The Latest from Iran (20 August): What is Going On Over Nuclear Talks?

2000 GMT: Khamenei, Ahmadinejad, and Talks with the US. Really, what is going on???

The English translation of the Ahmadinejad interview with the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun (see 1145 and 1445 GMT) --- in which the President said, "We are ready for the talks...about Iran's proposed package from around the end of August or the beginning of September" --- makes clears that the discussion took place on Thursday. (hat tip to EA readers for their assistance on this important point)

In other words, Ahmadinejad gave the statement welcoming discussions and offering the prospect of a suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment --- "If the fuel exchange is accomplished and we are assured that our 20 percent fuel [uranium] will be guaranteed, the situation will change" --- a day after the Supreme Leader had thundered:

If one side intends to act like a superpower, threatening the other side, putting it under pressure, and imposing sanctions on it — and showing an iron hand — and at the same time offering talks, this cannot be called talks. We will not hold such talks with anybody.

So is this a case of Khamenei the "bad cop" and Ahmadinejad the "good cop" as Tehran manoeuvres for position ahead of any discussions? Indeed, do the different statements point to private haggling --- directly or indirectly --- with Washington to set up some basis for public talks?

Or could it be that the Supreme Leader and the President are not exactly in agreement on the way forward?

NEW Iran Document & Analysis: Supreme Leader’s Speech on US-Iran Relations & Internal Situation (18 August)
NEW Iran: Obama Administration Dampens Down War Chatter (Mazzetti/Sanger)
Rewriting Iran’s History: The 1953 Coup, the CIA, the Clerics, and “Democracy” (Emery)
Iran Cartoon of the Day: 1953 Speaks to 2010
The Latest from Iran (19 August): Freedom & Detention

1520 GMT: Shutdown. Rah-e-Sabz reports that the blog of former Vice President Massoumeh Ebtekar has been filtered.

1510 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Human rights activist Laleh Hassanpour, currently free from detention on bail, has been arraigned on new charges.

1505 GMT: Iran MediaWatch. Reporters Without Borders has condemned this week's closure of three newspapers, including the economic publication Asia and the imposition of a six-year sentence on Badrolsadat Mofidi, the secretary-general of the Association of Iranian Journalists.

RWB notes that more than 20 newspapers have been banned since the June 2009 election.

1455 GMT: A Friday Prayer Admission. Wow, it looks like Tehran Friday Prayer Leader Hojjatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi gave away a bit of nervousness today, at least in the account from Fars News:

Addressing a large and fervent congregation of people on Tehran University campus, Hojjatoleslam Sediqi called on Iranian officials and policy makers to close their ranks and get united.

Hojjatoleslam Sediqi further noted that lack of solidarity among special social strata is a problem which should be removed.

This line follows the one set by the Supreme Leader's speech on Wednesday (see analysis in separate entry), and it is effectively an open admissions of tensions within the Iranian Government.

1445 GMT: Khamenei, Ahmadinejad, & Nuke Talks. Oh, dear, some "Western" media are publishing before reflecting on President Ahmadinejad's supposed declaration to a Japanese newspaper (see 1145 GMT), headlined "Iran Says Might Halt High-Level Uranium Enrichment": both Reuters and Agence France Presse are promoting the story, and it is being pushed by outlets like the National Iranian American Council.

As we noted earlier, timing is critical here: if the interview took place before Wednesday, it has been superseded by the Supreme Leader's line of "Sanctions = No Talks". And no Iranian state media outlet is running the report; to the contrary, the fervent line of Press TV is that Iran will continue uranium enrichment in defiance of US objections.

1440 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Deutsche Welle is quoting Turkish newspapers that a delegation from the US State Department and Treasury have warned Ankara about trade with Iran.

1150 GMT: Tough Talk Today. Iranian Minister of Defense Ahmad Vahidi has said during today's Friday Prayers that Tehran has test-fired a new surface-to-surface missile, Qiam 1, "with new technical specifications and exceptional tactical powers". Footage was shown on state television, although it is unclear when the test took place.

On another front, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said Moscow does not plan to supply S-300 missiles to Iran: “We are not supplying anything. There is no decision on supplies.”

The S-300 deal has been held up for months amidst Western pressure on Russia to refrain from delivery of the missiles.

1145 GMT: Nuke Talks Confusion. Less than two days after the Supreme Leader ruled out an immediate resumption of discussions on Iran's uranium enrichment, the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun has quoted President Ahmadinejad, ''Iran is ready to resume [talks] in late August or in early September'' with the "5+1" powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China, Germany). Ahmadinejad supposedly added, "We promise to stop enriching uranium to 20 per cent if fuel supply is ensured."

