The Latest from Iran (26 March): Ahmadinejad Grabs the Spotlight

President Ahmadinejad with Afghan President Karzai (left) and Tajik President Rahmon (right)

See also The Latest from Iran (25 March): Expanding the Sanctions

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2050 GMT: Nuclear Watch. If true, this Associated Press report does not bode well for the resumption of talks on 13 April over Iran's uranium enrichment:

[Diplomats say] sensibilities generated by failed previous rounds and disputes on what should be discussed are keeping them from finding a venue.

They say the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China oppose Iran's choice of Istanbul because the last round of talks there 14 months ago ended in failure.

They say Iran, in turn, rejects Vienna because it is home to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is trying to probe allegations Tehran secretly worked on nuclear weapons.

The diplomats said Monday other venues are still being discussed and the start of the talks is not in jeopardy.

(For what's it worth, I think this is posturing and the talks will go ahead in Istanbul --- if not, this would be a slap in the face by the US and allies to Turkey, as it tries to elevate its broker's role in international affairs.)

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The Latest from Iran (11 November): Chest-Thumping

See also Iran Analysis: The Pattern of Confrontation --- Obama Wins, Regime Wins, Iranian People Lose
Iran Snap Analysis: The US Strikes a Military Pose
The Latest from Iran (10 November): Tag-Team Politics

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1655 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Farzaneh Mirvand, the wife of detained journalist Siamak Ghaderi, talks about the abuse of her husband in Evin Prison:

Even thinking about the days that my husband was in Ward 209 is very difficult for me. He was in solitary confinement for 34 days under harsh interrogations, was blindfolded, beaten up with a baton and threatened in order to force him to give a false confession.

At one of his interrogation sessions, an interrogator slapped him on his face so hard that he and the chair he was sitting in hit the ground. My husband is still suffering from the injury to his neck that he suffered during that fall.

Yes, for these pressures and other violations. I have gone to every place I could and have told the authorities about them, but they just laughed at me.

Even during his trial, my husband told the judge about his tortures, but he, without paying any attention to my husband’s remarks, issued a verdict based on the false confessions taken from my husband.

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The Latest from Iran (18 October): The Same Old Mahmoud

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1955 GMT: Movie Watch. Doesn't look like the Supreme Leader will be going to the premiere of Footloose --- he told a crowd in Kermanshah, "Hollywood is in the service of human degradation."

1858 GMT: Currency Watch. Despite the Central Bank's promises to strengthen the value of the Iranian currency, the rial is still 1250 to $1 on the free market, as opposed to an official rate of 1056:1.

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The Latest from Iran (30 September): Where's the President's Right-Hand Man?

1955 GMT: Bank Fraud Watch. MP Gholamreza Assadolahi has said the report on the $2.6 billion bank fraud will be sent next week to Parliament's Article 90 Commission, supervising Government activities. Assadolahi said only 1% of the money has been returned to Iran.

1950 GMT: Press Feud. The pro-Ahmadinejad website Doulate Ma throws a punch at the hard-line Kayhan, claiming it has not paid employee insurance for four years and owes 12 billion ($950 million) to social welfare funds.

1945 GMT: CyberWatch. Khodnevis reports that VPNs [virtual private networks], which allow remote access to central networks, are "slowly dying" in the country with most VPN accounts shut down.

An EA correspondent, with excellent sources in Iran, confirms the story.

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The Latest from Iran (24 September): The Imprisonment of the Filmmakers

Mojtaba Mirtahmasb1635 GMT: Press Release of the Day. And, as it's slow, let's give some airtime to General Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior military advisor to the Supreme Leader: “The US and Zionists are desperately seeking to rein in, restrict, replace...or take control of some of these revolutions” in the Middle East and North Africa.

Rahim Safavi, whose brother has told Western diplomats of the "political coup" of the 2009 Presidential election from the Supreme Leader's office, said the "West" started a “division of labour” system with France tasked to help bring Western-supported individuals to power through the National Transitional Council. He declared the US was seeking to infiltrate Egypt's Parliamentary Presidential balllots and interfere in the proposed changes to Egypt's Constitution.

Safavi urged Libyans and Egyptians to prevent this foreign interference, adding that the US was about to lose its political position in the region and said Israel was also facing a difficult situation.

Moving to Central Asia, Safavi said that terrorist groups in Afghanistan were linked to "Western hegemony", but the US would suffer the same fate as the former Soviet Union and finally leave the country after a humiliating defeat.

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The Latest from Iran (16 July): "They Will Opt for Turmoil"

1830 GMT: Energy Watch. Deutsche Welle summarises a series of recent statements by Deputy Minister of Energy Mohammad Behzad, including that the Government owes $5 billion to the Ministry and that the country is that less than 2,000 megawatts from a general blackout.

Minister of Energy Majid Namjoo has been summoned to Parliament next Tuesday to answer questions.

1655 GMT: Genie Watch. Hojatoleslam Hassan Ramezani, a scholar in the religious city of Qom, has said that contact with djinns can only be with the permission of "God's vali" (the Supreme Election). He adds, however, that if you can get this permission, these djinns will be of political use: they can predict elections.

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The Latest from Iran (18 June): An Economic Squeeze?

1520 GMT: Allah and Politics. Mehr claims a newly-appointed governor in Sari Province in northern Iran has been dismissed after officials asked for guidance from God through divination.

The Ministry of Interior had appointed Ali Babaei Karnami as late last month but he was dismissed Tuesday as a formal inauguration was being organised.

“Since divination showed a bad result, we preferred to look for another choice,” current Governor Ali Akbar Tahaei said.

Tahaei said he had named a replacement and added, "Karnami should not be irritated for not taking up the post because I’ll need him to serve at a provincial municipality posting.”

Supporters of the Supreme Leader and of President Ahmadinejad clashed earlier this month over the appointment of a governor for Fars Province.

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The Latest from Iran (27 October): In Transit

2130 GMT: Corruption Watch. According to Peyke Iran, former Minister of Interior Mostafa Pourmohammadi has said that, on behalf of the Supreme Leader, consideration of some files of economic fraud has been postponed.

2115 GMT: Rafsanjani vs. the Islamic Republic? Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guard, has declared that if Islamic values disintegrate, Iran will proceed to a collapse.

So who could pose such a threat to Islamic values? Khabar Online has an intriguing reference: the arrest of sedition leaders was discussed in the National Security Council, but President Ahmadinejad did not present documents for his allegations against former President Hashemi Rafsanjani.

2045 GMT: The Khamenei Roadshow. So what did the Supreme Leader do on the 9th day of his stay in Qom?

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