1715 GMT: Satellite Wars? Iran’s Al-Alam television service has again been taken off-air by its Saudi-based satellite operator.
Al Alam was also briefly suspended in November. The cited reason was a contractual breach by the Saudi and Egyptian owners of the satellite service, although political tensions between Tehran, Riyadh, and Cairo may also have been involved.
1700 GMT: The German Menace. Oh, dear, it is a slow news day. Media are running with the Iran regime/media baton of the “German plot” behind the Ashura demonstrations (see 1130 GMT). Reuters put it on their newsfeed, and The Los Angeles Times’ Babylon and Beyond has devoted a blog entry to the whipped-up story, which goes back to the brief detention of two German diplomats during the protest of 27 December.
At least the LA Times piece has some interesting related information, beyond the silliness of supposed German code names “Yogi” and “Ingo”. For example, the Iranian intelligence official pointed to the Facebook page, from which EA often takes information and English translation, supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi: “Through his Facebook page, Mr. Mir-Hossein Mousavi had called for his supporters to turn out. Mr. Mousavi has never denied the page was run by him.”
(Message to our friends in the regime: in fact, Mir Hossein Mousavi has never had a connection with the page, which was set up by an Iranian in Germany who became enthused about the Mousavi Presidential campaign. That is why EA never cites information from that page as a reflection of Mousavi’s views)
The Iranian official also put out the latest “directorate of exiles” supervising regime change: cleric Mohsen Kadivar, journalist Akbar Ganji, former culture minister Ataollah Mohajerani, filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf and former lawmaker Fatemeh Haghighatjoo.
(Message to our friends in the regime: of those 5, exactly 0 are based in Germany — 4 are in the US and 1 in France. If you’re going to keep up this “German plot” thing, may want to find someone who actually has a resident’s-eye view of the Brandenburg Gate.) Read the rest of this entry »
2040 GMT: Pars Daily News claims that Seyed Hassan Ahmadian, head of Mir Hossein Mousavi’s People Committee, has disappeared.
1840 GMT: “Foreign Enemies” Cause Regime Change…and Earthquakes. Investigative Journalism of the Day from Kayhan — the earthquake in Haiti was caused by the redoubtable US “Harp” weapon, which is more powerful than an atomic bomb.
1830 GMT: More on Larijani’s Challenge. In his recent speech, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani used the economy to challenge President Ahmadinejad, criticising the rising government budget and the failure of the 4th Development Plan. Only one-quarter of the Development Plan has reportedly been implemented.
1805 GMT: Film Boycott. The famous director Abbas Kiarostami has refused to join the jury of Tehran’s Fajr International Film Festival, which is scheduled to start on 25 January. Kiarostami joins other prominent figures, such as actor Ezzattollah Entezami and director Asghar Farhadi, who have turned down offers to be on the panel.
Fatemeh Haghighatjoo was a member of Iran’s Parliament from 2000 to 2004, and a prominent advocate of women’s rights and political reform. She resigned in 2004 after a crackdown on reformers and left Iran in 2005. She is now a visiting scholar at the University of Massachusetts–Boston.
Q: The Obama administration has been reluctant to express support for the opposition movement out of fear that doing so would end Iran’s cooperation in the nuclear negotiations. But now that those talks are at an impasse, what should the United States do regarding the opposition?
A: I would say the United States should carefully and delicately support the opposition movement based on United Nations conventions, because Iran is a signatory to many UN human rights conventions.
Iran: Less “official” news from the Regime today, but plenty else has been going on in and about the country. Full details, (including Austin Heap’s look at what happens when Ahmadinejad’s twitter site gets hacked), together with our updated timeline, are available here.
EA’s John Shahryar has written a thought-provoking analysis on how outside help, however well intentioned, might actually hurt the green movement within Iran.
Last night CNN looked at what was ahead for Iran in 2010. We have the video, which featured ex-MP Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, who challenged the current system, and Seeyed Mohammad Marandi from Tehran University, who defended it. There is also the transcript of an interview with former Obama Administration official Ray Takeyh.
