The Latest from Iran (26 June): When Arrests Are "Normal"

2000 GMT: Reformist Watch. MP Dariush Ghanbari has given an indication that reformists --- or at least those allied with him --- will participate in the 2012 Parliamentary vote, saying they have "serious plans" for the elections.

1910 GMT: The Hunger Strikers. Kalemeh reports that two of the six hunger strikers at Rajai Shahr Prison, Masoud Bastani and Isa Saharkhiz, have been transferred to the infirmary.

Earlier today (see 1650 GMT) Isa Saharkhiz's son Mehdi said his father was in "critical condition" after three days on hunger strike.

1855 GMT: Economy Watch. The Iranian Labor News Agency reports that the cost of manufacturing ceramic tiles has risen 37% in a year because of higher energy bills.

1705 GMT: Energy Watch. A spokesman for Parliament's Energy Committee has punctured the Government's claim of imminent "self-sufficiency": consumption of gasoline is 70 million litres but domestic production is only 44 million.

1650 GMT: The Hunger Strikes. Mehdi Saharkhiz, the son of detained journalist Isa Saharkhiz, says his father is in critical condition after beginning a hunger strike at Rajai Shahr Prison this week.

Isa Saharkhiz is one of six political prisoners who started a strike in support of 12 detainees at Evin Prison who stopped eating on 18 June.

1620 GMT: Currency Watch. According to Fars, the Ministry of Economy opposed this month's 11% devaluation of the Iranian rial by the Central Bank.

Ministry officials said they were not consulted and were “shocked” by CBI’s unilateral action.

The Central Bank contends that the devaluation will slow down the rapid growth in imports and bring the country’s official exchange rate close to that in the market.

The Ministry's opposition is in part because devaluation is likely to fuel inflation, with importers of raw materials passing along added costs to consumers.

1525 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Documentary filmmaker and women's rights activist Mahnaz Mohamadi has reportedly been arrested in her home today.

1440 GMT: In the Skies. Peyke Iran reports that Iran Air has been barred from landing in the Serbian capital Belgrade.

Iran Air's flights to Europe have been restricted in the last year by sanctions, including restrictions on fuel for its aircraft.

1430 GMT: When Politics is "Normal". The conservative Motalefeh has said there is nothing out of the ordinary in the meetings of its leaders with former President Hashemi Rafsanjani over the current political situation.

Some observers have claimed that Motalefeh and Rafsanjani are exploring the possibility of an alliance, both over immediate issues and for the 2012 Parliamentary elections.

Motalefeh said meetings with Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and the head of the judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, will follow. It added that President Ahmadinejad did not reply to their request for a discussion.

1310 GMT: Parliament v. President (Sports Report). Parliament has discussed alleged Government violations in its handling of the Ministry of Sport. An "occupational ban" of 1-5 years on President Ahmadinejad is possible.

Legislators were infuriated earlier this month by a letter from President Ahmadinejad, introducing his nominee for Minister of Sports, which was a lengthy criticism of the ministry. The President has also refused Parliament's bill merging the ministry with the Ministry of Youth.

Ahmadinejad's nominee, Hamid Sajjadi, was subsequently rejected by Parliament.

1250 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Mojtaba Zolnour, the Supreme Leader's representative to the Revolutionary Guards, has continued his assault on the President. He said that the vote for Ahmadinejad in the 2009 Presidential election was a choice between the "worse" and "worst" of a sedition led by a contender like Mir Hossein Mousavi or Mehdi Karroubi.

Zolnour continued that, if Mousavi or Karroubi had boycotted Government service for 11 days, as Ahmadinejad did in the conflict over the Ministry of Intelligence this spring, there would have been "riots" throughout Iran.

1015 GMT: All the President's Men (Arrested). Iran Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei has not only confirmed the recent arrests of President Ahmadinejad's allies (see 0515; he has said there will probably be more, including in connection with the case of Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh, who is close to Presidential Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai.

Malekzadeh was arrested last week just after he withdrew his name to become Deputy Foreign Minister.

0955 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. An appeals court has confirmed a two-year sentence for attorney Mohammad Seifzadeh.

Seifzadeh, one of many defence lawyers to be imprisoned after the 2009 Presidential election, had initally been sentenced to nine years and a ban on the practice of law for anti-regime propaganda and for establishment, with Shirin Ebadi, of the Center of Defenders of Human Rights.

0945 GMT: The Hunger Strikes. Ghorban Behzadian Nejad and Mehdi Karimian Eghbal, two of the 12 hunger strikers at Evin Prison, have reportedly been transferred to hospital.

On Saturday, news circulated that another striker, former Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Aminzadeh, was hospitalised.

On Friday, it was reported that five of the 12 strikers, now in the 9th day of their protest, had been taken to the prison infirmary.

0930 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Parliament has approved the President's nominee for Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Ali Nikzad.

Nikzad obtained the vote of 205 of the 237 MPs who were present.

0835 GMT: A Call for Unity (continued). Last week Setareh Sabety posted a "call to meet", suggesting that all Iranian diaspora groups convene to set out goals for the opposition to the regime. After a vigorous reaction to the suggestion, she has published a follow-up:

Identifying and analyzing a problem ad infinitum is insufficient. Implementation is key. To inject new life to a movement that is being held hostage, we need to adopt...naïve optimism.

I envision a meeting that is not afraid of being open. I include groups such as MEK [the Mujahedin-e-Khalq, which has sought the violent overthrow of the regime] and the Monarchists because meetings that excluded anyone have failed. Though dictatorial groups will probably not show up at a meeting they didn't organize, we have nothing to fear if they do take part because we will be following rules of democratic governance in running the meeting. It will be a display of Iranian democracy in action; excluding certain groups goes against the spirit of unity and democracy that the meeting aims to create.

0645 GMT: A "Normal" Contest. A couple of interesting headlines from Sunday newspapers....

Tehran Emrooz, which is close to Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, declares that the Ahmadinejad Government is now one of "caretakers". It specifically asserts that a file on the government's violations over the Tehran Metro has been sent to the judiciary.

The reformist Ebtekar, meanwhile, is optimistic that the Guardian Council has given a "green light" to reformers for political participation, as the conservative in-fighting builds over the 2012 Parliamentary elections. 

0515 GMT: An EA reader, commenting yesterday on the escalation of conflict around President Ahmadinejad, reassured, "Democratic politics can often be like this. Get used to it."

The questionable use of "democratic" aside, he may have a point. The fight between the President's men and their critics is now so entrenched that even the arrests of two more officials close to Ahmadinejad's camp caused barely a ripple for much of the Iranian press.

Afshin Roughani, a deputy to the Ministry of Industry and Mining, and Alireza Moghimi, chief executive officer of the Aras Free Zone, were the third and fourth officials to be detained this week. Both are long-time allies of controversial Presidential Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai.

One might wonder, however, how much longer "normal" can last if the arrests continue. And some detentions are more equal than others. As one conservative Iranian site, which did take notice, pondered, "What next for Rahim-Mashai?"