The Latest from Iran (10 April): Look Over There!

1500 GMT: Economy Watch. Human rights activists claim that most companies in Qazvin province will remain closed until end of the current Iranian month of Farvardin.

1445 GMT: Economy Watch. Although five major oil companies, included Shell, have recently suspended imports to Iran, here are the big players who ensure that Tehran doesn’t feel the squeeze quite as much: Petronas (Malaysia), Independent (Kuwait) and Total (France) are Iran’s largest suppliers.

NEW Iran: The Green Movement in Transition (Rafat)
Iran: How I Suddenly Disappeared on Press TV
Mousavi: “Can Repression & Brute Force Solve Iran’s Problems?”
The Latest from Iran: Dialogue or Conflict? (9 April)

1430 GMT: Remembering. Hadi Khamenei, the brother of the Supreme Leader and a reformist, has visited the family of the nephew of Mir Hossein Mousavi, killed during the Ashura demonstrations.



1415 GMT: Corruption Watch. The latest on the alleged corruption ring, including the Fatemi Avenue insurance fraud, inside the Government….

Rah-e-Sabz claims the Government will charge MP Elyas Naderan, who has made the public allegations, instead of the accused First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi.

Meanwhile, Khabar Online claims that Rahimi has handed out 18 oil projects to groups close to the Government. And reformist MP Mostafa Kavakebian has asserted that about 100 fraudsters in Iran’s oil water, and sewage ministries and some insurance companies have been arrested recently and has demanded that their names be published.

1300 GMT: Economic Front. Beyond the specific quarrel over subsidies and spending, there is a wider political feud over economic approach amongst conservatives and principlists.

Ahmad Tavakoli, one of the harshest Parliamentary critics of Ahmadinejad, has denounced the “liberal” capitalist approach since the President took office in 2005. (http://www.khabaronline.ir/news-53796.aspx) There is a similar attack in Alef on “Ahmadinejad and the Chicago boys”, a reference to the free-market, monetarist philosophy of University of Chicago economists such as Milton Friedman. The economic failures of the Iranian system are attributed to the US, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and other usual culprits. (http://alef.ir/1388/content/view/67173/)

A much better critique comes from Sadegh Zibakalam in Aftab, as he argues that “many of the Revolutionaries’ accusations about the US are unfounded” (http://www.iran-emrooz.net/index.php?/news1/21873/)

1200 GMT: Round-up….

A new Persian news website, DayPress, has been established.

Rah-e-Sabz is gloating, with more than a bit of anticipating, over the subsidy/spending fight: After Ahmadinejad’s threat to resign, are the Supreme Leader and Majlis going to bow down to him?

There may be a compromise in the works, however, according to Khabar Online.

0545 GMT: We have posted an analysis by Ahmad Rafat of "The Green Movement in Transition".

0535 GMT: Economy Watch. It is being reported that some workers in Iran's state telecommunications company have gone 12 months without wages.

0530 GMT: Detaining the Press. EA correspondents are currently working on an updated list of imprisoned journalists: one of them is photojournalist Babak Bordbar, detained on Ashura, for whom Peyke Iran has published an appeal.

0500 GMT: Not for the first time, we begin the day with the story of a great diversion. Iran's National Nuclear Day was the pretext for an all-day regime show displaying the nuclear issue, and thus Tehran's victory in the struggle against US pressure and duplicity, and hoping no one would notice other developments at home.

And on that stage, the effort was far from a bust. The showpiece announcement was not that dramatic --- an alleged third-generation uranium centrifuge, six times more effective than its first-generation predecssor. (I had expected the President to run with the declaration of "one or two" additional sites for the nuclear programme.) Ahmadinejad's unveiling of one of those centrifuges was more Science Fair than Science Breakthrough in appearance, but it did set a short-term agenda.

Press TV, for example, could herald the great achievement without coming close to practical questions, such as how many centrifuges? Where will they be located? When will they be on-line? Given that more than half of Natanz's existing second-generation centrifuges were not in use, on latest count, where is the assurance that third-generation successors will operate at a signficant capacity?

And, of course, Iranian state media chose the "appropriate" political framing. The steady beat of Iranian right and pride v. US-led pressure swept away other considerations. No one, for example, had to think about Ahmadinejad's continued use of the nuclear and military issues --- remember the mock missile at the regime's 22 Bahman (11 February) rally? --- as props for legitimacy.

