2200 GMT: Burning Khomeini’s Picture? All day long, we have been following Iran state media’s exploitation of a video allegedly showing the burning of Ayatollah Khomeini’s picture during the 16 Azar protests. (At one point, the top four stories on Fars News’ website were devoted to the supposed incident.) Readers may recall that we had posted the video in question on Monday but pulled it after two hours because we thought it may have been staged, possibly as a disinformation ploy to discredit the opposition.
Tonight Mir Hossein Mousavi has issued this statement:
Those who respect me would never allow the slightest insult to Imam Khomeini and they always respect him. I am sure that the students would never do such a defiant act….I don’t have the information if this event happened or not, additionally there is no clear information about those who committed this act, but if such an event really happened, it is a suspicious act and showing such an anti-revolutionary footage from the national TV was wrong.
It would be expected from those foreign media who are hostile toward the Islamic Republic to take advantage of such event and broadcast the footage but showing this footage on the national TV that owes its very existence to the revolution that was won with the leadership of Imam Khomeini, is not acceptable at all.
2040 GMT: Some Friday-Night Posturing. Continuing the thump-thump-thump of American rhetorical pressure on Iran over the nuclear negotiations (see separate entry), as well as trying to keep Tehran out of America’s backyard, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laid it on thick in a press conference:
Really? You’ve spent all week telling the world that Afghan-Pak-istan is harbouring the Al Qa’eda menace, and it’s Iran that is #1 Terrorist supporter? I understand it’s power politics, but try to keep it believable.
Iran and Syria have signed an agreement to improve defense cooperation as the two sides are faced with “common enemy and challenges.”
The agreement was signed between Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi and his Syrian counterpart Lt. General Ali Mohammad Habib Mahmoud in Damascus on Friday.
2025 GMT: Parliament, the Guards, and “Questionable” Financial Arrangements. This in from an EA source in Iran:
On Tuesday, Mr. Omidvar Rezaei, a member of the supervisory committee of the Parliament (and brother of Presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei), called the establishment of a new Bank of Iran-Venezuela (following Hugh Chavez’s trip to Iran earlier this year) very questionable. Mr. Rezaii said that the political maneuvring of some security organizations in order to participate in the management of this bank is against the economic interests of the country and added that the enemies will interpret these tendencies under the “holy uniform of the 12th Imam soldiers” as abuses, and it will add fire to the rumors that some organizations are transferring all oil money out of the country.
During this meeting, MP Elias Naderan said that a company called Mehr Iran belonging to the Revolutionary Guards has been established in Venezuela with a billion dollar investment in visual networks and this is inappropriate because of current situation in the country.
1845 GMT: A Friday Treat. It seems that Kermit the Frog has updated his “It’s Not Easy Being Green” to take account of the last six months in Iran. We’ve got the video.
1835 GMT: Here’s Your Medal, As For Your Rights…. The Norwegian and Swedish Foreign Ministers said yesterday that Iranian authorities have returned the Nobel Peace Prize medal and diploma of lawyer and activist Shirin Ebadi; however, they added:
Her situation continues to be serious. Ms Ebadi is prevented from working as a defender of human rights in her home country and the Iranian authorities have closed the Defenders of Human Rights Centre of which she was co-founder. The confiscation of the medal and the numerous threats directed at her, her family and her colleagues give cause for great concern and are yet another example of the worsened human rights situation in Iran since the election in June this year.
Norway and Sweden urge the Iranian authorities to allow Ms Ebadi’s safe return to Iran and to allow the Defenders of Human Rights Centre to reopen so that she can resume her important work for human rights in the country.
1625 GMT: Your Friday Prayer Summary. Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi taking care of business today and, according to Press TV, he was not too fussed about 16 Azar. For Seddiqi, it’s all about the nukes:
The Iranian nation will never give up its nuclear right at any price. [The West] cannot prevent us from using nuclear energy for peaceful aims by lies and propaganda….The enemy will concede another defeat in this propaganda war.
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.
Israeli diplomats had already stated that unless there was a condemnation of the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet’s article blaming Israeli troops for harvesting organs of dead Palestinians, it would cast a serious cloud over Bildt’s trip.
Bildt stated that he canceled his trip to Jerusalem due to the “bad timing” amidst the ongoing talks between the U.S. and Israel on the peace process. However, Haaretz reports from a source at the Israeli Foreign Ministry that the real reason was concern in Stockholm over an icy welcome for the Swedish minister.
