2240 GMT: Confirmation that Ebrahim Amini, of the Etemade Melli party and a close relative of Mehdi Karroubi, has also been released from detention.
2150 GMT: Dr. Ali Tajernia, former MP and senior member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, has been released after 140 days in detention.
2145 GMT: Human Rights Activists in Iran has a Farsi-language update on detainees, including the transfer of 95 people arrested on 13 Aban from detention centres to Evin Prison.
2130 GMT: Confirming indications we had received from EA sources in recent weeks, the Supreme Leader has reinstated Ezatullah Zarghami as head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting for five years.
Zarghami had been considered vulnerable because of regime dissatisfaction with IRIB’s output before and after the Presidential election, but a suitable replacement could not be arranged. Khamenei indicated this with a call for Zarghami to “take advantage of successful or unsuccessful experiences of the past five years to help this medium reach a better quality”.
2125 GMT: Iran’s Internal Nuclear Dispute. Press TV’s website is now featuring the anti-talks line taken by high-profile MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi (see 0845 GMT).
UPDATE 21 October: And just in case you’re still doubting, the Supreme Leader’s website has posted an audio and photo album from yesterday’s meeting with female scholars.
UPDATE 1645 GMT: Ayatollah Khamenei’s official website has posted a photograph and full report of the Supreme Leader’s meeting with thousands of female scholars and teachers. Khamenei declared that Islam show its “respect and dignity for women and women’s talents” in the family, society, and national and international activities. He repeated his criticism of Western academia, specifically the humanities, for its teaching and worldview in contrast to an Iranian approach based on Qu’ranic principles. (Cross-posted from Latest Iran Updates, 20 October)
UPDATE 20 October 1615 GMT: The Supreme Leader did meet the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Ezatullah Zarghami, at the end of last week. Previously we had reported that the meeting was scheduled but, amidst the rumours about Ayatollah Khamenei’s health, had no confirmation that it took place. (Cross-posted from Latest Iran Updates, 20 October)
Well, it’s the morning after the pictures that were supposed to end all speculation about the fitness and health of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The images of the Supreme Leader with President Ahmadinejad and the visiting President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, are most ordinary for a ceremonial photographs, and their message is that, after an extraordinary five days of rumour, possibility, and anxiety, all is ordinary with Iran’s leadership.
Inevitably, Internet users (including Enduring America’s staff) pored over the pictures to find inconsistencies and flaws that might point to a regime cover-up. Did the event even occur? Read the rest of this entry »
Thanks to Pedestrian for translation from original article in Mashrote News. The letter is written on behalf of Karroubi by his son, Mohammad Taqi:
In the Name of God,
[a poem: if the first bricks of a wall are placed askew, the entire wall will go up askew]
Dear Brother, Mr. [Ezatullah] Zarghami,
The Honorable head of IRIB [Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting],
Greetings,
As you are well aware, on Tuesday Mr. Ahmadinejad’s interview with Charlie Rose [of US Public Broadcasting Service] was broadcast on Channel1 [IRIB1]. When speaking of post-election events, the host of this American TV network pointed to the subject of rape in prisons. In response, Mr. Ahmadinejad said: “It is Mr. Karroubi who has made these allegations and when the three-member team from the judiciary refuted his comments, he grew very angry and had nothing to show for it.”
It is quite unfortunate that the culture of lying has become an inseparable part of the executive branch [of government]. I don’t know what it is about New York that brings out this personal attribute [lying] of the president’s two-fold. It is also unfortunate that the Islamic Republic’s broadcasting service has also been transformed to a medium that spreads this vile culture and the result is the lack of trust people feel towards this public medium….
2100 GMT: We have posted an emergency update of our story on the National Unity Plan. To be blunt, this has turned into a giant mystery which we can lay out but not solve this evening, and there are likely to be further developments (even though it is early morning in Tehran) for our first update on Wednesday.
1700 GMT: We’ve split off our snap analysis updates on the National Unity Plan into a separate entry.
1430 GMT: Back from a teaching break to find tension growing over the privatisation of Iran’s state telecommunications company, with 51 percent going to a consortium linked to the Revolutionary Guard. It is reported that the Telecommunications Trade Council will review the deal, with the possibility of cancelling it because of concerns over a “monopoly”.
