The Latest from Iran (6 February): Eyes on the Real Prize

2200 GMT: And The Pace Accelerates. Hard to keep up tonight --- Mehdi Karroubi's Etemade Melli party has now made another move for 22 Bahman, following up the cleric's declarations today with a list of proposals for reconciliation. We have posted them in a separate entry.

2100 GMT: An Extraordinary Offer? We have posted what we think might be a significant move by the "conservative opposition" to the President: an open letter to Mir Hossein Mousavi with the offer, "Back Khamenei and We Can Move Against Ahmadinejad".

1950 GMT: Another Attack on Ahmadinejad's Camp. Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani has effectively asked for the President's Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, to be put on trial. Once again, the challenge is circulated through the pro-Rafsanjani Ayande News.

NEW Iran: The “Reconciliation” Proposals of Karroubi’s Etemade Melli Party
NEW Iran: “Conservative Opposition” Offer to Mousavi “Back Khamenei, We Sack Ahmadinejad”
NEW Iran Space Shocker: Turtle-Astronauts Defect to West
NEW Iran Document: Karroubi’s Open Letter for 22 Bahman (6 February)
NEW Iran: Quick! Look Over There! The Nuclear Distraction
NEW Iran Document: Iranian Journalists Write Their Overseas Colleagues About 22 Bahman
NEW The Netherlands: Court Throws Out Ban on Iranian Students
Latest Iran Video: Claimed Protest in Southern Iran (1 February)
Latest Iran Video: What Does the Iranian Public Really Think? (4 February)
Iran Analysis: The Missing Numbers in the Economy
The Latest from Iran (5 February): Into the Tunnel

1800 GMT: We're taking a break for a while, so we have posted a Saturday Special: "Iran's Turtle-Astronauts Defect to West".

1650 GMT: Not Us. Both Iran's head of police, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam and his Tehran counterpart Ahmad-Reza Radan have declared they had no role in the Kahrizak Prison scandal.

1645 GMT: A Less Upbeat Approach for 22 Bahman. The Kargozaran Party, fostered by Hashemi Rafsanjani in the 1990s, has put out a different, pessimistic criticism of the Government, noting that the revolutionaries of 1979 are either without hope or in jail. It states that these are difficult times for the country and the people, whose rights are ignored, and difficult times for political parties who are under pressure. They have restated Ayatollah Khomeini's slogan "Islamic Republic, not a word less or more".

1640 GMT: No Conciliation from Khamenei. Reformist websites are featuring the claim that the Supreme Leader turned down a request from Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili to free top Mousavi advisor Alireza Beheshti, saying that he would not interfere in the case and was leaving it to Iran's judiciary.

1630 GMT: For What It's Worth. I suspect that --- at this point --- this is no more than posture, but Iran's Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei has announced that a second group of members of Parliament has sued Mir Hossein Mousavi.

And another warning from Sobh–e-Sadegh, the magazine of the Revolutionary Guard, which has condemned the Green movement leaders and asked them to repent before 22 Bahman or face being "confronted and punished harshly". (English-language summary)

1610 GMT: We have now posted Mehdi Karroubi's open letter, published today: "The common face of this movement is holding to the right to vote, free elections, a free press, the unconditional freedom of political prisoners, the reform of the work of governing and legislating and respect for the people’s civil rights."

1550 GMT: And From the Other Corner. After 72 hours of relative quiet, the "reformist" opposition has revved up today. Former President Mohammad Khatami has made another call for 22 Bahman (original in Parleman News):

We should not think that after the victory of the Islamic Revolution on 11 February everything is done, but the fact is that 11 February is only a beginning of the hard efforts of the people in order to achieve the goals and demands of the revolution.

Reform is nothing separate from this path and that is why we believe that it has deep roots and cannot be eliminated.

And here comes Mehdi Karroubi with a double declaration: we are about to post the full text of his latest statement on his website Saham News. Meanwhile, he has given an interview to the German magazine Der Spiegel, restating his defense of protest and condemnation of the Government in recent weeks:

The political prisoners must be set free, we need freedom of the press and freedom of assembly, our electoral law must be changed and a free election must take place. But then the current government would hardly be able to hold on to power.

1540 GMT: Now This is Getting Interesting (cont.): First there is Speaker of Parliament's Larijani assault on the President, then there is his deputy Mohammad Reza's Bahonar's criticism, as he warned Ahadminejad supporters, "At least for the sake of your own benefit do not condemn the previous Presidencies."

And there's more: Bahonar claimed that the Presidency of Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-1997) was the "best and most productive time for the country since the Revolution". eras.

1525 GMT: Larijani Fights Back Against Ahmadinejad. Now this nuclear business is getting interesting. Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, speaking at Tehran University, has put out a series of criticisms of talks on uranium enrichment: the claim of the "West" to be concerned about Iran's nuclear programme is just "political fraud"; its manoeuvres are “double-sided and prejudicial”; “Iranians are not so gullible" as to believe the negotiations are genuine.

