The Latest from Iran (18 July): Bazaar Resolutions?

2030 GMT: Bazaar Shutdowns. A different type of bazaar closing today, as the stalls of Sunni vendors in Zahedan --- site of last Thursday's suicide bombings --- were attacked by plainclothes assailants.

2013 GMT: "Nobody Watches Our TV" Shocker. Ayatollah Haeri Shirazi, a member of the Assembly of Experts, has noted the difficulty in preventing access to programmes through satellites and then complained, “The current situation is not so much in our favour. Our [TV] productions do not have any viewers. They are not attractive enough. It is just like our soccer. Our soccer team is ranked 70th in the world just like our cultural, TV, and film productions.”

NEW Iran’s New Guidance: Good, Good Lovin’ (But Only at Night)
Change for Iran: Why Twitter Has Made a Difference
Iran Analysis: When “War Chatter” Poses as Journalism (Step Up, Time Magazine)
The Latest from Iran (17 July): Back to “Normal”?

2010 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Students and lawyers Zoubin Nasiri, Kazem Taghdiri, and Ali Tahami have been detained for three weeks.

2000 GMT: A Message to the Clergy. Gholam Reza Mesbahi Moghaddam, of the Association of Combatant Clergy, has said that those establishing "jame'eye voaz velayi" (clergy supporting the Supreme Leader) should stop creating division. Mesbahi Moghaddam said he did not accept the new organisation and warned that clergy should not act as a political party.

1940 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. Observers are trying to get to grips with the significance of the last 12 days of closings and conflicts in Iran's bazaars. Even the Los Angeles Times attempts an interpretation, but the most interesting reading comes from Rah-e-Sabz, which assesses whether the bazaaris or the "conservative" Motalefeh Party --- historically a key force in the bazaars --- has been the driving force behind the revolt against the Government's proposed 70% business tax increase.

1910 GMT: Parliament v. President. Members of Parliament told Minister of Trade Mehdi Ghazanfari that "he is lying in their faces" when he said that agricultural exports are higher than imports. Ghazanfari received a negative vote and is one step closer to impeachment.

MPs claimed that a "mafia" of 3 or 4 people are responsible for fruit imports and noted that even Iran's prayer cloths come from China.

1855 GMT: Ali Asghari, the Parliamentary advisor from Iran's Strategic Center, has warned that the country cannot be governed by one faction behaving like a clan. Asghari says cooperation of hardliners and reformists is necessary to overcome the crisis.

1850 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Labour activist Mansur Osanloo, whose family was visited by Mehdi Karroubi this weekend (see 1535 GMT), has again been charged with propaganda against the system.

1844 GMT: Guardian Council Manoeuvres. We reported earlier this week that the appointment of three of the six "legal" representatives on the 12-member Guardian Council was going to be a setback for "hardliners" and President Ahmadinejad, with their favourites --- including current member Gholam-Hossein Elham not on the shortlist.

The three appointments have now been made, with Mohammad Reza Alizadeh, Mohammad Salimi, and Siamak Rahpeyk taking their seats. Still, there are rumblings: MP and Government foe Ahmad Tavakoli complaining that the process was too hasty.

1840 GMT: Musical Shutdown. Reports indicate that all concerts of the National Orchestra have been cancelled for a year.

1800 GMT: Mahmoud Stays on Script. Asked about Thursday's suicide bombings in Zahedan, President Ahmadinejad pulled out all the phrases for the Islamic Republic News Agency:

"No grouping other than US-backed terrorist groups which are devoid of human feelings can commit such acts....We are friends with the Pakistani nation,…but the Pakistani government should be held accountable....The puppeteers pulling the strings in this show will get nothing....Such aggressive policies will only fuel public hatred."

The only interesting twist in that script is Ahmadinejad's reference to Pakistan: is he really threatening a strain in relations --- note the remarks of a leading MP earlier today that Iran might send troops into Pakistan to chase terrorists (see 1520 GMT) --- or is this a bit of posturing?

1550 GMT: After the Bombing. A third member of Parliament, Hossein Ali Shahriari, has resigned over security issues following last Thursday's suicide bombings in Sistan and Baluchistan Province.

1540 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Peyke Iran claims that Layla Tavassoli has been sentenced to two years in prison for participation in demonstrations and for an interview with Radio Farda and BBC Persian.

