The Latest from Iran (6 October): "There is No Crisis"

One of a series of photos in Mehr showing a re-opened Tehran Bazaar

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See also The Latest from Iran (5 October): The Regime Prays for the Weekend

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2053 GMT: Currency Watch. A high-ranking manager of Eqtesad Novin Bank has been arrested on charges of illegal currency deals and loans, according to Rah-e Sabz.

Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi says "30 main disturbers of the currency market" have been arrested, one with $400,000.

2045 GMT: Bazaar Watch. The opposition site Rah-e Sabz reports that the Qazvin Bazaar in northwest Iran will go on strike tomorrow, with a protest at noon.

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EA Video Analysis: Iran --- The Currency Collapse, The Closing of the Bazaar, and Wednesday's Protests

The latest EA "Window on the World" explains Wednesday's dramatic turn of events in Iran --- from the decline of the currency to the closure of the Tehran Bazaar to the first significant public protests in the capital in 18 months --- examining the economic and political situation to assess what might happen next:

The Latest from Iran (4 October): Protest Resurfaces --- A Ripple or a Wave?

Footage from Wednesday's closure of the Tehran Bazaar and nearby protests

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2051 GMT: Currency All-is-Well Alert. Mohammad Keshti-Aray, the head of the Gold-Sellers Union, has said that the Rial strengthened to 30000:1 to 31000:1 vs. the US dollar --- Tuesday's rate, the last posted on leading website, was 35500:1 --- and that the price for gold coin is down as well.

Keshti-Aray assured that dollar and gold rates would be "clarified" on Saturday,

2047 GMT: Loyalty Watch. Prominent conservative politician Habiballah Asgarouladi has said that "fitna" (sedition) and the "deviant current" do not accept national unity, which is possible only around the Supreme Leader.

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Iran Snapshot: A Currency's Fall, Bazaar Closed, Protests....

Claimed footage of Wednesday's protests near the Tehran Bazaar: "Bazaaris, support, support, support us!"

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Some Iranian media posted brief reports of events --- Mehr, for example,wrote about closure of the Bazaar and clashes with police, with arrests around the Bazaar and nearby streets and squares.  Further confirmation came, even as outlets offered contradictory signals about how to cope with the events. "Hard-line" sites such as Raja News played up the threat of "hooligans". Initially, the head of the Bazaar's guilds tried to play down the incident of "closed shops because of unknown elements" and said that most merchants had operated as normal; a later declaration, however, a later declaration gave up trying to minimise the situation: "Despite criticism of the government and President Ahmadinejad, we will defend the nezam (system) and the country with our lives."

As for the Government, already besieged by the economic situation and the collapsing currency, it issued the statement that a Cabinet meeting had agreed steps to control the currency market. No details were offered, however.

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The Latest from Iran (5 September): It's the Economy, Stupid

See also Iran Snapshot: So How Does the Supreme Leader Spend His Day?

WikiLeaks and Iran Document: Why US Diplomats Suspected Fraud in 2009 Election
Iran Snapshot: A Protest With a Difference --- This One is by Kermanshah’s Basiji
Iran: Assessing Latest Cyber-Threat, Rogue Certificate Part 2
The Latest from Iran (4 September): Shrinking Lake, Growing Protests

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0350 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist Nader Karimi Jooni, who has worked for Jahan-e-Sanat and Shargh, has been released 33 months after his arrest.

0335 GMT: When An Arrest is not an Arrest Watch. More from the slightly surreal press conference of Iran Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei (see 1430 GMT)....

Mohseni Ejei explained that opposition figures Mir Hossein Ejei and Mehdi Karroubi were not under arrest -- "staying at home", i.e., their strict house arrests, was to their benefit to prevent "other things".

The Prosecutor General then applied his logic to the detentions of youths for water games in parks in Tehran and Mashhad. These were "not crimes" but "immoral actions must be punished".

And other acts escaping punishment altogether? Nothing was being done in cases of bank fraud and an alleged $11 billion in oil money "missing" from Iran's foreign reserves.

0315 GMT: He's Back. The President's right-hand man, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, has accompanied Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the official visit to Tajikistan. It is Rahim-Mashai's first trip with Ahmadinejad in four months.

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The Latest from Iran (10 October): The Threat of Foreign Mice

1925 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Azeri activist Hossein Nasiri has been sentenced to one year in prison.

1830 GMT: Currency Watch. Iran's problems with foreign exchange appear to be affecting production. Paint producers have been crippled by problems with imports, leading to lack of stock for retailers. Steel producers, who import 40% of their raw material, are having problems with lines of credit and must pay a cash premium for shipping insurance. A similar situation is reported with importers of car parts. Reports continue of lines at foreign exchange markets.

1810 GMT: Academic Corner: Parliament is expressing strong objections to Government moves, in its 5th Budget Plan, to partly privatise Iran's universities.

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The Latest from Iran (29 September): Decline and Punishment

1800 GMT: Sanctions Watch. The US Government has asked Japan to completely withdraw from the Azadegan oil development field in southwest Iran, according to Yomiuri Shinbun. 

Japanese officials as saying that Washington wants the Inpex Corporation, which has a 10% stake in the field, to leave Iran. If it does not, it could be targeted for unilateral US sanctions.

Toyota Motors withdrew from Iran in June to avoid US sanctions.

1750 GMT: The Battle Within. And another analyst joins in (see 1235 GMT): Reza Aslan says, "[Ahmadinejad] is going home to a country in political turmoil, an economy on the verge of utter collapse, and a government in total deadlock."

1740 GMT: Yes, I Guess Social Media Really is Unimportant. In the context of this week's discussion on EA on social media and activism, I found that interesting....

Iranian state-controlled television is calling Facebook and Twitter the "hidden enemies" of Iran, used by Western intelligence agencies to recruit new members and gather data on individuals. Mardomak has posted a video.

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The Latest from Iran (26 September): Striking News

1835 GMT: Family Matters. A group of 40 women's rights activists has delivered a petition with 5000 signatures to the Parliament urging legislators to halt all efforts in "promoting temporary marriages and polygamy."

1825 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rozita Vaseghi has been moved out of solitary detention after five months. 

Vaseghi, a Baha’i follower, was arrested in 2005 and summoned in January 2010 for sentencing. She received a five-year prison term and wasbanned from leaving Iran for then years. She was taken into custory in March.

Rah-e-Sabz does the maths and concludes that 1100 years in prison sentences have been handed out to 145 detainees in Evin Prisoner. The youngest political prisoner is 19, the oldest 73.

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