Israel: Foreign Minister Liberman has declared “Enough” when it comes to any proposed joint security pact over Israel and Palestine
Palestine: EA’s Ali Yenidunya reports on the sharper statements coming from the Palestinian Authority against Hamas, following the Egypt-Saudi Arabia-brokered moves towards peace talks between the Authority and Israel.
USA/Middle East: EA’s Scott Lucas is attending the CASAR (Center for American Studies and Research) meetings and conference at American University Beirut this week.
2225 GMT: Arguing Over the Mousavi Statement. Habib-allah Askaroladi, a leading principlist politician, has declared, “Today it is important not to allow the extremists to change the national scene into a battlefield.”
That’s not a surprising statement. This, however, raises an eyebrow: Askaroladi breaks from Presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei in recommending Mir Hossein Mousavi’s recent statement as a possible route to conciliation: “Nowhere in Mousavi’s statement is an about-face seen.”
2155 GMT: Diplomatic Protest. The Iranian consul in Norway has resigned in protest at his Government’s treatment of the Ashura demonstrators. He is also reported to have sought asylum.
A spokesman for the Iranian Embassy would not comment on what he called lies and rumours.
2100 GMT: We’ve posted video of Monday’s CNN interview with the former member of Parliament Fatemeh Haghighatjoo and Tehran University academic Seyed Mohammad Marandi. There’s also the transcript of the thoughts of former Obama Administration official Ray Takeyh.
1705 GMT: A Victory for the Government. After months of wrangling, Iran’s Parliament has ratified President Ahmadinejad’s economic bill aimed at gradually cutting energy and food subsidies. Of 243 members, 134 votes for a reform subsidy organization to enforce the plan.
The breakthrough came with a compromise on oversight, insisted upon by Parliament, The Supreme Iranian Audit Court, charged with supervising “financial operations and activities” of organizations which benefit from the state budget, will monitor the organization and submit reports on its performance twice a year. Read the rest of this entry »
On Monday CNN framed the Iran story by interviewing Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, a former member of Parliament who is challenging the system, and Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a Tehran University academic who defends it. The transcript below the video also includes the comments of former State Department official Ray Takeyh:
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, has Iran’s opposition movement crossed the point of no return? And is the Islamic republic struggling to survive? We’ll examine what is next for Iran.
From Evan Siegel in Iran Rises, translating the indictment originally published in Fars News. Siegel’s initial comment is that much of the “evidence” appears to rely on Hossein Derakhshan, the blogger detained in November 2008 and initially accused of spying for Israel and the US. Whether or not this is the case, Siegel’s subsequent note that this indictment reads like “whistling past the graveyard”, with the prosecutor “knowing full well…that the precise opposite of what he is saying is true” is on target. Indeed, it reinforces our analysis the day after the first trial, “The indictment and presentation of charges offered no evidence of substantive criminal acts….The “foreign plot” scenario [is] almost laughable, turn[ing] US-based academics into directors of an Iranian insurgency.”
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
The text of the Tehran judiciary’s charges against the defendants in the defeated project for a velvet coup:
“When We make mankind taste of some mercy after adversity has touched them Behold! they take to plotting against our Signs! Say: “Swifter to plan is Allah!” Verily Our messengers record all the plots that you make!” (Koran, Yunos 21)
Honorable President of the Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court,
Peace be on you.
As you have been apprised, the wise Leader of the revolution, with his Imam-like wisdom, stated that the aware nation of Islamic Iran has created an astonishing and unprecedented epic by their unusual presence at the ballot boxes during the elections for the tenth term of the presidency, which showed the Iranian nation’s political maturity, revolutionary, powerful and civil capacity, and determined visage in a beautiful and glorious display before the eyes of the world. Read the rest of this entry »
1715 GMT: Satellite Wars? Iran’s Al-Alam television service has again been taken off-air by its Saudi-based satellite operator.
Iran: Less “official” news from the Regime today, but plenty else has been going on in and about the country. Full details, (including Austin Heap’s look at what happens when Ahmadinejad’s twitter site gets hacked), together with our updated timeline, are available 
From Evan Siegel in Iran Rises
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