The Latest from Iran (25 July): The Re-Appearing Fatwa

2100 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Kayvan Samimi, chief editor of the banned publication Nameh has been given a six-year jail term and has been banned from social, political, and cultural activities for 15 years.

1845 GMT: Defining Irony. From Press TV:

An Iranian lawmaker says Tehran plans to file a lawsuit against the US over the inhumane policies adopted by Washington towards the people of Iran.

"It has been agreed that the issue of US violation of human rights as well as its double standard policies be raised in the international community and a lawsuit be filed to seek compensation for some of the damages inflicted on Iran because of it," member of the Majlis Human Rights Committee Zohreh Elahian said on Sunday.

The Iranian lawmaker said American media have turned human rights into a tool by means of which they manipulate world public opinion, adding, “The US uses human rights to pressure Iran while this country does not observe even the most basic articles of the human rights law.”

NEW Iran Analysis: Re-Defining the Green Movement (Verde)
Iran Analysis: Rafsanjani Bowing Out? (Abedin)
UPDATED Iran Media Follow-Up: War, War, War. Blah, Blah, Blah. No Facts. More War. Blah.
The Latest from Iran (24 July): Reviewing the Situation

1825 GMT: The International Front. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has confirmed statements by his Turkish and Brazilian counterparts (see 1410 GMT) that Iran will be ready for discussions on its nuclear programme after the month of Ramadan ends in the second week of September.

1820 GMT: Easing the Energy Squeeze? Mehr News claims that Iran has signed a $1.29 billion deal sending its natural gas to Turkey, which secure 77% of the required funding for completing the 660-kilometre pipeline.

Iran currently exports 25 million cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey per day and the figure could rise to 30 million cubic meters a day.

1810 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. An appellate court has upheld the two-year sentence of Garmsar Azad University student Masoud Babapour.

Journalist Emaduddin Baghi has been sentenced to one year in prison and a five-year ban on political and media activities.

The punishment is not in connection with Baghi's December 2009 arrest, which followed his interview with the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri for BBC Persian, but stems from a 2008 case. Baghi is currently free on bail.

1458 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist Ali Malihi has been sentenced to four years in prison.

1454 GMT: Energy Squeeze. Emad Hosseini of Parliament's Energy Commission says the situation with Iran's ministry overseeing electricity and water is at its worst point since the Revolution.

1450 GMT: Economy Watch. Aftab News reports that 600 workers at Khuzestan Pipe Factory have not been paid for 15 months.

1440 GMT: Economy Watch (China Edition). Aftab News summarises how local products are being replaced by Chinese imports, including green raisins in Kashmar, handicrafts in Isfahan, rice in Caspian Sea provinces. Perhaps "caraways in Kerman" (for British readers, equal to "coals to Newcastle") will be next?

Mehr drives home the point with pictures of the old Carpet Bazaar in Qom, now closed because of imported Chinese rugs.

1435 GMT: Rahnavard Watch. Activist Zahra Rahnavard, meeting a group of political activists, has declared: “A part of the current government sees women as a serious threat. They attack women in the streets, prisons, and in their media in different ways, and by repression, torture, and character assassination they are putting women under unprecedented pressure. These kinds of treatments have saddened noble Iranian men and for sure will strengthen their resistance for democracy and freedom. Of course the Green Movement also realizes that achieving its high values will not be possible without women’s presence and paying attention to their demands.”

1430 GMT: And a Kidnapped Activist? Hoda Saber of the National Religious Front is missing, possibly kidnapped, after leaving the office on Saturday afternoon.

1425 GMT: The Missing Lawyer. The Committee of Human Rights Reporters reports that prominent human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei is missing and his wife and brother-in-law have been detained.

Earlier in the week Mostafaei was summoned to the Prosecutor's Office in Evin Prison and questioned for four hours. Security forces tried to arrest Mostafaei yesterday afternoon but could not find him, arresting family members near his office instead.

Mostafaei is the lawyer of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose death sentence for adultery has provoked international criticism of the Iranian regime.

1420 GMT: Labour Front. Human Rights Activists News Agency reports that Saeed Torabian, an activist with the Tehran Bus Workers Union, has been prevented from working after his recent release from detention.

1415 GMT: Economy Watch. Another sign of the recession? Khabar Online reports that automobile companies have closed and traders are in big difficulties because of low prices.

1410 GMT: International Front. Back at EA headquarters to find that the foreign ministers of Turkey and Brazil, following a meeting with Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki, are saying they will press Iran and the "5+1" powers (US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, France) to meet "as soon as possible" on Tehran's uranium-enrichment programme, possibly with discussions in Kabul.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Iran was "ready to begin negotiations", specifically citing a possible exchange with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, and that Tehran will send a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday.

Davutoglu suggests talks might begin soon after the holy month of Ramadan ends in the second week of September.

