The Latest from Iran (22 May): An "Advance" in the House Arrests

Mehdi and Fatemeh Karroubi2115 GMT: The House Arrests. A further note on the statement from 130 clerics calling for the release of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi and Fatemeh Karroubi from house arrest (see 1810 GMT)....

Most of the signatories are followers of the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, the former heir-apparent to Ayatollah Khomeini who was ostracised and then put under house arrest by the regime from the late 1980s. Ahmad Montazeri, the Grand Ayatollah's son and one of the signatores, called upon Iranian leaders to implement reforms "before it is too late".

2045 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (Baha'i Edition). Security forces have shut down a science and research centre operated by the Bahai’i Institute of Higher Education (BIHE) at Iran’s Open University and arrested at least 12 staff and faculty members.

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Iran Analysis: Guardian Council Smacks Down Ahmadinejad over Oil Ministry

I returned from an academic break just now to get a question from a journalist, "The Guardian Council have just said that President Ahmadinejad cannot be Minister of Oil. Is this significant?"

Yes, yes, and most definitely yes.

First, the news. The Guardian Council, which rules on disputed issues between the Iranian branches of government has declared that Ahmadinejad committed a "constitutional violation" when he named himself caretaker Minister of Oil last weekend.

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The Latest from Iran (16 May): Ahmadinejad the Prizefighter

1900 GMT: Claim of Day. Fars says General Yahya Rahim Safavi, former head of the Revolutionary Guards, has been sent by the Supreme Leader to meet senior clerics in Qom.

1845 GMT: Corruption Watch. MP Fazel Mousavi claims the Parliament has proven 50 cases of Government "takhalof" (wrongdoing).

And more rumblings in the Iranian media about the President's inner circle, with claimed details of the diversion of $400 million in a building project on Kish Island.

Last week, conservative newspapers and websites claimed that friends and associates of Presidential Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai were linked to the project.

1830 GMT: Fashion Watch. The hard-line Mashregh News is outraged that the daughter of an employee of the Iranian Interests Section in Washington has been in a video without hijab.

Sabra Jafarzadeh is the fourth woman in this footage, appearing with and without a headscarf, explaining what it is like to take off the covering for the first time:

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Iran Transcript: President Ahmadinejad's TV Interview

A transcript of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's live interview on Sunday night on the State broadcaster IRIB Channel 2:

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What do you think about the execution of the laws in the past five months?

My assessment is very positive. The people of Iran have accomplished something here. Everyone thought that that the economic situation would not improve. But we have accomplished this and we have proud results to show. I will describe some of them to you.

One of the main things was to cut down the costs. One of the major issues was the cost of bread. I can tell you that we have cut down the costs to about 30 percent. In a short time, we have managed to do this. I won't say that the quality of bread everywhere is better than before, but it will be.

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The Latest from Iran (14 May): Say Uncle! (Again)

1925 GMT: Syria Watch. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Parliament's National Security Council, has said Iran is supporting the Assad regime because Damascus is backing the opposition to Israel’s occupation of Arab lands: “Syria is providing great assistance to resistance, therefore the position that we have taken is very natural.”

1915 GMT: The Next Wave of Attacks (cont.). Uskowi adds weight to our interpretation in the previous entry, pointing to Ahmad Tavakoli's criticism of Ahmadinejad's Ministerial dismissals (see 1305 GMT) as unduly hurried, sending a message of political “instability” and his specific denunciation of “that famous, deviationist and problematic character” --- read the President's Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai --- as the instigator of the latest move.

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The Latest from Iran (13 May): Friday the 13th

1935 GMT: Karroubi Watch. An interesting intervention by Mehdi Karroubi's advisor Ahmad Vahidi in an interview with Khodnevis....

Vahidi, who is based in the US, made a distinction between Karroubi and the Green Path Coordinating Council of the opposition. He said that neither he nor any of Karroubi's associates held memberships in the Council, although they had been consulted by them.

