Iran Document: Karroubi Strongly Criticises Head of Guardian Council (29 July)

In a statement on his website, Mehdi Karroubi writes to Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, responding to Jannati's speech supporting the Supreme Leader and accusing the US and Saudi Arabia of offering $50 billion for "regime change" (see separate analysis on EA). Translation from the Facebook page supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi:

In the name of God,

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Head of the Guardian Council and Friday Prayer Imam of Tehran

Greetings,

According to the news and reports published by some news agencies and news websites, recently you had an extensive political speech at Qom’s Jamkaran Mosque for the celebration of the birthday of Imam Mehdi [Shia’s "hidden" 12th Imam]. In the worst manner, you abused the pure and devoted religious gathering of Muslims who had gathered in that place only, because of their beliefs, to show respect to and ask for help from Imam Mehdi. Relying on the power and assumed immunity from liability for what you make up, you stated some imaginary unproven and divisive remarks and added the fuel of hatred and discord on the fire of difference you have started.

Among these repetitive shabby and outdated false allegations and rumours of yours against Imam Khomeini’s friends and the defenders of the people’s fundamental rights and all the noble people and freedom seekers, what was new was that you said: “I  have acquired a document that [shows] the Americans have paid $1 billion to the “heads of the conspiracy" [the Iranian opposition] via Saudi people who are currently agents of the United States in the region’s countries. These Saudis, who were speaking on behalf of the United States, told [them] if you manage to overthrow the establishment, we will pay you up to another $50 billion, but God put out this “conspiracy” with the hands of his pure believers.”

Mr. Jannati, what you call “conspiracy” was the election that, as usual, was engineered by you and the intelligence rooms guiding those like you in the Guardian Council and Interior Ministry to provide what was favoured by those who engineered this election. But despite the expectation and unlike the norm (and God is the best planner), the plan of yours and other power grabbers was not successful and the salty stew you cooked up and was hastily
fed to the nation made them angry and [this] interrupted your show election.

So you and the other designers and engineers of the election scenario, with disbelief and despite the empty claim of abiding to people’s votes, repressed people’s protest in the most extreme and most brutal way possible. And then, at the height of your fear from people’s anger, you posed victoriously and, to complete your projects, staged show trials to quiet the remnants of any objective voice, putting the silence seal on the land of dead that you had dreamed of in your mind. This method of alleging and giving out sentences has unfortunately been the method based on which, for years, many of
the pure children of this nation have been denied their rights, such as electing or being elected because their qualifications have also been rejected based on these types of reports.

However, after more than a year from what has happened [since the election], you still are having nightmares from what you have done and the response you have received, and you are constantly trying to find a pretext so that the outcome of the fantasy that you made up and the lies you
created would become smooth for you.

Mr. Jannati, in the lexicon you created following the Presidential elections you called those “conspirators” who are the majority of the Iranian nation and are considered leaders for them (I bet Mehdi Karroubi is one of them). But in the same lexicon, which fortunately was defined correctly by the nation, some have become well-known for their hypocrisy, trickery, shams, killing, abuse of religion, and deceit of faith. Undoubtedly,  no doubt if
you are not one of the obvious examples of them, you are indeed someone who made this path clear for them to achieve their goals.

If I am a conspirator because I object [to the Presidential election], then you are a partner of those who stole this nation’s vote and are disloyal to the nation because the footsteps of your foolish acts are evident in the events that have happened both before and after the election. Unfortunately, in every case you stood against the people and took side with the violent and oppressive movement.

This time for the false accusations you made against those who you call “the heads of the conspiracy”, claiming that they have received money from
Saudis to topple the system, first of all I will file charges against you to the Islamic Republic’s judiciary, although I have no hope that this will be processed. Secondly I write this letter so that you realise that I am protesting to your remarks. I ask you here to reveal any reason, document, and
evidence you have, otherwise I will unveil your growing lies and scandals publicly everywhere and by any means possible.

In conclusion, I remind you that you are at the end of the path that is called life and whatever you have done, if it has been done for the love of this world and its possessions, then you have definitely achieved it....

