The Latest from Iran (6 September): Stresses on Authority

2030 GMT: The Attacks on the Clerics. Rah-e-Sabz posts new details about the Qods Day attack on the Qoba Mosque in Shiraz (see 1655 GMT), claiming that parts were set on fire with gasoline and some Qur'ans were burnt

2005 GMT: Parliament v. President. Speaking of the economy, the Majlis may be drawing the line with Ahmadinejad in the battle over the 5th Development Plan.

Hossein Sobhani-Nia the Deputy Head of the National Security Commission, said that if the administration insisted on its request to withdraw the 5th Plan --- made because of dissatisfaction with Majlis amendments --- the Parliament will extend the 4th Plan of 2005-2010.

NEW Iran Exclusive: FM Mottaki Attempted to Resign over Ahmadinejad Foreign Policy
NEW Iran Witness: Political Prisoner Arjang Davoudi From Evin on Human Rights (2008)
NEW Iran Feature: Inside Rajai Shahr Prison (Bijnen)
Iran Feature: An Open Letter to Detained Activist Shiva Nazar Ahari (Vahidmanesh)
Iran Breaking: Uncertainty if Lawyer Nasrine Sotoudeh Arrested
Iran Special: How Do You Analyse a Non-Event? (Lucas)
The Latest from Iran (5 September): Cracking Down after the Disappointment

1955 GMT: Economy Watch. And in the non-nuclear world, the chairman of the Supreme Audit Court, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, has taken apart the Ahmadinejad Government over its development plans, privatisation, imports, and subsidy reform.

Fazli said in areas such as economic growth and control of inflation the administration had failed to achieve the goals set in its Fourth Plan (2005-2010), and the Fifth Plan (2010-15) is not completely based on the goals set out in plans and major policies endorsed by the Supreme Leader.

Fazli said the handover of the state companies to the private sector has not been carried out according to the requirements set in the Article 44 of the Constitution and that most of the firms have been handed over to semi-official companies, coding for entities such as the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. “The private sector has been involved in at most 15% of the transactions and handovers,” he stated.

The SAC chairman said that Iranian companies could not compete with foreign rivals even in the production of simple products, and he warned that the Ahmadinejad subsidy reform plan "will lead to a rise in prices”.

1939 GMT: Non-Story, Real Story. Prediction: tomorrow's press in the "West" will be full of over-the-top headlines on Iran's nuclear programme, pegged on today's report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Even though the IAEA's latest findings are pretty much the status quo --- there is no verifiable diversion of nuclear material by Iran to a military programme, but the Agency would like wider access to Tehran's facilities --- the nature of the game over Iran's uranium means there will be ominous headlines restating Nothing New as Very Dangerous.

(Five minutes after I typed the above paragraph, this in from David Sanger and William Broad of The New York Times: "Three months after the United Nations Security Council enacted its harshest sanctions yet against Iran, global nuclear inspectors reported Monday that the country has dug in its heels, refusing to provide inspectors with information and access they need to determine whether the real purpose of Tehran’s program is to produce weapons."

Eight minutes after I typed the paragraph, The Daily Telegraph headlines, "Iran on Brink of Nuclear Weapon, Warns Watchdog".)

Meanwhile, we think we have a far more important story. Through sources in Iran, EA has learned that Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki tried to resign over the President's appointment of four special envoys for international affairs. We put that within the context of new tensions between the Foreign Ministry and Presidency today.

1750 GMT: The Supreme Leader Takes the Podium. The head of the Friday Prayers Committee has said that Ayatollah Khamenei will lead prayers in Tehran this week on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

1740 GMT: Karroubi Watch. A group of prominent political prisoners have reportedly written Mehdi Karroubi to praise his defense of rights and his courage in the face of pressure such as last week's siege of his home.

Those signing the letter included Mehdi Mahmoudian, Isa Saharkhiz, David Soleimani, Ahmad Zeidabadi, Masoud Bastani, and Majid Tavakoli.

The reformist Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution have also written Karroubi to condemn the attack on his home.

1719 GMT: Execution (Sakineh) Watch. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has said he is willing to "do anything" to save Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, condemned to execution for adultery conviction.

