The Latest from Iran (22 July): Trying to Fix the Economy for Ramadan

See also Iran Feature: The "No to Hijab" Campaign on Facebook
The Latest from Iran (21 July): Support the Syrian Regime, Support Your Leader

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1900 GMT: Reformist Watch. In a lengthy interview, opposition activist Mojtaba Vahedi has explained his decision to break after 30 years with Mehdi Karroubi --- former Speaker of Parliament, 2009 Presidential candidate, and detainee under strict house arrest since February 2011.

Vahedi said his primary motive was "to expose more freely" those reformists advocating participation in next year's Presdiential election.

1820 GMT: Election Watch. Radio Farda evaluates this week's declaration by the Guardian Council that it is changing Iran's election laws in accordance with the wishes of the Supreme Leader --- the site assesses that the move is the outcome of a struggle within the establishment, with the Council and Ayatollah Khamenei tightening their grip on power.

Bolstering that interpretation, Vice President Mohammad Reza Mirtajoddini has said the Government is responsible for the election laws and changes would weaken the Iranian system.

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Iran Snap Analysis: The Regime's False Proclamation of an American "Retreat"

Ayatollah Ahmad KhatamiA valuable lesson in how the Iranian regime can re-write developments to proclaim victory over "America"....

In the Tehran Friday Prayer, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami confidently explained;

The massive turnout of the Iranian people in the country’s parliamentary elections brought the US and Europe such a failure that they had to ease their sanctions against Iran....This blow forced the US to soften sanctions endorsed by its allies on the country’s oil industry...The Iranian nation's move compelled them to regret their wrongdoings.

Khatami was far from the only voice making the proclamation. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Reza Bahonar said the US had retreated while the European Union "realised its mistake".  

Now --- given not only questions about the supposed enthusiasm of Iranians for the elections but also the escalating effect of sanctions, with Iran facing increasing difficulty selling oil and financing its transactions, the issues over even basic supplies of food, and the European Union "realising its mistake" on Friday by putting more Iranians on its list of those sanctioned over human rights --- how could regime officials put out their assurances?

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The Latest from Iran (12 March): Ahmadinejad Escapes Interrogation?

See also Iran 1st-Hand: "People Here Are Boiling, But Don't Make A Sound"
Iran Snap Analysis: Walking Back from War?
The Latest from Iran (11 March): Changing the Drumbeats of War

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1904 GMT: Oil Watch. I am sorry but --- amidst uncertainties over Iran's oil exports --- I have no clue what the Supreme Leader means in his statement today: “Based on the development plan, oil must stop being used as source of income and for funding the country’s budget and instead become a source for the progress and economic might of the country and authorities must pursue this policy ...with determination....It is necessary that we act in a manner that any decision making about our oil production and sales is up to us and based on our interests and of course we have taken good steps in this regard.”

Meanwhile, an Iranian oil official has denied a report by Reuters that 350,000 tonnes of gasoline had recently been shipped from China to Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas: “Iran is currently a major exporter of [various kinds of] oil products and does not need to import gasoline from any country."

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The Latest from Iran (8 March): Let the Political In-Fighting Resume

See also Iran Document Special: The UN Report on "Violations of Fundamental Human Rights"
The Latest from Iran (7 March): "The People Are Not Happy"

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2150 GMT: At the Movies. Pro-regime filmmaker Farajollah Salahshour has expressed his anger about his daughter's congratulations to Oscar-winning director Ashgar Farhadi "for depicting social problems".

2145 GMT: Hunger Strike Watch. Al Jazeera English notices the hunger strike of blogger, physician, and dissident Mehdi Khazali, now in its 60th day.

1915 GMT: A Special Day. A belated note that today is International Women's Day. Google marks the occasion:

But the distinctly Iranian presentation comes from Kanoon Nevisandegan (Writers Assocation):

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The Latest from Iran (23 February): Don't Panic!

See also Iran Snapshot: The World's Worst Pundit Today --- Mr Tucker Carlson
Iran Snap Analysis: Nuclear Postures and "War is Coming!"
The Latest from Iran (22 February): Rafsanjani Far from Finished?

