The Latest from Iran (20 April): Intrigues and a Bombing

2045 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. It is reported that detained journalist Mehdi Mahmoudian, who helped expose the Kahrizak Prison abuses, has been taken to hospital in handcuffs.

2040 GMT: The Silenced Reformists? The Government may be putting out the story of the recommendation by "watchdogs" that reformist political parties shoud be banned. However, members of Parliament haven't suspended their criticisms.

Iran Document: The Speech Khatami Would Have Given at Japan Disarmament Conference
Iran Document: “Our Sons’ And Daughters’ Agony” (Sahabi)
The Latest from Iran (19 April): Stay Firm, Spread the Word

Dariush Ghanbari has said that the Government must pursue a reform of the media law and that rulers must recognize the opposition's rights to political activity.

Mostafa Kavakebian has asked why the regime only shuts down newspapers that are critical of the Government, while Jamshid Ansari criticises "parallel" intelligence services, saying that one makes arrests while the other remains uninformed.


2035 GMT: Today's Video Moment. A video has emerged of the Iranian New Year meeting of women's rights activists with Zahra Rahnavard, the prominent activist, academic, and wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi. ()

The video comes out as the Government announces a plan to create a "Women's Ministry".

2030 GMT: Seeking the Help of Clerics. Rah-e-Sabz writes that a report on torture in Iranian prisoners has been passed in an open letter to marja (senior clerics).

2015 GMT: Guess Who's Waiting for Mir Hossein? It's not unusual to see the question, "Will Mousavi's Green Manifesto be published soon?" After all, the the way forward for the Green Movement is a top subject of discussion.

It is a bit different, however, when the question is being asked by Ali Larijani's Khabar Online.

2000 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Even if a detainee is freed, his encounter with Iranian authority may be far from over. Green Voice of Freedom reports that the family of Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, who was imprisoned for months after the election, has been threatened.

1955 GMT: Academic Corner. The suspension or expulsion of "troublesome" professors, which we have followed in update, is summarised by Green Voice of Freedom.

1545 GMT: We'll be on an extended break today. Thanks to all readers for continuing to bring in news and comment.

1215 GMT: Breaking the Opposition? Following the recommendation by Iranian "watchdogs" for the suspension of two major reformist parties and the banning of Bahar newspaper, pro-Ahmadinejad MPs have maintained pressure. Ali Abbaspour has declared that Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have not stopped treasonous activities, while Ruhollah Hosseinian said the post-election role in "fitna" (sedition) by the Islamic Iran Participation and the Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution justified their dissolution.

However, in a sign that not all may be running one way, Hosseinian was not present at yesterday's meeting of clerical MPs with the Supreme Leader.

1205 GMT: The Subsidy Battle. Despite reports of a settlement between Parliament and the Government over subsidy cuts and spending proposals, there is still some confusion over what exactly will be implemented. Pro-Ahmadinejad MP Iraj Nadimi has insisted that all is settled but chided reporters not to ask questions such as when when the cuts will start.

In that context, readers can interpret the latest statement of Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani that the Government must enforce laws passed by the Majlis.


1200 GMT: A car bomb in Ilam has killed at least three people.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq_XPVPcyK8&feature=youtube_gdata[/youtube]

1130 GMT: Politics, Rights, and Deportation. Bita Ghaedi, an Iranian women who fled to Britain because of alleged domestic violence, is due to be deported today, despite fears of how she will be treated upon her return to Iran. Activists are publicising her case, protesting in London yesterday.

Beyond the bureaucratic procedures of Britain's Home Office, Ghaedi's case is complicated by her participation in a rally in summer 2009 over the treatment of Iranian residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq. Most of those residents are connected with the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran,  the political wing of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO) who have sought the overthrow of the Islamic Republic for more than 30 years.

For the moment, Ghaedi's deportation is held up because of a twist beyond politics: UK flights to Iran are grounded because of the ash cloud from last week's volcanic eruption in Iceland.

1040 GMT: The Uranium Swap Talks Are On? Agence France Presse reports on the visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to Tehran (see 1000 GMT):

Davutoglu...said that Turkey, which has resisted a US push for a fourth round of sanctions against Iran, "is ready to act as an intermediary in the issue of uranium exchange as a third country and hopes to have a fruitful role in this. We will continue to try our best to see what we can do for this nuclear fuel swap."

