The Latest from Iran (27 July): Regime Wavering?

2020 GMT: Googling Iran. In a well-meaning but rather scattered New York Times article on Iranians living in the US, this episode stands out:

On a recent muggy afternoon in Washington Aliakbar Mousavi, a former member of Parliament, sat at a white table in a small Google conference room, imploring a top executive to provide more Persian-language Internet tools.

Speaking in halting English acquired during a year in the United States, Mr. Mousavi told Robert O. Boorstin, the company’s director of public policy, that activists inside Iran desperately needed Google earth, Google advertising and other services that can help thwart repression.

Mr. Boorstin was sympathetic if noncommittal, promising to consult with various engineers.

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NEW Iran Analysis: Interpreting Khamenei’s “Re-Appearing” Fatwa (Verde)
The Latest from Iran (26 July): Behind the International Screen

2015 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. An appellate court has upheld the four-year sentence of activist Amir Khosrow Dalirsani, jailed for assembly and conspiracy to act against national security. Dalirsani was detained after the Ashura protests in December.

2000 GMT: Arrested for Using Facebook. RAHANA reports Hanieh Farshi-Shatrian, a 28-year-old woman, has been arrested in Tabriz for "activism" on Facebook. Farshi-Shatrian has no history of political activity.

1825 GMT: We have posted the short video of the interview of President Ahmadinejad by CBS News, covering Afghanistan and sanctions but omitting any consideration of Iran's internal situation.

1815 GMT: The Missing Lawyer. Golnaz Esfandiari summarises the case of human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, who is still missing and whose wife and brother-in-law are still detained.

1705 GMT: Claim of Day. Rah-e-Sabz asserts that a group of the Supreme Leader's advisors, including his son Mojtaba Khamenei, Basij commander Hossein Taeb, and Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, held a special meeting after the June 2009 election and laid off 250 pro-Green officers of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

1700 GMT: Labour Front. Iran Labor Report has a special feature on "rampant wage thefts", where workers at large firms like Naghshe Iran Carpet Weaving in Qazvin, Khuzestan Pipe Factory, and Iran Telecommunication Industries have not been paid for months.

1650 GMT: The Battle Within. Looks like rifts within the establishment are getting worse....

Aftab News now has a second item critiquing divisions within the "hard-line camp" (for the first item, see 0845 GMT), saying that rifts are due to a lack of ability, law-breaking, and distortion of ideology.

But this may be small change compared to a fight brewing between Keyhan and the President's inner circle. We should have a special analysis on Wednesday.

1640 GMT: Mahmoud's Wisdom of the Day. Peyke Iran, from Islamic Students News Agency, summarises President Ahmadinejad's latest speech: "The biggest gift to is the Imam....If you are poor, get married and God will feed you."

1638 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Kurdish high school teacher Mohsen Jaladiani has been sentenced to six years in prison.

1633 GMT: Economy Watch (Revolutionary Guards Edition). Member of Parliament Mehrdad Lahouti has asserted that Khatam ol-Anbia, the engineering firm linked to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, may be entering the project to construct a freeway from Tehran to the Caspian Sea.

1630 GMT: Larijani Replies to Mousavi? Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, in an apparent response to Mir Hossein Mousavi's latest statement --- especially Mousavi's comments on the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988 --- has warned against the "classification of people", saying that accusations against them are "not right".

1330 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Earlier today we mentioned Hamed Saber, the photo-blogger and computer scientist detained for more than a month.

More than 70 Iranian university graduates and academics have launched a campaign calling for Saber's release.

1230 GMT: Ahmadinejad's War Strategy. The President has made another international move with an interview with Press TV.

On the surface, Ahmadinejad has restated his "war conspiracy", saying again that he expects the US to act soon: "They have decided to attack at least two countries in the region in the next three months....(We have) very precise information that the Americans have hatched a plot, according to which they to wage a psychological war against Iran."

Dig deeper, though, and you may find a more complex Ahmadinejad move. Notice that "Europe" and Britain do not take their usual roles alongside the US as Iran's opponents.

Could that be because Tehran --- and Ahmadinejad in particular --- are hoping to re-open talks on the uranium enrichment issue?

0907 GMT: Academic Corner. The commander of the Revolutionary Guard, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, has been appointed to the board of Yazd University by Minister of Science and Higher Education Kamran Daneshjoo.

0905 GMT: The Rice Scandal. MP Hassan Tamini, the speaker of Parliament's Health Commission, says that he has "no doubt" that 11 types of imported rice are polluted with lead, arsenic, and carcinogens.

0855 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran posts an interview with the mother of human rights activist Shiva Nazar Ahari, who has been arrested twice and detained for ten months since the June 2009 election.

Student Iman Sadighi, who was detained for 130 days, reports on conditions in Mati Kala prison in Babol.

