Monday
Feb012010
The Latest from Iran (1 February): The Anniversary Begins
Monday, February 1, 2010 at 20:40 
2120 GMT: The Most Important Story of the Day --- There Wasn't A Story. We'll probably lead with this in the morning analysis but let's be clear, especially with regime defenders continuing to hold onto the turnout of 30 December as proof of the Government's legitimacy:Where were the events today on the first day of the Anniversary of the Revolution celebrations? Normally, Hashemi Rafsanjani would give a speech in a grand event in Imam Khomeini’s shrine, surrounded by people. This year there was a small gathering, mainly officials, in Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery; member of Parliament Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel gave the speech. Seyed Hassan Khomeini, the Imam's grandson, did not participate after his muted reception of President Ahmadinejad (see 1345 and 1430 GMT).
2105 GMT: Brother, Where Art Thou? For the second time in recent days, Davoud Ahmadinejad has indulged in a bit of criticism of his brother's Government. He has declared that it must answer the denunciations of prominent member of Parliament Ali Mottahari, as "freedom has not been defined".
2050 GMT: Well, That Settles It Then. Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi has said that his ministry has found clues in the the case of "nuclear physicist" Masoud Ali Mohammadi. These establish that "a combination of Israelis and counter-revolutionaries" are involved, even though there have been no arrests.
2045 GMT: Khatami Comes Out for the Rallies. We've posted an English translation of Mohammad Khatami's statement today.
1905 GMT: Marking Out the Protests. Effectively defending the right of protesters to gather for rallies, including 22 Bahman (11 February), while staying within the system, former President Mohammad Khatami said today, "We have always invited the people to peacefulness."
NEW Iran Document: Khatami Statement on Rights and Protests (1 February)
NEW Latest Iran Video: Sunday Boxing – French Police v. Iranian Ambassador (31 January)
NEW Iran Football Special: Green Movement Shoots! It Scores!
NEW Latest Iran Video: Foreign Minister Mottaki on Elections & Protests (31 January)
Iran Analysis: Mousavi and Karroubi Answer the Regime — “Defiance”
Iran From the Outside: Helping Through “Active Neutrality”
The Latest from Iran (31 January): No Backing Down
1855 GMT: Really, They Were Very, Very Bad. The regime, trying to justify last week's executions of Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour, has released details of their purported interrogations:
Rahmani-Pour, during his preliminary interrogation rounds, admitted to being a member of Tondar, an offshoot of Kingdom Assembly of Iran, as well as having plans to strike the Tehran Bazaar, the statement said.
He also confessed to making explosives to strike his targets but added that he was unable to carry out his plans due to the presence of Basij forces in the areas, it said.
Rahmani-Pour, who was executed on Thursday, told his interrogators that through his connections with the pro-monarchy group, he had been convinced that the Pahlavi regime should be reinstated in Iran. He then said that he had gathered more than 100 kilograms (220 lb) of chemicals to make explosives, the statement added.
In addition to his charges, amongst which he was blamed for the deadly bombing of a religious compound in Shiraz, he was accused of conducting an anti-revolutionary campaign.
According to the statement, the other man executed Thursday was Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani, who was also associated with Kingdom Assembly of Iran.
"Ali-Zamani had illegally entered Iraq's Kurdistan, where he applied for asylum. There, he met with Forood Fouladvand [the leader of the Kingdom Assembly of Iran]," read the statement.
It added that Ali-Zamani had received trainings regarding "nuclear terrorism" as well as making dirty bombs.
1655 GMT: In the midst of a long academic stint, so back with an evening update about 1930 GMT.
1520 GMT: Blaming the Professors. Today's academic news comes from Allameh Tabatabei University, where the President, Sadredin Shariati, has blamed faculty for stirring up unrest on Ashura (27 December). Shariati has singled out professors such as Mohammad Satarifar, a member of the Mousavi campaign team, as instigators.
Last month several staff of the University were effectively purged by Shariati, who obtained his position on the basis of his service as Friday Prayers leader at the University.
1430 GMT: More Khomeini News. Let's see the Government try to claim this legacy....
An EA source reported that, after snubbing President Ahmadinejad (see 1345 GMT), Seyed Hassah Khomeini went to the house of Alireza Beheshti, the detained chief advisor to Mir Hossein Mousavi and son of the late Ayatollah Beheshti, a hero of the 1979 Revolution.
