Mohemedi, who studies at Manila Medical School in the Philippines was arrested at an airport in Tehran and imprisoned on 23 November, accused of incitement of propaganda against the regime.
1730 GMT: Currency Watch. A senior Central Bank of Iran official has denied the rumour (see 1558 GMT) that Bank head Mahmoud Bahmani has resigned amidst the currency crisis and other economic problems.
"Mr Bahmani will remain firmly in his job and whoever has published this false report has made a mistake," Deputy Governor Ebrahim Darvishi said.
2145 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Turkish Front). Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has made an unexpected trip to Tehran today, briefly meeting his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi.
No details of the discussion or of the agenda were given in Mehr, which said only that Davutoğlu would be meeting Iranian officials tomorrow.
2045 GMT: Currency Watch. Amidst the currency crisis, the Central Bank has ordered a decrease in the amount that can be exchanged under a preferential "traveller's rate" from $2000 to $1000.
Under the "traveller's rate" of about 13000:1, the Iranian rial is weaker than the official rate of 11800:1 but still stronger than the open market rate of 15700:1, thus enabling Iranians going abroad to get more US dollars or foreign equivalents for their Iranian currency. Iranians can carry out the transaction once a year.
Iran Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi & Saudi Crown Prince Nayef1541 GMT: Economy Watch. A member of Iran's Development Commission has a solution for economic difficulties: rely on the investments of Iranians living abroad.
1531 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Yaghoub Maleki, a member of Mir Hossein Mousavi's campaign staff, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
1321 GMT: All-is-Well Alert. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the head of the Basij militia, has claimed that more than 20,000 people, given the proper "guidance", have repented for the errors of their protests after the 2009 Presidential election.
1855 GMT: Elections Watch. Ali Mohammad Gharibani, the head of the Coordination Council of the Reformist Front, has said that, that in the “absence of any possibility for the reformists to inform and campaign,” the reformists will not present a list of candidates or endorse any candidates in March's Parliamentary elections.
The council's announcement asserted, "After months of anticipation and struggle to open the political arena to fair elections and to provide a transparent election process, the situation is in effect becoming more and more restrictive.”
In addition to the standard vetting of candidates by the Guardian Council, the regime has suspended and suppressed major reformist groups such as the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, and Etemade Melli.
2125 GMT: Josh Shahryar has done a great job wrapping up our Egypt coverage in the previous update, and we'll close the blog looking forward. By tomorrow, we should see the fuller results, and we'll watch as the nation, and the political parties, react. Suffice it to say, the Islamists did quite well, though with no single party likely to hold a majority, we'll most likely be looking at a coalition government. Then Egypt will have to learn the first lesson of Democracy - how to govern when not everyone agrees.
In Syria, we started by looking to Turkey, as new sanctions were announced today, but the big stories were closer to home. With tanks storming Dael, a mass-shooting in Idlib, and large student demonstrations in Aleppo, today was just another sign that this conflict is hardly isolated to Homs and Hama. Assad's problems are everywhere.
Which brings up the next point. Idlib has not seen violence like this in many weeks, though protests have steadily been growing there. Dael had zero military presence at the start of the day, and the army had to deploy dozens of tanks, armored vehicles, buses, and perhaps as many as 1000 soldiers to the city in order to commence a new crackdown. Aleppo, once untouchable, has seen protests of some sort nearly every day for the last week. Assad has problems, but he does not have forces everywhere he has problems, and even where he thinks he does not have problems he has problems.
As evidence of this, the LCCS has posted this video, reportedly showing the military bombardment of Rankous, north of Damascus. Two weeks ago we did not know where this town was, but since then we've seen an increased presence of protests, and now several days of bombardment:
And we've seen yet another crack in Assad's armor, as a large army unit defected today in Idlib. So even within Assad's forces, his trusted solution, he still has problems.
2039 GMT: But for all the reports of violence, we've received 10 reports of protests. This video shows a cute little girl leading an evening protest in the Qarabis district of Homs:
This crowd chants anti-regime protests in Jiza, Daraa:
Syrian security forces bust a "terrorist gang" in the central province of Homs, killing 16 of its members, arresting dozens and seizing large quantities of arms, state television said on Friday.
The operation was carried out in the town of Rastan in Homs, one of the main hubs of protest against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, the report said, without specifying when it was launched.
2123 GMT: According to the LCCS, 22 people have been killed today in Syria, including 4 children, 7 civilians in Daraa, 6 in Homs, 5 in Hama, 4 in people in the Damascus Suburbs (2 in Irbee, and 1 in Yabroud and Daraya.)
A YouTube video purportedly filmed on Friday in Homs shows protestors during an evening march with one demonstrator carrying a paper saying: “The people want support [to be offered to] the Free Syrian Army and Arab protection.”
Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, at a joint news conference with his visiting Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi, made a carefully-balanced statement: "We don't believe that Iran would be engaged in such an act, but America says they have evidence. Governments should be transparent on such issues. Those who make the claims should also be clear about their claims, and Iran should answer to that."
Davutoglu continued, "What needs to be done now is that all parties involved share what they have and clear the issue without giving way to a further increase in tensions. Turkey is ready to contribute if there is anything we can do to help relieve the tension."
Turkish media reported this week that the US sent official to Turkey to present evidence of the alleged plot. A US Embassy spokesman would not comment on the reports.
2010 GMT: An EA source in Bahrain reports blocked roads in many villages, some blocked by protesters to prevent police getting in, others blocked by police to prevent protesters getting out. The source continues, "There are clashes between protesters and police in many of the villages. On my round now I passed on at least seven protests/clashes."
Thousands came out for the rally, with most stages set up by leftist and revolutionary youth movements, chanting against the ruling Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and its head, Field-Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi: "Tell the truth! Will you nominate yourself for the Presidency?" demonstrators shouted in reference to SCAF chief Field-Marshal Hussein Tantawi. Many protesters wore shirts with stickers reading “No to SCAF” and carried signs bearing anti-SCAF slogans. One banner depicted a turtle, reflecting popular frustration with the slow pace of change during the post-Mubarak transitional period.
One bright spot amidst the disappoointment: Hollywood actor and political activist Sean Penn, waving an Egyptian flag, put in an appearance.
Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 16:49
1830 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Kurdish blogger and human rights activist Rojin Mohemedi was released from Evin Prison on Monday.
