The Latest from Iran (9 August): Once More on Trial

NEW Video: Hillary Clinton on Iran (9 August)
Iran Special Analysis: The Tehran “Foreign Plot” Trial as a Political Weapon
More Iran Drama: Will Rafsanjani Lead This Friday’s Prayers?
Iran: Ayatollah Sistani Intervenes
How Not to Help Iran: The Folly of US Sanctions
The Latest from Iran (8 August): Regrouping

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1915 GMT: In a meeting that could offer significant clues to his political future, President Ahmadinejad
"will attend the  [Parliament] session on Monday to exchange views and interact with lawmakers," according to Principlist MP Vali Esmaeili.


1650 GMT: Fars News English says two more citizens of Western European countries have been arrested for "recording an illegal gathering in Vanak Square [in Tehran] using a hi-tech camera." The pair allegedly also had "footage of some Israeli towns" from a 10-day visit to Israel.

1640 GMT: Etemade Melli, the newspaper of Mehdi Karroubi's party, has summarised a letter written by Karroubi to Hashemi Rafsanjani "10 days ago". Karroubi asked the former President to ensure an investigation was launched into the abuse of detainees, including allegations of rape of women and young boys.

1635 GMT: The Threat Against Mousavi. The move by a bloc in Parliament to convict Mir Hossein Mousavi of "leadership" of post-election rioting has been complemented by the head of the political office of the Revolutionary Guard, Yudollah Javani. Writing in the weekly Sobheh Sadegh, affiliated to the Guard, Javani declared, "If Mousavi, [Mehdi] Karoubi and [Mohammad] Khatami are main suspects behind the soft revolution in Iran, which they are, we expect the judiciary...to go after them, arrest them, put them on trial and punish them".

1625 GMT: To Fire Two Ministers is a Misfortune, To Fire Four is a....The civil war within the Ministry of Intelligence, which we've been following as a marker of even bigger battles inside the Government, continues. Apparently, it is no longer two Deputy Ministers --- as well as the Minister, Gholam-Hossein  Mohseni Ejeie, who have gone. According to Mazin News, "the purification project is continuing" with the dismissal of the Deputies for Parlaiment and for Technical Affairs.

1315 GMT: Setting Up a Firebreak. A "firebreak" is where you deliberately burn out a rows of trees to establish a line to check a forest fire. In Iran, this weekend's firebreak is the head of Kahrizak prison, who has just been fired and put in jail (1230 GMT). Getting rid of him draws a line of the head of police, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, the man who announced the firing, because a leading the "principlist" bloc, which holds the most seats in Parliament, has put responsibility on Ahmadi-Moghaddam. Hamid-Reza Katouzian said, “Unfortunately, the gross misconduct of Kahrizak officials have resulted in the murder of scores of young people. The Iranian Police Chief is duty bound to provide a clear explanation in this regard.”

1230 GMT: Another Limited Concession. In another sign that the Government is balancing pressure on the opposition with some acknowledgement of its errors by sacrificing lower-level officials, Reuters reports, via the Islamic Republic News Agency, the statement of Iran police chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam  "The head of the [Kahrizak center has been sacked and jailed. Three policemen who beat detainees have been jailed as well."

Ahmadi-Moghaddam also repeated the statement of chief prosecutor Ayatollah Dorri-Najafabadi (0750 GMT) that some post-election detainees had been abused in the prison.

1200 GMT: We've separated out this morning's initial update as a special analysis on the political meaning of the Tehran trial. There is also an analysis of an important criticism of the Supreme Leader by the influential Iraq-based Ayatollah Sistani, and the latest news on whether Hashemi Rafsanjani will lead Friday prayers in Tehran.

1000 GMT: Getting the Story Straight. Last week President Ahmadinejad reportedly told a gathering in Mashaad that he wanted to "take [the opposition] by the collar and slam their heads into the ceiling". This, however, may have been a bit off-line. Forget the impression that Ahmadinejad might have been condoning the rough treatment of detainees: could you picture the President trying to power-lift Hashemi Rafsanjani?

So Ahmadinejad has revised the script to fit the "foreign plot" trial: "After speaking at the meeting a number of media outlets reported that I was referring to my opponents, but I was in fact referring to the bulling and interfering powers."