And Press TV, after its initial PR focus on Turkish support for Tehran, has now gotten to the heart of the matter, thanks to Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki: "We think that if the other sides have this real will to materialize this nuclear fuel deal then this swap can be a multilateral confidence building for all sides including the Islamic Republic of Iran." (Curiously AFP misses the signal, claiming that Mottaki "did not explicitly react to Ankara's latest offer".)

1030 GMT: Academic Corner. Students at Elm-o-Sanat University in Tehran have written an open letter in support of lecturers who have been suspended from teaching.

1000 GMT: A quiet start to the day. We're now far enough away from the Washington and Tehran showpieces on nuclear disarmament for the often-diversionary headlines to fade, even though the real stories are still there to be evaluated.

For example, in Iran, Press TV's press release on Turkish Foreign Ahmet Davutoglu's visit --- "Turkey has always supported Iran's stance when it comes to the nuclear program" --- fails to approach the interesting questions about his discussions with Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki.

Given Turkey's persistent role in the uranium talks as broker and intermediary, do the talks point to a serious renewal of negotiations on a swap of uranium and possible "third party enrichment"? Press TV only offers, "On a UN-backed deal that would provide fuel for Tehran's research reactor, the top diplomat said that Turkey would be willing to act as a mediator and Ankara would 'do its best' to see what it could do for the fuel swap."

In the US, the curious aftermath lingers after this weekend's fuss over Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' three-page memorandum on US policy towards Iran. Unnamed officials used The New York Times to argue that the Secretary of Defense was blasting the Obama Administration for being indecisive and that he was looking towards military "containment" of Tehran.

Gates has quickly repudiated the claims: "The New York Times sources who revealed my January memo to the National Security Advisor mischaracterized its purpose and content."

Fine, but what exactly did Gates say in that memo to the head of the National Security Council, James Jones, if he wasn't criticising an Obama policy caught between sanctions, discussions with Iran, and the US military presence in the Persian Gulf? And who, if the Secretary of Defense is correct, was trying to misrepresent him through a Page 1 story? (Or the alternative: is Gates trying to back away, at least in public, from concerns that were in fact "correctly" expressed in the leak to the Times?)

The Latest from Iran (14 April): Ahmadinejad's Struggle

1720 GMT: Ahmadinjead Brings Culture to the World; Students Aren't Sure. The President's adivsor, Somreh Hashemin, has told university students that "world discourse" has changed because of Ahmadinejad's statements --- therefore it now has culture, science, and ethics.

Students at Allameh Tabatabei University may not have been convinced, however, as both reports and video indicate:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKuNhRZsJQA[/youtube]

Iran’s Nukes: Can Tehran and the US Make A Deal?
The Latest from Iran (14 April): Ahmadinejad’s Struggle

1715 GMT: Out of Jail and On-Line. Former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, jailed for several months after the election and selected for a high-profile "confession" in August, has resumed blogging.


1710 GMT: Economy Watch. MP Alireza Mahjoub has predicted a continuation of the poor situation, with 40% inflation, poverty, and economic "suffocation".

1700 GMT: Absence or Protest? Khabar Online reports that one-third of MPs were missing from the Majlis today.

1555 GMT: The Corruption Case. MP Elyas Naderan, the leading Parliamentary critic of First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, has sarcastically thanked the Government for accusing him of making false charges. Naderan assured that he will continue to press the corruption case.

1545 GMT: The Row Over the 15 June Demonstration. Morteza Tamaddon, the Governor of Tehran Province, may have denied his reported statement that the large 15 June protests were authorised. Kalemeh, the website of Mir Hossein Mousavi, however, is persisting with the claim. The website documents Tamaddon's apparent approval of 15 June rally.

1525 GMT: The "Other" Khamenei. Continuing his show of support for reformist leaders, Seyed Hadi Khamenei, the brother of the Supreme Leader, has visited Mohsen Mirdamadi, the chairman of the Islamic Iran Participation Front. Mirdamadi is on temporary release from his prison sentence.

1510 GMT: But China Eases the Pressure? And while there is the ongoing public show over Beijing's will-it-won't-it join international sanctions, this news --- coming as other oil firms stop imports to Iran --- is striking:

State-run Chinaoil has sold two gasoline cargoes for April delivery to Iran, industry sources said on Wednesday, stepping into a void left by fuel suppliers halting shipments under threat of U.S. sanctions....

While others back out, Chinaoil has sold a total of about 600,000 barrels worth around $55 million to the Islamic Republic.

