The Latest from Iran (7 August): The Opposition Bounces Back

NEW Iran: The Battle for the Ministry of Intelligence Continues
The Latest from Iran (6 August): Getting Past Ahmadinejad

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1855 GMT: One More Prayer Twist. Fars News, showing its allegiances, does not even put the Tehran address of Emami-Kashani on its front page. Instead it gives comfort to the President by featuring the Qom prayer statement of Ayatollah Javadi-Amoli, a fervent supporter of the Government and fervent critic of Hashemi Rafsanjani: "If differences continue, the country will suffer irreparable problems."

1830 GMT: #CNNFail. Trying to see if any "mainstream" media outside Iran noticed the warning to Ahmadinejad, only two days after his inauguration, from a "conservative" cleric, Emami-Kashani. Here is CNN International's current Web story on Iran: "Security tight as Iran's Ahmadinejad sworn in".

1800 GMT: How Bad are the Signals for Ahmadinejad? Not much coverage of Ayatollah Emami-Kashani's address at Friday prayers in Tehran, but there doesn't need to be to see the bad news for the President. From Press TV's website:

As President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prepares to begin his second term in office, a leading cleric says the Iranian people deserve better treatment.

Tehran's Interim Friday Prayers Leader, Ayatollah Mohammad Imami-Kashani, urged the reelected Iranian President to pursue an agenda that would serve national interests.

“The Iranian people are kind-hearted and good, it is not right to cause them pain and distress,” said Ayatollah Imami-Kashani. ”The government should do everything in its power to be honest and truthful with the public.”

There was more standard rhetoric from Emami-Kashani in his admonition that the Islamic and the Republican cannot be separated in Iran's system, but the immediate message was clear:

Mahmoud, you better watch your step.

0700 GMT: Amnesty International has released a list of 24 Iranian Army officers detained in the post-election conflict.

0620 GMT: Thursday's Token Concession. Press TV's website reports:

After speaking to prisoners and sources at the recently shut down Kahrizak prison, the Iranian police force has come to the conclusion that violations of detainee rights along with dereliction of duty have been evident at the notorious detention center.

The police are quick to explain that "the harsh living conditions" arose from the need to establish a temporary facility "for the correction of detained ruffians". However, "the dereliction of duty and breaches by a number of the center's managers, officers and staff has become manifest....The limited capacity of the detention center and the addition of the July 9 detainees made the wings overcrowded and led to unsuitable living and hygiene conditions [for the detainees] and caused them much suffering." 

Morning Update (0515 GMT): After a fairly quiet day on Thursday, marked by the Government's attempts to stifle dissent through arrests and possibly cyber-warfare, the opposition picked up against last night. A series of evening gatherings escalated into protests across Tehran, with some footage emerging of car horns blaring and chants of "Death to the Dictator". The Green movement outlet Mowj-e-Sabz carries an eyewitness account of protests "half the night" in Vali-e Asr Square.

The Facebook pages of the opposition movement are also back to life after they were suspended most of Thursday by technical difficulties or more devious activity. Mir Hossein Mousavi's page features a statement by his chief advisor, Alireza Beheshti:

[It is] the silly have the command today....Whoever talks about something logical, they will accuse him of being disloyal to the Supreme Leader. By using these tactics they are avoiding logic. It has been two months since the election: which one of their actions solved the crisis?

Meanwhile, dedicated watchers of the Establishment will have a lot to decode later today when Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani leads Friday prayers in Tehran. Emami-Kashani is considered a "conservative" cleric but, as we noted on Wednesday, he spoke critically last week not only of the Government but of the Supreme Leader. His address could offer the first post-significant clues of how deep the divisions are within the regime.

And today's prayer speech will only heighten the mystery over next week's drama. We closed last night with the revelation that the head of the Friday prayers committee is now casting doubt on the earlier report that Hashemi Rafsanjani will be addressing worshipers in Tehran on 14 August. Is this a case of the regime trying to curb one of its leading challengers or was the initial news exaggerated? No further indications have come out this morning.

