Iran Mystery: So How Big Was This Week's Support for Ahmadinejad?

"I went to Ahmadinejad's big rally-and-fire-spitting extravaganza in Karaj today. It was probably the largest gathering he's had, so far as his provincial visits go. There were around 22,000 people present. It was also the first time in two decades Sepah, the Revolutionary Guards, provided security for a government rally in full uniform. There were about 250 officers I could count on the ground. Overall, there were about 3,500 security personnel -- Sepah, NAJA, Basij -- on rooftops, lining the street, at the stadium.

"We heard they had spent $100,000 on billboards and banners the previous week for an event that got cancelled for security reasons. They must have spent the same amount this week. That's a hefty sum in Iran."

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (17 December): Did We Miss the Regime's Show of Support?

1645 GMT: Division over the Foreign Minister. Deputy Speaker Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi-Fard has supported President Ahmadinejad's dismissal of Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, but MP Mohsen Kouhkan, who said he heard of Mottaki's firing by SMS text, said the move was not wise at this moment.

Koukhan also claimed that MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a key member of the National Security Commission, is favoured as the new Foreign Minister by the Parliament.

1640 GMT: Ashura Moment. Aftab News publishes a photograph of President Ahmadinejad greeting supporters at a mourning ceremony.

Click to read more ...

Iran Snapshot: Ahmadinejad's Crocodile Tears for Journalists

We note Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's kind words for journalists as he closed the 17th International Festival and Fair of the Press and News Agencies:

"The distinctive point of the media and reporters is their ability to well portray humanity and defend rights of nations vis-a-vis the domineering powers and plunderers of culture and identity of human beings. The mission marks a big campaign which can be fulfilled by nobody except for the media and reporters."

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (23 October): A Victory in Qom?

1835 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Safar Mousavi, the head of Foulad Shahr city council in Isfahan Province, has been released on bail after 40 days in prison.

1820 GMT: Subsidy Watch. More warnings for the Government as it may or may not introduce subsidy cuts....

Ali Asghar Yousefinejad, the chair of Parliament's Industry Commission warns that subsidy refunds will not cover rising costs. Ayande News adds substance: new gas bills will be 800,000 Toman (about $800) but the support payments are only 1/10th of this.

1815 GMT: Economic Transparency? Adel Azar, the head of Iran's Statistics Center has declared, that if the government accepts the offer, the Center will publish the data on inflation.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (2 October): Adding Up the Punishments

1707 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. Claimed video of the closing of the gold market today in Ahvaz in southern Iran:

1655 GMT: Syria in Tehran. So how did President Ahmadinejad's showpiece visit from Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad go?

Click to read more ...

Iran Breaking: Latest on Detained US Hiker Sarah Shourd

UPDATED 1525 GMT: The pro-Ahmadinejad Islamic Republic News Agency, on its English-language site, is now reporting the Tehran Prosecutor's announcement that Sarah Shourd will be released on $500,000 bail, even though "the documents about three American spies indicated that they were not on an excursion in Iran". 

Interestingly, IRNA's Persian-language site still has no reference to the development.

Click to read more ...