The cargoes were Chinaoil’s first direct sales to Iran since at least January 2009, according to Reuters data. Chinese firms have previously sold through intermediaries, traders said.

1445 GMT: Is Third-Party Enrichment Back On? Reading President Ahmadinejad's bluster in recent days, we asked (1040 GMT), "Is the President actually holding the door open for another push at a deal on uranium enrichment?"

Well, have a look at Iranian state media's presentation of the latest words from the head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, in an interview with a Russian newspaper:

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says Tehran would accept a nuclear fuel swap, should the West manage to win back its trust.

The US-proposed UN-backed deal requires Iran to send most of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing and conversion into fuel rods for Tehran's research reactor....

Salehi said that Iran had agreed to the IAEA-backed proposal [for third once it was proffered but needed guarantees from the West that it would deliver the fuel in a timely manner — a demand shrugged off by the West.

"We did not refuse. We agreed at once and we agree now. The only problem is guarantees. They suggested that we hand over a thousand pounds of our 3.5% low-enriched uranium. And wait until the entire amount of uranium has been enriched to a level of 20%," he said. 'Suppose we have given all our uranium. But where is the assurance [that we receive the fuel in a timely manner]?"

1430 GMT: The German Squeeze. The German carmaker Daimler has announced that it will
almost entirely cease business in Iran.

Daimler's chief executive Dieter Zetsche  told shareholders, The policies of the current Iranian leadership have compelled us to put our business relationship with that country on a new footing. In general, our business activities with Iran will now be limited to meeting our existing contractual obligations and continuing our cooperation with established customers."

Daimler will relinquish its 30 percent stake in Iranian Diesel Engine
Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Iranian Khodro Diesel.

The move is further testimony that behind the public rhetoric of leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for state-based sanctions on Iran, the real pressure is coming from the disinvestment of private companies. Daimler's move following the pullout from Iran of two of Germany's largest insurance companies.

1110 GMT: And, cutting through the Presidential rhetoric and posturing, we've posted an analysis by Julien Mercille on the possibility of a US-Iran deal on enriched uranium for Tehran's medical research reactor.

1040 GMT: Blowing Smoke. How many dramatic foreign policy pronouncements do we get to enjoy from President Ahmadinejad this week?

Following his assessment of foreign leaders as "retarded" and his letter to the United Nations implying that the US Government set up 9-11 for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the President has said that "[US President Barack] Obama cannot do anything in Palestine, they won't let him do anything and he has no chance" and there is no possibility of success in Iraq and Afghanistan: "What can he do in Iraq? Nothing. And Afghanistan is too complicated."

So Ahmadinejad concludes, "Mr. Obama has only one chance and that is Iran. This is not an emotional comment, it's scientific."

Which only leaves the question, success with Iran through what? Is the President actually holding the door open for another push at a deal on uranium enrichment?

1000 GMT: The 15 June March. Still some confusion over whether Iranian authorities --- specifically, Morteza Tamaddon, the Governor of Tehran Province --- said they had authorised the mass demonstration three days after the election.

The Green Voice of Freedom repeated the claim of Parleman News, itself taken from an alleged Tamaddon interview with a magazine, that the march "was actually held with legal authorisation". It appears, however, that GVF has not noted Tamaddon's subsequent denial, which we reported yesterday, of the supposed statement. His line remains that the protest, which brought hundreds of thousands and possibly millions on the streets, was illegal.

0245 GMT. Rafsanjani Watch. Make of this what you will: Hashemi Rafsanjani has made a well-publicised visit this week to Seyed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the late Ayatollah Khomeini.

Hassan Khomeini has been under sustained pressure from the Government throughout the post-election crisis over his apparent support for opposition demands,

0240 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Ashura protester Hossein Vahed has received a two-year prison sentence.

0230 GMT: Economy Watch. Khabar Online reports that Iran has "lost" $2 billion on oil fields.

0215 GMT: You Can't Keep A President Down (Or Can't You?).

The President-Parliament battle over economic plans escalates. Ahmadinejad has insisted that all changes will be implemented this year.

Key legislators and Ahmadinejad critics are not being so positive, Ahmad Tavakoli has declared that an agreement between two or three MPs and the President doesn't mean an agreement between the Majlis and the Government. That line is also taken by Elyas Naderan.

How serious is the dispute? Vice President Fatemeh Badaghi has threatened MPs by asserting that immunity for their actions exists only in Parliament.

Mousavi: "Can Repression & Brute Force Solve Iran's Problems?"

