Iran Live Coverage: Banging the Drum Against the US

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- From Ahmadinejad in Egypt to "Tribal Voices" in Tehran
Friday's Iran Live Coverage: Supreme Leader to His Officials "Stop Your Temper Tantrums"

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2055 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Activists claim that dozens of Arab youths have been detained in Ahvaz.

One activist said more than 50 men were seized. Family members said they were in an unknown location.

1335 GMT: US-Iran Watch. The first half of this Al Jazeera English discussion on US-Iran relations and the nuclear issue is wasted, with a failure to get to grips with the context, motives, and significance of the Supreme Leader's speech on Thursday. However, there is some value in the second, with former Administration official John Limbert and analyst Ali Reza Eshraghi --- overcoming the pro-regime platitudes of Flynt Leverett --- offering some insight into the complexities hindering negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

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The Latest from Iran (16 October): "Currency Market Disruptors Will Be Executed"

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Another Day Older and Deeper in Debt
Iran Audio Feature: Nuclear Talks and Scare Stories --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24
The Latest from Iran (15 October): European Union Announces More Sanctions

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2257 GMT: Economy Watch. Shoe producers gathered in front of Parliament today to protest against the high prices they pay for material, as "people do not buy expensive shoes".

2250 GMT: Currency Watch. Baztab claims that the Rial, when foreign exchange is offered, is trading at 37000:1 vs. the US dollar, a fall of about 7% from Monday.

The website also claims that the cost of old gold coin has risen to 14.4 million Rials.

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The Latest from Iran (9 October): Triple-Digit Inflation?

1826 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Detained activist Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, a detained Iranian human rights activist, has asked the head of the judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, to prosecute the officials who beat him and other aid workers in August at a relief camp for earthquake victims in northwestern Iran.

Thirty volunteer aid workers were arrested after they set up a camp in Eastern Azerbaijan. Some were released on bail, but others, including Ronaghi Maleki, remain in custody.

The activist wrote, "I believe that our efforts were humane and right and I continue to defend aiding people for which I am ready to lay down my life. I refuse to remain silent in the face of the injustice the aid workers have been subjected to until a fair judge stands up for our rights."

Ronaghi Maleki was arrested during the protests after the disputed 2009 Presidential election for publishing a critique of the Government on his blog. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was released on bail shortly before his arrest in August.

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The Latest from Iran (8 October): Parliament's Message to Ahmadinejad

See also EA Video Analysis: How to Become an Expert on the Iranian Nuclear Programme
The Latest from Iran (7 October): "The Devil Has Disrupted Our Economy"

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2035 GMT: Economy Watch. HRANA reports that the Saipa automobile factory in Kashan has dismissed more than 10,000 employees --- 75% of its workforce --- and only 1 of 3 shifts is assembling now.

The site says Saipa in Tehran is also down to 1 in 3 shifts.

2025 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Mansour Haghighatpour, the deputy head of the National Security Council, has said that interrogation of the President will only be dropped if the Supreme Leader opposes it.

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