The Latest from Iran (29 April): The Ayatollahs and the Revolutionary Guards

See also Iran Feature: Tehran Sees US Nuke Proposal as "Good Start"?
The Latest from Iran (28 April): Nuclear Step Forward, Nuclear Step Back

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1947 GMT: Currency Watch. The head of the Central Bank, Mahmoud Bahmani, has admitted that the effort to establish a single currency rate --- sought earlier this year after the Iranian Rial fell 50% in value --- has failed. He said there was "no possibility" to consolidate the rate against the US dollar. "Floating" (open-market) rates would continue, although there would be subsidised rates for importers and students.

1940 GMT: Supreme Leader Watch. Ayatollah Khamenei has declared today that those who get huge loans are equal to "traitors and looters of national income" and should be confronted. He continued, "The right way to promote national production is confronting disturbers and looters of national wealth."

An Iranian correspondent for EA ponders, "So when will the Supreme Leader confront those who have taken national wealth, say, his son Mojtaba, some senior clerics, and the Revolutionary Guards?"

The correspondent continues, "This is a clear order to the judiciary to sentence main agents of [the $2.6 billion] bank fraud --- with usual exceptions of course."

1930 GMT: Stopping the Lawyers. Prominent human rights attorney Mohammad Ali Dadkhah was arrested this morning in a Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

Dadkhah was defending political prisoner Arzhang Davoudi when Judge Salavati ordered that he be arrested and taken to Evin Prison. Salavati said the Court of Appeals had confirmed Dadkhah's five-year sentence.

Dadkhhah has represented many prominent political and student activists, Gonabadi Dervishes, and a Christian pastor, Yousef Nadarkhani, accused of apostasy and sentenced to death.

Dadkhah was arrested on 8 July 2009 at his office. Two years later, he was sentenced to nine years in prison and barred from working as an attorney for 10 years on the grounds that he was plotting a "soft war" to overthrow the regime and carrying out propaganda against the Islamic Republic.

Dadkhah's primary "crime", in addition to representing his clients, appears to be his role as a founder of the Center for the Defenders of Human Rights.

1454 GMT: Bank Fraud Watch. Interesting developments in and around the eighth hearing in the trial over the $2.6 billion bank fraud.

In the hearing, which focused on a defendant who was manager of the Traverse Company, it was revealed that the Aria Group --- the firm at the centre of the fraud --- had several meetings with a Government minister.

However, even more significant is the claim, published in Raja News that Presidential Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai ordered the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Roads to transfer the Khuzistan Steel Company to Aria Group without a bid.

Raja News also claims that Peyman Nouri, the head of Iran's Privatisation Organisation, has admitted the illegal transfer of the Traverse Company to Aria Group.

1447 GMT: Nuclear Watch. We have posted a separate feature assessing Tehran's response to a reported US initative offering enrichment of uranium of up to 5% inside Iran.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi is making optimistic noises, "[The April meeting in] Istanbul was the beginning for ending the nuclear dispute and we hope to put a total end to the case in the...future. If one step ahead was taken in Istanbul, we will certainly take several steps ahead in Baghdad."

1441 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Poking at the Gulf States Front). MP Mohammad Karamirad has said that Parliament's National Security Committee will meet on Abu Musa Island today, which is National Persian Gulf Day.

Sovereignty over Abu Musa is disputed between Iran, which occupied the island in 1971, and the United Arab Emirates.

On 11 April, President Ahmadinejad set off a new cycle of conflict over three disputed islands with a visit to Abu Musa during a tour of southern Iran.

1433 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Syrian Front). Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has set out Tehran's firm posture on Syria, while staking out his own credentials as a leading voice on international as well as domestic matters.

Speaking to the press after a meeting with the Syrian Minister of Economy in Tehran, Larijani declared, "Any foreign meddling in Syria will lead to more complexity and spread the crisis across the region," whlie asserts, "Continuation of the current trend of reforms in Syria and stop of violence and terrorist activities can revive security and stability in the country."

1430 GMT: Isolation Watch. Canada has closed the visa section of its embassy in Tehran, citing "financial issues", according to Tabnak.

