2200 GMT: And The Pace Accelerates. Hard to keep up tonight — Mehdi Karroubi’s Etemade Melli party has now made another move for 22 Bahman, following up the cleric’s declarations today with a list of proposals for reconciliation. We have posted them in a separate entry.
2100 GMT: An Extraordinary Offer? We have posted what we think might be a significant move by the “conservative opposition” to the President: an open letter to Mir Hossein Mousavi with the offer, “Back Khamenei and We Can Move Against Ahmadinejad”.
1950 GMT: Another Attack on Ahmadinejad’s Camp. Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani has effectively asked for the President’s Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, to be put on trial. Once again, the challenge is circulated through the pro-Rafsanjani Ayande News.
2155 GMT: Hmm…. Looks like the homepage of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has been visited by a hacker.
2150 GMT: Are You Listening in Tel Aviv? The Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has pretty much slapped a public restraining order on an Israeli attack on Iran. He told the Washington Institute of Near East Policy that Iran was “on a path that has strategic intent to develop nuclear weapons and have been for some time” and “that outcome is potentially a very, very destabilizing outcome”; however, he continued:
On the other hand, when asked about striking Iran, specifically, that also has a very, very destabilizing outcome….That part of the world could become much more unstable, which is a dangerous global outcome.
2125 GMT: An Iranian blog has published pictures of those trying to attack Mehdi Karroubi in Qazvin tonight (see 2025 GMT).
An Iranian activist has posted a summary on Facebook, claiming about 200 plainclothes “thugs” gathered outside the house where Karroubi was staying. The police tried to prevent a confrontation as about 500 people looked on; however, according to the activist, there were Revolutionary Guard commanders amongst the would-be attackers. When Karroubi was leaving, his car was pelted with eggs and broken bricks. Read the rest of this entry »
1925 GMT: On a Positive Note (see 1855 GMT). The Public Broadcasting Service documentary, “Death in Tehran“, on the shooting of Neda Agha Soltan airs at 8 p.m., Eastern Standard Time in the US (0100 GMT). It has been developed and filmed in conjunction with the good folks at Tehran Bureau.
1915 GMT: Former President Mohammad Khatami, speaking to Tehran University students, has called for reform of Iran’s election laws and condemned violent government policies. He maintained that the “Iranian movement” cannot be suppressed by “fear”:
This movement is a deep and widespread movement….The people of Iran want freedom; they want financial, economic, social and political security and because they have suffered through despotism, they want to be masters of their destiny.
1855 GMT: Worst Iran Coverage of the Day. From The New York Times review of a Public Broadcasting Service TV documentary on the death of Neda Agha Soltan:
“A Death in Tehran,” Tuesday’s “Frontline” [documentary] on PBS, is dismaying not just because it deals with a life ended in its prime. It also makes us realize just how quickly the protest movement vanished from the headlines. A part of the world that seemed on the verge of grass-roots-generated change now looks as if it’s back to business as usual.
Vanished from which headlines? Perhaps those of newspapers who are under the delusion that all is “back to business as usual” in Iran?
1850 GMT: The Convictions So Far. Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reports that five people have been sentenced to death and 81 have received jail terms of up to 15 years in connection with post-election protests.
1330 GMT: Iranian sources report that a fifth post-election death sentence for threatening national security has been handed down in the case of Reza Khademi.
1325 GMT: A summary of Mir Hossein Mousavi’s comments in his meeting with Mehdi Karroubi on Friday: “This great movement defends basic values. This movement says, ‘Do not tell lies. Falsehood is condemned. Fraud is condemned.’
“Those who beat people must not think that by intimidating people they can make people stay home. Islam has taught people seek their rights without fear.”
1145 GMT: Reviving? Mir Hossein Mousavi has met Mehdi Karroubi “to comfort [cleric]. about the physical assult on him by the security forces and plainclothes militia at the November 4th [13 Aban] rallies and to condemn and talk about the violent acts of the security and Basij militia forces against people, especially women on that day”.
1140 GMT:Cracking Down on the Students. Abdollah Momeni, the spokesman of the reformist student organisation Darhat-Tahkim-Vahdat, has been sentenced to eight years in prison!
1130 GMT: When Arts and Politics Mix. President Ahmadinejad, acting as the head of the Revolutionary Cultural Council, has changed the existing constitution of the Academy of Arts, possibly to prepare for the dismissal of Mir Hossein Mousavi as the President of the Academy. Under the amendment, the President of the Academy would be appointed directly by the Iranian President, without any requirement for consultation with the members of the Academy.
During President Khatami’s administration, it was established that the President of the Academy would be elected by the permanent members of the Academy’s General Assembly, and the president as the head of the Revolutionary Cultural Court would approve the nominee.
2110 GMT: Ezatollah Zarghami has celebrated getting a five-year renewal as head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, by alleging that Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi are trying to get television airtime to incite people into joining street protests. Zarghami said this would be contrary to IRIB’s objectives to “establish a stable social atmosphere” and help “society out of its instability”.
1820 GMT: The Economic Issue Rumbles On. In addition to other challenges, President Ahmadinejad is still facing resistance from Parliament over his subsidy reduction bill. He returned from Turkey on Tuesday to go into a meeting with lawmakers, declaring that Iran will emerge as a prosperous nation in five years if the bill is implemented in full. Read the rest of this entry »
1920 GMT: We have posted, in a separate entry, the English translation of Mir Hossein Mousavi’s interview with the Jamaran website.
1845 GMT: Mohammad Saleh Jokar, a senior official in the Student Basij organization, has announced that 6,000 Basij units will be created in elementary schools, seeking to promote Basij and revolutionary ideals among pupils from a young age. Jokar added that about 4.5 million students at elementary and high schools and 320,000 teachers are members of the Basij force.
The confessions that have been extracted in prison have absolutely no religious or legal value and cannot be the basis for the death or prison punishments that have been issued. Those who are responsible and their accomplices for such confessions, are religiously and legally guilty and criminal.
Whenever the execution of a religious punishment leads to negative consequences on religion or society, the judge can and must stop the execution. (see also “Ayatollah Montazeri’s Interview on Eve of 13 Aban“)
1820 GMT: Labour Activists Jailed. We reported in late October on the threats to detain leaders of the Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company after protests. Four of them — Fereydoun Nikoufard, Jalil Ahmadi, Ghorban Alipour and Mohammad Haydari — have now begun prison terms.
1800 GMT: Publish and Be Damned. Tehran’s Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi has warned that he will pursue sites that “publish baseless news”. The statement follows Monday’s declaration by Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam, Iran’s commander of security forces, “There is need for greater supervision over the internet….Every time we have entered this scene, the media and individuals who show off as intellectuals attack and we step back.” Read the rest of this entry »
2200 GMT: And The Pace Accelerates. Hard to keep up tonight — Mehdi Karroubi’s Etemade Melli party has now made another move for 22 Bahman, following up the cleric’s declarations today with a list of proposals for reconciliation. We have posted them in a separate entry.
2155 GMT: Hmm…. Looks like the homepage of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance 
1925 GMT: On a Positive Note (see 1855 GMT). The Public Broadcasting Service documentary, 
1330 GMT: Iranian sources report that a fifth post-election death sentence for threatening national security has been handed down in the case of Reza Khademi.
2110 GMT: Ezatollah Zarghami has celebrated getting a five-year renewal as head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, 
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