The Latest from Iran (14 September): Presidential Aide Mortazavi to Stand Trial

2005 GMT: Economy Watch. MP Ahmad Hamidi says wheat growers in Isfahan province, who distributed their harvest 1 1/2 months ago, still have not been paid by the government. 

2000 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Lecturer Ahmad Ghabel has been re-arrested after his recent claims about mass executions in Mashhad Prison.

1955 GMT: To Lose One Diplomat is Unfortunate, To Lose Four.... Hossein Sobhaninia, a pro-Government member of Parliament's National Security Council, has delcared that more caution is needed in the choice of Iran's diplomats as they will most likely be subject to manipulation by foreign intelligence services.

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The Latest from Iran (13 September): The Revolving Door of Freedom?

2020 GMT: Latest on US Detainee Sarah Shourd. Masoud Shafiee, the lawyer for detained US citizen Sarah Shourd, says that her family is appealing to Iran's authorities to drop or reduce. the $500,000 bail demanded for her release because of difficulties raising the money.

Shafiee said authorities had given no response to the bail request.

Meanwhile, State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley said, "The United States government does not fund prisoner bail."

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the Obama Administration is in close contact with the families of the three detained US hikers --- Shourd, Shane Bauer, and Josh Fattal --- and the Swiss Embassy, which represents American interests in Iran.

"The situation is continuing to develop," Vietor said. "We remain hopeful for a positive outcome."

Shafiee said authorities had given no response to the bail request.

2000 GMT: Diplomat Number Four. The Norwegian paper Dagblodet reports that Farzad Farhangian, the Iranian Press Attache in Belgium, has resigned his post and is now in Oslo seeking asylum.

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Iran Archive: Latest on Detained US Hiker Sarah Shourd (11 September)

UPDATED 1510 GMT: Masoud Shafii, the lawyer for the US detainees Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer, and Josh Fattal, has said he is upset at the delay in Shourd’s release, declaring that her family’s emotions are “being abused”.

Shafii said, “Put yourself in her mother’s shoes. It’s been more than year and she has no idea why her daughter was arrested and what will happen to her.”

The lawyer continued, “There’s obviously a difference of opinion as to what to do within the government. Legally the prosecutor has the final say in this matter, but I ask you, has anything about their arrests and treatment been legal so far?”

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UPDATED Iran Exclusive: Rafsanjani Meets with Larijanis to Discuss Moves Against President

EA sources offer further information about the manoeuvres of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani. 

Two weeks ago Rafsanjani had separate meetings with Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani. In the latter meeting, the following topics were discussed....

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Iran Breaking: Latest on Detained US Hiker Sarah Shourd

UPDATED 1525 GMT: The pro-Ahmadinejad Islamic Republic News Agency, on its English-language site, is now reporting the Tehran Prosecutor's announcement that Sarah Shourd will be released on $500,000 bail, even though "the documents about three American spies indicated that they were not on an excursion in Iran". 

Interestingly, IRNA's Persian-language site still has no reference to the development.

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The Latest from Iran (12 September): Activist Nazar Ahari Freed

2240 GMT: Picture of the Day. Activist Shiva Nazar Ahari leaving Evin Prison tonight after she was freed on $500,000 bail. Nazar Ahari had been in detention since July 2009.

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Iran Analysis: Khamenei v. Ahmadinejad? (Sahimi)

In a lengthy article in Tehran Bureau covering events from summer 2009 to the present, Muhammad Sahimi puts forward a picture of a developing contest between the Supreme Leader and President Ahmadinejad and concludes, The struggle and the gaping fissures that have emerged among the conservatives led by Khamenei, on the one hand, and Ahmadinejad and (presumably) the Guard hardliners, on the other, will bring their eventual downfall. This prospect is magnified by the administration's utter incompetence and corruption." I differ from the analysis on the key point of the Supreme Leader leading a conservative blog against the President and the Revolutionary Guard --- my assessment is more that Khamenei is manoeuvring between contending factions, trying to hold them together --- and I think the portrayal of the politics, especially the nuclear talks with the "West", is incomplete. However, this is a wide-ranging review of the tensions EA has been noting for more than a year....

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The Latest from Iran (11 September): Political Prisoners and Defiance

1530 GMT: Economy Watch. Iran has banned the import of 20 food products, including wheat, rice, and beef. The Government has been under heated criticism for sharp rises in agricultural imports, allegedly putting local producers out of business. The issue has been prominent in the campaign for impeachment of Minister of Agriculture Sadegh Khalilian.

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