2120 GMT: Mystery of Day. Iranian Labor News Agency reports that Ayatollahs Safi Golpaygani and Javadi-Amoli have met recently.
Given that these meetings between senior clerics are rare, what were the issues that brought the two ayatollahs together? And was there any connection to the clerical disquiet over the Mohammad Amin Valian death sentence?
2045 GMT: Mohareb Trial for Dr Maleki? Iranian Labor News Agency reports that Dr Mohammad Maleki, the first post-1979 Chancellor of Tehran University is being charged with “mohareb” (war against God). Maleki’s lawyer, Mohammad Sharifi said that his client, who is 76 and suffers from prostate cancer, is also charged with links to an outlawed organisation.
2135 GMT: Rumour of Day. Kalameh alleges that prisoners held in cellblock 209 of Evin Prison have been commanded to fill in forms about their views on election fraud and whether the protest leaders are connected to foreign countries.
2100 GMT: Dr Mohammad Maleki, the former head of Tehran University, has reportedly been released after 191 days in detention. Maleki, 76, suffers from prostate cancer.
2055 GMT: United4Iran has a profile of Jahanbakhsh Khanjani, former advisor to Iran’s Minister of Interior in the Khatami Presidency, who was released on 24 February after spending more than eight months in prison. According to another released prisoner, Khanjani was under pressure to confess and was constantly moved from general confinement to solidarity confinement.
1945 GMT: Reports that today’s gathering of mothers of political prisoners, held every Saturday in Laleh Park in Tehran, was attacked by security forces with tear gas. Despite the assault, 150 people participated.
1915 GMT: The Revolutionary Guard Posturing. It comes from commander Mohammad Ali Jafari: “The era of threatening Iran with force is over, especially at a time when the majority of Iranians are willing to defend the Revolution and their country.”
Speaking in Shiraz, Jafari added that the intimidation “even failed at the height of the nuclear issue, and now Iran is standing firm despite economic, political and cultural pressures”.
1815 GMT: Tough talk. The Associated Press is featuring a statement by Mohammad Karimirad, a member of Parliament’s National Security Commission, declaring that Iran should block IAEA inspections and consider withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The media are also noting hostile statements from the Revolutionary Guard. Read the rest of this entry »
2040 GMT: It’s Official: Bring It On. First we had Mir Hossein Mousavi’s statement, now we have Mehdi Karroubi’s signal that he will be joining the crowds on 13 Aban. The cleric has promised further details soon but indicated that he will be joining students at the “Polytechnic” in Tehran. This may refer to Amir Kabir University, although earlier chatter said Karroubi would be going to Sharif University.
2020 GMT: Handing Down “Justice”. The deputy head of Iran’s judiciary, Ebrahim Raeesi, has announced that sentences for 50 post-election detainees have been issued. Some detainees are appealing the verdicts, and Raeesi urged colleagues to speed up the processing of the cases.
For Raeesi, it is clear, has made his mind: “Those who have proposed the elections were fraudulent and created doubt in the public’s mind have undoubtedly committed a grave crime and naturally will have to answer for the crime they have committed.”
1930 GMT: We’ve now posted the English translation of Mir Hossein Mousavi’s statement welcoming the 13 Aban (4 November) demonstrations (see 1200 and 1215 GMT). The declaration is a spirited presentation of and for the Green movement in the context of the history of 13 Aban, Ayatollah Khomeini, and the Islamic Revolution.
And it is also a spirited criticism of Ahmadinejad’s negotiations over the nuclear programme with the United States and other countries, accusing the President of selling out Iran for the sake of his personal position: “Today, it appears that a large proportion of the product of Iran’s nuclear program, which has caused much chaos and brought a number of sanctions for the people, must be handed to another country, in hopes that they will be kind enough to offer us some fuel later on.
1740 GMT: Former President Mohammad Khatami has met with members of the Central Council of the Islamic Association of Tehran University and Tehran Medical Sciences. Khatami warned that surveillance into personal affairs of people is not allowed even in the cases of those who do not believe in the Establishment or in God, as long as they do not use weapons.
