The Latest from Iran (5 July): Chest-Thumping

Tough talk from Tehran University's Seyed Mohammad Marandi on Press TV: "The United States knows that its ships in the Persian Gulf are sitting ducks when it comes to Iranian missiles"

See also The Latest from Iran (4 July): "Neither Side Understands the Other" in Nuclear Talks

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1950 GMT: The Battle Within. Back from a break to find an excellent summary in Payvand of the latest contest between President Ahmadinejad and clerics within the establishment....

Ahmadinejad started the fight by removing Mohammad-Hossein Mousavipour, the Governor of the religious centre of Qom, with Karam-Reza Piryiyaei.

Mousavipour was appointed in October 2009 as Qom's first-ever cleric Governor, in an attempt by the Government to repair relations after the disputed Presidential election of June. He is close to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and his deputy Mohammad Reza Bahonar.

Piryiyaei has been Governor of Hamedan Province, but his notable qualification in this case is that he supported Ahmadinejad during the President's controversial 11-day boycott of his duties in spring 2011, prompted by a dispute with the Supreme Leader over control of the Ministry of Intelligece.

Protests against the change of governor have come from the Qom Friday Prayer leader, other senior clerics, Qom MP Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani, and students affiliated to the Basij.

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The Latest From Iran (3 July): Beyond the Propaganda, Nuclear Talks in Istanbul Today

See also The Latest from Iran (2 July): Winners and Losers in the Economic Crisis

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1954 GMT: One Mistaken Story is Unfortunate, Two Is... (Egypt Edition). Last week, Fars carried a disputed headline story that it had interviewed new Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. The claim spiralled into an open fight with State news agency IRNA, which denounced Fars' fake conversation with Morsi.

Now Morsi's spokesman Yasser Ali has denied the report, carried in Fars and other Iranian media, that Morsi will visit Tehran in August and discuss bilateral relations with President Ahmadinejad.

The story was apparently based on a news report in Lebanese daily Al-Safir, which published Tuesday morning that Morsi planned to visit Iran to attend a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.

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Iran 1st-Hand: The Squeeze of the Sanctions (Davari)

Leila is getting pretty good at playing Angry Birds on her imported iPhone. Sitting behind her desk in an idle travel agency in central Tehran, she often has nothing better to do these days.

 "As you can see, business isn't so good," she says, gesturing at the drab, empty office.

"Last summer, I was constantly on the phone arguing with customers why there were no last-minute tickets available. Now, on a good day --- if we're lucky --- we might barely get to sell to capacity on a flight."

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The Latest from Iran (28 June): A Failing Foreign Policy?

1945 GMT: Sanctions Watch. The US has exempted China and Singapore from sanctions over purchases of oil from Iran, hours before restrictions would have entered into force against their banks.

Earlier Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had said (see 1413 GMT) that China and Singapore had “significantly reduced” their imports of Iranian crude.

1745 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Iranian state media says chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili has written his counterpart for the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China), Catherine Ashton, declaring the Islamic Republic of Iran is always ready to contribute to initiatives for successful talks.

However, Jalali cautioned that such talks are only possible in the framework of cooperation and when they are aimed at winning the trust of the Iranian nation. He said those who replace logic with illegitimate measures, i.e., sanctions, must be held accountable for any harm to the talks.

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Iran Snap Analysis: A Fight Within the Regime Over Egypt

On the surface, the public-relations campaign was straightforward. Ever since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, regime figures have trumpeted that the Egyptian uprising was following the model of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. So when the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi was finally confirmed as Egyptian President on Sunday, it was natural that he and the Brotherhood should be welcomed as Tehran's partner..

On Monday morning, the Iranian military took the lead on the effort. Commanders proclaimed that Iranian strength would support the emerging Egypt, an example of how US and Israeli efforts to control the region had failed. Fars, linked to the Revolutionary Guards, headlined that it had an interview with Morsi, in which the President-elect had called for better relations with the Islamic Republic as part of a new "strategic balance".

But then something very un-natural happened.

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Iran Caption Competition: Mr and Mrs Ahmadinejad...and a Ballot Box

President and Mrs Ahmadinejad and a ballot box --- over to you, dear reader....

The Latest from Iran (23 June): All-Is-Well Oil News

See also The Latest from Iran (22 June): Supreme Leader "More Talks, Please"

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1915 GMT: Economy Watch (Zionist Edition). Looks like Iran's problems with domestic production and rising prices have opened up unexpected imports --- the head of the Tehran Association of Fruit and Vegetable Sellers says cherries from Israel sre available in Iran for $3 per kilogramme.

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The Latest from Iran (22 June): Supreme Leader "More Talks, Please"

1305 GMT: Food Watch. Fars holds up the possibility of India exporting three million tonnes of wheat to Iran as part-payment for Iranian oil.

The Islamic Republic, beset by production problems, complications from subsidy cuts, and payments difficulties, is facing wheat shortages, and the price of bread has risen sharply this spring.

Earlier this year, India and Iran struck an arrangement for Delhi to pay 45% of the cost of Iranian oil in rupees, which are not convertible but can be used to purchase Indian products.

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The Latest from Iran (19 June): An Opening at the Nuclear Talks?

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- #RememberIran, Arrest of Labour Activists, House of Cinema Closed
Iran Audio Analysis: The Moscow Nuclear Talks --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24
Remember Iran: An EA Special --- Three Years Ago Today, The Supreme Leader Draws the Line on Protests
Remember Iran Flashback: 19 June 2009 Live Coverage --- The Supreme Leader Declares "The Outcome is Final"
The Latest from Iran (18 June): The Nuclear Talks in Moscow

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2010 GMT: CyberWar Watch. "Western officials" have told Washington Post reporters that the US and Israel jointly developed the Flame computer virus, operating for several years but recently exposed.

Flame, which mined data, was designed to map Iran’s computer networks and monitor them, sending back a steady stream of intelligence for an ongoing cyberwarfare campaign. That campaign included the Stuxnet virus, which has caused malfunctions in computers linked to Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iranian authorities revealed last month that Flame had been used against computers for the country's oil industry. The Western officials said that was a unilateral Israeli operation of which the US had no knowledge.

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The Latest from Iran (17 June): "So What?" News --- Ahmadinejad to Leave Politics

See also Iran 1st-Hand: Sanctions Are Hurting The Iranians Who Welcomed Me...And That's Good
Remember Iran: An EA Special --- Three Years Ago Today, A Silent March
Remember Iran Flashback: 17 June 2009 Live Coverage --- Political Prisoners, A "Blinded" Media, and A Rally in 7 Tir Square
The Latest from Iran (16 June): Preparing for the Nuclear Talks

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1513 GMT: Labour Front. Ten thousand Iranian factory workers from five provinces have petitioned against subsidy cuts and demanded wage increases to match the rate of inflation.

The Free Iranian Workers Syndicate organised the petition, which cites the lack of job security, lay-offs and factory closures and demands "an increase in the minimum wage commensurate with the rate of inflation, the implementation of insurance legislation for construction workers, the elimination of contracting companies in exchange for a system that gives workers direct and permanent contracts, and the creation of mechanisms to assure the timely payment of wages".

1403 GMT: Clerical Intervention. Ayatollah Dastgheib has asserted, "Our people are politically and religiously disenfranchised." He criticised authorities for presenting this flawed system as one leading the world.

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