Mr. Jannati, history repeats itself and it is incumbent upon the politicians to learn from it. You certainly remember that after the uprising of Khordad 15 [5 June 1963] and the arrest of Imam [Khomeini] and a group of great [religious] scholars and many of the people and the butchering of the nation by the government’s soldiers and thugs in various cities, the Shah’s regime announced that they have arrested someone named “Jo Jo” at [Tehran's] Mehrabad airport who had brought two million tomans for Imam Khomeini to use for rioting against the regime.

The planners and scene-writers affiliated with the deceased Shah seemed experienced enough that, when they created a lie, they at least made it plausible for some of the people. Unfortunately you and your friends or, better said, your sources, when you create a lie, it is implausible and unacceptable. I seek refuge to God from the injustice that the government’s religious instructors and preachers have done and continue to do to the real and oppressed clergymen and the true preachers of Islam and Shia.

You also seek refuge to God and fear for your afterlife. Ask God for forgiveness and ask the great nation of Iran for mercy. There is hope that people and the almighty God may forgive your sins.

So learn a lesson, you insightful ones (from the Holy Quran)

Mehdi Karroubi

Mordad 7, 1389 6 (29 July 2010)

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.”

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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]."

The Latest from Iran (17 July): Back to "Normal"?

2020 GMT: A Just Republic. Meeting students, former President Mohammad Khatami has declared that people want freedom and a republic compatible with religion.

2015 GMT: Electricity Squeeze. Power shortages are reportedly causing daily losses of millions of dollars for domestic companies, especially in Tehran area. The schedule of rotating closures announced by the Ministry of Energy is not being implemented.

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2005 GMT: The Sanctions. It appears that Germany may be accepting the restrictions on Iranian banks: reports indicate Bank Sepah accounts in Frankfurt will be closed.

A study by a former US Treasury Department analyst had found that five German banks continue to do business with Iranian entities sanctioned by the most recent UN Security Council measures and that four major Iranian banks sanctioned by the Treasury Department or the Security Council continued to operate in Germany.

1940 GMT: Not Diplomatic Immunity (cont.). The Swiss and Iranian Governments have denied earlier reports (see 1605 GMT) in Iran's state media that Switzerland's Ambassador was detained for hours on a journey to northeastern Iran.

Switzerland's foreign ministry said Ambassador Livia Leu Agosti had only been "checked by local police during a trip". Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that the story had "been covered inaccurately and wrongly".

1935 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has joined in the condemnation of Thursday's bombing in Zahedan,  "Historical records show that in Iran and countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine..., terrorists and occupiers have never been and never will be able to achieve their ominous objectives through bloodshed and the massacre of innocents."

However, Rafsanjani --- at least in the summary of his remarks --- did not echo the theme of blaming outside powers such as the US for supporting the attacks.

1815 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. Green Voice of Freedom, summarising this week's strikes, adds Isfahan and Mashaad to Tehran and Tabriz.

1605 GMT: Not Diplomatic Immunity. Iranian authorites detained the Swiss Ambassador, Livia Leu Agosti, freeing her a few hours later.

Agosti was travelling in North Khorasan Province in northeastern Iran when she was arrested Diplomatic immunity did not apply, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, ""because her identity was not established at the time".

It is not clear why the Ambassador was detained.

1545 GMT: Russia, Iran, and the Oil Squeeze. I thought, given this week's news about agreement for a joint oil bank, that Moscow and Tehran were now good energy buddies despite the international sanctions.

So how to explain this bit of Tehran pressure?

Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi warned on Saturday that Iran will blacklist foreign firms like Russian energy giant Lukoil that pull out of projects because of sanctions against Tehran: "If one of the companies acts against Iran, we will be forced to consider the reality and put that company on a blacklist."..."They will no longer work in our country," he said.

Mirkazemi singled out the case of Lukoil, which announced it was pulling out in March as new UN, US and EU sanctions over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme loomed. The minister said the Russian firm had reneged on its commitments in the Anaran oilfield which it discovered in western Iran in 2005.

