1205 GMT: Saleh Noghrekar, Zahra Rahnavard’s nephew and the head of the legal committee of Mir Hossein Mousavi’s campaign, has been arrested.
1200 GMT: The family members of detainee Mohammad Nourizadeh, former chief editor of Kayhan who following criticised the Supreme Leader and the head of the judiciary in a post-election letter, have been summoned to the Revolutionary Court.
1055 GMT: Tehran’s Back-and-Forth Sideshow. So here’s the latest from Iran’s Foreign Ministry on the uranium enrichment talks:
““The issue of a nuclear fuel swap [with the West] … is still open. We have announced our conditions in a clear and transparent way. If the other sides provide our conditions and adopt a realistic approach, it (the swap) would be possible. It (the swap) by no means goes counter to our obtaining the required fuel through other means.”
1030 GMT: A Relatively Quiet Morning. No significant political moves, so as we prepare for coverage of 22 Bahman, we are trying to assess the extent of the slowdown/halting of communications, as are other front-line media covering events. Some EA sources inside Iran can still communicate with us; others appear to have been cut off.
0740 GMT: Putting on the Show. Latest on the uranium enrichment front — Iranian state media is loudly proclaiming that Tehran, under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has begun the attempt to enrich its stocks from 3.5 to 20 percent.
0730 GMT: Qalibaf v. The Government. Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, relatively quiet in the post-election crisis but still a key political player — and possibly a central figure in a move against President Ahmadinejad — has again attacked incompetent officials, comparing them to “rioters”.
0723 GMT: An Appeal to the Supreme Leader. Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili has visited Ayatollah Khamenei, seeking the unconditional release of all political prisoners and exclusion of “radicals” from the Government.
After eight months, Moscow has found more space for its initiative, welcoming Hamas’s Khaled Meshal on Monday. Amidst the inability of the Obama Administration to make headway on the peace process, Kremlin has remembered and upheld one of the actors “forgotten” by Washington and the European Union.
On the one hand, this tells the Israelis that Russia’s relationship with Palestinian factions cannot be broken easily and, on the other hand, it sends a signal to Washington that Moscow’s can influence the course of the process in the region. Israeli officials could not summon Moscow’s Ambassador “on a lower chair” but had to send a letter of protest asking Moscow to clarify its intentions.
The Kremlin said that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was the highest-level official Meshal would meet. Its ambassador assured Israel that the visit did not signal a swing in Moscow’s policy toward Hamas, and he said that Lavrov would reiterate its stance that the Islamist movement must abide by conditions to recognize Israel, give up violence, and honor past peace accords.
Meanwhile, Meshal declared:
I don’t see any prospects on the Palestinian, the Syrian or any other track of the Middle East process because the Israeli leadership is a leadership of war, aggression and occupation.
It’s enough that Moscow tells the world that Hamas is a movement of freedom fighters, not a terrorist group.
Hamas in Russia: On Monday, Hamas’s Khaled Meshal was in Moscow, a guest of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov despite protests by Israel. Meshal said there was “no prospect of peace because the Israeli leadership is a leadership of war” and added, “It’s enough that Moscow tells the world that Hamas is a movement of freedom fighters, not a terrorist group.”
Iran FM on Israel “Crazy Nation, Crazy People”: Following Ayatollah Khamenei ’s statement, “Today Palestine is the symbol of life, determination, faithfulness, diligence, and dignity,” Foreign Minister Manchour Mottaki jumped in: “Israel is a crazy nation run by crazy people. Therefore, we must prepare for the chance that Israel will do something crazy against everyone in the region: the Syrians, the Lebanese and the Palestinians.”
The talks are expected to begin on February 20, a senior Palestinian official told AFP on Monday. “These contacts will be aimed at creating a better climate and reaching an understanding on the borders of the Palestinian state, and they will begin on February 20. They will last three months, with the Americans negotiating directly with the two sides after determining a timetable and agreed-upon mechanisms for implementation,” the official said.
Optimism and a refusal to be cowed, bullied or intimidated: that’s the message from human rights activists this week. Despite the Iranian Regime’s best efforts to thwart the preparations for 22 Bahman — with intimidation and coercion in the form of mass arrests of both students and journalists, continued threats to execute execute the nine “mohareb” Ashura protesters, and other propaganda — the protests will proceed.