The former President emphasised that the Green movement is against violence but in the opposite side there are some who only think and act violently. Khatami said it must first be accepted that there is a crisis in the society, and then one can find the solution; if there are mistakes in analysing the current situation, there will be more problems in the future. Read the rest of this entry »
2110 GMT: In addition to providing the first set of his evidence of detainee abuse to Parliament, Mehdi Karroubi has responded to criticism from a conservative MP, Ahmad Tavakoli, that the revelations were against Karroubi’s revolutionary background and would have bad consequences. Karroubi said that it was not right to sacrifice “our religion, dignity and bravery for the benefit of ourselves” and that the regime’s is to no one’s benefits.
2100 GMT: Returning to the comments of former 1st Vice President Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai (see 1315 GMT), more to raise a smile than to offer any analysis. Rahim-Mashai said that the election had demonstrated President Ahmadinejad’s historic and extraordinary popularity in the world, a popularity unique before and after the Islamic Revolution. He added that, had it not been for the “challenges” that the Ahmadinejad Administration created in the world, Iran would not be as successful as it is today. (Press TV has a summary in English.)
Iranian officials interviewed an alleged victim of jailhouse rape at the hands of security personnel. But instead of consoling him, they asked him embarrassing questions and blamed him for the violence.
They said it was the young man’s own fault for protesting the results of Iran’s June 12 presidential elections, according to a fresh account of the alleged rape published on the website of a prominent reformist politician.
“I asked them why I and others were raped in prison,” the young man says he asked two interrogators and a judge who had agreed to hear his story….
One of the three replied, “‘When the supreme leader confirmed the election result, everyone should have recognized it.”
1940 GMT: For What It’s Worth. Press TV, citing Ayandeh newspaper, reports that the managing director of the Behehst-e-Zahra cemetery has denied the secret burial of post-election casualties. Norooz claimed earlier this week, from information provided by a cemetery employee, that security forces had forced staff to inter 40 bodies.
1930 GMT: Tabnak reports that Kazam Jalali of the Parliament National Security Committee has met with Mehdi Karroubi to discuss Karroubi’s initial presentation of evidence on the sexual abuse of detainees (see 1535 GMT). The Los Angeles Times offers an English summary quoting Jalali, “Karoubi agreed to introduce four persons, who have met him personally and claimed that they were tortured and raped in prison, to Parliament. Karoubi told us these four persons are ready to provide their testimonies that they were sexually abused, but they do not feel secure.”
1600 GMT: Cyber-Wars. We will probably run a feature tomorrow, but it appears that the Iranian authorities are doing serious damage to the communications and presence of the Green opposition and reformists.
One key site of Mir Housein Mousavi’s campaign, Ghalam News, was hacked out of existence last month (“Service Unavailable”). It is reported that another, Kalameh Sabz, has been down for more than 10 days. The closure of Etemade Melli newspaper has been followed by the disappearance of its website (“Under Construction”); Seda-ye Edalat fell at the end of July. (The website of the Etemade Melli political party is still up and a key source for information.)
2200 GMT: A third journalist working for the Etemade Melli newspaper has been arrested. Mehdi Yazdani Khorram, the editor of the literature and art section, was arrested by plainsclothes officers at 2030 GMT.
2130 GMT: An important clarrification. Although Rafsanjani is scheduled to deliver a sermon at next week’s Friday prayers, it is far from clear that he will take up this opportunity. It should be remembered that Rafsanjani turned down several opportunities to speak at Friday prayers before his last appearance on June 17.
1725 GMT: The resumption of the Tehran trials, scheduled for tomorrow, has been delayed until Saturday. The reason is unclear.
1715 GMT: Even the choice of Ayatollah Emami Kashani, a “conservative” cleric, to lead this Friday’s prayers is far from a firm guarantee of support for the President and the regime. In a sermon at Jamkaran Mosque, the ayatollah admitted, “The brightness of velayat-e-faqih (supreme leadership) has diminished….[Since the supreme leadership can not solve the problems of the country] may you [Mahdi, the 12'th Imam] reemerge and solve the country’s problems.”
