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?

Iran Document: Mousavi on the Green Movement's Strategy and Goals (22 April)

Khordaad 88 translates the Rah-e-Sabz report of Mir Hossein Mousavi's meeting with the National Religious Front on Thursday:

In a meeting...with a group of religious-nationalist activists, Mousavi said: “To achieve our national interests and a desired society, there is no solution other than insisting on Green Movement. This is a process that needs patience, perseverance and call for great endurance against the hardships and challenges ahead.”

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

Mousavi expressed that the Green Movement sets and follows up on goals that are originated in the values and demands of the Iranian people. He said: “We must create a coherent civil society using all the available resources in the country.” He then expressed how necessary it is to create “people’s green institutions” in different affairs of the country to push forward for gradual creation of the desired civil society. He added: “What happened in the 25th of Khordaad 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.”


He further insisted on the “necessity to live with political goals and value” and said: “Our task is challenging, and the road ahead of the Green Movement is long and full of twists and turns. Although it is possible that the Green Movement would reach its goals much earlier than what many expect, however, we must be patience and maintain our perseverance. To continue the Green Movement, we must live with the Green Movement.”

Being patience, and maintain perseverance is costly

In this meeting Mousavi said: “Of course it is costly to remain patience and maintain perseverance on the goals of the Green Movement. There is no escaping that. Hardships, challenges, constrain, pressures, clampdown, and prisons are there, but we have no way other than going through these costs and hardships.” He alluded to discussions on how parties tend to orient themselves to gain power and added: “That is not a flaw for parties, but in the green movement the goal of acquiring power is only something on the side relative to the main goals of the Green Movement. The purpose of the Green Movement is to revolutionize the society to achieve a civil society that Iranians deserve. This approach that insists on sidelining the acquiring of power can bring us calm. If we can somehow expand this view in the society, it will be very beneficial and affective for us.”

Change is brought about through new Ideas

Mousavi insisted that “raising awareness is to be a very important priority” and said: “Change would be possible through birth of new ideas. In our case, it seems that the idea has been born already. The more we expand it, the more we can expand the range and possibilities of the Green Movement.” He added: “More than ever, we must try to raise awareness among the citizens living in the ‘gray area’ who neither accompany the Green Movement nor advocate the authorities. We must tell them about the ‘lucid area’, and attract them to the Green Movement.” He further added: “Those who hold the power are most wary about the increase in awareness. In fact, they are so worried that they are react extremely harshly to raising awareness on the number of martyrs in the movement, the realities of what happened in the clampdowns, clarifications of the movement goal, or publishing news of inhumane behaviour towards the detainees."

Press and media are critical issues for us

Mousavi said: “Press and media are critical issues for the movement but unfortunately, for different reasons, we lagging behind on these fronts [Press, media, and raising awareness in the society]. He went on: “We are still not fully utilizing the Internet and the Cyberspace.”

In another part of his talks, he emphasized: “We must all be together, stand by each other. We must agree on some of the minimums, and choose aims and slogans that are capable putting the most of together. Just as all dissident citizens have realized the Green color as a minimum common point, we must find minimum requirements that we can all share and push together to expand the Green Movement.”

We are concerned with National Interests

In this meeting Mousavi said: “It must be clear to all that we are only concerned about national interests. There is not self interest here. We do not want to stand behind oppression and the oppressor. We stand behind the oppressed. I must add though that the Green Movement is in favour of talks and negotiating to settle somewhere. We must all participate in a dialogue, put our thoughts together with all the groups who care about Iran and follow up on our national interests so that we can continue on this long and challenging path ahead.”

Advocates of Compassionate Religion

He emphasized that “we are advocates of a compassionate reading of religion, a reading that necessitates the maximal tolerance for differences of opinion.” He added: “Promoting such compassionate readings is a difficult task, but the Green Movement can feel it weigh on its shoulders. I feel a danger lurking in how our new generations are getting away from religion, and religious values. Harsh reactions, violence, clampdowns under the name of Islamic Governance could possibly push away many of the youth from any religion.”