RAHANA claims that detained women's rights activist Mahboubeh Karami has been denied surgery on her nose.

1535 GMT: Karroubi Watch. Visiting the family of detained labour activist Mansur Osanloo, Mehdi Karroubi recalled:

At the time when we started our resistance and Imam [Khomeini] started his campaign, the foundations of the revolution was based on this principle that no one would suffer from oppression. The barbaric practices that now are being committed against individuals and their families is an oppression against the people that even the Shah’s regime, with all its corruption, would not have committed. I, as a member of this system, am ashamed, but I don’t see these treatments as part of Imam [Khomeini]’s path and Islam.

Osanloo's daughter-in-law was allegedly kidnapped and beaten in June.

Karroubi expressed the hope that all political prisoners would be freed and offered condolences to those mourning the loss of loved ones after last Thursday's bombings in Sistan and Baluchistan Province.

1520 GMT: Foreign Poses. The head of Parliament's National Security Commission, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, is putting out a lot of wisdom today. After meeting the Swiss ambassador, who represents American interests, Boroujerdi claimed that the US Congress has informed the Swiss envoy that it is ready to hold negotiations with Iran. Boroujerdi responded, "[When] the US is aiding terrorists and caused the Zahedan incident and imposed unilateral sanctions beyond [the UN Security Council] resolution, how can it expect [us] to negotiate?"

(Mr Boroujerdi, please do get in touch with us and let us know which US Congressmen have been talking to you of this hope for discussions --- because we haven't seen any sign of this back-channel being established.)

Boroujerdi also raised the possibility of sending Iranian forces into Pakistan to fight "terrorism".

1525 GMT: Fashion Police. Back from a break to find that Iran Prosecutor General Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei has called for tighter enforcement of the criminal code against dangerous fashion: "Unfortunately the law ... which considers violation of the Islamic dress code as a punishable crime, has not been implemented in the country in the past 15 years. Under the law, violators of public chastity should be punished by being sentenced to up to two months in jail or 74 lashes."

But has Mohseni-Ejei talked to the President about this? After all, it was only a few weeks ago that Ahmadinejad was warning against the excesses of the "morality police".

0930 GMT: Defiance. The Parliament has passed a  bill mandating the pursuit of 20% enrichment of uranium. The legislation now needs approval by the Guardian Council.

The bill also requires Iran to "retaliate" against the inspection of Iranian ships and any refusal of fuel to Iranian planes at international airports.

0920 GMT: Energy Watch (Revolutionary Guard Edition). Rooz Online claims that the supposed withdrawal of companies linked to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps from gas projects in the South Pars field is actually a deception. Trying to avoid Western sanctions, the IRGC has merely changed the name of the company involved in the project, retaining the head.

0750 GMT: Sunday Diversions. In the Sydney Morning Herald, Michelle Wranik writes of a two-day visit to Isfahan in which she "is charmed --- and perpetually delayed --- by the kindness of Iranians."

And we bring news from a different front with a look at Iran's latest guidance, "Good, Good Lovin' (But Only at Night)".

0650 GMT: Doing It for the Young People. Reformist MP Darius Ghanbari notes that the budget of Iran's National Youth Organisation has tripled to $39 million, but claims that the Government abuses this for propaganda festivals instead of supporting youth over problems such as unemployment, unstable marriages, and depression.

Meanwhile Minister of Science and Higher Education Kamran Daneshjoo says his ministry wants to return students to Iran by creating job opportunities.

0630 GMT: We start this morning at the Tehran Bazaar where --- after a day of conflicting reports --- it appears that business is back "as usual". Mehr News publishes a set of photographs showing open stalls and the bustle of shoppers:



Yet even this apparent settlement, with the compromise of a 15% business tax increase --- the Government had tried to impose 70% --- has its far-from-resolved aspects. There is the longer-term economic issue, with the Government now receiving only about $4.5 billion of the $20 billion it had hoped to reap from the measure, and then there's the lingering presence of what it takes to get the "normal" in Iran. Note our emphasis in the following paragraph from the Los Angeles Times:

"Every year we used to manage to convince the tax office to pay a 7% increase compared to the previous year," said one wholesaler in the fabric market, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal by security forces keeping a close tab on merchants. "Now it's 15%. It seems like the tax office is the winner."

