The Latest from Iran (14 August): Recovering from an Earthquake

See also The Latest from Iran (13 August): The Political Aftershocks of the Earthquakes

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1739 GMT: The Labour Front. Complaining about no wages for eight months, 600 steel workers protested today in front of the Ministry of Industry.

1722 GMT: The Battle Within. Yesterday we reported:

Iran News Network claims that two former Ministers have asked for a staff from the Executive, legislative, and judicial branches to be organised to manage the country, effectively taking power from the Government.

Radio Farda suggests the two ex-Ministers could be Iran Inspector General and former Minister of Interior Mostafa Pourmohammadi and former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

Today Robert Tait of The Daily Telegraph of London adds a third name and the claim that the appeal was made to Ayatollah Khamenei:

Three of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's former ministers have called on Iran's supreme leader to form an emergency "government of all the talents" that will effectively curb the president's power.

Manouchehr Mottaki, the former foreign minister, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who served as interior minister, and Davoud Danesh Jafari, the ex-finance minister, have urged the radical move in a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, citing the country's "sensitive and critical situation".

It calls for the establishment of a special cabinet of "wise men" made up of the heads of the executive, legislative and judicial branches, which would then govern Iran for the next year until Mr Ahmadinejad's term ends.

Mr Ahmadinejad would be a member of such a body as head of the executive branch. But his powers would be diluted and prestige drastically reduced....

In an editorial, [pro-Ahmadinejad newspaper] Iran criticised the former ministers' note as an attempt "to portray the country's situation as critical and justify extraordinary approaches outside legal boundaries to resolve an artificial crisis".

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Syria and Iran Opinion: Organization of "Islamic Cooperation"? You Must Be Kidding Me

The only use Islam has for most OIC members is as a justification for oppression. Oppression against women. Oppression against religious minorities. And oppression against dissent. To hope that the OIC would join hands to help the victims of Iran's earthquakes is just as fruitless as it is to hope that Iran would stop supporting the slaughter of innocent Syrians by President Assad and his political allies.

It seems Islam's more peaceful values only be promoted when Muslims feel threatened by non-Muslims, not when they are the ones threatening each other.

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The Latest from Iran (11 August): US Uses Syria for More Sanctions

See also Iran and Syria Audio Feature: Why Tehran's Conference "Stunt" Means Little --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24
The Latest from Iran (10 August): The Regime Fights Isolation

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1955 GMT: Earthquakes in the Northwest. The death toll in the two earthquakes which hit northwest Iran has risen to 180, with 1300 people injured.

The earthquakes, measuring 6.3 and 6.4 on the Richter scale, struck near Tabriz in East Azerbaijan.

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Iran Snap Analysis: So There Was This Conference on Syria in Tehran....

Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi talks to the press after Thursday's conference on Syria

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In the end, the regime persuaded 28 countries to attend Thursday's hastily-called conference on Syria. Almost all sent their Ambassadors or other diplomats from their Embassies in Tehran, with only three --- neighbouring Iraq and Pakistan and not-so-neighbouring Zimbabwe --- sending Foreign Ministers. Eight Arab States were present; those who stayed away included Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Russia, albeit with grumbling about the rushed preparations, despatched an official, but Turkey, which pointedly slapped down Tehran on Tuesday, did not.

Iranian media posted a statement which was supposedly agreed by the representatives, with a call for talks and despatch of humanitarian aid, affirmation of the six-point Annan Plan, and a proposed three-month cease-fire beginning next week.

None of that is likely to have any effect on the Syrian crisis, but Tehran's strategy is geared more to presentation. Shut out of other international discussions and facing isolation in the Middle East, the Islamic Republic wants to present itself as the valiant bearer of the Annan Plan, now that the United Nations process is dormant.

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The Latest from Iran (8 August): A Short Break for the Olympics

The family of Omid Norouzi celebrate his Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling

See also Iran Analysis: Is This the Last Elected President?
Iran Snap Analysis: Scrambling Over Syria
The Latest from Iran (7 August): The Currency "Situation"

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2017 GMT: Foreign Affairs Watch (Syrian Front). Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has published a statement "announc[ing] Iran’s readiness to host a meeting of countries committed to immediately implementing these steps in hopes of ending the violence...[and] reiterat[ing] our willingness to facilitate talks between the Syrian government and the opposition and to host such a dialogue".

That is not new --- Salehi has said this on several occasions in recent weeks. What is new is the outlet: an opinion piece in the Washington Post.