But he added that Iran might consider continuing to work with Lukoil "if we can adjust the content of the agreement."

1410 GMT: A Different Line on Zahedan Bombing. An interesting alternative to the US-Iran dynamic on blame for Thursday's two suicide bombings in southeastern Iran. The reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front has said that “an iron fist” is not an adequate response to the problems in Sistan & Baluchistan . Indeed, the violence occurs amidst the “coup d’etat government’s policies of intimidation, violence, and oppression which is being forced on every aspect of every single Iranian's life, equally”.

1245 GMT: In Case Another Excuse Was Needed for US-Iran Scrapping. President Obama has condemned the Zahedan bombings as an "intolerable offense".

Those words, however, are not going to stem the Iran Government's rhetoric over the attack. Revolutionary Guard commander Massoud Jazayeri has warned, "Jundollah has been supported by America for its terrorist acts in the past....America will have to await the fallout of such criminal and savage measures."

And it looks like Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani is going to join in: "The terrorist attack in the southeast of the country took place with the backing of the US....We have strong documents and intelligence that [executed Jundullah leader Abdolmalek] Rigi was linked to the US, and the US supported him in terror against Iran."

1100 GMT: The Zahedan Bombings. The Government's changing line on Thursday's suicide bombings --- Jundullah is no longer responsible since they had been "defeated" --- is being challenged. Heshmatollah Fallahatpisheh, a member of Parliament's National Security Commission, has demanded publication of documents about Jundullah.

1050 GMT: Parliament v. President (On All Fronts). Challenges here, there, and everywhere....

Ahmad Tavakoli has maintained his leading role in the pressure against the Government, asking for an investigation of former Tehran Prosecutor General and current Presidential aide Saeed Mortazavi over the Kahrizak Prison abuse case.

On the economic front, Elyas Naderan has announced a plan to return Iran Telecom to public control. Emad Hosseini has declared that there is no possibility of implementing subsidy cuts.

And just getting personal, reformist Abdollah Ramezanzadeh has filed a complaint against pro-Ahmadinejad MP Sattar Hedayatkhah.

1045 GMT: More Feuding over Universities. The Guardian Council has rejected a Parliament project supporting the establishment and strengthening of independent academic centres.

1010 GMT: Parliament v. President. Khabar Online claims 80% of members of Parliament have approved the demand for impeachment of Minister of Agriculture Sadegh Khaliliyan.

1005 GMT: Regime Moves to "Hard War"? Bahram Rafiee in Rooz Online posts the analysis that the rhetoric of the regime is shifting from a "soft war" to "hard war" with its enemies. He cites an example in the Supreme Leader's speech to Revolutionary Guard commanders this week, “All national officials must carry out their heavy duties in the various fields and be ready to confront anything as they have been for the past 31 years. Certainly, and without any doubt, the great Iranian nation and the Islamic republic will continue to emerge victorious from this perpetual struggle, as they have been in the past.”

0830 GMT: After the Bombings. Iranian state media reports that 40 suspects have been arrested over Thursday's double suicide bombing in southeastern Iran. State TV has shown thousands attending victims' funerals, chanting "Death to Terrorists" and "Down with the US".

0810 GMT: We have posted a Saturday feature, "Change for Iran: Why Twitter Has Made a Difference".

0710 GMT: A Philosopher's Stand. The German philosopher Otfried Höffe has written in Frankfurter Allgemeine that he will not attend UNESCO's World Day of Philosophy in Tehran, given the human rights abuses of the "unpredictable dictatorship": "With [Immanuel] Kant's reflections on the relationship between philosophy and revelation, I wanted to contribute to our understanding of religion in a highly industrialized country. But now I see myself forced to withdraw from the commitment."

0625 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Azeri activist Firouz Yousefi has been released on bail after being arrested for acts against national security.

0555 GMT: Beyond the tragedy of at least 27 lives lost and 300 people wounded in Thursday's explosions in southeastern Iran (see yesterday's updates), there was the curiosity of the Iranian regime trying to resurrect the "normal" after the event.

