The Latest from Iran (18 April): Trust Us, All is Well

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- From The "Butcher of the Press" to Speaking Out Against War
Iran Video Feature: The Unemployed and Hungry Beg Ahmadinejad for Help
The Latest from Iran (17 April): Splitting Europe from the US Over Nukes and Sanctions

---

Minister of Oil Rustam Qassemi1444 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The wife of detained labour activist Reza Shahabi says he has begun a dry hunger strike.

Robabeh Rezai said the fast began on Saturday when Shahabi, a leading member of the bus drivers' union, he received a six-year prison sentence.

Shahabi has been detained since June 2010.

1440 GMT: President v. Parliament. MP Ruhollah Hosseinian, a supporter of President Ahmadinejad, has claimed that Parliament, with its criticism of the Government, has tried to "destabilise" the Iranian system.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (14 April): The Nuclear "Talks About More Talks" Open in Istanbul

See also The Latest from Iran (13 April): Before the Nuclear Show

---

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Saeed Jalili, the Secretary of Iran's National Security Council, on Friday in Istanbul

---

1445 GMT: Nuclear Watch. In contrast to the full account of this morning's discussions leaked by Western diplomats to The Guardian (see 1355 GMT), Iranian outlet Fars has no detail in its report, "Iran, World Powers End 1st Round of Talks in Istanbul"; however, the site does establish that there will be no second day in Turkey, quoting Ali Baqeri, the Undersecretary of the Iranian National Secretary Council.

Instead, Tehran will be looking for agreement on a second round of talks in its preferred location of Baghdad.

Click to read more ...

Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Sanctions, Human Rights, and Israel-Iran Love (Arseh Sevom)

Iranians respond to the "Israel Loves Iran" campaign

---

Celebrating Norooz Amidst "Unbelievable Inflation"

Norooz, a celebration of the new year that is marked by people from every religion and belief, was met with relief and joy by Iranians all over the world. Millions in Iran traveled in cars, buses, trains, and planes to see family and friends and to do a bit of urban camping. Iran's press was filled with stories of tourist attractions and the numbers of travellers.

However, sanctions are taking a huge bite out of the budgets of most Iranian households. The inflation is "unbelievable", sources tell Arseh Sevom.

"Prices change three times a day and the government blames it all on the embargos," an Ahwazi householder says. A Tehrani resident says that her home has lost 50% of its value this year.

With sanctions on doing business with Iran's Central Bank kicking in, inflation is expected to continue to rise. The Economist Intelligence Unit predicted further pain for the majority of Iranian households as the rial continues to plummet.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (21 March): Manoeuvring the Sanctions

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Celebrating Despite Economic Decline and the Crackdown
Iran Opinion: A Counter-Message to Obama's Nowruz Video
Iran Video: President Obama's Nowruz Message
The Latest from Iran (20 March): Happy Nowruz

---

1240 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Dissident blogger and physician Mehdi Khazali, freed on bail last weekend after a 70-day hunger strike, has thanked people for support: "I managed to get my message to the world, to the Islamic Republic's officials, and to the maraje (senior clerics)."

1030 GMT: In an interview with the German magazine Stern, President Ahmadinejad's media advisor Ali Akbar Javanfekr has denied both the "failure" of the Ahmadinejad camp in the Parliamentary elections and the claim of a low turnout. He asserted that the President had proven his popularity during last week's "interrogation" in Parliament.

Javanfekr added that the West "should change its attitude" towards the Islamic Republic. He expressed confidence that Washington will not attack Iran, while saying Israel is just a puppet of the US.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (14 March): Questioning Ahmadinejad

One of a set of photos of President Ahmadinejad's appearance in Parliament

See also The Latest from Iran (13 March): "Tehran is a Pioneer of Human Rights in the World"

---

1805 GMT: Drumbeats of War Watch. Some of the better journalists on the Iran beat have noticed the "intriguing signs of potential diplomatic progress over Iran’s nuclear program", but that should not stop others from fishing for readers with the "Could It Be War?" bait.

