The Latest from Iran (7 June): Ahmadinejad's Men = "Gravest Danger in the History of Shiite Islam"

1740 GMT: Parliament v. President. Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has sent his 4th letter in two days to President Ahmadinejad, claiming 14 additional infringements of the law by the Government.

1710 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. So Mr. President, what about the staff from your office arrested as sorcerers and exorcists?

Ahmadinejad replied to the question at his press conference today, "Let's just think about Government service."

He continued, again without reference to any sorcerers, "The Government is on track under the guidance of the Supreme Leader."

However, Ahmadinejad acknowledged, with reference to advisors like Abbas Amirafar, the head of Friday Prayers in his office, and Abbas Ghaffari, the alleged sorcerer, "They arrested those people. Good for them."

Now it was time to move on: "They should let us continue our job. The Government is seeking for nothing rather than serving the people and fulfilling the revolutionary aims." He refused to answer further questions, "Our position at the moment is to stay silent. An inspiring unity silence."

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The Latest from Iran (6 June): A Call for An Investigation

Funeral of Haleh Sahabi

1650 GMT: Fars News is reporting that Manouchehr Gharavi, the former CEO of the Iranian car maker, Iran-Khodro, and a few others were arrested last Monday.

1640 GMT: On Saturday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei called for a political cease-fire between Ahmadinejad and his most vocal critics inside the conservative party. Those calls, apparently, have gone unheaded.

Mehr News reports that Khamenei's representative to the Republican Guard Corps, Hojatoleslam Mojtaba Zolnour, insinuated today that Ahmadinejad is a threat to the core of the Islamic Republic:

"The current of deviation seeks to weaken the foundations of the Islamic establishment... I believe this movement is the gravest danger in the history of Shiite Islam.

"The head of this new sedition should be removed if the government wants to be clean... We hope this problem will be resolved, but it seems very unlikely such a thing will happen in the near future."

The insinuation is that Ahmadinejad, and his presumed choice for a successor, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, are behind the "current of deviation," a phrase used before to criticise the current president. Zolnour's disregard for political calm, and his association with the IRGC, is a notable event.

1200 GMT: Ali Larijani has warned Ahmadinejad that delegating decisions on oil matters special representatives appointed by the president is illegal.

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The Latest from Iran (3 June): An All-is-Well Day?

State TV: "Ms Haleh Sahabi was first heart attacked, then deceased" (Cartoon: Nikahang Kowsar)

2055 GMT: Erasing the Dead. Kalemeh reports that, in the aftermath of the death of activist Haleh Sahabi after she was accosted by security forces, both "Haleh" and "Sahabi" have been filtered from SMS texts in Iran.

2040 GMT: There May Be Trouble Ahead. The hard-line Majmal News claims that, for the ceremonies commemorating Ayatollah Khomeini tomorrow, the CIA and anti-Revolutionary groups will bring ammunition across the western borders of Iran and to Tehran.

Even more distinctive, however, is the analysis of Digarban, which is critical of the Government: hardliners are are afraid of the reactions of Ahmadinejad and his team, so they are spreading news abt something grave happening on Saturday.

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