The Latest from Iran (16 February): Cutting Off the Opposition, A Year Later

Nikahang Kowsar portrays the competition for votes and influence between President Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader>

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2130 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. State outlet IRNA features President Ahmadinejad's photo opportunity with his Pakistani colleague Asif Ali Zardari during tripartite meetings between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran in Islamabad.

There are no details in the article, only the rhetorical posture: "The presidents of Iran and Pakistan have emphasised the Western and colonial conspiracy against peace and stability in the region, creating insecurity to prevent the development of independent countries. They stressed the need for vigilance by the governments and peoples of the region.

Ahmadinejad also met Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

2110 GMT: Sanctions Watch. The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on Iran's Ministry of Intelligence, claiming that the Ministry had supported the Syrian regime as it "continues to commit human rights abuses" and had played a "central role" in repression at home.

The sanctions mean any property owned by the ministry in the US or under US control will be seized and that Ministry officials will be banned from travel to America.

The sanctions are largely symbolic, highlighting an alleged role by Tehran in the suppression of the Syrian uprising.

1610 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Businessmen say Iranian traders in Oman are raising loans from sympathetic Omani colleagues to ship foodstuffs to Iran.

"Local banks don't give us letters of credit anymore to export food to Iran, but we are grateful for the private loans from our Omani friends," Hassan Ghafour, an Iranian businessman based in the north Oman city of Sohar, told Reuters.

Meer Sajjad, an Iranian trader in the capital Muscat, said he was also being forced to turn to fellow businessmen: "Without bank credit, it is very difficult to send anything to Iran. We don't have the cash to do it, nor do our Iranian counterparts. The sanctions make it difficult for them to send money in advance."

There is no official instruction from the Government to prevent local banks from issuing letters of credit (LCs) to Iranian traders, but officials of two Omani commercial banks said some had halted trade financing because they were concerned about the ability of Iranian importers to pay amidst sanctions.

Ghafour said he and other Iranian traders in Oman were mostly shipping rice to Iran, as well as other foodstuffs such as cooking oil, sugar and flour.

According to the Indian embassy in Muscat, about 400,000 tonnes of basmati rice are exported each year from India to Oman. Roughly 70,000-90,000 tonnes of that amount is consumed within Oman and about 300,000 tonnes re-exported to Iran by Iranian traders, according to Oman's Ministry of Commerce.

1545 GMT: Bank Frand Watch. The head of judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, has said that five suspects in the $2.6 billion bank fraud have been charged with being a "corrupt person on the earth", which carried an automatic death sentence on conviction.

The first court session in the trial of the defendants will be held on Saturday.

1540 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Thai Front). A Thai police official has said an Iranian woman suspected of involvement in bomb and grenade explosions in Bangkok on Tuesday has returned to Tehran.

Leila Rohani is suspected of arranging to rent home where the three other Iranian suspects stayed and where the first explosive device exploded, apparently by accident.

The official said, "We could not ask Iran to extradite her to Thailand as we have no extradition treaty with the country."

One Iranian man was seriously injured, blowing off one leg and losing most of the other, when one of his grenades exploded near him. Another has been arreted, but a third escaped.

1518 GMT: Oil Watch. An Iranian source has claimed that the National Iranian Oil Company has reached an agreement in principle with China's Unipec, for a long-term contract to supply crude oil in 2012.

Unipec, China's largest buyer of Iranian crude, had skipped orders in January and February due to deadlock over payment arrangements. Tehran's exports to Beijing had fallen by half during the period.

Terms of the new contract between NIOC and Unipec were not reveled, however. Iran's Mehr reported Wednesday that the Deputy Minister of Oil led an Iranian delegation to Beijing earlier this week to negotiate a new crude supply contract and other joint projects in oil, gas, and petrochemicals.

Mehr claimed that Iran's exports will return in the next few weeks to the 2011 level of more than 500,000 barrels per day.

1448 GMT: Elections Watch. Without giving specific names, MP Ahmad Tavakoli has claimed that Shahabeddin Sadr --- the head of a faction for the elections --- Ayatollah Alavi, and other influential legislators have been blocked by the Guardian Council from standing in the elections on 2 March.

