The Latest from Iran (20 July): Reformists and the Next Election

See also The Latest from Iran (19 July): Nervously Watching Syria

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1342 GMT: Trade Watch. Fars reports that the first load of Indian wheat exchanged in barter for oil has been distributed among Tehran bakeries.

Just as interesting is the jibe by the website that domestic wheat mills are working at 50% capacity.

1253 GMT: Your Tehran Friday Prayer Update. Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi is pleased to tell the audience, "Today the whole world envies us for the Supreme Leader as the defender of religion. In Islamic society, the ruler is like qibla [the direction faced by a Muslim during prayer]."

Seddiqi added, "Those who don't accept the Supreme Leader, don't accept the rule of God."

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Iran Feature: 43 Stories of Those Who Died After the 2009 Election (Alinejad)

Amir JavadifarA committee was appointed by [opposition figures Mir Hossein] Mousavi and [Mehdi] Karroubi during the early days of the protest marches. The committee's job was to collect statistical news and information about the victims of the aftermath.

The same committee released more than 70 names of victims who lost their lives during the protests. Security forces and judicial officials have not yet commented or cooperated on this issue.

On September 7, 2009, security forces arrested committee members in an office raid. All assets and documents were confiscated in the process.

Afterward, the state-run media and other publishing networks close to the government launched a campaign to deny the allegations.

Despite denials on the number of deaths, this report is based on my personal interviews written for Rah-e Sabz (Jaras) and some of my colleagues employed by or working for Kalemeh, Saham News, Rooz Online, the Iranian Teachers' Association, the Mourning Mothers website, Radio Farda, Voice of America (VOA), BBC, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, and the follow-up committee for the victims.

The interviews, some in-person, were conducted with the family members of 43 victims.

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The Latest from Iran (15 July): Remembering the Post-Election Dead

Poster of the three post-election prisoners killed in Kahrizak detention centre (see 0625 GMT)

1910 GMT: Reformist Watch. Arshama3's Blog has posted a useful critique of the comments of Mehdi Karroubi's advisor Mojtaba Vahedi (see 0815 and 1440 GMT), considering not only the approach to the 2012 Parliamentary elections but also "his refreshingly open comments" on "taboo topics" like the killing of dissidents in the 1980s.

1900 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Over the last two days, we have been considering the claimed statement by Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, the President's one-time "spiritual mentor", backing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but criticising the "deviant current" around him. Now Bibak, a site close to the Ayatollah, is denying the interview --- supposedly with Mehr --- ever took place.

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The Latest from Iran (12 June): Two Years Ago Today....

In addition to our coverage, Iran News Now and Dissected News will be live-blogging any developments on the 2nd anniversary of the 2009 Presidential election.

2010 GMT: The Anniversary. A short video has been posted of security forces filmed by one of their own in Vali-e Asr Square in Tehran today:

1945 GMT: Currency Watch. The conservative Ayande News posts criticism of the Central Bank's 11% devaluation of the Iranian toman last week, claiming it is linked to problems with support payments for subsidy cuts but that is likely open to make imports more expensive and fuel inflation.

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The Latest from Iran (28 January): The President Protects His Man

1020 GMT: Claim of Day. The hard-line Raja News writes that Mehdi Karroubi went to Behesht-e Zahra cemetery today to honor post-election victims but fled after families protested.

1015 GMT: Sedition Watch. Ayatollah Alamolhoda, the Friday Prayer leader in Mashhad, has proclaimed that some fitna (sedition) leaders and activists are trying to "desecrate" the Supreme Leader.

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Iran Document: The Indictment for the Abuses at Kahrizak Prison (Rah-e-Sabz)

A source forwards an English translation, posted on the opposition website Rah-e-Sabz on 5 January, of the Tehran military prosecutor's 27-page indictment against 12 alleged perpretrators of the post-election abuses and killings at the Kahrizak detention centre. The text is introduced with a lengthy analysis:

The full text of the indictment against the accused in the Kahrizak case, signed by the Deputy Military Prosecutor of Tehran, Abbas Parsapour, has recently come to the possession of the Jaras (the Rah-e Sabz (Green Path) Movement). The document, file number 88/4703 and dated 25 Azar 1388 (16 December 2009), is organized in 27 pages. Twelve names appear in this indictment as the accused.

Eleven of the 12 accused who are charged with the crimes in this case are members of the armed forces and one person is a civilian, a hooligan who worked with the law enforcement forces. The highest ranking accused in this case is the commander of the Law Enforcement Forces in the Greater Tehran area (Brigadier General Azizollah Rajabzadeh).

The names of several high-ranking officials of the judiciary also appear in the indictment, but apparently these individuals who issued the orders (making the detainees subject to the conditions in the Kahrizak Detention Center) have not been officially acknowledged by this document as the accused.

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