Now, was the interview with Ahmadinejad conducted before Wednesday, which indicates that Ayatollah Khamenei vetoed the President's wish for resumed talks, or did it occur after Wednesday, which indicates that Ahmadinejad is still not on the same wavelength as the Supreme Leader?

Meanwhile, Islamic Republic News Agency claims that the director of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, has said --- citing the Supreme Leader's comments --- that the country will continue enrichment of uranium for nuclear plants despite Western objections.

1140 GMT: Oil Squeeze? US National Public Radio reports on the supply of oil from Iraq's Kurdistan into Iran, which continues despite sanctions.

0930 GMT: Karroubi Watch. Radio Zamaneh has more on Mehdi Karroubi's on-line discussion with readers this week, including the take-away quote: “People must decide whether they want a religious or non-religious government and they must be allowed to choose their own form of government....The republic aspect of the government must take precedence [over the religious aspect] and people’s will must be accepted.”

0925 GMT: On-Line. Mehdi Karroubi's Saham News website, which was down at the start of today, can again be accessed.

0801 GMT: Rumour of the Week. Earlier this week we noted chatter on social media about a "Basij attack on Mohsen Rezaei", former commander of the Revolutionary Guard, candidate in the 2009 Presidential election, and Secretary of the Expediency Council.

EA readers point us to the following from Rah-e-Sabz:

Media and eyewitnesses report that on the first night of the month of Ramadan (11 August) Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Assembly for the Discernment of Expedience and a critic of the government, was accosted by several people when he was about to participate in prayers for one of the nation's famous panegyrists (formal speaker).

Aftab News reports as Rezaei was entering the courtyard of Tehran's Ark Mosque to take part in panegyrics for Hajj Mansour Arzi, two steps inside the courtyard he was stopped along with his guards by Hoseyn Allah-Karam (a leader of the Ansar-e Hezbollah and of the plainclothes agents) and forced to sit on the ground.

The Jahan News site in a report, quoting one of those close to Mohsen Rezaei, wrote that Mohsen Rezaei was accosted by several people when he was about to attend a panegyrics session for Hajj Mansour Arzi.

Another reader sends us the link to the Jahan story. The claim is that the "attack" may have prompted by the criticism of Ahmadinejad chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai.

0800 GMT: We have posted an English translation of the full text of the Supreme Leader's speech on Wednesday and a snap analysis: there were important words not only on US-Iran relations but also on Iran's internal situation.

0630 GMT: Clerical Intervention. Ayatollah Dastgheib has urged that Iranians not be set against each other by dividing them into supporters and opponents of velayat-e-faqih (ultimate clerical authority). He said that Iranian authorities had brought people's disillusionment with religion and isolated society from righteous clerics.

0625 GMT: The Hunger Strike. The last of 17 political prisoners who started a hunger strike at Evin Prison have now been removed from solitary confinement. Advar News reported that Abdollah Momeni, Bahman Ahmadi Amoui, and Keyvan Samimi were transferred to the general section of Evin on Tuesday night.

0619 GMT: Academic Corner. Citing health problems, Dr. Saeed Soharpour, the Chancellor of Sharif University, has resigned.

Soharpour will be replaced by Dr. Reza Roosta Azad, the Vice Chancellor of Research and a Professor of Chemical Engineering. Roosta Azad is a senior member of the central council of the Isargaran Society, which was co-founded by President Ahmadinejad.

In an interview on Sunday with Fars News, Dr. Roosta Azad supported the ban on Mohammad Reza Shajarian's song of the famous prayer "Rabbana" by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting: "His actions during the recent sedition has upset people. Hence Seda-o-Sima [IRIB] is right to ban him on the national broadcasting network."

Two years ago, Sharif University was highlighted by Newsweek as "one of the world's best undergraduate colleges".

0615 GMT: We have posted a separate feature pointing to an Obama Administration effort, via The New York Times, to dampen down talk of an Israeli airstrike on Iran.

0545 GMT: We awake this morning to find that Mehdi Karroubi's Saham News appears to have been shut down by Iranian authorities. The message, "Forbidden: You don't have permission to access /index.php on this server," greets anyone who tries to access the homepage.

Gaza Latest: Mariam to Sail to Gaza?, Israel Sends Ships to Turkey and More Flotillas on the Way?