Kouchner said the initial sentence for death by stoning was "the height of barbarism": "I'm ready to do anything to save her. If I must go to Tehran to save her, I'll go to Tehran."

1715 GMT: Political Prisoner Special. Alongside our feature today on conditions in Rajai Shahr Prison, we have posted a 2008 video message, filmed secretly and smuggled out of jail, from political prisoner Arjang Davoudi.

1710 GMT: Academic Corner. We noted on Sunday that it appeared students were amongst the primary targets of the regime's post-Qods Day crackdown. Advar News, noting the context of threats by Minister of Higher Education Kamran Daneshjoo against universities, offers more on the story.

1655 GMT: The Attack on the Clerics. RAHANA reports that, following last Friday's attack by a pro-regime crowd on the Qoba Mosque of Grand Ayatollah Dastgheib in Shiraz, there have been widespread arrests of those connected with the mosque.

1415 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The wife of Mohammad Nourizad, detained journalist and filmmaker, claims she is being kept in a complete blackout regarding over news on her husband.

Fatemeh Maleki said, "It is 20 days since my husband has retuned to Evin Prison but we have not been even told where he is being kept.”

1410 GMT: Academic Corner. Alireza Salimi, a member of Parliament's Committee of Education and Research, has expressed concern over the rush of "retirements" of heads of Universities and professors.

About 20 University heads have been replaced by the Government in recent months.

1400 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The death sentence on teacher Abdolreza Ghanbari has reportedly been commuted to a prison term.

Reformist politician Mohsen Safaei Farahani, who suffered a heart attack last week, has been returned to Evin Prison from Tehran's Cardiac Clinic.

1355 GMT: Transport News. Peyke Iran reports that bus ticket prices from Azadi Square to Tehran Pars have quadrupled, resulting in protests and clashes.

1350 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. President Ahmadinejad has told a Dutch television station that while dual nationality is recognised by Tehran, it has little significance in the case of Zahra Bahrami, a Dutch-Iranian woman detained since last December. "If the person is originally from the Netherlands, the Dutch Embassy obviously represent his or her interests, but an Iranian-born person is excluded."

Dutch officials have not been able to visit Bahrami.

1345 GMT: Propaganda of the Day. Keyhan reveals the truth: the person who masterminded the siege and attack on Mehdi Karroubi's home last week was...

Mehdi Karroubi.

1340 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Azeri civil activist Hassan Balaei was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents at his place of business on Saturday.

0945 GMT: We have posted a guest feature from Loes Bijnen, "Inside Rajai Shahr Prison".

0840 GMT: Execution (Sakineh) Watch. Houtan Kian, a lawyer for Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, has said that his client is receiving 99 lashes for a photograph of a woman without a headscarf --- mistakenly identified as Ashtiani --- published in The Times of London.

Ashtiani's son, Sajad Ghaderzadeh, has said that he learned from other detainees that his mother --- who is sentenced to death for adultery --- had received the sentence. The claim, however, was disputed by a former lawyer for Ashtiani, Mohammadi Mostafaei, who is now in Norway.

Kian has not seen Ashtiani since 11 August but said a woman who had been held with her brought out the news that Ashtiani was being punished for "indecency".
0650 GMT: What Happened to Mousavi on Qods Day? Regular EA readers know why Mehdi Karroubi could not join Qods Day rallies on Friday, but there was silence on why Mir Hossein Mousavi did not make an appearance.

Tahavole Sabz offers an answer: all the roads around the residence of Mousavi and his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, were blocked.

0615 GMT: The Jannati Rumour (see 0510 GMT). The spokesman of the Guardian Council, Abbasali Kadkhodai, denied that the Council's head, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, has suffered a stroke, blaming the rumour on "counter-revolutionary elements".

0605 GMT: The Regime Line. In this video, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting criticises five detainees, including student activist Majid Tavakoli, journalist Heshmat Tabarzadi, and labour activist Mansur Osanloo, for writing to Carla Bruni, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

In the letter, the political prisoners expressed gratitude for Bruni's words on behalf of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death for adultery.

