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2030 GMT: No Criticism Here.
Press TV's website writes out the admonition of the Supreme Leader to President Ahmadinejad and the Cabinet to take heed of "benevolent criticism" (see 1830 GMT). Instead the report emphasizes Ayatollah Khamenei's declaration about the legitimacy established by the election, “The nation and the Islamic Revolution have proven their republican nature. If officials, elites and political experts understand this fact, many of the country's problems will be resolved."
1930 GMT: Is the Regime Targeting Leaders' Children? That's the question asked by one of our readers, who noticed
the arrest of Atefeh Emam, the 18-year old daughter of Mir Hossein Mousavi's Chief of Staff, Javad Emam, who is still detained himself. She was
reportedly released earlier today, after 24 hours of continuous interrogation, near a Tehran cemetery.
Earlier in the crisis, the regime arrested several members of the family of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, and pressure has been placed this week on the son of Mehdi Karroubi.
1830 GMT: Khamenei Manoeuvres. In a line which is not that far from the "conservative" Society of Militant Clergy criticism of the President,
the Supreme Leader has advised Ahmadinejad and his Cabinet: "There is internal criticism backed by foreign media with the aim of sabotage but there is also benevolent criticism which may not come from supporters of the government but they contain good comments."
1710 GMT: Clerics Warn Ahmadinejad. The reformist Association of Teachers and Researchers of Qom
have issued a statement warning that the regime cannot be maintained with military force, arrests, and brutality.
More intriguing, however, may be
a finger-wagging at the President from the "conservative" Society of Militant Clergy, their first intervention in the post-election crisis:
We ask the president and the government to seriously try to solve people’s problems and the country’s economic and social issues, and avoid talking about unnecessary and provocative issues. The comments made and the disrespect committed in the debates, speeches and rallies before and after the election caused divergence.
The Society criticised the opposition for pursuing demands "outside law", but it also called for "consoling" those harmed in the unrest.
Possibly Relevant Fact: One of the members of the Society is former President Hashemi Rafsanjani.
1645 GMT: A
Norooz News article, featured on Mir Hossein Mousavi's Facebook page, says that:
"Security Forces attacked the Staff office of Mir Hossein Mousavi which was resposible for following the issues of the detainees, without any legal premisson. All documentations were confiscated and taken out to... an unknown destination. As Staff members asked for receipt, security forces answered that no documents will be given back, thus there will be no receipt !!"
(Thanks to Mike Dunn for covering, as I was stuck in traffic when this came through. We have posted
as a separate entry, cleaning up some of the text and adding a brief analysis.)
1430 GMT: We've been watching since reports came in yesterday of a meeting in Qom between Grand Ayatollahs Golpaygani and Makarem-Shirazi. Now the website of the Green movement,
Mowj-e-Sabz, is reporting that there were
several Grand Ayatollahs and senior clerics, including Bayat-Zanjani, Montazeri, and Mousavi-Ardebili, in the discussion of "practical steps against the coup government", after receving letters from political and social activists.
1340 GMT: Fars News reports that Press TV
will soon air a "roundtable" of detainees Saeed Hajjarian, Mohammad Atrianfar, and Saeed Shariati on the causes of their "change of attitude and intellectual development".
1130 GMT: We're here but it is a very slow day, with little breaking on the political front.
There is one story that catches the eye.
According to Tehran Bureau, via a source, the revelations of the abuses of detainees in Kahrizak Prison cames from a photographer for the Supreme Leader.
The well-known documentary maker and photojournalist, who recorded the eight-year Iraq-Iran war and became a ‘Sacred Defense’ photographer, was arrested during the post-election unrest and taken to Kahrizak where he was abused and tortured. After his release, he informed Ayatollah Khamenei about jail rapes and prisoner abuse. When the Supreme Leader expressed disbelief, the man revealed that he was one of the victims: "What they did was inhumane and in violation of all human rights… When they did those things to me, in my eyes it was you who was doing them."
Soon after this, Khamenei ordered the closure of the notorious detention center.
(The photojournalist was one of the cameramen who made Mir Hossein Mousavi’s campaign films, although it is unclear if they played any part in his arrest. He has also worked on a documentary about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.)
0850 GMT: If the BBC was paying attention, rather than trotting along with the notion of Iran's Nuclear Programme Above All Else (see 0820 GMT), it might have noticed
these comments from President Ahmadinejad in his press conference, directed at the opposition movement:
The election and post-election events was victory of Iranian nation's morality against immoralities. The other victory of Iranian nation was success in removing contamination from Revolution.
0840 GMT: Rafsanjani Speaks. A small amendment to the end of today's analysis, "The large presence of Hashemi Rafsanjani has disappeared." The
former President said, at a ceremony to commemorate Ayatollah Ali Qoddousi, Iran's prosecutor general who was killed by Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) in 1981:
It is a vital need of the Islamic Republic and establishment to find a way to strengthen national unity and establish peace in the country. In the recent events, the sides should act in a way which will guarantee national unity.
Small amendment, indeed, as the statement just repeats Rafsanjani's cautious, hold-the-line comments that we evaluated in mid-August.
0820 GMT: MediaWatch.
The New York Times does another good job this morning, picking up on the Khatami statement and Mousavi letter (though missing Karroubi's moves) that we've highlighted all weekend and
in today's analysis.
The Washington Post also mention Khatami and Mousavi but hide the impact by
tucking them away under a headline on an older story, "Iran Canceling Major Ramadan Events in Wake of Election Protests".
CNN are nowhere to be found, preferring to go with "
Chavez Pledges Closer Ties with Iran". Al Jazeera
also gets distracted by the Venezuela dimension. Even worse at the BBC, which falls for the Iranian President's "Look Over There!" trick, "
Tehran 'ready for global talks'".
0800 GMT: We heard about
this story all day yesterday and are keeping a close eye on it (any information would be welcomed):
A group of Revolutionary Guards have resigned from the force according to Hosein Hashemian, an Iranian lawmaker. Mr. Hashemian told Parleman News Website that the unacceptable interference of the Revolutionary Guards in political matters has caused a rift in the force.
The story of resignations, including those of unit commanders, has been about since the start of the crisis, and more than 30 Islamic Revolution Guard Corps members have been arrested.
However, at this point without further confirmation, I am treating this as a bit of "psychological warfare" from the opposition to unsettle the Government. In particular, it is part of the fightback against the recent statements of the Revolutionary Guard's chief commander, General Mohammad Ali Jafari (
see our separate analysis today): Hashemian called for Jafari to be detained for his claim that former President Khatami and other reformists were trying to "unseat" the regime.
0655 GMT: We've spent the morning on two special pieces. First and foremost, Josh Shahryar of
Anonymous Iran's "The Green Brief" has spent hours translating into English, from the list provided by the Iranian website
Norooz,
the names and descriptions of 72 people killed in post-election violence. Given that regime figures like high-ranking member of Parliament Alaeddin Boroujerdi have been trying to deny there is any evidence for the deaths, we think this is a vital document of record.
The second piece is
an analysis, after a weekend of opposition statements, of the current political situation and the question of whether the Green Wave is moving towards a high-profile display of resistance on Qods Day, 18 September.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 5:55 