Having stirred up trouble within his own "conservative" ranks two weeks ago, President Ahmadinejad is still making his own plays for power. Remember the affair of the First Vice Esfandair Rahim Mashai, who supposedly resigned amidst the anger caused in the Cabinet, the Parliament, and the offices of the Supreme Leader? Well, he hasn't gone away. Instead, he has simply re-claimed the administrative territory and powers of the 1st VP as Ahmadinejad's Chief of Staff.

The Latest from Iran (5 August): The Inauguration

NEW Video: The Inauguration Protests (5 August)
Translation: Ayatollah Montazeri’s Response to Tehran Trials
Iran’s American Detainee: The Case of Kian Tajbakhsh
The Latest from Iran (4 August): A Day Between Protests

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2300 GMT: Ayatollahs Sanei and Bayat Zanjani have echoed Ayatollah Montazeri's statements denouncing the trials held last Saturday.

2200 GMT: A third journalist working for the Etemade Melli newspaper has been arrested. Mehdi Yazdani Khorram, the editor of the literature and art section, was arrested by plainsclothes officers at 2030 GMT.

2130 GMT: An important clarrification. Although Rafsanjani is scheduled to deliver a sermon at next week's Friday prayers, it is far from clear that he will take up this opportunity. It should be remembered that Rafsanjani turned down several opportunities to speak at Friday prayers before his last appearance on June 17.

1725 GMT: The resumption of the Tehran trials, scheduled for tomorrow, has been delayed until Saturday. The reason is unclear.

1715 GMT: Even the choice of Ayatollah Emami Kashani, a "conservative" cleric, to lead this Friday's prayers is far from a firm guarantee of support for the President and the regime. In  a sermon at Jamkaran Mosque, the ayatollah admitted, "The brightness of velayat-e-faqih (supreme leadership) has diminished....[Since the supreme leadership can not solve the problems of the country] may you [Mahdi, the 12'th Imam] reemerge and solve the country's problems."

1700 GMT: Friday's prayers will be led by Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani. That, however, is just a preliminary to the big news:  next week's will be led by Hashemi Rafsanjani.

1450 GMT: A summary of today before we return to our vacation. Riz Khan of Al Jazeera posted a question which, for Riz Khan, is remarkably ill-phrased: "As Mahmoud Ahmadinejad takes his oath, Will Iran again spiral into another cycle of violent demonstrations?"

The issue, as demonstrated again today, is not another ominous spiral into violence. Gatherings today, which persisted despite the state's attempt to close down visible opposition to the inauguration, continue to express clear concerns and demands (and, notably, without violence). Ahmadinejad's speech, which has already faded into a lack of significance, does nothing to check those concerns.

So the inauguration in fact becomes a sideshow, one boycotted by some politicians and attended by others with ill humour. With the Tehran trial resuming tomorrow, and more importantly with opposition politicians and clerics renewing their challenge, we'll get back to serious business.

1448 GMT: Mir Hossein Mousavi has posted a statement on his website declaring:

These hectic trials just reflect the deep problem which exists in our country. It is definitely not a source of pride to publicly expose such personalities in a mass trial. We made a [Islamic revolution in 1979] revolution so that trials were against criminals. We wanted trials with lawyers, trials with rights for the defendants, trials where the judge acts independently and trials which make the people feel justice prevailing.

Mousavi again denied any links between the opposition and foreign countries, asserting that the problem was an attempt to limit political views: "We have to learn to face other standpoints, listen to what they say, elaborate our own viewpoints and pay attention to their elaborations as well."

1445 GMT: The Islamic society of  engineers, of which Ahmadinejad is a former member, has sent a letter to Ayatollah Rafsanjani. The head of the society, Seyyed Hasan Sobhani-nia, commented that "This letter asks about recent events and Ayatollah Rafsanjani's position regarding them. This letter also states the concerns and worries that this society has regarding the future of individuals attached to the revolution who have played a crucial role in its formation. The society has requested Mr. Rafsanjani to clarify his position regarding these recent events."  The society had previously sent a letter to Ahmadinejad, which Enduring America also posted, asking for his own clarrification.