Another Friction between Israel and Lebanon?: Mariam, the Lebanese ship that was to set sail towards Gaza several weeks ago, was expected to start its mission last weekend. What makes this ship different from other flotillas is that it is full of women.

"They are nuns, doctors, lawyers, journalists, Christians and Muslims," said Mona, one of the participants who, along with the other women, has adopted the ship's name, Mariam.

The co-ordinator of the voyage, Samar al-Haj, told The Guardian this week the Lebanese government had given permission for the boats to leave for Cyprus, the first leg of the journey.

However, we haven't heard about the Mariam since Sunday.

More Flotillas on the Way to Gaza?: Having Israel sent three ships including the Mavi Marmara to Turkey, it is reported that the same ships may sail to Gaza again.

Huseyin Oruc, a board member at the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Aid (IHH), which owns the ships, told Reuters TV that if the blockade on Gaza continued, the boats may take part in another mission. He continued:

If the problem is not solved, many flotillas ... will sail to Gaza. If necessary, these boats can also be used for this.

We have purchased these three boats for Palestinian needs. If it is necessary, we can use easily use them. These boats are humanitarian boats.

Oruc also said that the ships had been painted and repaired to hide evidences. He continued:

Thousands of bullets hit the boat, and it was damaged everywhere. When they captured the boats, the Israelis hid all of this proof on the outside of the boat. They have been repaired and were painted.

A New Convoy to Gaza: A convoy of hundreds of vehicles and flotilla of ships are expected to leave from London in September. In the website of the group, they said:

The London expedition will merge with two other land convoys, from Casablanca in Morocco and Doha in the Gulf, in a 500-vehicle convoy through Egypt into Gaza’s Rafah crossing. Simultaneously, a sea flotilla carrying aid will approach the shoreline of Gaza.

The Latest from Iran (7 August): The President's Man in Trouble?

2005 GMT: The Battle Within (Diaspora Edition). William Yong and Robert Worth, writing in The New York Times, have a colourful account of last week's ill-fated conference in Tehran of Iranians from overseas.

The piece is entertaining --- check out the passage on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech with the phrase, "That breast has gone away with the bogeyman" --- but it misses part of the political significance. Yong and Worth see the problems with the conference as "an ambivalence that had been part of Iranian political culture ever since the Islamic Revolution in 1979: an evangelizing impulse coupled with a deep distrust of those who ventured outside the fold".

Perhaps, but the immediate significance of the event is as a stick being used both by "hardliners" (Keyhan) and "conservatives" (members of Parliament) to whack the President and --- back to the theme for today --- his chief aide, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai.

1955 GMT: The Hunger Strike. One of the 17 political prisoners on hunger strike, photojournalist Babak Bordbar, has been released.

1945 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Sources have told Radio Farda that labour activist Mansur Osanloo, detained since June 2007, has been given an additional prison sentence.

Osanloo was tried last week in Revolutionary Court in Karaj without the presence of his lawyers.

NEW Iran: A Protest in Washington (Shahryar)
UPDATED Iran-US Special: The 4-Step Collapse of Obama’s “Engagement” Into Confusion
The Latest from Iran (6 August): The Campaign Against Ahmadinejad’s Aide

1745 GMT: The Human Rights Lawyer. The wife of Mohammad Mostafaei (see video at 1430 GMT), detained on 23 July when Iranian forces tried to arrest her husband, has been released from prison.

1730 GMT: Tough Talk Today. I have to say: Iranian state media is digging pretty deep to pull out military figures to chest-thump against the US.

Today it's the "commander of the anti-aircraft post of the Khatamolanbia Headquarters", Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani: "If Americans attempt to launch an attack against the sacred establishment of the Islamic Republic, they will encounter our firm and decisive defense and we will not let them off....Over the past decade the US has militarily attacked Iraq and Afghanistan and killed hundreds of thousands of people but in the end it suffered defeat."

Press TV frames this as, "If Attacked, Iran Will Annihilate US".

1725 GMT: Wacky Mahmoud. Yes, I've seen the Reuters summary of the President's speech for National Press Day, "Iran's Ahmadinejad doubts Sept 11 attack toll" and yes, I've seen the additional claim, "Ahmadinejad also repeated his denial of the Holocaust".

(Press TV headlines, "Ahmadinejad: 9/11 Scenario Dubious", but does not mention any reference to the Holocaust.)

But, no, I haven't featured it because I'm not sure what political relevance it has.

Far more significant for me is Agence France Presse picking up the story of the internal conflict over Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai: "Ahmadinejad aide 'in new row with Iran conservatives'".

