The Latest from Iran (29 July): 22% Support?

1935 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Activist Hoda Saber, who was mysteriously taken by unknown persons on Saturday, has called his family from Evin Prison. The reason for arrest is unknown.

International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran updates on the transfer of 15 political prisoners, including student activist Abdollah Momeni and journalist Bahman Ahmadi Amoui, to solitary confinement in Evin Prison. (We have previously reported that 10 detainees were transferred.) The 15 are protesting the “unsuitable treatment of prisoners and their families by prison authorities and Ward 350 officers on visitation days; lack of health and welfare facilities; as well as suspension of visitation privileges of several prisoners.”

NEW Iran Analysis: Twisting & Turning to Prove the Leader is Supreme (Verde)
NEW Iran: How “Ahmadinejad v. Paul the Octopus” Became a Global Showdown
Iran Analysis: The Hardliners Take on Ahmadinejad
Latest Iran Video: Ahmadinejad on Afghanistan, Sanctions, & the US (26 July)
The Latest from Iran (28 July): A Presidential Target?

1730 GMT: Sporting Moment. Kodoom reports on triumph turned into trouble....

Hossein Askari, riding for the Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team, won the Tour of Qinghai Lake in China.  However, according to Ali Zangiabadi, the director of the Iranian Cycling Federation, Askari will face disciplinary action in Iran after he popped the cork from a champagne bottle in his victory celebration.



1720 GMT: Academic Corner. The Educational Testing Service has announced that it is resuming registrations in Iran for TOEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language) and GRE (Graduate Record Examination) tests.

The examinations, which are vital for many Iranian students who wish to study abroad, were suspended two weeks ago after tighter U.N. Security Council restrictions on financial transactions involving Iran led to ETS's banking arrangements being discontinued. Students wishing to take the tests may now register through Iran's National Organization of Educational Testing or mayn use credit/debit cards issued by banks that are not prohibited under UN or US sanctions.

1530 GMT: Solving the Oil Squeeze? Three Russian state-controlled oil companies may begin delivering gasoline to Iran in a month, the head of the Iran Commission of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce & Industry has said. Talks are being held on a “working level” and the first delivery may take place in late August or September.

1500 GMT: Karroubi Answers. Mehdi Karroubi has offered a response to Ayatollah Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council (see separate entry): "If I am an intriguer, then you are in league with those who stole the people's votes....What you called sedition was an election which was as usual engineered by you and think tanks led by you or others like you at the Ministry of Interior and Guardian Council."

1420 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Iranian activists have posted an updated letter, addressed to the Supreme Leader, requesting commutation of the death sentences of Jafar Kazemi (see 1110 GMT) and Mohammad Ali Haj Aghaei, both arrested during post-election protests and accused of "mohareb" (war against God).

Radio Zamaneh has now posted an English text of the news of Kazemi's sentence.

1410 GMT: Oil Squeeze. Reports indicate that Iran shipped around 9 million barrels of crude oil to China in June, a fall of 13.1 million barrels from last year.

1400 GMT: Water Watch. The Los Angeles Times updates on the reports that water in parts of Tehran are contaminated with high levels of toxic nitrate.

The article reports that the Ministry of Power has handed out free bottles of water to an underprivileged suburb south of the city. The Water and Sewage Waste Organization has recently dug new wells to expand the water supply. However, Minister of Health Marziyeh Vahid Dastjerdi announced that the amount of nitrate found in the drinking water in parts of Tehran exceeded the appropriate level, posing a serious threat to city-dwellers’ health.

1310 GMT: Mousavi Watch (1988 Edition). An EA correspondent checks in:

"The big news today is Enqelab Eslami, the Paris newspaper of former President Abulhassan Bani-Sadr, is allegedly re-leaking the full contents of the letter that Mousavi wrote to Ayatollah Khamenei in 1988 explaining his sudden resignation as Prime Minister. (The resignation was refused by Khomeini, who forced Mousavi to stay on.)

The contents, which I am trying to verify, are amusing: Mousavi decries his total lack of control or even information over events surrounding Iranian foreign policy and activities. For example, he states that he received word through the press that Iranian pilgrims have been apprehended in Jeddah carrying firearms or that the Speaker or Parliament, Hashemi Rafsanjani, exchanged letters with the Prime Minister of Japan and Mousavi only got wind of it when both sides finished the exchange.

Essentially this is a strong accusation against the un-constitutional accumulation of powers by Khamenei. Enqelab Eslami first leaked the letter in 1988, prior to Khomeini's death. It now republishes iafter Mousavi's threat to reveal all, (see the letter posted on EA).

Now the ball's firmly in Mousavi's own court: he either needs to deny the veracity of the claims or confirm the letter...."

1140 GMT: Mousavi Watch. Kalemeh has a short report of Mir Hossein Mousavi's meeting this morning with members of the Assembly of Teachers and Researchers of Qom.

1110 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. An Iranian activist reports that he death sentence of political prisoner Jafar Kazemi has been upheld by an appellate court.

Kazemi, arrested last September during protests, was convicted of "mohareb" (war against God) for connections with Mujahedin-e-Khalq, a charge that he has denied. He was also in prison for nine yers during the 1980s.

Reporters Without Borders has condemned the "abuse" of detained journalist Abdolreza Tajik and other political prisoners, “It is time for United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay to press the Iranian authorities to accept a visit from the UN special rapporteur on torture, so that he can investigate the allegations of mistreatment in Iranian prisons.”

This week the Tajik family wrote Iran’s head of judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, that the journalist said during a prison the privisit that he had been “dishonoured” and that he demanded to see his lawyer, Mohammad Sharif, and Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi.

