The Latest from Iran (7 October): Preparing for the Next Election

1930 GMT: Bank Fraud Watch. Is this an easing of the political situation over the $2.6 billion bank fraud? Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi has said that there is no evidence linking the "deviant current" --- the label for the advisors around President Ahmadinejad --- to the embezzlement.

1900 GMT: All the President's Men (Nip-and-Tuck Edition). I'm not sure if this is news, but it is definitely testimony to the sniping inside the Iranian establishment.

Fars claims that the President's right-hand man, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, undergoing treatment for cornea dryness, has also had cosmetic surgery to lift his eyelids.

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Iran Snapshot: Another Grand Ayatollah Launches Major Criticism of Government

In the post-election conflict, this could be a significant statement. Grand Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili declared yesterday: "It is regrettable and sad, however, that what is done by some in the name of defending Islam and Islamic government is against the religion, the law, morality, and human rights, and threatens the spirit of justice, search for the truth, and freedom that must be the basis for any government that is based on Islamic teachings."

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