The Latest from Iran (22 August): Kim Jong Un is Coming to Tehran! (Or Not).

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Political Prisoners, Israel Loves Iran, and Looking Too Much Like Ahmadinejad
The Latest from Iran (21 August): All Hail the Supreme Leader

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2027 GMT: Oil Watch. Iran's two biggest oil buyers, China and India, sharply cut imports in July.

Beijing's purchases fell nearly a third in July from an 11-month high in June, while shipments by India, declined more than 40%.

The Indian cutback is probably linked to difficulties in insurance cover for Iranian tankers, following the European Union's imposition of sanctions on 1 July. This month Indian refiners have confirmed the first shipments from Iran, to begin in September, using Iranian cover.

The Chinese drop may be tied to a six-month US waiver from sanctions, issued on 28 June, for Beijing's reduced shipments in early 2012. A continued bounce-back in purchases might have jeopardised renewal of the waiver.

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The Latest from Iran (21 August): All Hail the Supreme Leader

2214 GMT: Military Watch. An Iranian commander, Mohammad Hosseini, has said that the Islamic Republic has started construction of its largest air defence base.

Hosseini said the base in Fars Province in southern Iran would be built at the cost of $300 million and will have 6,000 personnel.

Rahim Zare', an MP for the area, said, "This air defense site will be the product of the achievements gained in all areas of science in the world."

2206 GMT: Human Rights Watch. Iranian officials have written the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, to call on the UN Human Rights Council to investigate the alleged support of Western states for "terrorists" in Syria.

"It is much clear that certain western countries along with their regional allies intend to change the Syrian government at any price and they don't pay any heed to the bloody and inhumane consequences of this seditious measure whose painful manifestations are already evident," the letter asserted. "We demand your Excellency to compile a report on the role of such countries in equipping and arming the terrorists in Syria, which has had a direct effect in increasing the number of human rights violation cases in the country and committing of crimes against humanity, and inform the world of its results."

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The Latest from Iran (20 August): "Time's Up for Bullying Oppressors"

The Supreme Leader, President Ahmadinejad, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, and head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani at Sunday's ceremony for Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan

See also Iran Opinion: Why Real Negotiations Have Not Occurred --- And Why We Still Need Them

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2031 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. An appeal court has upheld a 10-year prison sentence for physics student Omid Kokabee, detained in February 2011 when he returned to Iran on vacation from the University of Texas.

Kokabee was charged with “communicating with a hostile government” and “illegitimate earnings". He was sentenced in May 2012, with 12 others, on the collective allegation of collaborating with Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad.

2021 GMT: Forgiveness Watch. Ali Saeedi, the Supreme Leader's representative to the Revolutionary Guards, has said reformists can participate in elections if they "repent, confess mistakes, and confirm allegiance".

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The Latest from Iran (19 August): The Regime Looks for a Boost

0800 GMT Supreme Leader Watch. Appearing at the Eid al-Fitr prayer today, Ayatollah Khamenei declaring the ascendancy of Islamic countries, “Issues of the Muslim world are unique. Developments of the Muslim World are strange and shocking and chart the course of Muslim nations in the future.”

The Supreme Leader described the US and Israel as enemies of the Islamic nations and cautioned against any “analytic blunders", as plots against Muslims are getting more and more complicated.

0525 GMT: Sanctions Watch. The US Government has stepped up pressure on its Iraqi counterpart over sanctions on Iran through an article in The New York Times:

Some current and former American and Iraqi officials, along with banking and oil experts, say that Iraqi government officials are turning a blind eye to the large financial flows, smuggling and other trade with Iran. In some cases, they say, government officials, including some close to [Iraqi Prime Minister] Maliki, are directly profiting from the activities.

“Maliki’s government is right in the middle of this,” said one former senior American intelligence official who now does business in Iraq.

In announcing that he was “cutting off” Elaf Islamic Bank [last month], Mr. Obama said it had “facilitated transactions worth millions of dollars on behalf of Iranian banks that are subject to sanctions for their links to Iran’s illicit proliferation activities.”

But the treatment the bank has received in Baghdad since it was named by Mr. Obama suggests that the Iraqi government is not only allowing companies and individuals to circumvent the sanctions but also not enforcing penalties for noncompliance.

Iraqi banking experts said last week that the bank was still allowed to participate in the Iraq Central Bank’s daily auction at which commercial banks can sell Iraqi dinars and buy United States dollars. These auctions are a crucial pathway for Iranian access to the international financial system. Western officials say that Iran seeks to bolster its reserves of dollars to stabilize its exchange rates and pay for imports.