And, of course, no one had to interrupt National Nuclear Day with other inconveniences such as the escalating Parliament-President battle, now to the point of Ahmadinejad's threatened resignation, the charges of corruption against First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, and the signs of opposition revival through meetings and statements such as Thursday's Mir Hossein Mousavi statement and yesterday's declaration by Mohammad Khatami. (The last-minute cancellation of a guest on Press TV's News Analysis programme ensured that the standard Punch-and-Judy show --- one guest defending Iran's peaceful quest for nuclear advance vs. another gently suggesting why there might be "Western" concerns --- could proceed.)

Did the international media pull back the screen on the President's wizardry? Well. no. CNN ran with it as "Ahmadinejad: Iran has 'fully mastered' nuclear technology". (There is, however, an intriguing break from the pack in The New York Times, which runs a Saturday Profile on Mohsen Sazegara, the former creator of the Revolutionary Guard who is now a foe of the regime, and his YouTube broadcast.)

Iran: The Green Movement in Transition (Rafat)

Ahmad Rafat writes for Gozaar:

If we consider the unrest and violence that followed the Tenth Presidential Elections of the Islamic Republic in 2009 the starting point of the Green Movement and the new wave of the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom, then this movement and wave have just entered their eleventh month.

The Latest from Iran (10 April): Look Over There!

The first anniversary of any movement is a propitious moment in which to take stock of what that movement has accomplished and what lies ahead of it. Perhaps it is necessary first to ask what exactly was the trigger point of this outpouring of the people’s obviously longstanding seething anger? Was the precise point of departure for this movement June 13, when the election results --- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s election to a second term as president --- were announced?


There is no doubt that what is now known as the Green Movement came about as a result of the dismal record of the 31-year rule of the Islamic Republic, a regime that has not been able to meet the needs of the ethnically diverse citizenry of Iran in the political, economic, cultural, and social arenas. The social transformations of the last three decades, spanning growing urbanization, a growing number of the under-25 segment of the population, and active participation of women in the cultural, economic, and political spheres—have played a significant role in the birth of this movement.

These transformations have deepened the existing gender-based, social, economic, ethnic, and religious schisms and have brought about a deep schism between a society in search of modernism and the regressive and repressive regime that rules it. Of course, in this connection, the role played by the latest technological advances in communications cannot be ignored. Without the transformations brought about in people’s daily lives by the Internet and telecommunication satellites, perhaps a large movement with such content could not have been born.

Despite the expected ups and downs it has encountered in its path as well as the suppressive instruments at the disposal of the ruling regime, this almost virtually self-propelling movement, which reached its apogee in late May to late June 2009, has demonstrated a remarkable resilience and has had significant accomplishments in various arenas.

On the international level, one of this movement’s accomplishments is its pattern of building trust. In the course of its first six months, the Green Movement was successful in winning the support of public opinion but was not able to gain the trust of the governments and statesmen in the Western countries. However, in recent months we have witnessed the large-scale attention given to the Iranian people’s movement for freedom by such governments and statesmen, especially in Europe. We can consider the decision of the governments of Germany and Italy to limit their economic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the decisions of the governments of France, Germany, and Italy to open their doors to the opponents of the Ahmadinejad government, as the starting point of a trend towards official recognition of the Green Movement and, beyond it, of the sources and forces of protest in Iran.

Clearly, this trend requires the Green Movement to take on new tasks and means that those who claim to be its leaders must shoulder new responsibilities. Given the various viewpoints that have existed within it from its beginning, the current movement for freedom inside Iran has been able to bring about political transformations that could potentially change this movement’s destiny in the coming months.

The Green Movement came into being in the months preceding the 2009 Presidential Elections with a plan to resurrect reformism, despite the fact that even then there were major differences between the platforms of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. The demands put forth by Mousavi lay within the realm of fundamentalism and reformism while Karroubi’s election platform had a more radical tone and content and was able to bring the opponents of the regime itself into the arena of the election struggle.

Following the election and the occurrence of violence at the hands of the regime’s leaders, Mousavi was forced to accept the stances of the reformists, but Karroubi acted outside the customary framework of the regime and the Constitution. Today, not even the most conservative segment of the Green Movement believes in the regime’s rhetoric and the possibility of effecting changes from within the existing constitutional framework.

