The Latest from Iran (24 July): A Protest in Neyshabour "About The High Prices of Food, About Everything"

Protest in Neyshabour over inflation, especially for food: "Death to High Prices" (see 0545 GMT)

See also The Latest from Iran (23 July): Picking A Fight Over an Ahmadinejad Advisor?

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1715 GMT: The deputy nuclear negotiators for Iran and the 5+1 Power have met in Istanbul today.

No details were given of the discussion between the European Union's Helga Schmid and her Iranian counterpart, Dr. Ali Bagheri, other than this will be followed by contact between” the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, acting for the 5+1, and Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Dr. Saeed Jalili.

1712 GMT: Impeachment Watch. A demand by 20 MPs for the interrogation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Mehdi Ghazanfari, has been sent to the Majlis.

Voice of America Persian reports that Ghazanfari, Ministry of Economy Shamseddin Hosseini, and Minister of Agriculture Sadegh Khalilian will all report in closed-door session to the Majlis tomorrow, addressing concerns about inflation.

Ebrahim Nikoo, a member of Parliament's Economy Committee, has said that domestic sanctions threaten industry more than foreign sanctions, saying producers have difficulties getting loans and payments of debts from Government companies.

1539 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Back from a break to find that a statement has been brought out from former Deputy Minister of Interior Mostafa Tajzadeh, detained for more than three years in Evin Prison.

Tajzadeh jabs at the Larijani brothers --- Speaker of Parliament Ali, head of judiciary Sadegh, and senior judiciary official Mohammad Javad --- Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Reza Bahonar, and 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi over past and present allegations of corruption. He claims that instead of persecuting them, police have cracked down on the people and shut down restaurants while Iranians suffer high prices despite oil fortunes.

1205 GMT: "Analysis" Watch. Yesterday we noted that Iran Review and the US-based Race for Iran were pushing a rose-coloured "analysis" of the Syrian situation, claiming that all was near-normal in Damascus and that the Islamic Republic would benefit from the situation.

We noted that neither outlet reported that the "analyst", Mehdi Mohammadi, was political editor of the hard-line outlet Kayhan. In fact, the supposedly independent observer Mohammadi has a new position --- he was the official spokesman for the Iranian delegation at the nuclear talks with the 5+1 Powers in Baghdad in May and in Moscow in June, as a photo from Baghdad testifies.

1150 GMT: Economy Watch. The Khazar cement factory, one of Iran's largest, has shut down because of a strike of drivers over low wages.

1147 GMT: The Battle Within. Qasem Ravanbakhsh, a disciple of hard-line Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, has said that the "deviant current" --- a label often applied to the inner circle of President Ahmadinejad --- is one reason for high prices and sedition against the Supreme Leader.

0911 GMT: Foreign Affairs Watch (Syrian Front). Michael Theodoulou of The National, with an appearance by EA, cuts through the Islamic Republic's rhetoric to assess, "Iran Hedges Its Bets on Assad and Syria":

Tehran's public relations spin on events in Syria is that all is well - it described the situation as "calm" on Sunday - despite a day of heavy fighting in Damascus and Aleppo.

"But the signals are that the regime is worried and divided over its response," said Scott Lucas, an Iran expert at Birmingham University in England. "The office of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is setting out a hard line while the foreign ministry is taking a softer approach."

Belatedly, Tehran appears to be mulling a backup plan should Mr Al Assad be ousted. The country's foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, said last week that Iran was ready to sit down with the Syrian opposition and host talks with the Syrian government to help broker a democratic transition.

Syria's opposition swiftly rejected the offer, which came amid a rare public debate in Iran over the wisdom of having unswervingly supported the Assad regime, at any cost, throughout the 17-month uprising.

Iranian pragmatists had long called for a more balanced approach so that Tehran could hedge its strategic bets, while moderates were reluctant to undermine Iran's initially enthusiastic endorsement of the Arab Spring uprisings.

0728 GMT: Ex-Politcal Prisoner Watch. Arash and Kamiar Alaei, who were detained for between 30 and 38 months in Evin Prison, have been given the Elizabeth Taylor Award by the International AIDS Society and the Foundation for AIDS Research, recognising their work in HIV prevention and "advocating for the health and human rights of Iranians living with and at risk [of] HIV".

The brothers were detained in June 2008 and convicted in a one-day, secret trial in December “communications with an enemy government” and seeking to overthrow the Iranian government. Arash Alaei was released in December 2010 and Kamiar Alaei in August 2011.

0722 GMT: Trade Watch. Fars, quoting an Iranian official, reports that Tehran will allocate up to $30 billion at the official exchange rate for the import of basic goods such as meat and medicine.

Iranian media reported on Saturday that the Government planned to introduce a three-tiered exchange rate for the purchase of different classes of imports. "Basic imports" will be priced at the official rate of 12260 Iranian Rials to the US dollar. "Capital and intermediate imports" will be set at 15000:1, while "luxury imports" remain at the unofficial, open-market rate of more than 19000:1.

0719 GMT: Oil Watch. Good news for Tehran, as China's imports of Iranian oil rose 17% in June, taking purchases above the level in 2011.

China had sharply cut imports in the first quarter of 2012, but has raised them in each of the next three months, with June's figure at 635,000 barrels per day. In 2011, Beijing took about 557,000 barrels per day.

Crude from Iran accounted for 12% of China's oil imports in June, up from 9% in May and the highest since October.

In late June, China won a 180-day exemption from U.S. financial sanctions for having significantly reduced its Iranian purchases.

0558 GMT: Reformist Watch. Radio Zamaneh summarises recent stories of whether reformists will participate in the 2013 Presidential election, focusing on meetings in the home of former Minister of Interior Abdollah Nouri.

0545 GMT: We open with more on the protest over high prices, especially for food, in the northeastern city of Neyshabour (see Monday's Live Coverage). To our knowledge, this is the first public display of anger over the rising inflation --- estimated at between 18 and 100% on items, with an average of more than 40%, over the past year --- in the Islamic Republic.

The head of the Industry and Trade Bureau and the police chief both tried to reassure the crowd, announcing that more subsidised chicken would be provided, but were met with further chants and questions. Asked "What are you protesting about?", the protesters replied, "About the high prices of chicken, about everything."