The Latest from Iran (25 March): Remembering the Victims

1805 GMT: Press Watch. Kamran Najafzadeh, a journalist with state broadcaster IRIB, has been expelled from France. The reason for the expulsion is unknown.

1545 GMT: Tehran Friday Prayers Update. Ayatollah Seddiqi courting controversy in today's Friday Prayer, as he called on Iranian officials and people to try their best and lay the foundation for the country's economic prosperity.

Seddiqi carried out the risky strategy of using exactly the same language deployed by the Supreme Leader on Monday, declaring that the success of "economic jihad" would help solve problems such as addiction and unemployment. He explained that economic hihad is a form of all-out war with the enemy which requires the possession of qualities such as a jihadi spirit and faith as well as the unity of the people with officials and officials with one another.

Seddiqi also revealed that Iran was way better than any other country: “The only miracle of the West was industrial development and progress. This is while presently there is a country like [the] Islamic [Republic of] Iran which possesses science and technology, and also presents its science and technology in a spiritual form."

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The Latest from Iran (20 March): Anticipating a Happy Nowruz

1640 GMT: Cartoon of Day. Maya Nayestani presents a different version of the traditional 7-item "Haft Sin" table, offered by a member of Iran's security forces, for New Year --- Sandis (juice given to those attending regime rallies), Saloos (leech), Sarneyzeh (bayonet), Sangsaar (stoning), Sangdeli (hard-heartedness), Sarkoob (oppression), Saltanat-e Faghih (clerical monarchy). Her young boy responds, "I'll go to Grandpa's celebration."

1630 GMT: Missing. Journalist Behrouz Samadbeygi has not been seen since 15 March, the eve of Chahrshanbeh Suri (Fire Festival).

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The Latest from Iran (15 March): The Regime Supports the Right to Protest

2150 GMT: A Royal Retreat. Iranian MP Hamid Resai has announced that the visit of King Abdullah II of Jordan to Iran has been cancelled: “In view of the current critical situation, the Jordanian Abdullah’s trip to Tehran did not meet the approval of senior Islamic Republic officials.”

A number of MPs had protested the invitation of the Jordanian monarch to celebrate Iranian New Year, in a ceremony hosted by President Ahmadinejad at the ancient capital of the Persian Empire, Persepolis. They noted the rise of protests in Jordan calling for political and economic reforms.

2145 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Reformist Ahmad Hakimipour and journalist Nazanin Khosravani have been released from prison.

Khosravani, detained for 135 days, was freed on $60,000 bail.

2130 GMT: Fire Festival. Claimed footage of people celebrating and singing original Iranian National Anthem tonight:

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The Latest from Iran (5 March): The Conflict Just Got Bigger

1320 GMT: The Next March? The Los Angeles Times summarises the call by the opposition for demonstrations on Tuesday in support of International Women's Day.

Mardomak writes about statements endorsing the demonstrations, including one by Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi: "On this day, shoulder to shoulder with our brothers, we will come to the streets to support the popular and broad democratic demands, because achieving ‘equal rights’ is possible only if voiced in a democratic system. But, we must not allow anyone to disregard our demands under the auspices of preventing crisis or avoiding divisiveness."

1310 GMT: The Arrests. We have been reporting, based on the translation of a letter from Mehdi Karroubi's son Mohammad Taghi, that the detention of Mehdi and Fatemeh Karroubi occurred on 17 February. A source informs us that the actual date should be 21 February --- we have corrected entries appropriately.

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