If the freedom movement wishes to remain loyal to certain beliefs, such as negation of use of violence in any form and belief in progressive changes, it must remain --- structurally speaking --- as it stands now and, before it searches for more coherent leadership or organization or think tanks, it must take steps towards encouraging individual initiatives and towards strengthening the movement. If the slogan “Every soldier is a leader and every leader a soldier” --- which thus far, has been able to guarantee the pluralism of this movement --- changes, this will result in the movement’s disintegration.

Not negating and formally recognizing the existence of different viewpoints and actual differences within the movement as it stands now may be the way to guarantee the movement’s survival. Embracing the principle that meaningful change will take place only in phases and through the use of democratic instruments such as elections, referenda, and plebiscites is another of this movement’s features which must be emphasized in the coming months. Concurrently, it must be emphasized that even those who oppose the regime itself and demand fundamental changes will have the right to participate in the free elections called for by Mousavi and Karroubi. The chasm between “insiders” and “outsiders,” for 31 years a distinguishing feature of the current regime, must be excised from the political vocabulary of Iran, both rhetorically and actually, forever.

If we were to put forth a list-like action plan for the future of the Green Movement, we could put the following at the top of that list: the wearing out of the increasingly insupportable regime and creating schisms among the regime’s supporters, in combination with concurrent efforts towards the establishment and strengthening of national solidarity.

Needless to say, the Green Movement has had other shortcomings, which it must rectify as it enters its second year. At the top of the list of shortcomings is the need for the geographic expansion of the Green Movement. The lack of participation in the Green Movement by residents of regions within Iran which include other --- that is, non-Persian --- ethnicities is one such shortcoming. If not properly addressed, lack of attention to the specific needs and demands of ethnic and religious minorities is another issue which could place countless roadblocks in the path of the movement. The Green Movement must make allowance for the participation in it of ethnic minorities a priority. Needless to say, these ethnic minorities’ political representatives must have a realistic view of this process and not expect to accomplish in one day what would normally take a century to accomplish.

Giving due attention to heretofore marginalized social classes must be on the Green Movement’s agenda too. Inattention to such marginalized elements and postponement of the demands of the various ethnicities and classes within society, alongside negligence towards foreign policy, have been two important reasons why the freedom movement did not expand more quickly last year. Geographic expansion of the Green Movement is the only way for it to address the existing asymmetry in the balance of power between the regime and the people and to change it to its own advantage.

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

2005 GMT: I have posted a separate entry about the eerie and comic experience of being "disappeared" by Press TV this evening.

2000 GMT: Rahnavard Praises Women Political Prisoners. Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi, has written in Rah-e-Sabz in praise of the perseverance of female political prisoners: “You Can Never Break Women”.

1915 GMT: Poacher or Gamekeeper? First Vice-President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi has responded to allegations by MPs that he heads a corruption ring (see 0445 and 1035 GMT) with a circular to all government agencies calling on them to fight economic corruption. In a follow-up interview, he called those who had leveled accusations against him "spreaders of slander" who did not deserve a response.

Yesterday "principlist" MP Elyas Naderan, supported by lawmakers Ahmad Tavakoli and Ali-Reza Zakani, said almost all members of an insurance fraud on Tehran’s Fatemi Avenue had been arrested, except “the current vice-president”.

NEW Iran: How I Suddenly Disappeared on Press TV
NEW Mousavi: “Can Repression & Brute Force Solve Iran’s Problems?”
Latest Iran Video: Ahmadinejad and the “Non-Crowd” at Orumiyeh
The Latest from Iran (8 April): Speeches, Visits, & Pictures

1755 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The temporary release from detention of Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh has been extended. Tajbakhsh, arrested last July, was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison; this was reduced to five years on appeal.


1645 GMT: Khatami's Warning. In a meeting with Tehran University students, Mohammad Khatami said that, if nothing is done, this year will be one of social crisis.

Khatami, criticising the people in charge of the Ahmadinejad Government, said that  the political atmosphere of Iran is very disappointing; as the government has chosen the strategy of lying, many young Iranian people are now questioning the Revolution itself.

1635 GMT: More on the Ahmadinejad Resignation Threat (1445 GMT). Rah-e-Sabz claims that, on state television, the President said that Ali Larijani is doing everything he can to cause problems for the government and thus the government will not allow him to do this: "This government has 24 million supporters and therefore I will defend those supporters."

