The Latest from Iran (6 August): The Campaign Against Ahmadinejad's Aide

1925 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The Lede, the blog of The New York Times, has now noted the hunger strike of the 17 detainees in Evin Prison.

1915 GMT: The No-Longer-Missing Lawyer. Human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei is under European diplomatic protection after Turkish authorities released him today from a detention center for illegal immigrants.

An Amnesty International  official says Mostafaei is expected to travel to Norway.

1730 GMT: Looks like we should name this the "Attacking Rahim-Mashai" thread. Another prominent member of Parliament (and Ali Larijani ally), Ahmad Tavakoli, has joined the criticism of the President's Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, for his statements putting forth Iran rather than Islam as a source of emulation for other countries.

Tavakoli has insisted the Parliament will not remain silent in the face of the remarks.

NEW Iran-US Special: The 4-Step Collapse of Obama’s “Engagement” Into Confusion
Iraq and Iran: Has Ayatollah Sistani Challenged the Supreme Leader’s Authority? (Nafisi)
Iran-US Special: Obama Extends His Hand “Engagement, Not Conflict”
Iran Feature: Free Speech (and Some Laughs) in the Theatre (Tehran Bureau)
The Latest from Iran (5 August): Challenges

1625 GMT: Re-packaging the Friday Prayer. Press TV's entry on the Friday Prayer by Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami (see 1325 GMT) changes the priority to the message that "a possible US attack on the Islamic republic will jeopardize American interests in the world". Khatami's attack on Presidential advisor Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, highlighted in other media accounts, seems to have disappeared.

1325 GMT: Your Friday Prayer Update. In a shocking development, the US was not the main target of today's Tehran Friday Prayer, delivered by Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami.

So who got the honour?

Why, it's President Ahmadinejad's chief of staff and brother-in-law, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai!

Khatami, without naming Rahim-Mashai --- or, as Fars put it carefully, "an implicit reference to the words of a Government official" --- criticised those who put Iranian nationalism before Islam.

Earlier this week, Rahim-Mashai has said that it was Iran, rather than Islam, that now stood as an example for emulation by the rest of the world.

Elsewhere in the speech, Khatami went after the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, for his confirmation that the US had war plans for Iran. But, you know, that just couldn't match up with the apparent transgression of the President's favourite advisor.

(And what do you know? Moments later, I spot an article from Parleman News on Rahim-Mashai as the cause of division amongst principalists. And Tabnak is reporting the comments of conservative member of Parliament Ali Motahari that Ahmaidnejad must question Rahim-Mashai about his remarks.)

1200 GMT: The Battle Within. Ali Asghari, a member of the Expediency Council, has warned that principalism without reformism ends up in dictatorship.

1055 GMT: Talking Tough Today. The commander of Iran's army, Major General Ataollah Salehi, has warned enemies of a "crushing defeat" if they attack: "The army is ready to deal a heavy blow to any aggressors against Iran territories."

0955 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Ayatollah Bayat-Zanjani has issued a statement of support for the 17 hunger strikers in Evin Prison and their families.

0935 GMT: Economy Watch. Khabar Online claims that only 20% of workers are receiving their food supplies for the holy month of Ramadan.

0930 GMT: Fretting. Looks like Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi is a bit worried: he has warned the board of Tarbiat Modarres University of the possibility of a "stronger" sedition. He declared that if young people are not religious, then the Revolution will be weakened.

0920 GMT: The Sale of History. Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyed Mohammad Hosseini has declared, "We must promote the Iranian culture to find purity, because the world is hungry for this." He announced that he would give permits for books seeking this aim.

Hosseini may want have a word about his cultural mission with the President's chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai: according to Rooz Online, the Cultural Heritage Organization, headed by Rahim-Mashai, plans to sell some of Iran's historic artifacts.

0915 GMT: Backing the President? Ayatollah Haeri Shirazi of the Assembly of Experts, one of the most vocal supporters of the Government, has given Mahmoud Ahmadinejad mixed support against claims from "hard-liners" that he has been soft on cultural issues. Haeri Shirazi, criticising Western values in Iranian education, refers to the President's campaign to "Islamise" schools but leaves the impression that Ahmadinejad has not been up to the mark in enforcing hijab.

Haeri Shirazi also made a spirited defence of the Supreme Leader's authority.

0910 GMT: Oil Crash and Squeeze. Peyke Iran is reporting that two planes of the National Iranian Oil Company have collided at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran.