0950 GMT: Education Corner. Peyke Iran claims the Government's new effort for "Islamisation" of schools has begun.

Saadollah Nasiri, a member of Parliament's educational commission has said that "retiring" professors is discrimination, with the Government using "scientific stagnation" as a pretext to remove "secular" or anti-Government academics. (http://www.rahesabz.net/story/20110/)

Meanwhile, Minister of Science and Higher Education Kamran Daneshjoo, according to Fars News, has said that Iran needs about 22,000 academics for social sciences. Daneshjoo's statements are considered by some as a call to replace existing staff with "suitable" scholars. (http://news.gooya.com/politics/archives/2010/07/108086.php)

0945 GMT: Parliament v. Government. Reformist
MP Hojatoleslam Qodratollah Alikhani: "Instead of denying it, President Ahmadinejad should at least apologise for the incompetence and mismanagement of his Government leading to sanctions and unemployment." (http://www.parlemannews.ir/?n=12598)

The enquiry by the Majlis into the conduct of Minister of Agriculture Khalilian after summer vacation. (http://www.khabaronline.ir/news-78207.aspx)

0940 GMT: International Front. The foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Brazil are meeting in Istanbul to discuss developments since their declaration this spring for talks on Iran's uranium enrichment. (http://aje.me/9WcZMD)

0855 GMT: Rumour of Day. Green Voice of Freedom claims that the President's chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai is overseeing construction of a large residential complex in Belarus, implying that this is preparation for the event that regime leaders will have to flee the country.

0735 GMT: Mahmoud is Not So Mean. President Ahmadinejad today advised the "West", "We recommend them not to continue with their misconducts and observe the rights of nations if they seek to improve their position in the future. This will serve their own interests....We advocate logic and friendship. Every country that establishes friendly relations with Iran benefits this policy."

Ahmadinejad specifically addressed European countries, "Your misbehavior will bring nothing to you but discredit. It will have no impact on the Iranian nation."

0730 GMT: Now That's Just Mean. First Vice President Mohammad Reza AN's Rahimi, opening inaugurating an environmental fair, has said that "Westerners" are filthier than goats.

0700 GMT: We have posted a separate analysis by Mr Verde, "Re-Defining the Green Movement".

0650 GMT: Talking Tough. Iran's military leaders have tried to match the "war chatter" from some groups in the US with declarations across the media: Revolutionary Guards head Jafari says the US does not dare attack, and former commander Yahya Rahim-Safavi describes air and sea conflict if the Americans did.

My favourite quote, however --- representing both Iranian tough talk and the simplication of it by media in the "West" --- is in the Associated Press from former navy head Morteza Saffari, "We have set aside 100 military vessels for each (US) warship to attack at the time of necessity."

0644 GMT: Revolutionary Guards' Jafari "We Are Not United". Yesterday we noted the statement of the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, that leaders of sedition would be dealt with in a timely fashion.

We missed the more intriguing part of the speech:Jafari admitted for the first time in public that some IRGC commanders --- Mohsen Rashid, Moh Ozlati Moghaddam, Hemmat, Bakeri, Zeynoddin --- had supported the opposition, but added that they should not be "eliminated".

0640 GMT: Protesting the Execution. The BBC has posted an article on Saturday's rally in London for Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death for adultery.

0635 GMT: The Memorial for the Poet. Tehran Bureau has posted one of Ahmad Shamlou's poems, "In This Blind Alley", published soon after the 1979 Revolution. Yesterday security forces dispersed those gathered for the memorial for the 10th anniversary of Shamlou's death.

0630 GMT: Only the "Right" Knowledge, Please. There are reports that Wikipedia was blocked in Iran yesterday.

0540 GMT: Here today, gone tomorrow, back again the day after tomorrow....

The case of the Supreme Leader''s "I am the Rule of the Prophet" fatwa took another turn last night when, having receded in the Iranian state media, it suddenly appeared on Ayatollah Khamenei's website. (When it was put out on Tuesday, it was put out in locations to which the website linked, not the site itself.)

The fatwa asserting that the Supreme Leader acts for the Imams and the Prophet Mohammad and must be obeyed is part of a longer treatise in response to a follower's question about the obligations to velayat-e-faqih (clerical supremacy).

Meanwhile....

Trouble for the Guards in the Oilfield

Revolutionary Guards commander Sardar Ghasemi has admitted the construction firm Khatam-ol Anbia, associated with the Guards, is hindered by old technology and "rusty oil wells". The firm had been awarded a major contract to develop the South Pars gas and oil field, after the withdrawal of foreign companies, but has since pulled back from the project.

Comments

[Catherine]

RE Scott's favourite quote in the Associated Press from former navy head Morteza Saffari, “We have set aside 100 military vessels for each (US) warship to attack at the time of necessity.”

I also had to smile at the dutifully deadpan clarification of the reporters: "By putting the number of foreign warships at 100, the general appeared to suggest Iran has 10,000 military vessels at the ready. Iran is known to have many speed boats used by the Guard, but there is no public information about how many larger military vessels it has."

[Catherine]

RE Trouble for the Guards in the Oilfield

Sadly, there's even more trouble for the workers:
Iran's official news agency says an explosion at a petrochemical factory on Iran's largest oil terminal has killed four people.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/25/AR2010072500220.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

[Catherine]

RE 0735 GMT: Mahmoud is Not So Mean.