Fatah Backs Away from Negotiations with Israel: Nabil Shaath, who was re-elected in August to Fatah’s central committee and is a former Palestinian prime minister and foreign minister, dismissed a return to negotiations unless Israel endorses freezing of settlements both in the West Bank and East Jerusalem; not temporarily but permanently.
Shaath’s recent statement plays down the importance of this expected meeting, especially if it does not reflect a consensus in the balance of power between the “new blood” and the veterans of Fatah. Read the rest of this entry »
Israel: Somewhere A Report Proves Our Case. Really: Not satisfied with the latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s nuclear programme, Israeli officials have insisted that the IAEA is sitting on another classified report on Iran’s nuclear programme and called on the Agency to release it.
Italy Jumps Into Israel-Sweden Dispute: Haaretz reports that Italy’s foreign minister, Franco Frattini, told the newspaper that he and Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt would work to pass a resolution strongly condemning anti-Semitism and taking action against any manifestation of it throughout the European Union at the EU foreign ministers’ meeting next week. Read the rest of this entry »
Israel Tension with Hamas Rising: The tension between Israeli forces and Palestinians in Gaza has been increasing since Monday. Palestinian militants fired a Qassam rocket into the Western Negev. A 20-year-old Palestinian was shot dead when he approached a security fence separating Israel and the northern Gaza Strip; the Israeli military claimed that gunmen were placing a bomb near the security fence and opened fire. After the Palestinian’s death, mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip injured an Israeli soldier; the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a Palestinian militant group, claimed responsibility.
On Tuesday, two Israeli jets dropped bombs on smuggling tunnels in the southern town of Rafah. The IDF said that the airstrike, which killed three Palestinian brothers and wounded seven others, was in response to Monday’s mortar shell fire at Israel on Monday.
East Jerusalem must be included in a freeze of settlement activity before Middle East peace talks can restart….Jerusalem is Arab and it will continue to be so.
Meanwhile, Washington has denied reports that the Obama Administration dropped the demand for the freezing of settlements in East Jerusalem in exchange for the Israeli concession of a 9 to 12-month settlement freeze in the West Bank.
Last weekend, we wrote about an article in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet by Donald Bostrom, calling for an investigation into numerous claims in the 1990s that Israeli soldiers stole the organs of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, and the furious response from Israeli diplomatic circles. Although the Swedish Embassy in Israel distanced itself from the report, the Swedish government. Stockholm refused to condemn the article, saying briefly that Sweden has a “free press”.
This is an anti-Semitic blood libel against the Jewish people and the Jewish state. The Swedish government cannot remain apathetic… We know the origins of these claims. In medieval times, there were claims that the Jews use the blood of Christians to bake their Matzas for Passover. The modern version now is that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers use organs of Palestinian to take money.
Then, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman compared today’s Sweden with the country of the 1940s, telling Sweden’s ambassador on Thursday evening:
It’s a shame that the Swedish Foreign Ministry fails to intervene in a case of blood libels against Jews… This is reminiscent of Sweden’s stand during World War II, when [it] had failed to intervene as well.
What should not be forgotten, as we noted in the earlier article, is that this dispute overlays diplomatic frictions over Israel’s policy toward Palestine and possible political advantage in displacing that issue. So expect the rhetorical battle between neo-Holocaust scenarios, in which the Israeli military is victimised, and the claims of freedom of the press to continue for some time.
UPDATE 1300 GMT: The Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon, spreads his message by Twitter: “Calling on the Swedish government to strongly condemn these accusations”
Warning lights are blinking for the diplomatic relationship between Sweden and Israel. First, the “shocking” news came from a Swedish court in April that an Egyptian-born Palestinian found guilty of terror attacks against U.S. and Jewish targets in the 1980s could have his life sentence commuted to a 30-year prison term. Read the rest of this entry »
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, 
After weeks of tension, 
Fatah Backs Away from Negotiations with Israel: Nabil Shaath, who was re-elected in August to Fatah’s central committee and is a former Palestinian prime minister and foreign minister, 
Israel: Somewhere A Report Proves Our Case. Really: Not satisfied with the latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s nuclear programme, Israeli officials have insisted that the IAEA is sitting on 
Israel Tension with Hamas Rising: The tension between Israeli forces and Palestinians in Gaza has been increasing since Monday. 
Last weekend, 
UPDATE 1300 GMT: The Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon, 
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