Ahmadinejad said that, if the government is not powerful enough to defend the Iranian people's vote, he will announce his resignation on TV.

The website claims from sources that the Supreme Leader has assigned two people, Mr. Mohammadi and Mr Firouzabadi, who are close to the government to resolve this conflict.

1450 GMT: For Your Evening Viewing Pleasure. I will be speaking by phone with Press TV at 1930 GMT about Iran's nuclear programme. The other guest will be Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi of the University of Tehran.

1448 GMT: Bigging It Up. Nothing striking in the Ahmadinejad speech. Instead, Iranian state media is trying to spin nuclear gold from the straw of these announcements:

The head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, claims that Iran now has new, "third-generation" centrifuges, "six times more powerful" than previous centrifuges.

Iran now has produced "dummy fuel" for its programme.

The Bushehr power plant "should be operational by the summer".

1445 GMT: The President Talks. We're now watching President Ahmadinejad's speech for National Nuclear Day. So far, no "big announcement", just a repetition of the call for global nuclear disarmament. And, oh yes, he has unveiled --- ta da! --- a new centrifuge which is supposed to be wicked powerful.

So, while we're waiting, this claim from Rah-e-Sabz: Ahmadinejad has threatened to resign if Parliament does not accept his demands over the subsidy and spending plans.

1145 GMT: Friday Prayer Summary. On National Nuclear Day, it's Ahmad Khatami leading the prayers ahead of President Ahmadinejad's appearance. Here's the take-away line: "If America makes a crazy move, its interests will be endangered by Iran's allies around the globe."

1130 GMT: The lawyer for Morteza Alviri, the former mayor of Tehran, has confirmed that Alviri has received a five-year prison sentence, with four years suspended, from an appeals court for participation in the 15 June demonstrations.

1110 GMT: A new website, "Campaign 11 Esfand", for support of political prisoners has been established.

1035 GMT: The Corruption Feud. Ahmadinejad advisors Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai and Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi have hit back at allegations of corruption against First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi (see 0445 GMT), calling for the prosecution of MP Elyas Naderan "and other liars".

0955 GMT: The Parliament-President Battle. Beyond the Motahari attack on the "despotic" Government (see 0950 GMT), a series of interventions in the struggle over the subsidy and spending plans:

Arsalan Fathipour is quoted by Khabar Online as saying that a law ratified by the Majlis must be implemented. If true, that is a marked shift from Fathipour's line two weeks ago that Parliament should authorise an extra $35 billion of spending, much more than the $20 billion allowed in the bill and close to the President's $40 billion demand.

Ali Abbaspour Tehranifard warns that not implementing laws because of personal bravado leads to chaos and says the Government's reaction is "strange".

Seyed Kazem Delkhosh Abatari asserts that meetings between the Government and Majlis looking for compromise have no legal binding and the issues should be sent to a special Parliamentary commission.

0950 GMT: The Majlis and Despotism. We've heard a lot of charges since June that the Government has been despotic. Still, it's a bit different when the claim come from conservative MP Ali Motahari at a press conference:

The Government approach to subsidy reform bill passed by the Parliament majlis tends to despotism. When President Ahmadinejad says I won't enforce a law passed by the parliament, it means nothing except autocracy. Adopting a correct method, he must first begin to implement the plan and if it faced a problem, it will send a bill to the Majlis and resolve it.

It's not an appropriate method for the administration trying to press Majlis to annul its decision while the president begins to threaten the MPs on the issue.

0920 GMT: Bahareh Hedayat, the detained student and women's rights activist, has been nominated for the 2010 Student Peace Prize by the European Students’ Union.

Hedayat was arrested in December of 2009 and is currently facing 16 counts of charges including “propagating a negative image of the regime, taking part in post-election protests, talking to foreign media and insulting the Supreme Leader and the President”.

0840 GMT: Meeting the families of political prisoners Bahareh Hedayat and Ahmad Zeidabadi, reformist leader Mojtaba Tajzadeh --- who is still on a temporary release from prison for and now beyond the Nowruz holidays --- declared that imprisonment is a failed project to suppress people's demands.

0835 GMT: We've posted a full summary of Mir Hossein Mousavi's statement in a Thursday meeting with the reformist Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution party.

