by the postures of Washington and Tehran on the nuclear issue. Following the Sunday statements of the Supreme Leader and Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, she leads with the Foreign Ministry's spin:

A large majority of Iranian lawmakers, angered over the Obama administration’s new nuclear weapons policy that conspicuously makes Iran and North Korea possible targets, urged their government on Sunday to formally complain to the United Nations in a petition that called the United States a warmonger and threat to world peace.

Unsurprisingly, the nuclear fuss is playing into the hands of those who would prefer attention anywhere except the internal situation in Iran: Race for Iran, the website supporting the legitimacy of the Ahmadinejad Government, is already proclaiming, "Iran Reacts to Becoming a US Nuclear Target".

So where else might one look for news? Well, of course, there's the far-from-minor skirmish over corruption, with First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi the target of charges by key MPs. There's the ongoing battle over the subsidy and spending plans. There is the matter of hundreds of political prisoners. And there is this:

Mohammad Hashemi [the brother of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani] confirmed reports about a meeting between senior reformist Behzad Nabavi and Hashemi Rafsanjani in the holiday resort of Kish Island.

No further information on the discussion, as many were distracted by Hashemi's denial that Rafsanjani had met the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, to discuss whether Rafsanjani's son, Mehdi Hashemi, must return from London, possibily to face charges.

Consider, however, that Rafsanjani's discussion with Nabavi, who is still out on bail after the imposition of a long prison sentence, follows the former President's meeting last week with leading reformist MPs. And spare a moment, from all the nuclear chaff, to consider, "What is the signal?"

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.”

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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."

The Latest from Iran (1 April): Out Like a Lamb?

1905 GMT: Head of Judiciary Gets Told Off in Qom. Sadegh Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, visited leading clerics in Qom today, including Ayatollahs Safi Golpaygani, Makarem Shirazi, and Shabiri Zanjani, and he had a bit of a tough time.

Safi Golpaygani declared that even one day's delay in releasing detainees is not acceptable in Islam. He then asserted:

If external forces interfere in the judiciary and influence the judges and they fail to follow the truth in their sentencing, the independence of the judiciary will be compromised....All sentencing and imprisonments should follow the basic laws of Islam

1805 GMT: Nowruz Visits (cont.). Mehdi Karroubi has visited the family of detained film director Jafar Panahi.

1800 GMT: Putting the Supreme Leader to a Referendum? Payvand has an even stronger interpretation of Ayatollah Mousavi Tabrizi's statement (see 1520 GMT) that Islamic rule is subject to the will of the people:

If the Imam were alive today and some people were to tell him that due to post-Revolution generational developments in society, the majority are probably no longer in favour of "Velayat Faghih" and we want to gauge the support of people at this time, the Imam would have agreed with a referendum.

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The Latest from Iran (31 March): Nuclear Chatter & Political Prisoners

1745 GMT: The Nuclear Line. Still no  significant word out of China over today's meetings with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, but Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has put out a holding statement. According to Press TV, Mottaki, speaking in Algeria, said Tehran is still ready to swap its low enriched uranium for higher enriched fuel under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).


However, Mottaki did not make clear --- at least in the Press TV report --- if "within the framework of its proposed initiatives" had to be a swap inside Iran or could be in an outside country.

1540 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. RAHANA reports that Ehsan Abdeh-Tabrizi, the son of Hossein Abdeh-Tabrizi, former secretary-general of Tehran Stock Exchange and director of the banned newspaper Sarmayeh, has been detained for the last three months with no news about his status or possible charges.

Ehsan Abdeh-Tabrizi, is a Ph.D. student in Political Science at Durham University in Britain, had returned to Iran to visit his family, but his passport was confiscated upon his arrival at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport and he was arrested a few days later.

1530 GMT: Nowruz Visits (cont.). Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard have visited the family of Shiva Nazar Ahari, the journalist and human rights activist detained since December.

1520 GMT: Clerical Interventions. Ayatollah Mousavi Tabrizi has declared that Islam should not be installed with force and dictatorship. Today (12 Farvardin) should be a day of all Iranians and all ethnic and religious minorities.

Hojatoleslam Rasul Montajabnia, the Vice President of the reformist Etemade Melli party, says that a leadership without a majority vote cannot survive. He added that the late Ayatollah Khomeini never promoted a rulership minus the people.

1245 GMT: Discussing Iran. Since yesterday afternoon, I have been in a conversation with the readers of the Race for Iran blog over political and legal issues, from the June election to protests to the place of "rights" in the crisis. After clearing away the white noise of those who post in denunciation rather than discussion, there are some interesting exchanges with those who take the position that the Ahmadinejad Government is legitimate and should be engaged by the Obama Administration.

