Iran Live Coverage: Engineering June's Presidential Election

The Supreme Leader's senior aide Ali Akbar Velayati announces plans for the Presidential election at a Sunday press conference

See also Sunday's Iran Live Coverage: Revolutionary Guards v. Ahmadinejad

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1818 GMT: Economy Watch. The Financial Times picks up on one of the hot topics of conversation as Iranian New Year approaches --- the sharp rise in pistachio prices.

The nuts, a staple of the Nowruz celebrations, have soared in cost at home as farmers --- able to make three times as much as a year ago in foreign currency because of the falling Iranian Rial --- send their pistachios abroad.

One kilogrammes of pistachios cost 200,000 Rials last year. This March, the price is between IR540,000 and IR780,000.

In recent days, the Government has forced shops to sell pistachios at 300,000 Rial per kilo, but the intervention has had little effect so far.

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Iran Live Coverage: Revolutionary Guards v. Ahmadinejad

See also Saturday's Iran Live Coverage: The Oil Squeeze Renewed

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2145 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Mohammad Javad-Rouh, the editor of Mehrnameh magazine, has been arrested after a raid on his home.

1501 GMT: Diplomacy Watch. Another dose of optimism from Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi after last week's nuclear talks in Kazakhstan, "From this day forward, sanctions will decrease."

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Iran Live Coverage: Ahmadinejad's Advisor Mortazavi Faces Trial

Iran Feature: Top Iran Newspaper Protects the Oscars from Michelle Obama's Shoulders
Sunday's Iran Live Coverage: Ahmadinejad Tries to Take Control on the Economy

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Saeed Mortazavi2111 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (Journalist Edition). More releases of journalists detained in the regime's crackdown over the last month --- Akbar Montajebi and Reyhaneh Tabatabaei have been freed, with reports that Milan Fadai Asl will soon be out of prison.

2102 GMT: All the President's Men. It looks like Presidential advisor Saeed Mortazavi will not face "accessory to murder" charges when he goes to court tomorrow.

The Iranian Labor News Agency reports that the former Tehran Prosecutor General, being tried for his involvement in the abuse and killing of three post-election protesters in the Kahrizak detention center in summer 2009, has been indicted for “participating in unlawful detentions” and “assistance in setting up false reports or encouraging such actions in relevant officials”.

Two other judiciary officials face charges pf “assistance in setting up false reports".

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Iran Live Coverage: Ahmadinejad Tries to Take Control on the Economy

President Ahmadinejad, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, and head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani meet on Saturday

See also Iran Feature: Newsflash --- Tehran Does (Not) Shoot Down An Enemy Drone
Saturday's Iran Live Coverage: Revolutionary Guards Challenge "Narcissist" Ahmadinejad

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1834 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Radio Zamaneh posts more on State broadcaster IRIB's sudden cut-away from coverage of President Ahmadinejad's interview last night, interrupting the question-and-answer session for a TV drama....

The President’s office issued a statement expressing surprise, but IRIB's Public Relations Department said the interruption was done in coordination with Ahmaadinejad's office.

Mehr said the cut-away occurred as its reporter began asking touch questions about the Government's economic policies, including the query as to how its fight with corruption could co-exist with the $2.6 billion bank fraud that emerged in September 2011. The reporter also accused the administration of yo-yoing between the position that sanctions are having no effect on the economy and blaming the sanctions for all of Iran's problems.

Ahmadinejad reportedly answered: “I still insist that we have run the cleanest administration.” He added that he feels Iran’s economic situation is “very good” and that “inflation is not considered a loss for everybody and only those with set salaries lose while others benefit from inflation".

President Ahmadinejad, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, and head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani meet on Saturday

See also Iran Feature: Newsflash --- Tehran Does (Not) Shoot Down An Enemy Drone
Saturday's Iran Live Coverage: Revolutionary Guards Challenge "Narcissist" Ahmadinejad

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1834 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Radio Zamaneh posts more on State broadcaster IRIB's sudden cut-away from coverage of President Ahmadinejad's interview last night, interrupting the question-and-answer session for a TV drama....

The President’s office issued a statement expressing surprise, but IRIB's Public Relations Department said the interruption was done in coordination with Ahmaadinejad's office.

Mehr said the cut-away occurred as its reporter began asking touch questions about the Government's economic policies, including the query as to how its fight with corruption could co-exist with the $2.6 billion bank fraud that emerged in September 2011. The reporter also accused the administration of yo-yoing between the position that sanctions are having no effect on the economy and blaming the sanctions for all of Iran's problems.

Ahmadinejad reportedly answered: “I still insist that we have run the cleanest administration.” He added that he feels Iran’s economic situation is “very good” and that “inflation is not considered a loss for everybody and only those with set salaries lose while others benefit from inflation".

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Iran Live Coverage: Revolutionary Guards Challenge "Narcissist" Ahmadinejad

See also Iran Analysis: A Revolutionary Guard Commander is Killed in Syria --- What It Means for Tehran and the Middle East
Friday's Iran Live Coverage: The Latest Report on Tehran's Nuclear Programme

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1855 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. President Ahmadinejad has appeared on national TV tonight to defend the yet-to-be-presented Government budget for 2013/14.

