The Latest from Iran (6 May): After the Election

See also Iran Snap Analysis: Some People Were Selected for the Parliament --- Does It Matter?
The Latest from Iran (5 May): The Threat of Inflation

---

1630 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist Meysam Mohamadi has been sentenced to four years in prison and a five-year ban from print or online journalism.

The same punishment has been handed down to journalist Omid Mohades.

1543 GMT: Parliament v. President. Najmeh Bozorgmehr of The Financial Times reports that the Majlis, in its first post-election session, has challenged the Government with two complaints to the judiciary, one over “incurring irreparable damages” to the country’s economy by violating foreign exchange laws “at a time the country faces numerous sanctions” over its nuclear policies.

Bozorgmehr also notes that the Supreme Court has approved a death sentence for Majid Jamali Fashi, who was convicted in a closed-doors trial of the murder of nuclear scientist Massoud Aliohammadi, in January 2010.

The regime has accused Jamali Fashi, a former kickboxing champion who reportedly beat up protesters after the 2009 Presidential election (see EA feature), with collaborating with Israeli intelligence services.

Click to read more ...

Iran Special: Why Both Sides Shifted in Nuclear Talks --- And What Comes Next (Dalton)

See also Iran Analysis: The Nuclear Talks --- The Effectiveness of Sanctions, The Effectiveness of Iran's Uranium Enrichment

---

Each side moved some way. Earlier each had escalated in the hope of bringing extra pressure to bear to shift any negotiations their way. The Iranians started 20% enrichment, and then moved it from exposed Natanz to safer Fordow, underlining the perils for the Six in delaying a move to a more flexible and hence constructive position. And ever-tighter financial sanctions and the partial oil embargo appear to have led Iran to moderate its defiance and allow itself the option of a change of policy.

It will be tough turning these preliminary moves into a deal. The first requirement for the Six is to recognize in practise that distrust is two-way. They must be seen to negotiate in good-faith on nuclear issues and not to hold regime change up their sleeves.

Click to read more ...

Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Deadline? What Deadline?

Iranian cartoonist Maya Neyestani on the Syrian crisis

See also Bahrain Propaganda 101: Former Times Editor, Turned PR Man, Tries to Sell the Regime's Grand Prix
Turkey Live Coverage (11 April): Erdogan Taking the Lead on Syria?
Tuesday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Deadline Passes as 160 Die

---

2033 GMT: The White House has issued a general statement about Bahrain, with specific reference to the condition of detained activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who is on Day 63 of a hunger strike:

The United States continues to be deeply concerned about the situation in Bahrain, and we urge all parties to reject violence in all its forms. We condemn the violence directed against police and government institutions, including recent incidents that have resulted in serious injuries to police officers. We also call on the police to exercise maximum restraint, and condemn the use of excessive force and indiscriminate use of tear gas against protestors, which has resulted in civilian casualties.

We continue to underscore, both to the government and citizens of Bahrain, the importance of working together to address the underlying causes of mistrust and to promote reconciliation. In this respect, we note our continued concern for the well-being of jailed activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and call on the Government of Bahrain to consider urgently all available options to resolve his case. More broadly, we urge the government to redouble its ongoing efforts to implement the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, and renew our call for the government, opposition parties, and all segments of Bahraini society to engage in a genuine dialogue leading to meaningful reforms that address the legitimate aspirations of all Bahrainis.

Click to read more ...

Iran Snap Analysis: Is Tehran Pulling Back from the Nuclear Talks?

Is Iran pulling back from the nuclear talks with the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China), only nine days before they were supposed to begin?

We thought the discussions had been agreed for Istanbul. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the meeting would be in Istanbul. The Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, had said Istanbul.

All of us may have been wrong.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (3 April): Protesting Discrimination

Young Iranian men criticise racism against Afghans, with one of the signs declaring, "I am also an Afghan" (see 0610 GMT)

See also The Latest from Iran (2 April): Talking About Oil

---

1840 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Student activist Peyman Aref has been released from prison.

Aref, held on six occasions since the disputed 2009 Presidential election, was released in October 2011 after serving a year and receiving 74 lashes, but he was seized again in mid-March.