1440 GMT: The Hunger Strike. Students at Tehran's Amir Kabir University have started a hunger strike in sympathy with the 17 detainees fasting in Evin Prison.

In a letter to the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, doctors have warned about the condition of the 17 political prisoners.

1435 GMT: Film Corner. Accordion, directed by Jafar Panahi, will open the Venice Film Festival this year.

Panahi was detained for almost three months this spring by the Iranian authorities.

1430 GMT: The Human Rights Lawyer. Mohammad Mostafaei, now free from immigration detention in Turkey, has given an interview explaining why he had to leave Iran after the arrest of his wife and brother-in-law. In careful English, he gives the defence of his position, "I am crazy about human rights."

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH7Q_aIVYC8[/youtube]

1425 GMT: The Rahim-Mashai Controversy. President Ahmadinejad has publicly defended his Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, against heated criticism of Rahim-Mashai's remarks on Iran and Islam (see 0615 and 0855 GMT).

1420 GMT: More on Green Media. RASA, one of two opposition television channels soon to start broadcasting (see 0640 GMT), has posted its mission statement in Rah-e-Sabz.

1415 GMT: The Supreme Leader's Brother Intervenes. Hadi Khamenei has declared that his fellow reformists must use social media to increase awareness.

1410 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani is travelling to Mashaad tomorrow to speak with clerics.

1210 GMT: The Cyber-Campaign. In a profile in Newsweek, Austin Heap --- the creator of Haystack to help Iranians get around restrictions and surveillance on the Internet --- explains how he became involved:

The 25-year-old computer programmer was home in his San Francisco apartment, spending his evening the same way he spent much of his free time: playing videogames. “I was sitting at my computer, as I usually do, playing Warcraft,” recalls Heap. “My boyfriend asked if I was following what was going on in Iran, and I said no. I was busy killing dragons.”

Later that night, Heap logged on to his Twitter account. He read about the growing number of Iranians claiming that their votes had been stolen in the presidential election, and he saw people complaining that the government was censoring their cries of fraud and election rigging. For Heap—who says, “I am for human rights, the Internet, and I check out from there”—something clicked. At that moment, he decided to become involved in a battle more than 7,000 miles away in a country he admits he knew next to nothing about. “I remember literally saying, ‘OK, game on.’?”

1205 GMT: Execution Watch. Our German Bureau reports that the Zonta Club of businesswomen has issued a declaration calling for a halt to the execution of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.

1150 GMT: Reformist Watch. Najafgholi Habibi has explained the silence of the reformists: "When no one listens, it is better to be quiet." Habibi said he would not comment on the rift amongst hardliners, as this could be misinterpreted as enmity.

0955 GMT: Economy Watch. Member of Parliament Majid Nasirpour has asserted that the Ministry of Trade did not pay farmers for their harvest, and this could cause unrest in western Azerbaijan. He added that there is no cement for construction, as it has been exported.

0940 GMT: Parliament v. President. Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has published a law on water wells operating without official permits, after President Ahmadinjead refused to implement it.

0855 GMT: Rahim-Mashai Review. Back to our lead story today (see 0615 GMT)....

Parleman News rounds up the criticism of the President's Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, begins with Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami's Friday Prayer. Perhaps more significant are quotes from two of those planning to curb Ahmadinejad. Ahmad Tavakoli says Rahim-Mashai's comments are the delusions of an insane man and "a treason to Iran", leading to national division, and he has warned the Parliament will react. Ali Motahari says the Chief of Staff's remarks are a serious deviation from the Revolution.

0715 GMT: Ahmadinejad's Letter to America. An EA source confirms from a "reliable" source that President Ahmadinejad has sent another letter to President Obama. We are seeking further information.

0655 GMT: We've posted a feature by Josh Shahryar on Thursday's protest in Washington DC.

0645 GMT: Talking Tough Today. Pro-Ahmadinejad member of Parliament Mehdi Kuchakzadeh has declared that house arrest of "uproar" leaders is the best way to stop social tensions.

0640 GMT: Green Media. Pedestrian takes a look at two forthcoming channels for the Green Movement: RASA, which he sees as "more religiously oriented and closer to the reformist political parties in Iran", and Iran Neda, with "a more artistic/academic and secular orientation".

0635 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Mehdi Karroubi has joined other opposition figures in asking 17 political prisoners to end their hunger strike.

Speaking with the families of imprisoned journalists, Karroubi criticised the authorities' treatment of detainees and expressed concern over the regime's attitude towards the media and reporters.

