The Latest from Iran (28 December): One Execution Delayed but Two Carried Out

2230 GMT: A Cleric and the Law. Ayatollah Vahid Khorassani has said that the confessions of those in prison are worth nothing.

2220 GMT: Subsidy Cuts, Fuel, and Ahmadinejad. A correspondent from Tehran summarises official statistics that show consumption of diesel fuel, gasoline, fuel oil, and kerosene has dropped 38% since the start of subsidy cuts on 19 December.

Consumption of diesel fuel initially fell 73% but has risen again, thank in parts to the government's partial restitution of subsidies for fuel for transportation.

President Ahmadinejad, speaking in Karaj on Tuesday, declared, "I announce with pride that in the past ten days, since the implementation of this law, we have been witness to a 38 percent drop in consumption just in the diesel fuel and heating oil sector."

1545 GMT: A New Holiday? The opposition site Rooz Online claims that 9 Dey (30 December) has been declared "youm-ollah" (God's Day), with a widespread propaganda effort by Basij and Revolutionary Guard organisations.

On 30 December last year, the regime mobilised supporters to counter the widespread protests three days earlier on the religious day of Ashura.

1540 GMT: Subsidy Cuts Watch. More warnings of the effects of rising prices caused by subsidy cuts....

An MP, Naqavi-Hosseini, has asserted that greenhouses will perish due to high gas oil prices. Another MP, Kamalian, has claimed that unless the Government gives cheap fuel to construction firms, there will be an adverse effect on the housing market.

1535 GMT: Today's Execution. Footage has been posted of Ali Saremi's speech in 2007 in Khavaran Cemetery at the grave of some of those killed in mass executions in 1988. Activists claim that this led to Saremi's arrest on charges of mohareb (war against God) and membership in the "terrorist" Mujahedin-e-Khalq.

1525 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (Execution Edition). It is reported that the father and two sisters of condemned Habibollah Latifi have been released from detention. There is no word on the other five relatives and friends arrested on Sunday night.

1515 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. After much confusion on Monday, two detained German journalists, Marcus Hellwig and Jens Koch, were finally allowed to see their families in Tabriz in the evening.

Hellwig and Koch, who work for the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, were arrested in October as they interviewed and photographed the son and lawyer of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, condemned to death for adultery and complicity in murder.

Semnan University postgraduate student Meghdad Asgharpour has been sentenced to four months in prison, with eight months suspended, and 74 lashes.

Kurdish student activist Dalir Eskandari has been arrested in Sanandaj.

1310 GMT: Clerical Intervention. Ayatollah Dastgheib has declared that no cleric "would sanction this regime" as it is neither Islamic nor a Republic.

1305 GMT: Subsidy Cuts Watch. A bit of trouble brewing for the Government: in a closed-door session, legislators have criticised the Ministry of Economy for "rash" subsidy cuts, with people storming banks for money and belated support payments for truckers who protested the rise in cost of diesel fuel.

1225 GMT: You Make the Call. Claimed photographs of mass crowds for President Ahmadinejad in Karaj today.

1137 GMT: Today's Executions. The International Campaign for Human Rights adds details on this morning's hangings of Ali Saremi and Ali Akbar Syadat.

The ICHRI claims, from "a reliable source who is familiar with the case", that the reason for Saremi's final arrest was participation in a ceremony at Khavaran Cemetery, where the bodies of some of those killed in mass executions in 1988 are buried. He later traveled to Najaf, Iraq, to visit his son in Camp Ashraf, which is for members of the "terrorist" Mujahedin-e-Khalq.

The website also makes a political connections. Saremi was one of those sentenced to death just after the December 2009 demonstrations on the religious day of Ashura. Activists claimed at the time that the sentences were handed down to intimidate dissidents.

ICHRI also interviews Saremi's daughter Zeinab. She said Iranian authorities had not informed the family of her father’s impending execution.

When the family learned of the hanging through Saremi’s cellmates they rushed to Evin Prison. Zeinab Saremi said security forces arrested her mother and sister and several of their friends.

1133 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? President Ahmadinejad spoke in Karaj today about the forthcoming nuclear talks in Istanbul with the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China, Germany).

Ahmadinejad said sanctions were not working to limit Iran, as Tehran was already a nuclear power. He called on Western powers to co-operate rather than trying to exert pressure.

1130 GMT: Setting a Precedent? Alef News is noting charges of political corruption being brought against the former leaders of Ukraine.

1125 GMT: Claim of the Day. Kayhan has a novel explanation for yesterday's raid on the office of Mehdi Karroubi, in which property --- despite the supposed "protection" of the premises, closed by authorities in September 2009 --- was seized.

According to the newspaper, Karroubi was illegally hoarding six tons of rice and cooking oil.

1110 GMT: The Reformist Agenda. Former President Mohammad Khatami has set out a series of demands before participation in future elections: freedom for all political prisoners, observation of the Constitution, and freedom in the campaign and balloting.

1100 GMT: Corruption Watch. MPs have rebuffed an attempt by Elyas Naderan for a vote to investigate 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi over an audit court case in a previous Parliament.

Naderan claimed that Rahimi, as head of the audit office in the 7th Majlis, had made false charges against others.

Rahimi is already facing possible charges in court over involvement in an insurance fraud.

0900 GMT: Execution Watch. A source clarifies the news about Reza Sharifi Boukani, whom some activists were claiming might be at danger of execution (see 0810 GMT).

Boukani was taken to court on Sunday to face new charges of complicity with a Kurdish opposition group. However, there was no sentencing, and Boukani was returned to Rajai Shahr Prison.

0820 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (Execution Edition). Activists report that the family of Ali Saremi, who was hung this morning, have been arrested as they waited outside Evin Prison.

0810 GMT: Execution Watch. Some activists are warning that, after this morning's hangings of Ali Saremi and Ali Akbar Syadat, the next detainee to be killed will be Reza Sharifi Boukani.

Boukani was arrested in May. On Sunday, he was verbally charged with giving orders to plant bombs in a mosque. Yesterday, he was moved along with Saremi from Rajai Shahr Prison to an undisclosed location.

0800 GMT: Good News for Students. Examinations for pupils in Karaj and Alborz Provinces have been postponed.

The reason? President Ahmadinejad is visiting.

0755 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Dorsa Sobhani has been given a one-year sentence for membership in the Baha'i sect, membership in the One Million Signatures Campaign for women's rights, and “participation in human rights activities”.

0745 GMT: Today's Executions. Press TV has now posted an English translation of the official account from IRNA.

Ali Saremi, alleged to be a member of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO), was hanged for being a mohareb (an enemy of God) and spreading propaganda against the Islamic establishment. He was last arrested in 2007, with security forces allegedly taking MKO material from his house.

Ali Akbar Siyadat was executed on claimed that he spied for Israel since 2004, receiving $60,000 dollars for the information. Iranian authorities claim that, before his arrest in 2008, Saremi gave information about a military base, training, aircraft, and flights to "enemies".

0630 GMT: Execution MediaFail. The Associated Press report on this morning's executions is racing around Western media.

Only one problem: the AP have only noticed the execution of Ali Akbar Syadat, "an Iranian man convicted of spying for the country's archenemy Israel". There is no mention of the executed Ali Saremi.

0625 GMT: A Regime Celebration. Meanwhile Iranian officials are rolling out a campaign to portray the forthcoming anniversary of the "victory over sedition".

On 30 December 2009, three days after the opposition demonstrations on the religious day of Ashura, the regime mobilised a mass show of support, using the pretext that opposition protestors had burned and defaced images of Ayatollah Khomeini.

Fars --- which has yet to note this morning's executions --- leads with the statement of Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani on the "timely, symbolic, and decisive" response to the Ashura marches.

0610 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rah-e-Sabz has more on yesterday's arrest of Ali Maghami, the son-in-law of journalist Emaduddin Baghi.

Baghi was given a 7-year sentence in September.

Radio Zameneh provides information on Sunday's release of three detainees --- cartoonist Hadi Heydari, Mohammad Shafii, and Alireza Taheri --- who were arrested a week ago.

Fatemeh Arabsorkhi, who was detained at the same time, is still in custody. She is the daughter of the prominent reformist Feizollah Arabsorkhi, who is serving a six-year sentence for activities against national security and propaganda against the regime.

Adel Mohammad Hosseini, another member of the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front, was arrested yesterday.

0550 GMT: Iranian authorities may have been forced to delay the execution of Kurdish detainee Habibollah Latifi on Sunday morning, but they saw no such obstacles this morning. They quickly despatched Ali Saremi, a 62-year-old prisoner, and Ali Akbar Syadat.

The latest case against Saremi, who spent 23 years behind bars, built on his meeting a few years ago with his son at Camp Ashraf in Iraq. Most of the residents at Ashraf are members of the banned People's Mojahedin of Iran, whose paramilitary wing MKO has carried out assassinations, bombings, and other acts of violence since 1979.

The official line in Iranian state media is that Karimi was a "terrorist" and "subversive" and Syadat was an "Israeli spy". Over the weekend, amidst the growing controversy about Latifi, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi had announced that Iran would soon hang a detainee convicted of espionage for Israel.

Meanwhile, reports claim that some family members of Latifi have been released from detention this morning. Eight relatives --- Latifi's father, three brothers, three of his four sisters, and his sister-in-law --- were seized in a raid on Sunday night.