0955 GMT: Just in case folks hadn't figured out the purpose of the Tehran "foreign plot" trial, a group of pro-Government members of Parliament have lodged a complaint against Mir Hossein Mousavi "as the driving force behind the recent turmoil which swept across the country".

The story, which is on Press TV's website, is very sketchy. The initiators of the complaint are labelled vaguely as "the influential clerics' bloc in Iran's parliament along with a number of other Majlis representatives", with a member of the National Security Commission, Mohammad Karami-Rad,  taking the lead: "We are pursuing the complaint against Mousavi and soon this letter of complaint will be handed to the judiciary so that the legal proceeding is conducted [on the matter] and the rioters are brought to justice."


0930 GMT: The Tehran Times reports a statement from the Deputy Head of Majlis [Iranian Parliament] National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Hossein Sobhaninia, that the commission would discuss the case of three detained Americans in its weekly meeting on Sunday. The trio were picked up by Iranian security forces after crossing the border while hiking in Iraqi mountains.

0830 GMT: While Ahmadinejad is choosing his Cabinet, he may want to have another word with his staff handling Iranian media. After pro-government outlets claimed that Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi sent a congratulatory message to the President, an official from the Ayatollah's office stated, "His eminence has not congratulated Ahmadinejad and does not intend to do so. These [claims] are perversions of the truth emanating from individuals who until now have been applying pressure to us and are now forced to manufacture and propagate falsehoods."

0810 GMT: During a visit to "the club of young reporters" on Saturday, President Ahmadinejad said that he will introduce his cabinet at the beginning of next week. He promised, "The young will have a prominent presence in the new cabinet."

0750 GMT: The New York Times, however, isn't concerned with Chief Prosecutor Dorri-Najafabadi's statement on Saeed Hajjarian (0740 GMT). Instead their newsflash, overtaking even coverage of the Tehran trial, is that Dorri-Najafabadi "Acknowledges Torture of Protesters". They highlight the passage in the press conference where the prosecutor said, “Painful accidents [had occurred] which cannot be defended, and those who were involved should be punished.”

Dorri-Najafabadi specifically talked about “the Kahrizak incident”, referring to the detention centre whose closure was ordered by the Supreme Leader. He insisted, “Maybe there were cases of torture in the early days after the election, but we are willing to follow up any complaints or irregularities that have taken place.”

0740 GMT: One piece of news which, in the smallest of ways, cuts against the Government's latest moves to break the opposition.Iran's head prosecutor, Ayatollah Dorri-Najafabadi, has recommended that Saeed Hajjarian should be moved and kept under control in his own home. Hajjarian was transferred from detention in late July to a residence owned by the Iranian Government.

Dorri-Najafabadi added that, despite the recommendation of Hajjarian's physician that his patient be released due to his physical state, Hajjarian is in good health.

The Latest from Iran (7 August): The Opposition Bounces Back

NEW Iran: The Battle for the Ministry of Intelligence Continues
The Latest from Iran (6 August): Getting Past Ahmadinejad

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1855 GMT: One More Prayer Twist. Fars News, showing its allegiances, does not even put the Tehran address of Emami-Kashani on its front page. Instead it gives comfort to the President by featuring the Qom prayer statement of Ayatollah Javadi-Amoli, a fervent supporter of the Government and fervent critic of Hashemi Rafsanjani: "If differences continue, the country will suffer irreparable problems."

1830 GMT: #CNNFail. Trying to see if any "mainstream" media outside Iran noticed the warning to Ahmadinejad, only two days after his inauguration, from a "conservative" cleric, Emami-Kashani. Here is CNN International's current Web story on Iran: "Security tight as Iran's Ahmadinejad sworn in".

1800 GMT: How Bad are the Signals for Ahmadinejad? Not much coverage of Ayatollah Emami-Kashani's address at Friday prayers in Tehran, but there doesn't need to be to see the bad news for the President. From Press TV's website:

As President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prepares to begin his second term in office, a leading cleric says the Iranian people deserve better treatment.

Tehran's Interim Friday Prayers Leader, Ayatollah Mohammad Imami-Kashani, urged the reelected Iranian President to pursue an agenda that would serve national interests.

“The Iranian people are kind-hearted and good, it is not right to cause them pain and distress,” said Ayatollah Imami-Kashani. ”The government should do everything in its power to be honest and truthful with the public.”