0524 GMT: My Favourite Website. Good news that www.barackobama.ir, with its special news and analysis, is catching on: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty posts a profile.

A bit more respect would be nice, however. The article snaps, "Dig a little deeper and the new website, which says it attracted some 100,000 visitors in its first week, begins to sound more like the news parody site TheOnion.com than it does a serious forum for discussion."

After all, we like The Onion, too.

0520 GMT: Reviewing the Crackdown. Deutsche Welle features an interview with student activist Said Razavi Faqih on matters from the Karroubi siege to to the attack on Qoba Mosque in Shirzaz to the failure of Ahmadinejad Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai to appear on Qods Day.

Headline-grabbing claim? "Plainclothes thugs are Khamenei's private army."

0510 GMT: Sunday's Top Rumour. Late Sunday, the website of former President Abolhassan Banisadr claimed that the head of the Guardian Council and long-time mainstay of the regime, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, had had a stroke and was in a coma.

We'll be looking for any confirmation or refutation of the claim.

0455 GMT: Amidst Sunday's continuing and sometimes accelerating intimidations by the regime, there were two interesting signs of a Government struggling for authority.

As the head of the Basij militia, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, was trying to pass off the siege of Mehdi Karroubi's home to Iran's enemies --- the US, Britain, and Zionists --- the Revolutionary Guard was effectively admitting that the criminals were home-grown. Of course, this was a "rogue element" not connected to the Guard or any other regime agency, but the admission still raised the question: given that the siege lasted five nights before culminating in gunfire, Molotov cocktails, injuries, and a direct assault on the Karroubi apartment, what exactly were the Guard and other security forces doing all that time?

On a more mundane but equally important front, the show of "unity" was exposed once more when President Ahmadinejad's representatives boycotted a Parliamentary commission discussing the 5th Budget Plan. The continuing dispute --- Ahmadinejad does not like Majlis amendments to the Plan and would rather withdraw the measures than implement them --- effectively means that, six months into the Iranian year, the Government does not have policies, let alone a strategy, for Iran's building economic problems.

One of the immediate issues is whether Ahmadinejad's subsidy cuts, an important feature of his economic stance, will be put into effect in October --- the latest declared timetable --- and, if so, whether they are related in any way to wider policies.

Iran Video & English Summary: Mehdi Karroubi and Son On 5th Night of Pro-Regime Siege (3 September)

UPDATE 1220 GMT: Mehdi Karroubi's son Hossein tells Deutsche Welle that last night's attack was a response to his mother's letter on Wednesday to Ayatollah Khamenei.

Fatemeh Karroubi had described the siege of her home and asked the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei if he condoned such “unethical acts”.

UPDATE 1040 GMT: Video of the burned and damaged residential complex of Mehdi Karroubi:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFl-5hJ6_xM&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Iran Urgent: Breaking News with Video on Day 5 of Karroubi "Siege"

UPDATE 0900 GMT: The audio of Radio Farda's interview with Hossein Karroubi, carried out during last night's attacks (see earlier updates), has been posted.

After the violence during the siege of his house last night, Mehdi Karroubi spoke with Rasa TV:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDoFugoW0Os[/youtube]

Summary from Facebook page supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi:

Following these events Mehdi Karroubi in an interview with Rasa TV once again announced that he is ready to pay any price and will stand in this path till the end.

Karroubi also once again stressed attendance T the Qods Day demonstrations.

Mehdi Karroubi in this phone interview said: "Following the elections many events happened in the country and everyone witnessed the consequences. We also expressed our positions clearly and caringly. But my clear and frank positions regarding hte country's issues have not gone well with these guys and [therefore] they plan these events and attacks."

Mehdi Karroubi, citing problems such as fraud in the 10th Presidential election (of June 2009) and also problems with foreign policy, said: "Not only there was fraud but there was engineering of votes. From the very beginning the outcome of the election has been decided. We made a mistake entering the election race. We were optimistic and thought that we have elections in this country but later on we realized that this is not the case."

Mehdi Karroubi again emphasised that he did not regret taking this path and declared his readiness to debate pro-government representatives.

