The Latest from Iran (23 December): Ahmadinejad on Economy "Everyone is Wrong Except Me"

See also Iran Flashback: The Supreme Leader Joins Facebook...in August 2009
Iran Feature: The Death of Ahmadinejad's Subsidy Cuts Programme
The Latest from Iran (22 December): "We Are Not Isolated. You Are Isolated"

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2135 GMT: Press Watch. The Press Court has acquitted the reformist Shargh newspaper of insulting veterans of the 1980s Iran-Iraq War in one of its cartoons.

The newspaper was closed on 26 September for the publication and its managing director, Mehdi Rahmanian, was imprisoned.

The cartoon showed a column of men blindfolded in bright light. Cartoonist Hadi Heydair explained after the ban was imposed:

This sketch intends to display "ignorance", where some, in broad daylight, are blindfolding each other, to keep them from seeing the daylight. If the cartoonist wished to show soldiers, they would have to be wearing war uniforms, carrying arms, and be shown in a war setting.

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The Latest from Iran (20 December): Revolutionary Guards Decide Which Reformists Can Stand in Presidential Election

See also Iran Feature: Breakthrough in Nuclear Talks? No Way.
The Latest from Iran (19 December): "The Worst Economic Conditions"

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2110 GMT: Human Rights Watch. The United Nations General Assembly has criticised Iran for human rights abuses by an 86-32 vote with 65 abstentions.

The resolution on Iran voiced "deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran relating to, inter alia, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including flogging and amputations".

1840 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Iranian State media continues to play up renewed discussions, headlining, "Russia Hopes Iran-P5+1 Talks to Be Held Next Month".

The website seizes on a matter-of-fact statement by a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, "Currently negotiations are under way with Tehran on the place and date. We hope that this work will be completed in the near future and such a meeting will take place in January of next year."

Press TV repeats the mantra:

Iran claims that as a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is free to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes but the United States, Israel and others have accused Iran of developing nuclear equipment for military purposes.

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The Latest from Iran (13 November): Admitting a Blogger's Death in Detention

See also EA Video Analysis: Iran Sanctions, Human Rights, and the Nuclear Issue
Iran Opinion: The Crisis in Medical Care --- It's Not Just About Sanctions
The Latest from Iran (12 November): The Economic Squeeze Tightens

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Sattar Beheshti1856 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Hong Kong will remove permission for 19 ships linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) to operate under its flag, according to a letter from the Hong Kong Government's Marine Department.

"As it is of paramount importance to HKMD in safeguarding the quality of Hong Kong ships, HKMD has therefore taken action already in notifying the owners of these 19 ships for the closure of the registration in Hong Kong within 90 days beginning from the date of the notice being served," S.F. Wong, Hong Kong Shipping Register's general manager, said in the letter.

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Iran Video Feature: A Beginner's Guide to the Battles Within the Media (Al Jazeera English)

Al Jazeera English's Listening Post introduces the factions behind different media outlets in Iran, from President Ahmadinejad to the Supreme Leader to the Revolutionary Guards. Context includes last month's imprisonment of Ahmadinejad media advisor and editor of Iran newspaper Ali Akbar Javanfekr and the political tensions over sanctions and the country's economic problems.

The programme also looks at Iranian channels broadcasting from outside the country, including the new London-based opposition Raha TV.

The Latest from Iran (26 October): Judiciary to Ahmadinejad "Your Irrational and Illegal Attacks"

See also Iran Feature: "Britain Rebuffs US Pleas to Use Its Military Bases for Attack"
The Latest from Iran (25 October): Ahmadinejad v. the Judiciary, Continued

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1745 GMT: Loyalty Watch. The Supreme Leader's office has put out the reminder:

No one can disobey the decree of the Leader using the pretext that the decree is or may be a mistake....All the people, including the elites and experts, must obey the orders of the Leader.... Everyone is allowed to criticize the law or decrees of the Leader, but criticism is one thing and disobedience another, just as there is a difference between being critical and actively looking for excuses.

But why issue this statement now? And who should be taking notice?

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The Latest from Iran (23 October): Ahmadinejad v. the Judiciary

Head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani refuses President Ahmadinejad's request to visit Evin Prison: "Not now! In one year you can visit this place every day!" (Cartoon: Nikahang Kowsar)

See also Iran Audio Feature: The Real Story about the "US-Iran Nuclear Talks" --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24
Iran Feature: Which Tehran Officials Are Buying Up Turkish Gold?
The Latest from Iran (22 October): A Mysterious Currency Dealer, Real Executions

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1811 GMT: President v. Supreme Leader. Adding to today's political tension is a dispute between aides to President Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei....

Ali Saeedi, the Supreme Leader's representative in the Revolutionary Guards, sparked the argument yesterday wit the assertion, "We didn’t have occult foreknowledge to know what is going through the mind of Mr. Ahmadinejad and in the future what he will want to do."

The Political Deputy of the President’s Office, Mohammad Jafar Behdad, responded that Ahmadinejad is “hundreds of times more Principlist than the likes of Mr. Saedi and is more concerned about Islam, the Revolution, and the Leader". He said that Saeedi was in no position "to announce that Ahmadinejad doesn’t act in accordance with the acceptable standards and conditions of the regime".

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The Latest from Iran (20 October): "We Will Not Surrender"

A Basij militiaman cries, "Hit us, USA, Israel! We are ready for martyrdom!" (Cartoon: Maya Neyestani)

See also The Latest from Iran (19 October): "The Sanctions Will Hurt Europe"

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1549 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. The President has asked head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani for quick processing of a permit to visit Evin Prison, after Ahmadinejad's request for entry on 17 October was rejected.

Ahmadinejad reportedly is seeking to visit his senior aide Ali Akbar Javanfekr, in Evin since June after he was convicted of "insulting Islam" with a special edition of his newspaper Iran.

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The Latest from Iran (1 October): Can the "Resistance Economy" Continue to Resist?

See also Iran Snap Analysis: Watching The Currency Crisis
The Latest from Iran (30 September): "The West Is In Economic Crisis"

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2045 GMT: Currency Watch. ILNA reports that students have protested in front of Parliament because the banks are not giving them subsidised currency for study abroad.

2035 GMT: Press Watch. The daily newspaper Maghreb has been raided and its managing editor Mehdi Emami Naseri summoned by the judiciary.

Some reports say the editor was arrested. There is confusion over the cause. Some reports say it was the publication of a photo of former President Mohammad Khatami; others say it was a picture of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani.

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The Latest from Iran (30 September): "The West Is In Economic Crisis"

See also Iran Follow-Up: Fars News Apologises for Running Story from The Onion
The Latest from Iran (29 September): The Economy and the Divisions Within the Regime

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1422 GMT: Press Watch. One of the cameramen with President Ahmadinejad's entourage in New York has defected and has been granted asylum, according to Baztab.

1347 GMT: Press Watch. ISNA reports that a court has convicted Reuters and its Tehran Bureau Chief, Parisa Hafezi, of "publishing lies against the regime" and "disturbing public opinion".

Reuters was charged after a story in March briefly carried a headline characterising women training in ninjutsu as "assassins". The bureau was closed, as the press cards of staff were confiscated. Some observers saw a pretext for the authorities to shut down one of the few international agencies reporting from inside Iran.

Sentencing is expected within a week.

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The Latest from Iran (28 September): The Next Fall in the Currency

See also Iran Snapshot: Why Was Top Military Commander Soleimani in Iraqi Kurdistan?
The Latest from Iran (27 September): A Newspaper is Banned, An Editor is Imprisoned

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Ahmadinejad Returns from New York1705 GMT: Your Tehran Friday Prayer Update. Ayatollah Emami Kashani is not ready to let go of the issue of the US-produced film denigrating the Prophet Mohammad, as he accused Western governments of trying to "belittle Islam and violate its sanctities": "The repercussions of their plots and conspiracies will backfire on them and they will be further disgraced, but Islam will also surely cut off their evil hand.”

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