Iran Live Coverage: "Our Enemies Are Within Our Houses, Mosques, Seminaries, and Schools"
Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 13:18See also Wednesday's Iran Live Coverage: "600 Journalists Work With the Enemy"
General Hassan Firouzabadi1958 GMT:Political Prisoner Watch (Journalist Edition). The doors of Iran's prisons continue to revolve, with more journalists released and detained today.
Mohammad Mehdi Imami Naseri and Alireza Aghaeirad, the editor-in-chief and political editor of the reformist daily Maghreb, have been freed after 24 hours in detention.
Khosrow Kordpour, the head of the Kurdish Moukerian News Agency, and Ghasem Ahmadi, editor-in-chief of Roje monthly, have been arrested.
1946 GMT:Political Prisoner Watch. Two Kurdish cultural activists and four labour activists have been arrested in Paveh and other cities in Iranian Kurdistan.
1746 GMT:Sedition Watch. Iran Prosecutor General Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei has intervened over the "new fitna [sedition]".
Unlike the head of armed forces Hassan Firouzabadi, who focused on the "enemy within" Iran's institutions (see 0620 GMT), Mohseni Ejei stuck to the safer line that the "enemy [abroad] imposed sanctions to cause rifts among officials and prevent the export of the Revolution"
Mohseni Ejei did refer to tensions within the regime, saying the Supreme Leader and the Iranian people are sad about some "bad behaviours" of officials. He also called for unity within the establishment over the position towards the US.
1740 GMT:The Battle Within. "Maverick" conservative MP Ali Motahari has hit out at elements within the regime, including the Supreme Leader.
Motahari said he is unhappy with the recent crackdown on the press, with detentions and banning of publications. He added that Ayatollah Khamenei should not intervene in all details of the system, for example, the conduct of elections such as the Presidential ballot in June.
Motahari continued, "Candidates don't need a permit from the Supreme Leader."
1519 GMT:Nuclear Watch. Joanna Paraszczuk, drawing from Iranian media, adds important details on the Supreme Leader's speech about nuclear talks with the 5+1 Powers (see 1409 GMT)....
1. Backing up his call to the West to prove its "honesty" in the next high-level meeting in April, Ayatollah Khamenei put out a message of Iran's ability to withstand US-led pressure:
The West sanctioned Iran at a time when it [the West] is suffering its own economic problems. The sanctions have exacerbated these. The West has no solution to its economic problems, but Iran has solutions to its economic difficulties....
The West hoped that by pressurising the people, they would go against the system, but what happened on 22 Bahman [10 February, the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution] went against that wish. Experts assessed that the people's presence on 22 Bahman compared to past years was greater, warmer, and livelier.
2. Backing up Iran's chief negotiator, Saeed Jalili, the Supreme Leader emphasised that the Islamic Republic's sovereignty to enrich uranium must be acknowledged:
Iran's enemies do not know Iran. The West's miscalculations have led them to make twisted offers, according to which the possibility of achieving 20% uranium was zero, and so Iran did not accept these proposals.
3. If the 5+1 Powers do not recognise this sovereignty, the Islamic Republic will proceed and progress:
With the issue of 20% uranium, Iran relied on its young professionals, who used their technical knowledge and skills to enrich uranium to 20% and turn it into fuel plates. So the pressure can be beneficial to Iran.
4. It is the US insistence on unilateral Iranian concessions with "Stop, Ship, and Shut" of its 20% enrichment programme that stands in the way of progress: "Americans wanted to create public opinion that Iran didn't want to accept a logical solution, but what happened in fact proved that the Americans were the irrational ones."
An additional note: Western media coverage of the Supreme Leader's statement as "condemning" or "slamming" the US and West does not consider the possibility that Ayatollah Khamenei might be responding to American declarations in the last 72 hours condemning and "slamming" Iran.
Yesterday, American and European representatives denounced Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency's meeting. Then there was this statement from the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice:
[Tehan's] actions, as well as Iran's continued enrichment and heavy-water related activities, are in clear violation of this [UN Security] Council's demands....These actions are unnecessary and thus provocative.
In recent months, we've witnessed troubling new violations of...sanctions....We have also observed more public statements acknowledging Iran's illicit arms smuggling.
