The Latest from Iran (22 December): Chaining the Balloon

2155 GMT: Sedition Watch. Kurdish defendants in a trial in Tehran have said that they were paid $30 million by British intelligence to carry out terrorist acts and assassinations. The defendants also implicated elements in Iraqi intelligence "opposed to Iran".

2040 GMT: Subsidy Cuts Watch. Ali Chenar, writing for Tehran Bureau, offers some vivid first-hand testimony about the effect of the rise in gasoline prices on taxi drivers and on airlines. One cabbie summarises his reaction when the increases were announced: "Right away, I knew I was bankrupt."

1950 GMT: Picture of the Day. Journalist Abdolreza Tajik after he was released tonight on $500,000 bail (hat tip to Mehdi Saharkhiz):

1940 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The Iranian Writers Association has written an open letter calling for the freedom of economist Fariborz Reisdana.

Reisdana was detained earlier this week after he gave an interview to BBC Persian about the introduction of subsidy cuts.

Journalist Abdolreza Tajik and member of the Center for Defenders of Human Rights, has been freed from prison on $500,000 bail.

Tajik's bail was announced days ago, but his release was delayed by a judge.

1910 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (Film Edition). We have already noted this week's sentencing of prominent director Jafar Panahi to six years in prison. We should also note that fellow director Mohammad Rasouluf has received the same sentence.

1900 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Former student activist Nader Askari has been arrested after being summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence in Yasuj.

Askari has been studying for a Masters degree in post-Islamic history of Iran at Tehran University.

Maryam Baig Mohammadi, a student at Allameh Tabatabai University, has been released after a year in detention.

Mohammadi, detained during the 2009 Ashura demonstrations, was originally sentenced to three years in prison, but the term was reduced on appeal.

1825 GMT: Maybe They Should Get David Bowie as Referee. In the multiple fronts of the contest over President Ahmadinejad's right-hand man, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, this may be the most exciting.

Earlier this month, Rahim-Mashai accused conservative clerics of not being down with the kids: "Just because some do not understand music, they declare it haram (forbidden)."

Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, whose musical preferences are unknown, was not going to stand for being called un-cool: "The meaning of what this gentleman has said is that all clerics, theocrats, the late Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Khomeini], and even imams who have voiced their opposition to immoral music styles do not understand. This is an insult to all these great spiritual personalities."

However, Rahim-Mashai may have been saved because of Shirazi's lack of appreciation that music is far more important than matters like nuclear programmes and subsidy cuts: "If the situation was not special, we would not have remained silent and would have harshly confronted this person."

Still, if I was Esfandiar, I would not be blaring Madonna on my Bose speakers into the street. Makarem Shirazi warned, "Just because he has an official position does not give him the right to say whatever he wants and play around with our sanctities. We will in due time give a decisive reply to this insult."

1815 GMT: International Front. Reuters posts a preview of President Ahmadinejad's trip to Istanbul on Thursday, "Iran looks to Turkey for Support in Nuclear Dispute", with a cameo appearance by EA WorldView: "The Iranians do see Turkey as a broker and [it] will be Ahmadinejad's public stance, to include the Turks in the talks."

1720 GMT: Subsidy Cuts Watch. The table of new prices for transport has been published. Fares on buses and taxis will go up between 15% and 30%. The cost of trains and flights is unchanged.

1715 GMT: Labour Front. Reports are circulating that telecommunications workers have protested at being paid only 2% of their monthly wages.

It is also reported that some taxi drivers have gone on strike at Imam Khomeini International Airport and that taxi drivers from Qom have demonstrated outside the state broadcasting building over the increased price of diesel fuel.

1510 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Fereshteh Ghazi updates on three relatives of post-election victims who remain in detention after a raid by security forces in Behesht-e Zahra cemetery earlier this month.

On the same day that we post Masih Alinejad's "Plea to Western Media About 'Sakineh', Political Prisoners, and Human Rights", we read a column by Arash Bahmani in Rooz Online on similar lines.

Bahmani, noting the attention in the "West" to the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, asks where that attention is for political prisoners, including those on hunger strike like Nasrin Sotoudeh, long-time activists like Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, and journalists like Emad Bahavar.

1345 GMT: Subsidy Cuts Video. Al Jazeera has devoted an episode of Inside Story to the subsidy cuts. I am not sure how much light was shed on the situation, but it was intriguing to see editor and economist Saeed Laylaz --- arrested in June 2009 and sentenced in December 2009 to a nine-year prison term -- appear from Tehran on the programme.

1325 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The sentence for journalist Masoud Lavasani has been reduced to two years.

Lavasani, who was detained in September 2009, was originally sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison; the term was later reduced on appeal to six years. He has been given credit for 14 months served in detention.

1310 GMT: Corruption Watch. First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi has postponed a press conference in which he was going to address allegations of corruption against him.

Earlier this week, the Iranian judiciary said it would send Rahimi's file, which includes an alleged connection with the Fatima Street insurance fraud, to court.

1230 GMT: Bazaar Update. The Union of Goldsmiths and Jewelers has reportedly agreed to the implementation of the Government's new rates on Value Added Tax.

The unhappiness of merchants with the increased tax led to strikes this summer in bazaars in Tehran and other cities.

1205 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. More than 150 authors, translators, and journalists have written to the head of judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, asking for the freedom of detained journalist Ahmad Gholami.

1055 GMT: Mousavi-Karroubi Meeting. Kalemeh reports on a discussion between Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi on Tuesday.

The two men commented on the President's subsidy cuts; while they agreed with the measures in principle, they criticised the timing and expressed concern over the Government's ability to implement the plan.

Mousavi and Karroubi warned of a "dark future": "The country is faced with severe international sanctions, the economy is stagnating, unemployment of higher than 30 percent has spread across the country, and inflation is running wild....Implementing the plan at this time is a burden whose pressure will be felt by the middle and lower classes."

1050 GMT: The Post-Election Deaths. The formal indictment against Iranian personnel allegedly involved in the post-election incidents at the Kahrizak detention centre provides further details of the abuse and deaths of detainees.

0729 GMT: International Front. According to Afghan officials, Iran has stopped almost 2,000 fuel tanker trucks at the border, claiming that they are supplying U.S.-led forces.

About 30% of Afghanistan's fuel imports come through the western border with Iran. Afghan officials claimed the stranded fuel is used for Afghan homes, businesses and aircraft.

0720 GMT: Labour Front. Yesterday we reported on the current strike by thousands of Iranian truckers over increased prices for diesel fuel

Claims are now circulating that boatmen at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas have also stopped work.

0630 GMT: Subsidy Cuts Watch. IRNA's top story is a brief article on the announcement of a 200% increase in the price of bread. Once again, however, Iranian state media fails to explain how this limited rise will match up with the 3200% increase in the price of flour.</p>

0550 GMT: Smog Alert. William Yong of The New York Times follows up on the ongoing story of unprecedented levels of pollution in Tehran, connecting this to the increasing of lower-quality domestic gasoline amidst sanctions and the economic situation.

0545 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Press TV picks up on yesterday's escalation of sanctions by the US Treasury, with new measures against the Revolutionary Guard and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. The website adds that former Minister of Energy Parviz Fattah is also targeted.

0540 GMT: Last night Iranians celebrated Shab-e Yalda, their celebration the winter solstice and the longest night of the year.

We begin this morning with a less festive cartoon. Nikahang Kowsar illustrates the six-year prison sentence --- and the 20-year ban on making movies, talking to media, and travelling abroad --- imposed on Jafar Panahi, the celebrated film director whose works include The White Balloon: