The Latest from Iran (15 November): Watching Rafsanjani, Listening to Karroubi

2045 GMT: Dropping the Sword. Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi publicly confirmed the regime's handling of post-election detainees who are allowed out of jail: "If political prisoners hold meetings, issue statements and pursue activities within their political parties, their right to temporary leave of absence from prison will be removed."

2025 GMT: Execution Watch (Prime-Time TV Edition). Looks like the Iranian regime is feeling a bit of pressure on the "human rights" front.....

How else to explain yet another "confession" on national television by Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, condemned to death for adultery and complicity in her husband's murder.

The blurred face of a woman, claimed to be Ashtiani, said, "I am a sinner". (The "confession" was voiced over, as Ashtiani speaks only Azeri.)

The report also contained purported statements by Ashtiani's son, Sajad Ghaderzadeh, and her lawyer, Houtan Kian, both of whom were arrested last month, and of the two German journalists who were trying to interview them.

1830 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The trial of detained attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh began this morning, with the lawyer facing charges of "acting against the national security of the country", "gathering information and collusion with the intent to disrupt the security of the country", and "working with human rights defenders".

Presiding Judge Pir Abassi delayed hearings to 24 November and said the conditions of Sotoudeh's incarceration will be reviewed.

Reza Khandan, Sotoudeh's husband, was banned from the proceedings; however, he met for a few minutes and said she was in good spirits.

Journalist Hengameh Shahidi has returned to prison and has reportedly begun a hunger strike.

Mohammad Ozlati Moghaddam, the head of the veterans' branch of Mir Hossein Mousavi's campaign, has been detained. Moghaddam was arrested on Wednesday returning from a meeting with fellow Iran-Iraq war veterans and Mousavi.

Shahidi was given a six-year sentence last December.

Peyke Iran claims 15 people have appeared in a court in Mashhad charged with acting against national security and propaganda against the regime.

1615 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch --- His Daughter Speaks. Another ingredient for the intriguing tale of the regime v. the Rafsanjani family....

Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani's daughter Faezeh Hashemi has offered a full and frank interview to the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.

Asked if the Green Movement is dead, Hashemi responded:

I do not think so! Protests, resentment and discontent continue and not only have they not diminished, but on the contrary have even become deeper, even though people have gone from the streets to their houses. This is because people are not allowed to massively express their dissatisfaction....It may appear that people have calmed down, but this is merely the façade for the greater pressures that they face.”

While that passage is striking, even it pales besides Hashemi's warning about the immediate contest between the regime and the Rafsanjanis: “Authorities view my father as a barrier to their goals. If they remove him, this will lead to an even faster destruction of the state."

Above all, there is this declaration: “A dictator does not allow other people to have a share in power or allow them to express themselves.”

La Vanguardia interprets this as "stern comments against the Islamic republic and the administration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad".

A knowledgeable EA correspondent goes farther, however: Faezeh Hashemi's "dictator" reference may also be considered in relation to an Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

1351 GMT: Khamenei the Balancer? Majid Mohammadi, speaking with Radio Farda, analyses that the Supreme Leader is trying to restore an equilibrium between conservative parties such as Motalefeh and the military hardliners around President Ahmadinejad.

1348 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist Morteza Kazemian has been sentenced to one year in prison.

1334 GMT: The Rafsanjani Dispute. It looks like the campaign to discredit former Presisdent Hashemi Rafsanjani (see 0650 GMT) is even causing rifts within the Ahmadinejad Government. Judiciary spokespersons have said that claims that the file of Rafsanjani's son Mehdi Hashemi is now being considered by a court are false and has called on media to publish the truth.

1330 GMT: Demonstration. Daneshjoo News carries a report and pictures of a protest at Ferdowsi University in Mashhad.

1140 GMT: Parliament v. President (Bank Edition --- cont.). I sense a conflict brewing: Mehr reports that the Guardian Council will reject Parliament's decision to establish the independence of the Central Bank from the Government.

1120 GMT: Subsidy Cuts and the Militia. Mehr reports that the Basij militia have met with the Ministry of Commerce over the implementation of subsidy reforms.

1100 GMT: Parliament v. President (Bank Edition). The Majlis has voted to ensure the independence of the Central Bank of Iran from the Government.Pro-Government media have been sharply attacking leading MP Mohammad Reza Bahonar, who led the push against Presidential control of the bank.

1055 GMT: We Can All Be Friends Again? It seems one website is finally off the regime's "sedition" list: after 18 months, FriendFeed has been unblocked.

0810 GMT: Today's Sedition Update. Press TV puts out the reassurance from Deputy Commander of the Revolutionary Guard Yadollah Javani:

The American currents trying to bring to power a secular system in Iran have failed...."Today, good and evil are pit against one another and what has made the situation all the more significant is the growing power of the good front led by the Islamic Republic [of Iran] and the evil front's fear of collapse.

Javani revealed that the White House has a five-phase strategy --- which, of course, will fail --- dialogue and diplomacy, triggering chaos and instability in the country, sanctions, soft war, and finally the threat of military action.

So in Javani's analysis, even though the US will fail, the Islamic Republic must continue its vigilant suppression of sedition: "The enemies of the Islamic Republic [of Iran] have come to the conclusion that a strong opposition [front] should be formed inside the country...so that it will be powerful enough to challenge the Islamic Republic."

0805 GMT: Human Rights Watch. Mohammad Javad Larijani, Iran's chief judiciary official for human rights, has declared in New York:

Human rights and related bodies should not turn into a field for certain Western countries to take political advantage of the issue and exert pressure on other states. Western countries have a very negative stance on adopting a fair and undiscriminating approach to investigating human rights of certain countries. This originates from self-centeredness of some of these countries and their humiliating view of others.

0800 GMT: Ahmadinejad's Manoeuvre. Rah-e-Sabz, paralleling our report last night, summarises the President's meeting with Parliament. The headline point is Ahmadinejad's declaration that the implementation of subsidy cuts is imminent.

0725 GMT: Karroubi Defends "Proper" Clerics and the People. Mehdi Karroubi has made a political move by taking on Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, and his Friday Prayer last week in Tehran.

Jannati had criticised Iran's judiciary for allowing bail to political prisoners. Karroubi responded:

You accuse these people (the political prisoners) of sedition. They call you seditious because of what you say and the sedition that you are creating. You should be responsive for your actions.

We have posted the full English translation of Karroubi's remarks.

0650 GMT: The scheming within the regime continues. Some Iranian media are banging the drum against the family of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, not only declaring his son Mehdi Hashemi off-limits but calling for his arrest and prosecution if he dares return to Tehran. The tactic is an un-subtle part of the campaign to curb Rafsanjani's influence and even remove him from Iran's political institutions.

A key conservative, Habiballah Asgaroladi, has hit back. While making clear where his loyalties are, criticising political figures who did not obey the Supreme Leader and accept the legitimacy of the 2009 election, Asgoraladi defended Rafsanjani, as head of the Expediency Council. 

Asgoraladi said Rafsanjani was a political cleric and had always acted on the guidelines of Ayatollah Khamenei and the late Imam Khomeini; however, "certain figures seek to undermine his reputation and cast doubt on his performance".

Meanwhile, Rafsanjani's brother Mohammad Hashemi, a member of the Expediency Council, has made the provocative intervention that reformist groups have not lost their popularity.

Hashemi, in a far-from-subtle political play, said there are three major political groups: "reformists, principlists, and moderate loyalists who are followers of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani".