The Latest from Iran (9 February): News and Propaganda over Oil

A cartoon from Javan Online, linked to the Revolutionary Guards, summarises frustration with Iran's political and economic situation

See also Iran Feature: The Regime Locks Down the Internet
The Latest from Iran (8 February): Seeking the Voice of the Nation

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2135 GMT: Elections Watch. The Guardian Council has announced that 3320 out of 5395 applicants, or about 61%, have been approved as candidates for the Parliamentary elections on 2 March.

1915 GMT: Espionage Watch. Raja News also gets behind the story that 50 members of the Iranian opposition met in Stockholm last week to discuss the present and future Iran.

In fact, Raja explains, these were US-linked and Kurdish terrorists, as well as agents of sedition, plotting to disturb the Parliamentary elections. The site calls on Iran's Foreign Minister to confront the Swedish Ambassador.

1908 GMT: Pot-Kettle-Black Watch. Raja News identifies an economy in crisis --- food and energy have become scarce and expensive in Europe because of the harsh winter.

1748 GMT: The Battle Within. MP Hamid Rasaei, in which appears to be a jab at Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and Deputy Speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar, has said, "Some principlist MPs came with Green cloth to the 2009 fitna (sedition) and shouted slogans".

1744 GMT: Educational Philosophy. Minister of Science and Higher Educatio Kamran Daneshjoo has said, "We must move to form universities that create soldiers of the Hidden Imam."

1629 GMT: CyberWatch. Journalist Thomas Erdbrink from Tehran, "Gmail has been blocked the whole day in Iran, it happened before but now that VPNs [Virtual Private Networks] are working so poorly, it's a real pain."

1620 GMT: Remembering the Dead. The mother of Askhan Sohrabi, an 18-year-old student killed by security forces on 20 June 2009, grieves at his grave on the occasion of his birthday:

1617 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Blogger Parastoo Dokouhaki has met her family after 24 days in detention, saying she is "busy with solving misunderstandings".

Dokouhaki, one of Iran's first prominent bloggers, was detained in a raid last month even though she is no longer working as a journalist.

1610 GMT: The Battle Within. The battle between leading MP Ahmad Tavakoli and 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi continues. After Rahimi called Tavakoli a "corrupt liar" this week, Tavakoli has said that he will file a complaint for slander. The MP claimed that three high-ranking judges have confirmed his accusations of Rahimi's corruption: "he should be sentenced like any other common Iranian".

1610 GMT: Press Watch. Baztab Emrooz, connected with Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of the Expediency Council, has been filtered a month after its launch, apparently by the Revolutionary Guards.

Meanwhile, Rezaei has said that he warned the Government of the currency crisis seven months ago, and he noted the issues of 230,000 prisoners, inflation, and unemployment. Rezaei said a Government and Parliament must be elected who fulfil the Revolution's goals.

1600 GMT: Clerical Intervention. Ayatollah Dastgheib has written an open letter to Mohammad Momen of the Guardian Council, Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani of the Assembly of Experts, and former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, explaining why he has not criticised the Government and Supreme Leader in the Assembly of Experts: "Is there any security for those who speak out truthfully in this land?"

1558 GMT: Intimidation Watch. Rah-e Sabz claims that journalist Saham Boorghani, who worked in the Mousavi campaign, is being pressed for a TV "confession" that he is connected to the BBC.

1543 GMT: Food Watch. Kalemeh, citing ISNA, claims that the price for chicken has risen 15-30% in Tehran, with reserves of frozen chicken being distributed.

Khabar Online denies reports of problems with grain and rice supplies, listing recent shipments of imports.

In the last two weeks, 10 ships laden with 400,000 tonnes of grain have not been able to off-load because of payment problems, and Indian companies have said that Tehran has defaulted on payment for basmati rice.

Indian officials undercut the Khabar report, saying that Tehran has turned to New Delhi for "a very large quantity" of wheat. They suggested India was considering the sale, probably as part of the money owed by India for imports of Iranian oil.

1536 GMT: Execution Watch. The death sentence on Javad Lari http://www.rahana.org/archives/47743" target="_blank">has been annulled and replaced by a two-year prison sentence, with the prospect that he may soon be released.

Lari was arrested in September 2009 and charged with "actions against national security" in connection with a trip to Iraq. Authorities claimed he was connected with the insurgency Mujahedin-e Khalq.

1526 GMT: Election Prediction. Leading political analyst Sadegh Zibakalam predicts that turnout for the Parliamentary election on 2 March will be high only in rural areas, projecting that only 20% will vote in Tehran, Tabriz, and Shiraz.

Zibakalam said the only solution preventing a low turnout is strengthening of political parties and competition among them.

As for the outcome, Zibakalam predicted that no faction will have overall control, with President Ahmadinejad's supporters winning 100 of the seats, the Unity Front 70-80, the Constancy Front about 50, and the rest for other parties. He added that there are no "true reformists" running in the campaign.

1518 GMT: Economy Watch. In an overview of the economic situation by Ali Chenar, this passage stands out:

What does all these mean to the average Iranian? Vahid, a 28-year-old engineer who works as a project manager in south Tehran, sums up the mood: "There is no hope that the government can do anything. The economy is finished."

