The Latest from Iran (22 July): Confusing Regime

2125 GMT: Today's All-is-Well Alert. Iran's police chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam has declared that there is no smuggling of gas and oil across Iran's borders.

Then again, maybe all is not well: despite there being no smuggling, Ahmadi-Moghaddam has said the budget for border defence is inadequate.

2115 GMT: Religious Difficulties. Mohammad Nasser Saghaie Biriya, the President's religious advisor has resigned, allegedly because of divisions over the enforcement of hijab.

Saghaie Biriya is a disciple of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, who has been seen as Ahmadinejad's religious mentor.

NEW Iran Analysis: The Supreme Leader & the Disappearing Fatwa (Verde)
Iran Media Follow-Up: War, War, War. Blah, Blah, Blah. No Facts. More War. Blah.
Iran Special: Khamenei’s “I Am the Rule of the Prophet” Fatwa — Strength or Weakness? (Verd
The Latest from Iran (21 July): Khamenei Rattled?

2100 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Detained student activist Arsalan Abadi has been sentenced to six years in prison by an appellate court. Abadi, arrested during the Ashura protests on 27 December, had originally been given a nine-year term.

2055 GMT: Regime v. Rafsanjani. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami has tried to put former President Hashemi Rafsanjani in his place, saying that his position is still the same as it was on 19 June last year, when the Supreme Leader tried to close off debate over the result of the Presidential election. Khatami said Rafsanjani's s future depends on Ayatollah Khamenei's decisions and the elections for the head of Expediency Council, the position Rafsanjani currently holds.

1945 GMT: Prohibiting Remembrance. Back from a break to catch up with this news from Wednesday....

The National Front of Iran has announced that security forces pressured the organisation into cancelling its public events. The head of the National Front was that any gathering in 7th Tir Square and boarding the bus to travel to Baboyeh Cemetery is prohibited.

On 21 July 1953, demonstrators protested the dismissal of the nationalist Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, and were killed inby security forces of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The victims were laid to rest in Baboyeh.

1310 GMT: Scattering the Students. Rah-e-Sabz reports that Tehran University's dormitories will be evacuated this summer, with students distributed across the city.

1245 GMT: Economy Watch. Reformist MP Mohammad Reza Khabbaz has declared that excessive imports will break the back of domestic production.

1000 GMT: (Refuting the) Rumour of the Day. MP Qodratollah Alikhani identifying the mis-information put out by Javan, the newspaper linked to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, dismisses its latest tale that Green leaders met in a hotel sauna.

0954 GMT: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Film Expert. The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has announced that a High Council for Cinema, led by the President, has been established.

An EA correspondent ponders, "What would be the titles of the films considered by this Council?"

0945 GMT: Education Corner. The licence of the Islamic Association at the University of Kashan has been revoked by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education is reportedly sending religious missonaries to 3000 girls' schools in Tehran.
0855 GMT: Sanctions. MP Mohsen Nariman has challenged the Government's official line: "Claiming that sanctions have no effects is political propaganda."

0810 GMT: Staying on Point. Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani is continuing to ensure that his credentials on foreign policy are not in question, saying on Wednesday that the Iran-Brazil-Turkey declaration on a uranium swap is the only solution to the nuclear issue and adding that sanctions are sure to result in failure.
0805 GMT: Getting the Right Clerics in Place. According to Rooz Online, Seyed Reza Taghavi, the head of policy for Friday Prayers, has said 60 Friday Prayer clerics will be "retired" this summer.

0705 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist Azam Visemeh after her release from detention yesterday:



0700 GMT: In the Bazaar. Nejat Bahrami, writing for insideIRAN, analyses, "Bazaari Criticism of Ahmadinejad Bursts into the Open":

Another factor that can bring the bazaar and the opposition closer to each other is the role of the government. Mistakes made by the government and their impact should never be underestimated. Continuation of failed economic policies by the Ahmadinejad administration and further pressure on Iran by the international community can further intensify the economic crisis in Iran and alienate some parts of this important, influential group of merchants.

