1750 GMT: It’s All About US and Us. A slowish news phase, so the media are focusing on Ayatollah Khamenei’s Sunday speech. It’s on the lines of the Twitter publicity put out by his office (1330 and 1420 GMT), but this extract is especially provocative:
The enemies wanted to divide the people… and to create a civil war, but the nation was alert. If they were able to do it, the US and Zionist regime would have sent troops to Tehran’s streets, but they knew it would hurt them. Thus they spread propaganda and supported the rioters.
1440 GMT: Parliament v. President. Islamic Republic News Agency is claiming a fight-back against Parliamentary resistance to Ahmadinejad subsidy reform and spending proposals, quoting Arsalan Fathipour, head of the Parliament’s economic commission, “We believe it is not possible to implement the subsidy reform plan at 20,000 billion tomans ($20 billion). So delegates intend to raise the figure to 35-38,000 billion tomans ($35-38 billion).” That would be almost all the $40 billion demanded by the President.
1430 GMT: Obama and Iran. Edward Yeranian of the Voice of America claims that there was a “mized” reception amongst “Iranians inside and outside Iran” of President Obama’s Nowruz message.
2135 GMT: The Best Rumour of the Day (1745 GMT) is now Fun Fact of the Day. Iranian state television did show tonight’s football match in black-and-white, and we’ve got the video.
2040 GMT: An Important Note to Close (For Now). I was going to hold this until morning, but as a reader has noted on the discussion thread, it is far too important a development to be treated lightly.
Advar reports what we have been observing since yesterday: there are worrying signs that the Internet is being strangled inside Iran, with slowing speeds. An EA correspondent adds reports from Iran that other services, such as Yahoo Messenger and Gmail, are unreachable and anti-filter mechanism are also almost completely down. He asks, “Could this be the start of the Government’s [next] crackdown?”
2006 GMT: I’m Going to Tell You One More Time, New York Times (1155 GMT). Your headline writer has his priorities wrong: “Amid Large Protests, Iran Leader Calls Holocaust a Lie”.
Here’s your rewrite: “Despite President’s Israel Diversion, Large Protests Challenge Government”.
(I swear that I wrote this seven minutes before reading this from the National Iranian American Council, “The NYT editors need some help today. Their coverage shouldn’t be entitled, ‘Amid Large Protests, Iran Leader Calls Holocaust a Lie’. The real headline should be ‘Thousands Protest at Rallies Despite Threats’.”)
1950 GMT: A Good Mystery to End the Night: Why Did Ali Larijani Meet the Clerics?
2220 GMT: Did Sadegh Larijani Just Jump Behind the President (Continued)? Earlier today (1125 GMT) we noted that the head of judiciary seemed to be aiming at those who went “beyond the law” because of the “false claim” of electoral fraud. Another snippet of the interview is even more dramatic, as Larijani denounces those who have brought “great costs to the Islamic system” with their opposition.
2020 GMT: More on Ayatollahs Take a Stand? (1540 GMT) Some interesting developments from the Sunday meeting of senior clerics in Qom that we have been following. Ayatollah Golpaygani wrote a letter criticising the Ahmadinejad Cabinet; the Supreme Leader replied sharply, effectively prohibiting the Ayatollah from “interfering” in Government issues. Meanwhile, the Qom meeting has asked Grand Ayatollah Sistani, based in Najaf in Iraq, to travel to Iran for discussions and Grand Ayatollah Nouri-Hamedani has expressed regret for congratulating Ahmadinejad on his election victory.
2010 GMT: Report that Sadegh Noroozi, head of political council of the Mojahedin-Enghelab party, has been released.
1840 GMT: Remember our emerging assessment that the biggest challenge for President Ahmadinejad may be governing Iran, especially handling the economy, rather than confronting the opposition? This from Press TV: “The value of Iran’s oil products exports has plunged by 51 percentage points in the first half of the current Iranian year due to the global economic downturn.”
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.
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.)
