The Latest from Iran (28 June): The Regime Fails to Wrap Up the Election

The Latest from Iran Crisis (29 June): The Challenge Survives

NEW Latest Video: Rally at Ghobar Mosque (28 June)
The Iran Crisis (Day 17): What to Watch For Today

NEW UPDATE Iran: A Tale of Two Twitterers
Text: Mousavi Letter to Guardian Council (27 June)
Text: Mousavi Letter to Overseas Supporters (24 June)
The Latest from Iran (27 June): Situation Normal. Move Along.

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2100 GMT: Report that the eight Iranian employees of the British Embassy, detained this morning, have been released.

1900 GMT: The Rafsanjani Speech. Tehran Bureau's Muhammad Sahimi echoes our analysis (see 1655 GMT), “Rafsanjani breaking his silence. I read what Rafsanjani said. It was not saying much. He was saying the standard things, ‘the complaints must be addressed.’ He also talked about foreign roles, but did not say much. It is not clear where he stands.”

1745 GMT: Mir Hossein Mousavi was not at the rally today but it is reported that, via his mobile phone, he addressed them on loudspeakers.

BBC Persian is summarising former President Khatami's latest statement that all sides should avoid provocation and that a satisfactory resolution is possible through legal measures.

1705 GMT: While her father Hashemi Rafsanjani was setting out his public position, Faezeh Hashemi was attending (and reportedly speaking at) the Ghobar mosque rally. Mehdi Karroubi was also present.

1655 GMT: A summary of the Rafsanjani speech has now been posted online (in Farsi) by the Islamic State News Agency. The former President appears to have (cleverly) maintained his political space: he criticised "mysterious agents" who tried to create discord but also that the majority of demonstrators, when cognisant of those conspiracies, had been "neutral". Thus, his praise of the Supreme Leader sat alongside his recognition of protest as legitimate.

1635 GMT: Breaking news that former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has finally emerged in public with his first significant post-election statement: he is reported to have called for "elaborate processing of legal complaints in cooperation with candidates". He has also praised the Supreme Leader for extending the deadline for filing of complaints.

1630 GMT: Latest from Ghobar mosque. Now reports of "50,000" in vicinity. Riot police are stationed in a school nearby. Mir Hossein Mousavi has not yet shown up.

Report that lawyer/university professor Kambiz Norouzi arrested in front of the mosque.

1622 GMT: Associated Press is reporting the use of tear gas on the crowd in front of Ghobar mosque. The chant from the crowd, referring in memoriam to Ayatollah Beheshti, killed in 1981, "Where are you Beheshti? Mousavi's left all alone."

1610 GMT: We've posted the first video from the Ghobar mosque rally (and the first significant video out of Iran in four days). Only a 26-second clip, but there look to be far more than the "5000" people mentioned by CNN.

1523 GMT: First report and picture of "memorial" rally at Ghobar mosque. Former President Khatami has spoken. The mosque is full and "tens of thousands" of people are on surrounding streets

1500 GMT: Detention Update. Dr. Ghorban Behzadian Nezhad, the head of Mir Hossein Mousavi's headquarters, has been released, but prominent actresses Homa Roosta and Mahtab Nasirpour have been arrested. A report (in Farsi) of those arrested at Laleh Park (see our 27 June updates) has now been posted.

1410 GMT: It Ain't Over. Here's another clue that the political battle continues, and it comes from no less than the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. Press TV is playing its dutiful role by headlining, "Iran Slams Western Interference", but the real significance comes in Khamenei's call on Iranian politicians to toe the proper line: “If the nation and political elite are united in heart and mind, the incitement of international traitors and oppressive politicians will be ineffective.” He once again tried to lay responsibility for opposition candidates for whipping up impressionable extremists: “The people's emotions, especially that of the youth, must not be toyed with and they should not be pitted against one another."

Easy to translate this: challengers like Mehdi Karroubi (1315 GMT), Mir Hossein Moussavi, and even the "conservative" Mohsen Rezaei (1405 GMT) have not bowed down to the Guardian Council.