Well, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast is not mean at all. As Iran is considering the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling about Kosovo's independence from Serbia, Mehmanparast stressed the importance of respecting international laws and said Iran believes that dialogue in a constructive atmosphere is the only way to find a suitable solution to “justly assert the rights of citizens and establish lasting peace and stability in the Balkan region.”
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=136100§ionid=351020101" rel="nofollow">http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=136100&sec...

[Catherine]

Scott, when you get the time could you answer a comment of mine to you from yesterday? It's also related to Rahim-Mashai. Thanks!
http://enduringamerica.com/2010/07/24/the-latest-from-iran-24-july-reviewing-the-situation/#comment-64027433" rel="nofollow">http://enduringamerica.com/2010/07/24/the-lates...

[Catherine]

The Sunday Funnies

Could Iran's new officially approved haircuts for men actually have a CANADIAN CONNECTION??
http://www.astreetjournalist.com/2010/07/24/is-there-a-toronto-link-to-iran%25E2%2580%2599s-haircut-policy/" rel="nofollow">http://www.astreetjournalist.com/2010/07/24/is-...

[Catherine]

The 'unravelling relationship' between Russia and Iran
By Pavel Felgenhauer BBC Defence analyst
Working in apparent cohesion, Israelis, Arabs, Russians and Americans have somewhat changed the traditional outlay of Middle Eastern great power rivalry.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10684110" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10684110

[Kurt]

0855 GMT - Well, Belarus fits.

0730 GMT - I believe he meant that we are the men that stare at goats.

0644 GMT - on Guard Commanders supporting the opposition, thanks, this is the stuff I love to see.

And, with Wikipedia filtered, how will they write pap like this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Alam_News_Network" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Alam_News_Network

P.S. thanks for answering my question a few days back, Scott. It helped a lot. I was able to find more about it from Wikipedia, it so happens. :-)

[Catherine]

Kurt,
Why does Belarus fit? Just curious.

[Catherine]

Former CIA director under President George W. Bush, Michael Hayden, was just on CNN's State of the Union where he seems to have joined in beating the dums of war, saying military action against Iran now seems more likely because no matter what the U.S. does diplomatically, Tehran keeps pushing ahead with its suspected nuclear program.

CROWLEY: When you left the CIA about two years ago, you said the two biggest problems facing your successor would be the Iranian nuke program and the drug smuggling and the violence from Mexico. Would you change either one of those?

HAYDEN: No, no. To be accurate, counterterrorism was job one. Beyond counterterrorism, I would put counterproliferation as job two. And within counterproliferation, it is inarguably Iran.

The growing problem, the one that was beginning to gnaw more aggressively at our attention was what was going on in Mexico, and that began to become very visible to us about two years ago, and that's why I mentioned it as I was leaving office.

CROWLEY: Do you think, though, there is any answer?

I mean, Iran doesn't seem to be paying much attention to the sanctions. As far as we know, they are still trying to get nuclear capability. If it should, is there any alternative to taking out their facilities?

HAYDEN: It seems inexorable, doesn't it?

We engage. They continue to move forward. We vote for sanctions. They continue to move forward. We try to deter, to dissuade. They continue to move forward.

My personal view is that Iran, left to its own devices, will get itself to that step right below a nuclear weapon, that permanent breakout stage, so the needle isn't quite in the red for the international community. And, frankly, that will be as destabilizing as their actually having a weapon.

When I was in government, what we would used to mystically call "the kinetic option" was way down on our list. In my personal thinking -- in my personal thinking; I need to emphasize that -- I have begun to consider that that may not be the worst of all possible outcomes.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1007/25/sotu.01.html" rel="nofollow">http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1007/25/...

[Bahman_Azad]

The expanded Fatwa from khamenei (who of course does not have the academic qualifications to even issue a fatwa is quite interesting, especially this one:

س 62: آيا اوامر ولى فقيه براى همه مسلمانان الزام آور است يا فقط مقلدين او ملزم به اطاعت هستند؟ آيا بر كسى كه مقلد مرجعى است كه اعتقاد به ولايت مطلقه فقيه ندارد، اطاعت از ولى فقيه واجب است يا خير؟

بر اساس مذهب شيعه همه مسلمانان بايد از اوامر ولائى ولى فقيه اطاعت نموده و تسليم امر و نهى او باشند، و اين حكم شامل فقهاى عظام هم مى‏شود، چه رسد به مقلدين آنان. به نظر ما التزام به ولايت فقيه قابل تفكيك از التزام به اسلام و ولايت ائمّه معصومين(ع) نيست.

He is saying that all the Grand Ayatollahs (Marja's) are required to "surrender" themselves to khamenei's rule, let alone their followers.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the Grand Ayatollahs read all this BS.

http://farsi.khamenei.ir/treatise-content?uid=1&tid=8" rel="nofollow">http://farsi.khamenei.ir/treatise-content?uid=1...

[Arshama]

Author Azar Nafisi on Sakineh Ashtiani and Neda, writes about the historical struggle of Iranian women for equality, recommended to all those who continue to defend outdated political parties, supporting the IR: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/azar-nafisi/sakineh_b_658726.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/azar-nafisi/sakin...