Karroubi said: "Regarding the sanctions and the problems with foreign policy, I am announcing that essentially a part of the Revolutionary Guards is [creating] this situation, and they create tensions as much as possible so that in the shadow of sanctions they can plunder people's wealth."

Karroubi added, "This administration that cannot solve the problems of foreign policy or solve economic and cultural problems, and in fact cannot do anything, is after creating tension. Its life depends on the crises."

Mehdi Karroubi emphasised that he supported the Islamic Republic but said,

The current government is not Islamic Republic. Neither its Islamic aspect not its Republic aspect have been preserved. What the people wanted and carried out a revolution for it is different from what is in power today --- if it was [Islamic and a Republic] many of the problems of the people would be solved. The people of Iran are Muslim and are not at warwith Islam and are not at war with the Republic....

Mehdi Karroubi said that the reason for the thugs gathering in the recent nights at his house is his statements on participation in Qods Day: "They have been gathering for five nights, chant slogans, break the windows and tonight it was escalated to its peak. But I am standing. Both myself and my family are ready to pay any price; I am staying here, I am not going anywhere and I have my plans."

Mehdi Karroubi, while expressing sorrow over the discomfort and harassment that the thugs have imposed on his neighbors and family, said:

Where in the world do they organize a bunch of juvenile thugs and muggers to make chaos and insult a political opponent because of disagreement? At this moment that I am talking with you after midnight. They are chanting slogans in the street. It is even more tragic that, after all these scandals, insults, breaking the windows, they start reading the Quran in the street and mourning for Imam Hossein (Shia's third Imam). Apparently they are determined to disgrace Islam.

Mehdi Karroubi in another interview with Saham News...said: "On this holy night (Qadr Night), whatever the almighty God has destined for me, I will welcome with open arms and until my last breath I will not give up on people's rights."

Despite the insistence of his guards and family, Mehdi Karroubi refused to leave the building:" I am standing until the end."

Iran Urgent: Breaking News with Video on Day 5 of Karroubi "Siege"

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5l4Adu6m_Y[/youtube]

LATEST Iran Video and English Summary: Mehdi Karroubi after 5th Night of Pro-Regime Siege (3 September)
Iran Breaking: Karroubi on Election Fraud; House Surrounded by Pro-Regime Crowd

UPDATE 3 September: Student Supporters of Karroubi and Mousavi have issued a statement calling for a demonstration of support on Saturday at around 7:30 p.m. local time in front of Karroubi's residence..

UPDATE 2045 GMT: Saham News says that Special Guards units are now at the Karroubi house and attackers are retreating into alleys around the home. There are reports that the Guards are trying to move Karroubi to another location for his safety but the cleric is refusing to leave.

The Karroubis live on the 5th floor of the apartment complex.

UPDATE 2030 GMT: The full statement of Mehdi Karroubi's son Hossein as he talked to Radio Farda before the family's phone was cut off:

The home is completely blockaded. Our neighborhood is now just like the desert of Karbala (where Imam Hossein was martyred after being denied water for days) and occupied Palestine. The building is completely surrounded. There were gun shots fired directly at the building. The bodyguards in return fired some warning shots. All windows of the building are broken. They shot out all the street lights in the alley. Apparently some [assailants] were injured and ambulance has taken them [to hospital].

The situation is very chaotic now and the attackers are continuously chanting slogans and their attack word is “We are responding, O Khamenei”.

Hossein Karroubi added that the attackers were trying to enter the home by setting it on fire so Mehdi Karroubi’s bodyguards fired warning shots, injuring some of the attackers

Hossein Karroubi said that his father was reading the Quran and his mother, Fatemeh Karroubi, is with her sons and daughter-in-laws.

Hossein Karroubi addresed the Supreme Leader:

You think of yourself to be just like Imam Ali [Shia's first Imam]. Is this the way of Imam Ali? Is this the way of Ali, that you want to confront someone, have attacked the home of a 73-year-old man and have blockaded his home and set it on fire?

UPDATE 2000 GMT: Saham News reports that one of Mehdi Karroubi's bodyguards, "Mr Yari", has been taken to hospitaland is in a coma.