1405 GMT: Mohsen Rezaei, the most "conservative" of the three challengers to President Ahmadinejad, has also refused to quiet his objections to the regime's handling of the post-election situation. His representative has accused the Ministry of Interior of acting against the law and told the head of the election commission that he should stop provoking public opinion.

1330 GMT: Bluster and Reality from Washington. David Axelrod, a key advisor to President Obama, has spoken about Iran in his national television interview this morning. He labelled President Ahmadinejad's recent criticisms of the US and Western countries as "bloviations" trying to cause "political diversions".

Having made the necessary rhetorical posturing, Axelrod could then put out the less palatable but pragmatic line: the US, as part of the "5+1" group, would attend talks in Paris with Iran over its nuclear programme.

1315 GMT: Karroubi Makes His Move. The first answer to the question we set this morning, "Will the Guardian Council's actions today close off the high-profile protest?", has now come. Presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi has issued a direct challenge to the Council, in effect saying it does not have the authority to rule.

Karroubi, like Mir Hossein Moussavi (and, from a different political direction, Ali Larijani), declared that the Council had lost the neutrality necessary to be a fair legislative-judicial court because certain members favoured President Ahmadinejad. He said (in the paraphrase of an Iranian translator), "The Guardian Council's actions in the past two weeks had significantly diminished their place in public opinion." The response to the calls for protest by former President Mohammad Khatami was "a big no" to the Council. Karroubi concluded, "The small section of votes assigned to me" would not stop his challenge.

1145 GMT: The internal situation has been further complicated this afternoon with news of the first approved public gathering in almost two weeks. A memorial nominally for Ayatolllah Mohammad Beheshti, a leader of the Islamic Revolution who was killed in a terrorist bombing in May 1981, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. local time (1330 to 1530 GMT) at the Ghobar mosque in Tehran. The gathering will inevitably be projected by many as the memorial, so far denied by authorities, for those killed in post-election violence. Mir Hossein Mousavi will be attending the service.

1130 GMT: The media is dominated at the moment by the story, released this morning by Iranian state media, that eight Iranian personnel of the British Embassy have been detained.

While the development is of course serious for those arrested, it should be as a diversion from the internal conflict. There is still no information on the deliberations of the Guardian Council, which was supposed to issue its definitive  ruling on the Presidential election today.

Instead, Iranian media is offering a cocktail of stories of foreign intervention. In addition to the British Embassy story, Press TV's website is featuring "Ahmadinejad warns Obama over interference" and "Obama to fund anti-govt. elements in Iran: Report". (The latter story is based on a Friday article in USA Today.)

0725 GMT: We've posted an important document, Mir Hossein Mousavi's letter to the Guardian Council reiterating his challenge to the Presidential vote. Far from backing down, at least publicly, Mousavi has again called for a new election and called for a neutral arbitration panel rather than the Council's "special committee" to review the electoral process.

We've also posted Mousavi's letter, written on Wednesday, to his overseas supporters.

0600 GMT: As we note in our "What to Watch For Today" feature, Press TV's website is pushing yesterday's announcement of the Expediency Council, a body for legal and political resolution led by former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, calling on all campaigns to co-operate with the Guardian Council's "special committee" which is to hold an enquiry into the election. The Mousavi and Karroubi campaigns are holding out against appointment of a representative, however, because of doubts over the fairness and neutrality of the committee.

Even more interesting is CNN's return not only to the story, bumping Michael Jackson to #2, but to a highly critical position on the Iranian regime. Both its website and its current international broadcasts are highlighting the testimony of an Amnesty International official that the Basiji are taking injured demonstrators from hospitals. The claim follows a Friday report from Human Rights Watch of Basiji raiding homes and beating civilians, and Amnesty also has a list of detainees to add to that compiled by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

Iran's Future: "In Time Things Will Change" (Tehran Bureau)

Iran’s Future: Interpreting “The Lord of the Rings” (Time)
The Iran Crisis (Day 15): What to Watch For Today
The Latest from Iran (25 June): The Sounds of Silence
Latest Video: Resistance and Violence (24 June)

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Tehran Bureau has been exemplary during this crisis in providing both the best possible information and cutting-edge analysis. On Thursday, it went further, writing both a eulogy for the immediate protests and a call of hope for the political movement of the future.