There was more standard rhetoric from Emami-Kashani in his admonition that the Islamic and the Republican cannot be separated in Iran's system, but the immediate message was clear:

Mahmoud, you better watch your step.

0700 GMT: Amnesty International has released a list of 24 Iranian Army officers detained in the post-election conflict.

0620 GMT: Thursday's Token Concession. Press TV's website reports:

After speaking to prisoners and sources at the recently shut down Kahrizak prison, the Iranian police force has come to the conclusion that violations of detainee rights along with dereliction of duty have been evident at the notorious detention center.

The police are quick to explain that "the harsh living conditions" arose from the need to establish a temporary facility "for the correction of detained ruffians". However, "the dereliction of duty and breaches by a number of the center's managers, officers and staff has become manifest....The limited capacity of the detention center and the addition of the July 9 detainees made the wings overcrowded and led to unsuitable living and hygiene conditions [for the detainees] and caused them much suffering." 

Morning Update (0515 GMT): After a fairly quiet day on Thursday, marked by the Government's attempts to stifle dissent through arrests and possibly cyber-warfare, the opposition picked up against last night. A series of evening gatherings escalated into protests across Tehran, with some footage emerging of car horns blaring and chants of "Death to the Dictator". The Green movement outlet Mowj-e-Sabz carries an eyewitness account of protests "half the night" in Vali-e Asr Square.

The Facebook pages of the opposition movement are also back to life after they were suspended most of Thursday by technical difficulties or more devious activity. Mir Hossein Mousavi's page features a statement by his chief advisor, Alireza Beheshti:

[It is] the silly have the command today....Whoever talks about something logical, they will accuse him of being disloyal to the Supreme Leader. By using these tactics they are avoiding logic. It has been two months since the election: which one of their actions solved the crisis?

Meanwhile, dedicated watchers of the Establishment will have a lot to decode later today when Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani leads Friday prayers in Tehran. Emami-Kashani is considered a "conservative" cleric but, as we noted on Wednesday, he spoke critically last week not only of the Government but of the Supreme Leader. His address could offer the first post-significant clues of how deep the divisions are within the regime.

And today's prayer speech will only heighten the mystery over next week's drama. We closed last night with the revelation that the head of the Friday prayers committee is now casting doubt on the earlier report that Hashemi Rafsanjani will be addressing worshipers in Tehran on 14 August. Is this a case of the regime trying to curb one of its leading challengers or was the initial news exaggerated? No further indications have come out this morning.

Having stirred up trouble within his own "conservative" ranks two weeks ago, President Ahmadinejad is still making his own plays for power. Remember the affair of the First Vice Esfandair Rahim Mashai, who supposedly resigned amidst the anger caused in the Cabinet, the Parliament, and the offices of the Supreme Leader? Well, he hasn't gone away. Instead, he has simply re-claimed the administrative territory and powers of the 1st VP as Ahmadinejad's Chief of Staff.

Iran and the Facebook-Twitter Cyber-Attacks

A source close to Enduring America offers the compelling hypothesis that the recent attacks on Facebook and Twitter may have been aimed at the Green Movement.

“Judging by my past IT experience and the way things developed yesterday, it appears that Facebook administrators put the pages of Karroubi, Mousavi, Zahra R, etc offline in order to stabilise the flow of the entire system, as the DDOS would ostensibly cease once the sites were seemingly knocked off air. This is why FB did not entirely go off air – the pressure on it abated once the reformists page were suspended. Twitter on the other hand was a free for all target, and had to withstand more damage. Another thing that lends credence to this theory is that fact that none of the the suspended pages have lost content or have been defaced. However, all this is speculation until FB and Twitter officially announce what went on yesterday.”

Edit: Facebook have subsequently confirmed to the BBC that the strike was actually aimed at a pro-Georgian blogger known as Cyxymu. In an interview with The Guardian, Cyxymu blamed the Russian Government for instigating the cyber attack.

Iran: The Principlists Search for Compromise

The Latest from Iran (6 August): Getting Past Ahmadinejad

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Enduring America's correspondent, Mani, has reported the facinating interjection of Ali Motahari, a key member of the Principalist bloc within Iranian Parliament, the Majlis, on the allegations levied against Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani. According to Motahari, these allegations were a major factor in Rafsanjani's non-attendance at the inauguration ceremonies for President Ahmadinejad.

