The Latest from Iran (30 October): Tehran's Mixed Messages

See also Iran Analysis: The Regime Tells the US, "You Are Plotting Against Us --- Let's Talk"
Iran Exclusive: Did Supreme Leader's Top Advisor Meet US Officials in Qatar?
The Latest from Iran (29 October): We Will Defeat the Sanctions, The Sanctions Are Killing Us

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2100 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Back from an extended business break to find Press TV continuing State media's encouraging signals about renewed discussions of Iran's nuclear programme:

EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, says she has plans to meet with Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili, hoping new talks between Iran and the group of six major world powers could lead to a diplomatic solution.

Ashton said on Tuesday that European officials met last weekend with aides to the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili, adding that she plans to meet directly with him [Jalili] soon, Associated Press reported.

The announcement is seen as a key step in the resumption of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group --- which consists of Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US plus Germany -- over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.

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Iran Analysis: The Regime Tells the US, "You Are Plotting Against Us --- Let's Talk"

Ali Akbar Velayati & Hashemi RafsanjaniThe focus on "plots" means that State outlet Press TV does not address the developing story --- arguably far more important --- of Iran's back-channel talks with the US, looking toward a resumption of formal negotiations over Tehran's nuclear programme.

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The Latest from Iran (28 October): Blame the Zionists, Don't Mention the Political Prisoners

See also The Latest from Iran (27 October): Supreme Leader Says, "Obey Me"

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Jafar Panahi & Nasrin Sotoudeh1630 GMT: Straits of Hormuz Watch. Minister of Defense Ahmad Vahidi has said the Islamic Republic has no plan to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key lane for oil shipments in the Persian Gulf, in response to international sanctions: “These two issues are not related and are totally independent of each other."

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The Latest from Iran (21 October): How High Is the Rate of Inflation?

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

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1955 GMT: About 1,000 workers of the Entekhab group have staged a demonstration at the South Korean Embassy in Tehran after an acquisition deal with Daewoo Electronics collapsed because of sanctions.

The demonstrators called for return of a downpayment of $70 million by Entekhab in 2011 to Daewoo, company spokesman Hamid Ghaznavi said.

In November 2010, Entekhab Industrial Group signed a contract for its acquisition of South Korea's Daewoo Electronics for $518 million. Daewoo Electronics, a former subsidiary of the now-defunct Daewoo Group, has been under a debt rescheduling programme since 1999 when its parent company collapsed.

Entekhab is located in the central province of Isfahan and produces appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and televisions under the brand names Snowa and Haier.

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The Latest from Iran (17 October): "We Support Free Elections....In Syria"

See also The Latest from Iran (16 October): "Currency Market Disruptors Will Be Executed"

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1819 GMT: From Hero to Forced Retirement. Pilot Houshang Shahbazi, who became a national hero last October with the emergency landing of a plane with more than 100 passengers and crew, says he has been forced into early retirement because he voiced concerns over safety.

“Authorities in charge have [prevented] me from flying and have confined me at home under the excuse that I have portrayed flights by Iranian airlines as unsafe,” Shahbazi said.

The 56-year-old Shahbazi says he had nine years left before the end of his career as a pilot, but he upset authorities who repeatedly asked him to stop his public efforts against the U.S. sanctions that ban Iran from buying spare parts for its aging civilian airline fleet:

[Officials] told me, ‘You can return to work under certain conditions.’ They said, ‘You have to commit yourself not to engage in social work anymore.’ I refused.

Footage of Shahbazi's landing of a Boeing-727, flying from Moscow to Tehran’s Mehrabad airport, after its front landing gear jammed:

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The Latest from Iran (14 October): Pretending All Is Well

See also Iran Feature: A Letter from Detained Journalist Jila Bani Yaghoub to Her Imprisoned Husband
The Latest from Iran (13 October): "We Hate You War-Waging Power Seekers (Let's Talk)"

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1831 GMT: Currency Watch. Arya News reports the US dollar is being traded for 32850 Rials, a similar figure to that posted by ISNA.

1824 GMT: Parliament v. President. A follow-up to our report on Parliamentary pressure on the Government over its use of funds (see 1432 GMT)....

MP Gholamreza Assadollahi says Parliament will demand that the Government transfers its 20 trillion Toman (about $16.5 billon) profit from currency sales to National Funds to be used for development projects.

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The Latest from Iran (11 October): A President Under Fire

See also Iran Analysis: As Ahmadinejad Is Challenged, The Supreme Leader Tries to Protect Himself
The Latest from Iran (10 October): Economic Fantasy and Reality

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1615 GMT: Currency Watch. Reports earlier this week that the Central Bank was not selling US dollars in its "trade room" for importers raised our suspicions about shortages of foreign reserves to inject into the market.

The assistant director of the Trade Development Organization has a different explanation: the Bank is offering a mix of currencies each day --- why is not detailed --- so there may be a lack of certain currencies at times.

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The Latest from Iran (2 October): A Currency in Free Fall?

The scene in the Tehran currency market today

See also Iran Audio Feature: Can Iraq Stop Tehran Flying Weapons to Syria? --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24
Monday's The Latest from Iran (1 October): Can the "Resistance Economy" Continue to Resist?

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1929 GMT: Ahmadinejad Statement of the Day. An EA correspondent draws up an important segment from the President's press conference, in which Ahmadinejad effectively said "Back Me or Sack Me": "I was somewhere and said, 'If you want me to, I'm ready to write a sentence, and we go away.'"

Our correspondent explains, "'Somewhere' is the Supreme Leader's house or office." amd looks at the 2:24 mark in this video to assess, "Ahmadinejad has definitely threatened to step back if necessary."

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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 (24 September): Rafsanjani, Nukes, Ahmadinejad in New York

Nikahang Kowsar links last night's shutdown of Google and Gmail in Iran to President Ahmadinejad's trip to the US

See also Iran Opinion: Thoughts on the US De-Listing of the "Terrorist" Mujahideen-e Khalq
Iran Interview and Analysis: Ahmadinejad's Show Begins with Washington Post --- An Easy Ride on Nukes, And Nothing on Human Rights
Iran Analysis: Daughter in Prison, Son Back in Tehran --- What Now for Ex-President Rafsanjani?

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2030 GMT: Sanctions Watch. The US Treasury has officially designated the National Iranian Oil Company as "an agent or affiliate" of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, supporting Washington's pursuit of new sanctions on foreign banks dealing with the NIOC.

The Treasury told Congress that there was not enough information at this time to conclude that the National Iranian Tanker Company is linked to the IRGC.

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