The Latest from Iran (18 May): Helping Damascus

The regime-supported rally denouncing the US and Saudi Arabia over Bahrain (see 1359 GMT)

See also Iran Special: The Nuclear Scientist, WikiLeaks, and the Executed Kickboxer
Iran Feature: How Tehran is Shipping Syria's Oil
The Latest from Iran (17 May): Arms to Syria?

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1948 GMT: The Bahrain Card. More about the regime's propaganda offensive based on the (now dormant) Saudi initative for "union" with Bahrain....

One of the Tehran Friday Prayers leaders, Ayatollah Emami Kashani, has said that the Bahraini people, "thanks to their alertness", will not allow the US "and its mercenaries" to implement the union.

Far more colourful is the declaration of the head of the Basij militia, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, “Al Khalifa and Al Saud regimes should come to realize that their American masters are simply looking for new lackeys in the region. What happened ultimately to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Saddam Hussein, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak and other dictators, now awaits them.”

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The Latest from Iran (11 June): The Eve of the Anniversary

2120 GMT: This video, claiming to be footage of rooftop "Allahu Akbar (God is Great)" chants in Tehran tonight, is actually from two years ago (hat tip to reader Bozorg, who noted this in our Comments section):

2005 GMT: Opposition Watch. Mousavi advisor Ardeshir Amir Arjomand has hit back with a challenge to the regime, "You are saying that protests are the right of free peoples, except you don't think the same for Syria and Iran? Well we want and deserve the same thing! If you're telling the truth, don't crackdown today and let people peacefully express themselves, which is their right."

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The Latest from Iran (17 April): Making Claims

2130 GMT: Press Watch (IRNA Edition). In a day of curious stories, the tale of the detained journalist --- an employee of Iranian state media --- has another twist....

IRNA reports that Manouchehr Tamari was arrested by “six unidentified individuals” in Sananda, who "inspected Tamir’s home and confiscated his computer and laptop without providing any IDs”.

IRNA adds, “In recent weeks, following reports of terrorist operations in Sanandaj, the director and reporter of IRNA was summoned to the Kurdistan intelligence office and ordered to refrain from covering news regarding terrorist operations in the province.” The State media outlet said this order was rejected since it is in “contradiction of the inherent mission of the Islamic Republic News Agency".

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The Latest from Iran (24 October): The "Normal" Tensions

1855 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist and activist Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, serving a nine-year sentence, has written a letter asking exiled Iranian lawyers to make his case to international courts, asking for an investigation of the Supreme Leader in light of the activities of Iran's security forces and criminal justice system.

1830 GMT: Cracking Down on the Lawyers. Prominent human rights attorney Mohammad Dadkhah has appeared in court, accused of possession of a firearm.

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Iran's Economy and Politics: Tensions Rise over Subsidy Cuts

This is unlikely to be a headline story in non-Iranian press --- where is the drama in subsidy cuts? --- but it should be.

The Ahmadinejad Government's high-profile plan to reduce subsidies on food, energy, and other goods, softening the blow for those on lower incomes by handing out Government cheques, was supposed to be implemented in September. Then it was supposed to begin in October. Now it is scheduled for November.

Each week, however, features more rumblings on the economic and political fronts. This is a round-up of what only a day brings....

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