A View from the Frontline

Last week, a group of friends and I organized a medical team to help the wounded and injured in the streets. As we sewed up gashes and patched up wounds on the beautiful battered faces of our dear Iranians, we kept asking ourselves, “What have they become? Have they no regard for the life for a fellow human being? For the life of a fellow countryman? For the life of a neighbor? For the life of a cousin? For the life of a brother? For the life of a sister?”

It wasn’t long before Basij militiamen took away our identity cards. After reporting us to the university, I was called in by a disciplinary committee and reprimanded. I was told I had put my future career and even my life in jeopardy. I was told to think about the consequences of my actions.

As I left the committee members, the events of the past two weeks fell into place:

The government had a plan. They thought their plan was perfect. They had devised a perfect fraud in which regardless of how people voted, only one name would emerge as the winner: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

It was to be the start of an era of unopposed rule.

By creating the appearance of a free and open atmosphere, by creating hope of change, people would turnout in high numbers. A high turnout at the ballot boxes would give them an aura of legitimacy in the eyes of the world. It would give Ahmadinejad a mandate.

But they made a fatal miscalculation; they underestimated the people.

When the results were announced, nobody in their right mind believed them. Even the most optimistic of Ahmadinejad supporters didn’t believe he could win by such a margin.

This prompted widespread unrest. For the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic the ruling establishment had to contend with masses in the streets. These masses had not been dragged there by intimidation or by promise of a reward. For the first time the masses were not chanting pro-government slogans.

This was something entirely new; it was a nation rising up in defiance of all the tricks the government has been pulling over the years.

Despite their miscalculation, the supreme leader and the revolutionary guard elites were not ready to make any concessions; they knew too well. Even a single step back would have been a starting point from where things would cascade down to the eventual breakdown of their perfect autocracy.

So they took a firm stand against the very people who had brought them to power 30 years ago. History will be the judge but I believe that this was their second and most fatal miscalculation. You can never put out a fire by beating it, the flames may wane but underneath the ashes will go on burning. Wheels have been set in motion. A vast movement has started to take place. In time, the tide will turn.

In February 1979, during the time of the revolution, the army chiefs decided to prevent bloodshed and a civil war, so they refused to crack down on the demonstrators. They were thanked for this by swift executions that took place as soon as the revolutionaries came to power.

Sepah, or the Revolutionary Guard, is apparently determined not to go down the same path.

The decision of the current government to brutally crack down on the protesters and demonstrators led to the massacre of June 20, 2009, a day that will go down in history as the Black Saturday of the Islamic Republic. Thirty years ago, 17 Shahrivar 1357 [September 8, 1978], the Pahlavi Regime made the same fatal mistake. That Black Friday was the turning point from which the Pahlavi Regime never recovered.

We had hoped for a swift and decisive victory, first in the election and then through our defiance, but our high hopes were crushed with bullets, batons and tear gas. Now the mood is that of defeat, anguish and despair.

Fear has crept in and taken hold. Everybody now speaks in whispers. We are depressed and hopeless. Perhaps the main reason everyone feels so down is that before the election we had such high hopes. We flew too high and then fell down or rather were brought down by Basij and anti-riot police.

This struggle has had its toll on us all. I have never seen so many people grieving. This is a social malaise. At the personal level, each of us still feels robbed of our vote, our freedom, our friends, our brothers and our sisters.

We are disillusioned, battered and betrayed. Many are talking about leaving the country. Many young souls are looking for the first exit. Emigration perhaps. A mass exodus may be under way.