According to the website of Iranian politician Ali Motahari, the MP from Tehran has stated that avoiding factional prejudices is the most effective way to arrive at an understanding and cooperation between the executive  branch and Parliament. Motahari commented about the absence of reformist  MP s from inauguration ceremonies, "It is possible that these individuals have issues with how the elections were held and the events after the election, and they have not been satisfied, investigating the faults of each sides and exposing and punishing the culprits will lead to better understanding [between the factions]......I believe that the broadcasting of confessions in which  Messrs Rafsanjani, Khatami and Mousavi have been accused of plotting a velvet revolution has at least been a major cause preventing Mr Rafsanjani from participating in the inauguration ceremonies."

After stating his belief that Mr. Rafsanjani had intended to participate in the ceremonies, Motahari continued, "In my opinion, there are individuals amongst the security elite that do not want unity to exist among high ranking officials....I believe that both those that have incited the public to riot and those who have trampled the rights of the people during the confrontations with the protesters must be punished." Motahari concluded, "The recent actions of the high commission  of national security  in punishing  guilty security  officials is  a  starting point for  exiting the crisis and  attaining calm."

Motahari's comments follow his call for an investigation into the deaths of detainees whilst in custody:

If the confessions of those detained recently are to be aired, the infractions of the law by interrogators, which in some cases have led to the deaths of some detainees, must also be investigated, along with the reasons leading to the situation being made public.

The Latest from Iran (5 August): The Inauguration

NEW Video: The Inauguration Protests (5 August)
Translation: Ayatollah Montazeri’s Response to Tehran Trials
Iran’s American Detainee: The Case of Kian Tajbakhsh
The Latest from Iran (4 August): A Day Between Protests

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2300 GMT: Ayatollahs Sanei and Bayat Zanjani have echoed Ayatollah Montazeri's statements denouncing the trials held last Saturday.

2200 GMT: A third journalist working for the Etemade Melli newspaper has been arrested. Mehdi Yazdani Khorram, the editor of the literature and art section, was arrested by plainsclothes officers at 2030 GMT.

2130 GMT: An important clarrification. Although Rafsanjani is scheduled to deliver a sermon at next week's Friday prayers, it is far from clear that he will take up this opportunity. It should be remembered that Rafsanjani turned down several opportunities to speak at Friday prayers before his last appearance on June 17.

1725 GMT: The resumption of the Tehran trials, scheduled for tomorrow, has been delayed until Saturday. The reason is unclear.

1715 GMT: Even the choice of Ayatollah Emami Kashani, a "conservative" cleric, to lead this Friday's prayers is far from a firm guarantee of support for the President and the regime. In  a sermon at Jamkaran Mosque, the ayatollah admitted, "The brightness of velayat-e-faqih (supreme leadership) has diminished....[Since the supreme leadership can not solve the problems of the country] may you [Mahdi, the 12'th Imam] reemerge and solve the country's problems."

1700 GMT: Friday's prayers will be led by Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani. That, however, is just a preliminary to the big news:  next week's will be led by Hashemi Rafsanjani.

1450 GMT: A summary of today before we return to our vacation. Riz Khan of Al Jazeera posted a question which, for Riz Khan, is remarkably ill-phrased: "As Mahmoud Ahmadinejad takes his oath, Will Iran again spiral into another cycle of violent demonstrations?"

The issue, as demonstrated again today, is not another ominous spiral into violence. Gatherings today, which persisted despite the state's attempt to close down visible opposition to the inauguration, continue to express clear concerns and demands (and, notably, without violence). Ahmadinejad's speech, which has already faded into a lack of significance, does nothing to check those concerns.

So the inauguration in fact becomes a sideshow, one boycotted by some politicians and attended by others with ill humour. With the Tehran trial resuming tomorrow, and more importantly with opposition politicians and clerics renewing their challenge, we'll get back to serious business.

1448 GMT: Mir Hossein Mousavi has posted a statement on his website declaring:

These hectic trials just reflect the deep problem which exists in our country. It is definitely not a source of pride to publicly expose such personalities in a mass trial. We made a [Islamic revolution in 1979] revolution so that trials were against criminals. We wanted trials with lawyers, trials with rights for the defendants, trials where the judge acts independently and trials which make the people feel justice prevailing.