Initially, Iran's state media had blamed the Baluch insurgent group Jundullah --- who did indeed claim responsibility --- for the two suicide bombings. Then some official somewhere realised that this would expose the recent narrative that, with a crackdown on Jundullah and the executive Abdolmalek Rigi, order and security had been restored.

And so the media line was revised: the bombings were no longer the work of Jundullah but of some mysterious "hard-line" Sunni group. "Normal" would come in the allegation --- for this is always the allegation --- that "the US, Israel, and some European countries" (the Revolutionary Guard's Yadollah Javani) were behind "terrorist attacks...trained, financed and equipped form beyond the borders" (Deputy Minister of Interior Ali Abdollahi). Washington even hid its perfidy behind the false "humanitarian gesture" of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's condemnation of the bombings.

But this was not only the curiosity of the "normal". For the not-exactly-normal incident in Zahedan might serve the regime by deflecting attention from life that is not-exactly-normal elsewhere. With Iran back to work today, one question is whether bazaar merchants in Tehran and Tabriz join in or whether some stoppage or strike continues.

And there is the bread-and-butter conflict within the establishment. The New York Times has taken notice in an article, "Iran’s President Now Aims at Rivals Among Conservatives" --- which might also should have considered, "Iran's Conservatives Now Aim at the President" --- and adds this information. "Moderate conservative" Morteza Nabavi said in an interview published Friday, "“Now that they [the Government] think they have ejected the reformists, maybe they think it is time to remove their principalist opponents.”

Nabavi also indicated that part of the conflict stems from the beliefs of Ahmadinejad and allies over the return with Shia's "disappeared" or "hidden Imam: “These people say they have direct contact with the 12th imam so they can lead us. This is not just a matter of opposition to government by the clergy but something much deeper.”

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2130 GMT: The Zahedan Bombing. Back from a family break to learn about the two explosions, reportedly caused by suicide bombers, which have killed more than 20 people and wounded more than 100 in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan in Sistan-Baluchestan Province.

The explosions occurred in front of Zahedan's Grand Mosque. The first was at 9:20 p.m. local time (1650 GMT) and was followed by a second blast within minutes. A local MP claimed the first suicide bomber, dressed as a woman, tried to get into the mosque but was prevented

There are reports that members of the Revolutionary Guard are amongst the dead.

Deputy Interior Minister Ali Abdollahi has always described the incident as a "terrorist act". The prime suspect will be the Baluch insurgent group Jundullah, whose leader Abdolmalek Rigi was recently executed.

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1709 GMT: Rafsajani Watch. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, in an interview with Ertebatat monthly, has said, "Under the pretext of opposition to me, [Mohammad] Khatami, Nategh Nouri and [Mehdi] Karroubi, Ahmadinejad has put on sale all the achievements of the Revolution."

1700 GMT: Today's All-Is-Well Alert. From Press TV:

Iran's jet fuel production will soon surpass its local demand, as the country is boosting its production capacity in central Iran, an official says. Ali Dehqanian, a senior official with Isfahan Oil Refining Company (IORC), said the company currently produces 1.3 million liters of fuel jet per day, noting that Iran needs 4 million liters of fuel jet per day....

He added that an optimization project is underway in the company's fuel production unit that when complete will increase its jet fuel production to 5 million liters per day.

The official noted that 70 percent of the project has already been completed.

1658 GMT: The Electricity Squeeze. Rah-e-Sabz claims the Iran Khodro and Saipa automobile companies will close down on certain days during the week. The same is expected for other big firms.

1655 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. Radio Zamaneh interviews two leading merchants from the Tehran Bazaar: "We Do Not Trust the Government's Promises".

1645 GMT: What is Ayatollah Yazdi Up To? Okay, so here's a summary of the statement by Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi at a meeting for the "Velayat Project" at Shahid Beheshti University:

Some think that the Supreme Leader has a representative function like the British Queen, but this is not true. Ayatollah Khomeini said: If the chosen President is not appointed by the Supreme Leader, he is a "taghout" (monarchist) and following him is haram (forbidden).