The website says that water pipes around Karroubi's complex are destroyed, and electricity has been cut. Security forces have abandoned the scene.

Karroubi's son Hossein says, according to an activist, that his father's bodyguards did not fire into the air but at assailants as they tried to enter the house. Rah-e-Sabz says that the phone was cut off as Radio Farda talked to Hossein: amongst his statement, in a reference to Qods Day tomorrow, was "Here is Palestine".

Fatemeh Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's wife, tells BBC Persian that tonight's attack is "different" and that the crowd is trying to kill her husband (video at top of entry).

UPDATE 1850 GMT: A fifth consecutive night of harassmant has begun, with the pro-regime crowd reportedly throwing Molotov cocktails and Karroubi's bodyguards firing shots into the air. The entrance --- whether to the house or to the residential complex --- was broken as the crowd tried to get into the house.

UPDATE 1500 GMT: Saham News has posted images of the damage done to Mehdi Karroubi's residential complex.

Alleged video has also emerged:

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

UPDATE 1100 GMT: In a phone call to Mehdi Karroubi, Grand Ayatollah Sane'i condemned the ongoing, "inhuman" attacks on Karroubi's home. Sane'i wished Karroubi patience and perseverance to follow the people's rights and to reform the corrupt system.

UPDATE 2 September: Saham News reports that, despite the open letter of protest to Ayatollah Khamenei by Mehdi Karroubi's wife Fatemeh (see update below), the Karroubi residence was surrounded by a pro-regime crowd for a fourth consecutive night.

The group, which gathered from about 10 p.m. Tehran, chanted slogans against Mehdi Karroubi and in support of the Supreme Leader, threw rocks, and sprayed paint on the walls of the residential complex. The crowd broke windows and vandalised the building's security cameras. Chants included "If only Khamenei would give us the order to fight" and "We congratulate the union of the United States and Karroubi".

UPDATE 1 September: Fatemeh Karroubi, the wife of Mehdi Karroubi, has written to the Supreme Leader to condemn the attacks on her home and family by pro-regime crowds.

Fatemeh Karroubi asks the Leader: “What do the disagreements between you and my husband over issues, that are evident to all by now, have to do with our right to live?”



She pulls no punches as she describes the crowd chanting “derogatory words” against Mehdi Karroubi and “writing slogans on the walls of the residential complex and the neighbours' houses": “These obvious crimes are taking place with your support and in front of the security forces who do not dare to approach these attackers.”

So, noting the policy of “attacking the family and neighbours of political opponents”, Fatemeh Karroubi asks Ayatollah Khamenei if he condones such “unethical acts". (cross-posted from Iran LiveBlog)

UPDATE 1610 GMT: Fatemeh Karroubi, the wife of Mehdi Karroubi, first spoke to Fereshteh Ghazi of Rooz Online at 11 p.m. local time on Monday (English summary via Negar Irani). She said that those surrounding her residence carried tear gas, batons, and weapons, and although the police were also present, they were no more than spectators. During the interview, there were chants such as "Karroubi is illiterate and a puppet in the hands of Mossad" and "even the army of the entire world can't stand against us". According to Mrs. Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi was in his room, meditating and reading the Qu'ran.

When Ghazi contacted the house an hour later, the crowd had dispersed, although they vowed to be back on Friday morning.

Fatemeh Karroubi said, "We are...truly distressed by the fact that the regime has reduced itself to a level of governing in this manner, that in these nights of Ramadan, they have chosen to inflict such stress and anxiety on the families and neighbours living in our area....We are concerned about the foundations upon which this regime was based and the rights of the people....

Fatehmeh Karroubi confirmed that Karroubi would participate in Qods Days ceremonies this Friday, and asked, "Does this decision frighten and terrorize them so much that they need to gather so many people to insult, threaten?" She continued, "Mr. Karroubi's crime was that he had the audacity to say that if rape and torture is taking place in the prisons, then the government should put an end to it right away."

Fatemeh Karroubi concluded, "My children and I will continue to stand with [Mehdi] Karroubi. We are ready to face anything."

