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« Photos of the Decade: 2006 (Immigrant on a Beach) | Main | Iran Document: Latest Karroubi Interview "The Shah Didn't Behave Like This" »
Friday
Feb262010

The Latest from Iran (26 February): Closing the Door?

2110 GMT: Khamenei v. Khomeini. Radio Zamaneh has more on the criticism of Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson, Seyed Hasan Khomeini, by the Supreme Leader's representative in the Revolutionary Guards, Ali Saidi.

The conflict was sparked when the head of the Institute of Ayatollah Khomeini’s Publications, Mohammad Ali Ansari, wrote to Saidi to remind him of the Khomeini's insistence on no military intervention in politics, Ali Saidi then criticized Hassan Khomeini’s decision not to attend the August inauguration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He alleged that the Ayatollah's grandson was standing against "the system and the Leader".

NEW Iran Document: Latest Karroubi Interview “The Shah Didn’t Behave Like This”
Iran: Mousavi, The Regime, & "The Prerequisites of Escalation"
Latest Iran Video: The Rigi “Confession” (25 February)
Iran Analysis: Khamenei’s Not-So-Big Push
Iran Follow-Up: Interpreting the Assembly of Experts “The Certainty of the Uncertain”
Iran Analysis: The Assembly of Experts Mystery
The Latest from Iran (25 February): Misleading Statements?


2100 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Mehrdad Bal Afkan, a senior member of the Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution party and Mir Hossein Mousavi's campaign, was arrested in Isfahan on Thursday.


2050 GMT: That "Path to Atonement" Thing (see 1915 GMT). Could the regime be setting up an offer of amnesty or reduced punishment for those who will give up their opposition? Alongside Ayatollah Jannati's Friday Prayer are the words of Iran's Attorney General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejeie: "If those who have been arrested in recent riots truly repent and compensate for the damages they have caused and correct their past conduct, they will be helped in the Appeals Court."

2005 GMT: Back to the Friday Prayer (see 1915 GMT). Ayatollah Jannati might have been a bit less hard-line than usual with the invocation that all the naughty protesters "to wake up and come to their senses", but I think he may have a message for a Mr Hashemi Rafsanjani: “If the elite are not in accordance with the movement of these rioters, why don’t they protest against them and advise them?”

1945 GMT: Larijani Watch. Blink and you might miss the story....

Agence France Presse headlines a ritual denunciation by Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, speaking in Tokyo, of the International Atomic Energy Association and the "West":
One of the defects in the IAEA is that it changes positions and attitudes if it is put under certain political pressure. I think the IAEA should be an organisation that states its views based on concrete facts, but should not comment on something such as 'there is a possibility.

Yawn. It's only in the 8th paragraph that AFP gets to the real story, with Larijani repeating his Thursday welcome to "third-party enrichment" by Japan: "I don't know if you read the Japanese offer, but various proposals are made in it. We welcome this kind of subsurface-level initiative."

1915 GMT: Your Friday Prayer Summary. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati taking the podium in Tehran, and a bit of a surprise. After all the talk this week of the "sedition" of the opposition, the hard-line head of the Guardian Council appears to have been a bit of a softie, declaring, "the path to atonement is still open". Of course, those who atone need to recognise that, on 22 Bahman, the Iranian people "showed that [they] do not fear enemies, threats or sanctions, are committed to [their] stances and are loyal to and believe in 'velayat-e-faqih' (clerical authority)."

1910 GMT: An EA Special. We've posted the English translation of Mehdi Karroubi's latest interview, with his forthright defiance and the lament, "The Shah didn't behave like this."

1500 GMT: Nuclear Power Play. What a way to come back from an academic break. I find that Press TV is pushing the statement of the head of the Parliament's National Security Commission, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, declaring in Tokyo:
Japan's participation and involvement in the construction of Iran's power plants will serve the interests of Japanese state and private companies. Iran's suggests that Japan start its job from a particular point, by building a nuclear power plant inside the country.

