The Latest from Iran (20 June): A Fight Over the Foreign Ministry

1740 GMT: The Foreign Ministry Dispute. Leading MP Ahmad Tavakoli has increased the pressure on the Ahmadinejad camp over the proposed appointment of Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh as staff and finance manager at the Foreign Ministry (see 0500 GMT).

Tavakoli has claimed that Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi told Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi not to appoint Malekzadeh because he is on the verge of arrest over financial irregularities. Tavakoli declared that Salehi had proposed three candidates before Malekzadeh to the President; Ahmadinejad rejected all of them.

Malekzadeh has responded that Tavakoli is spreading slander and should release documents. He claims the MP is providing a story for the enemy.

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The Latest from Iran (3 June): An All-is-Well Day?

State TV: "Ms Haleh Sahabi was first heart attacked, then deceased" (Cartoon: Nikahang Kowsar)

2055 GMT: Erasing the Dead. Kalemeh reports that, in the aftermath of the death of activist Haleh Sahabi after she was accosted by security forces, both "Haleh" and "Sahabi" have been filtered from SMS texts in Iran.

2040 GMT: There May Be Trouble Ahead. The hard-line Majmal News claims that, for the ceremonies commemorating Ayatollah Khomeini tomorrow, the CIA and anti-Revolutionary groups will bring ammunition across the western borders of Iran and to Tehran.

Even more distinctive, however, is the analysis of Digarban, which is critical of the Government: hardliners are are afraid of the reactions of Ahmadinejad and his team, so they are spreading news abt something grave happening on Saturday.

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The Latest from Iran (30 May): Handcuffing Justice

Sotoudeh & Husband Reza Khandan2005 GMT: Foreign Affairs. It is reported that the National Security Council has banned Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi from visiting Saudi Arabia, linking the mission to the "deviant current".

2000 GMT: Campus Watch. Deutsche Welle reports that female students are being barred from some postgraduate programmes in Iranian universities.

1940 GMT: Oil and Politics. A spokesman for Parliament's Energy Committee has reiterated the warning (see 1645 GMT) that President Ahmadinejad's attempt to be caretaker Minister of Oil is illegal and has said that, subject to a Majlis vote, a report will be sent to the judiciary for action.

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The Latest from Iran (3 May): Helping Syria Handle Protests

Ahmed Reza Radan1820 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. The President was back in public action today, opening the Tehran Book Fair with the declaration that "Iran is the guiding thought in the world today".

But the President's recent political troubles are not entirely behind him. The Supreme Leader's representative to the Revolutionary Guards, has made a speech saying that Ahmadinejad moved far in the last few days to meet the wishes of the Supreme Leader. However, Zolnour continued, there should be no doubt that Ahmadinejad's right-hand man, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, had "extreme" and "deviant" views.

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The Latest from Iran (19 April): A Regime Confession About the Greens?

2010 GMT: On the Sports Pages (Parliament v. President Edition). Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, has filed an official complaint with the judiciary against the Ahmadinejad Government for failing to establish a Ministry of Sports and Youth.

Last December, Parliament passed a law for the formation of the ministry of youth and sports by 9 April 2011. Last week, Larijani sent a letter to Ahmadinejad reminding him of the deadline.

However, the president’s chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, said on Sunday: “The government and the president believe that this issue is not in the interest of the country’s sports and athletics.”

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The Latest from Iran (28 March): Politics Resumes

1800 GMT: Economy Watch. Prominent economist Saeed Leylaz has declared that the main problem of the Iranian economy is domestic mismanagement rather than foreign sanctions, adding that smuggling is $20 billion per year.

1755 GMT: Labour Front. Claimed video of a strike on 19 March at the Bandar Imam Petrochemical Complex in Mahshahr in southwestern Iran:

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The Latest from Iran (15 March): The Regime Supports the Right to Protest

2150 GMT: A Royal Retreat. Iranian MP Hamid Resai has announced that the visit of King Abdullah II of Jordan to Iran has been cancelled: “In view of the current critical situation, the Jordanian Abdullah’s trip to Tehran did not meet the approval of senior Islamic Republic officials.”

A number of MPs had protested the invitation of the Jordanian monarch to celebrate Iranian New Year, in a ceremony hosted by President Ahmadinejad at the ancient capital of the Persian Empire, Persepolis. They noted the rise of protests in Jordan calling for political and economic reforms.

2145 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Reformist Ahmad Hakimipour and journalist Nazanin Khosravani have been released from prison.

Khosravani, detained for 135 days, was freed on $60,000 bail.

2130 GMT: Fire Festival. Claimed footage of people celebrating and singing original Iranian National Anthem tonight:

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The Latest from Iran (8 March): From International Women's Day to the Assembly

2125 GMT: Claimed video of the security presence in Tehran today:

2115 GMT: The Assembly of Experts. Reuters offers an overview of the significance of today's vote removing Hashemi Rafsanjani as head of the Assembly, with EA making this cameo apperance:

In the short-term Ahmadinejad has scored a victory in terms of his immediate authority within the establishment, but it raises questions for those beyond Rafsanjani who may have questions about that authority.

It is a question of who's next?

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The Latest from Iran (5 March): The Conflict Just Got Bigger

1320 GMT: The Next March? The Los Angeles Times summarises the call by the opposition for demonstrations on Tuesday in support of International Women's Day.

Mardomak writes about statements endorsing the demonstrations, including one by Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi: "On this day, shoulder to shoulder with our brothers, we will come to the streets to support the popular and broad democratic demands, because achieving ‘equal rights’ is possible only if voiced in a democratic system. But, we must not allow anyone to disregard our demands under the auspices of preventing crisis or avoiding divisiveness."

1310 GMT: The Arrests. We have been reporting, based on the translation of a letter from Mehdi Karroubi's son Mohammad Taghi, that the detention of Mehdi and Fatemeh Karroubi occurred on 17 February. A source informs us that the actual date should be 21 February --- we have corrected entries appropriately.

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The Latest from Iran (4 March): 19 Days and Counting

2230 GMT: Three more claimed videos of last Tuesday's protests:

"Mousavi, Karroubi Must Be Freed!"

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