On the surface, that looks to be a straight-forward defence of Ayatollah Khamenei. But EA's Ms Zahra thinks there may be another interpreation: "This is a preparation for Yazdi's own succession as Leader and a justification of Ahmadinejad. He pretends to defend Khamenei's right to intervene in all matters, but even raising the "untrue" comparison with the Queen is an indirect attack.

1525 GMT: The Bigger Guardian Council Story? We noted the immediate headline today that the Supreme Leader had re-appointed three clerical representatives on the Guardian Council (see 1412 GMT).

This, however, is much more interesting. Sadegh Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, now names three of the "legal" representatives. His short-list --- Mohammad Salimi, Ahmad Beygi Habib-Abadi, Mohammad Reza Alizadeh, Mohammad Hadi Sadegh, and Siamak Rahpeyk --- excludes two candidates, current Council member Gholam-Hossein Elham and Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Ka'abi, who are seen as pro-Ahmadinejad.

1455 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. Alef has posted pictures of Tehran Bazaar today. Some show vendors doing business, others are of rows of closed stalls:

1450 GMT: Remembering. An activist translates Fereshteh Ghazi's account of the life and death of Amir Javadifar, who was abused and killed in Kahrizak Prison a year ago.

1428 GMT: Russia's Carrot-and-Stick Play. Meeting his Iranian counterpart Massoud Mir-Kazemi in Moscow, Russian Minister of Energy Sergei Shmatko praised “active cooperation between Russian and Iranian companies in the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors, which are developing and widening in their joint work”.

Yet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev seems to have put out a wordy warning to Tehran over the nuclear issue, "I would like to say that Iran is our rather active trading partner and has been tested by time, but that does not mean we are indifferent to the way Iran is developing its nuclear programme and we are not indifferent to how the military components of the corresponding programme look."

Analysis, please: is Moscow indicating that the recently-toughened UN sanctions are not a restriction on Iran's energy sector or is Shmatko's statement just a bit of rhetorical "balancing" to avoid a complete detachment from Tehran while his President stands alongside the "West"?

1412 GMT: The Guardians of the Guardian Council. Back from travels to find that the Supreme Leader has reinstated Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Ayatollah Gholam Reza Rezvani, and Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Modarresi Yazdi, three of the six clerics on the 12-member Guardian Council.

0914 GMT: We've posted an analysis by Mr Verde of the bigger significance yesterday's opinion piece on the opposition website Rah-e-Sabz: "The Story Beyond the Opposition, Enduring America, and US 'Neoconservatives'".

0910 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. Kalemeh, the website linked to Mir Hossein Mousavi, claims that the gold market in Tehran Bazaar is still closed.

0635 GMT: On Guard! General Amir Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan, commander of Iran's land forces, has announced that large parts of southern Iran will become "armed territory".

However, the foreign threat is not the main concern of Hojatoleslam Ali Saidi, the Supreme Leader's representative to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. He has declared that the "smallest mistake of officials will be punished heavily".

0630 GMT: Economy Watch (Revolutionary Guard Edition). The Minister of Economy, speaking in the Parliament, has spoken about the privatisation of Iran Telecom. He said that a rival of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps was eliminated from the bidding after the demand of  "one of the securityforces organisations".

0625 GMT: Government Retreat on Subsidy Cuts? Mohammad Reza Farzin, the Deputy Minister of Economy, has said the subsidy cut plan could be postponed. The current intention is to start reductions in Mehr (September/October), but Farzin says this is "perhaps too early".

0620 GMT: The Universities Dispute. Rah-e-Sabz reports that the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, has met former President Hashemi Rafsanjani to discuss the conflict over control of Islamic Azad University, but there has been no resolution.

0555 GMT: To Lose One Journalist is a Misfortune, To Lose Four Looks Like Carelessness. Peyke Iran claims that a cultural reporter for Fars News has fled to France. His departure follows those of Hossein Salmanzadeh of the photo section, photojournalist Javad Moghimi, and political journalist Farahmand Alipour.

0530 GMT: Many thanks to readers for providing a rolling service of news and analysis while I was busy in the International Summer School on Wednesday.

Catching Up with the News....

Amiri Not A Nuclear Scientist Shocker

Iranian state media is setting out the line on the curious case of scientist Shahram Amiri, who returned to Iran from the US yesterday, purportedly through his words on his 14 months outside the country. Press TV has him saying:

The US administration has connected my abduction to Iran's nuclear case to pursue certain goals and exert pressure on the Iranian government. While I was being interrogated by US intelligence agents, they urged me to announce that I carried a laptop containing important information and applied for asylum.

The statement links back to the Americans' claim in recent years that they have an Iranian laptop proving Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapons, a claim disputed by many analysts. There are flourishes such as "Israel agents" at Amiri's interrogation, the "heaviest mental torture", and an offer of $10 million to appear on CNN and announce his defection.

Interestingly, Amiri is no longer a "nuclear scientist" in the article. He is an "academic".

Why the US would put so much effort into abducting a mere "scholar" is not made clear by Press TV.

And He Doesn't Get His $5 Million, Either

The US Government line, put out in The Washington Post, is a good-bye to Amiri with the sneer, "We're keeping your defection money."

Officials say Amiri was paid more than $5 million by the CIA before breaking off "significant cooperation" and "abruptly returning" to Iran because he missed his family:

Anything he got is now beyond his reach, thanks to the financial sanctions on Iran. He's gone, but his money's not. We have his information, and the Iranians have him.

The Latest from Iran (13 July): Back to Politics?

2030 GMT: Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami has denounced President Ahmadinejad for saying that no religious leader has banned the wearing of a tie: "I say to him that many religious dignitaries believe ties should not be worn. The Supreme Guide [Leader] himself has said in a that the wearing of ties or bowties is not permitted."

1955 GMT:Electricity Squeeze. Mohammad Behzad, the Deputy Minister of Energy, has said industrial electricity will be rationed with alterations of working hours and rotating closures of companies.

1945 GMT: Iran Aircraft on Empty? BP and Iran Air have both confirmed that the British company has stopped supplying jet fuel at Germany's Hamburg airport.

Iran Analysis: Grand Ayatollah Golpayegani Criticises Supreme Leader? (and What Could It Mean?)
Iran’s Haircuts Special: The Revenge of the Mullets
The Latest from Iran (12 July): Holidays?

1915 GMT: Where is Mahmoud (Not Going)? Hmm, not sure what to make of this. From Mehr News:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has postponed his visit to Lebanon till after the holy month of Ramadan [which ends on 9 September], the Beirut-based Al-Akhbar newspaper said in a report published on Tuesday.

The decision was made after a consultation between Tehran and Beirut, Al-Akhbar quoted Lebanese diplomatic sources as saying....

Ahmadinejad, who has been invited by his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman, was supposed to visit Beirut before 11 August at the head of a 70-member delegation.

1900 GMT: Today's All-is-Well Alert. From Press TV:

Iran's Interior Minister says Tehran has successfully foiled all foreign plots aimed at destabilizing the country over the past three decades. "Over the past 30 years, our enemies faced defeat in every instance and their latest ploy was [inciting] the seditionists who wanted to break our ranks," Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar told reporters on Tuesday....

The Interior Minister said peace was restored to the country's eastern region after the execution of Abdolmalek Rigi, the ringleader of the Pakistan-based Jundallah terrorist group.

"With the execution of this villain, who was backed by several Western spy agencies and the Israelis, complete peace has returned to the region."

1850 GMT: The Prison Scandal. Writing in Rooz Online, Fereshteh Ghazi offers a lengthy critique of the Kahrizak abuse case. She sets out the case that, while two security personnel have been condemned to death and nine have been given prison sentences, those responsible --- notably former Tehran Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi --- have escaped justice.

1825 GMT: Politics and the Bazaar Strike. An EA correspondent pulls together the latest from the Tehran Bazaar and a statement by the head of the "conservative" Motalefeh Party, Mohammad Nabi Habibi, on growing conflict with President Ahmadinejad and his allies, "The Velayat Party [declared by Ahmadinejad this weekend] does not exist."