1805 GMT: Tough Talk of the Day. Masoud Jayazeri, the deputy head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has declared, "In the face of any attack, we will have a crushing response. In that case, we will not only act in the boundaries of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, no place in America will be safe from our attacks."

Jayazeri added that Iran would not strike any country first.

Click to read more ...

Burma Feature: Aung San Suu Kyi & NLD Win --- Is This Beginning of "Democracy"? (Golluoglu)

Celebrations at National League for Democracy headquarters in Rangoon

---

If Burma ever needed a moment to rejoice, this was it. In a nation ruled by an often brutal military junta for nearly half a century, Aung San Suu Kyi's apparent victory in Sunday's parliamentary by-election could not be exaggerated.

Swarms of chanting Burmese flocked to National League for Democracy's (NLD) Rangoon headquarters as the sun set over the crumbling city, calling for the fall of "a sham democracy" and the return of "our fair leader, our beloved leader, Mother Suu".

"We did it! We won!" shouted the thousands of supporters as they filled the streets clapping, dancing and waving red party flags.

While unofficial party results indicate that Suu Kyi may have won 65% of the vote in 82 of her constituencies' 129 polling stations, local observers said that the number may have been as high as 90%, with the NLD reported to have won a minimum of 40 of the 44 seats it contested in the 664 parliamentary seats up for grabs.

Click to read more ...

Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Gathering of the "Friends of Syria"

A march in Bilad Alqadeem in Bahrain today, expressing solidarity with political leaders in prison

A protester amidst the tear gas in Salmabad in Bahrain on Saturday

See also Syria Document: Beginner's Guide to The 27 Points of the "Friends of Syria" Meeting
Syria Feature: An Insurgency Running Short of Ammunition
Bahrain Video Interview: Nabeel Rajab on BBC HARDTalk "Why This Regime and This Revolution Are Different"
Bahrain Video Special: A Tribute to Ahmed Ismail Hassan, Citizen Journalist of Salmabad
Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Saturday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Teenager is Shot to Death in Salmabad

---

2005 GMT: CNN posts a video profile of prominent Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat --- abducted and badly beaten by gunmen in Damascus last August, he left the country but now hopes to return:

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (1 April): Nuclear Postures

2030 GMT: Sanctions Watch (Syrian Front). This weekend we noted the claim of US officials that an Iranian company was shipping $84 million of Syrian oil to China, evading international sanctions on Damascus.

Now the Maltese Foreign Ministry has said it is delisting the Maltese-flagged, Iranian-owned tanker allegedly carrying the crude.

The M.T. Tour loaded the 120,000 tonne cargo of light crude at the Syrian port of Tartus last weekend.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (31 March): All Quiet on the Tehran Front...Almost

See also Iran Feature: Muffling the Drumbeats of War? Israel, Azerbaijan, and the US
The Latest from Iran (30 March): After Turkey's Prime Minister Went Home....

---

1530 GMT: Nuclear Watch. During her visit to Saudi Arabia, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confirmed that Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China) will begin talks on Tehran's nuclear programme on 13 April in Istanbul.

1430 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Press TV, which has reported for weeks that sanctions were not forcing Ankara to curb trade with Tehran has been forced to headline, "Turkey to Decrease Iranian Oil Imports".

The admission follows Friday's announcement by Minister of Energy Taner Yildiz and Turkey's largest refiner that purchases of Iranian oil will be cut by 20%, with supplies coming instead from Libya.

Taner Yildiz also said Turkey is in talks with Saudi Arabia on spot oil purchases and longer term contacts: “We plan to increase the number of countries we buy oil from and the routes we use.”

Click to read more ...

Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: No Sleep Until....

1950 GMT: Al Jazeera finds this picture, reportedly taken in the town of Dael, Daraa, a small town that is no stranger to the ferocious crackdown of the Assad regime. The protesters hold signs, in English, and wave pre-Baath party Syrian flags, the symbols of the opposition. The message echoes that of many in Syria:

1945 GMT: A bold claim by the opposition in Quriyah, Deir Ez Zor:

"The Free Syrian Army killed the Major General Mohamed Hameem, the Commander, 17th Division-Armored Vehicles."

Click to read more ...