The Latest from Iran (19 July): Criticisms and the Leader

1845 GMT: Academic Corner. A follow-up to our stories that 30 Tehran University professors were being "retired", ostensibly because they had completed their period of service....

Professor Rouhollah Alami said he suddenly received news about his dismissal from Tehran University officials. He had been at the university for 22 years but had 14 years left to retirement.

1735 GMT: Pressing the Government. Reformist MP Darius Ghanbari has noted, "Apparently some ministers have 'special immunity'," since the Minister of Interior, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, did not reply to his question from April and did not appear even once in the Majlis.

1725 GMT: After the Bombings. Iran has closed the Taftan post on the Pakistan border, about 55 miles southeast of Zahedan, the site of last Thursday's double suicide bombing. Reports indicated this has caused significant supply problems for inhabitants.

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1640 GMT: Reformist Rift? MP Ahmadreza Dastgheib of the Imam Khomeini Line has blamed reformists, especially non-academics, for not spreading their ideas throughout society. Dastgheib said that "we" should have explained our theories to all sectors of society but that this is obviously impossible today.

The MP added that a "big mistake" was that former President Mohammad Khatami, given his recognition in Iran, did not run for the presidency in 200.

1625 GMT: Pictures of the Day (2). Mehr News, which is far from an anti-Government site, posts a series of photographs illustrating the effect of power outages on Iranian industry:



1620 GMT: Picture of the Day. Filmmakers Mohammad Nourizad and Jafar Panahi are reunited. Both were released this spring on bail, Nourizad after six months in detention, Panahi after three.

1500 GMT: Challenging the Supreme Leader. Fereshteh Ghazi offers an analysis of journalist Isa Saharkhiz's statement in court --- covered in our opening update (0555 GMT) and a separate analysis --- refusing to offer a defence and challenging the authority of Ayatollah Khamenei.

1455 GMT: Watching Larijani. OK, here's what Larijani said publicly today in Geneva after his meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon: "We need a new plan [on Tehran's nuclear programme] in which Iran's rights are completely supported....The problems of Iraq and of Afghanistan after occupation, which have caused an increase in the production of illicit drugs and led to the spread of terrorism, are the result of wrongful US policies and actions. “

Yeah, yeah. But what did Larijani say in private?

1450 GMT: We've posted a feature in which Fereshteh Ghazi exposes the made-up news of Fars and gets called a "Zionist" for her efforts.

1340 GMT: Sanctions Front. The Wall Street Journal, citing "Western officials", targets the European-Iranian Trade Bank AG (EIH) for helping Iran to get around international sanctions.

The officials allege that EIH has been "conducting euro-denominated transactions on behalf of Iran's Bank Sepah", involving business with Iran's Defense Industries Organization, the Aerospace Industries Organization and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

The newspaper also carries an interview with India's petroleum secretary, who says "the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Iran could complicate the activities of Indian state-controlled companies that are looking to invest in Iran's oil and gas sector".

Elsewhere, a memorandum, signed by Turkish Public Works & Housing Minister Mustafa Demir and Iranian Minister of Housing & Development Ali Nikzad in Tehran, envisages cooperation in the construction sector. The memorandum commits to exchange of information and experience, cooperation in public housing projects, research and training of experts, production of construction materials, and use of products of latest technology.

1335 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of Hashemi Rafsanjani, has given a lengthy interview about her views on the political and legal situation. Amidst that discussion, she reiterated that her father would not return to lead Tehran Friday Prayers until there was political reconciliation. (Rafsanjani's last Friday Prayer was 17 July 2009.)

In another passage of the interview, Hashemi rebutted charges that she was accumulating private wealth: "I am a normal woman. My husband provides for me and I have no income."

1215 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? In a speech broadcast on state TV, President Ahmadinejad told industrialists in northern Iran, "[The US] adopts a resolution to force a dialogue, but this cowboy logic has no place in Iran."

Ahmadinejad continued with the defiance, "They say we have intelligence that Iranians will most likely build one atomic bomb. Well, this is a lie, but let's say it is true. How many atomic bombs do you have? The Americans themselves say 5,000 plus....Is someone who has 5,000 fourth and fifth generation atomic bombs, with very advanced launchers, afraid of one bomb? They are not afraid of one, not of a hundred, not of a thousand (bombs). They are afraid of the collective awakening of the Iranian soul."

Yet --- and forgive me if I am reading too much into Mahmoud's rhetoric --- there may have been a glimpse that Ahmadinejad would like to get back to last autumn's discussions: "We are for negotiations, but to do so you have to sit down like a good boy."

1050 GMT: Claim of Day. An Iranian cleric explains, "We have made swimming pools and Jacuzzis in Evin for prisoners."

0950 GMT: Iran's Networks. Dr. Gholamreza Kashi, speaking in a conference about social networks and identity at Iran's Strategic Center, has said that the "first (older) generation" are not represented in media and the "second generation" has no possibilities to make its views known.

