The Latest from Iran (26 July): Behind the International Screen

2055 GMT: Moscow is Not Amused. Looks like President Ahmadinejad went too far in his shtick of "Russia is aiding and abetting the US-Israel plot to attack Arab allies of Iran".

The Russian Foreign Ministry has put out a statement, "For us the recent public statements of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are categorically unacceptable....[They] distorted Russia's objective approach, our independent, constructive line towards the Iranian nuclear programme with the aim of finding a political and diplomatic resolution. We consider that instead of fruitless and irresponsible rhetoric, the Iranian leadership should take concrete, constructive steps towards the speediest regulation of the situation."

Iran Analysis: Re-Defining the Green Movement (Verde)
UPDATED Iran Media Follow-Up: War, War, War. Blah, Blah, Blah. No Facts. More War. Blah.
The Latest from Iran (25 July): The Re-Appearing Fatwa

2000 GMT: Academic Corner. Sima, the student newspaper at Ferdowsi University, has been banned.

1915 GMT: "Khamenei Must Go" (cont. --- see 1115 GMT). Ahmad Ghabel, seminary lecturer and author, has followed up his recent criticism of the Supreme Leader with a statement that arrests have happened with the approval of Ayatollah Khamenei and "the Iranian people are free on bail".

1910 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Canada has followed the European Union in imposing additional sanctions on Tehran, notably in the energy sector.

1630 GMT: The International Front. Forget the talking tough (see 1500 GMT): the theme today from Tehran is openness to discussions. Islamic News Republic Agency and Fars News are both highlighting the statement of Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's nuclear organisation, "The clear message of this letter [to the International Atomic Energy Agency] was Iran's complete readiness to hold negotiations over the fuel for the Tehran reactor without any conditions."

1500 GMT: Talking Tough Time. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has criticised the latest measures adopted by the European Union (see 1430 GMT), "Sanctions… will only complicate matters and move away [the parties] from mutual understanding."

Yeah, yeah, whatever (the Iranians are actually angling for talks, via contact with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Turkey and Brazil's mediation, with the EU on the uranium issue). If you want some macho fire-breathing, you have to go to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, who reveals the Obama Administration is "one of lies":

You witnessed what they did to Palestinians; Israeli settlements in Palestine are expanding by the day and the Zionist regime destroys mosques and of course Gaza is still under siege....Americans wrongly perceive Lebanon as a toy but they should be more careful lest this toy severs their hand.

On the surface they condemn terrorism but behind the curtain they support terrorists… as it became clear, during [Jundullah ringleader Abdolmalek] Rigi's confessions, that he was linked to the US and NATO and they supported this terrorist cell.

1430 GMT: Sanctions Watch. The European Union has formally adopted a package of new sanctions against Iran, targeting foreign trade, banking, and energy.

1425 GMT: Oil Squeeze. Reuters reports, from a shipping document, that only three cargoes of gasoline have so far reached Iran in July, far less than the seasonal norm, because of the pressure of sanctions.

Traditionally during the summer season, with people driving on holidays, Iran needs 11-13 cargoes a month.

The three cargoes this month and were supplied by Turkish refiner Tupras and the trading arm of China's Sinopec, Unipec. Another cargo is expected to arrive from Venezuela.

1150 GMT: Mousavi's Latest. Mir Hossein Mousavi, in his most recent speech, has discussed the "untold story" of the war between Iran and Iraq from 1980 to 1988.

1123 GMT: Revolutionary Guard in Control? Mehdi Karroubi, in an interview with BBC Persian, has declared that there is now an effective "monopoly" by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and the Basij militia in the country.

1120 GMT: Parliament v. President. Reformist MP Hojatoleslam Qodratollah Alikhani has complained about President Ahmadinejad's "joy" at US and UN sanctions, saying that he hopes this has not increased the prospect of war.

1115 GMT: "Khamenei Must Go". Noted Iranian intellectual Abdolkarim Soroush, now living in exile, has complemented recent calls --- from Mohsen Kadivar and Ahmad Ghabel outside the country and Isa Saharkhiz inside it --- for the Supreme Leader to step down.

1040 GMT: Rumour of Day. Parleman News claims that the Hojjatieh Society has formally applied for a licence.

Hojjatieh has provoked much comment and speculation since its founding as a semi-clandestine Shi'a organisation in 1953. It was forced to dissolve after a speech by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1983, but stories circulate that it is connected to President Ahmadinejad and other senior figures in the Iranian regime.

1035 GMT: Energy Squeeze? Deputy Minister of Oil Alireza Zeighami has said,"We need $46 billion to finish our refinery projects." The funds will contribute to new capacity for 5 billion litres of liquid fuel.

Some numbers for comparison: the $46 billion is more than 15 times the $3.1 billion in Foreign Direct Investment in 2009 --- a number pushed by Iranian officials as a sign of the country's growth --- and 92 times the amount of the $500 million bond project announced today for the South Pars gas and oil field.

