The Latest from Iran (5 November): Questioning Ahmadinejad

2112 GMT: Zionist Conspiracy Theory of Day. Press TV has discovered the reason why the satellite provider Eutelsat removed 19 Iranian TV channels last month:

A US intelligence analyst says the French-based satellite provider Eutelsat SA is run by an Israeli citizen and is a company long dictated to by Israeli extremist groups, Press TV reports.

“Eutelsat is a person, not a company. Eutelsat says it is European, but it is actually Israeli. French sounding ‘Michel de Rosen’ runs Eutelsat, an Israeli citizen, company with Israeli stockholders, a company long dictated to by extremist groups within Israel, the militant ultra-nationalists of the Likudist regime of Netanyahu,” Gordon Duff told Press TV.

He described the company as one of the Israeli-owned “chokepoints” which are created to “make sure all communication, all progress, all privacy is subject to what is allowed.”

“When Eutelsat chose to choke off Iran and end free speech in Europe, many spoke up but none pointed a finger at Israel and their desire to paint Iran with a ‘black brush’, Duff said slamming European countries for their silence over the ban on the broadcast of Iranian satellite channels in Europe.

In fact, Michel de Rosen is a French citizen, having held several positions with the French Government before moving into the private sector.

2005 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Back from an extended break to find the definitive answer, from Kazem Jalali of Parliament's National Security Committee, for international sanctions on Tehran --- they are all because of the economic problems of the "West": "By imposing further sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, countries such as the US, Britain and France seek to divert the public opinion of their people."

1325 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Fars claims that former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has met his imprisoned son Mehdi Hashemi, who has been transferred to hospital with a heart condition.

Mehdi Hashemi was arrested in September when he returned to Iran after more than three years in exile in Britain. He has been accused by regime officials of financial and electoral manipulation.

1255 GMT: Economy Watch. More bad news for the Government, according to Amir Paivar, "Iran to face a 33% budget deficit in fiscal year 2011/12 due to sanctions, says head of Parliamentary budget committee."

Paivar also reports that the efforts to strengthen the Rial (see 0827 GMT) have had some effect on the open market, raising it to 30000:1 vs. the US dollar, although the "amount of trade is very low".

1235 GMT: Oil Watch. The Iranian Offshore Oil Company plans to ink a deal worth $1.2 billion with domestic contractors to develop the Soroush oilfield, according to Managing Director Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh.

1200 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. The Freedom Party secretary general, Majid Mohtashami, has said that members of the Reformist Front will hold a meeting with the Expediency Council Chairman Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani today on the presidential election.

According to Mehr News, Mohtashami also claimed that the Front has “decided to endorse former president Mohammad Khatami as their presidential candidate or field only one candidate in the case that Khatami refuses to run for the post".

1015 GMT: Navy Watch. In an effort to reiterate its authority over the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian navy has inaugurated a new base near the southern port of Bandar-e Lengeh.

0827 GMT: Currency Watch. The Government has insisted that it will return Iran to a single official exchange rate, after a fall of more than 70% in the value of the Rial led to multiple rates.

The official rate remains at 12260 Rials to the US dollar, set early this year, but the Rial fell on the open market to close to 40000:1 in September when the Government intervened, shutting down news of the open-market rate and threatening "illegal" vendors with arrest.

At the same time, the Central Bank set up a "trade room", where importers of some goods could get access to foreign currency at a rate discounted versus that in official exchange offices. That rate is 25100:1 today.

Critics have claimed that only some preferred customers have been able to get access to the trade room, while movement of dollars and other foreign currencies has been curbed sharply because of the restrictions on the open market.

0817 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. The Government's response to the Parliamentary pressure on the President? A brief statement that the Cabinet met on Sunday to "review the country's most important administrative issues."

0722 GMT: War Watch. An Israeli TV programme, broadcast today, will claim that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave orders for the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities,but were blocked by the head of the Israel Defense Force and the Mossad intelligence service.

At the end of a meeting of seven senior government ministers in 2010, attended by IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi Ashkenazi and former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, Netanyahu gave an order to raise the level of preparation of Israel's security apparatus to "P Plus" --- preparation for a military strike.

According to the programme, Dagan told Netanyahu and Barak: "You are likely to make an illegal decision to go to war. Only the cabinet is authorised to decide this." Ashkenazi said the IDF was not ready and that he did not have the operational capacity to carry out the order.

0720 GMT: Economy Watch. Opposition site Kalemeh highlights one of the issues behind the effort to question President Ahmadinejad in Parliament, claiming a 10-fold increase in imports of wheat as the Government fails to buy the output of domestic producers.

0640 GMT: Sunday's political news broke suddenly with the announcement that Parliament is again considering the questioning of President Ahmadinejad over economic and currency issues.

Last month, an effort backed by 102 MPs to interrogate the President was blocked, with leading politicians --- including those linked to the Supreme Leader's office --- expressing opposition. However, on Sunday, a petition signed by 77 MPs was presented in the Majlis. The reason for the sudden change in Parliament's consideration of the motion is unclear: perhaps it is linked to Ahmadinejad's public clash with the head of judiciary last week, perhaps not.

In any case, the "interrogation" is not that serious at this point. If the Majlis agrees to the petition, Ahmadinejad has a month to answer questions, which include challenges to the Government's policies and actions over the currency crisis, imports, and domestic production. Then, if the President refuses to co-operate or if his answers are deemed unsatisfactory, moves may be taken leading to Ahmadinejad's impeachment.

Given that there are only eight months before the 2013 Presidential election and Ahmadinejad's departure from office, that is a closing window for action. Instead, any Parliamentary pressure should be seen more as an effort to ensure that Ahmadinejad and his allies are curbed in their attempts to claim future authority and influence.