Iran Live Coverage: A Collapsing Economy?

See also Wednesday's Iran Live Coverage: Ahmadinejad v. Everyone Else

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1710 GMT: Economy Watch. A new report by the Iranian Chamber of Commerce indicates that 5931 industrial units --- 67% of those surveyed --- have been shut.

1440 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Ebrahim Raissi, the Deputy Iran Prosecutor General, has promised that indictments in the case of Mehdi Hashemi, the son of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, will be issued soon.

Hashemi, accused of financial and electoral fraud by his critics, was detained in September on his return from three years in exile in Britain. He was released on bail last month.

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The Latest from Iran (13 October): Bank Fraud, Supreme Leader, Assassination Plot

See also Iran Terror Special: What We Know, What We Don't Know
Iran Opinion: The Plot --- What the US Got Wrong
The Latest from Iran (12 October): A Plot to Kill the Saudi Ambassador?

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2112 GMT: The AP has posted the video of US President Barack Obama answering a question about whether he though that the Supreme Leader knew of the plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, and whether he believed this was an act of war. James Miller notes that Obama stops far short of that accusation, instead saying that the Iranian government needs to be responsible for the actions of its members. The video starts mid-answer, but the most important details are there:

1715 GMT: The Plot. President Obama has told reporters that the alleged plot to kill the Saudi Ambassador to the US is "not just a dangerous escalation, this is part of a pattern of dangerous and reckless behavior by the Iranian government". He said it was a sign of how Iran has "been outside of accepted norms of international behavior for far too long" and asserted the US will work with international partners and take steps to ensure that Iran "pays a price".

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