NEW Iran Newsflash: National Unity Plan Submitted to Supreme Leader
NEW Video: Blame on Sunni Group Jundallah, US For Bombing
NEW Iran: Khamenei, Bahari, Hajjarian, and the “Semi-Normal”
NEW Iran: The Great Supreme Leader Health Mystery
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The Latest from Iran (17 October): Back to Semi-Normal

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2000 GMT: The official death toll from today’s bombing is now 42.

1950 GMT: Coincidence or Sabotage? A passenger train travelling from Tehran to Kerman derailed today, and a tea factory in Golestan burned to the ground.

1925 GMT: Mehr News is reporting that the explosion near the Oil Ministry in Tehran was from a faulty air tank.

Islamic Republic News Agency, repeating the air tank story, is reporting one person killed and 17 injured.

1910 GMT: Switching the Foreign “Enemy” from the US to Pakistan. This morning, when the Revolutionary Guard was claiming Washington was behind the bombings, we wrote, “Watch carefully to see if the Ahmadinejad Government maintains this line, which could derail ‘engagement’.”

There’s a big clue tonight that Ahmadinejad has chosen engagement over the blame-US line. Fars News reports that the Iranian Cabinet has demanded that Pakistan bring forward those who carried out the bombings, a positioning reinforced by the summoning of the Pakistani Ambassador to the Foreign Ministry. There is no mention of the US anywhere in the Fars story.

1900 GMT: There are reports of an explosion near the Oil Ministry in Tehran.

1830 GMT: The Death Toll Rises…. The afternoon number of 31 dead from this morning’s bombing will rise, though it is uncertain how much. Fars News reports that 35 victims have already been identified.

1625 GMT: National Unity Plan. It’s alive, and it apparently has been submitted to the Supreme Leader (who is apparently also alive) for consideration. We’ve posted a separate entry on the newsflash.

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Tags: Abdolmalek Rigi, Ali Akhbar Salehi, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Fars News, Hamid Reza Asghari, International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, Jundallah, Jundullah, Kalameh, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Maziar Bahari, Mehdi Karroubi, Mehdi Khaniki, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Khatami, Mohammad Reza Mogheyseh, Mohsen Aminzadeh, Noor Ali Shooshtari, Rajab Ali Mohammadzadeh, Saeed Hajjarian, Shahab Tabatabai

The Latest from Iran (18 October): Semi-Normal, Indeed – Khamenei, Bahari, & Hajjarian
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The Latest from Iran (16 October): Rumours and Drama, Khamenei and Karroubi

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1855 GMT: We’re taking a Saturday night off to recharge mental batteries. The discussion board should be buzzing all night, however — take a look at the sharp-eyed comments on the separate entry about the Supreme Leader’s pictures — and your ideas and thoughts are invaluable to us.

Before we go, an apology. In another prominent entry today, I referred to the Persian language as “Farsi”. This, of course, is an error, and I will endeavour not to repeat it. Thanks to readers who gently brought the mistake to my attention.

1850 GMT: The Government Fights On Over Detainees.
Mohammad Reza Mogheyseh, who became the head of the Karroubi-Mousavi special committee investigating prisoner abuse cases after the arrest of Mousavi advisor Alireza Beheshti in September, was taken from his home and detained at 4 a.m. Mogheyseh is a well-known war veteran who has helped amputees and families of the dead.

http://www.kaleme.com/1388/07/25/klm-637

1810 GMT: Conservative Resurgence Against Ahmadinejad? The high-profile conservative member of Parliament, Ali Motahari, had been quiet recently after repeated complaints about the President during the summer. However, in an interview today he has said that conservatives should admit to the wrongdoings of Ahmadinejad, and considering the facts without prejudice and judging fairly.

Perhaps even more significantly, given talk of the National Unity Plan, Motahari complained that Ahmadinejad supporters are insisting that there should be no national unity unless “leaders of the conspiracy” admit to their mistakes and apologise to the people or even be prosecuted. Motahari insisted those supporters should consider that Ahmadinejad started the “conspiracy” with his remarks during the election campaign and in his “victory” speech. (English summary via Facebook page linked to Mir Hossein Mousavi)

1800 GMT: Reuters is reporting, from Iranian Labor News Agency, that Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari has been released on $300,000 bail.

1740 GMT: We’ve updated in the separate entry on the photographs of today’s reported appearance of the Supreme Leader. Meanwhile, Press TV has brought out an English-language version of the meeting with the President of Senegal, focusing on Khamenei’s call for support of “oppressed Palestinians”.

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Tags: Ali Motahari, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ban Ki-Moon, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, Fars News, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Iranian Labor News Agency, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Maziar Bahari, Mehdi Karroubi, Michael Ledeen, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Mohammad Reza Mogheyseh, Mowj-e-sabz, Reuters, Rouydad, Saeed Hajjarian, Salaam News