A heads-up, however, to Western news agencies who headline: "Iran's Larijani Blasts West Over Nuclear Deal". It's not the West who is his primary target, but the one Iranian who is too "gullible" in this affair: a Mr. M. Ahmadinejad.

1205 GMT: Once Again, With Feeling. Iran's police chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam has issued another warning that protest on 22 Bahman will be put down:

Now that the different dimensions of the sedition are clear, we won't show any more tolerance. Police will act firmly to defend the society's security and those who break the law will be dealt with severely.

Moghadam also returned to his declaration that Iran's police would take control of the Internet and mobile-phone texting to break the demonstrations: ""The new technologies allow us to identify conspirators and those who are violating the law, without having to control all people individually."

1155 GMT: Back in Iran. Ahh, here comes the fight-back on Ahmadinejad's nuclear move. Ayande News passes on the objections of the "hard-line" Kayhan to any swap of Iran's uranium stock outside the country.

1125 GMT: And the Sideshow. Almost all media are now jumping the nuclear cliff, jumping into the phase of "Western" reaction to Foreign Minister Mottaki's statement last night. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates takes the soundbite lead, "I don't have the sense we are close to an agreement" (watch to see if the Turks, whom Gates was meeting in Ankara, are as dismissive). The BBC adds more cold water from the German Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, and the European Union's head of foreign policy, Catherine Ashton.

1010 GMT: The Main Event. Despite Iranian Foreign Manouchehr Mottaki's attempt to put attention on the nuclear issue (see separate entry) at the Munich Security Conference, the post-election crisis made the agenda during Mottaki's public discussion with Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.

Mottaki insisted that most Iranians accepted the result of the June Presidential election "except a very few people who started violations, who did crimes, who burned houses and buses and damaged anything in the streets". He challenged the audience, "Are you tolerant in your countries to violations and crimes?"

Bildt asked Mottaki for a promise that nine political prisoners condemned to death would not be executed ---"that would clearly have the most detrimental effect on the other aspects of the (EU-Iran) relationship" --- but Mottaki returned to the refrain of an 85 percent turnout in the election and an Ahmadinejad victory by 11 million votes. The remark brought hisses and boos from the audience.

(This exchange was noted by The Earth Times. We're still looking for a sign that Western "mainstream" media, led by the nuclear issue, have taken any notice. Meanwhile, credit to the German television station which did put forward questions on the internal situation, as well as the nuclear matter, to Mottaki in an interview.)

0945 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? We apologise: it's not all nukes for the Iranian Government today. President Ahmadinejad visited a girls' school today to declare that more than 1200 educational and sports projects have been launched around Iran.

0940 GMT: The Committee on Human Rights Reporters updates on prominent writer and literary critic Khalil Darmanki, detained for almost 40 days in ward 209 of Evin Prison.

0935 GMT: We've split off our first update --- noting the Iran Government's effort, using a "deal" on the uranium enrichment issue, to turn eyes away from the forthcoming 22 Bahman protests --- as a separate entry.

0925 GMT: The International Human Rights Campaign in Iran highlights the case of seven students arrested after a protest at Tehran University, condemning the execution of Ehsan Fattahian, on 16 November. The whereabouts of Pakhshan Azizi, Amanj Heidari, Leila Mohammadi, Ahmad Ismaili, Sarveh Veisi, Abdullah Arefi, and Hajhar Yousefi are still unknown. Sources say three of the students have been on hunger strike amidst torture, intimidation, and threats of rape by Ministry of Information agents.

0915 GMT: 40 Nobel Prize laureates have taken out an advertisement in The New York Times denouncing "the repression of the Iranian people" by the Ahmadinejad Government.

0855 GMT: No! Look Over Here! More from Iran's state media: Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi opened two new missile production plants on Saturday, just three days after Iran fired a rocket carrying live animals into space."

0840 GMT: Non-News of the Day (So Far). Despite heated and anxious rumours across the Internet, the regime did not carry out the executions of nine political prisoners (four pre-election, five post-election) sentenced to death for mohareb (war against God).

0835 GMT: Some of the News that the Iran Government Would Prefer You Not Notice. We've posted an open letter from Iranian journalists to their overseas colleagues, urging them to cover the most important stories --- rather than the State set-pieces --- on 22 Bahman (11 February).

Amnesty International has published a statement, "Unite for Human Rights in Iran on February 11th", declaring:

Since blogs and websites like Twitter and YouTube were virtually the only way the Iranian people could expose the horrific treatment being inflicted on them in the days following the contested Presidential election, we expect that Iranians will turn to the Internet once again to carry their messages. That is why we are asking everyone to show their solidarity online on February 11th – whether it’s on your blog, website, or social networking profile.

Comments

[nomoredespots]

Anything Mottaki says we take with a grain of salt. Flip flopping, dilly dallying, time wasting delay tactics. That's all he's good at.