0655 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Two overviews of interest this morning....

Shayan Ghajar writes in insideIRAN, "Sanctions Open Iran to Russian, Chinese Firms", while Ardalan Sayami's analysis in Rooz Online is that "Sanctions Turn the Government to the Private Sector".

0635 GMT: A Clue on the Fatwa? Personally, I believe that the first audience for the Supreme Leader's supposed fatwa on Tuesday was the senior clerics of Qom, some of whom have been unsettled throughout the post-election crisis and many of whom were roused to anger by the June attacks on Seyed Hassan Khomeini and on the houses of Grand Ayatollah Sane'i and the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri. (Using this line of reasoning, a possible reason for the "disappearance" of the fatwa is that it was not received well by those clerics.)

Support for this interpretation comes in Rah-e-Sabz, which posts a provocative account of Ayatollah Khamenei's recent journey to Qom and his meetings with the clerics.

0605 GMT: Perhaps the most spirited response to our coverage since Tuesday of the Supreme Leader's alleged fatwa --- "I am the Rule of the Prophet" --- has come from a reader who say, "Nothing new, he has simply reiterated the meaning of the velayat-e-faqih [clerical supremacy] as originally articulated by the late Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini....It is not always good to murky the water as you like doing here."

With respect, I beg to differ. While the content of Ayatollah Khameini's declaration has its precendents, it has not taken on the form of a fatwa, at least not under this Supreme Leader. And, as always, the distinction lays in timing, context, and developments: Why now? To what end? And what has happened to the fatwa, which has "disappeared" from many Iranian state outlets?

Mr Verde takes another look in an analysis.

Meanwhile....

Mousavi's Latest

Almost lost in the confusion over the Supreme Leader's statement --- did he or didn't he? --- was Mir Hossein Mousavi's intervention in a meeting with professors.

Mousavi, unwittingly intersecting with the presentation of and uncertainty over Khamenei's words, condemned “fabrication” and “distortion” of truth by the Government and stressed that “systematic lies” are the signs of the “decline” of a system. He said the media of the Green Movement should make every effort to “unravel” these lies and counter the “ominous phenomenon": “We must provide our people with a truthful analysis of every situation that the government represents through lies; even though our possibilities are not as much as the authoritarian government.”

Mousavi also spoke about the recent bombings in southeastern Iran, declaring that the problems of the ethnic groups in the border regions must be a priority and maintaining that terrorism can only be confronted through “development coupled with justice".

Power Crisis

Tabnak reports that electricity prices for farmers will increase 10-fold.

The Latest from Iran (16 July): Explosions and Conflict

2049 GMT: In a meeting with journalists, Grand Ayatollah Sane'i has said, “One of the issues that the media should pay attention to is the topic of lying and its transformation to a culture which unfortunately has deepened its roots in our society these days. For some individuals, it is not only a culture but has become part of their nature and telling the truth does not have any meaning for them anymore.”

2045 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. Human Rights Activist News Agency claims that intelligence agents are trying to intimidate bazaaris in Tabriz, going to their house and threatening them over closing their stalls.

1920 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Isa Khan-Hatami --- director and editor of the banned magazine Iran Mehr, secretary of Solidarity for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran, and member of Iran National Front central council --- has been sentenced to two years in prison for  assembly and conspiring to commit crimes against national security, anti-regime propaganda, and disturbing the public order.

Khan-Hatami was detained on 28 December and  released on 7 February on $50,000 bail.

An appeals court has upheld a six-year sentence imposed on student activist Salman Sima.

NEW Iran: Thursday’s Suicide Bombings in Zahedan
Iran Follow-Up: The Story Beyond the Opposition, Enduring America, and US “Neoconservatives”
The Latest from Iran (15 July): The Zahedan Bombing

1915 GMT: The Bazaar Strikes. Back from a break to find that influential MP Habibollah Asgharowladi and his Parliamentary group are pressing Bazaaris to accept the Government's deal of a 15% business tax hike.

