The Latest from Iran (7 September): Challenges on the International Front

2154 GMT: Conspiracy Theory of the Day. Eskandar Sadegh-Boroujerdi notes that Hassan Firuzabadi, the Chief of the Armed Forces, has revealed, “The creation of sects in the Islamic world and the extremism of Al-Qaeda and jihadis is the plan of the CIA, Mossad, and MI6 spy organizations, against the Islamic community." He continued:

The CIA and Mossad are the progenitors of Al-Qaeda, the jihadis and state terrorism in the region…They plan through the use of sects, which are apparently religious, but in fact terrorist, to initiate a targeted war between Sunni and Shi’a, despite the constant and serious efforts of some Islamic countries for the creation of unity and comprehensive alignment between Muslims.

Firouzabadi set out a case study for his findings, “The appearance of the new problem of terrorism in the form of Al-Qaeda and jihadis in confrontation with the people and government of Syria is the long-term plan of the arrogant and colonialist regimes against the Islamic world”.

2013 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Laura Rozen of Al Monitor reports that, in a pointed sign of diplomatic pressure, Britain, France, and Germany --- three of the members of the 5+1 group negotiating with Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme --- called today for new European Union sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

“It is necessary to increase pressure on Iran, to intensify sanctions, to add further to EU sanctions that are already enforced,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters ahead of an informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Cyprus.

“Sanctions are necessary and soon. I can’t see there is really a constructive will on the Iranian side for substantial talks,” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle echoed.

Diplomatic sources said the US has prepared a new file of sanctions to squeeze Iranian financial reserves.

And in a further signal that there will be no movement without Iranian concessions, diplomatic sources said political directors from the 5+1 decided not to propose another meeting with Tehran at this time.

The directors spoke in a conference call last week.

Of the six nations in the 5+1, only Russia's envoy expressed any interest in another gathering, a Western diplomatic source said, claiming that “even the Chinese opposed” a meeting as no success is expected.

The 5+1's lead negotiator, Catherine Ashton, said today that she had urged Iran --- in a phone call with her Iranian counterpart Saeed Jalili --- "to look very carefully at the proposals that have been put forward by the E3+3 [5+1], so that we can now move forward".

1444 GMT: Your Tehran Friday Prayer Update. Another soundbite from Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami's sermon today, “By participating in the [Non-Aligned] summit and strolling along Tehran, the heads of state encountered a peaceful country and a dignified and calm people and they saw the realities and learned that what the US and Israel had said were lies."

1422 GMT: Foreign Affairs Watch (Canadian Front). Canada has closed its Embassy in Tehran and expelled Iranian diplomats from its territory.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird issued a statement:

Canada views the Government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today.

The Iranian regime is providing increasing military assistance to the Assad regime; it refuses to comply with UN resolutions pertaining to its nuclear program; it routinely threatens the existence of Israel and engages in racist anti-Semitic rhetoric and incitement to genocide; it is among the world’s worst violators of human rights; and it shelters and materially supports terrorist groups, requiring the Government of Canada to formally list Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism under the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act.

Moreover, the Iranian regime has shown blatant disregard for the Vienna Convention and its guarantee of protection for diplomatic personnel. Under the circumstances, Canada can no longer maintain a diplomatic presence in Iran.

1311 GMT: Economy Watch. Jafar Ghaderi, a member of Parliament's Budget Committee, has accused the Central Bank of publishing "unreal inflation data" because of its political role in the economy. He said latest figures were much lower than the rate of inflation.

This week the Central Bank put the annual rate at 23%; last week Iran's Statistics Center said prices had increased 27% in a year.

1257 GMT: Your Tehran Friday Prayer Update. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami takes the podium today and --- given the regime's line noted in our opening two entries --- his theme is no surprise: "The 120 countries at the Non-Aligned Movement's summit have proven the lies of the imperialist media."

An EA correspondent notes in particular the attendance of Burkina Faso.

1234 GMT: Currency Watch. Prominent tycoon Asadollah Asgarouladi has been waging a campaign against a proposed foreign excbange stock market, saying it will cause more economic dislocations as the exchange "falls into the hands of foreign enemies".

-

1230 GMT: Economy Watch. Saeed Soltani, the head of the livestock breeder's union, has said that 40% of the industry has been shut off and that the Government is worsening the situation with excessive imports.

1115 GMT: Elections Watch. The Minister of Interior has announced that the 2013 Presidential election will be held on 14 June.

1045 GMT: Economy Watch. The opposition Rooz Online quotes leading politicians to report, "Removal of Subsidies Will Destitute People".

The Ahmadinejad Government confirmed this week, through a Vice President, that it is suspending the second phase of subsidy cuts on food and energy.