Mousavi again denied any links between the opposition and foreign countries, asserting that the problem was an attempt to limit political views: "We have to learn to face other standpoints, listen to what they say, elaborate our own viewpoints and pay attention to their elaborations as well."

1445 GMT: The Islamic society of  engineers, of which Ahmadinejad is a former member, has sent a letter to Ayatollah Rafsanjani. The head of the society, Seyyed Hasan Sobhani-nia, commented that "This letter asks about recent events and Ayatollah Rafsanjani's position regarding them. This letter also states the concerns and worries that this society has regarding the future of individuals attached to the revolution who have played a crucial role in its formation. The society has requested Mr. Rafsanjani to clarify his position regarding these recent events."  The society had previously sent a letter to Ahmadinejad, which Enduring America also posted, asking for his own clarrification.

1440 GMT: A Twitter activist has created a Google map showing the locations of protests across the capital today.

1430 GMT: Gooya. com are reporting that "tens of thousands" of security forces were out on Tehran streets today, especially near Parliament building. Shops in the area were closed.

1415 GMT: The lawyer for detained politicians Behzad Nabavi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, and Mohsen Mirdamadi says he will not attend tomorrow's trial because it is illegal.

1355 GMT: Another Arrested Journalist. In addition to last night's seizure of Mir Hamid Hassanzadeh, the head of Ghalam News, Reza Nourbakhsh, the chief editor of the newspaper Farhikhtegan, was arrested. His office was searched, and some material was taken. 

1330 GMT: Reports that women's rights activist Haleh Sahabiwas arrested in Baharestan Square today.

0800 GMT: BBC World is leading with the story of Ahmadinejad's inauguration. The footage is telling: there is a distinct lack of enthusiasm amongst members of Parliament.

The BBC also has some images of protest outside the Parliament building.

The analysis is not as useful. Jon Leyne, expelled from Iran earlier in the crisis, is saying, somewhat bizarrely, that "most" of the President's speech was directed "at the outside world".

0645 GMT: It appears that the pattern of protest will be repeated today. Instead of a mass gathering, which will be disrupted if not prevented by security forces, there will be a number of "flash" gatherings across Tehran. We'll be back later to give a full assessment.

0627 GMT: More on the "boycott" in Parliament (see 0612). Parleman News revises its report: 57 of the 70 members of the Imam Khomeini Line walked out as Ahmadinejad started his speech.

0616 GMT: Mehdi Karroubi, in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais says that he and Mousavi will never work with Ahmadinejad's Cabinet and that protests will continue. Karroubi said:

We do not want to destroy the government; however, we criticise the actions of the government and we have no intention to help this government....The reality is that the majority of the people do not accept the methodologies and language of Mr. Ahmadinejad. We consider this government to be illegitimate.

0615 GMT: Kazem Jalali, the head of the special Parliamentary committee investigating the conditions of detainees, has resigned, and there are reports that other committee members have quit. No official reasons for the resignations have been given, but there is speculation that the lack of cooperation from judiciary and security officals may be a key factor.

0612 GMT: Parleman News reports only 242 of the 290 members of Parliament attended the inauguration. This suggests that all 46 "reformist" MPs stayed away.

0608 GMT: There is heavy Twitter chatter of protesters demonstrating at the main Tehran Bazaar, effectively trying to shut it down. Cellphone service has reportedly been cut off in central Tehran.

0600 GMT: Even as Ahmadinejad was speaking, the text scroll on the screen announced the next battle within the Establishment. The President has two weeks to assemble the names of proposed Cabinet Ministers and put them before Parliament. Given the furour over his recent choice of First Vice President Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai and his effective takeover of the Ministry of Intelligence, that will not be an easy process.

0555 GMT: Live coverage by Press TV English is available. They are assessing Ahmadinejad's speech, which made claims to "social justice".

0545 GMT: Opposition activists are pointing to images inside the Parliament of empty seats, which would indicate that (as on Monday, when the Supreme Leader confirmed Ahmadinejad) many have stayed away from the ceremony, and of growing demonstrations elsewhere in Tehran.

Morning Update (0535 GMT): Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been inaugurated as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran for a second term, despite a disputed election result almost eight weeks ago.

The President was not deterred by such questions in his acceptance speech, claiming the mandate of 25 million votes (even the suspect official tally gave him "only" 23 million).

Reuters is reporting a demonstration of "hundreds" in Baharestan Square in front of the Iranian Parliament building.