1350 GMT: Where is Zeidiabadi (see 1025 GMT)? An Iranian activist claims that Ahmad Zeidiabadi, journalist and academic, has been moved to Rejaie Shahr Prison, which usually holds "hard core" criminals. Last week journalist Masoud Bastani was moved to the same facility.
1345 GMT: The Legacy of the Revolution? Kalemeh reports that Seyed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, has snubbed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the President's speech at the Khomeini shrine.
1325 GMT: So Was The Cleric Arrested? Hojatoleslam Hadi Ghaffari has denied reports (see 0910 GMT) that he was detained. The "hardline" newspaper Kayhan had reported that Ghaffari was arrested because authorities had discovered a cache of weapons in the storage area of his Tehran mosque in Tehran. Ghaffari claims that the area was rented out to a respected businessman who stored rice and that any weapons belonged to a Basij unit which disbanded years ago.
1320 GMT: Walking the Tightrope. A day after issuing his defense of the trials and possible death penalties for those accused of "mohareb" (war against God), the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, has reportedly tacked back and declared he would not give in to political pressure from "hardliners" to carry out more executions: "These demands (by hardliners) are political in nature and are against the law and Sharia."
Not sure this is much of a shift from Larijani, who also said on the judiciary's official website, "In reviewing detainees' cases, we will only consider the law and Islamic Sharia law." Feels more like an assertion of his authority of determining if and when a protester should die.
1050 GMT: Questioning the Detentions. Amnesty International have launched a new campaign, calling on the Iranian authorities to reveal the whereabouts of two music journalists, Behrang Tonekaboni and Kayvan Farzin.
Both Tonekaboni and Farzai were arrested at the offices of Farhang va Ahang, a monthly music journal, on 5 January. Tonekaboni’s mother Lili Farhadpour, 47, a journalist and a member of Mothers for Peace, was arrested at her home on 20 January.
1035 GMT: Condemning the Executions. More than 80 expatriate Iranian intellectuals have signed an open letter denouncing last Thursday's killings of Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour.
1030 GMT: Today, we've had a football special; now we've got boxing. We've posted the video of the clash in Paris which ended in a fight between the Iranian Ambassador and French police.
1025 GMT: Ahmad Zeydabadi, the reformist academic, journalist, and activist, has been moved to an unknown location, probably with Evin Prison.
0915 GMT: Interpreting the Revolution. High-profile Tehran University academic Sadegh Zibakalam has said in a discussion on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting that the 1979 Revolution was not for Islam, but for a freedom which people believed could be fulfilled through Islam.
0910 GMT: Cleric Detained? Rah-e-Sabz is reporting that Hojatoleslam Hadi Ghaffari has been arrested. In June, just after the Presidential election, Ghaffari rose to prominence when the audio and video of his criticism of the Government and Supreme Leader circulated on the Internet.
0840 GMT: We've posted one of our regular Iran Football specials, "The Green Movement Shoots! It Scores!", as supporters and a former Iran football manager "hijack" a programme on Iranian state television.
0720 GMT: Sunday's Modest Declaration "We Freed the Human Race". So said President Ahmadinejad in a Cabinet meeting:
The Islamic Revolution opened a window to liberty for the human race, which was trapped in the dead ends of materialism....If the Islamic Revolution had not occurred, liberalism and Marxism would have crushed all human dignity in their power-seeking and money-grubbing claws. Nothing would have remained of human and spiritual principles.
0715 GMT: Video Shows: Threat and Defiance. Footage has been posted of Saturday's trial of Ashura detainees.
0700 GMT: About an hour ago, Iranians marked the triumphant return of Ayatollah Khomeini from exile in Paris, as schools, trains, and boats were to rang their bells at 9:33 a.m., the local time when his plane touched down in 1979. Press TV gives the straightforward line of Iranian state media.
This is the first of 11 days of commemoration, celebration, and protest, culminating in the events of 22 Bahman (11 February). No mass events are planned by the Green movement today, but the regime continues to put out its threats against any show of resistance. Sunday it was the turn of Sadegh Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, to declare that trials and executions were within the "rule of law".