Vahid Abedini, (University of Tehran) arrested with two others.
Navid Abedini, (University of Shahid Beheshti) arrested with Vahid Abedini and Esmaeel Izadi Khah (student at University of Shahid Beheshti). Reports from Kashan indicated further arrests: Mohammad Mokhtari (formerly but recently dismissed from the University of Kashan) arrested with two others who were subsequently released.
Parisa Kakaiee, a member of CHRR and Mehrdad Rahimi, one of the Committee members arrested. Two other members, Saeed Habibi and Hesam Missaghi were not arrested, but were reportedly receiving repeated calls from officials from the Ministry of Information.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRR) said there was no information about Mehraneh Atashi (the internationally acclaimed photo-journalist) and her husband, who remain missing, presumed detained.
Iran: With 22 Bahman just three days away we are watching the situation in Iran even more closely than usual. The Iranian regime’s rhetoric on its nuclear programme has continued throughout the day, but the Western media, which had chased the story to the exclusion of all other topics, has now re-discovered Iran’s internal development.
The White House,on behalf of the US Government and the European Union, has issued a statement condemning the human rights violations in Iran since the June elections. All the latest news in our live weblog, which also contains links to other stories.
Former President Khatami set out his thoughts for Thursday’s anniversary of the 1979 Revolution.
There have been new protests at Sharif University today, and we have the video.
We have a list of the 57 journalists currently detained in Iran’s prisons.
Arabian/Persian Gulfs: Sean Foley has written an EA special analysis of the Gulf States and Iran in the wake of recent news about the deployment of US soldiers and advanced weapons to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Israel/Syria: Do we have peace, or commitments to work towards peace from Israel and Syria? Follow the statements from the main players over the weekend.
Palestine: Mahmoud Abbas, Leader of the Palestinian Authority, has expressed his disappointment with the Obama administration and says he will “not back down” from his demands.
2045 GMT: But There are Limits. One leading international media organisation is proclaiming that it has mobilised itself to cover Thursday’s events in Iran. It has even set up a dedicated Twitter account for Iran, announced throughout today in a series of tweets.
Only problem is that this broadcaster/website hasn’t quite got the hang of using Twitter for gathering latest news rather than for self-promotion. Total number of Twitter accounts it is following? 7, all of whom happen to be its own staff.
2020 GMT: 22 Bahman is Back! The “Western” media, which only 12 hours ago seemed to be oblivious to anything Iran-related unless it had the word “nuclear”, has re-discovered the internal events and tensions. Numerous services are carrying the report of the Associated Press on the Supreme Leader’s speech (1245, 1420, & 1940 GMT), while The New York Times picks up on Reuters’ summary of the statements of Mir Hossein Mousavi (1635 GMT) and Mohammad Khatami (separate entry). Even America’s ABC News has taken notice, catching up with Saturday’s interview of Mehdi Karroubi in a German magazine.
The Islamic Republic that people wanted and replaced the monarchy was a republic similar to what the other countries have and also there was the Islamic aspect to it, similar to what existed in the time of Imam Ali (Shia’s first Imam). [This was] an Islam that, in addition to God and ethics, also stresses the dignity, respect, and rights of the people.
We should try to eliminate obstacles and move toward the goals of the revolution. Reform means accepting the principles and correcting the possible wrongdoings and diversions. In this path our movement is based on the Constitution; the Constitution is something created by humans (i.e., is not perfect) but is the foundation of our reformist movement. Any diversions or contradictory interpretations of the Constitution or any problem in implementing it should be corrected. With God’s help all the people will participate in the 11 February (22 Bahman) rally with the common goal of defending the revolution and public right and as the true owners of the revolution.
Our expectation from all the influential figures of the country is fairness. We defend people’s rights and selections. For all of us, as we have announced before, the goal is to achieve a mechanism for holding healthy elections without any dispute so that people could trust that they can reinstate their rights.
We believe that the government should stop the insults, destructions and arrests. Those who are detained care for the establishment and should be released immediately, and in a less intense environment the pressure on independent media should be eased.
1205 GMT: Saleh Noghrekar, Zahra Rahnavard’s nephew and the head of the legal committee of Mir Hossein Mousavi’s campaign, has been arrested.
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