In the past few days, I have been feeling down and depressed. I had a sense that all was lost, and the frequent rains, which are extremely unusual for this time of year, added to the sense of melancholy overcoming me. My uncle, who experienced the revolution, told me however, “Evolution takes time. This was just a start; in time things will change.”

I hope so.

Politics and power are dirty things, much more so than depicted by Romain Gary in “L’Homme a la colombe.” Even so, the protagonist, also a young soul, emerges victorious. We are sacrificing ourselves to make a statement, which the corrupt politicians ignore and the mass media manipulates. But people, generation after generation, pass this on from heart to heart as a slogan for integrity, bravery and freedom.

Maybe this will be our legacy. Maybe years from now, we will recount the stories of these days to the generation after us as the turning point that made all the difference, if not in our lives, perhaps at least in theirs.

The Latest from Iran (24 June): Afternoon Violence

NEW Latest Video: Resistance and Violence (24 June)
NEW Iran: New Technology, New Protest, New System?
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The Latest from Iran (23 June): Preparing for Thursday

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2030 GMT: Tehran Bureau, which has been doing sterling work through this crisis, comes through again. It has just posted an invaluable guide to the Assembly of Experts, the one Iranian body that has the power to name (and to remove) the Supreme Leaders. Notable in the article is the dissection of the politics of a key member, the pro-Ahmadinejad Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi.

2025 GMT: A curious and, if true, troubling incident. It is alleged that 70 faculty members, having met with Mir Hossein Mousavi, were later arrested.

2015 GMT: An Interesting Development. The head of Iran's National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, is reported to have met former President Hashemi Rafsanjani and Presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mohsen Rezaei. No word on the specific topics of discussion.

1805 GMT: Report that Ardeshir Amir Arjman, who is in charge of Mousavi campain's legal matters, has been arrested.

1755 GMT: More on the "Neda" Story. The Iranian state line, put out through the Islamic Republic News Agency, is that "The marksmen had mistaken [Neda Agha Soltan] for the sister of one of the Monafeghin who had been executed in the province of Mazandaran some time ago." The "Monafeghin" are also known as the Mujahedin-e-Khalq, which has carried out a campaign of bombings and assassinations against the Iranian Government since 1979.

Notwithstanding the curiosity that a relative of a dead terrorist is apparently under a death sentence in Iran, the story is one of many trying to absolve Iranian authorities of blame. Another version is that an "unknown gunman" targeted Neda to cause disruption and blacken the name of th Iranian establishment.

1750 GMT: Reuters is now reporting on the statement on Presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi's website: "I do not accept the result and therefore consider as illegitimate the new government. Because of the irregularities, the vote should be annulled."

1745 GMT: The Guardian is reporting that authorities have ordered the family of Neda Agha Soltan out of their Tehran home after shocking images of her death were circulated around the world.

1728 GMT: Press TV not reporting any violence. Instead, they are highlighting yesterday's IRIB inteview with Tehran's mayor, Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf. Qalibaf  had urged relevant Iranian officials to authorize peaceful opposition rallies, saying the public should have an outlet to express its opinions. Legalizing street rallies, he reasoned, would prevent 'saboteurs who draw weapons and kill people'.

1713 GMT: BBC website very slow/cautious to react- only now breaking the news of today's violence (and still nothing on main page)

1625 GMT: The Guardian's Washington bureau chief Ewen Macaskill reports that President Barack Obama appears to have sent a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month, ahead of its disputed election, calling for an improvement in relations.

1610 GMT: Twiitter update of the day from "Breaking News" - "JUST IN -- Iranian state television: Security forces broke up two protests, one of 200 and one of 50 people, but no violence reported

1606 GMT: From CNN “They were waiting for us,” the source said. “They all have guns and riot uniforms. It was like a mouse trap.”