And then there's the other fronts....

The Aftermath of the Bombing

While the regime puts out the rat-a-tat-tat of "foreign involvement" in Thursday's suicide bombings in Sistan and Baluchistan Province in southeastern Iran, one of the two members of Parliaments who resigned over the event, Abbas Ali Noura, puts a  far different question: "Does the blood of Sistan and Baluchistan people have less colour than that of people in Burkina Faso [in Africa]?"

Parliament v. President

Reformist MP Hossein Kashefi, with a bit of coding, puts in this jab --- published in the far-from-reformist Aftab News --- at the Government on behalf of the people, "One party corresponds in no way with Imam [Khomeini]'s views; we shouldn't present him as someone who didn't accept democratic bases [for the Islamic Republic]."

Comments

[Catherine]

@ The Aftermath of the Bombing

The 2 MPs of Sistan Baluchistan Province who resigned did so in protest to the government's “lack of attention” to “security issues” in their province.

Iranian media report that Hoseinali Shahriyari, Zahedan representative wrote to the speaker of the parliament: “Despite my repeated appeals, officials failed to accomplish even a minimum of their responsibilities in providing security for the people’s lives and property.”

Abbasali Noura, representative of the people of Zabol also handed in his resignation in protest to “lack of coordinated management”, “failure to make focused decisions at the executive level” and “lack of executive power” in Sistan & Baluchistan Province.
More: http://www.zamaaneh.com/enzam/2010/07/two-mps-resign-from-iran.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.zamaaneh.com/enzam/2010/07/two-mps-r...

[Catherine]

@ 0650 GMT I don't see how Minister Daneshoo's response to MP Darius Ghanbari is a "rebuttal". It seems more like a non sequitur.

[Catherine]

0750 GMT: Sunday Diversions. In the Sydney Morning Herald, Michelle Wranik writes of a two-day visit to Isfahan

This article brings back memories which are actually never far from my mind anyway. We had very similar experiences everywhere in Iran, from street encounters to invitations for lunch at peoples' homes. And one afternoon in Isfahan I decided to re-visit Imam Square on my own while "the boys" reurned to the hotel for a siesta. I was accosted by teachers who wanted to practise Engliash and any number of other passers-by. I'd say the only difference between my experiences and the author's is that I(we) started to actively seek out and encourage these contacts because they were the best part of being there!

[Catherine]

Iran scientist claims US swap plan

Shahram Amiri said on Saturday that he was also pressured to lie about Iran's nuclear programme.

In an interview with Iran's state television, Amiri said he was presented with fake nuclear documents by US officials who asked him to publicly claim that he had brought them to the US from Iran.

"They said 'if you say that you are an agent of the Iranian intelligence services, the US can swap you as a spy who has been arrested in a foreign country with the three [American] spies who were arrested near the Iraqi border inside Iran."
More: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/20107184120526389.html" rel="nofollow">http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/20...

[Catherine]

Evin’s Ward 350 Faces Drug Smuggling Issue, Political Prisoners Denied Books

Sedaghat, the head of Evin prison, has repeatedly denied families of political prisoners the right to deliver books to their loved ones. The family members are now questioning why books are prohibited, while narcotics are openly smuggled into ward 350 without a problem.
http://persian2english.com/?p=12822" rel="nofollow">http://persian2english.com/?p=12822

[Catherine]

More on the temporary suspension of registration in Iran for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as a result of the UN resolution affecting banks and financial institutions that do business with Iran.
http://www.rferl.org/content/Werent_the_Sanctions_Not_Supposed_To_Hurt_Ordinary_Iranians/2102326.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.rferl.org/content/Werent_the_Sanctio...

[Catherine]

Iran's parliament has passed a bill obligating Tehran to continue 20-percent uranium enrichment, defying mounting Western pressure to halt such work. The legislation still needs to be approved by the hard-line Guardians Council before becoming law.

The legislation also stipulates that Iran also must "retaliate" against the inspection of Iranian ships and against the refusal to give fuel to Iranian planes at international airports.
http://www.rferl.org/content/Iran_Passes_Bill_On_Uranium_Enrichment/2102848.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.rferl.org/content/Iran_Passes_Bill_O...

[Catherine]

More from Amiri's interview with IRIB yesterday:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=135223§ionid=351020101" rel="nofollow">http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=135223&sec...