Green Voice of Freedom summarises yesterday's meeting between Mir Hossein Mousavi and the reformist Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution party. Khordaad 88 also has a version:

Mousavi said that the Islamic Republic is facing problems “far deeper” than the widespread street protests, and cannot simply be resolved by putting an end to the protests.

“Our [Islamic] system is facing problems and its manifestation is not limited to the protests on the streets. The issues and problems are far deeper than this. One of them is that the state believes that by ending the street protests the protesters’ concerns are [also] resolved.”

The Latest from Iran: Dialogue or Conflict? (9 April)

The former prime minister said during the meeting that all the things that give legitimacy to a state are being “destroyed” in Iran. “Regimes normally use brute force (police, military and security forces) in the end to survive at any cost, but this is happening in our country and this is cause for great thought and attention,” he added.



Mousavi stressed the issue of lies and deceptions in all levels of the state. “The issue of lying has become our main concern and people have an objection towards it,” Mousavi said. “It has created mistrust amongst people towards the very base of this troublesome system and [has created doubts] towards their beliefs. Ethical issues, foreign policy, widespread corruption, etc, these have all created a sense of mistrust towards authorities and the state.”

“Is this problem solvable through repression and using brute force?” Mousavi asked.

During the meeting, the 2009 presidential candidate told the members of the reformist party, “The current situation has totally disrupted the flow of investment into the country because the future has become unpredictable unlike a society like that of Japan’s where the history of investment in certain families is more than two centuries old.”

Mousavi stated that the quick-return of interest [profit] had become the target in Iran because “there is no hope for the future and due to the current condition, no one is seeking to invest in production, in the long-term and in creating long-lasting jobs. Doesn’t the continuation of the current conditions mean more unemployment and poverty?”

Mousavi pointed out that despite the government’s massive spending; Iran was actually far behind in attracting foreign investment: “Is this not a catastrophe?”

On the issue of the current dispute between Ahmadinejad and the Parliament over the government’s proposed subsidy cuts, Mousavi said that the main source of dispute was about the government’s permission to spend around $1 million to buy votes in the rigged June election. Mousavi stated that the sense of mistrust towards the regime was “eating the system and making it void from within.”

According to the popular reformist politician, the misuse of religious and revolutionary values by authorities was playing an important role in portraying an unreal image of Islam, Imam Khomeini, and the Revolution.
Mousavi criticised the violent behaviour of security forces towards people who had recently gathered near the Orumiyeh Lake [in Azerbaijan] protesting the drying of the lakebed as a result of wrong government policies. Mousavi said, “Can all problems be resolved through [increasing] security and militarisation? They want to run the system with the rule of a certain group which is not possible.”

Mir-Hossein Mousavi told those present, that he would even accept the fraudulent results of the 2009 presidential election if the current rulers possessed a “relative efficiency” in running the country: “But we don’t even have this. For instance the government is unable to even carry out an [oil] project in Assaluyeh, and there is a problem in foreign policy every day and the situation is becoming more critical. The nuclear case in the past year is the best example for this.”

Mousavi said that even those currently in power in Iran lack any consensus and asked, “What does this show?”

Once again, Mousavi stressed the importance of the full implementation of the Iranian Constitution as a main demand of the Green Movement. “Many articles of this constitution which guarantee the rights of the people have been forgotten,” Mousavi said. He added:

If these are brought about well enough, an overall consensus will be reached within the movement. The base for any change in society is an idea and this idea has been created in our society and the will for change and amendment has become widespread. The people must be warned that the interests of a few in certain bodies is not allowing for them to easily surrender to the demands of the [Green] Movement and the nation.

On the future of the Green Movement and its activities, the wartime prime minister said, “We must bring about and redefine clear ideas and spread them through resisting and steadfastness and finding ways of working in a more organised way. The regime and state should be told that the least costly way for governing the country is the free activity of groups, media, associations and civil society, not confronting them.”

Mousavi called for more links between the different social groups inside the Green Movement and said that the goal of the movement was to create a better life for everyone, especially more impoverished and vulnerable sectors of society. He defended the rights of workers and teachers and acknowledged their important roles in Iranian life.