A statement from activists in Rah-e-Sabz claims sentences in courts are based on factional affiliations and demands the release of journalist Abdolreza Tajik and photo-blogger Hamed Saber.

0850 GMT: More Tension. MP Ali Motahari, now a persistent high-profile critic of the Government, has turned to the hijab issue to challenge the President, insisting that people will turn away if hijab is not defended. Motahari has also --- in line with others --- taken a swipe at Ahmadinejad as voicing the words of his Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai.

0845 GMT: Economy Watch. Aftab News asserts that, instead of admitting its mistakes, the government is blaming the private sector for unemployment. The newspaper says critics are right in assuming that the Ahmadinejad administration continues to control companies by using subsidiary firms with non-government names.

0840 GMT: Threatening the Bloggers. The Committee to Protect Bloggers reports that Fariborz Shamshiri, who blogs at Rotten Gods and has worked with Amnesty International and Freedom House, has received death threats on his life. Shamshiri says, “This is not the first time I am receiving this kind of threats but this is getting out of hand.”

0835 GMT: Parliament Update. MP Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh has claimed that the elimination of reformists has led to a split within the hardline movement, with the struggle for power visible in the Majlis and Government. These problems are compounded by "radicals" who have forgotten that they are the people's representatives and are ready to sacrifice the Majlis for the Government.

MP Abolqasem Raoufian warns: "If we continue like this, reformists may win next elections. If the reformists are eliminated from next elections --- which is wrong --- hardliners will split into three camps."

0830 GMT: And What is Larijani Doing? Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has joined in the post-fatwa debate to put in a few punches at the President. He has said that if a government wants to comply with that of the 12th ("hidden") Imam, it should establish social justice and give no alms because they are not necessary in such a just society. The government should also follow laws and fight against enemies such as the US and Zionists.

Larijani's parting shot? "Don't increase enemies with improper words", as Iran is "far away" from the just and effective government of the 12th Imam.

0825 GMT: Rallying around Khamenei? Hojatoleslam Mohammad Saeidi, the Friday Prayer leader in Qom, has asserted that there have always been senior clerics who prefered to oppose the Supreme Leader rather than "infidels" such as Zionists and the British.

Ayatollah Mohammad Qorvi has announced that the Khamenei fatwa is the "minimum approval" of velayat-e-faqih (clerical supremacy).

0800 GMT: We begin the morning with two features. Mr Verde analyses the problems for the Supreme Leader's "I am the Rule of the Prophet" fatwa, which has suddenly reappeared on his website. And we post the English translation of Mir Hossein Mousavi's latest statement, which links criticism of the current Government with a review of the political and military tensions during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War.

Meanwhile....

Rumour of the Day

Rah-e-Sabz tries to add to the pressure on the regime by alleging that Ministry of Intelligence operatives were responsible for the murders of Neda Agha Soltan, killed in June 2009, and Dr Masoud Alimohammadi, who died in an explosion in January.

The news site claims from sources that almost three weeks ago, a car bomb exploded in Shahrak-e Rahahan, apparently to destroy the body of a victim killed elsehwere.  Two Ministry of Intelligence operatives were allegedly arrested and are being held, with a third person, in the ministry cellblock in Evin Prison.

In a possibly related incident about the same time, a car bomb failed to kill a wealthy businessman.

According to Rah-e-Sabz, the two arrested men work for Hamidreza Daneshmandi, the Director of Internal Security at the ministry. Further investigation supposedly revealed that this team was responsible for the deaths of Neda Agha Soltan and Dr Alimohammadi and may also be responsible for the explosion in the Khomeini Shrine a few days after the June 2009 elections.

Rah-e-Sabz says the investigation has led to tensions between the police and judiciary on one side and the Ministry of Intelligence on the other.

The Latest from Iran (11 July): Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

1940 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. The "Babylon & Beyond" blog of the Los Angeles Times posts an update on the state of the bazaar protests over proposed increases in business taxes:

Authorities have...shut down the bazaar, declaring Sunday, ordinarily a bustling work day, an impromptu holiday because of the hot weather in an attempt to mask over the strike.

On Sunday, subways heading to the bazaar were relatively empty...."I am still continuing my strike," said Ali, a cloth merchant. "I may keep shut on Monday too."

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1930 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Mission" Free Iran publishes a letter which it has received from the mother and younger brother of detained activist Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, asking for the support of the international community to protest his imprisonment.

1855 GMT: Execution Watch. Radio Farda reports that the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, has suspended --- for now --- the death sentence against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani for adultery.

Ashtiani's case has attracted international attention because of the possibility that she might be stoned to death.

