The Latest from Iran (15 February): The Momentum of Protest, Part 2

1905 GMT: Oil Watch. Looks like Tehran has got itself in a muddle with today's grandstanding announcements. While the Ministry of Oil is saying exports to six European countries will be cut off, Hassan Tajik, the Foreign Ministry's deputy for Western Europe, is assuring that supplies will continue.

1850 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Saeed Jalili, the Secretary of the National Security Council, has sent a note to Catherine Ashton, the foreign policy representative for the European Union, about renewed talks on Iran's nuclear programme.

A spokeswoman said Ashton is consulting with the "5+1" Powers --- the US, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany --- on a response.

Tehran's letter was revealed as President Ahmadinejad made the announcement that Iran could now produce fuel rods of 19.75% uranium for the Tehran Research Reactor, making medical isotopes. Ahmadinejad also said that new centrifuges at the Natanz facility have "a three-fold higher capacity" compared to older models, boosting Iran's capacity to produce 3.5% lower-enriched nuclear fuel by 50%.

1714 GMT:. Claim of the Day. MP Morteza Agha Tehrani, the head of the Unity Front list of candidates, has asserted that the Islamic Republic has become a model for the world, with even the biggest US philosophers respecting Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi --- the head of the Islamic Constancy Front --- and ceding their speaking time to him.

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The Latest from Iran (14 February): Watching for Protests

See also Iran Feature: Two Sisters Try to Reach Their Country with Pop Music
The Latest from Iran (13 February): The Economic Squeeze

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"Strong and Steadfast"2115 GMT: All the President's Men. The trial of Abbas Ghaffari and Mehdi Mohagheghi, both on the President's staff and accused of being in the "deviant current", has begun.

Ghaffari, the Friday Prayer leader for Ahmadinejad's office, and Mohagheghi was arrested last year and charged with "sorcery", "exorcism", and "blasphemy".

2025 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Minister of Science and Higher Education Kamran Daneshjoo has made an implicit threat against former President Hashemi Rafsanjani in the battle for control of Islamic Azad University.

Daneshjoo said that the Supreme Cultural Council of the Revolution will decide on several conditions that Rafsanjani has set over the University, adding that a speedy decision is necessary.

One of the clashes is over Rafsanjani's refusal to sign the mandate naming Daneshjoo's brother Farhad, appointed by President Ahmadinejad, as head of the University.

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The Latest from Iran (12 February): Nuclear Games, Numbers Games

1902 GMT: All-Is-Well Alert. Nasim Online features the reassurance of Tehran University academic Seyed Mohammad Marandi --- despite US sanctions, Iran --- with its self-sufficiency --- has become a model for Middle Eastern countries, as Tehran annoys "Western" powers.

http://www.nasimonline.ir/NSite/FullStory/News/?Id=325808

1856 GMT: Unity Watch. Prominent MP Gholam Reza Mesbahi Moghaddam has said that it is beneath Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani, the head of the Unity Front, to bargain with the Islamic Constancy Front.

The Constancy Front, led by Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, has held out against merger with the Unity Front because of issues over represenatives of politicians like Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf.

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The Latest from Iran (7 February): Campaign Season

See also Iran Feature: A Middle Class on Edge
Iran Film Special: The Simpsons Are Gone, But You Can Still See Shrek in Tehran
The Latest from Iran (6 February): "The Regime Will Demolish Ahmadinejad"

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1917 GMT: Oil Watch (China Front). Evidence that China is joining the squeeze on Iran over Tehran's oil exports...

Beijing, Iran's biggest customer, has said publicly that it will not join US-led sanctions; however, in January and February, it has halved its crude from Tehran. Now industry sources say China is increasing its supplies from Saudi Arabia, which has raised production since December.

Beijing is also importing more cargoes from West Africa, Russia, and Australia to replace reduced supplies from Iran.

China takes around 20% of Iran's total exports. Since January, it has cut purchases by around 285,000 barrels per day (bpd), just over half of the total daily amount it imported in 2011. At the same time, Beijing has purchased an additional 200,000 bpd from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabian output reached 9.76 million barrels per day (bpd) in December, up 360,000 bpd from October, and remained near that level in January.

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Iran Feature: A Middle Class on Edge (Worth)

>One measure of the profound anxiety now coursing through Iranian society can be seen on Manouchehri Street, a winding lane at the heart of this city where furtive crowds of men gather every day like drug dealers to buy and sell American dollars.

The government has raised the official exchange rate and sent police into the streets to stop the black marketeers, but with confidence in Iran’s own currency, the rial, collapsing by the day, the trade goes on.

“Am I afraid of the police? Sure, but I need the money,” said Hamid, a heavyset construction engineer who was standing by a muddy patch of greenery amid a crowd of other illicit currency traders here. “Food prices are going up, and my salary is not enough.” Glancing nervously around him, he added that he had converted almost all of his assets into dollars. Like many Iranians, he had also stockpiled months’ worth of rice and other staples.

