The Latest from Iran (28 October): "Our Prisons Are Full"

1854 GMT: James Miller takes the liveblog.

Reuters is reporting that three separate explosions have rocked Iran's oil and gas industry, though the government is stating that they are unrelated:

The fatal incident at the oil field at Bibi Hakimeh near the Gulf occurred during drilling, when workers unexpectedly encountered an "enormous volume of unknown accumulated gas" in the layers of a reservoir, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. Three people were injured.

Mehr also reported a separate blast at the Shazand oil refinery in central Iran, but the plant's managing director later told state radio the incident had been exaggerated.

"Nothing special has happened there. There was no fire at all," Majid Rajabi said. "The refinery is functioning normally."

The third blast happened on a 26-inch pipeline carrying gas to an oilfield in Gachsaran in south-western Iran later on Friday, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Even if the blasts turn out to be unrelated, in the direct sense, this will raise serious concerns about the safety of Iran's infrastructure, especially in light of the explosion at the Abadan refinery in May while Ahmadinejad was at the plant.

1810 GMT: Deviant Current Watch. Ali Rezaei, Friday Prayer leader in Birjand and a representative of the Supreme Leader, has said he did not participate in a provincial government meeting because members of the "deviant current" were present.

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The Latest from Iran (26 October): It's All About US Crimes....

2250 GMT: Reality or Illusion Watch. Prominent Iranian academic Sadegh Zibakalam, speaking at the Tehran Media Exhibit, said the "Islamic Awakening" --- declared by the Supreme Leader to be inspiring movements across North Africa and the Middle East --- is an illusion of the Islamic Republic. Zibakalam said the real significance of events is that Arab people are fed up with dictatorship.

1810 GMT: The Plot. In a speech in South Khorasan Province in eastern Iran, President Ahmadinejad has said the "Iranian nation is very kind and just and does not need to terrorist acts".

Responding to US accusations that Tehran planned the assassination of the Saudi Ambassador to Washington, Ahmadinejad asserted, "Every time the Iranian nation moves toward the peaks of progress, its enemies grab it with their teeth showing." He turned the charge of assassination against others, claiming they had killed Iranian scientists.

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The Latest from Iran (23 October): Qaddafi Visits the Supreme Leader

Today's protest, in front of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, declaring "The End of Wall Street">

See also Iran Special: How Bahrain's Foreign Minister Fed "The Plot" to Top Washington Post Columnist

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2000 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist Ehsan Mehrabi has been freed after completion of a one-year prison sentence.

Mehrabi was Mehrabi charged with propaganda against the regime after he gave an interview to BBC Persian.

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The Latest from Iran (21 October): Back-Channel Talks with the US?

Iran Feature: Detained Reformist Leader Tajzadeh Writes the Supreme Leader
The Latest from Iran (20 October): 240 Days of House Arrest

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1635 GMT: The Plot. It looks like Turkey is trying to broker a resolution between Tehran and Washington over the US allegations of an Iranian plot to kill the Saudi Ambassador to Washington....

Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, at a joint news conference with his visiting Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi, made a carefully-balanced statement: "We don't believe that Iran would be engaged in such an act, but America says they have evidence. Governments should be transparent on such issues. Those who make the claims should also be clear about their claims, and Iran should answer to that."

Davutoglu continued, "What needs to be done now is that all parties involved share what they have and clear the issue without giving way to a further increase in tensions. Turkey is ready to contribute if there is anything we can do to help relieve the tension."

Turkish media reported this week that the US sent official to Turkey to present evidence of the alleged plot. A US Embassy spokesman would not comment on the reports.

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Iran Feature: Detained Reformist Leader Tajzadeh Writes the Supreme Leader

Today we are witnessing the uprising of one Muslim nation after another, standing up against tyranny and humiliation, overthrowing dictatorial regimes in their quest to experience a new world and a better life. If their goal is to pursue science and technology and the further development of their country and their personal financial well-being, then without a doubt, given the current inflation, unemployment rate, zero growth in GDP and declining economic conditions, all a direct result of the mismanagement, incompetence and inefficiencies of the current ruling government, it is best if you and I recommend that they not use Iran’s current model as one to emulate!

If their goal on the other hand, is to adhere to a high standard of ethics and spirituality, qualities that were integral to the message of our revolution and distinguished it from all other revolutions, as the leader of the Islamic Republic, are you able to provide them with any tangible and practical examples of such achievements by the regime? Do you plan to point them to the lies, deception and most significant corruption in the history of our nation? Or will you speak of the generosity and humanity that government officials have shown towards our citizens?

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The Latest from Iran (20 October): 240 Days of House Arrest

Iran Feature: A "Son of Stuxnet" Attack Against Tehran's Computers?
Iran Video: Anything to See Here? Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Interview with Al Jazeera English
The Latest from Iran (19 October): Tehran Embraces Occupy Wall Street

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2030 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The six-year prison sentence of journalist Abdolreza Tajik has been confirmed by an appeals court.