1410 GMT: Relieving the Oil Squeeze? Mehr News is reporting that, during the summit between Russian and Iranian Energy Ministers, agreement was reached for a joint oil bank within three months.

In contrast, the construction firm linked to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has pulled out of a $2 billion natural gas project in the South Pars field. The firm was supposed to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of foreign companies such as Royal Dutch Shell and Spain's Repsol.

1405 GMT: Your Tehran Friday Prayer Update --- "Boobquake" Seddiqi Bounces Back.

Since his spectacular "Women's Breasts = Earthquake" performance early this week, Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi has struggled to find form. His repetition of the West is Bad, Iran is Doing Mighty Fine line just hasn't matched up for originality and exercise.

Well, today Seddiqi bounced back. Some have been putting out their deep, dark thoughts on the Shahram Amiri defecting/abducted scientist/non-scientist case; others have been raising the real story behind yesterday's Zahedan suicide bombings.

Seddiqi's magic trick was to put the two together: "This act of terror [in Zahedan] aims to cover up America's loss of face and the trampling of its intelligence authority in the international arena over Shahram Amiri's case."

Bravo, sir. But if I may, you could have gone even further with this stop-stopper: there was an earthquake in Washington, DC last night.

1310 GMT: The Bazaar Strike and Politics. HomyLafayette posts some excellent observations on what appears to be a curious development: why would the "conservative" news site Alef post photographs confirming that some stalls in the Tehran Bazaar were closed on Thursday, given that state media were trying to ignore the existence of a strike? Here's the answer:

The web site, Alef, is run by Ahmad Tavakoli, Majlis representative (Tehran) and head of the legislature's research center. Tavakoli is a cousin of Speaker Ali Larijani -- he is the son of Larijani's aunt -- and has been a critic of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad since his first term as president. Tavakoli, who obtained his doctorate in economics from the University of Nottingham in the 1990s, was one of the first Malis deputies to accuse Ali Kordan, interior minister in Ahmadinejad's first administration, of faking his doctorate. The late Kordan was subsequently impeached. Tavakoli and several of his close allies in the Majlis have continued to denounce the government's economic policies, the level of the post-election crackdown, and the fake doctorates of several ministers and vice-presidents.

The article which was posted yesterday on Alef contended, "While [National Traders' Council chief] Ghassem Nodeh [Farahani] has spoken of the conclusion of discussions on traders' taxes [...] and business as usual in the bazaar in recent days, Alef's journalist's report shows that some portions of the bazaar remain closed." Alef posted photos of the bazaar which were purportedly taken at noon on Thursday.

HomyLafayette also considers readers' reactions to the posting of the article noting that many criticised the bazaaris, this did not translate into support for the Government. Instead, readers lambasted the state-run media for ignoring the issue.

1225 GMT: The Pretence of Justice. Zahra Rahnavard, activist and wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi, has visited Narges Mohammadi, the women's rights activist recently released from detention, at Mohammadi's home. Rahnavard said, "It is a shame that such things happen in the prisons of a country, whose leaders pretend they are defending justice."

1215 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders have issued a statement on Iran's political prisoners, "Their most basic rights are being violated, starting with the right to adequate medical treatment."

The organisations continue, "[We] are outraged by the conditions in which these prisoners are being held. These conditions have had a considerable physical and psychological impact on their health and most of them are ill. The two organisations believe that the purpose of the denial of medical treatment is to put pressure on them and their families."

Peyke Iran claims that student Sina Golchin and Vahid Asghari are at risk because of the lack of medical care in Section 350 of Evin Prison.

1210 GMT: Parliament v. President. Emad Hosseini, the chair of Parliament's Energy Commission, has warned that the delay in implementation of subsidy cuts is breaking the law and that the Government no longer wants to introduce them.