1409 GMT:Nuclear Watch. The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has declared that the US and its European allies must prove their sincerity in forthcoming talks between Iran and the 5+1 Powers, scheduled for April: "To put the honesty [and sincerity] of the Western states to the test, we must wait until the next meeting."
Khamenei claimed that, during last week's talks in Kazakhstan, "The Western participants did nothing important which can be considered as giving concessions [to Iran], but they only owned up to a small part of the rights of the Iranian nation."
The Supreme Leader argued that the West is using the nuclear issue “as an excuse” to allow it to pursue sanctions against the regime in a futile effort to “pit the Iranian people against the Islamic establishment".
1335 GMT: All the President's Men. The Audit Office has declared that Presidential advisor Saeed Mortazavi can no longer act as head of Social Security Funds, for example, signing contracts.
The Ahmadinejad Goverenment has defied court orders since last year calling for Mortazavi to step down, because of claims over his responsibility for the abuse and killing of post-election protesters in summer 2009.
Last month Mortazavi finally went on trial over the allegations.
1331 GMT: Media Watch. Speaking at the Assembly of Experts, Presidential candidate Ali Fallahian --- quoting the head of IRIB, Ezzatollah Zarghami --- has said that the State broadcaster cannot pay staff this month.
1325 GMT: Trade Watch. Reuters posts a telling report about the effect of sanctions on Iranian trade, with exporters shifting to trade in Iranian currency --- if possible --- and barter to keep business alive:
As recently as two years ago the Dubai operations of Bank Melli, a major Iranian bank, handled 300 to 400 letters of credit per month, often for large-scale deals, said a source familiar with the operations.
Now Bank Melli issues just two or three letters of credit a month and often for nominal amounts; it has shed about half of its staff and its offices above Dubai’s busy Creek waterway are almost dormant, the source said. Repeated telephone calls to the bank’s offices seeking comment were not answered.
“We have problems sending money, we have problems shipping. They don’t accept an Iranian loading sheet,” said Amin, an Iranian trader in dried fruit and nuts who attended last week’s industry fair.
But the presence of the sizeable Iranian contingent at the fair --- there were more Iranian stands than at last year’s fair, and no room available for a further 32 firms which applied for one --- showed that a considerable amount of trade is continuing.
Amirhossein Zargarzadeh, another agricultural businessman from Iran, said he exported 10,000-12,000 tonnes of dates a year and that demand outstripped his ability to supply customers because of difficulties expanding his processing facilities.
He used to supply customers in the US but because of the sanctions now limits his business to the Middle East, collecting payment for what he can sell in Iranian rials through Bahrain and Dubai.
Barter deals have become common; Iranian exporters exchange their products for other goods which they send back to Iran and sell there. In some cases, the exporters obtain goods which the Iranian government has identified as most needed in the sanctions-hit economy, such as basic foods and medicine.
1315 GMT: Oil Watch. The private sector has sold no oil in the past two months, according to Hassan Khosrojerdi, head of the Iranian Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Association.
Khosrojerdi cited “managerial obstacles” inside the National Iranian Oil Company for the halt.
The association of Iranian oil-product exporters signed an agreement with the Central Bank and Ministry of Oil to ship as much as 500,000 barrels a day, Khosrojerdi said in July.
Meanwhile, Iran’s plan to issue $10 billion in bonds to raise money for energy projects is on hold for "at least months", according to the Mehr News Agency reported.
The bonds sales were included in the Government's proposed budget, presented to Parliament on 27 February.
0805 GMT: A Death in Detention. Human Rights Watch, highlighting the death in detention of blogger Sattar Behesti in November, has called on Iran’s judiciary to "conclude a speedy, independent, and transparent criminal investigation followed by prosecution of those believed responsible".
HRW also demanded that officials stop the harassment of Beheshti's family. It claims the blogger's mother and other family have been under close surveillance and have been told them not to speak to the media or international rights organisations.
Beheshti was seized at his home by cyber-police at the end of October and died during interrogation in Evin Prison the following week. Officials initially said he had died of natural causes but --- without saying he was killed by security forces --- later admitted that his body showed marks of being beaten in custody.
In the weeks after Beheshti's death, relatives were told to say nothing to media, and Beheshti's brother was briefly detained when he gave an interview. The warnings appear to have resumed last month.
Gohar Eshghi, Beheshti’s mother, told Human Rights Watch that an investigator from the Prosecutor’s office visited her for the first time at her home on 2 February. The investigator warned Eshghi against speaking to the media.