Citing Reuters, the website adds that Turkey's exports of gasoline to Iran have increased.

0640 GMT: A Message to Washington. Reformist member of Parliament Amir Taherkhani has said the US is unwise 2 let "Zionists" have a free hand, warning that adventurism will cause a crisis.

0633 GMT: Missiles and False News. Peyke Iran, quoting Deutsche Welle, claims that the "news" of delivery of four S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran --- two from Belarus and two from an unspecified source --- was removed by Fars News within two hours of publication.

0629 GMT: No Justice. In an interview with the mother and lawyer of Neda Agha Soltan, the woman shot to death by a Basij militiaman on 20 June 2009, Fereshteh Ghazi claims that the suspect in the case has disappeared.

0625 GMT: The Guards and the Economy. Mehdi Eliasi, writing in Rooz Online, has evaluated how the increasing involvement of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps in the economy is undermining the foundations of the private sector.

0615 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. A group of students and alumni of Azad University of Tehran have released a statement objecting to Ali Malihi’s four-year prison sentence and his detention in solitary confinement, expressing concern over his physical and psychological state and well-being.

Malihi has been detained for seven months, spending about 40 days in solitary. He is one of the 17 political prisoners now on hunger strike.

0605 GMT: The Campaign Against Jannati. It is not just opposition clerics and politicians who are pressing Ayatollah Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, after his recent claim of $1 billion given to the Green "leaders" and another $50 billion promised by the US and Saudi Arabia for regime change. Conservative member of Parliament Nayyereh Akhavan has also declared that Jannati should show the documents proving his allegation.

0545 GMT: Mousavi and the Hunger Strike. Mir Hossein Mousavi has praised the resistance of 17 political prisoners on hunger strike in Evin Prison, while asking them to end it:

All seekers of freedom and righteousness have heard your message and have witnessed your resistance for your humanitarian and legitimate demands.

Now that that your message and your families’ struggle has spread across the globe and within the country, the nation is concerned about your health as Green assets for the country. We urge you to end your hunger strike and call on prison officials to respect the rights of all prisoners based on the flawed rule and regulations that exist and not to allow for the country’s reputation to be further tarnished in the eyes of the world’s nations.

The 17 strikers include Bahman Ahmadi Amooei (journalist), Hossein Nourinejad (journalist and member of Islamic Iran Participation Front), Abdollah Momeni (student activist and spokesperson for the Office for Fostering Unity), Ali Parviz (student activist), Hamidreza Mohammadi (political activist), Jafar Aghdami (civil activist), Babak Bordbar (photojournalist), Ebrahim (Nader) Babaei (civil activist and wounded veteran of the Iran-Iraq war), Kouhyar Goudarzi (human rights activist and weblog writer), Keyvan Samimi (journalist), and Mohammad Hossein Sohrabi Rad.

0535 GMT: International Front. Presidents Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Emomali Rahman of Tajikistan were in Tehran on Thursday at the opening of the “Fourth Meeting of Persian-Speaking Countries”, and meet with high-ranking Iranian officials, including the Supreme Leader and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

There were few substantive details in Fars News, which said Karzai and Rahman supported peaceful nuclear energy and agreements were signed to combat terrorism and fight drug trafficking. However, Karzai's visit comes as the US is escalating its effort in Afghanistan and may be looking for Iranian co-operation.

0525 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Green Voice of Freedom claims that authorities are putting pressure on political prisoners by "exiling" them to prisons distant from their hometowns, thus hindering the ability of families to visit them.

Student activist Atafeh Nabavi, who was detained in the mass protest of 15 June 2009 and is serving a four-year sentence, has written an open letter to the 17 hunger strikers in Evin Prison:

I know that when you began your action, you knew that any protest in this country will have disproportionate costs. I honor your stance and your weakened existence, and I wish that you get what you deserve in this unfair battle.

0515 GMT: After a break last night, we start by noting yesterday's attack, possibly by Basij militia members, on opposition figure Mehdi Karroubi.

Karroubi was attending a funeral at Nour Mosque in Tehran when it was surrounded by individuals, allegedly armed, who threw eggs at the cleric when he left. His bodyguards tried to scatter the assailants by shooting into the air.

The news was first reported by Fars but was later confirmed by Karroubi's Taghi.

Mehdi Karroubi has been attacked by pro-government groups several times since the 2009 election, most recently in June when he was visiting Grand Ayatollah Sane'i, another critic of the Government. He was uninjured in yesterday's incident.

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.

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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.