The Latest from Iran (14 November): Ahmadinejad Threatens to Expose Corruption

See also Iran Opinion: Sanctions Support Regime's "Internet Repression"
The Latest from Iran (13 November): Admitting a Blogger's Death in Detention

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1945 GMT: Nuclear Watch. After weeks of signals, the regime has made its public push for renewed nuclear discussions today.

Iran's lead negotiator Saeed Jalili has called on the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, France, Germany, China, and Russia) to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible, stressing Tehran's readiness for talks.

Press TV pointedly calls Jalili "the representative of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei" to emphasise the Supreme Leader's blessing of the announcement.

Jalili spoke in Tehran alongside Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who welcomed “an earliest possible resumption of talks...preferably before the end of the year".

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The Latest from Iran (13 November): Admitting a Blogger's Death in Detention

See also EA Video Analysis: Iran Sanctions, Human Rights, and the Nuclear Issue
Iran Opinion: The Crisis in Medical Care --- It's Not Just About Sanctions
The Latest from Iran (12 November): The Economic Squeeze Tightens

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Sattar Beheshti1856 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Hong Kong will remove permission for 19 ships linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) to operate under its flag, according to a letter from the Hong Kong Government's Marine Department.

"As it is of paramount importance to HKMD in safeguarding the quality of Hong Kong ships, HKMD has therefore taken action already in notifying the owners of these 19 ships for the closure of the registration in Hong Kong within 90 days beginning from the date of the notice being served," S.F. Wong, Hong Kong Shipping Register's general manager, said in the letter.

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The Latest from Iran (8 November): Death of a Blogger in Detention?

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Bad Days for Female Political Prisoners
The Latest from Iran (7 November): Posturing on Syria

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Blogger Sattar Behesthi with his mother2135 GMT: Confrontation Watch. Three "senior US officials" have told CNN that two Iranian Su-25 fighter jets. belonging to the Revolutionary Guards, fired on an unarmed US Air Force Predator drone in the Persian Gulf last week.

The drone was carrying out "routine maritime surveillance" in international airspace east of Kuwait, the officials claimed.

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The Latest from Iran (5 November): Questioning Ahmadinejad

2005 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Back from an extended break to find the definitive answer, from Kazem Jalali of Parliament's National Security Committee, for international sanctions on Tehran --- they are all because of the economic problems of the "West": "By imposing further sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, countries such as the US, Britain and France seek to divert the public opinion of their people."

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The Latest from Iran (4 November): A False "Breakthrough" on the Nuclear Issue

The Latest from Iran (3 November): Will the Political Fighting Stop? (Probably Not.)

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1740 GMT: Tough Talk of the Day. The head of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari, has said Iran will increase its naval presence in the Persian Gulf, near three islands claimed by the United Arab Emirates.

"The security of the Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf is part of the various strategies of the naval force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," Jafari said at a ceremony inaugurating a fifth "naval defense zone" at the port of Bandar Lengeh.

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The Latest from Iran (3 November): Will the Political Fighting Stop? (Probably Not.)

Sadegh Larijani, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ali Larijani2135 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Earlier we noted the escalation of a statement by Mohammad-Hassan Asfari, a member of Parliament's National Security Committee, about a possible nuclear deal into a claim that Iran has unilaterally suspended enrichment of 20% uranium (see 1806 GMT).

Now an "informed source" has told Fars that the Islamic Republic is continuing the enrichment with "no changes".

2111 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Pedram Nasrollahi, a member of the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations, has been sentenced to 19 months in prison by an Appeals Court.

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The Latest from Iran (2 November): Ahmadinejad Remains Quiet About Supreme Leader's Warning

A Tehran rally marking the 33rd anniversary of the takeover of the US Embassy

See also EA Video Analysis: The Secret US-Iran Nuclear Talks
The Latest from Iran (1 November): Supreme Leader Tells His Top Officials "Stop Fighting"

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2043 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. A revision of our opening item today....

President Ahmadinejad has now responded to the Supreme Leader's warning to the heads of the three branches of Government to stop bickering and "pay attention to responsibilities". While ostensibly pledging loyalty to Ayatollah Khamenei, he continued to throw punches at head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani and Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani:

I am convinced that you decisively guard the constitution, particularly the fundamental rights of the people, and safeguard the elevated position of the popularly elected president, the second highest official position in the country, and the institution executing the constitution. And you are opposed to any measure which weakens his sphere of competence and important responsibilities.

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The Latest from Iran (6 November): The Battle Begins over Ahmadinejad in Parliament

2027 GMT: Trade Watch. Iranian Consul General Muhammad Hossain Bani Assadi, speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has said Tehran is ready to start barter trade with Pakistan to bypass problems with banking channels amid sanctions.

2017 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. A photograph from Monday of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani with his son Mehdi Hashemi, moved from prison to hospital for an angiography --- Mehdi Hashemi, arrested in September on his return from a three-year exile in Britain, faces charges of financial and electoral manipulation:

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The Latest from Iran (1 November): Supreme Leader Tells His Top Officials "Stop Fighting"

1045 GMT: Economy Watch. Tehran Friday Prayer leader Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, address Basij members, has urged the public not to worry about rising prices and economic problems: "The devout will not deviate from the path because of these ups and downs."

0630 GMT: Oil Watch. OPEC reports that Iranian oil production fell again in October, sinking to its lowest point since the Iran-Iraq War in 1988.

Output dropped fell by 30,000 barrels per day to 2.67 million bpd, about 35% lower than its 2011 figure.

Iran sent more crude to South Korea in October, but at the cost of delaying some shipments to its biggest customer China, sources in the survey said.

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The Latest from Iran (31 October): Ahmadinejad Tries to Assert His Authority

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Death of a Scholar, Honouring Political Prisoners
The Latest from Iran (30 October): Tehran's Mixed Messages

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2216 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani is still upset that five members of the European Parliament cancelled a trip to Tehran last weekend because authorities refused to let them see imprisoned lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi, free on bail but facing a six-year sentence.

Last week, the European Parliament honoured Sotoudeh, detained since September 2010, and Panahi with the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Larijani said, “How would the European Parliament allow itself to set precondition for visiting our country and announce that it intends to grant awards to people, who have been sentenced by Iran’s independent Judiciary? Isn’t this an unjustified and clear intervention against a sovereign state?”

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