And what is even more distinctive is Salehi's recognition --- the first I can recall from a high-ranking Iranian official --- of the legitimacy of protest against the Syrian regime:

When the Islamic Awakening — also known as the Arab Spring — began in December 2010, we all saw people rising up to claim their rights. We have witnessed the emergence of civic movements demanding freedom, democracy, dignity and self-determination.

We in Tehran have watched these developments with delight. After all, a civic movement demanding the same things that many Arabs want today is what led to the emergence of our Islamic Republic in 1979. During the past three decades, Iran has consistently underlined that it is the duty of all governments to respect their people’s demands. We have maintained this position as the Islamic Awakening has unfolded.

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Iran Analysis: Is This the Last Elected President? (Alam)

A trial balloon floated by Iran’s Supreme Leader last year is coming closer to reality and with it, the prospect that Iran’s political system will become even less representative of popular will.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei first raised the idea in October of abolishing the directly elected Iranian presidency by highlighting the regime’s flexibility for institutional change. At the time, his statement elicited an array of reactions from across the political spectrum. His allies in the parliament and the Guardian Council, a body that vets candidates for elected office, swiftly endorsed the proposal, assuring Iranians that well-established legal mechanisms existed for such a change.

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The Latest from Iran (6 August): Breaking Ranks

See also Iran Feature: Can Tehran and the West Close the Nuclear "Trust Gap"?
The Latest from Iran (5 August): The Supreme Leader Talks About Morality

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Mohsen Rezaei (see 0555 GMT)1910 GMT: All the President's Men. Ali Akbar Bakhtiari, the head of the Administrative Court, has maintained the pressure for enforcement of the Court's ruling that Presidential aide Saeed Mortazavi must resign as head of the Social Security Fund.

The Court has ordered Mortazavi to step down because of his alleged role, as Tehran Prosecutor General, in the abuse and killing of protesters at Kahrizak detention centre in summer 2009; however, President Ahmadinejad and his advisors have defied the command.

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The Latest from Iran (3 August): Keeping Tehran on Hold in the Nuclear Talks

See also Iran Feature: The Banning and Detention of Conservative Bloggers
Iran Analysis: West To Tehran on Nuclear Issue "Accept Our Demands or No More Talks"
The Latest from Iran (2 August): Worrying About Syria

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2000 GMT: Oil Watch. India's State-run Hindustan Petroleum has made its first payment for Iranian oil in rupees, partially settling a bill for cargo imported in May.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL.NS), the biggest Indian buyer of Iranian oil, will make a rupee payment on Monday, a company official said.

India is Iran's second-largest oil buyer, but has struggled since the end of 2010 to find ways to pay for the oil amid Western sanctions that blocked arrangements in dollars and Asian currencies.

After months of discussions, Tehran and New Delhi agreed in January for part-payment in rupees. The Indian currency is not internationally convertible, but Iran can use the revenues to buy products from Delhi.

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Iran Feature: The Banning and Detention of Conservative Bloggers (Small Media)

The Larijani Brothers --- are they behind the crackdown on conservative bloggers?

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For years, we have reported on the regime's pressure on opposition bloggers, in some cases imposing long prison sentences as well as blocking their sites.

Recently, however, there has been a twist in the campaign. As part of the political contest within the establishment, factions within the regime have been attacking each other's outlets.

In particular, it appears that the camps of President Ahmadinejad and of Speaker of Parliament are locked in battle. Last month, the high-profile Alef site, linked to Larijani's relative and key MP Ahmad Tavakoli, was filtered for weeks. Pro-Ahmadinejad bloggers who challenge Larijani and his brothers, including head of judiciary Sadegh and senior judiciary official Mohammad Javad, are being detained.

Small Media reports via Storify....

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The Latest from Iran (1 August): Facing New Sanctions

See also Iran Feature: "We Have Restricted the Wishes and Ideals of the Nation To Worrying About Chicken"
The Latest from Iran (31 July): Politics and Fraud

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1755 GMT: All the President's Men. The head of the Administrative Court has reacted to 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi's insistence that Presidential aide Saeed Mortazavi will remain as head of the Social Security Fund, despite the Court's order that he step down (see 1045 GMT).

The head of the Court said any official who refused to give up his post could be suspended.

1750 GMT: Energy Watch. Ahmad Malakouti, head of the Revolutionary Guards in Asalouyeh in southern Iran has dismissed any concerns about the withdrawal of foreign investement from the South Pars oil and gas field --- he said that 1200 Basij militia were active in the South Pars project, hence its amazing progress.

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