1601 GMT: Via Twitter "Lalezar Sq same as Baharestan, unbelevable, ppls murdered everywhere... everybody under arrest & cant move"

1548 GMT: Via Twitter "In Baharestan we saw militia with axe choping ppl like meat - blood everywhere - like butcher - Allah Akbar"

1547 GMT: Iran witness to CNN: "Many people with broken arms, legs, heads -- blood everywhere -- pepper gas like war"

1545 GMT: Stream of reports via Twitter and to CNN that protesters are beaten beaten outside Iran Parliament building. Unconfirmed reports of gunfire.

1500 GMT: Al Arabiya is reporting the death of a female protester at Bahraestan Square.

Press TV is ignoring the demonstration, focusing on the Supreme Leader's call today for "law and order" and the claims of the Ministry of Interior that it found documents proving "certain foreign ministries" were behind the opposition to the election result. However, its third item is that "post-election unrest has killed 20 people, including eight Basij members", all of whom --- according to "inside sources" --- were killed by gunfire.

1445 GMT: Andrew Sullivan's running blog has posted a set of Twitter comments on today's gathering in Baharestan Square in front of the Iranian Parliament building: "I see many ppl with broken arms/legs/heads - blood everywhere - pepper gas like war...Ppl run into alleys and militia standing there waiting - from 2 sides they attack ppl in middle of alleys...saw 7/8 militia beating one woman with baton on ground - she had no defense nothing -... So many ppl arrested - young & old - they take ppl away....Just in from Baharestan Sq - situation today is terrible - they beat the ppls like animals....Ppl gathered in Baharestan but police & plain cloths don’t let the core of the rally to form."

1205 GMT: Start time of demonstrations was revised to 4:30 p.m. local time (1200 GMT), according to Mehdi Karroubi's Facebook page.

1150 GMT: No word yet about today's demonstrations. The Ministry of the Interior continues to hammer away at the line that Britain, the US, and Israel are behind the protests, with the US Central Intelligence Agency providing funding. Some of those detained are "confirmed" as agents of foreign governments.

1145 GMT: There is an intriguing report that President Ahmadinejad met last night with "some well-known" members of Parliament, who offers their congratulations on his victory. The intriguing part is that among those who did not attend was the Speaker of Parliament, Ali Larijani.

1030 GMT: The BBC reports the latest statement from the Supreme Leader: "I had insisted and will insist on implementing the law on the election issue....Neither the establishment nor the nation will yield to pressure at any cost."

1025 GMT: Indications, just over an hour before they are scheduled to begin, that this afternoon's protests in Tehran will take place not only in front of Parliament but in five other locations: the Vali-e Asr, Enghelab, Vanak, Tajrish, Sadehgieh streets and squares.

0935 GMT: In a sharp, effective analysis, Tehran Bureau considers "how Mr. Mousavi and the reformists should go forward". Noting the issues that we're pondering, such as the tension within the Government and "conservative" ranks, and warning against "large-scale violence", the article concludes:

The best strategy for developing the coalition is, therefore, a campaign focused on a narrow goal that is achievable, but also one that opens the door for making deeper and more meaningful changes to the current system. At present this goal is the annulment of the election and holding a new one monitored by objective and neutral observers. If that goal is achieved, that itself will be a great setback for the hard-liners and supporters of Mr. Ahmadinejad.

0855 GMT: Human Rights Watch has released a statement pointing to the appointment of "a notoriously abusive Iranian prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi" to oversee the investigation of detainees as a sign "that the authorities are preparing to bring trumped-up charges against its opponents".

0820 GMT: Claims that some detainees have been released from Evin Prison, but authorities are concentrating on holding students.

0815 GMT: BBC Persian Service is reporting that four members of the Iranian national football team have been "retired" after wearing green wristbands in their recent World Cup qualifying match with South Korea.

0800 GMT: Engagement Suspended. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has offered the first substantial sign of the effect of the political crisis on US-Iran relations. He will not be going to Italy for discussions on the situation in Afghanistan, a vital arena for co-operation between Washington and Tehran.