We have posted the video of Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, speaking on CNN, putting out the same Government message.
tagged Ahmad Zeidiabadi, Alireza Beheshti, Allameh Tabatabei University, Arash Rahmanipour, Ashura, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Behrang Tonekaboni, CNN, Davoud Ahmadinejad, Farhang va Ahang, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Heydar Moslehi, Hojatoleslam Hadi Ghaffari, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Kalemeh, Kayhan, Kayvan Farzin, Lili Farhadpour, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Manouchehr Mottaki, Masoud Ali Mohammadi, Masoud Bastani, Massoud Ali Mohammadi, Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, Mohammad Sadegh Larijani, Mohammad Satirafar, Sadegh Zibakalam, Sadredin Shariati, Seyed Hassan Khomeini in Middle East & Iran
Ahmad Zeidiabadi, Alireza Beheshti, Allameh Tabatabei University, Arash Rahmanipour, Ashura, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Behrang Tonekaboni, CNN, Davoud Ahmadinejad, Farhang va Ahang, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Heydar Moslehi, Hojatoleslam Hadi Ghaffari, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Kalemeh, Kayhan, Kayvan Farzin, Lili Farhadpour, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Manouchehr Mottaki, Masoud Ali Mohammadi, Masoud Bastani, Massoud Ali Mohammadi, Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, Mohammad Sadegh Larijani, Mohammad Satirafar, Sadegh Zibakalam, Sadredin Shariati, Seyed Hassan Khomeini in Middle East & Iran
Reader Comments (20)
From Press TV:
"The Director General of Iran's Ministry of Culture for Foreign Media Affairs, Mohammad-Javad Aqajari, said on Sunday that the ceremonies will be covered by 226 reporters from 120 foreign media.
"More than 100 foreign reporters have also requested visas in order to cover the ceremonies," he added."
So they're taking the risk of allowing the foreign media back into the country!!!! No doubt if they do, the foreign media will be kept under tight control.
"No mass events are planned by the Green movement"
Scott can you clarify this please - wasn't sure if you meant today or for 22nd Bahmam.
Hadi Ghaffari? The same Ghaffari that assasinated Prime Minister Hoveida? What goes around comes around.
I'd love to know what Prof Sadegh Zibakalam had to say if any Persian speakers watch this clip.
Re. 0715 GMT: Video Shows: Threat and Defiance.
The video from Majles is from six years ago, not from now. It is of the strike and walkout of MPs then in protest to mass disqualifications of candidate for the seventh Majles. At that time Karoubi was the Speaker. Although he was not disqualified, he did not stand in elections in protest to the disqualifications. At the time the reformists were talking about a creeping coup.
After those elections Hadad Adel became Majles speaker and said that Iran will soon become the Japan of the Muslim world. Looking at the state of affairs now, I am not sure if what he said then was an insult to Japan or to the Muslim world. Probably to both.
Re. 0910 GMT: Cleric Detained?
Parloman News says Ghaffari hasdenied the report in Keyhan that he is arrested:
http://www.parlemannews.ir/index.aspx?n=8064
Keyhan had reported that Ghaffari was arrested because the authorities had discovered a cache of weapons in the storage of his mosque in Tehran. He now says that the storage facility was rented out to a respected businessman who had stored rice there. He also says that the weapons there belonged to the Basij. He says the Basij there was disbanded years ago and he had no idea the weapons were stored there.
Kalameh reports that Hassan Khomeini snubs Ahmadinejd during first day daheyeh fajr:
http://www.kaleme.org/1388/11/12/klm-10249
Greeny (post 4),
That story about the weapons cache in the mosque reminds me of the first reason Shirazi authorities gave fr the explosion in the prayer house in May 2008 that killed some 15 (?) people. It was only after a day or two that they changed their story to a terrorist group of some sort. I now wonder if that first story might have been true after alland the weapons cache in Shiraz belonged to the Basij? If so, the Basij are a danger to the general population without even showing up!
Greeny and All,
Sorry for error. The offender (me) has been sent to remedial Iran Politics class.
S.