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The Latest from Iran (16 August): Hey, Look Over at Palestine!

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- From Earthquakes to Islamic Law in Outer Space
The Latest from Iran (15 August): Ahmadinejad in Saudi Arabia

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1609 GMT: Campus Watch. We have been reporting recently on the exclusion of women from university programmes (see 1141 GMT) --- well, here's a twist....

The Nursing Association has complained, "The decision to eliminate male applicants for nursing is shocking and against national policies and patients' needs."

1600 GMT: Economy Watch. Ali Pourkaveh of the Ministry of Industry has claimed that the stockpiling of 24 essential goods is nearly finished.

Earlier this month President Ahmadinejad called for a three-month stockpile of rice, sugar, cooking fat, and other commodities.

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Iran Document: Students to the Supreme Leader "If Only You Ordered Tolerance Towards Dissent"

Responding to the Supreme Leader's recent remarks to an assembly of State-sponsored student organizations, the student union Tahkim Vahdat (Office for Consolidating Unity) has put out a statement:

If only he had  also ordered tolerance towards dissident students and those who were critical of him. It is now meaningless to talk about any right to criticize the Leader. Appointed university officials have reacted harshly to any and all voices of dissent. Muslim student associations, independent student associations, cultural and artistic centers, student councils, and student newspapers face their most difficult conditions since the election of Ahmadinejad in 2005.

The document includes a list of 29 students who are serving lengthy sentences.

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Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Sanctions and the Regime's Restrictions, From Medicine to Education for Women (Arseh Sevom)

The Supreme Leader promotes himself via Instagram

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Arseh Sevom, the NGO promoting civil society and human rights in Iran, posts its latest weekly review:

We would be remiss if we did not start this week's review with congratulations to Iran's Olympic team. Meanwhile, the head of Iran's Hemophilia Center reminds the world of the unintended consequences of the sanctions: blocked payments for life-saving medications. Girls and women are told they can no longer study a wide range of subjects from engineering to educational studies, while the Supreme Leader posts his first images using the popular social photo app Instagram.

We get a reminder of Iran's National Internet project, which is now scheduled to be unveiled in phases beginning in September. In another seeming reversal of long-standing cultural norms, polygamy is promoted on a television program in Qom province. Imprisoned journalists challenge heads of the Non-Aligned Movement to visit them in prison while in Iran for their summit, as more Baha'is are arrested throughout the country.

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Iran Analysis: Is This the Last Elected President? (Alam)

A trial balloon floated by Iran’s Supreme Leader last year is coming closer to reality and with it, the prospect that Iran’s political system will become even less representative of popular will.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei first raised the idea in October of abolishing the directly elected Iranian presidency by highlighting the regime’s flexibility for institutional change. At the time, his statement elicited an array of reactions from across the political spectrum. His allies in the parliament and the Guardian Council, a body that vets candidates for elected office, swiftly endorsed the proposal, assuring Iranians that well-established legal mechanisms existed for such a change.

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The Latest from Iran (5 August): The Supreme Leader Talks About Morality

Claimed footage of insurgents speaking in front of the 48 Iranians seized in Syria on Saturday --- Tehran says the men are pilgrims, but the Free Syrian Army claims they are members of the Iranian military assisting the Assad regime

See also Iran Feature: Can Tehran and the West Close the Nuclear "Trust Gap"?
The Latest from Iran (4 August): The Regime Admits Its "Economic War"

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1735 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has warned that growing public despair over economic conditions "would be a blow to the roots" of the Islamic Republic.

1355 GMT: Currency Watch. The Iranian Rial has slipped another 1% vs. the US dollar, sinking to 20420:1.

The Rial is now approaching its lowest point in a currency crisis that started last autumn.

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Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- From Health Care to Hijab to Identity Crisis (Arseh Sevom)

The UNAIDS Executive Director presents the Red Ribbon Award in the category "Prevention Among/By People Who Use Drugs" to representatives of the Afraye Sabz Association. Credit: UNAIDS/C. Kleponis

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This week --- Iranian organizations and individuals receive awards for their work on HIV/AIDS as Mississippi doctors try to fix healthcare inequalities by learning from Iran. The Supreme Leader puts an end to family planning. The "Unveil a Woman's Right to Unveil" goes from Facebook to the streets of Iran, residents in Neyshapour take to the streets to protest inflation,and a report shows the lopsided impact of economic sanctions on women. A group of citizens cleans a park in Isfahan and the loss of Iranian identity is lamented.

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