1120 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Reporters Without Borders has issued a statement:

The lives of many journalists are now in danger. Emadoldin Baghi, Badrolssadat Mofidi, Mehdi Mahmudian and Mohammad Sadegh Kabovand are seriously ill. We call for their unconditional and definitive release. We appeal to the Iranian authorities to act so that these lives are no longer at risk. We will hold them responsible for any misfortune.

1030 GMT: Sanctions 2+2=?. So, on the one hand, Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili is in China for talks (see 0500 GMT) and, on the other, Reuters is spinning Beijing's acceptance of a path to tougher sanctions:

China has agreed to serious negotiations with Western powers about imposing new sanctions on Iran and President Hu Jintao will attend a multi-nation summit on nuclear security in Washington this month, officials said....The agreement to discuss sanctions marked a significant shift by China after months of fending off Western nations' demands for concerted pressure on Tehran.

Personally, I think it's too early to make a call on China's next steps. For the moment, it's all messages to all people, as in this from the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesman (paraded hopefully by Iran's state media): "On the Iranian nuclear issue, China will continue to endeavor toward a peaceful resolution."

0640 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Mohsen Hashemi, the son of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, has denied allegations that he has a villa in Switzerland.

0635 GMT: Nowruz Visits. Former Deputy Minister of Interior Mostafa Tajzadeh, still on his temporary release from Evin Prison, and his family paid a visit to former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, who was also a long-time post-election detainee, and his family.


0630 GMT: Rah-e-Sabz prints the collage of journalist Azar Mansouri, made with cardboard and toothpaste while she was detained in Evin Prison.

0615 GMT: And The Reformists Speak. The pro-Larijani Khabar Online also, for the second time in recent weeks, discussed politics with reformist Shahrbanou Amani. Amani assserted that "hardliners" should create favourable conditions for political competition, because free parties are necessary for a developed society. Amanid added that reformists should regrtoup and take advantage from the promises of the "hardliners", demanding that they be fulfilled.

0555 GMT: The Conservative Challenge. Speaking to Khabar Online, conservative activist Mojtaba Shakeri Mojtaba Shakeri has declared that "fundamentalists" have to prove they are capable of ruling Iran.

0545 GMT: The Nuclear Issue. While we await news from China, Rah-e-Sabz offers an overview of the current situation on Iran's nuclear progamme and international manoeuvres over uranium enrichment and sanctions.



0515 GMT: Media Nuclear Fever. Yet another example of a prominent newspaper losing perspective on the Iranian nuclear issue....

The Guardian of London, framing an interview with the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammad El Baradei, headlines, "Cautious reports on Tehran nuclear programme 'were framed to avoid war'".

Dramatic stuff. Only problem? Nowhere in the article does an El Baradei quote indicate that he altered reports for political reasons. Here's what he actually says:

We are a technical organisation totally embedded in a political setting and we have to be aware of the background and political implications of our work....

"When I was working at the agency we would literally go through 30 drafts or so of each report before it was ready, because I knew every word could be used politically and in a very subjective way. Every word was weighed to make sure that it was immune from being abused, and I always wanted to make sure that we were not overstating or understating, but rather just stating the facts....

I think the tone was set by me, that's true. But all the facts were in every report, unvarnished.

0505 GMT: The Subsidy Fight. Member of Parliament Mohammad Kosari has repeated his compromise plan to resolve the dispute between the Majlis and the President over subsidy cuts and spending. Invoking the Supreme Leader's recent remarks "asking the government to adhere to law and the Majlis to help the administration", Kosari has suggested an extra $30 billion for Ahmadinejad, the halfway point between the $20 billion authorised by the Parliament and the $40 billion sought by the President.

0500 GMT: Completing the saying, the title today is a bookend to that of 1 March, "In Like a Lion?", but it seems appropriate as we come to the end of the Nowruz holiday. We'll be watching to see if the quiet phase in Iranian politics continues or if there is a resumption of manoeuvres, amongst the opposition, the Rafsanjani camp, and conservative challengers to the Government.

For the moment, however, the nuclear issue still holds the headlines. In what looks to be a significant (and quickly-planned) trip, Saeed Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, is in China today. Take your pick of speculations on the motive: the Iranians are approaching Beijing with a request to hold off on sanctions and/or to put forth a deal for uranium enrichment, the Chinese have summoned a representative from Tehran to put out a message. No hint in Iranian state media yet of developments.