1625 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Activists are paying close attention to the case of 45-year-old Zahra Bahrami,  arrested and taken to Evin Prison during the Ashura protests of 27 December. Bahrami, an Iranian-Dutch dual national, has been charged with "mohareb" (war against God), and it is believed she will be tried soon.

RAHANA wrote in April that Bahrami had been held in solitary confinement and interrogated numerous times during her detention. Activists also claim she is being forced into a false confession.
Bahrami has not been allowed any prison visits, and the occasional phone calls she makes to her family are monitored and controlled by the interrogators.

1600 GMT: Coming to a Classroom Near You. Mohammed Boniadi, deputy director of the Tehran education department, says 1000 clerics will be sent into schools this fall to fight Western influence and domestic opposition, making students aware of "opposition plots and arrogance."

1545 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. HRANA profiles Parvin Javad Zandeh, a 22-year-old woman arrested on Ashura (27 December) who is serving an 8 1/2-year prison sentence.

The brother of Mahboumeh Karimi, an activist of the One Million Signatures campaign, says she is suffering from poor physical and psychological health.

1420 GMT: Graphic Rumour of Day. Human Rights Activists News Agency is reporting that a 26-year-old woman from Tabriz, Elnaz Babazadeh, was beaten, raped, and killed by three Basij militiamen who had detained her for inappropriate hijab.

HRANA has proven a reliable source of information in the past; however, we are treating this story as unconfirmed, given the seriousness of the allegations, and will be monitoring developments.

1405 GMT: More on the Karroubi Statement (see 0935 GMT). Green Voice of Freedom gives a fuller English summary of Mehdi Karroubi's comments today to families of political prisoners who visited his home.

Beyond his criticism of sanctions on Iran, linked to his claims of the mismanagement and abuses of the Ahmadinejad Government, Karroubi declared, “Unfortunately, today the establishment is neither a republic nor Islamic. And this is an alarm bell for those who care about the country, the establishment and this land. As always, we are seeking to revive the true definition of the Islamic Republic, which was approved by Imam [Khomeini] and the wise people of Iran in April 1979.”

In affirming the legitimacy of the Republic, Karroubi said, “The Constitution is not like a revelation, and at time it needs to change”. This political consideration of reform was impossible, however:

Despotism has brought us to the point where the country’s highest executive power has no regard for the Parliament and its laws....This, is disrespecting the Iranian people....We seek a republic that is based on the people’s vote and on engineering the people’s votes.

1140 GMT: Cartoon Politics --- From Paul the Octopus to Khamenei. Never say that Iran's cartoonists are out-of-touch with the latest cultural moments. Soon after posting our special World Cup item on Germany's psychic Paul the Octopus, who has chosen both Spain and Mir Hossein Mousavi, we notice this:



1000 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, from a source, claims that Mohammad Davari, the chief editor of Mehdi Karroubi's website Saham News, remains in Evin Prison’s Security Ward after several months. The source claimed that Davari has been under intense pressure to "confess" in a television interview.

0935 GMT: The Opposition and Sanctions. Mehdi Karroubi has followed up Mir Hossein Mousavi's linkage of regressive UN sanctions to the inept foreign policy of the Ahmadinejad Government and Iran's economic woes.

Karroubi said, "I believe that part of the Iranian rule as well as the Revolutionary Guards are in favour of sanctions as they make gigantic and astronomical profits from them."

The cleric then targeted President Ahmadinejad:

Imprudence in foreign policy and the lack of political sanity in the actions and political and diplomatic words of the man in charge of the government have imposed high costs on the country," the reformist cleric said in a direct attack on Ahmadinejad. We should not give an excuse through shallow words and bungling actions and allow others to easily impose sanctions against Iran.

0715 GMT: On a slow Sunday --- it's hot in Iran, after all --- we have posted a World Cup special, "The Ultimate Triumph of Paul the Octopus". There's a special treat at the end of the story for Iran-watchers.

0630 GMT: We begin this morning with an evaluation of Mr Verde of our exclusive report and analysis on Saturday, "The Plot Against Ahmadinejad, Part II".

Meanwhile on the hot front, the questions persist about the Government's holidays for Sunday and Monday because of "extreme heat". Reformist member of Parliament Dariush Ghanbari has suggested the weather cannot be the real reason for the sudden announcement, given the effect on business and services.

Broadcasting Resumed

A bit of relief for the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Ezzatollah Zarghami, from both the Tehran heat and international pressure....

After Dutch counterparts withdrew their invitation for Zarghami and his colleagues to visit them, Zarghami was welcomed by Germany's broadcast directors, ARD chairman Peter Boudgoust and ZDF director-general Markus Schächter, in Mainz on Friday. IRIB made sure it filmed the occasion.

The Latest from Iran (8 July): Criticisms

1633 GMT: We have posted the English translation of Mir Hossein Mousavi's statement on Wednesday about UN sanctions, foreign policy, and the weaknesses and abuses of the Ahmadinejad Government.