1030 GMT: Foreign Affairs Watch (Syrian Front). Con Coughlin of the Daily Telegraph re-appears to pronounce that Iran has sent 150 elite military officers to assist President Assad in Syria.

As usual, Coughlin's "exclusive" is based on no evidence beyond shadowy conversations with "Western intelligence officials" and the declaration of the National Council of Resistance in Iran, the political wing of the insurgent Mujahedin-e Khalq.

Unfortunately, this has not stopped other media, such as The Guardian, from circulating the unsubstantiated claim.

There is an open question of how much military assistance Tehran is providing to Syria. Last week the Wall Street Journal claimed, from unnamed sources in the Revolutionary Guards, that aid was being sent and officers had provided advice to the regime. US officials put out the claim, through the New York Times, that flights from the Islamic Republic were again passing over Iraq en route to Damascus.

0720 GMT: Currency Watch. Confusion persists after Thursday's muddle over the state of the Iranian Rial, with a variety of open-market rates being reported for the weakening currency.

The leading currency website Mesghal.com is now back on-line but has not been updated since Thursday --- that means it is still showing a different rate (22280 Rials to the US dollar) from Mesghal.ir (21930:1).

Our best estimate is that having weakened to a historic low on Thursday, dropping as far as 22510:1, the Rial --- having lost half its value in a year --- recovered to 22180:1 by last night.

0710 GMT: International Front. Press TV proves our point in the opening entry --- its "Iran" page this morning is a series of exaltations of Iranian prestige, skipping the challenges for the Islamic Republic's foreign policy for more on the Non-Aligned Movement and Israel/Palestine.

"US Lost Political War to Iran in NAM Summit --- Iran Lawmaker":

Ali Jalilian, member of Iran Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said on Thursday that the political competition between Iran and the US over the NAM summit was a real war, in which the US suffered defeat and 120 countries were invited to resist in line with Iran’s stances and against the US and the Zionist regime of Israel.

Jalilian also noted that the diplomatic defeat that the US and Britain suffered from Iran in this diplomatic war will increase Tehran’s diplomatic power in the international arena.

"UN Obliged to Stop Israeli Crimes in Gaza Strip: Iran":

Iran has called on the United Nations to fulfill its obligations towards Palestinians and stop Israel’s “crimes” following the death of six people in the latest Israeli attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip.

“As the rotating president of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Islamic Republic of Iran expects all international institutions affiliated to the United Nations to adhere to their responsibilities towards the Palestinian nation,” Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Friday.

"Palestine, Muslim World's Priority: Iran Majlis Speaker"

Iran’s Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani says Palestine and restoring the rights of the Palestinian people have always been a priority for the Muslim world.

“International supporters of the Zionist regime [of Israel] have always tried to marginalize the issue of Palestine, but Palestine and restoring the rights of the oppressed people of this country has always been a priority for the Muslim Ummah,” Larijani said in a meeting with the senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar on Thursday.

0550 GMT: We begin with a series of stories illustrating the challenges abroad for the regime.

Yigal Schlaifer summarises the rise in tension and Iran and Turkey, as more than a week of front-page stories in Turkish newspapers highlight the capture of an alleged Iranian intelligence ring in the Igdir region in the east. The arrests follow leaks to the press from Turkish officials that the Islamic Republic may be supporting the establishment of camps by the Kurdish insurgency PKK, as it escalates attacks on Turkish forces.

A columnist in the leading daily Today's Zaman went so far as to claim, "The problem with Iranian spy-rings is that they are accompanied -- if not preceded --- by propagandist mullahs and financial institutions owned by Basij, the deep state of Iran."

Reporting from Moscow, Scott Peterson suggests, "Russian Nuclear Support for Iran Limited by Distrust":

Despite the fact that Russia is training hundreds of nuclear scientists to operate the Bushehr [nuclear] plant, Russian analysts say that Moscow has contributed little to Iran's recent strides in uranium enrichment and nuclear technology....

The ranks of Iranian students studying nuclear and other physical sciences in Russia was thinned out years ago due to official concerns about spying and the ultimate purpose of the Islamic Republic's expertise, Russian experts say....

Warm rhetoric about Iran-Russian ties – such as when President Vladimir Putin says Russia “has always defended the rights of the Iranian nation” – is more talk than reality.

Neither of these stories will be featured by the Islamic Republic's officials and media, however. Instead the Supreme Leader set the line in an address to the Assembly of Experts on Thursday: more than a week after the delegates at the Non-Aligned Movement's summit in Tehran, Ayatollah Khamenei was still exalting the gathering as testament to Iran's "power and glory", rebuffing the efforts of its enemies --- notably the US and the Zionists of Israel.