[Catherine]

RE 11.25 The BBC adds more cold water ....
But only the inimitable Times Online has the documents to prove it:
http://enduringamerica.com/2010/02/06/iran-quick-look-over-there-the-nuclear-distraction/comment-page-1/#comment-26352

[Catherine]

And the reason Gates' reaction is so dismissive (barring the possibility that the Times Online's documents are kosher) is probably because the US believes Iran is now more susceptible than ever to international economic sanctions.
But is this true?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123380185&ft=1&f=1004

[Catherine]

"Why isn't the International Community holding Iran accountable on human rights issues?" asked Hadi Ghaemi from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran at a panel presented on 2 February in Washington by the Center for American Progress.

According to Ghaemi, a new multilateral approach to Iran would be best for the US, utilizing the upcoming Universal Periodic Review that the United Nations will be carrying out in February. This review, which looks at UN member states' human rights records every four years, will present a prime opportunity for the world to bring greater attention to the post-election crackdown in Iran, with the possibility of authorizing a special rapporteur to monitor human rights in Iran even closer.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/yzkjtnr

[Peace]

On the Human Rights subject .......

Two young men, Sorena and his friend Alireze Firouzi have been missing (arrested) some weeks ago and the parents have no idea of their whereabout nor their health condition. Sorena's father has written a poignant letter which has been translated and posted by Naj and Pedestrian in their blogs :

http://iranfacts.blogspot.com/2010/02/thinking-of-all-iranian-activists-who.html

http://www.sidewalklyrics.com/?p=3475

And here is an interview with Alireza's mom ( in persian):

http://www.rhairan.com/archives/126

She basically is saying that they have solid proof that their son has been arrested but the authorities refuse to give them any information .

The more the media talks about them , the bigger the chances will be to see them alive or even released .

[Arshama]

@ 1010 GMT: Mottaki

Fortunately German newspapers are full of disdain for Mottaki's ambiguous offers and obvious lies about the human rights situation in Iran: http://www.stern.de/politik/ausland/irans-verhandlungsangebot-stoesst-auf-misstrauen-1541201.html
"Wie Iran den Westen vor den Kopf stößt" http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2010-02/sicherheitskonferenz-iran-kommentar

As to the questions put forward by anchorman Tom Buhrow from German ARD (main national TV station), I wondered about their directness. He had certainly got the green light to do so. I love this Green light :-)

[Arshama]

@ 0940 GMT: CHHR reports

Mizan Khabar has posted an open letter, signed by innumerable Iranian artists, writers, filmmakers and journalists (in and outside Iran), asking for the immediate release of their colleagues Arvin Sedaghat-Kish, Hamed Rajabi, Behrang Tonkaboni, Keyvan Farzin, Mohammad-Ali Shirzadi, Mehraneh Atashi, her husband Majid Ghaffari and Lili Farhadpour: http://mizankhabar.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=315:1388-11-17-08-28-10&catid=43:2010-01-09-15-51-03&Itemid=123

[Catherine]

RE 15-16.00 GMT other conservatives pushing back against AN's nuclear deal pronouncements

The blowback started last Thursday already with some conservatives casting doubt on the veracity of his statements aand asking for clarification of his position:
http://tinyurl.com/yfgqfs4

[Catherine]

RE AN and nuclear threat to Israel, cartoon via Twitter:
http://tinyurl.com/yzq2bjs

[Bill]

Catherine,

I think the reason Gates and a number of Western leaders are dismissive is because they believe it to be a sham to buy time. History clearly shows Iran on numerous occasions has presented a "olive branch" only to kill the notion later. Frankly the West will only believe when the Supreme POO POO puts his stamp on the endorsement. Until then it will be viewed as more tactics to delay and buy time.

The silver linning is the fact that Iran won't be able to "negotiate" and create a storm over it keep the focus off the domestic problems. Supreme POO POO and his pet monkey, A Ma Dinner Jacket, must have their panties all up in a twist over that prospect!

Thx
Bill

[ange paris]

Catherine
your post #9, very funny , thank you; when he says to dunkey which direction to take ! and the latter is so bored !

[Greeny]

Re. 1640 GMT: No Conciliation from Khamenei.

It looks like the reformists are starting to place the blame for the arrests (and possibly the tortures) directly at SL’s feet.

So Mousavi-Ardebili goes to SL and asks for Beheshti’s release and SL refuses to help (saying last time I intervened but this time I won’t intervene) and a short while later Mousavi give out a statement saying that IR is as bad and tyrannical as the Shah, signalling out Beheshti as an example of people jailed unjustly by IR.

It’s starting to look like an attempt to set SL up and start blaming officially for things that IR is doing these days. If so, this could be the start of shift in reformist policy: start blaming SL directly for the problems rather than appealing to him for help. This would be a practical way of questioning SL’s legitimacy and leader and arbiter in IR.

[S]

installing loud speakers from enghelab sqr to azaadi http://onlymehdi.saharkhiz.net/archives/195859653

[R Lauk]

It is beyond sad how the world is ignoring what Iran's government has done and is doing to its people. So much for Obama "healer of the worlds ills" doing anything at all. He is worthless. The world's leaders, the U.N., all worthless. True human rights mean nothing to any of them. Money walks, money talks, and money is all their hearts desire. People get in boats and try and stop whales from being harmed, but harm the people of the world, that is okay. It is a pathetic world for human beings and all of God's creatures this night.