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The Latest from Iran (5 February): The Coup Within --- The Sequel

See also Iran Opinion: Why Do Thousands of Women Want to Be Ninjas?
The Latest from Iran (4 February): Missing the Story on the Supreme Leader

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Rezaei, Qalibaf, Larijani2225 GMT: Security Watch. Writer and human rights activist Yousef Azizi Banitaraf has said Iranian security forces have arrested 50 people over the past two weeks in Arab neighbourhoods in the southwestern province of Khuseztan.

Banitaraf claimed two of the detainees, Nasser Alboshokeh Derafshan and Mohammad Kaabi, were killed while in custody. The arrests, which have taken place in Shoosh, Ahwaz, and Hamidieh, were apparently prompted by youth writing slogans on public walls, calling for a boycott of March's Parliamentary elections.

"The security forces are telling elders of the tribes in the region to bring people to the voting booths, and the young people are opposed to this," Banitaraf said.

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The Latest from Iran (31 January): "Democracy and Freedom Are A Big Lie"

See also Iran Prescription: Oh My God, Tehran Almost Has The Bomb! (Repeat as Necessary)
The Latest from Iran (30 January): Posturing Over Oil

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2054 GMT: Threat of the Day. MP Mostafa Kavakebian, a member of Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, has warned that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors should be banned from re-entering Iran if they again publish a "unrealistic report" on Tehran's nuclear programme and “mislead the global community”. He also asked security officials to exercise vigilance over the inspectors to prevent them from collecting and leaking confidential information.

A six-member IAEA team, led by the agency's Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts, completed a three-day visit today, after talks over future co-operation.

Kavakebian is considered a reformist, but has broken from others over the position towards March's Parliamentary elections and is attempting to form a "Democracy Front" for the campaign.

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The Latest from Iran (24 January): "Iranian Economy is Humming Along Nicely"

Nikahang Kowsar's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad deals with the currency crisis, using a wishing well and "Heads or Tails?"

See also Iran Featured Question: Is the Currency in Free Fall?
The Latest from Iran (23 January): Hibernating While The Currency Falls

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2154 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Former student activist Saeed Razavi Faghih was arrested at Imam Khomeini International Airport and sent to Evin Prison on 18 January.

1924 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Minister of Interior Mostafa Mohammad Najjar assures,“The sanctions [imposed] by the European Union will not affect Iran and will further deteriorate the economic condition of the European countries. We do not mind the implementation of sanctions by Europe because we have constantly faced such sanctions in the past 30 years."

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has apparently explained how Europe is self-harming with the sanctions by summoning the Danish Foreign Minister. Denmark is the current President of the European Union.

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The Latest from Iran (16 January): Economic Jitters

Ashgar Farhadi's Nader and Simin: A Separation wins Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globe Awards last night --- in his acceptance speech, Farhadi says simply, "Iran is truly a loving people"

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2103 GMT: All-Is-Well Alert. Mohsen Qamsari, the head of international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company, has insisted that Iran is maintaining the sale of oil to Asian countries despite US pressure for tightened sanctions.

Qamsari said, "The one-year contract with Korean companies to buy our oil has been renewed since the last two months."

Earlier this month, officials said refiners in South Korea --- which buys about 10% of its crude from Iran --- were looking for alternatives.

Asked whether Japan had reduced its oil imports from Iran, Qamsari said, "It is not true. The time for renewal of contracts with the Japanese is around March and they are buying 240,000 barrels from us per day."

The official also denied any problems doing business with India, even though there have been problems over payment arrangements for more than a year.

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The Latest from Iran (13 January): Beyond "Safe and Sane" --- Watching The Economy

President Ahmadinejad, on his trip to Cuba, pronounces that former Cuban leader Fidel Castro is "safe and sane"

See also Iran Snap Analysis: Are the Oil Sanctions Tightening on Tehran?
Iran Video: Scott Lucas on Al Jazeera - Tehran, China, & US Sanctions
The Latest from Iran (12 January): After the Tehran Bomb

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2015 GMT: Chest-Thumping.of the Day. Fars has picked up the story from The New York Times (see 0900 GMT) that the Obama Administration has sent a warning to the Supreme Leader that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a “red line” that will bring an American response.

1940 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has pulled back from the support of his Finance Minister, Jun Azumi (see separate analysis), for tougher sanctions by Tokyo on Iran.

Azumi had said Thursday, after talks with US Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner, that Japan would reduce oil imports but Noda said today that the Government has yet to decide because businesses implications need to be considered. He described Azumi's remarks as a "personal view".

Noda continued, "Japan's basic stance is to resolve such matters diplomatically and peacefully. We need to consult with the business community, and we need to work out details with U.S. officials. We have to think about the implications for Japanese banks, and what measures are needed to resolve possible negative impact."

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