The Latest from Iran (19 August): "A Lonely Purgatory"

1940 GMT: Fashion Watch. The hijab controversy (see 1330 GMT) showed up in the Friday Prayer of Ayatollah Alamolhoda in Mashhad, as he took direct aim at the special issue of the pro-Ahmadinejad Iran, "Black chador was approved by the Prophet and not Qajar kings!"

Iran had featured an interview with a former senior advisor to President Ahmadinejad, who allegedly said that 19th-century Shah had brought the chador to Iran after seeing women dressed in black for evening parties in Europe.

Alamolhoda said that those responsible for the "Khatoon" special issue must be judged in court.

1500 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Zoleykha Mousavi, the mother of detained Hossein Ronaghi Maleki (Babak Khorramdin), has said that she has been warned by authorities, "If you continue to give interviews, we will arrest your daughters too."

Mousavi said earlier this week that Maleki had been beaten in prison.

1450 GMT: Campus Watch. Professors have written to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani to declare that the "elimination" of female students fr Elm-o-Sanat University in Tehran contradicts the supposed commitement to general justice.

1435 GMT: The Liberation of the People of Britain v. Non-Liberation in Syria. Ayande News asks a provocative question of the Iranian officials and media offering loud support for British "protesters": "What about all these contradictions? Hundreds of killed Syrians don't matter, but four Brits killed by thugs...."

1425 GMT: Economy Watch. Some Parliamentary sniping over the economy....

Hamidreza Fouladgar, of Parliament's Industry & Mining Committee said data shows Iran is 130th in the world in attracting investment.

MP Amin Shaabani of the Development Committee claims that the massive Maskan Mehr housing project will be stopped soon because there are no allocated funds in the 2011/12 budget.

1420 GMT: (Dis)Unity Watch. The row between the new Islamic Constancy Front, led by Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, and the conservatives/principlists seeking "unity" through the "7+8" Committee, continues. Hamidreza Katouzian, the head of Parliament's Energy Commission, said that the Front is the same as Raayeheh-e Khosh-e Khedmat (the Sweet Scent of Service), a pro-Ahmadinejad group from 2006 to 2009. Katouzian added that the President's right-hand man, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai was the head of the RKK and claimed that Rahim-Mashai and Vice President Hamid Baghaei, are behind-the-scenes leaders of the Front.

1335 GMT: Your Friday Prayer Update (cont.). Looks like Hojatoleslam Saeidi, Friday Prayer leader in Qom, has a message for President Ahmadinejad's right-hand man, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai: "We warn non-experts who enter rel matters to listen to maraje (senior clerics), stop personal missions, and don't hurt pious people."

Saeidi continued, with the note that "monafeghin" (the insurgent Mujahedin-e Khalq movement) had started battle against clerical supremacy and Islam, to warn the non-experts of their fate.

1330 GMT: Fashion and Politics. The argument over this week's special "Khatoon" issue of the pro-Ahmadinejad newspaper Iran, which appeared to criticise the practice of compulsory hijab for women, rolls on....

Another pro-Ahmadinejad site, Absar News has jabbed at the wide range of conservative newspapers and journals who lambasted the special as "damnatory media". Absar said the critics were all spreading lies about the downfall of Iran and the Islamic Republic News Agency and were "only bubbles on water".

1220 GMT: Your Friday Prayer Update. State news agency IRNA headlines this extract from today's sermon by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of the Guardian Council, "Islamic countries are not indifferent to the fate of Somalia", where millions are suffering from famine.

However, this snippet --- passed to us by an EA correspondent --- may be more pertinent to Iran's situation, with Jannati referring to the 1953 downfall of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh: "Mossadegh didn't listen to [leading Shia cleric] Ayatollah Kashani, and it came to a coup" removing the Prime Minister from power. Jannati also said that those who "spend countless money to become President will fail".

It is not known if President Ahmadinejad listened to the sermon today.

0830 GMT: Picture of the Day. One of a series of photos from Mehr of clerics providing education --- or are they being educated here by their visitor? --- in a Tehran metro station:

0825 GMT: At the Movies. Ms. magazine profiles Iranian-American director Maryam Keshavarz and her film Circumstance about the development of an intense friendship between two women into a secret sexual relationship:

Circumstance does an excellent job conveying the status of women in Iran today–particularly those of the more liberal, westernized upper classes. After Atafeh and Shireen are arrested for some unknown reason while driving, their interaction with the police leaves one of the most lasting impressions of the film. Shireen is called a whore, accused of prostitution and made to stare at a wall while two men berate and interrogate her about her parents’ anti-regime past. Atafeh is subjected to an invasive virginity test, dealt with subtly but effectively by first-time feature director Keshavarz. When it’s discovered that Atafeh has been sexually active, her liberal father is shamed and blackmailed for not “controlling” his daughter.

Even the most innocent acts become the object of scorn: Atafeh’s brother Mehran–a religious conservative who Shireen is essentially forced into marrying–forbids his wife from singing in front of guests at a family party, and advises his father to similarly censor Atafeh.

0635 GMT: Yesterday's Enemy Threat --- Watermelons, Today's --- Car Traffic. Yesterday we opened with the note that Iranian media saw enemy threats in Facebook postings, water fights, and eating watermelon (no, we are still not sure why this may herald regime change). Today the enemy is attacking by jamming Iran's streets. According to Digarban:

Mohammad Hosein Mousapour, Qom Province governor, says that "interruptions in Banking system and car traffic" are the "long-term plans of the enemies to dissatisfy the people" in order to impact the Islamic Republic.

Mr. Mousapour has stated that "spreading the dissatisfactions amongst the people via interrupting the banking system, and car traffic, and economic sanctions are all aimed at promoting the civil disobedience".

0630 GMT: Justice Watch. The head of the Tehran Justice Department, Alireza Avayi, has said the final verdict in the Kahrizak Detention Center case will soon be announced, more than two years after political prisoners were abused, tortured, and killed there.

Avayi commented, “If a case is wrapped up quickly, the plaintiff will be more satisfied and the public will gain more trust in the judicial system. However, lengthiness is unavoidable in some cases because of their very nature.”

He denied that Saeed Mortazavi, the former Tehran Prosecutor General --- and current Presidential advisor --- who has been accused of involvement in the abuses, has been acquitted of the charges brought against him.

Mortazavi said this summer that he and two other judiciary officials accused in the case had been cleared.

0625 GMT: The Liberation of the People of Britain. A conservative blogger breaks ranks with the Iranian officials and media supporting English "protesters" in the recent unrest in London and other cities. The blogger declares that backing of "rowdies" is a shame, as the riots had nothing to do with Islam.

0615 GMT: The Economist posts an overview of the situation in Iran. The summary, which is dominated by the rift between the Supreme Leader and President Ahmadinejad and economic difficulties, will be familiar to EA readers. This opening sentence, however, catches the eye:

"While the Arab spring unfolds all round them, the...citizens of Iran seem condemned to a lonely purgatory."