1510 GMT: Claim of Day. Two US officials have said that the attacks on Iranian scientists, which have killed five in the last two years, are being carried out by the expatriate insurgency Muhajedin-e Khalq (MKO).

The officials said the Obama Administration is aware of the assassination campaign but has no direct involvement. A third official would not confirm or deny the relationship: “It hasn’t been clearly confirmed yet.”

The National Committee for Resistance in Iran, the political group linked with the MKO, denied any role in the killings, which have targeted scientists connected with Iran's nuclear programme.

1455 GMT: Elections Watch. While we have been noting the specific case of the "Motahari 3", who have formed a breakaway faction (see 0855 GMT), Khabar Online pubishes the names of 12 principlists who were left off the Unity Front's list of candidates.

1050 GMT: Biblical Reference of the Day. President Ahmadinejad has declared that, if Moses were alive, the first thing he would do is confront Zionists.

Ahmadinejad added, "Western democracy means humiliating people."

0902 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Abolfazl Ghadyani is reportedly in serious condition, transferred to the Intensive Care Unit at Modarres Hospital in Tehran.

In addition to a heart condition, Ghadyani suffers from acute hyperthyroidism and problems with his prostate. At 63, he is one of the oldest prisoners in Evin’s Ward 350.

In a recent open letter, Ghadyani declared the upcoming Parliamentary elections as illegitimate and vowed to boycott the vote.

0857 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. With the confirmation that the President is to be interrogated by Parliament, the Ahmadinejad camp is counter-attacking. Vice President Mohammadreza Mirtajoddini assured, "Ahmadinejad is ready to answer any questions asked by Parliament from next week. But it seems these MPs are not interested to hear his answers before the election."

0855 GMT: Elections Watch. An interesting warning by key MP Gholam Reza Mesbahi Moghaddam, prominent on Parliament's Economy Committee and a top member of the Society of the Militant Clergy of Tehran, about the breakaway principlist faction of MPs Ali Motahari, Ali Abbaspour, and Hamidreza Katouzian.

Mesbahi Moghaddam predicted that the Motahari group will attract the votes of "politically careless people" in large numbers, getting support from reformists.

Meanwhile, Motahari has asserted, "If a high number of Tehran residents attend the election, our list will win and this will prevent the entrance of extremists into the Parliament," even though those extremists "will start to attack and demolish us" when they fear that prospect.

0845 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Looks like former President Hashemi Rafsanjani is taking a different line from the Supreme Leader's message last Friday, "We should not fall for smiles and deceptions of the enemy"....

Rafsanjani, in a meeting with a group of intellectuals, said America can lower the "wall of distrust" based on mutual respect and fair and friendly relations.

0835 GMT: The House Arrests. Kalemeh reports that, on the eve of the first anniversary of the strict house arrests of opposition figures Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard, security forces have contacted their daughters and threatened to arrest them.

One of the daughters has also been banned from activities at the University of Alzahra, where she teaches art.

The reported measures follow this week's joint letter (see Tuesday's Live Coverage) by the families of Mousavi/Rahnavard and Mehdi and Fatemeh Karroubi, also under house arrest since mid-February 2011. The message called on all "oppressed people" to raise their voices for freedom and rights.

0615 GMT: We begin with a tale of turning half the story into propaganda.

On Wednesday, State outlet Press TV put out this good-news article, "India Increases Iran Oil Imports":

India has increased oil imports from Iran to become the Islamic Republic's largest customer last month, ignoring recent sanctions imposed by US and EU on importing Iran’s oil.

According to The Wall Street Journal Iranian crude exports to India rose to 550,000 barrels a day in January, up 37.5 percent from December 2011. 

The development, the report said, has partly offset a 50 percent cut in crude exports to China as a result of pricing dispute. China now imports around 250,000 barrels a day from Iran. 

Press TV does note the not-so-good news of the reduction in supply to Beijing, Iran's biggest customer, but the site quickly regains its focus:

Although financial sanctions have caused problems with regard to payment for Iran’s oil by other countries, they have apparently not been able to deter India. 

Iran's Ambassador to India Seyyed Mehdi Nabizadeh said last Tuesday that India had agreed to pay for some purchases of Iranian oil in Indian rupees, a route that would avoid the risk of an interruption in banking transfers. 

So that's that, then? All looking good, despite the US-led attempt to choke off Tehran with sanctions? 

Well, if a reader can take the trouble to check The Wall Street Journal, this is the discovery: 

Some analysts question, however, whether India can keep Iranian oil imports at such levels.

"I don't think India is insulated at all" from sanctions, said Trevor Houser, a partner at New York-based economic-research firm Rhodium Group. "So the question is just how long Tehran is willing to sell on credit and how long Tehran can go without hard currency."

Ahh, the small matter of paying for the oil. Since the end of 2010, India and Iran have been tangled in talks over arrangements, after the Indian Central Bank suspended payment from an Asian currency basket. New Delhi owes most of the $12 billion it spent on oil in 2011.

While the Journal writes, "In recent days, [India] has agreed to pay 45% of its Iranian oil purchases in rupees to overcome risks its banking transfers may be disrupted," it commits its own omission. How is New Delhi covering the cost of the other 55% of the supplies? And what about the outstanding bill from 2011?