1438 GMT: Oil Watch. Despite confusion and denials that Tehran has cut off oil exports to European countries, politicians are handing out congratulations. Hossein Ebrahimi of the National Security Committee has said he hopes the suspension, affecting Italy, Portugal, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Greece, "will cause problems for them. I hope it punishes them." Ahmad Tavakoli, normally a critic of the President, has thanked the Government.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of the National Security Committee, has assured that the "joint decision" of Parliament and the Government will be implemented soon.

1432 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Syrian Front). Mehr reports that the Islamic Republic has signed 10 new agreements to provide power to Syria, with plans to the biggest grid in the Islamic World, linking Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon

1425 GMT: Health Watch. Abdolaziz Jamsheed-Zehi of Parliament's Health Committee has said that people are under pressure to obtain necessary drugs: "I doubt the Government claim that it has enough reserves."

Jamsheed-Zehi added that many drugs are being smuggled, as imported equivalents are expensive because of sanctions and currency turmoil.

1419 GMT: Poetry Commander. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the head of the Basij militia, has sent a poem to the "Great Satan".

I'm not sure our translation does justice to this message to America, but here goes: "In Bahman [February 1979], we came as an avalanche over you, became we are always ready for sacrifice//Be sure that you will burn in Esfand [March 2012] after our return from the ballot boxes."

1412 GMT: Execution Watch. RAHANA reports that the death-penalty case of web designer Saeed Malekpour has been sent to the enforcement section.

The punishment of Malekpour, arrested in 2008 on his return to Iran from Canada, was upheld last month. He is accused of disseminating obscene material.

1408 GMT: Elections Watch. Etedaal reports that the Democratic Front list of 15 candidates for Tehran includes reformists; Alireza Mahjoub of Workers House; Hossein Hashemi, the head of s Parliament's Industry Committee, and breakaway principlist MP Ali Motahari.

1400 GMT: Justice Watch. Earlier this week Iranian media reported that the country's new Penal Code had ended the death penalty for minors. Raha Bahreini explains that the legal situation is not so straightforward.

1227 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Mehdi Khorshidi, President Ahmadinejad's son-in-law, has been appointed as a deputy to Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of the Expediency Council.

1220 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Extracts from the letter sent by Saeed Jalili of the National Security Council to the European Union's Catherine Ashton:

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We voice our readiness for dialogue on a spectrum of various issues which can provide ground for constructive and forward-looking cooperation....No doubt by committing to this approach, our talks for cooperation based on step-by-step principles and reciprocity on Iran's nuclear issue could be commenced. (A) constructive and positive attitude towards Islamic Republic of Iran's new initiatives in this round of talks could open positive perspective for our negotiation.

Therefore...I propose to resume our talks in order to take fundamental steps for sustainable cooperation in the earliest possibility in a mutually agreed venue and time.

1120 GMT: Protest Watch. At an anti-regime rally in the Syrian capita Damascus on Tuesday, demonstrators hold signs declaring, in Persian, “Spring must come to Iran” and “People of Iran, you are worthy of freedom".

1110 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Mellat-e Ma claims that former Hashemi Rafsanjani has denied resigning as head of the Expediency Council and said he "will not consider resigning in the future either". Rafsanjani reportedly said that some people are trying to make him resign and move to Qom.

1050 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Blogger and physician Mehdi Khazali, sentenced to 14 years in prison, has declared in a letter to Ahmed Montazeri, the son of the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, "Unfortunately the manner of the prison guards is very un-Islamic and inhumane and sometimes they torture prisoners.....Now I understand why your great father was complaining and protesting."

Rah-e Sabz reported yesterday that Khazali's wife and daughter were arrested by security forces on Tuesday evening and transported to an unknown location.

Mahdiyeh Golroo, Shabnam Madadzadeh, Atefeh Nabavi, and Maryam Akbari have sent a special note to fellow detainee Bahareh Hedayat, who is serving a 9 1/2-year sentence for her activism.