1630 GMT: A Message from Evin Prison. A Green website has posted what it claims is a message from student leader Majid Tavakoli for 18 Tir (9 July), the 11th anniversary of university demonstrations.

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1530 GMT: The Universities Crisis. Hamid Farokhnia at Tehran Bureau offers an extensive review of the political battle over Islamic Azad University from 2006 to the present.

1525 GMT: The Oil Squeeze. Oil traders said Iran is buying about half of its gasoline imports in July from Turkey and the rest from Chinese suppliers.

Traders estimate Iran will import around 90,000 barrels per day of gasoline in July, steady from June.

1520 GMT: Labour Front. More than 180 workers at Alborz China Manufacturing Company in Qazvin, staged a protest in front of the factory gates on Tuesday. The workers claim they are owed wages for more than six months.

1515 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran claims that Iranian authorities are victimizing political prisoners by subjecting them to dangerously unhealthy prison conditions and refusing them medical treatment when they become ill.

Spokesperson Hadi Ghaemi said, “Iran is targeting prisoners of conscience by subjecting them to overcrowding, disease, inadequate accommodations, insanitary conditions, malnutrition, and lack of access to medical care.”

1445 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. Peyke Iran is claiming that the strike in the Tehran Bazaar has continued into a third day, despite the detention of one of the leaders (see 0755 GMT).

This is claimed footage of a strike today in the rug market in Tabriz:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5TdKg17rvU[/youtube]

And the bazaar in Mashaad:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ0F3NSDnMk[/youtube]

1435 GMT: Condemning the Stoning. Foreign intervention in the case of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, the woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery....

Britain's Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt has called on Iran to put an immediate stay to the execution. On Tuesday, Norway's State Secretary Espen Barth Eide summoned the Iranian Ambassador, Seyed Hossein Rezvani, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to denounce Mohammadi-Ashtiani's sentence and that of Mohammad Reza Haddadi, condemned to death for an crime allegedly committed when he was a minor.

1430 GMT: Back from an extended break for work with the Journal of American Studies. Many thanks to readers for keeping news and analysis flowing....

0808 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rah-e-Sabz features the letter of Hashem Khastar, union activist and retired teacher, to Iran's judiciary on the "human catastrophe" in the prisons.

0805 GMT: The Battle Within. Conservative MP Hossein Ghafouri-Fard has said that the atmosphere is still "too agitated" for establishing a new political party.

0800 GMT: Counter-attack. The President's judicial deputy, Fatemeh Bodaghi, has asserted that Government complaints against the office of Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf are still at a "preliminary stage".

0755 GMT: The Bazaar Strike. Rah-e-Sabz, in a lengthy overview of the strike in the Tehran Bazaar, claims that protests continued yesterday with shouts such as "Death to the Dictator!". The website also asserts that one leader of the strike was taken away by security and plainclothes forces to an unknown location.

0745 GMT: Protest Then, Protest Now. More than 30 Iranian students' organisations based overseas have issued a statement for the 11th anniversary of student demonstrations on 18 Tir (9 July) and holding up the university as "a pillar of civil society".

0725 GMT: Mousavi's Statement. Green Voice of Freedom has an extended English summary of the comments by Mir Hossein Mousavi on sanctions, the economy, and the mismanagement of the Government.

0700 GMT: We begin this morning with a snap analysis moving between the latest statement of Mir Hossein Mousavi and the strike in the Tehran Bazaar, "The Wave of Economic Discontent".

That, however, is only a snapshot of the latest tensions. Consider....

Parliament v. President

Alef summarises the latest criticisms by principlist member of Parliament, Ahmad Tavakoli, in a Tuesday speech in the Majlis. Tavakoli attacked the "inefficiency" and "weakness" of the Ahmadinejad Government and, getting specific about the post-election crisis, wondered when someone would be held accountable for the Kahrizak prison abuses.

An EA correspondent adds that, in an online poll by Khabar Online asking about Tavakoli's attack on the "lawlessness" of Ahmadinejad, "only" 89% agreed with the member of Parliament. (The somewhat tongue-in-cheek assessment of our correspondent should also be accompanied by the reminder that Khabar Online is linked to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, the cousin of Tavakoli.)

Calling the Government to Account

Member of Parliament Assadollah Badamchian has insisted that the Article 90 Commission of the Majlis has the right to question the President about his management and handling of laws.

Hojatoleslam Hossein Sobhani-nia has asserted that the Minister of Interior minister could be summoned to the Majlis over the recent Basiji/student protests against Parliament's legislation on Islamic Azad University.

In contrast, MP Bijan Nobaveh has declared that accusing the Government of "rowdyism" is "treacherous" behaviour.