How big? Boroujerdi is in Japan with Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, who announced yesterday that "third-party enrichment" is back on the table, with Japan enriching Iran's uranium stock. So the deal is laid out: the international community gets its oversight of Iran's nuclear fuel, Tehran gets a nuclear power programme with the assistance of Tokyo, and Larijani and his allies --- no doubt representing the wishes of the Supreme Leader --- also outflank President Ahmadinejad.

1130 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (cont.). Activist websites reported that the women's ward in Section 209 of Evin Prison is overcrowded, with cells holding seven detainees rather than the recommeded two or three. Most in Section 209 are academics.

The news follows the revelation of imprisoned journalist Bahman Ahmadi-Amoui that 40 prisoners are being held in a 20- meter cell in Evin.

1105 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. A series of reformist members of Parliament and parties have asked the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani. to release journalists and political activists for Iranian New Year, Nowruz. Pro-Ahmadinejad MPs replied that it is up to the judge to decide the status of detainees, and this has nothing to do with Nowruz.

1100 GMT: Larijani v. Ahmadinejad Watch. Even when he's in Japan, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani is slapping at the President: he has declared that 34 of 39 proposals presented by the Government do not conform to the law.

1055 GMT: Khamenei, Khomeini, and the Revolutionary Guard. The Supreme Leader's representative in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Hojatoleslam Ali Saidi, has sharply answered the criticism of those who accuse the Revolutionary Guard of interference in political matters: when civilians attack the holy republic, how can the IRGC stand aside?

There were also pointed words for the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, Seyed Hassan Khomeini: how could he oppose the Supreme Leader and the Iranian system (nezam)?

1050 GMT: A slow political day, but that gives us the chance to feature a provocative analysis, from The Newest Deal, that the momentum for the Green Movement will come from the regime's rejection of Mir Hossein Mousavi's five proposals for justice and reform.

0810 GMT: The Committee for Human Rights Reporters posts that women’s rights activist Somayeh Rashidi has been released from Evin Prison after more than two months in detention.

0800 GMT: The big manoeuvres yesterday were within the regime, as key participants either tried to close the door on any challenge or to keep it slightly open for further manoeuvres. We've got two special analyses: Mr Verde takes a long look at this week's inconclusive, somewhat confusing Assembly of Experts meeting, featuring Hashemi Rafsanjani, and we assess the Supreme Leader's "not-so-big push" to secure his position.

Meanwhile, you could take your pick of sideshows. There was Iran's unsubtle propaganda push on captured Jundullah leader Abdolmalek Rigi with his confession (see separate entry) as proof of US sponsorship. Bashir al-Assad and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad struck their poses in Damascus, and US and Israeli officials met in Israel in a "strategic dialogue" which featured Iran's nuclear programme.

Reader Comments (14)

According to Hezbollah TV Assad an AN also met with Nasrallah in Damascus.

http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=126416&language=en

"26/02/2010 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday evening joined Syrian President Bashar Assad for dinner in Damascus, Al-Manar TV reported. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency also said Friday that the three leaders met during a dinner Assad hosted in honor of Sayyed Nasrallah and Ahmadinejad. The banquet was also attended by members of the two official Syrian and Iranian delegations as well as the delegation accompanying Sayyed Nasrallah, SANA said.

Al-Manar channel said the three leaders discussed the latest developments in the region and Israeli threats against Lebanon and Syria. There was no official statement about the issues discussed during the event. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchcher Mottaki also attended Thursday's meeting, Al-Manar said.

During the meeting with the heads of the Palestinian factions, the Iranian leader warned that any Israeli attack will be met with stiff resistance. "If the Zionists want to repeat their mistake again, they must be uprooted from the source," he said. "This criminal regime is doomed and the grand victory is imminent." The Palestinian factions in Syria, included Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal, Islamic Jihad Deputy Secretary-General Ziad Nahla and Ahmed Jibril, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command."

