The Latest from Iran (11 June): A Fraud Case Reaches the Government

2030 GMT: Fraud Watch. Next week's Moscow talks on Iran's nuclear programme will proceed after European Union foreign policy representative Catherine Ashton and top Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili spoke for one hour on the phone tonight.

There was chatter that the discussions were in jeopardy after days of increasingly negative exchanges in the media between the two sides, but a Western diplomat said, “Moscow is a green light."

A European diplomat maintained that the US and Europe had held the line on no preparatory talks before Moscow, unless Iran discussed issues of political substance: “Jalili went on and on about need for a technical meeting. Ashton stayed firm.” He continued:

[The Iranians] have now backed down from that and appear prepared to engage on our proposals, which is important for us. We will respond to their ideas --- note the different terminology. We have concrete proposals, they have issues/ideas.

A spokesman for Ashton set out the apparent deal: Ashton and Jalili “agreed on the need for Iran to engage on the E3+3 proposals", while Ashton "conveyed the E3+3′s readiness to respond to the issues raised by the Iranians in Baghdad".

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The Latest from Iran (2 May): Books and Politics

Banned: Cheshmeh Publishing House1910 GMT: Media Watch. Reza Moghadassi, the managing editor of the conservative site Mehr, has criticised the Government's media law for "restricting the free flow of information more and more each day".

Moghadessia claimed that the Government's decree would allow the Ministry of Communications to filter a website immediately after a ban was issued by the Media Supervisory Council.

1850 GMT: Gasoline and Price Rises Don't Mix. Earlier today (see 0930 GMT) we reported that the price of subsidised gasoline is set to quadruple from 100 Toman (just over $0.08 at official rate) to 400 Toman ($0.33).

Now ISNA reports that people are rushing gas stations in Tehran to buy the 100 Toman fuel while they can. There has been a 600% increase in consumption in the past two days, with police at some stations to control crowds.

1840 GMT: Parliament v. President. Speaking at a meeting of the Unity Front faction, leading MP Gholam Reza Mesbahi Moghaddam has described three Parliamentary moves against the Government to stop price rises.

However, it appears that the Guardian Council may have raised the stakes on another front. Spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei said the Council has rejected a Parliamentary measure to spur impeachment of the President if he fails to answer more than six questions satisfactorily.

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Iran Special: The Inside Story of the Nuclear Talks in Istanbul (Rozen)

See also Iran Special: Why Both Sides Shifted in Nuclear Talks --- And What Comes Next

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Europe's Catherine Ashton and Iran's Saeed JaliliOver the last three days, we have put out the analysis that 1) sanctions played a role in bringing Iran to the negotiating table over its nuclear programme; 2) Tehran's strategy is to get an easing of those sanctions before it makes any commitment on enrichment of uranium; and 3) the Islamic Republic is concentrating on the European representatives, especially the European Union's Catherine Ashton, to achieve this by splitting them from any "hard line" of the US.

In the most detailed account of last weekend's Istanbul talks so far, Laura Rozen of Al Monitor narrates the story of how the discussions almost collapsed while supporting our interpretation of the Iran's hopes, fears, and manoeuvres:

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New details on the Iran nuclear talks in Istanbul this weekend, which were largely touted as being "positive", now show the meeting had, in fact, deteriorated. 

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The Latest from Iran (15 April): A Setback for the President

Nikahang Kowsar on the dance at the nuclear talks --- European Union's Catherine Ashton to Iran's Saeed Jalili, "This time you have to dance to our bidding"

See also Iran Analysis: The Nuclear Talks --- The Effectiveness of Sanctions, The Effectiveness of Iran's Uranium Enrichment
The Latest from Iran (14 April): The Nuclear "Talks About More Talks" Open in Istanbul

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1922 GMT: Supreme Leader Watch. Ayatollah Khamenei has laid down the law for his officials --- "Giving preference to society's advantages instead of personal benefits helps the progress of the country."

1915 GMT: CyberWatch. Mohammand Hassan Hosseinpour, an Internet specialist in the Revolutionary Guards, has assured people who might be worried about diminished Web provision under Iran's plans: a "Basij network" will be launched for easy access in the "national intranet".

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The Latest from Iran (14 October): The Plot and Beyond

See also Iran 6-Point Analysis: Obama and the Regime Walk Tightropes Over the Plot

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Manssor Arbabsiar1755 GMT: Parliament Watch. A sharp extract from the resignation letter of MP Ali Motahari, who is leaving Parliament because of its failure to interrogate the President, "The Supreme Leader's interference in Majlis matters is not advisable."

1748 GMT: Bank Fraud Watch. Mehr names three more companies, all in Qazvin Province, in the $2.6 billion bank fraud: Setaregan Amir Mansour, Tejarat Gostar, and Amir Mansour Iranian.

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