The Latest from Iran (13 December): Political Battles and Human Rights

2005 GMT: Signal of the Day. This might be the most telling news item about the future of Iranian diplomacy on the day that Foreign Minister Mottaki was fired.

While Mottaki was in Senegal on his last state trip, another Iranian emissary was leading a delegation to the strategic country of Jordan.

That emissary? President Ahmadinejad’s Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai.

That's right. The same Rahim-Mashai whose designation as a special envoy this summer prompted Mottaki's threat to resign and the Supreme Leader's chiding of the President for a "parallel" foreign policy, bringing a promise that Rahim-Mashai's position would be downgraded.

2000 GMT: Reaction to the Dismissal. We reported earlier (see 1654 GMT) that Alaeddine Boroujerdi, the chairman of the National Security Commission. learned of Foreign Minister Mottaki's dismissal from a Khabar Online reporter. His reaction is worth repeating in full: "Isn't Mr. Mottaki on a trip? You mean the dismissal decree was issued while he was on a mission?"

1840 GMT: Labour Front. A House of Labour member in Zahedan has complained that none of the promised 27,000 permanent jobs has been created in Sistan and Baluchistan.

ILNA claims 15% of workers of Neyshabour district have not received wages for four months.

Workers of Shokufeh cooking fat company in Babol assert that they have not been paid for eight months.

Workers of the Mazandaran textile firm have not been paid wages for six months over the course of the last two years.

1839 GMT: Economy Watch. Oh, dear....

Yesterday we reported that the Central Bank had not published information on growth rates for 28 months. Today it emerges that the Bank has not offered data on foreign exchange reserves since summer 2009.

1835 GMT: Subsidy Cuts Watch. Another possible "glitch" in the still-to-be-introduced subsidy cuts, as people are reporting that support payments are disappearing from their accounts.

1825 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Ali Kalaee, a member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, has been sentenced to six years in prison, with another year suspended, for "propaganda against the system" and "gathering and collusion intended to commit a crime" (i.e., membership in CHRR).

1725 GMT: CyberWatch. The website of The Feminist School has been filtered for the 20th time by Iranian authorities.

1715 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Mansour Osanloo, detained since 2007, has written about the reasons behind the repression of labour activists and asked for international solidarity with their cause.

1710 GMT: Straight Face Alert. Because I am presenting this news with a completely straight face....

Iran's Foreign Ministry has summoned the British Ambassador to Tehran to protest against the "violent and inhumane" policing of student marches in London: "The violent and inhumane handling by British police of peaceful student demonstrations and also the ambassador's interference in Iran's state matters were the reasons for his summoning by the ministry,"

The "interference" of the ambassador, Simon Gass, has continued on Twitter as he reacted to a different kind of demonstration in front of the UK embassy on Sunday: "Protest by a few Basiji students outside the Embassy yesterday. Burned the Union Jack but at least got it the right way up this time."

1703 GMT: Parliament v. President. The daily dose of parliamentary opposition has been blanketed by the breaking news over the Foreign Secretary, but leading Government critic Ali Motahari has offered another jab:"We should not allow the Iranian system to offer a perspective of oppression and ignorance of people's rights."

A bit of support for the President, however. Mohammad Nabi Habibi, a leader of the Motalefeh party, has called for public support of the programme for a "huge economic change", including privatisation and subsidy cuts as soon as possible.

And Assadollah Badamchian declares that the Majlis and judiciary must be "Islamised" as ordered by the Supreme Leader, adding western procedures in the judiciary have only led to delays in judgements.

1700 GMT: And a Bit of Diplomatic Context. President Ahmadinejad visits Turkey next week, presumably to discuss Ankara's hosting of the forthcoming nuclear talks.

So did Ali Akbar Salehi need to be in place before Ahmadinejad made the journey?

1654 GMT: The Reaction to Mottaki's Dismissal. The start of the political fallout we were anticipating....

Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh of Parliament's National Security Commission has said dismissal of Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, while he was on a state trip overseas, was against protocol. Alaeedin Boroujerdi of the Commission has testily added that MPs heard about the firing of Mottaki from Khabar Online.

1650 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Activist sites reports that five students of Sistan and Baluchistan University in Zahedan were arrested last week after demonstrations around National Students Day.

1635 GMT: Political Pirsoner Watch. The case of journalist/filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad is also drawing a lot of attention today.

Amidst worries for Nourizad's health, former President Mohammad Khatami has urged the detainee to end his hunger strike, begun on Saturday.

An on-line campaign for Nourizad, with participants such as writer Ebrahim Nabavi, has joined Khatami in urging the journalist to stay alive. They try to assure Nourizad that his oppressors will ultimately have no alternative to departure.

Nourizad's family have written to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani: "If your brother [head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani] doesn't know him, you do! We warn you that the blood of those will be shed who served this country for years" if harm comes to Nourizad.

And Banooye Sabz translates a poignant article from an unknown writer who claims he met Nourizad in Revolutionary Court last week and relays the journalist's account of his hearing:

The truth is, I knew what the end result of this show trial would be. There was no way that this individual who called himself a Judge was going to take my side rather than the side of the Intelligence Ministry. For this reason I told Moghiseh: "I neither accept you as a Judge, nor do I acknowledge the legitimacy of this court hearing." Moghiseh told the court clerk to write down what I had said and the court clerk complied. They were completing the evidence against me when Moghiseh turned to me and said: "If you don't prove your accusations, I will order them to give you lashing and make sure you receive a prison sentence." I replied: " I don't accept you, nor do I recognize this court hearing as legitimate." He said: "I will take care of you." I replied: "You are intimidated by the Intelligence Ministry. I don't accept your authority." Moghiseh turned to court clerk and said: "Write, that he just stated that I am an agent of the Intelligence Ministry and he does not acknowledge my legitimacy."

