Iran Live Coverage: Banging the Drum Against the US

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- From Ahmadinejad in Egypt to "Tribal Voices" in Tehran
Friday's Iran Live Coverage: Supreme Leader to His Officials "Stop Your Temper Tantrums"

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2055 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Activists claim that dozens of Arab youths have been detained in Ahvaz.

One activist said more than 50 men were seized. Family members said they were in an unknown location.

1335 GMT: US-Iran Watch. The first half of this Al Jazeera English discussion on US-Iran relations and the nuclear issue is wasted, with a failure to get to grips with the context, motives, and significance of the Supreme Leader's speech on Thursday. However, there is some value in the second, with former Administration official John Limbert and analyst Ali Reza Eshraghi --- overcoming the pro-regime platitudes of Flynt Leverett --- offering some insight into the complexities hindering negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

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The Latest from Iran (17 July): "We Will March Past Sanctions" (Or Maybe Not.)

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society
The Latest from Iran (16 July): We Are Here for Your Security

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1942 GMT: Economy Watch. How significant is this critical article from Fars, linked to the Revolutionary Guards?

The site reports that some Iranians cannot afford essential food such as bread and cheese because of inflation and sanctions. Asking MPs to stop price rises, Fars warns of unrest in the Bazaar and the fear and disappointment of people.

And there is another voice admitting difficulties --- Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has said 20% of the country's economic problems are due to sanctions.

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The Latest From Iran (3 July): Beyond the Propaganda, Nuclear Talks in Istanbul Today

See also The Latest from Iran (2 July): Winners and Losers in the Economic Crisis

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1954 GMT: One Mistaken Story is Unfortunate, Two Is... (Egypt Edition). Last week, Fars carried a disputed headline story that it had interviewed new Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. The claim spiralled into an open fight with State news agency IRNA, which denounced Fars' fake conversation with Morsi.

Now Morsi's spokesman Yasser Ali has denied the report, carried in Fars and other Iranian media, that Morsi will visit Tehran in August and discuss bilateral relations with President Ahmadinejad.

The story was apparently based on a news report in Lebanese daily Al-Safir, which published Tuesday morning that Morsi planned to visit Iran to attend a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.

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The Latest from Iran (24 June): "We Can Destroy Anyone"

1515 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Syrian Front). Fars reports that State broadcaster IRIB will air an hour-long interview with Syrian President Assad on Thursday.

0945 GMT: Currency Watch. Why the nerves in the Iranian media over the economy (see 0750 GMT)? Here's one reason....

The Iranian Rial has fallen 5% this week, dropping to 19060:1 against the US dollar. That is its weakest level since the Central Bank and Government intervened this winter to halt a slide of almost 80%.

The official rate for the Rial is 12260:1 vs. the dollar.

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The Latest from Iran (26 May): Propaganda Watch

See also Iran Snap Analysis: Propaganda, Negotiations, and the Economic Ties That Bind
Friday's The Latest from Iran (25 May): On to The "Last Chance" Nuclear Talks in Moscow

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1605 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Laura Rozen adds valuable detail to our news and analysis of the nuclear talks in Baghdad. She describes how there nearly was no agreement to another meeting in Moscow --- some of the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, France, Germany, China, Russia) were pushing for a harder line than others on the language to be offered to the Iranians in a statement summarising Baghdad's discussions and looking to the future.

In the end, the European Union's Catherine Ashton, the lead negotiator for the 5+1, worked out a compromise text. In her press conference at the end of the meetings, she said, "Significant gaps remain" between Iran and the 5+1, but there was enough common ground for another round of talks.

Ashton reportedly used the Iraqi hosts and the Chinese and Russian delegations to ensure the acceptance of the Iranians, who proposed Astana in Kazakhstan, Beijing, or Moscow as the next venue.

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The Latest from Iran (11 December): Being Tough...To a Point

See also Iran Video: Authentic Footage of The Capture of the US Drone?
Iran Sunday Special: It's Another Caption Contest....
Iran Analysis: Will The European Union Ban Imports of Tehran's Oil?
The Latest from Iran (10 December): After the Drone Show

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1950 GMT: Drone Watch. Tonight's rhetoric comes from Mohammad Javad Larijani, a senior official at the judiciary, who says the violation of Iran's airspace by the US RQ-170 drone will bring legal action. Claiming US intervention in the affairs of other countries is usually accompanied by terrorist measures, Larijani said, "We believe respecting the rights of other nations is a necessity. Today's world will no longer accept US and Western leadership. Interfering in [internal] affairs of other countries is a dark habit of the US and [other] Western countries, and we (Iran) oppose all forms of intervention in the affairs of Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Syria and other countries."

Larijani took time to praise the Islamic Republic: “What has been done is important, but our abilities are higher than this and even if we had not captured the aircraft, our abilities in this area would have been still stunning.”

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The Latest from Iran (28 November): The Bank Fraud Expands

The celebration that led to lengthy suspension for two members of Iran's national football team (see 0835 GMT)

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2148 GMT: Explosion Watch. An EA correspondent does some checking on the claimed location of today's blast in Isfahan (see 2020 GMT). Not only is it near the Military Academy, but it is just to the east of Darvazeh Shiraz (Shiraz city gate) is the Sepah Badr airbase.

Fars resurfaces, after dropping its original story to report --- from ISNA --- that the head of Isfahan's judiciary heard the sound of an explosion but got no information from officials.

And Tabnak has the latest rationale from Deputy Governor Mohammadi Mehdi Esmaili: "Perhaps a water boiler exploded."

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The Latest from Iran (12 March): A Challenge from Prison

Tonight's Headline News: The daughters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard have met their parents for the first time since Mousavi and Rahnavard were put under strict house arrest on 14 February.

Mousavi, who was not informed of the meeting and so was surprised to see his daughters, told them that agents raided the family home on 14 February --- the day of the first significant opposition marches in Tehran for more than a year --- and confiscated books, CDs, and personal items. The security forces even took classified documents from Mousavi's tenure as Prime Minister in the late 1980s.

The daughters claimed the yard of their parents' home was full of agents and a dark van was parked there. They said they were told to keep quiet about the meeting but believed people had a right to know.

2110 GMT: In the Courts. Mohammad Tahir Haeri Shirazi, the son of President Ahmadinejad's mentor Ayatollah Haeri Shirazi, has been sentenced to six years in prison for land theft.

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The Latest from Iran (24 November): Smog and Politics

2125 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Green Voice of Freedom claims, from a source close to Hengameh Shahidi, that the journalist has been hospitalised following a hunger strike.

A group of political, academic, and human rights activists have issued a statement calling for the release of Ebrahim Yazdi, the 78-year-old former Foreign Minister.

Shahidi was returned to prison on 15 November after a 18-day leave for medical treatment.

2120 GMT: An Appeal for Refugees. Exiled attorney Mohammad Mostafaei has written to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon:

Since there are Iranians living in various countries under deplorable conditions and need support to appeal their request for asylum, with deep concerns I hereby request that the United Nations expeditiously contact all member states in order to review the affairs of asylum seekers. As a result, refugees will be able to relocate to states where they desire to live in security. It is self evident that prolonging the proceedings for the refugees is against the standards of human rights and ought to be considered as torture and punishment.

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The Latest from Iran (27 October): In Transit

2130 GMT: Corruption Watch. According to Peyke Iran, former Minister of Interior Mostafa Pourmohammadi has said that, on behalf of the Supreme Leader, consideration of some files of economic fraud has been postponed.

2115 GMT: Rafsanjani vs. the Islamic Republic? Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guard, has declared that if Islamic values disintegrate, Iran will proceed to a collapse.

So who could pose such a threat to Islamic values? Khabar Online has an intriguing reference: the arrest of sedition leaders was discussed in the National Security Council, but President Ahmadinejad did not present documents for his allegations against former President Hashemi Rafsanjani.

2045 GMT: The Khamenei Roadshow. So what did the Supreme Leader do on the 9th day of his stay in Qom?

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