The Latest from Iran (24 November): Corruption and Torture...From Tehran to Oxford

Nikahang Kowsar's Mehdi Hashemi2045 GMT: Currency Watch. The Iranian rial, already at a historic low against the US dollar (see 1250 GMT), has slipped another 0.9% to 13560:1.

2035 GMT: The Battle Within. Alef, the website linked to key MP Ahmad Tavakoli --- a leading critic of the Government --- complains that the President has extended his "red line" against prosecution from his Cabinet to his advisors.

Another Government critic, MP Ali Motahari, has criticised both the raid on Iran newspaper and the ban on the reformist Etemaad. At the same time, he said that if Ali Akbar Javanfekr, the Presidential advisor and managing editor of Iran sentenced to a year in prison, and his colleagues had protested over the brutality against post-election protesters, they would not have experienced such a disaster.

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Iran Snapshot: Oxford Investigates Ph.D. of Rafsanjani's Son (Syal)

The son of the former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani is being investigated by Oxford University after claims that his successful doctoral thesis proposal was written with the help of others.

Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former head of Iran's state-owned gas company, began a five-year DPhil course in the Iranian constitution at the faculty of oriental studies in October.

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