1650 GMT: Release the Prisoners! I am just going to re-print this from Fars News Agency and await confirmation that 25 percent of Iran’s prison population will soon be freed:
17,000 prisoners were freed after amnesty and commutation of punishment term of a number of prisoners by the Supreme Leader,” State Prisons Organization’s Deputy Director for Management and Resource Development Mohammad Ali Zanjirehi told FNA on Friday.
“40 percent of the country’s inmates, who account for around 68,000 people, were liable to the amnesty,” Zanjirei said, adding that 17,000 out of the 68,000 inmates have been freed and the rest have enjoyed commutation of their terms or will be granted leaves in final months of their incarceration.
The decree, originally proposed by Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, was issued by the Leader on the occasion of the feast of Mab’ath, marking assignment of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) to prophethood.
1555 GMT: Don’t Forget That Foreign Threat. Iran’s Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, who has been gone unnoticed since the 12 June election, popped up today to appear at Friday prayers in Tehran and then try his hand with the “foreign agents” speech:
Western and European countries, with their overt and covert capabilities, interfered in Iran’s election… the worst among them being Britain. The countries who interfered through their television networks by telling how to instigate riots, build explosives and other tension creating activities are accomplices in all the committed crimes, murders and are held responsible.
1540 GMT: Some, However, Are Not Ready for Compromise. Defying calls for concilation, the Ministry of Intelligence has threatened the Freedom Movement of Iran (the party of nationalist Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in the 1950s) with dire consequences if they do not stop holding political meetings inside their headquarters. The Party has lodged an official complaint with the head of Iran’s judiciary.
1535 GMT: Look Past Jannati. The trend in clerical statements in the last 24 hours, apart from Friday prayers in Tehran, has been a call for compromise and action on detainees (see 1510 and 1520 GMT). That fits a report from Salaam News that Grand Ayatollahs have been discussing vital “issues”, and most except Ayatollah Noori-Hamedani (an ardent Ahmadinejad supporter) “have taken a similar stance against the attacks of fundamentalism”. Read the rest of this entry »
In the furour over the Presidential election, the most intriguing political contest may have taken place, behind the street scenes, in Iran’s religious centre, south of Tehran in the dusty city of Qom.
Within 72 hours of the 12 June vote, the clerics of Qom’s seminaries had taken their place on the political stage. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani tried to mobilise them for a public challenge to President Ahmadinejad’s victory. That initial attempt failed; indeed it is a key reasons why Rafsanjani then kept a careful silence before an equally careful, “balanced” return to public life with his speech last Sunday. There would be no mass movement of the religious leadership behind any campaign. Instead, factions already aligned to particular political movements would reassert their positions. The Association of Combatant Clerics would ally itself with the efforts of former President Mohammad Khatami and, thus, Mir Hossein Mousavi; Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, prominent on the Guardian Council, would bolster Ahmadinejad’s position. Read the rest of this entry »
Saturday is likely to be a steady-as-she-goes day, as the regime tries to consolidate its hold on public space, and any political discussions occur in private.
The non-appearance of the Supreme Leader at Friday prayers sent a powerful message to Iranians. Ayatollah Khameini could stay away because the situation was returning to normal, with a reduction in the demonstrations on the streets and less vocal opposition from key politicians. Read the rest of this entry »
Press TV’s emphasis on the Makarem-Shirazi statement is an indication of reassurance to key individuals. But whom? Rafsanjani? Rezaie? Even Mir Hossein Mousavi?
1750 GMT: It’s All About US and Us. A slowish news phase, so the media are focusing on Ayatollah Khamenei’s Sunday speech. It’s on the lines of the Twitter publicity put out by his office (1330 and 1420 GMT), but this extract is especially provocative:
2135 GMT: The Best Rumour of the Day (1745 GMT) is now Fun Fact of the Day. Iranian state television did show tonight’s football match in black-and-white, and 
1650 GMT: Release the Prisoners! I am just going to re-print this 
In the furour over the Presidential election, the most intriguing political contest may have taken place, behind the street scenes, in Iran’s religious centre, south of Tehran in the dusty city of Qom.
Saturday is likely to be a steady-as-she-goes day, as the regime tries to consolidate its hold on public space, and any political discussions occur in private.
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