February 26, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterSamuel

There is nothing in french media about what Mr Boroujerdi has said in Tokyo ! is it a brainwashing of Press TV; on the other hand there is a statement of Hillary Clinton, comparing the issue of iranian nuclear to 1962' rockets crisis and how USA and especially J.F Kennedy managed to resolve that big problem ( the Soviet Union wanted to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba ) :

http://www.tdg.ch/depeches/monde/hillary-clinton-compare-nucleaire-iranien-crise-fusees-1962

February 26, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterange paris

Statement of Karroubi, he's so brave, I love him; he should have been a role model for all the politicians especially Raffers bigheyrat ( servile person without any pride) !!

http://www.facebook.com/notes/mir-hossein-mousavi-myr-syn-mwswy/rwby-kwd-w-knwdh-m-mdh-prdkt-hrgwnh-hzynh-y-hstym-karroubi-my-family-and-i-are-r/329460957605

February 26, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterange paris

FP Ayatollah Jannati is preaching again, bah bah!
http://www.zamaaneh.com/enzam/2010/02/iranian-hardliner-condemn.html
After claiming that "silence has an 'anti-Revolutionary' significance" and urging "the elite” to announce their “distinction” from “rioters”, he continues:
“If you are not American and Israeli, why do they support you? Your identity has been established but still you can return to the right path. It is time to wake up and come to your senses.”

How many "Americans" do we have in Iran? Perhaps 30 or 40 millions?
It's high time to declare Iran as the First Continental Area of the USA ;-)

February 26, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterArshama

Ange Paris,

Thanks for posting the Karroubi interview. it really brings home the point that this regime cannot win. From the marching of millions in the days after the stolen election on June 12, the jig was up. The people now know that the population is unified against Ahmadinejad and Khamenei's unjust dictatorship.
Once a dictatorship reaches that point, greivances such as economic injustice of the arrest of political prisoners, where before they were simply accepted as everyday life, now are existential crises. Any unpaid group of workers can now send the government into existential crisis simply by shouting "Ya Hossein! Mir Hossein!". It now translates to "we know our rights, we know the status quo is viciously unjust, and we know that the vast majority agree with us and want change"

February 26, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAdam

AN has gone off into the deepest depths of delusion again. What next?

February 26, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterHossein

1945GMT:
"Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada in brief comments Friday denied that Japan had made a formal offer and told reporters: "I am not aware of the report that Japan would do the nuclear (processing)."

Nothing is done, perhaps Mr Larijani suffers from hallucinations !!

February 26, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterange paris

French deputies call Iranian leaders out to end death sentences and to free political prisoners.

http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2010/02/25/01011-20100225FILWWW00795-des-deputes-francais-interpellent-l-iran.php

February 26, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterange paris
February 26, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterange paris

Scott
There is a comment in the filter, thank you for fishing it . :-)

February 26, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterange paris

@ Ange RE the AN-Nasrallah picture
That one deserves a caption contest!

February 27, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterCatherine

Catherine
It's too dirty for a caption !

February 27, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterange paris

Oh Ange - you are so naughty! :-)

I was thinking more along the lines of :"Dr. Evil meets his clone, Mini-Me"

For those left in the dark, Dr. Evil is a fictional character in the Austin Powers film series. Before Dr. Evil was sent back in time to 1969, his followers made him a clone. The clone was identical in every way but was "one-eighth his size". Upon being introduced to his clone, Dr. Evil immediately declared, "Breathtaking. I shall call him... Mini-Me".
http://www.angelfire.com/on/AustinPowers/DEP.html

February 27, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterCatherine

Ange Paris,

"Les chrétiens en Iran craignent une nouvelle campagne de répression contre le culte chrétien."

Vous lisez trop souvent les sites du culte de Rajavi comme: IranFocus. Je ne dis pas que les chrétiens ne sont pas persécutés, mais s.v.p. lisez et écoutez aussi d'autres sources d'information. IranFocus est une publication des Mojaheddin- e Khalq.

February 27, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterLucie

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