The Latest from Iran (20 October): "We Will Not Surrender"

A Basij militiaman cries, "Hit us, USA, Israel! We are ready for martyrdom!" (Cartoon: Maya Neyestani)

See also The Latest from Iran (19 October): "The Sanctions Will Hurt Europe"

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1549 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. The President has asked head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani for quick processing of a permit to visit Evin Prison, after Ahmadinejad's request for entry on 17 October was rejected.

Ahmadinejad reportedly is seeking to visit his senior aide Ali Akbar Javanfekr, in Evin since June after he was convicted of "insulting Islam" with a special edition of his newspaper Iran.

1440 GMT: Currency Watch. Mohammad Reza Najafimanesh, a senior official in manufacturing, has slammed the policies of the Central Bank's "trade room", which is supposed to provide foreign currency at a discount to importers.

Najafimanesh said there was a lack of foreign exchange for importers in certain groups and no currency for at least one group. He added that large deposits were necessary to carry out transactions.

The official criticised that Government promises of support were "a joke". He said production was already down 60% and predicted it would fall 80%.

Meanwhile, Central Bank head Mahmoud Bahmani has assured that all is well. He said that banks should accept customers' withdrawals of funds, and he assured that it was Bank policy to strengthen the Iranian Rial.

1435 GMT: Diversion Watch. Digarban summarises the media campaign to divert attention from the situation in Iran.

Keyhan, close to the Supreme Leader, posts numerous articles about the "crippling economic crisis in big European countries", with riots and protests. State news agency IRNA focuses on poverty in Switzerland and Austria. Raja News declares that, while people protest on the streets, the European Union's leaders feast at parties.

1426 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. It looks like the signals from the highest levels of the regime that President Ahmadinejad should not be interrogated by Parliament are yielding the desired result --- 14 of the 102 MPs who signed the petition have withdrawn their approval.

1422 GMT: Economy Watch. Leading MP Ahmad Tavakoli has proposed a renewal of the coupon system and rationing of goods amid the economic crisis.

1204 GMT: Currency Watch. Still no news of the Iranian currency on leading websites, but Baztab says the Rial has strengthened to 35000:1 vs. the US dollar after the Central Bank injected foreign money into the market.

The price of old gold coins remained around 14 million Rials, according to the site.

The Rial is still far weaker than the Central Bank's imposed "open market" rate of 28600:1, set earlier this month. Few official exchanges are selling US dollars at that level.

1200 GMT: All-Is-Well Alert. Ayatollah Alamolhoda, the Friday Prayer leader of Mashhad, has turned the "disgraceful ban" by Eutelsat on 19 Iranian State TV channels into a positive developemnt: "It makes the world even more thirsty for news from us."

1115 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Detained senior reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh has called for the Green Movement and the Tehran Bazaar to join forces in a growing social movement against the "devaluation of Iran's money, flag, and passports".

Tajzadeh, a former Deputy Minister of Interior, said most Iranians now recognise "economic welfare is impossible without social freedom". He claimed that the predictions of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Presidential candidate in 2009 and held under strict house arrest for 20 months, are "slowly coming true".

Tajazadeh also wrote about foreign affairs, comparing Syrian President Assad to deposed Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic and saying that "modern and traditional classes" must be united in opposition to war.

0945 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. The petition to interrogate the President, signed by 102 of Iran's 290 MPs, will be discussed in the Majlis on Sunday.

However, in a clear signal that the highest levels of the regime may block the questioning, Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani --- the head of the Assembly of Experts --- emphasised that the Supreme Leader is saying, "Calmness is necessary for the political sphere."

0925 GMT: Economy Watch. Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of the Expediency Council, has said that sanctions will continue for eight years. In a jab at the Government, he declared that politicians should stay away from economy and let economists deal with the situation.

0914 GMT: Oil Watch. More problems for Iranian oil exports, with trade sources reporting that its tanker fleet has been struggling to meet delivery schedules to China this autumn.

The National Iranian Tanker Company has had difficulties with shipments after a European Union insurance ban led to a decline in demand for oil --- as a result, the NITC has deployed more than half of its fleet to store oil.

One Chinese buyer said, "Almost every cargo was delayed, some were even delayed for 10 to 15 days."

0910 GMT: A Deadly Accident. Iranian media report that 26 students have been killed and 19 injured in a bus accident in southwestern Iran.

Police said the driver lost control as he was driving the bus at high speed in rainy weather.

0625 GMT: Media Watch. The opposition site Kalemeh claims an 18% surge in the price of five kilogrammes (11 pounds) of cooking fat. The site notes further rises in the cost of milk, cheese, and yoghurt, and cites inflation for sugar, plastic wrap, and shampoo.

0555 GMT: Media Watch. The head of State broadcaster IRIB, Ezzatollah Zarghami, has been summoned to court after a complaint by former political prisoner Mehdi Khazali.

Khazali, a physician and blogger repeatedly detained after the disputed 2009 Presidential election and sentenced to 14 years in prison, alleges that he has been libelled and that IRIB has displayed faked photographs.

0545 GMT: Amid the uncertainty and limited news of the economy and currency, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami indirectly pointed out that the situation was serious in his Tehran Friday Prayer, even as he tried to assure, "The Iranian nation has learned how to deal with problems and pressures. The enemy's efforts to undermine determination of Iranians are also doomed to fail."

Khatami's address was also notable for highlighting the campaign to ensure that the Supreme Leader maintained his support and did not take the blame for any crisis. The cleric spent much of the Prayer hailing Ayatollah Khamenei's week-long visit to northeastern Iran, with a series of speeches displaying his leadership of the brave campaign against the "West": 

The actual goal of those pursuing such a political propaganda formula is (making) the Iranian nation's surrender at the negotiation table. But, you are too small to bring the struggling, insightful and informed Iranian nation to its knees.