1450 GMT: A summary of today before we return to our vacation. Riz Khan of Al Jazeera posted a question which, for Riz Khan, is remarkably ill-phrased: “As Mahmoud Ahmadinejad takes his oath, Will Iran again spiral into another cycle of violent demonstrations?”
The issue, as demonstrated again today, is not another ominous spiral into violence. Gatherings today, which persisted despite the state’s attempt to close down visible opposition to the inauguration, continue to express clear concerns and demands (and, notably, without violence). Ahmadinejad’s speech, which has already faded into a lack of significance, does nothing to check those concerns.
So the inauguration in fact becomes a sideshow, one boycotted by some politicians and attended by others with ill humour. With the Tehran trial resuming tomorrow, and more importantly with opposition politicians and clerics renewing their challenge, we’ll get back to serious business.
These hectic trials just reflect the deep problem which exists in our country. It is definitely not a source of pride to publicly expose such personalities in a mass trial. We made a [Islamic revolution in 1979] revolution so that trials were against criminals. We wanted trials with lawyers, trials with rights for the defendants, trials where the judge acts independently and trials which make the people feel justice prevailing.
Mousavi again denied any links between the opposition and foreign countries, asserting that the problem was an attempt to limit political views: “We have to learn to face other standpoints, listen to what they say, elaborate our own viewpoints and pay attention to their elaborations as well.”
1445 GMT: The Islamic society of engineers, of which Ahmadinejad is a former member, has sent a letter to Ayatollah Rafsanjani. The head of the society, Seyyed Hasan Sobhani-nia, commented that “This letter asks about recent events and Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s position regarding them. This letter also states the concerns and worries that this society has regarding the future of individuals attached to the revolution who have played a crucial role in its formation. The society has requested Mr. Rafsanjani to clarify his position regarding these recent events.” The society had previously sent a letter to Ahmadinejad, which Enduring America also posted, asking for his own clarrification.
1440 GMT: A Twitter activist has created a Google map showing the locations of protests across the capital today.
1430 GMT: Gooya. com are reporting that “tens of thousands” of security forces were out on Tehran streets today, especially near Parliament building. Shops in the area were closed.
1415 GMT: The lawyer for detained politicians Behzad Nabavi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, and Mohsen Mirdamadi says he will not attend tomorrow’s trial because it is illegal.
1355 GMT: Another Arrested Journalist. In addition to last night’s seizure of Mir Hamid Hassanzadeh, the head of Ghalam News, Reza Nourbakhsh, the chief editor of the newspaper Farhikhtegan, was arrested. His office was searched, and some material was taken.
2115 GMT: Good Night. For us at EA, a thank you to all those who have joined today and a symbolic reminder: pictured at left is Neda Agha Soltan’s mother, who was not able to attend the ceremony at her daughter’s grave but who lit a candle in a nearby park as her memorial.
2110 GMT: Coming to the close of an eventful day, let’s drop in on Press TV’s coverage: “Iran’s opposition supporters, gathered at a cemetery in Tehran for a memorial service for the victims of the recent post-election unrest, have been met by Iranian police.”
The image of a casual “meeting”, perhaps for cake and a cup of tea, is dispelled in the next sentence, however, “Police forces on Thursday used tear gas to break up supporters of defeated presidential candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi.” And the overall report is neutral, even (whisper it) somewhat favourable towards the Green Movement.
That is, except for an obligatory last sentence: “Iranian authorities say foreign agents have fueled the post-vote violence which led to the deaths.”
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”.
2130 GMT: Jailing the Workers. Radio Farda reports the arrests of a number of labour activists in northwestern Iran in recent days.
1945 GMT: Reports that today’s gathering of mothers of political prisoners, held every Saturday in Laleh Park in Tehran, was attacked by security forces with tear gas. Despite the assault, 150 people participated.
2040 GMT: It’s Official: Bring It On. First we had Mir Hossein Mousavi’s statement, now we have Mehdi Karroubi’s signal that 
2115 GMT: Good Night. For us at EA, a thank you to all those who have joined today and a symbolic reminder: pictured at left is Neda Agha Soltan’s mother, who was not able to attend the ceremony at her daughter’s grave but who lit a candle in a nearby park as her memorial.
2200 GMT: Late Breaking News. 
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