The Latest from Iran (27 May): A New Parliament Opens

President Ahmadinejad and former President Rafsanjani enter the first session of the new Parliament todaySee also The Latest from Iran (26 May): Propaganda Watch

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1825 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Earlier today (see 0635 GMT) we had noted the defiant stance of the head of the atomic energy organisation, Fereydoun Abbasi, that the International Atomic Energy Agency would not be allowed to inspect the Parchin military site. This, we suggested, was a major step back from possible accomodation over Iran's nuclear programme, given that IAEA head Yukiya Amano had said only a week ago that an agreement over inspections was imminent.

Western media, however, are focusing on another section of Abbasi's comments on State TV, namely that Iran is standing on its right to enrich uranium to 20% on its soil: "“We have no reason to retreat from producing the 20 percent because we need 20 percent uranium just as much to meet our needs."

We are not so struck by the remark. Abbasi has been a "hard-liner" in the past --- in contrast to, for example, President Ahmadinejad --- on the level to which Iran can enrich.

Today's comment should be seen more as a re-assertion by the regime of a tough negotiating position after the failure to get any advance, and indeed signs of a retreat, on a deal at last week's Baghdad talks. Iranian officials blame the situation on the initial proposal put by the 5+1 Powers, which did not explictly recognise Iran's right to enrich and which offered no significant gesture on sanctions.

1821 GMT: At the Movies. The House of Cinema, the organisation for many of Iran's filmmakers and actors, has restarted its activities after a five-month ban.

The Ministry of Culture suspended the House, soon after the arrests and sentencing of a number of documentary makers, in late 2011 on the grounds that it did not have a licence. Last week, however, the Administration Court ruled that the Ministry had not followed proper procedure.

1638 GMT: Politics Watch. The blog of Hamed Talebi, political editor of Fars, has reportedly been filtered after he warned against Gholam Ali Haddad Adel as the next Speaker of Parliament.

1608 GMT: A Syrian Admission from the Revolution Guards. According to Baztab, Ismail Qa'ani, the deputy head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, has said, "The presence of the Islamic Republic...has stopped great massacres in Syria."

1356 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist and human rights activist Farshad Aswad has been arrested at the airport he was leaving Iran.

Aswad had worked with Nasrin Sotudeh, the prominent defence attorney who has been imprisoned for six years.

1349 GMT: Picture of the Day. Vahid Lalipour, on his release from Evin Prison today after serving a one-year sentence:

1345 GMT: Loyalty Watch. Seyed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, has said that some expected a power struggle after his grandfather's death, "but due to Ayatollah Khamenei's leadership, it did not happen".

1340 GMT: Economy Watch. Iranian authorities, amid general criticism that imports are harming domestic producers, have banned Chinese Qur'ans from entering the country.

1220 GMT: Economy Watch. Mohammad Taghi Lashkari, the head of the fish farmers' union, warns of damage from the second phase of subsidy cuts "if the Government does not support us". Lashkari said production was down by 40% this year.

1200 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Writer and translator Manijeh Najm-Araghi, the secretary of the Iranian Writers Guild, has been summoned to serve her one-year prison term.

1000 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Five Kurds have reportedly been sentenced to a total of 46 years in prison.

The five, all residents of Maku city in West Azerbaijan, are Mostafa Armin, Mousa Hatefi, Saeed Derayat, Ali Marhamati, and Vali Balkhanloo. They were arrested last year.

Balkhanloo and Armin were sentenced to 15 1/2 years in prison for mohareb (enmity against God). Derayat and Marhamati were sentenced to four years, while Hatefi received a seven-year term.

0935 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. President Ahmadinejad has spoken at the opening of the new Parliament, "Today, evils have been mobilized from all directions to put the Iranian nation under pressure. Removing and resisting the pressures, and cooperation, are the main priority today."

Perhaps more significant than this rhetoric was the President's renewed attempt to assert his authority, drawing a line against Parliamentary interference, "Any effort to intervene in another's affairs will not serve the country. This is only devastating."

In his address to the legislators, the Supreme Leader advised them to avoid "unwarranted challenges" to the Executive and the judiciary.

0755 GMT: Defending the Rapper Watch. Throughout this month, Iranian clerics and politicians have called for the execution of rapper Shahin Najafi for his song "Naqi", invoking the 10th Shia Imam to criticise the political and social situation in the Islamic Republic. A website posted a $100,000 bounty for the killing of Najafi, who is in exile in Germany.

Yesterday, as Arshama3's Blog summarises, supporters of Najafi turned out in cities across Europe. A photo from Frankfurt:

0645 GMT: All-Is-Well Alert. The head of the Central Bank, Mahmoud Bahmani, has declared that Iran has implemented a new system for international financial transactions.

Bahmani said the system would replace the SWIFT network used for most transactions around the world.

In March, SWIFT cut off services to Iranian banks subject to sanctions by the European Union that were adopted in January. The step has reportedly had a significant effect on Iran's international trade and movement of assets.

0635 GMT: Nuclear Tough Talk. The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Fereyoun Abbasi, has issued a defiant No to the International Atomic Energy Agency over its insistance on inspecting the Parchin military site: “The agency is interested in visiting Parchin due to pressure from countries that want the agency to investigate the issue.”

The IAEA has requested the inspection because of claims that the Islamic Republic has a high-explosives containment vessel, which could be used in development of a nuclear weapon, on the base. However, Abbasi maintained, "No documents or reason has been presented to us” for a visit.

Does this mean that Iran is turning its back on IAEA Director Yukiya Amano, six days after he had discussions in Tehran and announced that a deal on Parchin would be reached "very soon"?

0625 GMT: The Islamic Republic's 9th Majlis has been opened with a message from the Supremer Leader, read by his representative, "[This] is a powerful message by which the Iranian nation addresses the contemporary world."

Perhaps more interesting is the manoeuvring for the Speaker's chair. For weeks, it has appeared that Ali Larijani, the Speaker in the 8th Parliament, might lose his position to former Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, former Speaker and relative of the Supreme Leader by marriage. However, as the two candidates addressed the factions organising themselves for the new Parliament this weekend, the feedback was that groups such as the Velayat Followers --- who claim to have more than half the members of the new Parliament --- would overwhelmingly back Larijani.