0635 GMT: The Rezaei shift continues: his website is claiming that former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has not gone to Qom to lobby for the support of clerics against the Khamenei-Guardian Council position.

0630 GMT: Press TV English has now broken its Iran silence, venturing to mention the Guardian Council's five-day extension and the Rezaei withdrawal of his complaint because of "the political and security interests of the nation".

Morning Update 0530 GMT: After a Tuesday when there was less open protest but a lot of movement behind the scenes in Iran, as well as the high-profile statement from President Obama, a slower start to today.

CNN features Presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi's open letter criticising Iranian media and charging, ""You know well that those who support Mr. Ahmadinejad's government today are promoters of fanatic and Taliban-like Islam." It also notes the Guardian Council's five-day extension of the recount but gives far less attention to former President Khatami's "action plan".

Unsurprisingly, state-run Press TV's website plays up the good news that, after the Guardian Council's extension, Presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei has withdrawn his complaint about vote fraud. It also has a notable story that a "headquarters" for the planning of unrest has been discovered by Iranian security forces. Activity in the building on 7 Tir Square, ostensibly used for the Mir Hossein Mousavi campaign, proves the intervention of "foreign elements". (There continues to be a shutdown on Press TV English's broadcasts on any news concerning Iran.)

(The story should be matched up with reports that there was a major raid Tuesday on the pro-Mousavi newspaper Kamaleh with approximately 25 staff arrested.)

On the streets, there are no reports yet of any "surging" of the Bazaar, as the Khatami actino plan advocates. As with previous days, it is late afternoon (4 p.m. local time) when key public events may start, in this case, a rally in front of the Iranian Parliament building. Information is still getting through from Iran via Twitter and e-mail, but there has been a sharp drop in video (although we've just picked up apparent footage of yesterday's protests) and still images. E-mail correspondents are also often guarded in their comments, given the possibility of Government surveillance.

Behind the scenes, where there was much to consider on Tuesday (see yesterday's set of stories), manoeuvres continues both between the opposition and Government camps and within the Government's ranks (for a guide, see in particular the 23 June story, "Khamenei v. Rafsanjani?", and the subsequent comments). We've received new information overnight and will be evaluating it later today.

Iran: Detained Iranian Politicians and Journalists

The Latest from Iran (22 June): Waiting for the Next Move

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Tehran Bureau has posted the following list. Many of the names have also been confirmed by other sources and our correspondents. In addition, Tehran Bureau profiles journalist and filmmaker Maziar Bahari (left), who was working for Newsweek when he was arrested this weekend:

Politicians

Dr. Mohsen Aminzadeh: Member of the Student Followers of Imam’s Line (SFIL), the leftist group of the students who took over the United State Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979; Deputy Foreign Minister in the Khatami administration; member of the Central Committee of the Islamic Revolution Mojahedin Organization (IRMO), one of the two leading reformist parties; founding member of the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), Iran’s largest political party; director of the Mousavi campaign.

Dr. Saeed Hajjarian: Member of SFIL; leading reformist strategist; advisor to Mohammad Khatami during his presidency; editor-in-chief of Sobh-e Emrooz (This Morning), a leading reformist newspaper shut down by the hard-liners; member of the Central Committee of the IIPF; deputy Minister of Intelligence in the 1980s; member of the SFILM; handicapped by an assassination attempt on his life in March 2000.

Behzad Nabavi: Leading reformist strategist, a founder, and member of the Central Committee of IRMO; Deputy Speaker of the 6th Majles (parliament); chief negotiator with the United States that led to the release of the American hostages in 1981; Minister in the first Mousavi Cabinet in the 1980s; jailed for years by the Shah.

Mohammad Tavassoli: Tehran’s first mayor after the 1979 Revolution; member of the Central Committee and political director of the Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI), a reformist/centrist political party founded in 1961 by Mahdi Bazargan, the first prime minister after the 1979 Revolution; jailed for years by the Shah.