---
For the second night in a row, Mehdi Karroubi's house was surrounded by a pro-regime crowd --- on Monday, Karroubi's son Hossein spoke to Deutsche Welle:

Deutsche Welle: Mr. Karroubi, at this moment (12 midnight local time) the house of Mehdi Karroubi is surrounded. Explain what is happening there and who are these individuals? It seems like they are armed.

Hossein Karroubi: It is 10 minutes since these individuals left. I myself was trying to get in to the house for about an hour but could not get in the house. These individuals were cursing and chanting slogans in support for the Supreme Leader. They were threatening that they would come back on Friday morning and would gather ten times more individuals. They will bring them in front on Mehdi Karroubi’s house and will not let him leave the house to go for the Qods Day rally.

Deutsche Welle: Do you think that these events are a continuation of the events that had happened Sunday night to prevent Mr. Karroubi from participating in the Qadr Nights religious ritual?

Hossein Karroubi: It is both to prevent him from participatig in Qadr Nights religious ritual and, what is very important, to prevent him from participating in the Qods Day rally.

Deutsche Welle: Were you able to get into Mehdi Karroubi’s house now?

Hossein Karroubi: Yes, Mr. Karroubi is fine and is in very high spirits. My mother, my brothers, and I are all beside him.

Deutsche Welle: Who were these individuals that were gathered there today? Did they have any specific characteristics?

Hossein Karroubi: These are the plainclothes militias whom the government fully supports. They are armed with both guns and machetes. According to Mr. Karroubi, they wear thick jackets and beneath their jackets they carry all sorts of weapons. These individuals are completely under the order of the Revolutionary Guards.

Deutsche Welle: Mr. Karroubi talked about participating in Qods Day rally. Is he still determined to carry on with his decision?

Hossein Karroubi: Mr. Karroubi is very much determined to carry on with his promise and decision. Today he had a meeting with Mir Hossein Mousavi in Mir Hossein’s house. In fact they are going to invite people to participate in the Qods Day rally.

The Latest from Iran (2 September): Karroubi, Mousavi, and Qods Day

2030 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Kalemeh reports that leading reformist politician Mohsen Safaei Farahani, one of seven detainees who recently filed a complaint alleging military interference and manipulation in the 2009 Presidential election, suffered a heart attack three days ago and is in the Evin Prison medical facility.

2025 GMT: We are updating urgently in our separate entry on the siege of Mehdi Karroubi's house. Latest reported developments: a bodyguard in a coma, shots fired at assailants, electricity, water, and phones cut off. Fatemeh Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's wife, says the pro-regime crowd is "trying to kill her husband".

1905 GMT: Karroubi (and Qods Day) Alert. A fifth night of the "siege" of Mehdi Karroubi's house has begun, with Molotov cocktails fired and Karroubi's bodyguard firing into the air.

Meanwhile, we have posted the first video of tonight's rooftop "Allahu Akbars" (God is Great) . The chants have been a sign of protest throughout the post-election period.

NEW Latest Iran Video: The Rooftop “Allahu Akbars” (2 September)
NEW Pro-Regime Media Asks, “Which is Worse: Stoning or Prostitution?”
NEW Iran Document: Karroubi-Mousavi Meeting on Eve of Qods Day (31 August)
UPDATED Iran: The Latest on the Karroubi “Siege” and the Qods Day Rally
Iran Special: Thoughts on Protest, Stoning, and Human Rights (Shahryar)
The Latest from Iran (1 September): The Threat of Stoning

1900 GMT: Sports! (and Stoning). Football's Francesco Totti, striker and captain of Roma and star of the Italian national side, has signed the petition for clemency for Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, sentenced to death for adultery.

1415 GMT: All is Well Update (cont. --- see 1045 GMT). Video of today's "Control in Tehran" operation, taken "discreetly" by observers, has emerged.

Two pictures from a set in Mehr, via Peyke Iran, of today's "Control in Tehran" operation....



1315 GMT: Video of Day. Human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, forced to leave Iran this summer because of threat of arrest, has been re-united with his wife and daughter in Norway.