Our correspondent, drawing on Motalefeh's traditional power in the Bazaar, interprets Habibi's statement: "If you hit my party, I hit your economy."

1815 GMT: More on the Khatami Statement (see 1510 GMT). Khabar Online's main takeaway from Mohammad Khatami's meeting with youth groups and reformist journalists is his declaration that "many people, professors, students, experts, and journalists are leaving the country".

Parleman News focuses on Khatami's assertion that the "Green Movement belongs to the people" and his reading of the political situation: "Some think they are above the law," deviating from religious principles. Khatami added,  "We have reached a point that even the Majlis cannot stop injustice". In a pointed reference to President Ahmadinejad's statement that Iran needs no other than the "Velayat Party", Khatami noted, "The Shah said as well that we have only one party."

1630 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. Tehran Bureau sends the following from a correspondent: ""I visited the bazaar today and was quite surprised to see most stores closed there. There were NO security personnel in uniform to be found anywhere. I did see a Basiji directing traffic half a mile away. There was also a flier on the wall (inside the main bazaar) which said the '15% deal is off'."

More claimed footage from today:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN26VggCKqE[/youtube]

1525 GMT: Culture Corner (Revolutionary Guard Edition). The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has announced that it is establishing an "Association of Cultural Elites" near Tehran University.

1510 GMT: Khatami on "Double-Edged" Religion. Speaking to youth parties and reformist journalists, former President Mohammad Khatami has declared that religion can be "a double-edged sword" insofar as it can pursue rights and justice but it also be a tool to justify exclusion and failure.

1455 GMT: Fighting the Oil Squeeze. Iranian Students News Agency reports that Iran cut its imports of gasoline by almost 50% in March-June 2010, compared to figures of the previous year.

1445 GMT: Keeping the Pressure On. Interesting, given our current attention to possible manoeuvres against President Ahmadinejad, to find Jahan News citing Abdolhossein Ruholamini, the campaign manager for Mohsen Rezaei in the 2009 Presidential campaign and the father of Mohsen Rouholamini, killed in Kahrizak Prison last summer.

Ruholamini asks, given that the criminal verdicts over Kahrizak have been announced, why has Saeed Mortazavi, the former Tehran Prosecutor General and now aide to the President, not been dismissed?

1435 GMT: Statements Present. Mir Hossein Mousavi has said, in a meeting with a group of faculty of Tarbiat Modarres University, that everyone who defends rights is a member of the Green Movement.

Mousavi declared, "Soon Green Hope will win because people are looking for the realization of rights. The seeking of human freedom is the defence of rationality and logic against oppression and lies."

1425 GMT: Statements Past. Khordaad 88 has posted the English translation of the Mousavi-Karroubi press conference on 8 June, held four days before the anniversary of the 2009 Presidential election.

Rooz Online has published the English translation of its interview this weekend with Zahra Rahnavard on the diversity of the Green Movement and its welcoming of criticism.

1420 GMT: Broadcast News. The head of SWR, part of the German broadcaster ARD, has defended the recent visit of the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Ezzatollah Zarghami, and an IRIB delegation by saying that there were no cooperation agreements during an "informational visit". The clear implication in the letter is that the reception of IRIB ensures that ARD can maintain a journalistic presence in Iran.

1410 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Four detainees in Rejai Shahr Prison have written the Tehran Prosecutor General, Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi, asking, "Where is the human dignity you have claimed?"

A letter from 160 activists demands the release of Azam Veysameh, a journalist arrrested on 10 June.

1400 GMT: Political Changes. Hossein Saberi, the Governor of Lorestan Province in western Iran, was suddenly replaced. So sudden, in fact, that he learned of his dismissal from an announcement on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

1355 GMT: And now claimed footage of the strike at the Tehran Bazaar today:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk4CqIK-ZIg[/youtube]

1345 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. Rah-e-Sabz claims, with supporting photos, that "strikes continued today and were even more extensive than last week".

