The Latest from Iran (25 March): Remembering the Victims

1805 GMT: Press Watch. Kamran Najafzadeh, a journalist with state broadcaster IRIB, has been expelled from France. The reason for the expulsion is unknown.

1545 GMT: Tehran Friday Prayers Update. Ayatollah Seddiqi courting controversy in today's Friday Prayer, as he called on Iranian officials and people to try their best and lay the foundation for the country's economic prosperity.

Seddiqi carried out the risky strategy of using exactly the same language deployed by the Supreme Leader on Monday, declaring that the success of "economic jihad" would help solve problems such as addiction and unemployment. He explained that economic hihad is a form of all-out war with the enemy which requires the possession of qualities such as a jihadi spirit and faith as well as the unity of the people with officials and officials with one another.

Seddiqi also revealed that Iran was way better than any other country: “The only miracle of the West was industrial development and progress. This is while presently there is a country like [the] Islamic [Republic of] Iran which possesses science and technology, and also presents its science and technology in a spiritual form."

1345 GMT: Human Rights Watch. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Parliament's National Security Commission, has said the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on Iran, appointing a Special Rapporteur to investigate the human rights situation, has "no value".

Boroujerdi said the Islamic Republic's record on human rights is "quite good".

0710 GMT: Shutting Down the Opposition. Rah-e-Sabz reports that reformists in the Islamic Iran Participation Front and Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution were summoned last week and told to refrain from political activities.

Many reformists, such as Mostafa Tajzadeh (see 0600 GMT) have been detained since the 2009 Presidential election, and the two parties have been banned by Iranian authorities.

0705 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. In a message for Iranian New Year, political prisoners in Ward 350 of Evin Prison have declared, "We don't sacrifice our beliefs to see the spring."

Many prisoners were denied furlough for New Year. In some cases, this was reportedly because they would not retract criticisms of the regime.

0702 GMT: Human Rights Watch. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has denounced the decision by the United Human Rights Council to appoint a Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran: "The passage of the anti-Iranian resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Council cannot be justified. It is politically motivated and it was approved under U.S. pressure."

Mehmanparast, speaking on State TV, continued, "The objective behind this resolution was to pressure the Islamic Republic of Iran and...divert attention from human rights abuses in the West, specifically in the U.S."

0700 GMT: Remembering the Victims. Services will be held this afternoon at Behesht Zahra for Mohammad Mokhtari.

It is the 40th day since Mokhtari was killed during the protests of 14 February.

0645 GMT: International Front. Gabriel Elizondo offers a provocative analysis, "Brazil's Slow Break with Iran". Elizondo notes the difference in approach between former President Lulu Ignacio da Silva and his successor, Dima Roussef, and brings out this little-noticed development: "In the surest sign yet of a new Brazilian posture vis-à-vis Iran, Brazil voted on Thursday in the UN Human Rights Council to authorise a resolution for a special rapporteur to investigate possible human rights abuses in Iran."

0600 GMT: A new Persian-language website, Sorkh-e Sabz, for news and tributes to the victims of post-election violence has been established. Initial stories include a memorial to Kianoosh Asa, a university student killed in June 2009, Amir Javedifar, who died in detention soon after the Presidential election, and Mohammad Mokhtari and Sanee Zhaleh, who were slain during protests last month.

Meanwhile....

Political Prisoner Watch

After months-long ban on visits, detained reformist politician Mostafa Tajzadeh finally saw one of his daughters on Tuesday.

Arefeh Tajzadeh, another daughter, said Tajzadeh --- who refused to request visits or furlough "since he doesn’t consider the process and rulings in his case legal" --- has been fasting as he is kept in the Quarantine Ward. 

Tajzadeh's daughter also saw her mother, activist Fakhrosaadat Mohtashamipour, who was arrested during protests on 1 March. Mostafa Tajzadeh only found out about his wife's detention during Tuesday's visit..

Tajzadeh is a leading reformist figure, prominent in the Islamic Participation Front and Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution. A former Deputy Minister of Interior, he was arrested the day after the 2009 Presidential election. He was held nine months, four in solitary confinement, and was re-arrested in 2010 when he persisted in criticism of the regime and the "election coup".

Revolutionary Guard Watch

Commander Mohammadreza Yazdi, deputy head of legal affairs for the Islamic Revoutionary Guards Corps, has declared that the economic activities of the Guards are carried out according to the Supreme Leader's orders and there are no ambiguities in them.

Yazdi insisted that the Guards’ financial management and investments are the outcome of a plan of action put in place by Ayatollah Khamenei, and he insisted that the entire organization is completely transparent: “So far no supervisory board nor even the opposition has requested an inspection of the economic activities of the Revolutionary Guards.”

Yazdi did admit that some “enemies as well as friends” have questioned the Guards’ finances.

In recent years, the IRGC has expanded its economic interests and operations inside and beyond Iran, for example, buying up companies in Iran's privatisation drive --- including the State telecommunications firms --- and claiming large engineering and energy projects.