Iranians wishing to travel to Canada will now have to arrange visas via the Canadian Consulate in Ankara, Turkey.

1040 GMT: Industry Watch. The National Petrochemical Company's managing director Abdolhossein Bayat has said it plans to borrow from local banks some of the $50 billion it needs to develop 60 projects by the end of 2015.

Bayat said the state-run company wants to broaden its output to 85 products from the current 25, with production hubs in the northeastern city of Sarakhs, the port of Chabahar, and the Persian Gulf islands of Lavan, Qeshm, and Kish.

The unanswered question: given strains on the Iranian economy and the Government budget, do the banks have the necessary funds?

1035 GMT: Clerical Interventions. Speaking to the former editorial board of the Iranian Labor News Agency, Grand Ayatollah Yusuf Sane'i has said that preference for individual reasoning over that of the collective is against Islam.

A jab at the Supreme Leader, perhaps?

And here's another statement to decode: Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani, the head of the Assembly of Experts, has warned that divisiveness is harmful, with some believing the system of velayat-e faqih "means that the Imam said all that I say is right".

1019 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. The President may be under pressure from the Supreme Leader (see 0940 GMT), but he is still swinging --- he has attacked supervising institutions such as the Audit Court and Statistics Centre for "interference in Executive affairs, causing corruption".

And senior Ahmadinejad advisor Ali Akbar Javanfekr has advised former President Hashemi Rafsanjani that, as he is now 80 years old, it is "not good for him to work" and he should retire.

1010 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Michael Theodoulou of The National offers the overview, "Iran Indicates It's Ready to Compromise on Nuclear Programme", with contributions by analysts Trita Parsi, Farideh Farhi.

EA makes an appearance with a more cautious line:

"The Iranians are playing a double game. They're emphasising that they're open to talks, which is very important. But that's not the same as saying they're ready to make a deal on the terms being offered by the US and Europe at this point," said Scott Lucas....

"Iran seems to be saying the West must give a sign on sanctions before it makes any concessions," Mr Lucas said. "So far, the US and Europe are not making that move"

0940 GMT: Supreme Leader v. Ahmadinejad. Analyst Meir Javedanfar writes us about another significant extract from Saturday's statement by the Supreme Leader's representative Ali Saeedi (see 0640 GMT), this one quote in Arman:

Earlier this month, Javedanfar assessed that President Ahmadinejad had attended a meeting of the Expediency Council, his first appearance in three years, because he had been ordered to do so by the Supreme Leader. Saeedi effectively confirmed that in his statement, saying that Ayatollah Khamenei had "recommended" that Ahmadinejad show up at the Council, chaired by his rival Hashemi Rafsanjani.

0935 GMT: Book Corner. In an open letter to the Minister of Culture, 160 writers have called for a lifting of the ban on prominent publishers such as Cheshmeh and Sales from the Tehran International Book Fair.

0650 GMT: CyberWatch. The reformist newspaper Shargh claims, from "unofficial sources", cyber-attacks against the Ministry of Science on Saturday.

Last week, a cyber-assault threatened Iran's infrastructure for energy, knocking out the websites of the Ministry of Oil and the National Iranian Oil Company and forcing officials to disconnect Iran's oil installations from the Internet.

Deputy Minister of Oil Hamdollah Mohammadnejad claimed Saturday, “The nature of the attack and the agents behind it have been identified but because we are still working on the case it cannot be announced."

Mohammadnejad insisted no vital information had been compromised and all systems were now working properly.

0640 GMT: We begin Sunday with an interesting ripple in Iranian politics. Ali Saeedi, the Supreme Leader's representative to the Islamic Revoltionary Guards Corps, has put out a pointed criticism of Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi.

Saeedi said Makarem Shirazi was "misinformed" when he indicated that the Guards had been separated from the senior clerics of the Islamic Republic.

Saeedi's intervention follows another intriguing signal in which Makarem Shirazi and other Grand Ayatollahs praised Ali Motahari, the son of the revered Ayatollah Motahari of the Islamic Revolution but a "maverick" MP in his criticism of the Government and his pursuit of the impeachment of President Ahmadinejad.