Iran Feature: Assessing Supreme Leader v. Ahmadinejad

We post this article by Afrooz Mahdavi, writing in the US journal The Nation, in part because it offers an overview of the complexity of the conflict within Iran --- involving the Supreme Leader, President Ahmadinejad, conservative/principlist factions, the Revolutionary Guards, and the reformists and being waged on economic as well as political fronts.

We also post it, however, because of a side story on media coverage of Iran.

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The Latest from Iran (19 August): "A Lonely Purgatory"

1940 GMT: Fashion Watch. The hijab controversy (see 1330 GMT) showed up in the Friday Prayer of Ayatollah Alamolhoda in Mashhad, as he took direct aim at the special issue of the pro-Ahmadinejad Iran, "Black chador was approved by the Prophet and not Qajar kings!"

Iran had featured an interview with a former senior advisor to President Ahmadinejad, who allegedly said that 19th-century Shah had brought the chador to Iran after seeing women dressed in black for evening parties in Europe.

Alamolhoda said that those responsible for the "Khatoon" special issue must be judged in court.

1500 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Zoleykha Mousavi, the mother of detained Hossein Ronaghi Maleki (Babak Khorramdin), has said that she has been warned by authorities, "If you continue to give interviews, we will arrest your daughters too."

Mousavi said earlier this week that Maleki had been beaten in prison.

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The Latest from Iran (11 August): We Are Special

1450 GMT: Claim of Day. According to Rah-e Sabz, the Supreme Leader may have offered words of wisdom to many university students yesterday (see 0555 GMT), but they were not from Tehran University's Islamic Students Organisation --- Ayatollah Khamenei would not let them participate.

1445 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Asr-e Iran has a pop at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: during the past six years, 30 million people have sent letters of request to the Presidential office -- "these data are a shame, not an honour".

1145 GMT: Cartoon of Day. Eghbal Mahvari offers the Supreme Leader's latest comment on the unrest in Britain.

QUESTION: Seyed Ali, what about violence in London?
KHAMENEI: "Well, I can't see it exactly from this height, but it seems as if the brutal London regime is beating its citizens":

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The Latest from Iran (10 August): Lawyers in Prison, Lawyers in Exile

Abdolfattah Soltani (see 0545 GMT)1930 GMT: Currency Watch. Aftab reports that the price of gold coins continues to rise --- now from 474,000 to 482,000 tomans (about $450 to $460) as Iranians put their faith in them amidst economic tensions. Meanwhile, the differential between the "free" and official rates for the US dollar continues to widen --- the Central Bank has set the rate at 1055 tomans to the dollar but the exchange rate on the street is 1200:1.

1735 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. More on the arrest of Parvin Mokhtare, the mother of journalist Kouhyar Goudarzi, as her son was being put in prison again --- while she was having a bath, the house was raided by security agents who climbed over walls to get into the property.

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The Latest from Iran (4 August): Harmony Breaks Out?

2040 GMT: Picture of Day. Journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi, released on 48-hour furlough from a six-year prison sentence, with his family:

2030 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. HRANA reports that journalist Isa Saharkhiz has had two years added to his prison sentences because of his "media activities".

Saharkhiz, detained in July 2009, will now serve five years.

Labour activist Ali Nejati has been sentenced to one year in prison.

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The Latest from Iran (3 August): Ahmadinejad (Quickly) Presents His New Ministers

1930 GMT: Cartoon of Day. Khodnevis features a conversation between former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, on trial today in Cairo, and the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:

PANEL 1 --- KHAMENEI TO MUBARAK: Everything is quiet here! How lucky I am! How ill-fated you are!
PANEL 2 --- THIEF TO KHAMENEI (inside the sack): What's up, Seyed Ali?

But who's the thief?

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The Latest from Iran (2 August): Khamenei's Balancing Act on "Hooligan" MPs and Ahmadinejad

Ali Larijani, Ahmadinejad, Khamenei1950 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. A petition, launched by Physicians for Human Rights, has called for the release of Dr Arash Alaei, a specialist in the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS, from prison.

Alaei was arrested with his brother and fellow specialist Kamiar in June 2008 for allegedly trying to overthrow the Islamic regime. They participated in several international HIV treatment programmes and conferences held in the US.

Kamiar was released in October but Arash, 42, remains in prison completing a six-year sentence.

The petition has been signed by prominent medics, including two Nobel prize laureates, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Sir Richard J Roberts. Susannah Sirkin, PHR's deputy director, explained:

[The Alaeis'] landmark efforts to bring patients, communities and families together to reduce stigma and provide comprehensive Aids prevention and treatment are remarkable and remain singular achievements in healthcare in Iran. We only hope that Dr Arash Alaei can be freed to continue this critical and groundbreaking work.

In 2008 the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS described Iran's needle-exchange programme, developed by the Alaei brothers, as one of the "clear examples of courageous, visionary leadership in the response to HIV".

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Iran Document: Supreme Leader to MPs "Heckling of President Ahmadinejad is Disgraceful"

Ahmadinejad Faces Parliament after HecklingMy unhappiness is because of the disrespect that was provided to the President. You disrespected the President. You have the right to point out things to him, question him, and even censure him but you cannot insult anyone, particularly the President. The Presidency is a respectable office in the constitution. Look at the record, Presidents have always had opponents in the Majlis; but when were they insulted in such a manner? This insulting behavior was cruel, unjust and a sin.

My concern is about the Majlis. I was really concerned about the Majlis itself. What kind of a situation is this in which the Majlis, a forum that is presented as the representative of the virtues of people, engages in cries of "No, No", and prevents someone from expressing his view? I have repeatedly told Mr. Larijani to prevent such behavior. Why is there such disrespectful "No No" calling? The only thing they have not done is start a physical fight and jump all over each other, like they do in some countries.

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The Latest from Iran (28 July): An Opposition Move on the Elections?

2045 GMT: Politics Watch. A move within the Iranian establishment today, as clerics and former Government officials have announced their "Islamic Constancy Front". Those involved include Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, his clerical ally Morteza Agha-Tehrani, former Government spokesman Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, and former Minister of Interior Sadegh Mahsouli.

Mehr has no less than four stories emphasising the Front's declaration that it strengthens the unity of conservatives and principlists.

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The Latest from Iran (26 July): Ahmadinejad is a "Repair and Maintenance Project"

2000 GMT: Economy Watch. Despite US-led sanctions, foreign direct investment in Iran rose to a new record in 2010 of more than $3.6 billion dollars, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

UNCTAD's "World Investment Report" found that the foreign direct investment increased around 20% in 2010. FDI has soared from $1.6 billion in 200.

Global FDI flows grew 4.9% in 2010 to $1.24 trillion, but were 15% below the rate of $1.472 trillion before the 2008 financial crisis and nearly 37% below their peak in 2007 of $1.971 trillion.

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