0615 GMT: A curious Friday, as attention shifted to the President's Chief of Staff, brother-in-law, and good friend Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai. He was criticised not only by opposition figures but by key conservatives in Parliament and, most prominently, by the Friday Prayer leader of Tehran, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami.

This is not the first time that Rahim-Mashai, who has stirred up discord with his comment that Iran and not Islam is the source of emulation for others, has been at the centre of controversy. Last August, in a temporary victory over Ahmadinejad, Rahim-Mashai was forced out as 1st Vice President, only to re-enter the President's office as Chief of Staff.

Still, the timing of this current campaign against Ahmadinejad's right-hand man is notable. It comes after months of growing discontent amongst conservatives with the President, and it complements the rising tide against Ayatollah Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council. Will either of these buttresses of the regime be washed away, exposing even more important figures?

UPDATED Iran Special: Grenade Attack on Ahmadinejad?

UPDATE 5 August: President Ahmadinejad has put out the official line for the Islamic Republic News Agency: "Yesterday, during the cabinet's trip to Hamadan Province, someone threw a firecracker in front of the government motorcade out of joy and excitement. This was not [a] newsworthy [incident], but the enemies spread reports that Ahmadinejad has been transferred to an undisclosed location after surviving an assassination attempt. This is while immediately afterwards I delivered a speech in Hamadan Stadium and in front of thousands of people.”

[Editor's Note: No one to my knowledge ever stated "Ahmadinejad has been transferred to an undisclosed location".]

A stranger declaration from Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi with the "good news" from the incident, "We discovered Israel's sedition in the region," as well as discovering 8,800 antiquities from smugglers.

UPDATE 2000 GMT: Summary of the Day. Islamic Republic News Agency, late to the story of the "greeting" of the President, made up for it with this explanation: "A young boy threw a firecracker at motorcade of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to celebrate his arrival in Hamadan causing embarrassment....Iranian youth during special ceremonies such as New Year festivals or football matches use firecrackers as sign of jubilation."

How can you top that coverage? Possibly by taking it to the international front. From Andy Borowitz:



(Hat tip to Robert Mackey at The Lede)

UPDATE 1655 GMT: Let's Try This Version. And here comes yet another narrative of What Really Happened....

Mehr News (also quoted in Aftab News) says a handmade bomb exploded in Hamedan's Pasteur Street, at a long distance from AN's car, as people were greeting him. No one was injured and there was only smoke from the device. Some suspects were arrested.

UPDATE 1640 GMT: Lara Setrakian of ABC News has just put out a round-up on the grenade/firecracker assassination/celebration incident. I spoke with her throughout the day to try and interpret developments, and she has kindly put out my initial thoughts, which are on the lines of "the significance here is not the physical attack, if that is what this was, but the political aftermath":

Khabar [Online, which broke the story in Iran and is connected with Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani] has been increasingly critical of the government over the past few months. They're more likely to put the incident out than state media.

An attack certainly could be connected to the post-election tension. It could have important political significance given the divisions within the ruling establishment. And in the public eye it makes Ahmedinejad look weak.

UPDATE 1630 GMT: Grenade or Firecracker? An EA correspondent joins the debate, responding to Mr Verde's assessment (1330 GMT) over what happened in Hamedan and what Iran's official media reported:

I think that "narenjak" is best translated, as Associated Press and others did, as grenade. There has been a concerted effort to remove the term from all news items [in Iranian media], Fars being forced to change it from "narenjak" to "tarraqeh", which is the common term for firecracker. So while Verde is correct in stating that narenjak can also mean firecracker, the actual meaning from this morning has been grenade, which is why the state media are so keen on getting rid of it everywhere.

UPDATE 1330 GMT: Khabar Online, which was the first outlet inside Iran to report the explosion, is pulling back on its original claim of a "grenade". Khabar now defers to the statement of the President's office, given to Agence France Presse (see 1024 GMT), that the cause was a firecracker of welcome.

(Mr Verde adds this: The original Khabar item talked about the explosion of “nirenjak-e dasti”, which could mean two things: A) either a “hand grenade” or B) a form of homemade firecracker common in Iran, called "narenjak" --- which in English could mean grenade--- that is thrown against hard surfaces to make a lot of noise during festivals like Chaharshanbeh Souri.)

UPDATE 1140 GMT: An EA correspondent checks in: "Good old Mahmoud isn't having a good day. Youtube footage from today's speech in Hamadan shows him saying that 'England is an island from West Africa'."