The women wrote on the first page of Nelson Mandela's Difficult Road to Freedom: "Dear Bahareh, we go this difficult road to freedom together these days."

1035 GMT: Elections Watch. Remember when the quest was for conservative/princplist unity for the Parliamentary elections?

Radio Farda reports the formation of three more lists of candidates --- Government Supporters, Velayat-e Faqih Supporters, and Unification and Justice.

By our count, eight conservative/principlist factions have declared for the ballot on 2 March.

Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani, the head of the Assembly of Experts and a leader of the Unity Front, has told officials that the upcoming election is "one of the most important...as our enemies' eyes are on this". He continued, "They have been trying so hard to prevent people from participating. I hope we’ll have 80% turnout."

The head of judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, while announcing that 32 people accused of involvement in the $2.6 billion bank fraud will be tried soon, also called on Iranians to participate to defend the Islamic Revolution.

1020 GMT: Currency Watch. A sign of the lack of faith in the Iranian currency? Aftab reports that the Government will pay New Year bonuses to employees partly in gold coins.

0930 GMT: The "Engineers" in Syria. The mystery over seven Iranian engineers and technicians, abducted in Syria in December, continues.

Iranian officials had announced last week that the seven --- five of whom are accused by the Free Syrian Army, who seized them, of being soldiers assisting the Assad regime --- had been freed last week. However, a director with MAPNA, connected with the engineering firm that employs the seven men, said they have not been released.

0925 GMT: Economy Watch. Iran Green Voice claims that the Iranian automobile manufacturer Khodro is likely to stop production of Peugeot 206s because currency problems and sanctions.

0915 GMT: The Battle Within. Earlier this week, Mohsen Rafighdoost, the Minister supervising the Revolutionary Guards during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, said that no Government has violated the law as much as the Ahmadinejad administration.

Mow it is claimed that pro-Ahmadinejad MP Ruhollah Hosseinian has hit back, with his staff carrying out an attack on Rafighdoost's website.

0745 GMT: We begin this morning with a snap analysis of President Ahmadinejad's declarations on Wednesday of dramatic advances in Iran's nuclear programme. Do they have substance? Not really. Are they significant as political theatre, both at home and abroad? Definitely.

Our initial focus, however, is on the bigger story of the regime's efforts to shut down dissent. This was our opening entry on 17 February 2011, just after we learned of the strict house arrests imposed on opposition figures Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi:

The regime's counter-offensive against Monday's revived display of opposition is moving at full pace.

Yesterday, the leadership tried to claim --- metaphorically and literally --- the bodies of two protesters killed on 25 Bahman, Sanee Zhaleh and Mohammad Mokhtari. Zhaleh's funeral was turned into an occasion for the regime to claim he was a loyal "martyr", killed by members of the "terrorist" Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO). His family were asked not to come to Tehran for the funeral and warned not to speak to foreign media. Mokhtari has reportedly been buried without the approval of his parents.

That initiative fell apart, at least on the Internet, as Zhaleh was established as a university student who had supported reformist candidates and joined post-election demonstrations. However, before then, Basij members had invaded a ceremony held at the Tehran University of Fine Arts, where Zhaleh studied, and roughed up students, several of whom were arrested. It was later reported that the university's students will go on strike for a week in protest.

And Zhaleh's funeral was turned into a photo opportunity for the regime's campaign to tear down opposition figures Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and former President Mohammad Khatami.

The regime is staging statements, in Parliament and by officials, to do everything except formally arrest Mousavi and Karroubi. Amidst declarations that they should face the death penalty, both opposition figures remain under effective house arrest, with Mousavi's communications completely cut.

And later in the morning, we noted an interview with the daughters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard:

Given the current condition, there is much ambiguity regarding their well being. The bodyguards have been pressured to ensure that there is no contact with family members....We are concerned because we have been left completely in the dark. We are unaware of what is going on behind these closed doors and the unimaginable acts being committed against them. We don't know what has happened to Mousavi and Rahnavard. Who is responsible for their protection? We don't even know if our parents are in the house or if they have been moved to another location.