Mostafa Tajzadeh: Deupty Interior Minister in the first Khatami administration who supervised the elections for the first city councils and the 6th Majles, a process praised for its even-handedness and transparency; member of the Central Committees of both IIPF and IRMO; outspoken critic of the hard-liners.

Dr. Abdollah Ramazanzadeh: Deputy Secretary-General of the IIPF; Government spokesman during the second Khatami administration; Governor-General of the Kurdistan province; deputy Interior Minister for planning, and for political affairs.

Mohammad Ali Abtahi: Chief of Staff, and then Vice President to Mr. Khatami for parliamentary affairs; a principal advisor to Mahdi Karroubi (the second reformist candidate) in the 2009 presidential election; popular reformist cleric who writes for his own website/blog, www.webnevesht.com ; a leading member of the Association of the Combatant Clerics, the reformist leftist clerical organization that supports Mr. Mousavi.

Dr. Ebrahimi Yazdi: Secretary-General of the FMI; Foreign Minister in the Bazargan government after the 1979 Revolution; leading aid to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during the Revolution (he was arrested while hospitalized for a medical condition; it is said that he may have been released).

Dr. Mohsen Mirdamadi: Secretary-General of the IIPF; chairman of the 6th Majles’ Committee on National Security; one of the three principal leaders of SFIL who took over the US Embassy in 1979.

Mohammad Atrianfar: Deputy Interior Minister in the first Khatami administration; member of the Central Committee of the Executives of Reconstruction Party (ERP), a reformist party; editor-in-chief of the popular daily Hamshahri (owned by Tehran’s city council) during the second Khatami administration; manager of Shargh, a popular daily reformist newspaper shut down by the hardliners.

Mohsen Safaei Farahani: Member of the Central Committee of the IIPF; former head of Iran’s Soccer Federation, deputy Minister of Economy in the Khatami administration.

Hedayatollah Aghaaei: Member of the Central Committee of the ERP.

Davood Soleimani: Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance for Domestic Press in the first Khatami administration; Tehran deputy in the 6th Majles; member of the Central Committee of the IIPF.

Dr. Ali Tajer Niya: Mashhad’s [a large city in northeastern Iran] deputy to the 6th Majles; member of the campaign team of Mr. Mousavi; member of the IIPF.

Jahanbakhsh Khanjani: Spokesman for the Interior Ministry during the Khatami administrations; member of the ERP.

Saeed Leylaaz: Economic advisor to the Khatami administration; journalist; strong critic of President Ahmadinejad’s economic policies.

Abdolfattah Soltani: Prominent attorney and member of the Center for the Defense of Human Rights (founded by Shirin Ebadi, Iran’s Nobel Laureate for Peace); attorney for several jailed human rights advocates; attorney for the mother of Dr. Zahra Kazemi, the photojournalist that was murdered in an Iranian jail; imprisoned for his human rights activities.

Shahab Tabatabaei: Director of the youth committee of the Mousavi campaign.

Mohammad Reza Jalaei Pour: Director and spokesman of the nation-wide movement, Pouyesh, that supports Mr. Mousavi; son of the well-known university professor and reformist journalist Dr. Hamid Reza Jalaei Pour.

Abdollah Momeni: former Secretary-General of the Office for Consolidation of Unity (known in Iran as Tahkim Vahdat, the largest nation-wide university student organization), and the Organization of University Graduates of Islamic Iran (known in Iran as Advaar-e Tahkim); a prominent political activist.

Rajabali Mazrouei: Member of the Central Committee of the IIPF; Isfahan’s deputy to the 6th Majles; journalist, and director of the Association of Iranian Journalists

Journalists and Bloggers

Mahsa Amrabadi: reporter for the E’temaad-e Melli (National Trust) daily, the mouthpiece of the National Trust Party of Mr. Mahdi Karroubi, the reformist candidate.