1015 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Rah-e-Sabz reports that former President Hashemi Rafsanjani will visit Hamzeh Karami, the director of Jumhoriat website and a senior official at Islamic Azad University, in hospital. Karami, detained soon after the June 2009 election, is in intensive care with a heart condition.

Last summer, Karami's "confession" in a televised trial in Tehran was used to implicate Rafsanjani's son, Mehdi Hashemi, in alleged fraud and misconduct over the election.

1010 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Agence France Presse has picked up the story --- noted in our updates yesterday --- that journalist Emad Baghi, detained in December 2009 and recently released on bail, has been given a one-year sentence and banned for five years from political activities from charges in a 2008 case.

1000 GMT: Reviewing the Supreme Leader. An entry on an Iranian blog puts forth supposed reaction from clerics in Qom to Ayatollah Khameini's fatwa, "I am the Rule of the Prophet".

0955 GMT: Picture of Day. Mir Hossein Mousavi meets reformist politician Mohsen Armin, recently released from detention on $200,000 bail:



0950 GMT: Parliament v. Government. Vice Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Reza Bahonar has reiterated that the Majlis will stand up to the Ahmadinejad Government, rejecting its implementation measures.

0945 GMT: Concessions to the Villagers? Kalemeh claims that a new Government directive removes limits on social security for Sunni residents in rural areas.

0935 GMT: Setting the Record Straight. Fereshteh Ghazi interviews the family of Mohammad-Hossein Feiz, shot dead in protests on 30 June 2009. They reveal that Feiz was not a Basij militiaman, as the regime claimed, but a demonstrator.

0930 GMT: Economy Watch. Iran Negah posts a video interview with a girl living in poverty in Tehran. She says, "God only helps rich people." (Persian2English has an English translation.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnT7xl5zYDM[/youtube]

0925 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Peyke Iran claims that student Vahid Asghari has had his nose and ribs broken in Bushehr Prison.

0920 GMT: Parliament v. Government. Members of Parliament are continuing to threaten impeachment of Minister of Agriculture Sadegh Khalilian over claims that imports are driving down rice prices received by Iranian farmers.

0800 GMT: Water Pressure. Amidst stories of impurities and shortages in Iran's water supply, Tehran's Yaft-Abad quarter has installed a temporary water filter.

0730 GMT: Music of Dissent. Shahin Najafi, an Iranian musician and poet now living in Germany, has released "Vay Koshte Maro", a song of protest against the current Government.

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

0725 GMT: Parliament v. President. The influential member of Parliament, Gholam-Reza Mesbahi-Moghaddam, has emphasised that "not all hardliners accepted the elimination of reformists" in the post-election conflict.

0720 GMT: The Saharkhiz Criticism. Persian2English has now posted the first part of journalist Isa Saharkhiz's statement in court --- featured on EA last week --- with its direct criticism of the Supreme Leader.

0715 GMT: No, No, Talk about the War. Press TV keeps up the Iranian state line, "Shameful Defeats Awaits US in 3rd War". The article features the Sunday comments of Brigadier General Masoud Jayazeri, “The United States, which has already suffered two heavy, disgraceful defeats against Hezbollah and Hamas in the region, can start a new war with a third country to endure another defeat.”

0710 GMT: So what is happening inside Iran? Credit to two "Western" outlets for stories that defy the trend of Nukes and War.

The Los Angeles Times posts a summary of "New Series of Attacks on Members of the Bahai Faith in Iran".

The Guardian of London picks up on the story --- reported in our updates yesterday --- of the disappearance of prominent human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei and the arrest of his wife and brother-in-law. Mostafaei represents Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman whose death sentence for adultery has provoked international criticism of Tehran.

0630 GMT: The lead stories in the media this morning on Iran are far from what is happening inside Tehran.

From the Iranian Government's point of view, the weekend's meeting between the Turkish, Brazilian, and Iranian Foreign Ministers is the platform to focus attention on the uranium enrichment issue. Paralleling the rhetoric denouncing the West, notably in the speeches of President Ahmadinejad, the possibility of renewed discussions --- raised by Iran's statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency today --- comes to the fore. The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, says, "The Tehran nuclear declaration on a possible nuclear fuel swap is a good base for the sides to build confidence. Iran has prepared its response to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Vienna group which will be sent within the next two or three days."

And from the US --- not from the Government, I hasten to add, but from the chattering classes --- the topic is not resolution but war. CNN's Sunday interview with Michael Hayden, the head of the CIA in the Bush Administration, is the latest pretext to take speculation from someone far from the centre of developments and turn into a Most Important Prediction.

Indeed, there is a convenient symmetry here. On one side, those who desire regime change in Iran can do so with little reference to politics, society, religion, or any other matter inside the country --- it's always and only the spectral "imminent threat" that is featured. On the other, those who support the Iranian Government --- irrespective of what it does inside the country --- can avoid troubling themselves with human rights, justice, and legitimacy. Instead, they can raise the speculative and unsupported to a clear-and-present danger and argue that the avoidance of a US-Iran war takes priority.

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.”