Ahmadinejad also defended his policies on investment and tried to ease concern over problems in the health care system, hit by shortages of drugs and medical supplies amid sanctions and claims of Government mismanagement. He continued to promote his subsidy cuts plan, the second phase of which has been held up by Parliament.

The President said he would soon meet Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani, with whom he has had a high-profile clash over the last month, to discuss "current issues".

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Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Threatened Journalists, Tehran Claims the South Pole, and the End of Olympic Wrestling (Arseh Sevom)

An embrace between US and Iranian wrestlers in the 2012 Olympics --- but it may not happen again

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The Ministry of Intelligence, not letting up on the "enemy" BBC Persian, continues to arrest, hold, and harass journalists and filmmakers.

Meanwhile, Jafar Panahi receives international acclaim despite being under house arrest and banned from filmmaking.

The South Pole could become a vacation spot for New Year revelers if Iran’s claim to some of its vast territory holds up.

The Supreme Leader chastises President Ahmadinejad and the Larijani brothers for their very public dispute.

And Iran and the US finally agree on one thing: removing wrestling from the Olympic games is just tragic.

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Iran Live Coverage: Detaining the Journalists

Campaign poster for 15 journalists imprisoned in late January

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2044 GMT:Communications Watch. Four Grand Ayatollahs --- Nasser Makarem-Shirazi, Hossein Nouri Hamedani, Jafar Sohbhani, and Seyyed Sajjad Alavi Gorgani--- have issued fatwas banning Iran's first 3G service Rightel, in part because of its video-call function.

"The decadence and corruption associated with [Rightel’s] use outweighs its benefits,” decreed Grand Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi. “It will cause new deviances in our society, which is unfortunately already plagued with deviances.”

Ayatollah Alavi Gorghani said that the video-call service would “jeopardize the public chastity” and “inflicts numerous damages” on Iran’s religion and political system.

Rightel, which sponsored Iran’s recent International Fajr Film Festival,,# allows customers to use both video-call and multi-media messaging functions. The company offers pay-and-go, contact, and data-card packages.

Petitions to ban Rightel have sprung up, and 17 MPs have asked President Ahmadinejad and the Ministry of Intelligence to act.

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Iran Live Coverage: Ahmadinejad Refuses to Back Down

See also Iran Analysis: 4 Reasons Why Supreme Leader is Still Open to Direct Talks with the US
Iran Document: Supreme Leader's Speech on "The Battle Within" & Talks With US
Sunday's Iran Live Coverage: Admitting the Battle Within

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1855 GMT: Economy Watch. Radio Zamaneh summarises the reports from Iranian State agencies and the Central Bank that put Iran's inflation rate at the sixth-worst in the world.

The stated rate varies from agency to agency, but most estimates put the current annual rise in prices at 32 to 37%, the greatest increase since 1996. Unofficial estimates put forth an even higher figure.

1755 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (Press Edition). Twelve local journalists have reportedly been arrested in Ilam in Iranian Kurdistan.

1748 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. VOA Persian reports on Kurdish detainee Semko Khelghati, presented by Press TV as a spy in the programme "A Time to Betray" --- Semko's mother reports that her son, an "excellent" university student in metallurgy, was tortured to confess before he received a 15-year sentence.

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Iran Document: Supreme Leader's Speech on "The Battle Within" & Talks With US

Over the last 48 hours, we have paid close attention to the Supreme Leader's speech to an audience from Tabriz, noting 1) its place in the "battle within"; especially the fight between President Ahmadinejad, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, and head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani; and 2) its intervention on the nuclear issues and the question of direct talks with the US.

The text of the speech, translated by the US Government's Open Source Center, and posted by Juan Cole on his website:

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Let me say this to you, the American Government officials are unreasonable people. Their words are unreasonable; their actions are unreasonable, and repressive. They expect others to surrender to their unreasonable actions. Well, some do surrender. Some governments, some political elite in some countries, surrender to their audacity and bullying behaviour.

But the Iranian nation, the Islamic Republic is not going to surrender.

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Iran Analysis: 4 Reasons Why Supreme Leader is Still Open to Direct Talks with the US

The Supreme Leader addresses Air Force officers, 7 February 2013

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So why is the Supreme Leader maintaining the opening for direct talks?

1. Khamenei may see the recent, serious political crisis as a distraction which allows him to slip in the possibility of negotiations with the US>
2. The international sanctions are starting to hurt.
3. The Syrian regime will not be able to survive the current crisis, and its fall will be a huge strategic blow to the Islamic Republic --- last week, the head of the Basij militia said Syria is more important to the regime than the province of Khuzestan, in defence of which many thousands of Iranians died during the war with Iraq in the 1980s.
4. The Islamic Republic had hoped that the Arab Spring would bring it new allies in the region. Indeed, the movements have isolated the regime even more.

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