The Latest from Iran (16 March): Fire and Politics

2100 GMT: Chahrshanbeh Suri. An activist reports a conversation with a relative in Gisha in Tehranm, who said basiji were roaming the streets on their bikes and tried to stop people celebrating. Told of a report that said nothing political had happened tonight, the relative answered, "In Iran everything is political."

2010 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. More temporary releases --- Behzad Nabavi, a leader of the Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution Party serving a five-year term for "crimes against national security", and journalist and economist Saeed Laylaz have been freed until 4 April. Laylaz posted $500,000 bail.

NEW Iran Document: Mousavi Speech on “Patience and Resistance” (15 March)
NEW Latest Iran Video: The Attack on Karroubi’s House (14 March)
Iran Breaking: Ban on Reformist Political Party
Your Super-Special Iran Caption Contest
Iran: The Opposition’s Campaign in the US — Sequel With Revelations and A Lesson
The Latest from Iran (15 March): Breaking Human Rights

2000 GMT: Chahrshanbeh Suri Reza Sayah of CNN reports, via a Tehran witness, that police are spray painting passing cars that toss firecrackers out of windows. Basiji used tasers and batons to chase away 300 partiers near Mehr Park in Farmanieh.


1840 GMT: Justice. We had asked a couple of days what Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi was doing in Qom with marjas (senior clerics).

Here's one answer: Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani told Doulatabadi to try the culprits of Kahrizak Prison's abuses as soon as possible, "so that the people feel the judiciary can act freely". Criticising advisors such as Presidential Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, Safi Golpayegani advised Doulatabadi to "treat the people kindly and fairly... [for] if Islamic principle is shattered, the whole system is gone".

1830 GMT: Larijani Pushing for Nuclear Deal? Looks like Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani is putting out a signal that he wants the "West" to come back to the table on uranium enrichment talks:

Iran's parliament (Majlis) speaker Ali Larijani advises the West to pursue a diplomatic approach in resolving their differences with Tehran on the issue of its nuclear program.

Speaking at a press conference in Tehran Tuesday, Larijani reiterated that the US, France, Britain and Germany have sought to delay the supplying of fuel to Iran for Tehran's research reactor through "mischievous" acts.

"They eventually came to the understanding that Iran is only willing to act according to the [International Atomic] agency's framework; so they abandoned the 'carrot and stick' approach, only to resort to sanctions," he added.em>

1825 GMT: There is a lot of chatter about clashes in Tehran. We are holding off on reports pending confirmation. A rumour spread of a fire at the house of Mehdi Karroubi's son Hossein is false.

1819 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Saeed Jalalifar, a member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, has been released on $100,000 bail. Jalalifar, a student at Zanjan University, was arrested on 30 November.

Azar Mansouri of the Islamic Iran Participation Front has been released from prison for a period of twenty days.

1815 GMT: Unconfirmed reports of clashes in Karaj.

1800 GMT: Back from an extended academic break. Thanks to readers for updating on the events of Chahrshanbeh Suri.

CNN's Reza Sayah is reporting, from a witness, "Light traffic on major roads. Parties in side streets with music and dancing. Police patrol major roads and squares but allowing parties along side streets. No reports of clashes."

Another activist reports, "Aryashahr (in Tehran) is just like a war zone, sound of fireworks is constant and security forces have pulled out of the area for now."

1345 GMT: We have posted, courtesy of the Los Angeles Times, the English text of Mir Hossein Mousavi's speech to the Islamic Iran Participation Front on "a year of patience and resistance".

1325 GMT: An Arrest Within the Regime. The son of senior Revolutionary Guards commander Esmail Gha’ani has been arrested, according to Green Voices of Freedom. Ali Gha’ani is an electrical engineering student at the Islamic Azad University of Mashhad. GVF speculates that, as the younger Gha'ani has no experience of political activity, the arrest is due to his father’s criticism of Government action after the June election.

1310 GMT: Today's Cyber-Propaganda. Press TV offers the platform:

After a 30-member US-backed cyber network was dismantled in Iran, members of the Parliament (Majlis) have praised efforts to bust one of the main gangs and cyber networks in the country.

[Editor's note: Is it my imagination or did Press TV just rename the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps?]

"The joyful news about the arrest and dismantling of one of the biggest and main groups of cyber networks backed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which worked to gather information, once again disclosed another conspiracy against the Islamic Republic," said 220 parliamentarians in a letter to the Islamic Republic Guards Corps (IRGC).
1210 GMT: Iran's Threat to Britain (and Its Students). The Foreign Ministry has issued a warning this morning that it will be reducing its links with Britain, specifically by restricting the movement of Iranian students to the United Kingdom.

1200 GMT: The Mousavi Message. Two notes about Mir Hossein Mousavi's speech (see 0655 GMT), made to the Islamic Iran Participation Front, calling for "a year of patience and resistance".