How on earth does he think the Iranian authorities will buy this?:

"They wanted me to allegedly confess that I was an intelligence agent of the Islamic Republic and that what had happened during my captivity was part of a scenario by Iran's intelligence agency," Amiri explained. "They told me if you say that you are an agent of Iran's intelligence services, the US could swap you as a spy who has been arrested in a foreign country with the three American spies who were arrested near the Iraqi border inside Iran," he explained.

[Catherine]

IRI has powerful friends in high places

Ambassadors and heads of missions of five member states of the Bolivarian Alliance of the People of Our America (ALBA) signed a declaration in Tehran on Wednesday expressing support for Iran’s right to continue its peaceful nuclear activities.
http://mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1116995" rel="nofollow">http://mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1...

[Catherine]

True or False?
"...despite the flowery language Arab and Persian leaders customarily offer in public discourse, the two sides actually hate each other."

The Middle East's private little war
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/17/INMJ1EDT0K.DTL" rel="nofollow">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/...

[WitteKr]

Getting tough(er... again): Iran's prosecutor called on Sunday for tighter checks on women who fail to observe Islamic dress code in public, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. - "Unfortunately the law ... which considers violation of the Islamic dress code as a punishable crime, has not been implemented in the country in the past 15 years," said general prosecutor Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei. "Under the law, violators of public chastity should be punished by being sentenced to up to two months in jail or 74 lashes." Reuters/Mehrnews
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100718/wl_nm/us_iran_islamic_dress_1" rel="nofollow">http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100718/wl_nm/us_ir...

[Catherine]

WitteKr,
It's so obvious that womens' clothing is the only thing the regime still feels it has any power over. If they can't prevent corruption, inflation, terrorist attacks, sanctions, and the ability of the population to seek out inofrmation and think freely, at least they can dictate what women wear and what kind of haircuts men can get (and rig an election).

[Catherine]

Arshama,
I have just finished reading the article you posted on 16 July: The Silence of the Mullahs, excellent critique by Mehdi Khalaji
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/opedsPDFs/4c3f156d0147d.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/opedsPDFs/4c...

I recommend it strongly to anyone who wants some good background on the Shiite clergy that explains their behaviour under the recent past, present and most likely near-future circumstances.

[Gunniy]

I'll second that!

[Arshama]

Bazaar Watch

Hossein Shariatmadari, fundamentalist editor of Keyhan daily, threatened Bazaaris: "if the Bazaar closed down forever, nothing would happen". http://www.kaleme.com/1389/04/27/klm-26095" rel="nofollow">http://www.kaleme.com/1389/04/27/klm-26095
This is only a small part of his attacks against them, accusing them of being only middlesmen, who control prices to their benefit and do not pay taxes. He also cites a "caller" saying, "if the officials are hindered, we will deal with the known elements of sedition".

With best regards from your Bassijis!

[Arshama]

Sanctions Watch

BIMCO (Baltic and International Maritime Council) is preparing to implement recent UN and US sanctions against Iran: https://www.bimco.org/en/Members/News/Ports/201...

Comprehensive list of all IR shipping companies.

[Arshama]

IRGC Watch

The size of Iran’s smuggling industry has been estimated at $12 billion a year, and the IRGC is believed to control much, if not all, of it. The charge is impossible to confirm, of course, but only the Revolutionary Guards have the resources to run such a massive operation—and the influence to keep it from being shut down. Analysts say the organization has the structure of a mafia network. http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/smugglers-for-the-state.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/smugglers-fo...

[Chuck Hamilton]

Reports of the demise of the bazaar strike in Tehran are greatly exaggerated. A minority have gone back and even they are not working as much as usual. Those in Tabriz, Isfahan, Mashhad, and Sanandaj are also ongoing, with Shiraz possibly joining soon. Zahedan, in Sistan va Balochistan province, is currently shut down, allegedly because of violence.

[Chuck Hamilton]

Arshama: No, just a friend I trust in Tehran who's been to the bazaar there today and told me what was going on. I'm sure the LA Times articles (they were in attached blogs if I remember correctly) got their info from Mehr, which is desperately trying to show things are back to normal, being, of course, an arm of the regime.

[Arshama]

Thanks a lot, Chuck. Hopefully the Bazaaris continue to resist.