The Latest from Iran (18 November): Smoke and Politics

See also Iran Video and Analysis: 4-Point Guide to a Train-Wreck Discussion with Top Official Mohammad Javad Larijani
Iran Interview: UN's Special Rapporter on Human Rights to Tehran "Co-Operate With Me"
The Latest from Iran (17 November): The Regime Mobilises...for Occupy Wall Street

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1628 GMT: The House Arrests. Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, the son of detained opposition figures Mehdi and Fatemeh Karroubi, has hit back at the claim of Mohammad Javad Larijani, a senior official in Iran's judiciary, that the strict house arrests were imposed after a judicial process.

The younger Karroubi said no legal documents were presented and that officials of the Ministry of Intelligence said the judiciary "has no say in this case".

1621 GMT: Bad Behaviour Watch. Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi has said that the Internet, mobile phones, and girl-boy relations are "general plagues" affecting Iran.

1617 GMT: Tough Talk of the Day. Gholamreza Shafieizadeh, the Friday Prayer leader in Rasht: "if Iran gets attacked, our Basij will invade the whole of Saudi Arabia within a few hours".

1615 GMT: Not the All-is-Well Alert of the Day. Iran's Inspector General Mostafa Pourmohammadi is concern that the country's "situation is sensitive and alarming", with developments in the Arab world proving the Islamic Republic is in a difficult position.

Pourmohammadi, while saying 65% of people are satisfied with living conditions, said the President had raised expectations among people and must now lower them.

1605 GMT: Economy Watch. Kalemeh claims that the price of one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of tomatoes has risen by 500 Toman (about 37 cents) within a week --- they now cost 1700 Tomans (about $1.30).

Jahan-e San'at headlines that there is "not much left" to destroy in domestic agriculture, noting Iran's top six imports are foreign agricultural products.

1555 GMT: Bank Fraud Watch. Khodnevis names five MPs whom a fellow legislator is claiming are implicated in the $2.6 billion bank fraud. The most prominent is Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Parliament's National Security Commission. The others are Arsalan Fathipour, Moh Dehghan, Jabbar Kuchakinejad, and Samad Marashi.

1550 GMT: The House Arrests. Opposition activists Ardeshir Amir Arjomand and Mojtaba Vahedi have denounced the statement of senior regime official Mohammad Javad Larijani, on his tour of New York, that the house arrests imposed on 2009 Presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi were the outcome of a legal process.

Arjomand and Vahedi said the claims are "pure lies" and that Mousavi and Karroubi were detained on the order of the Supreme Leader.

Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi and Fatemeh Karroubi have been held under heavy security guard since mid-February.

1530 GMT: Today's Friday Prayer Update. Ayatollah Emami Kashani tells the faithful today that the "retreat of Western states versus Ayatollah Khamenei's strong words proves the importance of Iran" and that the Islamic Republic was elected by 98% of the people.

1500 GMT: Nuke Watch. Western diplomats are telling media that a new International Atomic Energy Agency resolution, agreed by the US and other powers, will express “deep and increasing concern about the unresolved issues” in Iran's nuclear activities but will defer any discussion of new UN sanctions until the spring.

Russia and China have spoken out against US-led efforts at further punishment of Tehran after last week's IAEA report.

1455 GMT: All-is-Well Alert. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the head of the Basij militia, has tried to ease nerves after last weekend's blast at a Revolutionary Guards base that killed up to 36 people, including Commander Rashid Islam Hassan Moghaddam: "We foiled several Zionist attempts to kill Moghaddam before --- they have not infiltrated Sepah [the Guards]."

1431 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Swiss authorities have tightened sanctions against the Irajavascript:noop();nian regime, adding 116 names to those on a blacklist for financial and travel embargoes.

Among those named is Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who is a former head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran. President officials from AEOI and 111 companies are also targeted.

Swiss sanctions mpw cover 250 individuals and institutions.

In January, Switzerland extended a ban on good that can be used in weapons production and imposed financial restrictions on the Iranian oil and gas industry.

1425 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. A website of the Iranian group Ansar-e Hezbollah has commented on the President's threat to bring out damaging information on his critics: if he revealed 50 to 70% of his claim, what a storm he would raise."

1025 GMT: (Dis)Unity Watch. Mohammad Nabi Habibi, the head of the Motalefeh Party, told Thursday's "unity front" meeting that the conditions of the Islamic Constancy Front for joining are "unacceptable", warning the Front that the Guardian Council will reject "deviant current" candidates.