Mostafaei's clients include Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, sentenced to death for adultery. His wife was detained when Iranian authorities could not find Mostafaei to arrest him.

1310 GMT: Economy Watch. Trade union activist Mehdi Kouhestani-Nejad tells Deutsche Welle that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps is now the biggest employer in Iran's petrochemical, communications, and services sectors. Kouhestani-Nejad also claims the IRGC has taken over "bankrupt" companies, arresting managers, in areas such as steel.

1253 GMT: No Hysteria at All Statements of Day. Former Minister of Culture Mohammad -Hossein Saffar-Harandi explains that if security forces had not intervened last year, there would have been one million casualties. He added that Green media are "censoring" the good work of the government.

Pro-Ahmadinejad MP Hamid Rasaei declared that the recent remarks of former President Mohammad Khatami are designed to cover up $1 billion that he has received from foreign agencies for "regime change".

The reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front has responded to similar "$1 billion" accusations from Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi with the claim that he is falsifying reality to avoid the truth about the political and security situation. The IIPF adds that the slander of reformists is a pretext for more persecution.

1245 GMT: Bringing Out a Crowd. The Iranian authorities lay out their plan: there will be special traffic restrictions with 1500 buses to carry people and free use of the metro in Tehran.

1150 GMT: All is Well Update (cont.). The completely secure Iranian regime has reportedly blocked the website of Grand Ayatollah Dastgheib.

1145 GMT: Siege. It isn't just Mehdi Karroubi who has been intimidated this week by regime supporters. Zahra Rahnavard, activist and wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi, was accosted by plainclothes forces on a Tehran street.

Kalemeh reports that the incident occurred a few nights ago in an alley close to Rahnavard's residence, as she was surrounded and interrogated about her activities during the Revolution and her commitment to religion. Rahnavard reportedly responded, “I will not respond to a street interrogation but I will be willing to respond to your questions at my office.”

1140 GMT: Picture of the Day. A photograph of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, sentenced to death for adultery, on the facade of a government building in Rome:



1135 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The wife of activist Arjang Davoudi, who launched a hunger strike in jail 50 days ago, says that he is in grave condition.

1130 GMT: Stopping the Lawyers. Earlier this week we wrote about the raid on the office of defence attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh by Iranian authorities. Sotoudeh has now told Rooz Online that she was given a summons to appear in court within three days on charges of “assembly and conspiracy to disrupt national security and propaganda against the regime".

Sotoudeh's case is the latest in a string of arrests and intimidations. Abdolfatah Soltani and Mohammad Ali Dadkhah spent months in Evin Prison on national security charges. Mohammad Oliyayifard is still detained, while Mohammad Seifzadeh awaited his trial later this summer. Khalil Bahramian has been interrogated at Evin, and Saleh Nikbakht has an open case at the judiciary’s branch in the prison. Mohammad Mostafaei has fled Iran to avoid arrest.

Sotoudeh said, “The gentlemen [of the regime] plan to put so much pressure on lawyers to make legal defense, especially of political defendants, impossible.”

1120 GMT: The Battle Within. Hooman Majd offers an analysis in Foreign Policy which, despite his acknowledgement of "the public feuds between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and seemingly everyone else in the entire country", turns into, "Move Along, Nothing to See Here":

Put simply, now is not the time for petty infighting. And even those conservatives who retain their distaste for Ahmadinejad won't want to jeopardize their good standing with Khamenei -- especially as the 2013 presidential election approaches -- by appeasing Iran's enemies, real or imagined.

1115 GMT: Academic Corner. Writing in Tehran Bureau, Ali Chenar reviews the regime's pressure on universities, considering the resignation of Sharif University head Saeed Sohrabpour and the removal of Zanjan University head Yousef Sobouti.

1045 GMT: All is Well Update. On the eve of Qods (Palestine) Day, the regime is already showing the levels of mass public support it is enjoying. Tehran police have launched the operation "Control in Tehran". Police commander Hossein Sajedi-Nia explained that the heavy presence of security forces on the streets was a regular "exercise" to contain "crimes", occupying all "critical points" of the city to guarantee the people's "safety" on Qods Day.