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2134 GMT: A Warning to Ahmadinejad. Prominent cleric Mehdi Taeb, the brother of an important Revoutionary Guards commander, has put out a wide-ranging statement. He said oil sanctions against "impossible" and declared that the Islamic Constancy Front, vying for influence in the Parliamentary elections, has no relation with the "deviant current". That deviant current "has swallowed Satan", and the "2009 fitna (sedition) was one of their invisible actions".

Most interesting, however, was Taeb's message for the President. He said Ahmadinejad's right-hand man, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, is seeking his downfall, although the Iranian people are too intelligent for this. He continued that "most elites have deserted Ahmadinejad, but most people accept him with Ayatollah Khamenei if not with Rahim-Mashai".

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The Latest from Iran (9 February): News and Propaganda over Oil

A cartoon from Javan Online, linked to the Revolutionary Guards, summarises frustration with Iran's political and economic situation

See also Iran Feature: The Regime Locks Down the Internet
The Latest from Iran (8 February): Seeking the Voice of the Nation

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2135 GMT: Elections Watch. The Guardian Council has announced that 3320 out of 5395 applicants, or about 61%, have been approved as candidates for the Parliamentary elections on 2 March.

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The Latest from Iran (28 January): Back to the Battle Within

See also Syria Video Special: Free Syrian Army Captures "Iranian Soldiers"
The Latest from Iran (27 January): Pilgrims and Soldiers

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Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi2235 GMT: Currency Watch. The Government may have taken measures to halt the slide of the Iranian currency, including the raising of interest rates and a single exchange rate, but key MP Ahmad Tavakoli is not satisfied.

Tavakoli, a cousin and ally of Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, has posted a detailed criticism on his website Alef, outlining Government mismanagement and claiming "incompetent officials, a lack of trust, and corruption". In addition to demanding trustworthy, effective personnel, he called for control of liquidity in the economy, a halt to the Government's subsidy cuts programme in the energy sector, and avoiding of measures contributing to inflation.

MP Mohammad Baqer Noubakht has echoed Tavakoli's complaints: "Straying cash is the economy's Achilles heel," as liquidity has increased five-fold in the last six years. He called for a halt to the second phase of the Ahmadinejad subsidy cuts.

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The Latest from Iran (7 January): "We are in an Economic War"

See also Iran Appeal: Rejecting the "Islamic Penal Bill" Against Human Rights
Iran Audio Feature: Scott Lucas on Iran, Europe, and the Oil Sanctions
The Latest from Iran (6 January): Squeezing the Regime

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1830 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Kurdish blogger and human rights activist Rojin Mohemedi was released from Evin Prison on Monday.

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.

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The Latest from Iran (5 May): Cabinet Confusion

1730 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Ali Malihi, a senior member of the alumni organisation Advar Tahkim-e Vahdat, has been released on bail after 14 months in prison.

Malihi has been sentenced to four years for "assembly and collusion with the intention of disturbing the domestic security of the regime, propaganda against the regime, participation in illegal gatherings, publishing falsehoods and insulting the President".

1700 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Another warning to the President, this time from the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari: "In defending the Islamic Revolution, Sepah [the Guards] will not wait for instructions".

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The Latest from Iran (31 January): Hatching Freedom

1945 GMT: Execution Watch. Looks like the Iranian authorities are scrambling to justify their sudden execution of Dutch-Iranian national Zahra Bahrami (see separate feature)....

Press TV is claiming it has a video in which Bahrami explains how she concealed cocaine and opium in her house. In the video, Bahrami gives the camera crew a tour of her house, showing them how she concealed drugs in a compartment inside her bed, in cereal boxes and in an electric heater.

The style of the video sounds similar to Press TV's recent "documentary" in which Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose death sentence for adultery has also been condemned internationally, was released from prison to make a "confession" in her home.

The Tehran Prosecutor's Office now claims that, during a search of Bahrami's house, 450 grams of cocaine and 420 grams of opium were uncovered. Previously, Iranian officials said Bahrami was holding a kilogramme of cocaine.

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