Karim Arghandehpour: journalist writing for reformist newspapers Salaam and Vaghaa-ye Ettefaaghiyeh, both of which were shut down by the hard-liners. He also has a blog, www.futurama.ir

Khalil Mir Ashrafi: A television producer and journalist

Behzad Basho: Cartoonist

Kayvan Samimi Behbahani: Managing editor of Naameh (Letter), a monthly publication, close ties to the Nationalist-Religious Coalition (NRC)

Somayyeh Tohidloo: a blogger at http://smto.ir ; political activist; sociologist; supporter of Mr. Mousavi

Abdolreza Tajik: political activist, economist, and close to the FMI and the NRC

Dr. Ahmad Zeydabadi: distinguished journalist writing for www.roozonline.com and print media in Iran; Secretary-General of the Organization of University Graduates of Islamic Iran (Advaar-e Tahkim); a supporter of Mr. Karroubi; close to the RNC.

Mojtaba Pourmohsen: editor of Gilaan-e Emrooz (Today’s Gilaan; Gilaan is a province in northern Iran, bu the Caspian Sea); contributor to Radio Zamaneh (a Persian radio in Holland).

Hamideh Mahhozi: a journalist active in southern Iran

Amanollah Shojaei: a blogger living in Bushehr, in southern Iran

Hossein Shokouhi: reporter and journalist writing for Payaam-e Jonoob (the Message of the South), in southern Iran.

Mashallah Haydarzadeh: Another journalist active in southern Iran

Ruhollah Shahsavar: A journalist working in Mashhad (in northeaster Iran)

Mohammad Ghoochani: prominent reformist journalist, editor of many reformist newspapers shut down by the hardliners (e.g., Shargh [East]; Hammihan [Compatriot], and the weekly, Shahrvand Emrooz [Today’s Citizen]); editor of E’temaad Melli; son-in-law of Mr. Emad Baghi, the prominent journalist and human rights advocate.

Jila Baniyaghoob: prominent female journalist, working previously for many reformist newspapers; editor of the website Kannon-e Zanaan-e Irani (Center for Iranian Women); writing at http://irwomen.net

Bahman Ahmadi Amooee: journalist and husband of Jila Baniyaghoob

Eisa Sahar Khiz: an outspoken journalist who has been a critic of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; contributor to www.roozonline.com director in charge of the domestic press during the first two years of Mr. Khatami’s presidency, during which the Iranian press flourished.

Iran: Can Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani Prompt a Solution?

The Latest from Iran (21 June): Does the Fight Continue?

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In the context of Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani's manoeuvring this weekend within the Iranian Government , both to defend the system and to criticise aspects of it (see 0745 and 1010 GMT in our updates for 21 June), two vital articles have been posted. Tehran Bureau has posted an informative and interesting profile of the Speaker of the Parliament, a "conservative pragmatist".

The profile has an intriguing postscript. When you try to access Larijani's website, you get the message, "Account for domain www.larijani.ir has been suspended." (We just checked, and that is still the case.)

And, on the current issues, Juan Cole has posted the US Government's Open Source Center summary of Larijani's interview with state-run IRIB 2 TV this morning. It provides a fascinating update of our posts: Larijani gave an explanation of "why more votes were cast for Mahmud Ahmadinejad", but he then expressed concern that a review of the election would be difficult, as members of the Guardian Council had taken political positions: "I think that it was better for them not to take sides (in favor of Ahmadinejad)."

Significance? Larijani is not calling for an overturning of these electoral results but --- as a "conservative pragmatist" --- looking for reforms of the system so that the process cannot be questioned again: "This issue can be used as experience for the next elections." (Larijani's call for an investigation of security services' behaviour in raids of universities should be seen in the same light, seeking to restore public faith in institutions.)

I think Larijani is a skillful politician. However, I think that he may be too late in his manoeuvres. His call for reform "for the next time" might have been viable days ago. But, after the Supreme Leader's Friday address and Saturday's violence, the pragmatist may be stranded in the middle of a political situation  that is increasingly polarised and offers only all-or-nothing resolutions.