The Latest from Iran (25 June): A 2nd Week for the Hunger Strikes

2040 GMT: Elections Watch. Teaser of the day comes from Aftab News, which reports that a series of allies of Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf have resigned their posts to run for Parliament next March and that Qalibaf has set up an election headquarters.

1925 GMT: Oil and Politics. Further signs of pressure on Tehran over the international oil price....

Iran's OPEC representative Mohammad Ali Khatibi has charged, "America and Europe...have done everything they could to reduce global oil prices. The developments of the past few days are not at all based on supply and demand or the needs of the market, but are rather a side effect of political pressure exerted particularly from the American side."

On Thursday, the International Energy Agency announced that it would release 60 million barrels of crude from strategic oil stocks over the next month. The US immediately said it would release 30 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Immediately after the IEA announcement, oil prices fell sharply, dropping more than $8 in London and nearly $6 in New York.

The moves followed a decision by Saudi Arabia earlier this month to raise production unilaterally, after OPEC --- with Iran amongst countries arguing against increased output, which would decrease oil prices --- failed to agree on a course of action.

The Iranian Government is dependent on a high oil price to support its economic plans. Its 2011/12 budget is based on a price of $85 per barrel.

The crude oil price is currently just over $91 per barrel, although Brent crude is selling at above $105.

1915 GMT: Terrorism Watch. After a day of speeches and meetings around the international conference on terrorism, officials of Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have issued a joint statement.

Beyond the standard rhetoric on "good neighborly relations and the necessity of strengthening and expending trilateral cooperation", the three countries "underscored their strong commitment to reinforce their efforts to eradicate extremism, terrorism and militancy and also rejected external interference", as well as calling for greater efforts to fight drugs trafficking.

Iran and Pakistan also supported the reconciliation and peace process pursued by the Karzai Government in Afghanistan.

1850 GMT: All the President's Men (Arrested). Earlier today (1045 GMT) we reported on the third arrest this week of a member of the Ahmadinejad camp. And now the fourth arrest....

Afshin Roughani, the deputy to the Ministry of Industry and Mining, has been detained.

Roughani, like the other three advisors arrested this week, is close to Presidential Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai.

1840 GMT: All the President's Men. MP Esmail Kowsari has declared that the Supreme Leader has received information about some people who want to influence the Parliamentary elections in March with "power and money". He warned that "officials should be on guard".

1715 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? Ealier (1600 GMT) we noted the flutter that President Ahmadinejad was not in the picture when the Supreme Leader met Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Mehr News may ease some nerves with this photograph of Ahmadinejad looking on as Ayatollah Khamenei chats with Iraqi President Jalal Talebani.

1710 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Former Government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham has said that President Ahmadinejad made some mistakes during the 2008 elections for the current Parliament, including the choice of his staff.

1600 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? Is there any significance --- as Digarban seems to think --- that President Ahmadinejad is not in this photograph of a meeting between the Supreme Leader and Afghan President Hamid Karzai?

1555 GMT: Oil Watch. Back from a Saturday break to find that the National Iranian Oil Company has claimed discovery of a large crude oil and gas reserve in the southern region of Assalouyeh.

Officials said that the region holds about 260 billion cubic metres of natural gas and that oil reserves far exceed initial expectations.

There may be bigger questions ahead, however. Iran has had technical and financial difficulties in developing existing projects like the South Pars gas and oil field.

1100 GMT: Seditious Satellite Watch. Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, the deputy chief of Iran's armed forces, has declared that armed forces will deal decisively with corruption, including that brought by satellite broadcasting.

1055 GMT: Terrorism Watch. Both the Supreme Leader and President Ahmadinejad have used an international conference on terrorism in Tehran to launch denunciations of the US.

Ayatollah Khamenei proclaimed that Washington was supporting terrorists in the region, while Ahmadinejad said the US had used the attacks of 11 September 2001 to its benefit, sending troops to the Middle East "to save its economy and Zionist regime".

Ahmadinejad claimed, "In terms of reference and benefits, 9/11 is very similar to the Holocaust."

1045 GMT: All the President's Men (Arrested). In the third arrest of a member of the Ahmadinejad camp this week, Alireza Moghimi, the chief executive officer of the Aras Free Zone, has been detained.

Moghimi was appointed in January by Vice President Hamid Baghaei, who has subsequently been suspended from his post by an Iranian court for "numerous violations" in his Government roles.

Moghimi's arrest follows the detentions this week of Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh, who had been nominated as Deputy Foreign Minister, and Ali Asghar Parhizkar, the managing director of Arvand Free Zone and a long-time friend of Presidential Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai.

1040 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Nine members of the Pan Iranist Party’s Youth Organization have reportedly been arrested after security forces raided a meeting.

1020 GMT: The Hunger Strikes. Back from a break to find that former President Mohammad Khatami has called on 18 political prisoners to end their protest by hunger strike.

0655 GMT: The Hunger Strikes. The families of political prisoners on hunger strike, expressing concern over their health, have urged the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights “to travel to Iran and monitor the situation of the twelve prisoners and the condition of other political prisoners in Iran".

Iranian officials have refused permission for the Special Rapporteur, appointed in March, to enter the country.

0520 GMT: Terrorism Watch. Unsurprisingly, the two hunger strikes by political prisoners are not being mentioned in the Iranian state and semi-official media. Instead, the headline story today is likely to be the staging of a two-day International Conference on the Global Fight against Terrorism.

Particular attention will be paid to the presidents of two of Iran's neighbours, Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai and Pakistan's Asif Zardari.

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast set the scene by calling for "international alliance" to fight threats and to "confront the major powers' double standards toward terrorism”. He continued, “Wherever the interests of [big] powers are the issue, they step in under the pretext of fighting terrorism, and they start negotiations with terrorist groups if their interests are involved."

0505 GMT: Twelve political prisoners have entered a second week of their hunger strike at Evin Prison, protesting the recent deaths of activists Hoda Saber and Haleh Sahabi and the general situation of detainees. Six other political prisoners have begun a parallel strike at Rajai Shahr Prison.

See also Iran Feature: "One Voice" Campaign for 12 Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike

The Evin 12 are Emad Behavar (head of the Freedom Movement’s Youth Branch); Ghorban Behzadian Nejad (advisor for Mir Hossein Mousavi); Bahman Ahmadi Amoui (journalist); Abdollah Momeni and Hassan Asadi Zeidabadi (Central Council of the alumni association Tahkim-e Vahdat Alumni Association); Amir Khosrow Dalirsani (Nationalist-Religious Coalition); Abolfazl Ghadyani and Feizollah Arabsorkhi (Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution Organization); Mohammad Javad Mozaffar (publisher and Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Defense of Political Prisoners in Iran); Mohammad Reza Moghisseh (journalist and member of the Mousavi/Karroubi post-election fact-finding committee); Mohammad Davari (Chief Editor of Saham News); and Mehdi Eghbal (Islamic Iran Participation Front).

On Friday, five ---  Adbollah Momeni, Mohsen Aminzadeh, Abolfazl Ghadyani, Bahman Ahmadi Amoui, and Mehdi Karimiyan Eghbal --- were moved to the infirmary to monitor their health. The opposition inside Iran are split over the action. Some prominent figures, including the children of detained opposition figures Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, have urged the strikers to stop, but others have offered their support.