0830 GMT: What is Mahmoud's Nuclear Surprise? Earlier this week, the head of Iran's atomic energy organisation said that the President would make a major announcement today about an advance in Tehran's programme, but last night Ahmadinejad was simply restating a vague line.

He told the German broadcaster RTL,"Although we are capable of producing 20-percent-enriched uranium, we still can exchange fuel with no preconditions," without specifying whether that meant a swap could take place outside Iran. He then added his standard self-sufficiency line, "If Iran is not provided with uranium enriched to a level of 20 percent, we will produce it on our own."

0825 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Fereshteh Ghazi, writing in Rooz Online, reports on the thousands of "anonymous" prisoners who face the threat of abuse and adverse conditions.

0640 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Mahmoud Beheshti Langarudi, the spokesman of the Teacher Trade Association, has gone on unlimited hunger strike to protest the harsh conditions of imprisoned teachers such as Rasool Badaghi, Mohammad Davari and Hashem Khastar.

Rasool Badaghi, a human rights activist, is entering the 15th day of his fhunger strike.

0635 GMT: Nuclear Talks. Take your pick of reports on another meeting of the 5+1 powers (US, UK, China, Russia, France, Germany) on Iran's nuclear programme. The representatives said the talks were worthwhile, and there would be more meetings. Press TV emphasises the statement of Russia's Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin for "diplomacy", although the quote from him has a double edge:

I don't think any of us wants to impose sanctions, what we want to have is a diplomatic solution. And all sorts of constructive proposals have been made to Iran. So if, as you mention, Iran wants to negotiate, they should start negotiating.

0445 GMT: After an extended break --- a Ph.D. student of mine went through his final examinations yesterday on his dissertation on Public Diplomacy and Interfaith Dialogue --- let's see if there is any dialogue in Iran this morning.

On the Parliament-President front, the chat isn't very friendly. High-ranking conservative PM Ali Motahari has set down a challenge over corruption to Ahmadinejad: if the accusations against First Mohammad Reza Rahimi in the Fatemi Street insurance fraud stand up, then the President --- if he is serious in his talk about justice  --- should be the first to punish Rahimi.

Ahmadinejad's controvesial aide Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, who is also the target of Parliamentary calls to stand down, has responded that these accusations are put simply to weaken the Ahmadinejad Government.

Ahmadinejad advisor  Mojtaba Hashemi Samareh added a nice twist: Rahimi, like all Government officials, fights economic corruption, and so the allegations against him must be wrong.

Last news about this file is that, Mohammad Dehghaan a member of Board of Governors in Parliament believes that Naderan’s talks are not just random claims, but they are based on the information attained from the judiciary office.
http://alef.ir/1388/content/view/67753/

The Latest from Iran (8 April): Speeches, Visits, & Pictures

2155 GMT: Break in Service. Apologies for halt in updates today because of extended academic duties.

We'll be back early Friday morning to catch up with all the news and offer analysis.

1355 GMT: You Might Be Catty But Can You Debate Us? Gholam-Reza Mesbahi-Moghaddam, a member of Parliament's Economic Committee has challenged the President to debate him and Ahmad Tavakoli, another high-profile critic of the subsidy/spending plan.

Earlier this week Tavakoli had issued a similar statement, saying Ahmadinejad must follow the Parliament's will.

1345 GMT: Catty Comment of Day. OK, here's the gossip from Rah-e-Sabz:

So key Iranian figures are with the Supreme Leader trying to resolve the Parliament-Ahmadinejad feud over subsidy cuts and revenues. Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani says to Ahmadinejad that Parliament is expecting the Government to follow the law. The President is having none of it, however: he says he will not follow what Parliament says and that they "better tell this to the person they congratulated on the evening of the Presidential election".
Whoa. I think that is a reference to the long-standing tale that Larijani told Mir Hossein Mousavi on the evening of 12 June that he had indeed triumphed in the polls.

And that may be why Ayatollah Khamenei then said that in important decisions "we should be united".

NEW Latest Iran Video: Ahmadinejad and the “Non-Crowd” at Orumiyeh
Latest Iran Video: Neda Replaces IRI Flag at Embassy in Netherlands
The Latest from Iran (7 April): Ahmadinejad’s Support?

