The Latest from Iran (23 April): "We Were First"

1730 GMT: A Matter of Intelligence. Ali Akbar Javenfekr, the managing director of the State news agency IRNA, has effectively apologised for his newspaper's handling of the Supreme Leader's message to the people of Shiraz, saying that IRNA "devoted its efforts to the goals of revolutionary ideals and the Islamic system".

IRNA had altered the official release from the Supreme Leader's office, omitting Ayatollah Khamenei's support for the Ministry of Intelligence and implicit slap-down of President Ahmadinejad and his advisors for trying to force out the head of the Ministry, Heydar Moslehi. Khamenei's office then told media not to rely on reports from IRNA.

While apologising, Javanfekr made no reference to the Moslehi affair.

Meanwhile, the conservative stie Alef has removed its story about President Ahmadinejad's refusal to work with Moslehi.

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The Latest from Iran (20 April): Ahmadinejad's Powers of Intelligence?

2140 GMT: Ahwaz Watch. Most Iranian media may be avoiding any reference to clashes in Khuzestan Province in southwestern Iran, which activists claim have killed up to 15 people, but the conservative site Tabnak has made an indirect but blunt approach....

Tabnak, linked to Secretary of the Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei, has written that militant Wahhabi groups are being supported by Gulf states to foment separatist unrest in the region and that the British are encouraging this.

Tabnak claims that the "British Ahwazi Friendship Society", a group claiming to promote Ahwazi Arab culture, is co-ordinator of the Wahhabi separatists of the "Arab People's Front".

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The Latest from Iran (17 April): Making Claims

2130 GMT: Press Watch (IRNA Edition). In a day of curious stories, the tale of the detained journalist --- an employee of Iranian state media --- has another twist....

IRNA reports that Manouchehr Tamari was arrested by “six unidentified individuals” in Sananda, who "inspected Tamir’s home and confiscated his computer and laptop without providing any IDs”.

IRNA adds, “In recent weeks, following reports of terrorist operations in Sanandaj, the director and reporter of IRNA was summoned to the Kurdistan intelligence office and ordered to refrain from covering news regarding terrorist operations in the province.” The State media outlet said this order was rejected since it is in “contradiction of the inherent mission of the Islamic Republic News Agency".

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The Latest from Iran (16 April): What Happened in Ahwaz?

2030 GMT: Explosions. The head of Kurdistan police reports that two bombs have gone off in Sanandaj. There are no casualties.

1845 GMT: Ahwaz Watch. An Ahwazi Arab activist site is claiming that a 37 year-old man, Abdulrahman Ghasem Badawi, was slain on Thursday night at a checkpoint 20 km (12.5 miles) outside Ahwaz.

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The Latest from Iran (1 April): A Burst of Green

2040 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Kalemeh reports that detained activist Fakhrossadat Mohtashamipour is in a coma after a hunger strike and has been transferred to hospital.

Mohtashamipour, the wife of imprisoned reformist leader Mostafa Tajzadeh, had said she would fast if she was not allowed to visit her husband.

2030 GMT: Your Tehran Friday Prayer Update --- An Update. Well, I guess I owe Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami an apology --- while he was making a grand tour of Egypt-Libya-Yemen-Bahrain to blame the West for distortions, manipulations, and general evil, he did have a chat with the faithful about the situation in Iran today.

Khatami took his lead from the Supreme Leader's 2011 theme of "economic jihad" to declare there would be economic growth, a narrowed gap between those with high and low incomes, and a one-digit unemployment rate.

The Ayatollah assured that Iran would have 8% economic growth rate in the 5th 5-Year Plan (2010-2015), even though that plan has not been passed by Parliament, and said officials of the country have had successful projects for employment.

But he still didn't mention Syria.

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The Latest from Iran (31 March): Mousavi and A Funeral

2100 GMT: A Poster for Sizdeh Bedar. Anticipating the festival of Sizdeh Bedar, when Iranians leave the house and enjoy the outdoors, activists have put out the message on this poster, "Sizdeh Bedar 90 --- Khamenei Must Go":

2030 GMT: Economy Management Watch. Mohammad Taghi Bakhtyari of Parliament's Development Commission has said that breaches by the Government of the 2008/9 budget prove that the Majlis has insufficient control. Bakhtyari claimed that the Government has not paid billions in debts.

Another MP, Ezzatollah Yousefian, has said a fourth of Iran's liquidity is in the hands of "special people".

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The Latest from Iran (29 March): The Party's Over

2030 GMT: Cartoon of the Day (Iran-Syria Special). Maya Nayestani depicts a special message from Tehran to Damascus, a woman explaining to her friend, "He is sending a smoke signal to Bashar al-Assad":

2015 GMT: The House Arrests. Kalemeh updates on the house arrest/detention of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard....

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The Latest from Iran (28 March): Politics Resumes

1800 GMT: Economy Watch. Prominent economist Saeed Leylaz has declared that the main problem of the Iranian economy is domestic mismanagement rather than foreign sanctions, adding that smuggling is $20 billion per year.

1755 GMT: Labour Front. Claimed video of a strike on 19 March at the Bandar Imam Petrochemical Complex in Mahshahr in southwestern Iran:

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The Latest from Iran (26 March): Trying Not to Forget

1640 GMT: CyberWatch. Is there an Iran-related blog you quite like? Deutsche Welle's awards, The BOBs, is looking for nominations for "Best Blog Persian".

1630 GMT: In the Skies. Austria's OMV says it has stopped refuelling Iran Air flights.

Several European companies suspended supplies to Iran Air last year, leading to the grounding of aircraft and cancellation of flights in Europe.

1140 GMT: Economy Watch. Workers of the Bandar Emam Petrochemical Plant are protesting against temporary employment contracts.

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The Latest from Iran (18 March): A Gentle Day?

2040 GMT: Fighting On in Another Year. The opposition's Coordination Council for the Green Path of Hope, has issued a statement for Iranian New Year:

We are well aware that peaceful protests are our fundamental right, as has been recognized and emphasized by the Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are also well aware that defending the rights of the minorities, ethnic groups, and women to create a better Iran is fundamental. We consider it our duty to do whatever we can, so long as we still have breath, to end the detention of the Green Movement's leaders and their wives, who are symbols of resistance and the effort to restore people's rights....We begin the new year with you [the people] with hope for victory.

1835 GMT: Footage, posted on Wednesday, which claims to be of the burning of a banner of the Supreme Leader and the late Ayatollah Khomeini:

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