Mousavi also urged authorities to return to the Constitution, to remove the current security and military atmosphere in the country, and to open up. “If they do not choose this path, we will be forced to stand firm,” Mousavi said, expressing hope that authorities would return to the path of sanity as soon as possible:

We must stand firm until the issues and problems are resolved. The people have paid a heavy price during this period and they are used to paying such prices because they have great and righteous aspirations. You can see how prisoners have become the champions of the people and how they are welcomed [upon their freedom] and this is a sign of the ineffectiveness of these actions in confronting the [Green] Movement and the people’s demands.

Mousavi concluded with a call for the full usage of the capacity of political parties and an expansion of their activities. He also invited them to issue statements and analyses and to be in constant contact with the people for a “better tomorrow”.

The Latest from Iran (3 April): Celebration

2000 GMT: Rahnavard's Message of Celebration "Release the Political Prisoners". As Iranians celebrated nature on 13 Bedar, Zahra Rahnavard wrote a public letter to Iranian authorities:

[As] the spring is the beginning of the new cycle of life in nature and freedom and blossoming are the titles of this new chapter, I ask the authorities to give the nation the freedom it deserves and free all political prisoners in this new chapter of life.

NEW Iran: 4 Ways the US Can Help the Green Movement (Shahryar)
Iran: The Clerical Challenge Continues (Shahryar)
The Great Nuclear Race: Google v. Iran (Arrington)
The Latest from Iran (2 April): Slipping By

....Seeking freedom, demanding democracy, and following law are the three main branches of Iranian society over the past hundred years, which still shine as part of Iranian demands. Even if we only focus on these three-branched demands between the constitutional revolution [of 1905-1911] and the 1978 revolution, we see that both of these revolutions are unfinished projects.

1830 GMT: We've posted a new analysis from Josh Shahryar, "4 Ways the US Can Help the Green Movement".

1825 GMT: Nuclear Self-Sufficiency: Posture or Plan? Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's nuclear energy programme, has maintained the line that the Atomic Energy Organization has already taken steps to commission "one or two" new sites, pending the approval of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Salehi told the Iranian Labor News Agency, "These installations will be spread across the country and will be built in certain points based on Mr. Ahmadinejad's discretion. Potential locations have been selected for the construction of new nuclear installations which will be announced once a feasibility study has been carried out."

In late 2009 Ahmadinejad, putting out declarations amidst the manoeuvres over sanctions and the Iranian nuclear programme, promised from 10 to 20 new sites.

1730 GMT: Poverty, What Poverty? BBC Persian reports: In an interview with the Iranian Labor News Agency about the lack of a minimum wage, the Iranian Minister of Labor, Abdol-Reza Sheikholeslami, did not know what the poverty line was in the country.

1715 GMT: 13 Bedar from Inside Iran. An EA reader passes on a direct report from a correspondent in rural Iran: "I've never seen a Sisdeh (Bedar) like it in my life, it's always big but this year it was the biggest it could be, because of the situation."

1700 GMT: International Intrigues. Back from a journey to the wilds of northwest Britain to find EA readers chasing up stories. For example, there is the Wall Street Journal's report that the International Atomic Energy Agency and Western intelligence agencies are investigating how an Iranian firm obtained critical valves and vacuum gauges to enrich uranium, allegedly through an intermediary representing a Chinese company based near Shanghai.

Beyond the necessary caution for this story, given the Journal's anti-Iran inclinations and the obvious spinning by IAEA officials and Western intelligence (part of a pattern reflected in the "coverage" of The New York Times), here's the political question: is this tale a component in political pressure against China to break links with Tehran and accept the push for tougher sanctions?

And if that's not enough for you, try out the ongoing drama of Italian court documents pointing to "a ring of Italian arms dealers and Iranian spies who were illegally selling ammunition, helicopters and other military hardware to Iran".

1045 GMT: Reformist Show. On the first day after the two-week Nowruz celebrations, hundreds of reformists have appeared at the office of former President Mohammad Khatami.

1015 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? Well, the President's giving it a bit of this-and-that tough guy talk as he opened an iron ore pellet factory today.

Ahmadinejad insisted new international sanctions over Iran's nuclear program would only strengthen the country by helping it become self-sufficient. Meanwhile, US pressure on Iran had backfired and isolated Washington in the world.

Ahmadinejad also warned Israel not to start another war with Gaza.

0945 GMT: The Women's Movement and the Green Movement. Green Voice of Freedom reports on Wednesday's meeting of Zanane Noandish (Forward Thinking Women) and women journalists, students and lawyers with Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Rahnavard welcomed the increasing role of women’s groups and organisations in political activities, saying, “Without the presence of women, there would be no great points in the history of our country and the Green Movement could never reach such heights without women.”

