UPDATE 2225 GMT: Rah-e-Sabz has published what it claims is the circular issued by the Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance on coverage of Montazeri’s death. It states that reference should be made to Montazeri’s differences with Ayatollah Khomeini, but there should be no mention of his political career.
There are also stories that newspapers have been taken off printing presses to be altered. So far only Etelaat has a full obituary of Montazeri. so far.
1710 GMT: “Following the announcements made by a number of Grand Ayatollahs inviting public to mourn the departure of the great shia scholar and noble combatant, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, in a joint statement Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi declared Monday to be a national mourning day and invited the grieving public to attend Grand Ayatollah Montazeri’s funeral which will be held (then).” Read the rest of this entry »
1745 GMT: Swinging Wildly. A couple of punches from regime supporters this afternoon. The Supreme Leader’s representative to the Revolutionary Guard, told Presidential staff that the Khomeini Archive, run by the late Imam’s family, is “a base for monafeghin (hypocrites)”. The term “monafeghin” is commonly used to refer to the Mujahedin-e-Khalq, the group which has tried to overthrow the Islamic Republic since 1979, often through violence.
And Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi took aim at Hashemi Rafsanjani. Yazdi claimed that, when he was head of Iran’s judiciary, Rafsanjani asked him to cover up a criminal case against the former President’s daughter, Faezeh Hashemi. Yazdi also questioned the intellectual credentials of Mir Hossein Mousavi.
1604 GMT: Confirming the Sentence. We had learned days ago that economist and journalist Saeed Laylaz had been sentenced to nine years in prison. The break-down of the sentence has been released: five years for acts against national security by holding meetings with foreign embassy officials, one year for participating in the protest march of 15 June; two years (and 74 lashes) for insulting officials, one year for propagandizing against the Establishment in his economic analyses over the last eight years.
1558 GMT: Pushing the Issue. For the first time in months, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have requested a permit for a march from the Ministry of Interior.
1555 GMT: Sanctions? Oops! “A senior official says that a meeting by five world powers on Iran’s nuclear program has been canceled due to China’s opposition.
The U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany had planned to meet Friday. The official from one of the five world powers demanded anonymity Monday because his information was confidential.
The meeting was to be in Brussels or on the sidelines of the Copenhagen summit.” (hat-tip to EA reader) Read the rest of this entry »
2030 GMT: An Iranian activist is offering a running summary of the Government’s crackdown on students through arrests and detentions as well as disciplinary action by Universities.
1840 GMT: A Mousavi Trial? Mohammad Nabi Habibi, Secretary-General of the conservative Islamic Coalition Party, has demanded that Mir Hossein Mousavi be prosecuted for claiming that the Presidential election was rigged, “I believe both Mousavi and all those who propagated this big lie must face trial in a court of law.”
1600 GMT: Magically Appearing Crowd. We opened this morning (0745 GMT) with photographic confirmation of the disappointing crowd at President Ahmadinejad’s Thursday speech in Tabriz. Kayhan, the firmly pro-Government newspaper, has published pictures, but suddenly the empty bleachers are filled with people.
2055 GMT: Keeping the Students Down. The Government effort to contain student protest continues. Iran’s national student organisation Daftar-Tahkim-Vahdat reports that its political director, Abbas Hakimzadeh, has been arrested.
Kohzad Esmaili, head of the Gilan branch of the alumni organisation Advar-Tahkim-Vahdat (Office of Strengthening Unity), has been re-arrested after being freed on $20,000 bail.
2045 GMT: A Non-Crowd Story? While those pre-occupied with the nuclear issue try to read Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Tabriz speech for signals (see 1425 GMT), the Green movement has other concerns, namely those who did or did not turn out:
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received a very cold welcome from the citizens. Yoldash, the Green news organisation in Tabriz, reported that, despite the fact that the chief of “popular welcoming staff” of Ahmadinejad assured 100,000 people would be present at his speech today, only about 10-15,000 people participated in this event which can be easily recognized in the pictures taken by pro-coup Mehr news agency.
An EA source says that the Government tried to ensure a large turnout by giving university students, school children, and workers time off and transport to the rally. However, possibly because of the rain, possibly for other reasons, seats remained empty.
1805 GMT: Is Rafsanjani Lining Up with the Government’s Nuclear Proposal? Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has told the Swedish Ambassador to Iran that the International Atomic Energy Agency is legally obliged to provide 20 percent nuclear fuel to Tehran.
Sweden currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency.
2255 GMT: Steady as she goes with the Western media mulling over the significance of Iran’s delay on acceptance of the uranium enrichment deal. The truth is that, given the intracacies (and perhaps disorders) of Tehran’s decision-making system, we won’t know for a while. For now, it’s a matter of reading clues, and the strongest — with Iranian state TV putting out the line of a “positive response” — is that the Iranian Government is gradually putting the proposal through the system.
But we’ll stand by our initial projection this morning (0630 GMT): the bigger story is inside Iran. Mehdi Karroubi’s appearance at the Media Fair, with the loud and fervant chants of his supporters and the scuffles with bystanders and security forces, will ripple throughout Tehran’s political circles. Once again, Karroubi has not backed down (altogether now — Bring. It. On.), so once again the opposition movement has a boost amidst the Government’s ad hoc but still notable shows of force. Indeed, the reformists now get the convergence of the negative, with the arrest of the 60 party members and relatives on Thursday, and the positive with Karroubi’s mobilising of public sentiment.