Eshghi accused officials of delaying tactics to avoid fulfilling the promise they have made to pursue he legal case.
0745 GMT: Foreign Affairs Watch (Venezuelan Front). Most of the Iranian regime and press have put out eulogies for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who died on Wednesday.
Tabnak, however, loudly breaks away from the "preoccupation" with Chavez and uses the occasion to criticise President Ahmadinejad:
Tabnak is linked to Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Expediency Council and declared candidate for the Presidential election in June.
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a Tehran Friday Prayer leader and member of the Assembly of Experts, also rebuked Ahmadinejad:
I say directly that he went too far with what he mentioned in his tribute. The President is well aware that such a tribute will provoke reactions in our religious institutes....He could have sent a diplomatic message with no religious connotations.
0735 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Contrasting messages from the "hard-line" press this morning....
The English-language site of Fars, linked to the Revolutionary Guards, is pessimistic:
A week after the high-profile talks between Iran and the six world powers in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the high hopes seen at the end of the negotiations are going dim due to the insistence of the US-led West on its dual-track policy of pressure and talks towards Iran.
Press TV, also in English, features comments by the head of armed forces, General Hassan Firouzabadi:
We have no plans for negotiations with the US and as long as this country is considered as the global arrogance, we will not hold talks with it.
Whenever the US abandons the hegemonic system and respects the rights of the Iranian nation and recognizes the rights of regional nations, based on mutual respect, we will start negotiations.
But Mashregh News, writing for the domestic audience, takes a different tack, calling for a resolution of the nuclear issue, and they have help from an unexpected source, with this quote and video from late February:
Harvard's Charles Freilich says the time is right for the United States to put a "grand bargain" on the table with Iran. He also explains that military action against Iran, from the United States or Israel, is unlikely.
0720 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Tehran has hit back at Yukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency chief, after he criticised Iran this week for not co-operating with the IAEA on an agreement for inspection and supervision of nuclear facilities.
Iran'a envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh said after Wednesday's meeting of the IAEA Board --- in which the Islamic Republic was harshly challenged by US and European representatives --- “The source of this problem is not Iran; [it] is the way the secretariat is managing this sort of remote-controlling negotiation which does not work."
Soltanieh said Amano had left the IAEA's high-level staff, who were in Tehran for inconclusive discussions in January and February, without “the full authority to negotiate and decide".
0650 GMT: "Sedition". Perhaps unsurprisingly, State outlet Press TV ignores the warning of the head of armed forces about "enemies within our houses, mosques, schools, and seminaries".
Instead, it prefers the message from General Hassan Firouzabadi to enemies farther away:
I"There are lines between us (Iran) and regional Arab countries which determine the economic interests [of countries] in the Persian Gulf.
If these demarcations, which are not maritime borders, are violated by the US, Saudi Arabia or anyone else, we will inform the Iranian nation and respond to the aggressor.
0620 GMT: "Sedition". Speaking at an event honoring female martyrs on Wednesday, the head of Iran's armed forces, General Hassan Firouzabadi, has focused on the sedition that may well be "initiated from within" amid June's Presidential election.
Such warnings are far from new. What was distinctive was Firouzabadi's identification of the enemy.
While the commander declared that the 2009 "sedition" --- the protests after the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad --- was supported by money and media from the US and Israel, his concern for this June was the enemy "within".
And by "within", Firouzabadi did not necessarily mean the Green Movement. Instead, he spoke of those whose sedition would come "under the banner of Velayat [the Iranian system of 'Guardianship' by the Supreme Leader], Justice, and Liberty".
In other words, the head of armed forces is worried about those who claim to be part of the Iranian establishment.
Firouzabadi did not name a specific group but declared, in a linkage of the threat inside and outside:
"The enemy threatens us from within and without. We should not think that America and Israel will act against us from the other side of Mount Ararat [in Turkey]. No --- this is not the case, because most of our enemies are within our houses, mosques, seminaries and schools.
Firouzabadi then effectively called for a crackdown on these groups inside the Iranian system:
There may be some officials in [Iran] who take a passive stance against international intimidation, superpowers, harsh sanctions and threats.
We must take an active stance against these elements. 7,000 female martyrs tell us that a comprehensive defense of Islamic Iran needs an active stance.
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