The Latest from Iran (22 April): More Questions About Intelligence

1805 GMT: our Tehran Friday Prayer Update --- Part 2. Ayatollah Emami Kashani, unlike other Iranian figures like the President, dared to mention this week's dispute over the "resignation" of the Minister of Intelligence.

The Ayatollah said the uproar was all due to "Western media": “Through such acts they intend to suggest there is division and conflict in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

1800 GMT: Your Tehran Friday Prayer Update. Ayatollah Emami Kashani steps up to the podium today to pronounce on the Islamic and popular nature of the recent revolutions in the Middle East, explaining saying that violence will not stop the uprisings.

The cleric condemned the silence of Arab leaders over "massacres", “Those who are among the Muslim nations, instead of preventing the killing of the Muslim people of Bahrain, Libya, Yemen and other countries and supporting the people, talk nonsense."

There is no report that Emami Kashani said the word "Syria" in his address.

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Iran Cartoon of the Day: A New Game of Intelligence (Kowsar)

Nikahang Kowsar portrays the latest power games within the regime, thanks to Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi, President Ahmadinejad, and the finger of the Supreme Leader:

Iran Cartoon of the Day: The Battle Within (Kowsar)

Nikahang Kowsar ponders the situation of the regime through its chess pieces --- "If the other side remains in prison, we have to beat each other":

The Latest from Iran (4 April): Taking Away Zeroes

1725 GMT: Mona Lisa Watch. The head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization says Tehran has severed all ties with the Louvre Museum because the French art center has not fulfilled a promise to hold an exhibition in Iran.

Hamid Baghaei said that Iran had put on two exhibitions at the Louvre, one showcasing objects from the Safavid era and the other introducing the ancient Persian Civilization, and had given the French until the beginning of the Iranian year (21 March) for an exact date for the exhibition in Iran and a list of the artifacts to be displayed.

1715 GMT: A Stonewall on Oil. Khabar Online, the conservative website linked to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, features President Ahmadinejad's press conference answer to a question about $11 billion in missing oil funds: "What answer is there to give?"

Parliament's Energy Commission, the Supreme Audit Court, and other conservative publications have all raised questions about the shortfall in oil revenues.

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Iran Video: Politics and Cartoons --- An Interview with Nikahang Kowsar

Tavaana, an institute for Iranian civil society, interviews Nikhang Kowsar in this two-part video about his cartoons and political activism:

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Iran in Cartoons: A Green Valentine for Ahmadinejad & The Theft of A Martyr

Cartoons following up the marches of 25 Bahman on Monday:

MAYA NAYESTANI: "THE THEFT OF A MARTYR" (ON REGIME EFFORTS TO CLAIM SLAIN PROTESTER SANEE ZHALEH AS A SUPPORTER)

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Iran Cartoon of the Day: Tehran's Pharaoh (Kowsar)

Nikahang Kowsar looks from Cairo to Tehran and notices the rulers of Iran:

The Latest from Iran (26 January): Blindness, Silence, and Injustice

2100 GMT: Nuke Talks. A hat tip to Scott Peterson of the Christian Science Monitor for his article today trying to sort out the details of the failed Istanbul talks on Iran's nuclear programme....

After my initial criticism of the US media's coverage of Istanbul, Peterson followed up with a message, which we noted in our subsequent analysis. And he has continued to consider those points while other US reporters --- most of whom have not noticed the key points at issue in the talks --- have moved on.

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The Latest from Iran (22 December): Chaining the Balloon

2155 GMT: Sedition Watch. Kurdish defendants in a trial in Tehran have said that they were paid $30 million by British intelligence to carry out terrorist acts and assassinations. The defendants also implicated elements in Iraqi intelligence "opposed to Iran".

2040 GMT: Subsidy Cuts Watch. Ali Chenar, writing for Tehran Bureau, offers some vivid first-hand testimony about the effect of the rise in gasoline prices on taxi drivers and on airlines. One cabbie summarises his reaction when the increases were announced: "Right away, I knew I was bankrupt."

1950 GMT: Picture of the Day. Journalist Abdolreza Tajik after he was released tonight on $500,000 bail (hat tip to Mehdi Saharkhiz):

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The Latest from Iran (20 December): Gasoline, Bread, and Diplomacy

1754 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Detained attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh has ended her hunger strike.

Sotoudeh's refusal of food and water was her third since she was detained in early September.

1750 GMT: Subsidy Cuts Watch. Fars reports that the "real" price of bread will be posted tomorrow.

1745 GMT: Policing Cyber-Knowledge. Peyke reports that Iranian authorities have blocked the websites of Google Books, 4Shared, and Dehkhoda Encyclopedia.

1615 GMT: Corruption Watch. Iran Prosecutor General Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei has said that 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi will have to stand trial on corruption charges.

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