Greeny
We have eventually the video of what you said yesterday the clash between ambassador to France and the french policeman but what's odd is that there is nothing in french media about it ! is it perhaps forbiden to spread this kind of informations concerning foreign diplomats ? you could find it only on the site of whereismyvote-paris : http://www.whereismyvote.fr/
Scott,
We understand it's the sheer excitement of celebrating the anniversary of return of Khomenei that befuddled you . . . . .
ange paris,
Re. IR Ambassador to France
“what’s odd is that there is nothing in french media about it ! is it perhaps forbiden to spread this kind of informations concerning foreign diplomats ?”
I also find it very strange that Radio France International originally posted the new on their Persian website. They even included an audio interview with one of the protestors who described what this video shows. But suddenly the item was pulled from the RFI website.
It may have something to do with the French teachers assistant being on “trial” in Iran and France not wanting to escalate the situation with IR. In that case, the hostage taking strategy of IR has had some success.
However I am sure if people pass the video and accurate news of the event to other (perhaps non-French outlets), it would be picked up and reported.
Although it was a rather minor incident (it was outside the house that Khomeini stayed in while in France, and I think the house was actually blown up in the 1980s), I do think it is quite a good snapshot of the reality of IR in Iran today: even high ranking IR officials are thugs and the regime not only has no problem with violence against peaceful and lawful demonstrators, in addition it expects the police to suppress protestors with brutality and if the police to do act, regime officials are quite happy to do the dirty work themselves. This reminds me of a news item back in June 09 about a deputy Trade Minister. The story was that this deputy minister had turned up in Majles with a bandaged head. When asked about it, he had said that during the protests against the election results he had tried, in his words, to enlighten the protestors and tell them to stop protesting. And he was injured in the head during this. He was clearly admitting that he was one of the plain clothes thugs and act as lebas shakhsi.
Re. 1345 GMT: The Legacy of the Revolution? & 1430 GMT: More Khomeini News.
http://www.sidewalklyrics.com/?p=3461
Pedestrian is reporting that Hassan Khomeini actually met with Ahmadinejd today but left in the middle of his speech.
It looks like they met, but Hassan Khomeini did not stay for Ahmanejad speech and went to meet the Beheshti family soon after.
Is, as Pedestrian says, this is a tacit acceptance of Ahmadinejd government? Or is Khomeini III forced to meet Ahmadinejad but leaves in the middle of Ahmadinejad’s speech in protest?
Catherine,
Zibakalam replies to the question, Where do you see the place of Islam in the Islamic Revolution?
"The IR was not for Islam, but for achieving freedom. And its connection with Sharia and Islam was that in 1979 the people thought Islam would fulfill these demands."
(abbreviated)
The Iranian listener comments unvoluntarily "barikala" (well said).
I fully agree with him :-)
AUT News publishes a letter from a female Kurdish political prisoner detailing the tortures that she has had to endure while in IR detention:
http://www.autnews.de/node/6806
She is on death row (I think) in Even Prison.
Open letter by Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi addressed to Iranian people, IR rulers and Guards and Basij members:
http://www.humanrights-ir.org/php/view.php?objnr=342
Internet connections is Tehran and Mashhad are experiencing problems:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2010/02/100201_l07_iraninternet_internet_internetdisconnection.shtml
Officials say they are upgrading fibre optic links and services will be back to normal once the upgrade work is finished. No date is given for this work to be finished.
[I am guessing sometimes after 22 Bahman!]
Greeny is right, officials of the IR are themselves petty thugs and beat any one they can get away with. Don't forget they are also cowards, and their actions are nothing but za'eef koshi, meaning they only act bold when they have the upper hand and their goons are all around them. Shame.
This is a period of morning and the dah-ye fajr is nothing but nekbat for Iran and Iranians.
Hope we never have to see that picture of Khomenei again - except as part of history.
"More than 100 foreign reporters have also requested visas in order to cover the ceremonies," he added."
re: PressTV's article about the start of the ten-day dawn events.
I'm SURE that the 100 foreign reporters are aching to cover the events of the next 10 days. I'd say it's a way of getting in to cover 22 Bahman, and the reawakening of the eyes of the world to what's going on.
"...If the Islamic Revolution had not occurred, liberalism and Marxism would have crushed all human dignity.."
Mr. Ahmadinejad credits the IR for the downfall of the Soviet Union...I really enjoy how he likes to rewrite history whenever he feels like it.
RE Greeny's post 13, here is the English translation of Shirin Alam Hooli's letter from death row - it's heartrending: http://persian2english.com/?p=5548