Vahidi continued that those on the Council had views similar to Karroubi's in regards to free and fair election and people's rights. However, he indicated that "the goal of the movement should not be restricted to the application of the Consitution", adding that people's demands are beyond what the Council offers.

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The Latest from Iran (11 May): Assessing the Revolutionary Guards

Jafari and Ahmadinejad2045 GMT: So You Thought the Battle Was Over (one to end the evening)? President Ahmadinejad hits back at Ali Larijani in the Government v. Parliament battle over the merger of ministries (see 0800 GMT): "The respected speaker of the Majlis believes that he is the law, which is not true."

2005 GMT: So You Thought the Battle Was Over (continued even more)? And now the conflict expands to take in supporters of Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf....

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Iran Snapshot: Supreme Leader v. Ahmadinejad in 3 Paragraphs

I was prompted to write this by a question on another website, trying to come to grips with the political conflict inside Iran: "At least several high officials appear to believe Khamenei could simply have 'ordered' Ahmadinejad to retain [Minister of Intelligence Heydar] Moslehi whether Ahmadinejad wanted to or not. If push comes to shove and the President simply stands his ground, the Supreme Leader may simply overrule his decision on a matter that’s plainly within the President’s authority under the constitution?"

Re: “Khamenei could simply have ‘ordered’ Ahmadinejad to retain Moslehi whether Ahmadinejad wanted to or not."

Effectively, that is what the Supreme Leader’s office did, through the letter to Moslehi and through Khamenei’s public statements. The Supreme Leader was supported by the leadership of the Revolutionary Guards (see snap analysis opening today's LiveBlog), by clerics from Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi to Tehran Friday Prayer leader Kazem Seddiqi, by prominent legislators such as Deputy Speaker of Parliament Bahonar and the 90 MPs who called for questioning of Ahmadinejad, and by the judiciary with the arrests of some in Ahmadinejad’s office (including provocative claims such as “sorcery” and “exorcism”).

This power play by the Supreme Leader’s office might have been countered if some of those groups had given support to Ahmadinejad. None of them did, pointing to his narrow (and arguably shrinking) base for power within the establishment.

Three “red lines” have been set down for the President: 1) no more moves over the Ministry of Intelligence; 2) no manipulation of 2012 Parliamentary elections; 3) no anointing of his right-hand man Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai as a successor

Iran Feature: The Ghosts of Ahmadinejad's Right-Hand Man (Pedestrian)

In 2009, when the Iranian elections were in national --- and international --- spotlight, during the TV debate between Mousavi and Ahmaidnejad,which kept us Iranians, all over the globe glued to our TV (or monitor) screens, something funny happened. Mir Hossein Mousavi, the soft spoken, apprehensive opposition candidate said on live TV: “this government is a government of fortunetellers and exorcists.”

Mousavi was to pay a heavy price for these words.

Following the election, when the Supreme Leader openly backed Ahmadinejad in his notorious Friday Prayer speech, he also directly targeted Mousavi’s statement, condemning those who “blatantly attribute magic and wizardry to the government".

How ironic indeed.

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The Latest from Iran (9 May): Ahmadinejad Bows Down?

1900 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The husband of detained human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh says she has been cut off from her family for the past 10 days.

Reza Khandan said he has not been allowed telephone contact with his wife since she was transferred to a different ward in Evin Prison.

Sotoudeh was sentenced in December to 11 years in prison and a 20-year ban on the practice of law.

1855 GMT: Fashion Police. More on Iran's "moral security" force (see 1215 GMT), with 70,000 officers reportedly taking to the streets to enforce proper fashion and behaviour....

Commander Ahmad Rouzbehani, the head of the force, explained, “In some instances, some people have been seen to take off their head covering in their vehicles. Such vehicles will be stopped and their passengers will be referred to the judiciary.”

Commander Rouzbehani also listed “installation of satellite dishes and sale of alcoholic drinks” as violations.

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