1440 GMT: A Twitter activist has created a Google map showing the locations of protests across the capital today.

1430 GMT: Gooya. com are reporting that "tens of thousands" of security forces were out on Tehran streets today, especially near Parliament building. Shops in the area were closed.

1415 GMT: The lawyer for detained politicians Behzad Nabavi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, and Mohsen Mirdamadi says he will not attend tomorrow's trial because it is illegal.

1355 GMT: Another Arrested Journalist. In addition to last night's seizure of Mir Hamid Hassanzadeh, the head of Ghalam News, Reza Nourbakhsh, the chief editor of the newspaper Farhikhtegan, was arrested. His office was searched, and some material was taken. 

1330 GMT: Reports that women's rights activist Haleh Sahabiwas arrested in Baharestan Square today.

0800 GMT: BBC World is leading with the story of Ahmadinejad's inauguration. The footage is telling: there is a distinct lack of enthusiasm amongst members of Parliament.

The BBC also has some images of protest outside the Parliament building.

The analysis is not as useful. Jon Leyne, expelled from Iran earlier in the crisis, is saying, somewhat bizarrely, that "most" of the President's speech was directed "at the outside world".

0645 GMT: It appears that the pattern of protest will be repeated today. Instead of a mass gathering, which will be disrupted if not prevented by security forces, there will be a number of "flash" gatherings across Tehran. We'll be back later to give a full assessment.

0627 GMT: More on the "boycott" in Parliament (see 0612). Parleman News revises its report: 57 of the 70 members of the Imam Khomeini Line walked out as Ahmadinejad started his speech.

0616 GMT: Mehdi Karroubi, in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais says that he and Mousavi will never work with Ahmadinejad's Cabinet and that protests will continue. Karroubi said:

We do not want to destroy the government; however, we criticise the actions of the government and we have no intention to help this government....The reality is that the majority of the people do not accept the methodologies and language of Mr. Ahmadinejad. We consider this government to be illegitimate.

0615 GMT: Kazem Jalali, the head of the special Parliamentary committee investigating the conditions of detainees, has resigned, and there are reports that other committee members have quit. No official reasons for the resignations have been given, but there is speculation that the lack of cooperation from judiciary and security officals may be a key factor.

0612 GMT: Parleman News reports only 242 of the 290 members of Parliament attended the inauguration. This suggests that all 46 "reformist" MPs stayed away.

0608 GMT: There is heavy Twitter chatter of protesters demonstrating at the main Tehran Bazaar, effectively trying to shut it down. Cellphone service has reportedly been cut off in central Tehran.

0600 GMT: Even as Ahmadinejad was speaking, the text scroll on the screen announced the next battle within the Establishment. The President has two weeks to assemble the names of proposed Cabinet Ministers and put them before Parliament. Given the furour over his recent choice of First Vice President Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai and his effective takeover of the Ministry of Intelligence, that will not be an easy process.

0555 GMT: Live coverage by Press TV English is available. They are assessing Ahmadinejad's speech, which made claims to "social justice".

0545 GMT: Opposition activists are pointing to images inside the Parliament of empty seats, which would indicate that (as on Monday, when the Supreme Leader confirmed Ahmadinejad) many have stayed away from the ceremony, and of growing demonstrations elsewhere in Tehran.

Morning Update (0535 GMT): Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been inaugurated as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran for a second term, despite a disputed election result almost eight weeks ago.

The President was not deterred by such questions in his acceptance speech, claiming the mandate of 25 million votes (even the suspect official tally gave him "only" 23 million).

Reuters is reporting a demonstration of "hundreds" in Baharestan Square in front of the Iranian Parliament building.