Mousavi also alluded to recent changes and the point that “instead of sticking to one way of governance, we must be more flexible [to switch to other forms that would meet our needs better.]” He explained: “Modern artists have two approaches. A group of them put what they have seen or imagined into the painting. The other group, start without any vision of what the final piece would look like, and gradually give birth to images that create the painting. What is going on in the Green Movement could be characterised as the latter.”

The Latest from Iran (23 April): Rounding Up the News

2000 GMT: Consolation and Persistence. Mehdi Karroubi has visited Mostafa Tajzadeh, the former Deputy Minister of Interior, at his home. Tajzadeh, formally sentenced to six years in prison last week, had been in intensive care because of serious health issues.

1800 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Green Voice of Freedom carries a summary from human rights activists of prison sentences, including death penalties, for 27 detainees.

NEW Iran’s Nuclear Programme: The US Strategy
Iran Document: Detained Nourizad’s Letter to Khamenei “We Have Lost Our People”
Iran Document: Ayatollah Sane’i “Some Want Islam For Their Own Agendas”
The Latest from Iran (22 April): This Isn’t Over

On the other side of the watch, journalist and human rights activist Davoud Khokarami was released on Monday after two days of detention.


Statement of the Day

Mir Hossein Mousavi has offered another statement in a meeting with the National-Religious Front.

Mousavi said that the only way for realising national interests an ideal society was through a Green Movement that "pursues goals which are a reflection of the values, will and demands of the Iranian people”. He asserted, “We should pursue the creation of an interlinked civil society through the use of all the available resources in the country.”

Recalling the rise of the protest movement within hours of the Presidential election, Mousavi said, “The events that took place last year in Tehran on 15 June and the compassionate and sympathetic presence of the people along with tolerance, patience and cooperation and the protesters’ civil action set an example and standard for an ideal society”.

Framing the political challenge as a long-term process, Mousavi said, "The task ahead is immense and the path of the Green Movement is a lengthy one with many twists and turns; even if the Movement succeeds in its goals sooner than what many people expect, we must have patience and perseverance and to live with the Movement in order for it to persist.”

He concluded, “It should become apparent for everyone that we are seeking our national interests; this is not a question of selfishness. We do not want to stand beside tyranny and the tyrant. We stand by the oppressed.”

Earthquake Watch

The regime's statement of the day comes from Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of the Guardian Council at Tehran Friday Prayers. He has repeated the certainty, offered at last week's service by Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, that immorality such as provocative dress and adultery causes natural disasters: "We can avoid earthquakes if the faithful and devoted people pray to God."

Not sure everyone is taking this as seriously as they should, however. A "Boobquake" group has been established on Facebook to "prove boobs don't cause earthquakes"

Denial of Day

Members of Mehdi Karroubi's camp have dismissed rumours that the cleric is in ill health.

Warning the Reformists

Mohammad Abbaszadeh Meshkini, the Secretary General of Parliament's Article 10 Commission, has said that if the Mojahedin of Islamic. Revolution party and the Islamic Iran Participation Front continue their activities, "they will get trouble".

Iranian authorities have denied, however, that there are restrictions on the overseas travel of former President Mohammad Khatami. Last week Khatami cancelled an appearance at a disarmament conference in Japan, claiming he was pressured not to fly.

The Nuclear Front

Diplomats say Iran has agreed to more extensive monitoring of its nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

A Ringing Endorsement. As President Ahmadinejad visits his country, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has backed Iran's "just cause" in pursuit of nuclear power.

Economy Watch

Alireza Marandi, the former Minister of Health, has asserted that only 15% of the Ahmadinejad Fourth Plan's health projects have been realised.

Political Prisoner Watch

A death sentence has been handed down to Habibollah Golparipour, an Iranian Kurd, because of "mohareb" (war against God).

Rah-e-Sabz notes that in the month of Farvardin, which has just ended, a total of almost 73 years in prison sentences were handed down for supporters of the Green Movement.

Culture Ups and Downs

Maziar Bahari, the Iranian-Canadian journalist detained for months during the post-election crisis, has been honoured by a German organisation. He will collect the award on 7 May.

Forough Farrokhzad, one of Iran's most distinguished writers, has been banned from the country''s Book of Poets.

