The Latest from Iran (15 August): Battles Within the Establishment

NEW Latest Iran Video: The Story of Esha Momeni (15 August)
NEW Iran: The Inside Line on Hashemi Rafsanjani (from His Brother)
NEW Iran Special: Mohammad Sadegh Larijani and a "Militarised" Judiciary
The Latest from Iran (14 August): Just Another Prayer Day?
Two Months On: All Our Videos From Iran’s Post-Election Conflict

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2025 GMT: Green movement youth branch members Saeed Noormohammadi and Zoya Hasani have been released from detention.

2015 GMT: A Nice Message to Close the Day. The commander of the Basiji militia, Hossein Taeb, has declared that if Mehdi Karroubi's allegations of sexual abuse of detainees are proven to be a lie, Karroubi is "debauched" and "sinful" and should receive 80 lashes.

1810 GMT: Maryam, from the excellent blog Keeping the Change notifies us that she has translated into English a graphic, moving account by the Iranian journalist Babak Dad, "The Rapes Inside Iran's Prisons: The Story of One Anonymous Victim and a Call to the People of Iran". She introduces it, "It is, in short, a beautifully written and lyrical piece, providing the personal, yet socially critical, perspective on the rape allegations that we did not know we were missing until Mr. Dad brought it to our attention."

Dad has also been interviewed by the Voice of America about the account.

1720 GMT: In the morning, we're going to offer a detailed analysis --- after today's appointment of Mohammad Sadeq Larijani as the head of Iran's judiciary --- on the battle over the judiciary, and its wider implication for the political manoeuvres between the Supreme Leader, the President, Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Green opposition, and even (perhaps especially) the Revolutionary Guards.

For now, here's a teaser from the announcement on Ayatollah Khamenei's website that points to the tightrope walked by the Supreme Leader:

His Eminence Ayatollah Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, has appointed Ayatollah Agha Hajj Shaykh Sadegh Larijani to the head of the judicial system. The text of the decree of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution follows:

In the name of God,

The Gracious Hojatoleslam Agha Shaykh Sadegh Amoli Larijani, esteemed scholar ... given that the extended period of leadership of Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi within the judiciary has come to an end....

Note the titles we've put in boldface. "Ayatollah" is a higher clerical rank than "Hojatoleslam". Larijani can be referred to as "Ayatollah" initially by the Supreme Leader, not by virtue of his religious standing but because of his membership on the Assembly of Experts and the Guardian Council. After that, Khamenei retreats to the title "Hojatoleslam".

An EA correspondent interprets, "Khamenei was trying to keep the Najaf and Qom seminaries from openly criticising him on the choice with the careful use of the titles. Meanwhile, he has nominated a non-specialist to lead the judiciary and kept other conservatives at bay, such as Ali Larijani and [Mayor of Tehran] Qalibaf by giving them a consolation prize."

More --- much more --- tomorrow morning.

1600 GMT: Mir Hossein Mousavi's website, Ghalam News, is still down. It has been out of service for at least 24 hours.

1500 GMT: Barazou Daragahi of the Los Angeles Times reports, from the Iranian Labor News Agency that Mir Hossein Mousavi has announced a "Green Path of Hope" to organise the political movement that arose before and after the Presidential election. Speaking to a group of doctors, Mousavi said, “Numerous volunteer and independent social networks throughout the society form the body of this movement. The Green Path of Hope is in fact aimed at regaining people’s denied rights.”

Building on the theme of recent weeks, Mousavi used the issues of detentions, confessions, and trials as a touchstone for political concerns, “We would not have witnessed so many crises today had [the authorities] adopted fair positions and respected people’s rights, instead of humiliating people on state television. Instead of accusing million-strong demonstrators of connection to foreigners, you have to find those who are waging a poisonous propaganda war on our people."

What is uncertain is how much Mousavi's announcement amounts to a "political front", even though that is label used by Daragahi, with no indication yet by other opposition leaders of their approach to the Green Path of Hope.

1425 GMT: Report from Etemade Melli (political party) website that security forces around Etemade Melli (newspaper) are increasing but situation under control.

1340 GMT: Reuters is reporting, from the Supreme Leader's official site, that Ayatollah Khamenei has appointed Mohammad Sadegh Larijani as head of Iran's judiciary, saying "in a letter to Larijani that he hoped the judiciary would flourish under him".

What Reuters does not ask is why the appointment was made today in a letter rather than in the ceremony scheduled for today. Indeed, the news agency garbles the story, "Some reformist websites had recently reported that Larijani was hesitant to accept the position because of the mass arrests of moderate detainees."

In fact, and in line with the analysis we posted in a separate entry today, Khamenei is pushing through the appointment --- albeit with little fanfare --- against the opposition of supporters of President Ahmadinejad. What is unclear is whether Larijani's reported demand, the cessation of cases against political detainees, will be met.