1005 GMT: Oil Squeeze. The New York Times summarises Iran's announcement that it will increase domestic gasoline production by converting two petrochemical plants so they can produce gasoline by processing benzene.

Minister of Oil Masoud Mirkazemi's all-is-well alert was that Iran would become a net exporter of gasoline by 2015. Other scientists say, however, that gasoline from benzene will burn poorly with more impurities than regular gasoline, damaging engines.

0955 GMT: Security Escalation. Aftab News reports that 7000 bases for Basij militia are to be constructed, including 100 in Zanjan Province.

0930 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Add Australia to the list of countries ramping up restrictions on Tehran. Following the UN, US, and European Union measures, Canberra has tightened restrictions on Iranian oil and gas groups and companies for the first time and has banned trade of weapons and related material, including anything that could be used for development of nuclear, missile, chemical or biological capability.

0755 GMT: We have posted an analysis by Mr Verde, considering the significance of a speech by Ayatollah Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, "Twisting & Turning to Prove the Leader is Supreme".

0600 GMT: While we catch up with "other" news, we open today with a feature, "How 'Ahmadinejad v. Paul the Octopus' Became a Global Showdown".

The President may also want to take note of a recent poll conducted by the Iranian Student Polling Agency in which 56 percent of participants believe his popularity has declined over the past year while only 22 percent believe it has increased.

As readers know, we are cautious about any poll carried out inside Iran, but the ISPA, which surveyed 1172 people is is linked to Jahad Daneshgahi, an academic body which in turn is overseen by the Supreme Council for Cultural Revolution, headed by President Ahmadinejad.

Two-thirds of the respondents in the poll believe that dissatisfaction with the government remains widespread, if largely covert. Only 18% think that the government was able to control post-election protests.

Perhaps the most striking finding, however, is this: 80% said that economic issues such as inflation, lack of affordable housing, and unemployment are their main priorities. Lack of political and social freedoms was named by only 7%, weakening Islamic values concerned 6%, and international threats such as military attacks or economic sanctions was cited by 4% percent.

The Latest from Iran (15 July): The Zahedan Bombing

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.

NEW Iran Follow-Up: The Story Beyond the Opposition, Enduring America, and US “Neoconservatives"
Iran: Understanding That Nuclear Scientist/Abduction Case (All It Takes is 1 Cartoon)
Iran Through the Looking Glass: “Never Judge Enduring America by Its Cover”
The Latest from Iran (14 July): Getting to the Point

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 (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."

NEW Iran Special: A Response to “The Plot Against Ahmadinejad” (Verde)
Iran Exclusive: The Plot to Remove Ahmadinejad, Act II
The Latest from Iran (10 July): The Plot Against the President

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.

Iran Analysis: Crisis...What Crisis? (Verde)

Mr Verde writes for EA:

With his declaration this week, it looks like Ahmad Tavakoli --- leading conservative member of Parliament, former Minister of Labor, former Presidential candidate, cousin of Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and head of Iran's judiciary Sadegh Larijani --- has crossed the Rubicon of resistance. What else coud the following mean?

How does the President permit himself to refuse to follow a laws that he does not think is in his interest or even worse to say to astonished viewers on TV that I will not implement it?

How else can Tavakoli declare that Ahamadinejad “is teaching others to disobey the law”?

Tavakoli is reported to have complained about the post-election abuses in Kahrizak Prison, the attacks on student dormitories, and the corruption cases against high-ranking government officials with corruption case (a clear reference to 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi).

Tavakoli also listed Ahmadinejad’s illegal actions. Moreover, it is reported that Tavakoli said that, to impeach the President,a 2/3 majority of the Parliament is needed. Thirteen months into the post-election crisis, this is the first time anyone in authority has dared speak of Ahmadinejad's removal.

The Islamic Azad University dispute may have been the catalyst for latest developments.

The argument between Parliament and President had been fought for some time, so it is likely that this week's intervention by the Supreme Leader was a reluctant one. Although his verdict was that the status of the university remain unchanged for now, the outcome can be seen as a victory for former Hashemi Rafsanjani.

After all, Khamenei had consistently allowed Ahmadinejad to attack Rafsanjani and had refused to intervene on Rafsanjani’s behalf, even when the latter had requested the Supreme Leader's involvement. In his Friday Prayer sermon a week after the election, Khameni said that, although he had been friends with Rafsanjani for decades, but Ahmadinejad was now closer to him.

The fact that Khamenei has now been forced to intervene in the university crisis with two official orders is a sign that, after a long time, Rafsanjani and his allies have managed to force Khamenei into stopping or slowing down Ahamdinejad’s march on their territory. The cancellation of the meeting of the Supreme Council for Cultural Revolution and the retention of Ahmad Jasbi, a close ally of Rafsanjani, as Islamic Azad's chancellor, is also a slap-down of Ahmadinejad.

A panel led by the head of judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, has been set up to look into the SCCR’s decision about Azad University --- which backed the President --- and to report its findings as soon as possible. With a panel endorsement of the SCCR, the dispute can still go Ahmadinejad’s way, but for now he has been slowed down.

These manoeuvres could have created the space for Tavakoli to attack Ahmadinejad in a statement in the Parliament. The location is notable: speeches in the Majlis are documented and become part of the country’s national archive).

There are other signs that all is not well. Some Tehran Bazaar merchants went on strike Tuesday about new taxes. The stoppage is not new --- there was a similar event two years ago --- but by the end of the day the government agreed to scrap the taxes.

The "retreat", as it is already being labelled by reformists, comes at a time when the Government needs to show that it is strong, authoritative, and cannot be pushed around by the closing of shops for a few hours. You would have thought that the Iranian authorities would have at least waited a few days and made the pretence of investigating the grievances before giving in. The episode has left the government looking like pushovers.

Crisis…what crisis?