1200 GMT: The Ascent of Mesbah Yazdi? The opposition website Peyke Iran posts photos of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi --- who this week has put out some interesting statements regarding the Supreme Leader and the President --- greeting Revolutionary Guard commanders. The caption: "Mesbah Yazdi's Rise to Power".



0925 GMT: Refugees. New Media Journal publishes a report on "Iranian Refugees: A Human Rights Disaster".

0855 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Green Voice of Freedom reports on the prevalence of Hepatitis A in the women's section of Evin Prison.

0750 GMT: Parliament v. President. MP Hamidreza Fouladgar has said that the sale of 18% of Iran's Saipa automobile company is as "superficial", i.e., fraudulent. as the  privatisation of Iran Telecom and is not in line with Article 44 of Iran's Constitution.

0745 GMT: Food Fight. Khabar Online claims that the head of Tehran's Institute of Standards will be dismissed because he confirmed imports of polluted rice, contradicting the head of  the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran and Minister of Health, who said all was fine.

0730 GMT: Remembering the Past for the Present. Gozaar has interviewed Roya Boroumand about the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation's recent report on the execution of thousands in the 1980s in Iran. Boroumand says:

I believe it’s always the “right time” for the truth of events like the 1988 massacre to be made public. In any event, the officials who helped cover up or provide justification for this event must own up to the truth someday. If we don’t acknowledge the reality of what happened, such incidents and atrocities will continue to occur without anyone ever accepting any responsibility.

0650 GMT: Remembering. During Thursday's memorial service for Mohsen Ruholamini, abused and killed in Kahrizak Prison a year ago, a war veteran cut off Hojatoleslam Abutorabi-Fard's sermon and asked why former Tehran Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi, now a Presidential aide, had not been held accountable.

0640 GMT: Iran Changes Mind "Psychology & Sociology Useless". According to Khabar Online, the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, has said that condemned theories of psychoogy and sociology, asserting that it makes no sense to teach them when their ideas are incompatible with religious assumptions.

Less than a month ago, Larijani had said on national television:

Don't...crimes need a cultural discussion...? Don't drugs need a cultural discussion? Doesn't armed robbery need a cultural discussion? In the whole world this is discussed. The psychology of crimes is itself a topic of discussion. Why does a robber go after robbery? Or why do some want to abuse people's families? Some of these people may actually be sick. Well all of this needs cultural work, even psychological work, and sociological work.

0630 GMT: Shutting Down Students. So you think sanctions have no effect? TOEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language), one of the two leading tests taken by Iranian students who want to study in English-speaking countries, has been suspended because its provider is "unable to process payments from Iran" after the latest UN sanctions.

That restriction complements those already in place by Iran's Ministry of Higher Education. The ministry is refusing to send students to British universities because of the political situation, and it is reported that candidates are being vetted for "reliability" as well as academic merit.

0520 GMT: Yesterday's news was overtaken, if only for a dramatic moment in this post-election conflict, by the double suicide bombing in Zahedan. We have latest updates and analysis in a separate entry.

Meanwhile....

The Nuclear Scientist/Non-Scientist Defection/Abduction Case



The battle for propaganda advantage over Shahram Amiri, the scientist who was in the US for 14 months before returning to Iran this week, continues. It appears that US officials are trying to counter any impression that the time and effort expended on Amiri was largely wasted on information of limited use.

The latest line, handed out to The New York Times, is that Amiri had been a CIA informant inside Iran for several years. He was "one of the sources" for the central 2007 National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear programme. (The officials don't seem to care that, if true, this would indicate Amiri provided information against the immediate military development of nuclear weapons: the NIE said that Tehran would not have that capability, even if it had the intention, for several years.)

Doesn't take much to guess who the primary casualty of this campaign may be. Despite the smiles in the photographs as Amiri returned to Tehran, the US statements --- regardless of truth --- put the black mark on him in Iran. A US official was forthright, “His safety depends on him sticking to that fairy tale about pressure and torture. His challenge is to try to convince the Iranian security forces that he never cooperated with the United States.”