The Latest from Iran (9 December): A Return to "Normal"

1710 GMT: We are going to take an early break this evening to join Ms EA at the theatre. As usual, I'm leaving the updates in the capable hands of our readers for late-breaking news and analysis.

1620 GMT: No Contradiction Here. The headline in Etelaat newspaper, 7 December: "Low Fuel Quality Main Reason for Smog". Headline in Etelaat, 8 December: "High Quality Fuel a Huge Domestic Success".

1605 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch (Censorship Edition). An EA source alerts us....

On Sunday night, pages and copies of the newspaper Iran were confiscated because of an article by executive director Kaveh Eshtehardi defending Mehdi Hashemi, the son of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani. The seizures were ordered by Tehran Public Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi. Doulatabadi also warned other newspaper not to print any material identifying Hashemi by name.

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Groups within the regime are seeking the trial of Hashemi on charges of fraud and electoral manipulation, and an arrest warrant has been issued for him. He has been in London since summer 2009.

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The Latest from Iran (8 December): Back to the Smog

2205 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Actually, I don't want to finish with smog. Instead, I note Fereshteh Ghazi's interview with journalist Emaduddin Baghi just before he returned to Evin Prison to serve a seven-year sentence. Baghi explains, "It is impossible to work through legal channels in the Islamic Republic."

2200 GMT: Back to the Smog. To almost end the day where we began....

Like the Washington Post, the Financial Times prefers to discuss pollution rather than protests: "Tehran residents are blaming the Iranian government’s production of poor-quality petrol for the serious air pollution affecting Iran’s capital city."

Do not fear, however. The solution is at hand. Reviving a proposal offered by Tehran Friday Prayers leader Ayatollah Emami Kashani, the Basij-e Mostazafin organisation has issued a statement to the people: Pray for Rain.

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Iran Feature: If a Protest Occurs and No One Notices, Does It Make a Sound?

For some, it is as if the demonstrations on National Student Day --- 16 Azar --- never happened.

You will not, for example, find any reference in Iranian state media to the protests on campuses across the nation. Press TV's top story prefers the relative security of the nuclear discussions, with Iran's National Security Council "call[ing] on Western powers to exercise commitment to agreements they make with the Islamic Republic".

I guess that's understandable --- no one really likes to mention domestic arguments. A bit more surprising that CNN's website forgot to mention 16 Azar.

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Iran Analysis: Protests and Options --- What Now for the Greens and the Government?

Today’s protest showed both the limited capacity of the Greens to muster huge number of protesters because of Government repression, but at the same time it demonstrated how weak the government has become in dealing with its foes.

With options running out on both sides, the real question is: who is going to give in first and cross the point of no return on its nuclear option?

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The Latest from Iran (7 December): 16 Azar

2115 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist Masoud Lavasani has been summoned to Evin Prison to serve his 4 1/2-year prison sentence.

Lavasani was arrested on 26 July 2009 at his home.

Ahmad Reza Khadem of the National Front has been sentenced to 40 months in prison.

Muhammad Nawaz, a follower of the detained Ayatollah Boroujerdi, has been detained.

2043 GMT: Parliament v. President. I know 16 Azar has been dramatic, but don't forget the ongoing story of the challenge to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

MP Darioush Ghanbari says that several reformists have signed the letter, organised by principlists opposing the President, to summon Ahmadinejad to the Majlis for questioning.

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Iran Snap Analysis: Resistance and National Students' Day

Already I am having to revise my Monday assessment that the protests for 16 Azar will mainly be through written statements. Visible demonstrations may occur.

Any show of resistance is likely to be scattered, "flash mob" protests. And do not underestimate the efforts of the Government and security forces to quell even these limited displays.

Still, it would be resistance that counters the narrative of a Government which is now secure after 18 months of post-election conflict. And then the question is how much that resistance brings other "fire from under the ashes".

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Iran Video Special: Tehran University Protests on the Eve of 16 Azar

Claimed footage of protests at Tehran University this afternoon, a day before 16 Azar (National Students Day):

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Iran Special for 16 Azar: Banning the Students

During the past five years, hundreds of students have been barred from higher education through this process. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran interviewed 27 students barred from higher education. Additionally, the Campaign compiled a list of 217 students who were denied their right to education. The true numbers are believed to be much higher, as many targeted students have preferred to remain silent and not make their case public, fearing further persecution and prosecution, or hoping that they can reverse their education bans by giving written guarantees to cease future activism.

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The Latest from Iran (6 December): From Nuke Talks to Student Demos

1900 GMT: BBC Notes Sedition. The BBC has picked up on comments by Ayatollah Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, that opposition to the system of velayat-e-faqih (clerical supremacy) is a denial of God.

Jannati made the remark in a speech on Sunday in Shiraz: "Denying the guardianship of the Uupreme Leader [is the same as denying God."

The comment effectively equates dissent with mohareb (war against God), a crime which can carry the death penalty.

1740 GMT: 16 Azar. Kalemeh posts an article on today's protest at Tehran University. We have posted six clips of the demonstration in a separate entry.

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Iran Document: Detained Activist Bahareh Hedayat's Letter for National Students Day

These perpetual, sad and cold days and nights will surely end forever someday so that the hopeful promise of life surrounds us all over. There is no doubt in my mind that in our bright future, we will breathe in a free country while celebrating our liberty together. Reaching for the blue skies, we will greet the sunlight once again in our universities and all over this land that will be free, free, and free at last. Since that day is near, let us reject any doubts we may have. We must believe in this and stand up like before, informed and hopeful.

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