First, note our revised translation, based on an EA correspondent, with "resistance" replacing "endurance". That is a much stronger message of opposition,

Second, Mousavi's timing and language is a blatant attempt to pre-empt the Supreme Leader, whose Nowruz (Iranian New Year) message will call for "a year of...."

Although it is the Karroubi statement that is getting more attention outside Iran today, Mousavi's message --- in connection with the banning of the IIPF --- may have more resonance inside the country.

1045 GMT: Karroubi Watch. Maybe it's the definition of "irony" or just a crafty campaign: only days after an opposition PR move by "a senior aide" to Mehdi Karroubi fell flat in the US, the Western media are rushing to feature the cleric. First it was Sunday's attack on his house, now it is Karroubi's statement (see 0645 GMT) denouncing the despotism of the Iranian Government.

0945 GMT: The IRGC Gets A Contact --- Correction. Yesterday we reported that the engineering firm connected with the Revolutionary Guards just received an $850,000 oil pipeline contract. A reader noted, "The Revolutionary Guard would never settle for such a paltry amount!"

He's right. It's $850 million.

0725 GMT: Winning the Compromise. The Parliament and President Ahmadinejad may have reached an immediate resolution of next year's budget, with Ahmadinejad getting $20 billion of the $40 billion he wanted from subsidy reductions, but the political battle continues. The pro-Larijani Khabar Online pronounces, "The Government Discreetly Withdraws from Executing Subsidy Plan".

0723 GMT: Production assistant Mehdi Pourmousavi, who was arrested in the raid of director Jafar Panahi's house, has been released. Panahi is still detained.

0720 GMT: Watching the Crackdown. Satirist Ebrahim Nabavi's latest --- "I arrest, therefore I am!"

0710 GMT: Endure (cont.). Ahmad Batebi's website posts a statement from Human Rights Activists in Iran on the regime's crackdown and accusations of "cyber-war".

0655 GMT: Endure. Rah-e-Sabz has a lengthy report of Mir Hossein Mousavi's speech to members of the banned Islamic Iran Participation Front. The takeaway line: "1389 (the forthcoming Iranian year) is the year of our patience and endurance".

0645 GMT: Karroubi Watch. We've posted the video of the attack on Mehdi Karroubi's house on Sunday.

The cleric is undaunted, however. In a meeting with students of his party, Etemade Melli, he emphasised that the elections were "unnatural" and that they confirmed "there will be no more real elections in Iran." Karroubi asserted, "This government doesn't rely on people's votes....The Islamic Republic has been struck by dictatorship, only her name remains.

0620 GMT: Today is Chahrshanbeh Suri, the Fire Festival on the eve of the Iranian New Year. It will be an occasion for street celebrations, though it is unclear whether these will take on a political tone. While there has been a great deal of chatter outside Iran about use of the occasion, there have been few signs that the movement within will seek a mass protest.

Perhaps more pertinent is whether the regime politicises the event through ill-considered attempts to condemn the festival. The Supreme Leader has already risked po-faced overreaction with his denunciation of a ceremony without religious roots or value.

Meanwhile, the big political event may be the banning of Iran's largest reformist political party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front. We began tracking the development yesterday afternoon and have posted a separate entry. Given the regime has declared that it has already overcome the post-election crisis, this seems a curious move. Why risk a provocation that further exposes the lack of political freedom in Iran and could bring open conflict?

More arrests to balance the regime's strategy of releasing detainees on bail if they keep their silence. Only Democracy For Iran has a summary of political prisoners in Babol in northern Iran. The head of Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s election campaign, Alireza Shahiri, and Ali Akbar Soroush, a university professor and member of the Islamic Iran participation Front, have been arrested.  Student activists Mohsen Barzegar, Iman Sadighi, and Mohammad Esmailzadeh have been moved to solitary confinement.

Comments

[Samuel]

"Barry, you’re asking a Khomeinist why he’s so vicious. It’s like asking a cobra why it’s so posionous."

I guess I"m in the company of that great Khomeinist by the name of Mousavi.

[Arshama]

@ 2100 GMT: Chaharshanbeh Suri

> Told of a report that said nothing political had happened tonight, the relative answered, “In Iran everything is political.” <

I fully agree, this news may be the best proof for it: A blogger reports that the SL's condemnation of 4shanbeh-suri has been removed from his official homepage! http://tinyurl.com/ye3buyf

Reminds me so much of the famous 1960s and 70s slogan "The personal is political."
In any case the people's battle continues on many fronts, and today's series of American blockbusters (corruption, aztaghforellah) on IRIB can easily be interpreted as an attempt to bribe the Iranian public. But it was smarter than that: first it watched one or two movies in the afternoon, then it took to the streets for fire-jumping :-)

[Barry]

I can't understand why the IRIB would be broadcasting the GREAT SATAN'S movies- are they deliberately trying to directly show Iranian people the great personal freedoms that people in the US have??

