The Latest from Iran (17 March): Economy Watch

2100 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist and human rights activist Kaveh Kermanshahi has been given a four-year sentence by an appeals court.

Kermanshahi was originally sentenced to five years in prison.

1700 GMT: We're Watching You. Ayatollah Nourollah Tabarasi, a member of the Assembly of Experts, has declared that 53 intelligence networks have been established to spy on 60,000 seminary students.

1645 GMT: Back from an academic break to find that Ali Karroubi, the son of Mehdi Karroubi, has been released from detention.

Ali Karroubi was arrested more than three weeks ago during a raid on his parents' home and their possible move from house arrest to detention.

1445 GMT: Rafsanjani-"Moderate Conservative" Watch (Connect the Dots Edition). Two stories which may be linked....

Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, recently removed as head of the Assembly of Experts, posts an interesting message for Nowruz (Iranian New Year). He says, "Our nation deserves logic and satisfaction", concluding that the Government must be moral and immorality is not good for the system and the Revolution.

Rafsanjani also makes an interesting political claim, arguing that there is a significant division within the majority Principlist bloc.

The second story is that of key MPs, such as Ali Motahari, taking aim at the Government for its lavish Nowruz celebrations, including a commemoration at Persepolis, the ancient seat of the Persian Empire, at a time of economic hardship for the country.

The MPs lay the blame for this extravagance at the feet of President Ahmadinejad's right-hand man, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai. They see it as another side of Rahim-Mashai's deviant "Iran School of Thought" challenging the "Islamic School of Thought" that has underpinned the Revolution.

So how did these two stories fit together? Analysis on Friday....

1045 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. An EA source points us to an interview with Fatemeh Kamali, the wife of the imprisoned journalist Emad Baghi.

Kamali explained that Baghi, kept in Ward 350 of Evin Prison, only gets brief weekly visits, separated from his family by glass and speaking to them over a telephone. The visit for Iranian New Year has been cancelled, and the Tehran Prosecutor has refused a furlough from prison.

Asked, "Why didn't you complain to authorities?", Kamali resopnded, "Complain of whom to whom? We do not really know if there is a neutral source to complain to and receive a rational response."

Kamali concludes, "It is astonishing that the ordinary prisoners are granted leave of absence which we welcome but political prisoners' leaves of absence are denied. These are the ones who are thinking of reforming the society with sincere aims."

0840 GMT: To Infinity and Beyond. The state news agency IRNA reports that Iran has successfully tested a spacecraft to sustain life in orbit.

The capsule was carried by the rocket Kavoshgar-4 (Explorer-4) about 75 miles (120 kilometres) into orbit on Tuesday before returning to earth.

0810 GMT: Picture of the Day. Journalist Nazenin Khosravani, freed from 135 days of detention on Wednesday:

0805 GMT: A Tense New Year? MP Asadollah Badamchian, a supporter of the Government, has expressed concern over polticial and social issues in the new Iranian year, which begins next week. Badamchian said there must be free Parliament elections, as Iran maintains unity and does not bow to international pressures.

0800 GMT: Clerical Front. Ayatollah Dastgheib has made another pointed criticism of the Iranian leadership, declaring that "even a faqih (clerical leader) can't guide people to God, if he has love for earthly things and being in power".

Meanwhile, Parliament's Article 10 Commission has revoked the licence of a reformist seminary in Qom.

0745 GMT: Unity v. the "Iron Fist". Ebrahim Nabavi puts out a sharp comment this morning, "Under the iron fist of oppression, all unity gets shattered." He continues, "Iranians must accept each other to be able to fight against the regime" and deplores the opposition's lack of media and diplomatic contacts.

0745 GMT: The House Arrests. Eight former Presidents and Prime Ministers have condemned the "disappearances" of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.

The leaders signing the open letter are from the Netherlands, Colombia, France, Yemen, Latvia, Norway, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius.

0600 GMT: Nothing more beyond Wednesday's intriguing report that the detained opposition Mehdi Karroubi and his wife Fatemeh had met a family friend in a "friendly setting", their first contact with outsiders since they were put under strict house arrest --- and possibly moved to detention --- by Iranian authorities in mid-February.

So we begin this morning on the economic front. Iranian state media headlines that Iran's oil exports to Italy rose more than 80% in 2010 despite sanctions. The report is based on data published by Italy's Unione Petrolifera.

A different emphasis from a German journalist, who offers an audio report on the economic situation in Iran. Andreas Hain claims that seven million people are refusing to pay debts, leaving the banking system on the verge of collapse. He asserts that those with "small" debts cannot repay them because of the effects of subsidy cuts and inflation, while those with "big" debts "just don't care".