Saham News claims that disturbance of G-Mail services started hours ago to prevent people from forwarding routes for tomorrow's protests, and ADSL service is also disrupted.

0830 GMT: Thought for the Day. Film director Jafar Panahi, detained earlier this year and barred from leaving Iran, in an interview with Middle East Online:

"There have always been restrictions, but over the past year it was the worst. I cannot be pessimistic though. Limitations have always existed, and this era will eventually come to an end too. It's important to have patience and resistance."

0825 GMT: Talk to Us. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Wednesday that Tehran is still waiting for a response from the Vienna Group (US, France, Russia, International Atomic Energy Agency) on resumption of talks on uranium enrichment: "They have still not officially announced the date and venue for the new round of talks."

0740 GMT: We have posted a feature, "Pro-Regime Media Asks, 'Which is Worse: Stoning or Prostitution?'".

0710 GMT: Academic Corner --- The Counter-Attack. We have been reporting all week on new regime threats against universities. There is news from the other side, however....

An open letter from the "Islamic Association of Democracy", claiming to represent students of Tehran University, asks Minister of Higher Kamran Daneshjoo: "Wasn't it enough to attack the dormitories [after the June 2009 election] and dismiss students and professors? Do you have to u try to destroy free thinking and security at the universities?

A letter to Daneshjoo from 38 professors demands the restitutition of Professor Yousef Sobouti, recently replaced, as head of Zanjan University.

And students of Mehdi Karroubi's campaign committee have asked Green supporters to join Qods Day processions: "come to the streets for your lost rights".

0705 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Peyke Iran claims that the sister of detained journalist Abdolreza Tajik was interrogated for four hours and that Tajik's lawyer Mohammad Sharif has been blocked from meeting him.

0655 GMT: Karroubi Watch. Mehdi Karroubi met with the family of the political prisoner Mostafa Tajzadeh, a prominent reformist politician, yesterday.

0630 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Der Westen claims that up to 100 "front" companies in Germany are moving arms to Iran.

0605 GMT: Flu Alert! EA took great pride in its front-line coverage of the 2009 swine flu crisis. So we have to note the video, posted by Peyke Iran, in which Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami --- who is leading Friday Prayers in Tehran on Qods Day --- declares that swine flu is the outcome of the sins of the West.

0600 GMT: Sports! The US defeated Iran, 88-51, in the qualifying rounds of the World Basketball Championship on Wednesday. We wait to see if Max Fisher's pre-match prediction comes true:

After all the harsh rhetoric and low-level violence, three decades of Iran-U.S. tension will come to a close this afternoon. If the U.S. wins, Iran has agreed it will give up its nuclear program and cede power to the Green Movement. If Iran wins, President Obama says he will implement sharia law, although he was probably going to do that anyway.

0550 GMT: Execution (Ashtiani) Watch. Rooz Online publishes an open letter from the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, sentenced to death for adultery, to "human rights defenders across the universe". Sajad Ghaderzadeh writes:

Why do they extract false confessions from my mother by force and broadcast them? Why have they prevented my mother from seeing her attorney or us since then? Is it not because signs of torture are still visible on her body and they do not want any witnesses? Have they delayed visitations until the signs are healed? Why do they plant false evidence against my mother? Why do they open a case that was previously closed? Why have my father’s murder files gone missing? Why do they not allow my mother’s case to proceed normally like any another case? We are truly disappointed that we were born in the Islamic Republic; and that we were abandoned by our own family after the sham show on the Islamic Republic’s television; and that we are forced to tolerate this life of humiliation.

Life killed us. Death, where are you?

0540 GMT: We open this morning with two features. We have an English translation of Tuesday's meeting between Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, discussing tomorrow's Qods (Palestine) Day and the general state of Iran. The discussion was primarily about economic, political, and legal problems; despite rumours, there was no call for an opposition rally on Friday.

We also post an update on the harassment of Karroubi by pro-regime groups, as his home was surrounded for a fourth consecutive night.

Despite the intimidation, Karroubi remains vocal. Rooz Online summarises his recent remarks on military interference and the "fraud" of the 2009 Presidential election.