1340 GMT: Mousavi Meets the Reformists. Mujahedin of Islamic Revolution party members have met with Mir Hossein Mousavi. The take-away line from the meeting --- we hope to have more later --- is Mousavi's declaration that they "must stand up to the ruling group and return to the Constitution" of the Islamic Republic.


1315 GMT: The International Sanctions Dance. President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev two-stepping today after signing the treaty for reduction of nuclear arms....

Obama predicted there would be "strong, tough” sanctions against Iran in coming weeks, which he has to say to keep the all-out sanctions folks in Washington at bay. Medvedev expressed an openness to the idea, since he doesn't want to be rude to the US, as bargains are being stuck on other fronts. Then, however, he drew line: “smart sanctions” rather than sweeping sanctions,  and protection of Russia’s national interests (i.e., no measures that significantly cut Russian trade).

No change in this dance step....

1030 GMT: Converting the Bad News. Press TV notes the development, which we reported yesterday, that Russia's LUKOil is stopping imports to Iran but races to this assurance:

Speaking on April 3, the head of Iran's Committee for Transportation and Fuel Management said Iran was capable of becoming self-sufficient in gasoline production during the current Iranian year (ending March 20, 2011).

"Iran's gasoline consumption stands at 62 million liters (16.38 million US gallons) per day, of which 45 million liters (11.89 million US gallons) are produced domestically," said Mohammad Rouyanian.

0830 GMT: We have posted a purported video of the audience at the Ahmadinejad speech in northwest Iran yesterday.

0700 GMT: Look Over There! The US is Doomed! Continuing his attempt to focus Iranian eyes on the international front, President Ahmadinejad declared Wednesday night, "The US is so bogged down in a quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan that it is doomed to be defeated whether it stays or escapes."

0525 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. More than 3,500 people, including international journalists, writers, and activists have written to the Supreme Leader, asking him to release all journalists, writers, and bloggers currently imprisoned in Iran. The initiative was organised by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.

RAHANA reports that detained student activist Peyman Aref was taken to Modarres Hospital in Tehran after he suffered a heart attack. EA also has reliable information that reformist leader Abbas Mirza Aboutalebi has suffered a heart attack.

Student activist Behrooz Javid Tehrani is in the eighth day of a hunger strike.

University lecturer Rahmatollah Bastani, arrested on 28 March during the funeral of Ayatollah Montazeri’s wife in Qom, has been released on $50,000 bail. Journalist Borumand Rostami of Bistoon has been released on $20,000 bail

0520 GMT: Strange Bedfellows. Iranian state media eagerly embraces former Bush Administration official John Bolton, which may seem a bit unusual since Bolton has called for airstrikes against Tehran. The reason? Bolton bolsters the Iranian Government's line, "New Sanctions Won't Work". (Press TV doesn't mention that Bolton is putting out this message to justify military action.)

0510 GMT: A Very Different Picture and Signal. The image is of Mehdi Karroubi visiting the reformist leader Feizollah Arab Sorkhi, still on temporary release from his detention. Karroubi also saw the mother of Sohrab Arabi, killed 15 June by Iranian security forces.





0500 GMT: Thursday begins with a look at contrasting images and signals. As we noted last night, President Ahmadinejad has tried to turn a visit to Azerbaijan in northwestern Iran into a show of support for his Government, but the pictures are conflicting, to say the least. Fars News uses close-up shots at the stadium and images of crowds rushing Ahmadinejad's car en route to claim a large, enthusiastic turnout. Other pictures circulating on the Internet are not so positive:



An EA correspondent offers an explanation:

The Fars photos do not disprove the set on the Internet. Look at the stadium pictures, all close-ups of the front of the crowd. I have been to Ahmadinejad events --- the people you see are right at the front. There is nothing between them and the President

The crowd mobbing the car, apparently en route to the stadium could be edited. It counts for nothing. All the people behind could be easily photo shopped.

Latest Iran Video: Ahmadinejad and the "Non-Crowd" at Orumiyeh

Following the conflicting photographs over the size of the audience for President Ahmadinejad's speech in northwest Iran on Wednesday (see our LiveBlogs for 7 and 8 April), a purported video from the event:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Am1StUq1Us&playnext_from=TL&videos=p4uiNRqCcig&feature=sub[/youtube]

The Latest from Iran (8 April): Speeches, Visits, & Pictures