1625 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. A curious day, as the drama over the dismissal of the Foreign Minister competes with escalating stories about detainees and hunger strikes....

In a sign that the Iranian regime is feeling pressure over the case of imprisoned attorney Nasrine Sotoudeh, Mohammad Javad Larijani, the head of the human rights section of Iran's judiciary, has again tried to justify her detention.

Larijani is not giving any detail of the charges. Instead, he repeated the general declaration --- which he brought out on his tour of the US in November --- that lawyers are meant to exercise their profession in the courtroom and not meant to speak to foreign media. He then went farther, claiming Sotoudeh had contacted terrorist organisations.

1445 GMT: Reading the Changes. More to consider....

My initial approach to the dismissal of Foreign Minister Mottaki focused on the domestic power plays in Tehran, with the President scoring a key victory over rivals like Ali Larijani, especially in getting the Supreme Leader's support for the changes.

An EA correspondent offers the complementary perspective of the nuclear talks: "Timing was dependent on Khamenei. Probably both he and Ahmadinejad were impressed by Salehi over the nuclear dossier and wanted him to lead foreign policy too."

So the domestic and the foreign intersected. With last week's resumption of nuclear discussions in Geneva producing agreement on another meeting in January in Turkey, there was a window for change. If Mottaki was to go --- for whatever reason --- and Salehi was to replace him, the window of opportunity was now.

We'll refine the analysis as the day develops but note: this is significant. This is the first time since the early 1980s that a Foreign Minister has been fired.

1450 GMT: The Moves Continue. Fars reports that the President of Nuclear Sciences and Technical Research Center, Mohammad Qannadi will be the new head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation.

1355 GMT: First Clues on Mottaki's Dismissal. An EA correspondent writes:

Salehi's name had been floated as Foreign Minister before the formation of Ahmadinejad's first cabinet in 2005. He is very close to Ayatollah Khamenei and not close to Ali Larijani, as Mottaki was. The change could not have happened without the Supreme Leader's full endorsement.

1340 GMT: Mottaki Dismissed. Political battles indeed....

Iranian state media reporting that President Ahmadinejad has dismissed Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

Ali Akbar Salehi, currently the head of Iran's nuclear programme, has been named as interim Foreign Minister.

No reason is given for Mottaki's dismissal --- the media merely print the letters to Salehi and to Mottaki:"President Ahmadinejad appreciated his services and prayed for his success."

The dismissal occurred as Mottaki was in Africa trying to boost Iran's ties, for example, with a visit to Senegal.

Earlier this year, Mottaki tried to resign after the President effectively made a move to seize day-to-day control of diplomacy with the appointment of four special envoys. One of them was Ahmadinejad's right-hand man and Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai.

There is no indication yet that the revival of this dispute led to the sudden events today.

1230 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. According to the Facebook page supporting Nasrine Sotoudeh, Sotoudeh's husband Reza Khandan has said that the detained attorney is not in a coma, as had been rumoured (see separate entry). However, he said that Sotoudeh, who is on hunger strike, is ill and very weak.

1215 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? In Tehran, President Ahmadinejad addressed the members of an aid convoy which hopes to reach the Gaza Strip, declaring that all should strive for the freedom of Palestine and condemning Israel for committing "real genocide" there.

1104 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Fatemeh Maleki, the wife of Mohammad Nourizad (see 1000 GMT), and Fakhrossadat Mohtashami, the wife of leading reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh, have written the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, to declare that the lives of their husbands are in danger.

1000 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Footage has been posted of the telephone interview on Voice of America with Fatemeh Maleki, the wife of journalist/filmmaker, detainee, and hunger striker Mohammad Nourizad (see separate entry).

0835 GMT: Photograph of the Day. Blogger Hossein Derakhshan is photographed on temporary release from Evin Prison. 

Derakhshan, who was sentenced to 19 1/2 years this summer, was granted a two-day furlough after payment of a $1.5 million guarantee. He is now back in detention.

0725 GMT: After weeks of muted coverage of Iran --- apart from the nuclear issue, of course --- The Washington Post has sprung to life. Thomas Erdbrink offers the lengthy article, "Iranian President Grabbing Power from Parliament", summarising the political conflict that we have been following closely on EA:

With power increasingly centered on Ahmadinejad and the supreme leader, the president and a small circle of confidants are moving to reshape the country. They are seeking to boost Iran's profile on the international stage and, domestically, want toredistribute subsidies to the poor, extend their influence on schools and universities and move at least five million people out of the capital, Tehran.

The Ahmadinejad "government says it needs more power and wants its hand to be open to implement its policies," said Emad Afroogh, a former parliamentarian who had been a strong supporter of Ahmadinejad but now disagrees with his polices.

For the president and his ministers, the parliament is an obstacle, Afroogh said. "But if parliament is weakened and decisions are taken personally, against the constitution, in reality that would mean dictatorship."

But of course that is only part of the contested political scene. This morning we offer a snapshot analysis of the significance of political prisoners, including the news that several are on hunger strike.