Tajik was arrested in June 2010 and charged with acting against national security, propagating against the regime, and collaborating with the Centre for the Defence of Human Rights, co-founded by Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi.

Tajik has worked for several reformist newspapers.

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The Latest from Iran (17 October): Plots, Rumours, and A Flying Cabbage

See also Iran Document: 1st Report of The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights
Iran Audio Feature: How Ahmadinejad's Advisor Stumbled Into An Admission of The Battle Within

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1940 GMT: The Plot. President Ahmadinejad has used an interview with Al Jazeera English tonight to deny any Iranian involvement in the plan to kill the Saudi Ambassador to the US: "Terror is for people... who don't have any logic. People of Iran are pro-logic."

Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has tried a different approach, declaring that the main suspect in the US, Manssor Arbabsiar, is "addicted to opium and drunken and mentally not well balanced".

1640 GMT: The Plot. Minister of Defense Ahmad Vahidi has insisted that Iran is the most secure and stable country in the world today and that US accusations of Tehran's attempt to kill the Saudi Ambassador in Washington are "an intelligence disgrace".

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The Latest from Iran (13 October): Bank Fraud, Supreme Leader, Assassination Plot

See also Iran Terror Special: What We Know, What We Don't Know
Iran Opinion: The Plot --- What the US Got Wrong
The Latest from Iran (12 October): A Plot to Kill the Saudi Ambassador?

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2112 GMT: The AP has posted the video of US President Barack Obama answering a question about whether he though that the Supreme Leader knew of the plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, and whether he believed this was an act of war. James Miller notes that Obama stops far short of that accusation, instead saying that the Iranian government needs to be responsible for the actions of its members. The video starts mid-answer, but the most important details are there:

1715 GMT: The Plot. President Obama has told reporters that the alleged plot to kill the Saudi Ambassador to the US is "not just a dangerous escalation, this is part of a pattern of dangerous and reckless behavior by the Iranian government". He said it was a sign of how Iran has "been outside of accepted norms of international behavior for far too long" and asserted the US will work with international partners and take steps to ensure that Iran "pays a price".

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The Latest from Iran (10 October): A Moment's Relief from House Arrest

0850 GMT: Eggs and the Economy. Nikahang Kowsar illustrates the current economic situation with the sharp increase in the price of eggs --- the chicken tells the pleading Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, "You cannot have them":

Aftab, noting that the price of a single egg is now 300 tomans (about 25 cents), declares, "Soon you will show your children pictures and tell them: 'These are eggs!'"

0840 GMT: Iranian authorities have imposed a travel ban on director Nader Davoodi, preventing him from participating in the Beirut International Film Festival on Monday.

Davoodi was going to present Red, White and Green, his 2010 documentary about violence after the disputed 2009 Presidential election.

“The Lebanese censorship authorities told us Friday afternoon we would have to remove Iranian director Nader Davoodi’s film from our program, and then we were informed that he would not be able to travel,” said Colette Naufal, director of the Film Festival.

Naufal added that she was told that Iranian Kurdish filmmaker Ibrahim Al-Saaidi, director of Mandoo, will be unable attend the festival due to travel difficulties.

In June, Iranian director Hana Makhmalbaf's Green Days, which also dealt with post-election violence in Iran, was cancelled after Lebanese intelligence warned the organisers of the film festival against screening the film.

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The Latest from Iran (5 October): Ahmadinejad Makes a Televised Move

2010 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Back to our opening story, courtesy of Muhammad Sahimi's translation of the account in Aftab News of the President's TV interview last night:

This was Ahmaidnejad's defence over claims that Government mismanagement, neglect, and/or corruption contributed to the $2.6 billion bank fraud scandal:

I have been speaking about our banking system for six years and have been rebuked for it. We see things and believe that they should be reformed, and we will begin fundamental reforms before this administration ends [in 2013]. Right from the beginning [of my presidency], we kept saying that there are problems and I have said repeatedly that a few can profit greatly, but common people cannot. The fact is our banking system is not controlled by anyone, and the government has no control over it. I am not saying nothing can be done, but sometimes certain regulations are approved without paying attention to their consequences.

If the system [his administration] was not willing to confront [corruption], one could complain. But the system itself has discovered [the embezzlement], persists, and seeks to punish the offenders.... But I believe some are taking revenge against the Iranian nation, which acted very well. The targeted subsidies demonstrated that the future is bright. The Iranian nation makes great decisions, carries out great plans, [takes] great steps, whether in industry, or agriculture, or science. The nation can move forward and stand at the top. But some come forward and by insulting the government and making accusations, take revenge against the people, whereas nothing [unusual] is going on and we are doing our job. Why are you [critics] destroying yourselves? We should live in this country, and be happy and hopeful. Why are you trying to ruin everything? We have of course declared that we keep silent. We are still silent. These [accusations] all have responses, but we have kept silent for the sake of the nation.

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