So this morning we open up The New York Times, and Michael Slackman is proclaiming, “A Lone Cleric is Loudly Defying Iran’s Leaders”. Now that headline on Mehdi Karroubi raises one eyebrow (more on that later), but it’s this dramatic line that raises the second eyebrow:
“[Karroubi] has been threatened with arrest and, indirectly, the death penalty. His response: bring it on.”
Hmm. Bring It On. Where have we read that before? Ahh, yes, this 15 October headline on a website called Enduring America: “Karroubi Responds to Government Threats ‘Bring. It. On.’”
Now, Michael, we think you’ve done a great job covering Iran from Cairo and now from Riyadh, but give a quick mention to your scriptwriter, OK?
And while you’re doing that, you might to reconsider your own headline of Karroubi as “Lone Cleric”. I know, it resonates with Americans like us who grew up with the Lone Ranger, but you just wrote out dozens of other religious figures who even this week have continued their criticisms of the Ahmadinejad Government, their pressures for reforms, and their talks with “secular” politicians.
So, Michael, be careful with that Dramatic Reductionism, propped up by our one-liners.
UPDATE 15 October 0835 GMT: Finally! An unnamed journalist picks up on the third-party enrichment story at yesterday’s State Department briefing by Philip Crowley:
QUESTION: The meeting coming up, the technical talks in Vienna about the low-enriched uranium – who is the U.S. sending, and how far do you expect to get in those meetings? What’s the sort of agenda and hopes for an outcome?
MR. CROWLEY: Well, it’s – we haven’t decided. Those arrangements are still being worked as to what the representation will be….These are technical talks, really, to work through the practical issues of how to ship the fuel out of Iran, and then provide the fuel that – for this research reactor….
QUESTION: But your understanding is that the Iranians are going forward with this, you know, a hundred percent. [Are the talks] actually just about implementing it right now, or is [the meeting] about in theory how it would work?
MR. CROWLEY: …This is a confidence-building measure. There is the research reactor. It’s running out of fuel. And we think there’s a mechanism that can be put in place so that we can see that the shipment out of some of the existing Iranian stocks and then fuel for this particular reactor provided. I mean, it really is about working through the technical aspects of this. And…we believe that the meeting will go forward on October 19, and we’re working through the appropriate representation.
UPDATE 15 October 0730 GMT: The Hole in the Middle. Michael Slackman of The New York Times has a good but ultimately curious article this morning. In “Some See Iran as Ready for Nuclear Deal”, he quotes analysts such as Trita Parsi, Flynt Leverett, and Juan Cole, as well as past statements from top Iran officials, to build his case.
The curiosity? Slackman never mentions the “third-party enrichment” proposal that proves his point.
UPDATE 1855 GMT: If you’re clued up on the real story, then this statement by Vladimir Putin, former President and now Prime Minister of Russia, makes sense: “There is no need to frighten the Iranians. There is a need to reach agreements; there is a need to search for compromises.” Stay the course on the ongoing, quieter discussions on third-party enrichment and Iran’s second enrichment facility near Qom.
If you’re not clued, then you’re the ideal receptive audience for Press TV’s spin on Putin’s statement — The Russians Are With Us Against the “West” — “Putin Warns against Intimidation”.
The story so far: last weekend we picked up on a scoop by Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post that, for four months, the US had been developing a plan for “third-party enrichment” by Russia of 80 percent of Iran’s stock of low-enriched uranium. The processed uranium, now at 20% enrichment, would be used in Iran’s medical research facilities. The proposal was presented to Iran before the Geneva talks at the start of October, and Tehran has accepted it as a basis for discussions.
1955 GMT: More on The Friday Prayer. State media’s rather sanitised version of Ahmad Khatami’s remarks is now being supplemented by other accounts summarising his attack on post-election protesters. He claimed that, on Qods Day, the foreign media focused on a “few thousand Republicans”, who were enemies of Islam, rather than the millions of supporters of the Government and regime.
1655 GMT: A Friday Prayer Diversion. Ahmad Khatami’s turn to give the address, and he (or at least the state media summarising him) continued the Ahmadinejad approach of looking overseas to avoid looking at home. He declared, “The meeting [at Geneva on Iran's nuclear programme] was a great victory for the Islamic Republic of Iran to such an extent that even the Western and Zionist media had to admit defeat.”
1445 GMT: Flashback: The “Confession” That Means Death. We’re posting the Press TV report from mid-August on Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, the post-election protester sentenced to death earlier this week.
1230 GMT: Karroubi’s Back. The reformist leader has written a sharp letter to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, refuting claims made by President Ahmadinejad on US television and asking for time to present the evidence of detainee abuses. We’ve posted the English text.
And, on the day that the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded, we’ve revived our entry on the drive to name Karroubi as the 2010 recipient.
UPDATE 2225 GMT: Rah-e-Sabz has published what it claims is the circular issued by the Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance on coverage of Montazeri’s death. It states that reference should be made to Montazeri’s differences with Ayatollah Khomeini, but there should be no mention of his political career. 
1745 GMT: Swinging Wildly. A couple of punches from regime supporters this afternoon. The Supreme Leader’s representative to the Revolutionary Guard, 
2055 GMT: Keeping the Students Down. The Government effort to contain student protest continues. Iran’s national student organisation Daftar-Tahkim-Vahdat reports that its political director, Abbas Hakimzadeh, 
So this morning we open up The New York Times, and 
1955 GMT: More on The Friday Prayer. State media’s rather sanitised version of Ahmad Khatami’s remarks is now being supplemented by 
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