The Latest from Iran (19 September): Ahmadinejad Leaves An Embezzlement Behind

See also Iran Interview: Azerbaijani Activist Fakhteh Zamani Explains the Lake Urmia Protests

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1900 GMT: The Supreme Leader's Son and the "Election Coup". On Friday, we published the WikiLeaks-released cable in which Ayatollah Sayed Salman Safavi, the brother of the Supreme Leader's military advisor, told Western diplomats --- four days after the disputed 2009 Presidential election --- that there had been a "coup" orchestrated by a prison "close to the Supreme Leader".

The story is now in the Persian-language Digarban, with a link to the document and Safavi's assertion that the coup had split the Revolutionary Guards.

The opposition outlet Rah-e Sabz is also carrying the story.

1645 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. 1535 GMT: BBC Persian has denied that it employed six people arrested by Iranian authorities (see 0630 GMT) for supposedly working for the service, saying they are independent filmmakers. BBC Persian said, as is common in the industry, that it had paid for the rights to show documentaries and programmes produced by the detainees.

Opposition websites identified the six filmmakers as Naser Saffarian, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Hadi Afarideh, Mohsen Shahrnazdar, Katayoun Shahabi and Mehrdad Zahedian.

A source involved in the arrests said, "This network of anti-Iran people were collaborating with the BBC in a cover-up to fulfil the needs of the British secret service in exchange for big sums of money. The anti-Iran intentions of the channel and its collaborators are clear."

1535 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Syrian Front). Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, addressing the Majlis, has called on Turkey to modify its behaviour towards Syria.

Larijani's remarks come after Turkish Foreign Ahmet Davutoglu told The New York Times that he felt "betrayed" by Bashar al-Assad, claiming the Syrian President had agreed to a Turkish road map for reforms but failed to follow through. Davutoglu said, "For us, that was the last chance.”

1335 GMT: Ahmadinejad's Watch. Well, here's one question answered....

Observers of the President were wondering if he would dare take his controversial advisors, Vice President Hamid Baghaei and Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, with him to New York today.

The answer is Yes.

Now, for further questions: Ahmadinejad was blocked in a February attempt to send Rahim-Mashai to New York for back-channel discussions with the US. So will the Chief of Staff, accused by some critics of working with the US Government, be making another attempt this week?

1330 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's office has given the seal of approval to his televised interview with NBC News and his exchange in print with The Washington Post last week. Both are featured on the President's website and the NBC interview had lead billing on the State news agency IRNA earlier today.

1030 GMT: Strike Watch. Iranian Labor News Agency reports that cloth vendors in the Tehran Bazaar are once again on strike.

The merchants have been protesting for week over the Government's policy on value-added tax.

1025 GMT: Corruption Watch. Fars, maintaining its criticism of the Government over the alleged $2.6 billion bank fraud, claims that bank officials warned in 2009 about handling the finances of Amir Mansoor Khosravi, the chief suspect in the embezzlement.

1020 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Leading reformist Feizollah Arabsorkhi, released last week after being detained for most of the 27 months since the Presidential election, has suddenly been summoned back to Evin Prison to serve the rest of his sentence.

0655 GMT: What's on TV? Well, if Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami has his way, no programmes with "mixing" of men and women....

Khatami, a Tehran Friday Prayer leader and member of the Assembly of Experts, said in a ceremony on Sunday evening that religious people and those "loyal to the Revolution" must not allow television programmes to become a medium for "counter-revolution". He said makers of programmes must maintain standards on issues such as chastity and the wearing of hijab.

0645 GMT: On the Border. Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Commander Delavar Ranjbarzadeh has claimed that IRGC forces have taken "full control" of the main base of the Kurdish insurgency PJAK in northwestern Iran near the city of Sardasht.

Ranjbarzadeh said no troops had been killed or wounded, while PJAK members escaped in the mountains near the base.

0640 GMT: US Hiker Watch. No further news on the status of US hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer --- on Sunday, their lawyer tried to get the second of two signatures required for their bail order of $500,000 each; he was told the judge was on vacation until Tuesday.

0630 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Iranian State TV is reporting a statement by the Minister of Culture that authorities have arrested five people for working for BBC Persian.

Full names were not given and it is unclear where the arrests occurred. BBC Persian, accused by Iranian authorities of fomenting unrest, has no office in Tehran.

An activist has provided an English translation of a letter from prison by Mohammad Davari, detained editor and aide to opposition figure Mehdi Karroubi. Davari documents how his imprisonment was prompted by his work establishing the post-election abuses and rapes in Iranian prisons, including the notorious Kahrizak detention facility.

A photograph has emerged of prominent political detainees , held at Rajai Shahr Prison --- pictured are student activist Ahmad Zeidabadi (far back), journalist Masoud Bastani (far left), journalist Isa Saharkhiz (second from left), journalist Mehdi Mahmoudian (facing Isa Saharkhiz), and student activist Majid Tavakoli (second from right, behind Mehdi Mahmoudian).

0445 GMT: On this same day a year ago, we titled the LiveBlog "While the President's Away....", pointing to the possibilities of political mischief in Iran while Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was at the United Nations in New York.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

This time Ahmadinejad, who cancelled a live appearance on State TV yesterday, leaves behind a $2.6 billion bank fraud that is threatening to become a serious for his Government. On Sunday, Parliament --- despite Ahmadinejad's warning not to use the case to challenge his inner circle and ministers --- summoned Iran's Inspector General and the Minister of Economy for explanations. 

Both the conservative/principlist establishment and the reformist opposition put pressure on the Government. Reformist Mohammad Reza Khabbaz, claimed that around $2 billion embezzled funds had been moved. outside Iran. Minister of Economy Shamseedin Hosseini, replied that no funds had left Iran.

Khabbaz declared, "Mr. Ahmadinejad claims that his administration is the cleanest government in Iran's history. So I'd like to ask a question: If this is so, how can one distinguish a corrupt government from an uncorrupted one?" His colleague Mohammad Reza Tabesh suggested there was more to come: "There have been other cases of embezzlement similar to the current one, but because we have been told not to speak about them for now, I will not say anything." He added:

"When the various organs become devoid of expertise, when the press loses its power of criticism, when responsible critics are not allowed to speak out, when the Majles cannot do its [mandated] work in defense of the nation's interests, and when the judiciary comes under pressure not to look into important cases, we should naturally expect such [embezzlement] cases. Thus, the root cause of such events must be identified."

The Government tried to defend itself by saying, through Iran Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, that 19 people, including the main suspect Amir Mansoor Khosravi, had been arrested and more detentions were forthcoming. Ejei also tried to give the impression of vigilance by saying that the first report of embezzlement had come to the judiciary more than six weeks ago.

Even these explanations tripped up. Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi indicated that the total capital of Khosravi's Amir Mansoor Aria Investment Group is far larger than the $2.6 billion that has been embezzled. Then he apparently contradicted the Minister of Economy, saying that some funds had been moved outside Iran to purchase industrial machines and tools.

So, as the President prepared to board the plane for New York, his allies suggested a counter-attack. Iran, the newspaper of State news agency IRNA and pro-Ahmadinejad, said the President holds 14,000 documents on 314 officials and they will be published at the right time. The newspaper warned Ahmadinejad's critics that if they did not desist, his "patience will run out".