Barry

[Barry]

Wouldn't it be better for them to show Iranian people the best Israeli movies??

http://www.972films.com/

Here is one called "My first war"

Synopsis -- "At the age of 28, I was drafted as a soldier in the Second Lebanon War. Instinctively, I grabbed my video camera. The documentary recalls the lack of justice in this unnecessary war and the loss of valuable lives. This was my personal earthquake and the nation’s as a whole."

That sounds like one that the Iranian Regime would be happy with - or maybe not. The trouble with showing that countries like the US and Israel allow their people to express their displeasure with their Governments is that it could catch on in Iran.

Barry

[ange paris]

Megan
Your post 24 is very painful; oh my god, in the name of religion what they do with poor people !

Samuel
It's better that you keep your mouth close; I was wrong, you are not intelligent, as I was wrong with our movement of hope,( our dream to build a democratic country ) because with this kind of religion and its representatives,( our "dear clericals" full of fear and motionless, and unfortunately we have not somebody like Ayatollah Sistani ) nobody could do anything in the face of guns and thugs to save PEOPLE, except if there is a "miracle"; did you see the attack of Karroubi 's building, there is the representatives of law, a police car next to them, but they do nothing !!" thugocracy "is the best word to define this regime.
Be happy " you " are the winners but how it's bitter !

[ange paris]

hé Samuel
I have forgotten to say that there is no need to go in Canada to drink alcohol, your fellows sell it in Iran thanks to their black market !! what a shame !!!!!!!!!!

[ange paris]

hé Samuel, I have been too angry to be concentrating, but
I have forgotten to say that there is no need to go " to " Canada to drink alcohol, your fellows sell it in Iran thanks to their black market !! what a shame !!!!!!!!!!

[Barry]

Ange Paris

Nobody wins forever - all winners eventually become losers.

I can think of at least 3 famous thoughts along this line

From the The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam --
"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."

From ancient Middle east ( Persian/Jewish???) --
"this too shall pass"

From the Bible (Ecclesiastes)--
Vanity, vanity, all is vanity

Look back 50 or 60 years and see what difference there is today. Many Dictatorships and colonial Empires are gone. Nothing lasts forever.

Samuel and his ilk have not won. They are full of fear and anger. These are not the signs of somebody who has won. Their time will be short. It has taken 30 years for the Iranian people to wake up - but they are awake now, especially the young ones.

Barry

[Catherine]

Barry,
RE your post 16, "I recall when the Christian Church felt threatened by what they saw as “heathen” activities – fortunately that Church has become more enlightened since then. "

Uh, well actually sometimes the Church just co-opted those heathen activities, making them less threatening by owning them so to speak..... ;-)

http://www.smh.com.au/world/priest-suspended-over-sex-abuse-20100316-qcmv.html

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7176878

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/sex-scandal_7490414

[Catherine]

Arshama,
RE your post 27, A blogger reports that the SL's condemnation of 4shanbeh-suri has been removed from his official homepage! http://tinyurl.com/ye3buyf

Hey, that must mean Khordaad 88 is right. Khomenei IS a "source of immolation" after all! :-)
(see my post 2)

[Anders ljungberg]

if all the green leaving Iran would only be left 6 million people in Iran and then Iran would probably go bankrupt

[Catherine]

Arshama,
Also re your post 27:
http://grab.by/36FG
:-)

[Robinhood]

yes a Parthian shot-first of many more ;)

certainly there were alot of greens out worldwide today-;)

so samuell-how are the Toulouse-Lautrec impersonations??

Love and truth
for each and every one

[Arshama]

Catherine,

Thanks for your photo and especially the "source of immolation" ;-)
It took me half a day to understand, not so easy for a non-English-speaking "alien".
Nevertheless we should really be grateful to Khordaad 88 and all other translating volunteers for their efforts to bridge the language gap.

If it was me to decide, I would fund such Green supporters, but also domestic Greenies sites for English translations (private message to you, not the greater American audience ;-)

[Catherine]

Well I contribute to this site, but I want to help a translation site as well. Do you happen to know if the same pool of translators works for Persian2English.com and Green Voice of Freedom (http://en.irangreenvoice.com)?

[Scott Lucas]

Catherine,

Have replied directly to you.

S.

[Bill]

Safi Golpayegani advised Doulatabadi to “treat the people kindly and fairly… [for] if Islamic principle is shattered, the whole system is gone."

mmm Hello the "Islamic principles" were shattered almost a year ago and continue to be on a daily basis as more and more are arrested. Was this guy taking a nap this whole time--what a nitwit!