Registered candidates in the 2013 Presidential election
What does this shift from parties to personalities and atomised politics mean?
The easy notion of a Supreme Leader manipulating and shaping politics through his position and networks is under strain. Ayatollah Khamenei finds that he is not acting but reacting to the initiatives of others.
See also Iran Special: EA's Guide to the Presidential Election
Iran Election 101: An Animated Guide
Wednesday's Iran Today: Supreme Leader Losing Control of the Presidential Election?
Election Watch: Supreme Leader's Committee Edition
Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, a member of the Supreme Leader's 2+1 Committee, has indicated that it will not put out a final decision of a "unity" candidate until after the registration of hopefuls.
Haddad Adel announced, "All three of us [the Supreme Leader's senior aide Ali Akbar Velayati, Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, and Haddad-Adel] will register. It is not clear exactly when we will announce the result, but this announcement will not come before the Guardian Council's review [after formal registration closes on 11 May]."
1300 GMT: Obama Conspiracy Watch. Joanna Paraszczuk writes....
Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the commander of the Basij militia, has accused President Obama of "congratulating the Iranian people in Persian but acting in Hebrew" in his message for Iranian New Year.
Naqdi accused Washington of spouting rhetoric and expecting the Iranian people to believe its slogans. Referring to a 2010 nuclear deal put forward by Iran, after mediation by Turkish and Brazilian leaders, the commadner said that Obama had promised to solve the issue but had refused to accept that deal.
Naqdi also commented on Michelle Obama's announcement of the Best Picture Oscar for the "anti-Iranian film" Argo, saying that her actions proved that the annual awards were political in nature.
"We are glad that these facts were made clear to the Iranian people," he said, noting that Michelle Obama had shown the world the truth about the Oscars.
Naqdi's comments follow those of a senior military commander, Yaghoub Soleimani that some "supporters of the Islamic Revolution" want to organize a prize for Michelle Obama for proving that Hollywood movies are politically and not artistically motivated.
The Supreme Leader casting his vote today
See also The Latest from Iran (3 May): The Oil Squeeze
1930 GMT: Elections Watch. There are no clear numbers from today's second Parliamentary elections, but Iranian media are already putting out the message of "impressive turnout".
Mehr emphasises the diversity of those voting, including "Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani; Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the late Imam Khomeini; pro-reform figure Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha, who is the secretary general of the Association of Combatant Clerics; and National Confidence Party deputy chief Rasul Montajabnia, who is also a key member of the Association of Combatant Clerics".
And Tehran University academic Seyed Mohammad Marandi offers the inevitable proclamation that the show of domestic support for the regime will bolster it in forthcoming talks over Iran's nuclear programme.
An EA correspondent passes on a translation, provided by the US Government's Open Source Center, of a 30 March article in Khabar Online --- the website connected to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani --- challenging and eve ridiculing President Ahmadinejad's close ally and Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, "Will Masha'i Be Eliminated or Achieve His Presidential Ambitions?":
One may regard Esfandiar Rahim-Masha'i as someone for whom "words go in from one ear and go out from the other ear" (someone who does not listen to the criticisms of others). He was one of the most provocative figures during the year 89 (the Iranian year that ended 20 March 2011), but he never took back any of his words.
2050 GMT: Air Fuel Wars. Thomas Erdbrink of The Washington Post reports that Iran has retaliated for the cut-off of refueling of its planes in much of Europe: Tehran has refused to fully supply British Midlands International, the only British airline flying to Iran.
BMI flights are making a short stop en route to Tehran to take on more fuel.
2038 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The one-year prison sentence and 30-year ban from journalism of Jila Bani Yaghoub has been confirmed.
Journalist Amin Madani has been freed.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 7:32