Instead, as the Iranian Students News Agency reports, trials for another 25 detainees will begin on Sunday. They will join the more than 100 prisoners who have already been in the dock.

1325 GMT: Safety Valve. The Iranian regime, according to Mehr TV, is trying to ease pressure by firing and pressing criminal charges against 12 police officers and a judge associated with the Kahrizak detention facility.

1145 GMT: The Conclusion of a Pre-Election Story. Rather quietly, Iranian-American graduate student Esha Momeni returned to the United States on Tuesday after detention and then a ban on leaving Iran. In April, we profiled the arrest of Momeni, who was working on a thesis on the women's right movement in Iran. She was detained in October 2008 when her research included the filming of a documentary on the activists and charged with “endangering national security” as an “agent of Western powers”.

Momeni has given an extended interview to journalists at her university, California State, Northridge. We've posted the video as a separate entry.

0930 GMT: When the Threat to a Supreme Leader Becomes "Real". This morning's interview with Al Jazeera English went well. AJE is an excellent operation, so we were able to set out the challenge to Ayatollah Khamenei both from former MPs, who are no doubt acting as a vanguard for other groups within the secular establishment, and from some senior clerics.

What struck me after the discussion was how a story becomes "mainstream". Enduring America had this information Thursday night and ran an extended analysis yesterday morning. However, the "threat" only becomes real when the big boys of the media decide to give it that label. So this morning, Al Jazeera English decided to feature the story when the Associated Press put it on their newswires. The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times also have detailed articles.

So I guess it's time to take the analysis to the next level. In the interview with Al Jazeera English, I suggested that the move against Khamenei should be seen in the context of a rebuttal to the campaign that has been waged against former President Hashemi Rafsanjani. That is especially true in the Assembly of Experts, where some pro-Ahmadinejad members had tried to limit Rafsanjani's influence. So one logical way "forward" is a settlement between Khamenei and Rafsanjani. But, in that case (and remembering the complexity of such a settlement, which would have to consider the Supreme Leader's power and authority), who would be the big loser?

Step up, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

0920 GMT: We have now posted Mehdi Khalaji's provocative analysis of Mohammad Sadegh Larijani and Iran's judiciary, adding our own interpretation.

0755 GMT: More on one of our last stories from yesterday. In response to the leaflets, spread by the Ansar-e Hezbollah groups at Friday prayers, calling for a "gathering" in front of the Etemade Melli newspaper, Karroubi has stated, "We always welcome the opinions and presence of critics and we will hear all of their suggestions and criticisms and we shall reflect these opinions in Etemade Melli." Karroubi also requested that the friends and supporters of Etemade Melli "refrain from gathering in front of the newspaper on Saturday so that our rerporters can interview these critics under calm conditions". Karroubi concluded with a message to his supporters " I will join you in the gathering taking place in front of the offices of Etemade Melli on Monday at 16:00 local time to thank those in charge of the newspaper and to get feedback from you".

The editor-in-chief of Etemade Melli has asked Tehran's prosecutor and head of police to provide security for the newspaper.

0745 GMT: Another Stick for "Conservatives" to Beat Themselves. The proclamation of Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi, a staunch supporter of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that "obedience to the President is like obedience to God" has angered many "conservatives". The newspaper Jomhoori Eslami has pointed out the inherent hypocrisy in Mesbah's proclamation: "If Mr. Mesbah-Yazdi's statement is accepted, he must confess that he himself is a great sinner because, during the eight years that Mr Khatami was President, he encouraged everyone to disobey and confront the President....Even during the last four years, Mr Mesbah has also occasionally sinned against God by expressing his disagreements with Ahmadinejad."

0727 GMT: A slow-ish start to the day, but an unexpectedly busy Friday which exposed the challenges that persist for the regime. The Friday prayer address of Ahmed Khatami, despite his hard-line rhetoric against the "devil's tools and facilities" of the opposition and its leaders, was overshadowed by both secular and clerical challenges to the Government.

Three stories, all of which we noted yesterday and feature today, continue to lead that challenge. The first is the "Karroubi letter" on abuse of detainees, now taken up by Hashemi Rafsanjani in a demand for action. In a separate entry, we highlight an interview with Rafsanjani's brother, Mohammmad Hashemi, which sheds some light on the former President's concerns and motives.

The second story is the unexpected delay in the confirmation of Mohammad Sadegh Larijani as head of Iran's judiciary, which points to fighting between President Ahmadinejad and "conservative" and "principlist" critics of his politics and actions. Although Fars News says that Larijani's ceremony will take place on Monday, the tension is still present. We have a profile of Larijani and an analysis of Iran's judiciary in a separate entry.

The third story is the emerging challenge to the Supreme Leader's position, with both individual Ayatollahs and former MPs calling for a review of his authority. I am interviewing live with Al Jazeera English in 60 seconds on this, so will be back later with details.