2200 GMT: Late Breaking News. The reformist website Mardomak reports that the memorial ceremonies for the fallen protesters will most probably be held this Thursday. The website asserts, “Although a rather low-level official of the ministry has objected to holding these ceremonies…there has not been any official objection… It seems that the government officials know that if they officially object, the government would then have to shoulder the responsibility of preventing these ceremony to happen.” Mardomak also stated that if the doors of the Mosala are not opened on Thursday, all participants will sit down in the middle of Beheshti Street and light candles and recite the Koran.
2115 GMT: And so to close where we began this morning, considering the problems for President Ahmadinejad.
1. It is clear that the President will now be opposed by the “Principlist” bloc in Parliament. The vocal criticism of Ali Motahari has now been joined by the Islamic Engineers Society, which has criticised both the appointment of the First Vice President and the sacking of the Minister of Intelligence: “It seems you want to be the sole speaker and do not want to hear other voices… therefore it is our duty to convey to you the voice of the people.” (Significantly, this news was reported on Press TV’s website.)
Principlist legislator Hamid-Reza Katouzian told Tabnak: “Allegiance to the rule of just jurisprudence is not embracing the Leader and kissing his hand; allegiance must be practical….Putting the incidents of the past 10 days together, whether they were purposeful or carried out unintentionally, only show a confrontation with the Leader, and it is my opinion and that of other Principlists that Mr. Ahmadinejad needs to determine the nature of his relationship with the Leader.”
2. A “conservative” Member of Parliament, Gholam-Reza Mesbahi-Moghaddam, has expressed support for Hashemi Rafsanjani and has advocated compensation to the families of slain protesters. He also considered demonstrators to be “young gullible individuals who can be released”.
3. Perhaps in response to this pressure, Ahmadinejad has asked the head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi to deal with the situation of the detainees (which Shahroudi had promised yesterday), hoping that the release of these individuals will coincide with the Birthday of Imam Mahdi. Ahmadinejad claims that most detainees have been “hoodwinked into participating these protests by individuals related to certain internal politicians or the propaganda of foreign enemies”.
2045 GMT: Mohammad Tavasoli, a senior member of the Freedom Movement of Iran, has been freed after 43 days in detention.
2030 GMT: Ayatollah Bayat-Zanjani, who has emerged as a vocal critic of the Government, has issued another statement criticising those who have ignored “the vote of the majority”.
1945 GMT: The Memorial is On. Despite the denial of a permit from the Ministry of Interior, Mir Hossein Mousavi’s Facebook page announces the gathering will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. local time on Thursday at the Grand Mosala in Tehran. The page also puts up a poster for the event (pictured).
1930 GMT: American Perceptions. After the news of the denial of the permit for the Thursday memorial, a quieter phase in Iran news. Meanwhile, in the US there is a discussion of clerical power, political roles, and individual rights under the Iranian Constitution. Francis Fukuyama started it in The Wall Street Journal, and Kevin Sullivan has continued it on Real Clear World. It’s a commentary as notable for the American perception of “Islamic Iran” as it is for insight into the Iranian system.
1755 GMT: The head of the political office of the Ministry of the Interior, Abbaszadeh-Meshkini, has told Fars News that no official permission has been given to any individual or group for a “40th Day” gathering on Thursday. Abbaszdeh said, “Memorial ceremonies are considered to be private issues of citizens and any request for such ceremonies from the interior ministry has obvious political overtones”.
We began this morning with an analysis of the relationship between the Supreme Leader and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, asking if Ayatollah Khamenei would stand by or jettison his President. Muhammad Sahimi of Tehran Bureau, drawing from a source, sees another, possibly bigger battle: the Supreme Leader v. the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Showdown between Khamenei and IRGC?
Two important developments over the past few days suggest a possible confrontation in the near future between Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and the high command of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Read the rest of this entry »
2240 GMT: Confirmation that Ebrahim Amini, of the Etemade Melli party and a close relative of Mehdi Karroubi, has also been released from detention.
UPDATE 21 October: And just in case you’re still doubting, the Supreme Leader’s website has posted 
2100 GMT: We have posted 
2200 GMT: Late Breaking News. 
We began this morning with an analysis of the relationship between the Supreme Leader and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, asking if Ayatollah Khamenei would stand by or jettison his President. Muhammad Sahimi of Tehran Bureau, drawing from a source, 
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