CNN simply asks, "Will Israel Strike Iran?", opening:

It's late in Iran on a dark night, moonless or with heavy clouds. Suddenly the silence is broken by sonic booms, followed by the sound of jets roaring overhead.

Flying in tight formation, Israeli fighter planes drop bunker-busting bombs on a nuclear enrichment plant built into the side of a mountain.

Iranian pilots race for their own jets to fight back, but by the time they take to the sky, it's too late. The Israeli jets streak away.

And The Atlantic, which introduced "The Iran Doomsday Clock", seeks profit by arguing against itself --- James Fallows derides speculation without knowledge...by speculating without knowledge:

While I am skeptical of the journalistic bias toward guessing what might happen rather than analyzing what has actually occurred, in the current climate I'll hazard this prediction: the United States is in fact not going to bomb Iran, and in anything like the current set of facts not even Netanyahu's Israeli administration is likely to do so. Indeed we will look back on the hyped-up bomb-Iran frenzy of the past two months with an air of wonder and dismay.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (24 February): Here a Deviant Current, There a Deviant Current

See also Iran Document & Snap Analysis: The IAEA Report on Tehran's Nuclear Programme
Iran 1st-Hand Video: A 53-Minute Look at Life, Politics, and the Economy
The Latest from Iran (23 February): Don't Panic!

---

2045 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Dr. Sadegh Akhoundi, associate professor in the Department of Orthodontics at Tehran University's School of Dentistry, has been arrested.

1950 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Police in Sanandaj in northwest Iran arrested dozens of people at a meeting of a mountain climbing group last Friday.

The reason for the detentions is not clear.

Since the arrests, families of those arrested have gathered daily outside the Intelligence Office for news. A source said the Intelligence Office has promised the families to release the detainees on bail of about 40 million Toman (about $2000) each.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (22 February): Rafsanjani Far from Finished?

1905 GMT: Economy Watch. Iran's Statistics Center has said that the unemployment rate is 11.8%. Among 15- to 29-year-olds, the rate is 23.9%.

Unemployment is higher for women than men and in cities versus rural areas.

1715 GMT: Nuke Watch. More on the tension between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran, after Tehran restricted the movement of inspectors on a two-day visit --- a diplomat in Vienna says that the Islamic Republic asked the IAEA team to sign a document regulating their activists. They refused.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (16 February): Cutting Off the Opposition, A Year Later

Nikahang Kowsar portrays the competition for votes and influence between President Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader>

---

2130 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. State outlet IRNA features President Ahmadinejad's photo opportunity with his Pakistani colleague Asif Ali Zardari during tripartite meetings between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran in Islamabad.

There are no details in the article, only the rhetorical posture: "The presidents of Iran and Pakistan have emphasised the Western and colonial conspiracy against peace and stability in the region, creating insecurity to prevent the development of independent countries. They stressed the need for vigilance by the governments and peoples of the region.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (10 February): A Radio Debate Brings Back the 2009 Election

A poster calls for "Allahu Akbar (God is Great) on the night of 13 February for political prisoners such as Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard

---

1745 GMT: Mohsen Rezaie, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, today called US claims that it is responsible for security in the Strait of Hormuz as 'inacceptable'. He added that the Iranian government was the one responsible for the security of the waterway.

1715 GMT: Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani Larijani rejected accusations that he owns buildings in the Quds compound in Pardisan in Qom - however, he does own property that belonged to his father. Speaking to students in Qom yesterday, he said that he was running for the elections on advice from the Supreme Leader. In reply to a question, he said that Hashemi Rafsanjani like all other individuals had his merits and his flaws and he did not like some of the latter.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (9 February): News and Propaganda over Oil

A cartoon from Javan Online, linked to the Revolutionary Guards, summarises frustration with Iran's political and economic situation

See also Iran Feature: The Regime Locks Down the Internet
The Latest from Iran (8 February): Seeking the Voice of the Nation

---

2135 GMT: Elections Watch. The Guardian Council has announced that 3320 out of 5395 applicants, or about 61%, have been approved as candidates for the Parliamentary elections on 2 March.

Click to read more ...