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

UPDATE 1024 GMT: The regime line is now set. Iranian state outlet Al-Alam, like Fars, is saying that the explosion was actually a firecracker as part of celebrations over the President's arrival, and Ahmadinejad's staff are putting out that story to foreign media such as Agence France Presse.

The problem for this narrative is that the President's office initially told two outlets --- Al-Arabiya and Reuters --- that the incident was an "attack".

 

UPDATE 1015 GMT: Fars News has now recognised the incident, albeit as the explosion of a "homemade firecracker" as crowds welcomed Ahmaidinejad.

UPDATE 0925 GMT: Press TV has broken its silence: "An informed source in Iran's presidential office has rejected as false the reports of grenade attack on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad", denying the claims of "foreign news sources". (There is no reference to Khabar Online, which has carried the story in Iran. The reformist Parleman News is also running Khabar's account, as is the conservative Aftab News.)

Al Arabiya's initial report had claimed "the Iranian Presidency confirmed the attack".

UPDATE 0910 GMT: Al Arabiya television is calling the incident a "bomb" and an "assassination attempt", injuring a number of people. It claims "the Iranian presidency confirmed the attack".

According to Al Arabiya, the explosion hit a car carrying journalists and presidential staff before Ahmadinejad addressed a crowd (which makes Iran state media reports on the speech, with no mention of the attack, even more curious), and the assailant was arrested on the spot.

 

Ahmadinejad appeared on live Iranian television at a sports stadium. He made no mention of any attack.

----

Khabar Online is reporting that a grenade exploded near Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's motorcade as the President visited Hamedan in western Iran, 250 miles southwest of Tehran. The explosion occurred between the airport and the site of the President's speech, although it is unclear if the incident occurred before or after the appearance

There are no reports of casualties.

Press TV has referred to Ahmadinejad's speech but has not mentioned the explosion. IRNA is summarising the presentation --- "Iran will not fall prey to the poison of hypocrites" --- but also has no reference to an attack.

Middle East Inside Line: Israel's Lebanon Message, Hezbollah's Response, Livni Challenges Netanyahu

Israel's Message, Hezbollah's Response: In an official statement on Tuesday evening, Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak said:

The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will continue to act firmly and determinedly to protect the residents of Israel and the sovereign borders of Israel. Israel strives for peace and has proven this in 2000 when its forces withdrew to the international border. However, Israel will not tolerate in any way an attack on her soldiers or civilians within her sovereign territory.
In a televised speech on Tuesday night, Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah described the Lebanese army as "heroic'"and continued:

This time we stood and watched...but next we will not.

Israel's aggression on Lebanon has never stopped. We will not stand idle...we will cut any hand that attack our army.

Gaza Latest: Why Israel Is Welcoming the UN Enquiry
MENA House: Rockets on Jordan and Israel; Lebanon-Israel Clash — UPDATES

Syrian President Bashar Assad told his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman that Syria would stand behind Lebanon and provide any necessary support, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported. Assad said that the IDF fire "proves once again that Israel is constantly working to destabilize security in Lebanon and the region".

Israeli Opposition Furious over Netanyahu's Cooperation with UN: On Tuesday, Israel's opposition leader Tzipi Livni criticised the Netanyahu Government for accepting a UN inquiry into the raid on the Freedom Flotilla on 31 May. She said:, "The IDF has a chief of staff, not a secretary general. I am opposed to a UN inquiry that will involve the IDF, its soldiers and its commanders."

Tension on Turkish-Israeli Front: On July 25, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak claimed that Turkey's newly appointed head of intelligence, Hakan Fidan, could leak secret information shared between the two countries.

Fidan was previously a foreign policy adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and served as Turkey's representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency. He was also present at the nuclear swap deal signed among Turkey, Brazil and Iran.

In response, Israel's envoy Gabby Levy was summoned in Ankara. "We expressed our discomfort and dissatisfaction with Barak's statement," a Turkish foreign ministry official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

Hamas Praises Hezbollah: Following the friction between Israel and Lebanon which left at least three dead behind, Hamas praised Hezbollah in its confrontation to Israeli forces.

"We pay tribute to the Lebanese national army, which has the full right to counter the repeated Zionist violations of its land and sovereignty," the Hamas statement said.

Erdogan's Name Given to Hamas Leader's Grandson: The 47-year-old Ismail Haniyeh has 11 children and 15 grandchildren. The 15th one was named as Erdogan, in the sense of honouring Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.