Khabar Online is also carrying the news, which has been picked up by Agence France Presse. The Government has been declaring that a compromise deal of a 15% tax increase --- down from the original 70% --- has been agreed.



1340 GMT: Parliament v. President. MP Omidvar Rezaei has said that Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani "reminded" President Ahmadinejad, at the meeting of the heads of the executive, legislative, and judicial brances, of violating Article 138 over the implementation of laws.

MP Emad Afrough has declared that the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, at the centre of the dispute over Islamic Azad University, is far from acceptable because of members' inability, too many jobs, and low expertise.

1325 GMT: Execution Watch. The international furour over the sentencing to death by stoning, now temporarily suspended, of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has been matched by questions within Iran. Ayatollah Bayat Zanjani has pronounced that stoning is not in the Qu'ran while reformist Masoumeh Ebtekar, a former Vice President, has asserted that Ayatollah Khomeini said many times that stoning should not be carried out.

1020 GMT: The Battle Within. Ali Larijani has used the economic front to take another jab at the Government. He has underlined the importance of a "relationship between hardliners and clergy" (a call for a front to challenge Ahmadinejad?) and added that the meaning of Iran's Article 44 regulating state and private economic spheres was not for the latest sell-off of four companies.

1015 GMT: Sideshow of the Day. A bit off the key terrain of Iranian politics, this curious case continues:

An Iranian nuclear scientist who Tehran claims was kidnapped by the United States has sought refuge at the Pakistani embassy's Iranian interests section in Washington and is seeking to return home to Iran, Pakistani authorities said Tuesday.

Shahram Amiri, a onetime researcher at Iran's Atomic Energy Organization who disappeared during a trip to Saudi Arabia last year, appeared at the Iranian interests section office at 6:30 p.m. Monday, said Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit.

0828 GMT: Break Time. Off to teach at the Clinton Institute Summer School so updates will resume briefly in about 90 minutes and then again this afternoon.

0825 GMT: The Battle Within. Secretary of Expediency Council (and 2009 Presidential candidate) Mohsen Rezaei has given a long interview to Khabar Online. Lots to be worked through, but an EA correspondent notes his claim
that Hashemi Rafsanjani's manoeuvre is "to bring back reformers and divert (enheraf) hardliners".

That would seem to be a swipe at Rafsanjani, which is at odds with my weekend analysis of planners against Ahmadinejad, including Rezaei, reaching out to the former President.

0810 GMT: Electoral Change. The Guardian Council has approved a Parliament bill to hold Presidential and city council elections at the same time, effectively the next municipal ballot by two years to 2013.

0807 GMT: We Want Our Money. According to Peyke Iran, President Ahmadinejad has claimed that banks owe the Government 10 trillion toman (about $10 billion).

0805 GMT: Economic Salvation? Borzou Daragahi of the Los Angeles Times investigates continued and growing links between Germany and Tehran:

Chancellor Angela Merkel can warn companies all she wants to stop doing business with Iran. Yet commerce between German firms and the Islamic Republic keeps expanding, as businesses here continue longstanding relationships with Tehran.

In the first four months of 2010, trade between Iran and Germany totaled nearly $1.8 billion, up 20% from the same period last year, according to the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg.

0800 GMT: Trouble in Qom? Alongside our special look this morning at a claimed rebuke of the Supreme Leader by Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani, Rah-e-Sabz claims concern amongst clerics about a change in identity of the seminaries (howzeh).

0755 GMT: Watching the Bazaar. Iran should be back to work today after an extended holiday since last Thursday. We're watching for news out of the Tehran Bazaar, amidst chatter both about continued strikes and about a settlement between the Government and the vendors, reducing the business tax increase from 70% to 15%.

0725 GMT: We begin this morning with an analysis of a reported message from Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani to the Supreme Leader: has Ayatollah Khamenei been told that his earthly life has been wasted and his heavenly one is in doubt?

And it looks like there is a new player in Iranian broadcasting: welcome to Mir Hossein Mousavi TV.