1020 GMT: War Drums. Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, on an appearance in Ahwaz on Thursday, said, "We must not take Israel's war threats very seriously, but should be prepared."

0810 GMT: Nuke Watch. More than 175 Iranian activists have issued an open statement denounces the regime's "pursuit of the nuclear adventure" and declares:

An effective and responsible way to prevent war requires the organization of a powerful social movement which includes various tendencies and factions for the Iranian social mosaic which wants independence, pride, democracy, the observance of human rights, a lasting and humane peace, interaction and friendship with the world and has nothing to do with the peace of the grave, injustice, absolutism, and absolutist peace.

Setareh Sabety, one of the signatories, explains in an opinion for The Huffington Post, "While the bomb would not be a real threat neither to Israel, who has many more, nor to the US, who can blow all of us to bits in a jiffy, it is more of a threat to us Iranians and for the struggle for democracy in Iran."

0755 GMT: Currency Watch. Another record low for the Iranian rial against the US dollar on Wednesday, as it ended the day at 13400:1.

The currency has fallen steadily over the year and is now 24% weaker than in November 2010.

0745 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The wife of detained human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani said a lawsuit will be filed against Mohammad Javad Larijani, a senior official in Iran's judiciary, for his assertion that Soltani and other imprisoned attorneys are connected to terrorists.

Massoumeh Dehghan quoted her husband: "If it’s possible, I’ll file the suit myself, but my hands are tied here as I have no pen and no paper. But because of the unfounded accusation made against me, a charge about which I have not been informed, nor has it been proven, I will either file a lawsuit against him myself, or I will ask my lawyers to do this on my behalf.”

At a Wednesday press conference in New York, Larijani said, “No lawyer is in prison because he is a lawyer or he is a defender of human rights. But any person who is involved in activities which are against the security of the state, especially their relations with terrorist groups … Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani has relations with terrorist groups which are responsible for murdering more than 10,000 people in Iran."

Soltani, co-founder of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, was arrested on 10 September. He has been detained on three occasions since 2005. He told his wife that he has been charged with "propagating against the regime", "establishing the Defenders of Human Rights Center", "assembly and collusion against national security", and "accepting an unlawful prize".

Feresteh Ghazi of Rooz Online notes that not one political detainees was among the 912 prisoners who were pardoned or had their sentences commuted by the Supreme Leader for the Muslim ceremony of Eid Ghadir.

0735 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. One of a series of photos from ISNA of the President's 1-on-1 meetings with people in a south Tehran railway station on Thursday:

0725 GMT: Now the Good News. We noted yesterday that Ali Saeedi, the Supreme Leader's representative to the Revolutionary Guards, had condemned those who protested after the 2009 Presidential election, saying in effect "their blood could be shed".

Mehr gives the less violent side of Saeedi's speech, as he urged a large turnout for March's Parliamentary election. He said people's votes generate Ayatollah Khamenei's power and hardliners --- including President Ahmadinejad --- are Iran's hope. Saeedi added that,if people and the Revolutionary Guards lose faith, this would be "irreplaceable".

0720 GMT: The Explosion. Digarban publishes, in English, the names of 36 victims of last Saturday's blast at a Revolutionary Guards base west of Tehran --- the Guards have claimed that only 17 people died.

0710 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Mehdi Hashemi, the Britain-based son of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, continues to command attention and more than a little controversy. Critics have claimed that he entered the Ph.D. programme at Oxford University without necessary qualifications, and a Canadian court has ordered him to pay millions of dollars in compensation to a victim, ruling that he "orde[red] the torture of a Iranian businessman who refused to surrender control of his oil consultancy...and pay a demanded $50 million".

Nikahang Kowsar's Hashemi is not concerned, however, "Don't worry, daddy! Friendly sites and networks know that reporting on Oxford and the Canada file are not advisable."

0650 GMT: We noted earlier this week that, 11 days after a court ban on water pipes for smoking, in public places, the Government removed teahouses from the prohibition.

The Guardian follows up the story, noting that the permission is partial, as it "appears to be only for men", adding, "In July this year, Hossein Sajedinia, the Tehran police chief, announced a new restriction, prohibiting women from entering tea houses and traditional restaurants where water pipes, known as ghalyan in Persian, were served."

The Guardian argues that "the swift repeal of a ban...highlights the extent of a power struggle between the President and his supporters on one side, and the conservatives of the judiciary and the Parliament on the other side".

I'm not sure the water pipes are at the centre of that struggle, but here at EA we --- both men and women --- will continue our discussion this week of the manoeuvres among the President, his foes within the establishment, and the Supreme Leader.