Iran Document: "Our Sons' And Daughters' Agony" (Sahabi)

Ezzatollah Sahabi, former minister and member of Parliament, editor of the banned journal Iran-e Farda, and leader of Iran's Nationalist-Religious political alliance, writes in Rah-e-Sabz (translated by Khordaad 88):

In the name of God,

To whom can I speak of my sons’ and daughters’ agony?

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

Enduring the past nine months and seeing the torment experienced by the sons and daughters of this land has been unbearable for this old man – seeing the nation’s potential melt away in the hands of our incapable rulers; seeing the atrocious treatment of the nation’s righteous and courageous children, both in the streets and in prisons. But the pain has gotten worse lately and I do not know how to handle it or object.


These days, I keep hearing that my dear Badressadat Mofidi, Hengameh Shahidi, Shiva Nazarahari, and many more are under intense pressure [during] interrogation. [I hear that] they are subjected to constant insults with the goal of making them break down and forget about everything they are fighting for. The situation is so unbearable that some of these ladies have wished for death.

Government officials visiting the prisons reported that the intensity of verbal abuse makes some prisoners complain about that even more than they do about bthe violent beatings.

I am also constantly hearing that in recent weeks, Ahmad Zeidabadi, Mansour Esanloo, Masoud Bastani, and others, who are as dear to me as my own sons and who are clearly imprisoned because of their beliefs and political ideas, are illegally and unethically kept with prisoners who have committed heinous crimes (though some of the felons are, of course, victims of this unjust system). [My friends] are exposed to direct pressure and pain. Some of them are in danger of serious and irreversible damage being done to their physical and mental health.

It is so sad for me to see political prisoners of a regime that I helped create experience such unjust, cruel, and unethical treatment. [I am referring to] cruelty such as keeping the political prisoners with murderers on death row or insulting women in such a way that they break down and admit to false and shameful crimes on national television. I have been imprisoned and interrogated both before and after the [formation of] the Islamic Republic. [I can guarantee that] the situation is much worse than before.

I do not understand why our rulers have completely forgotten about ethics and religion, resorting to any means [necessary] to protect their short-lived worldly powers. We have not forgotten the days before the Islamic Revolution, when we criticized others by saying that the end does not justify the means.

I am a religious person who understands ethics to be the main pillar as well as the main goal of religion. [I am also a person] whose prophet – a prophet common to all of us – was chosen to raise the standards of ethics. As such, I am ashamed to live in times where the sons and daughters, the men and women of this society are arrested and tortured under the worst physical and psychological pressure and women are treated with the most shameful disrespect. [This is] all [done] to force them into false confessions and to find them guilty because of the facts they speak and the truth they seek; all in the name of God and religion.

Alas, “to lie,” which, in our culture, is recognized both nationally and religiously to be among the worst of sins, has now become a dominant trend. Our authorities lie with the greatest exaggeration. They seek to stamp their hollow (national and international) ambitions into the minds of the people merely by repeating them over and over again, every day and every night. Those people would not be deceived by such trickery and lies and in the seminary schools of Qom, religious leaders further unmask the liar. But unfortunately, they are still forcing male and female prisoners to lie in order to avoid more intense pressure and/or exile. Dear Almighty, where do I go to counsel my pains and concerns; who can I go to?

I hope that there is someone left among the Judiciary or the establishment who will hear my cries and change either the conditions of the prisoners I named or any of the other nameless ones – if only for the sake of God and their own afterlife, so that the families of victims can be spared the torment that they have to bear each day.

Dear God, as you witnessed, the [main] promise of the Revolution was the governance of justice, like the justice created by Imam Ali, the first Imam of the Shi’ites. His governance was strict with the people closest to him, and his mercy reached [even] his enemies who were furthest from him.

This was the promise. However, the ‘justice’ our government perpetuates today, in the name of Ali, is easy-going on political and financial corruption, as well as any theft or murder that those close to the authorities commit in banks, other financial institutions, universities or Kahrizak and Evin prisons. They impose their severity on blindfolded, handcuffed and innocent men and women, who are [merely] insisting on [seeing] the goals and desires of that very Revolution [that created this government in the first place]. Oh dear Almighty, O Saviour of hearts and minds, O Guide of night and day – either transform our days, or else give me death.

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).