Addressing the emerging question of the relationship between the women's movement and the Greens, Rahnavard asserted, “A number of great movements such as women’s movements, worker’s movements, student movements, teachers’ movements are within the enormous Green Movement and their demands are common slogans such as freedom, removing discrimination, respect for law, seeking democracy. The resistance of these movements will help in the victory of the Green Movement."

Rahnavard added that the current interpretation of Islam of women’s rights was not at all "Islamic", “Throughout these years, certain people have attempted to misrepresent their own backward theories as Islam. Islam is a progressive religion and has the capacity to interact with the modern world.”

Rahnavard called for all discriminatory laws against women to be repealed. She said, “All segments of [women's society] in our country, especially women from deprived sectors suffer from a great deal of discriminatory laws and I am certain that even the free spirited men of our country suffer from these discriminations and are ashamed of them.”

0925 GMT: A Twist in the Friday Prayer? Parleman News has an interesting reading of Ayatollah Emami Kashani's speech yesterday in Tehran. The website takes his reference to the Supreme Leader's Nowruz invocation to "wake up and look around" as a call to the Government and even Khamenei to consider their actions.

0915 GMT: More Subsidy Fun. Politicians Mohammad Reza Farhangi and Akbar Oulia have weighed in on the dispute with the President over subsidies and spending. Farhangi said that Amadinejad's call for a referendum
after Parliament confirmed the subsidy law is "illogical".

Oulia insisted that the Majlis will not offer a "blank cheque" for subsidies.

0845 GMT: I'm in northwest Britain for much of the day so updates will be limited. As usual, input from readers will be much appreciated....

0755 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Robert Mackey of The New York Times offers a summary of the background and developments in the case of detained film director Jafar Panahi.

0730 GMT: When Nuclear "Spin" Goes Wrong. So here's the headline from Press TV: "FM: Iran strongly supports nukes annihilation".

And I think, "Oh my goodness, Iran's Foreign Minister is calling for the nuclear annihilation of whom?".

Fortunately --- both for world peace and for Iran's public image --- Manouchehr Mottaki, meeting the Gabonese President was not proposing nuclear bombs on Tel Aviv, Washington, or London: "Iran and Gabon strongly support the destruction and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons as well as the legal rights of NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty] members to use peaceful nuclear technology."

0600 GMT: Cutting Off the News. France 24, the international French service, has complained over the blocking of its website by Iranian authorities.

0555 GMT: There's Always One to Spoil the Party. Iranian security official Saeed Esmaili wasn't in a celebrating mood for 13 Bedar. He declared that "driving with sabzeh (grass) on top of a car will be punished". We have no confirmation if the warning was enforced.

0550 GMT: Subsidy Battle. The former deputy head of the National Security Council in the Ahmadinejad Government, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, has added his voice to the chorus that the Government must implement the subsidy reduction and spending plan as approved by Parliament. Fazli added that the plan should be monitored by an audit board.

However, an even more important intervention came from Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, who has repeated that the Majlis will not reconsider the plan it approved, granting Ahmadinejad control over an extra $20 billion.

0545 GMT: Another Clerical Appeal. Hojatoleslam Ali Younessi has asked for the release of political prisoners, saying that Islamic mercy would solve society's problems. Like Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani earlier this week, Younessi, criticised the intervention of security forces in the affairs of the judiciary.

0540 GMT: Economy Watch. Another success for the strategy of persuading companies to disinvest from Iran.  KPMG, one of the Big Four accountancy firms, has severed its links with its Iranian member, citing “serious and escalating concerns” about the conduct of the Iranian Government.

On the surface, the move is being attributed to pressure from the activist group United Against Nuclear Iran, which had targeted KPMG three weeks ago for "supporting this brutal regime and its illegal actions". It is unclear if there was any discussion between KPMG and US Government officials before the decision.

A significant number of large international companies have withdrawn from Iran since the start of 2010.

0530 GMT: The big news in Iran on Friday was away from the political arena, distant from the nuclear controversy, the posturing on sanctions, the Friday Prayer address in Iran, the ongoing manoeuvres between Parliament and President over the Ahmadinejad budget proposals.

The big news was simply that Iranians celebrated the day.

There was beautiful weather in much of the country for 13 Bedar, the day for seeing out --- as in going outside with family and friends and enjoying nature --- the New Year festivities.

The Los Angeles Times has a summary, with some videos and photographs.