The Latest from Iran (9 February): The 25 Bahman Beat Goes On

2120 GMT: Not Worried at All (cont. --- 0925 GMT). Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Hamedani has commented on the proposed march for 25 Bahman (11 February), "The seditionists (opposition leaders) are nothing but a dead corpse and we will strongly confront any of their movements. We definitely consider them as anti-revolutionary and spies, and we will strongly confront them."

The Facebook page supporting Monday's rally now has more than 25,000 supporters.

2050 GMT: Partners. China has signed a $13 billion contract to develop Iran's railway system.

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Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Settling In for the Long Game

0132 GMT: We end tonight's liveblog with this report from Al Jazeera: 

 0036 GMT: There are reports of gunfire in Cairo. We cannot confirm where exactly it is coming from or who's shooting. 

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Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: So What is an "Orderly Transition"?

2250 GMT: Ivan Watson of CNN reports that the Egyptian Ministry of Information has told them all cell phone service will be shut down just ahead of tomorrow's expected 'Million Man March'. 

2242 GMT: Are you in Egypt? Do you have a phone? Do you want to tweet about the uprising, but don't have internet because it has been shut down? Then, Google has good news for you and us all. Googleblog just ran this post:

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Wikileaks Special: A Guide to Day 3 of EA's Coverage

ANALYSES

1. Gary Sick assesses the revelations in the documents about the Obama Administration's "engagement" strategy towards Iran.

2. Scott Peterson reports on the scepticism over the sincerity of US approaches in light of the documents.

3. Gareth Porter dissects media coverage of stories such as the call of Arab leaders for military action against Tehran and North Korean missiles to Iran.

FEATURES AND DOCUMENTS

1. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asks about the Mystery of the Disappearing Anti-American Graffiti in Iran.

2. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gives a US Congressman the ultimate answer to US questions about human rights.

Wikileaks Document: Syria's Assad Gives the Ultimate Response to the US on Human Rights

Senator Cardin pressed on, insisting that Syria should adhere to widely accepted international standards. He explained, "When the U.S. is challenged, you see it on the front page of the newspaper."

Was Assad now cornered? Not at all.

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The Latest from Iran (3 October): Sedition's Gonna Get Ya

2020 GMT: Economy Watch --- Revised. An EA source makes a vital correction to our [portrayal of the article in Peyke Iran that 48 million of Iran's 75 million people "live below the poverty line" (see 1900 GMT):

There is no official poverty line in iran.  All the article says is that 2/3 of Iranian families have incomes under $800 a month.  That is almost $10,000 a year/household. We know that Iran is a middle-income country, so that should not shock anyone.

2010 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (Revolving Door Edition). So as Alireza Beheshti Shirazi leaves detention, Saeed Noormohammadi, a member of the youth branch of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, goes back to prison.

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The Latest from Iran (2 October): Adding Up the Punishments

1707 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. Claimed video of the closing of the gold market today in Ahvaz in southern Iran:

1655 GMT: Syria in Tehran. So how did President Ahmadinejad's showpiece visit from Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad go?

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