0945 GMT: Power Outage. Ebrahim Jamili of the Iran Chamber of Commerce has demanded that the Ministry of Energy pay for the heavy losses of private companies due to power shortages. He noted that Iran's claims to be the leading power in the region do not fit with "putting production in chains".

0940 GMT: Parliament v. President (cont.). More counter-attacks against the Government and media seen as its supporters....

Tehran Emrooz claims that insults against Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, in demonstrations in front of the Majlis, were instigated by editors of Hemmat magazine. Tehran Emrooz adds that some of those editors were arrested recently after attacking Hashemi Rafsanjani, senior clerics, and Seyed Hassan Khomeini.

Azam Taleghani, former MP and head of the Society of Islamic Revolution Women of Iran, has said that some hardliners have finally realised they cannot continue without co-operation with reformists.

Leading MP and Government critic Ahmad Tavakoli is reportedly gathering votes against a Government order that all governmental advertisements are given to the daily newspaper Iran.

0935 GMT: The Zahedan Bombings. With the toll from last Thursday's double suicide bombing at 27 dead and 311 injured, Abbas Ali Noura, one of three MPs from the Zahedan area who have resigned, says that people of the area expect the dismissal of the Minister of Interior.

0924 GMT: Parliament v. President. MP Hassan Ghafourifard has accused the Government of violating the principles of the Constitution by not presenting its legal decisions on the budget, saying the Majlis will not approve the economic plan if these decisions are not presented. MP Shahabeddin Sadr adds that the claims of the President's office are untrue, and the Parliament has not received the decisions.

Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani adds in a letter to Ahmadinejad that payments to managers of Free Trade zones are illegal.

0920 GMT: Shifting Politics. An intriguing story in Khabar Online, linked to Ali Larijani....

Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf has reportedly started his campaign for the next Presidential elections, due in 2013. The kick-off was in Zanjan and --- here's a twist --- it was staged by a committee of "reformist" hardliners.

Now is Khabar implicitly backing Qalibaf and this notion of "reformist hardliners" --- as an alternative to the not-so-reformist hardliner who is currently President --- or damning Qalibaf through such an association?

0915 GMT: The Nuclear Scientist/Non-Scientist Defection/Abduction Story. Rooz Online, from an "informed source", claims Shahram Amiri is being held in security quarantine after his return to Iran from the US.

0900 GMT: Not-at-All Hypocritical Headline of Day. Press TV: "Iran Slams Canada on Human Rights".

But it gets "better" in the body of the story, which is the continuation of an Iranian campaign against Ottawa over its handlings of protests at the G20 summit earlier this month:

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said, "Canadian officials should provide a response to all questions and ambiguities regarding human rights violations in their country."

"Such instances of brutal and deadly approach by the Canadian police, the interference of security forces in the private lives of citizens and violations of rights of the native people have recurrently happened during this Canadian administration," Mehmanparast noted.

The Iranian spokesperson went on to criticize Canada for its illegal and brutal approach toward protestors during a recent summit in Toronto, arguing that "The issue of human rights is an international commitment and countries should not brush aside such matters by resorting to political justifications."...

"Repeated violations of citizenship rights and assaults against protesters are not an issue that one can keep silent on," he further stressed.

0750 GMT: We have now posted an analysis by Mr Verde, "Voices Raised --- Removing the Supreme Leader".

0625 GMT: Labour Watch. HRANA summarises regime pressure on unionists, from the retrial of Mansur Osanloo to other detentions and intimidations.

0555 GMT: We begin this morning with two pointed critiques of "legitimacy".

Journalist Isa Saharkhiz, detained 13 months ago, appeared in court yesterday. A copy of the full text of his statement has been brought out and published: it is a rousing denuncation of those who have crushed "democracy", "free elections", "human rights" and the "republic", and it pays special attention to one man. "Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has trampled the Constitution."

It is unknown whether Saharkhiz was able to read the statement in court, but we do have a picture as he left:



Prominent academic Sadegh Zibakalam cannot be quite so direct in his criticisms --- after all, he is a public figure who is not detained --- but his latest interview is still pretty sharp. He points to a "brain drain" and division of clergy in governmental and non-governmental roles. The power of legal forces like Parliament and the judiciary has been diminished, while the power of "irresponsible forces" on the rise.

And Zibakalam considers that the worst result of the post-election dispute has been an irreversible collapse of legitimacy, asking, "Is it possible to bring people back to vote?"

The Latest from Iran (1 July): Establishing the Pattern

2025 GMT: Today's All-is-Well Alert: Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Behrouz Alishiri has said that new UN sanctions have proven futile, as transactions in Iran's investment market have risen 10 percent since the passage of the UN resolution.

Alishiri added that, according to the reports of the International Monetary Fund, foreign investment in Iran rose from $900 million in 2007 to $3 billion in 2009.

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1925 GMT: Oil Squeeze. Lloyd’s of London, the insurance market, is recognising US sanctions by restricting cover for any ships carrying petroleum to Iran.

1815 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? Well, this weekend, the President will visit Nigeria.

It could be that Ahmadinejad fancies a change of scenery. Perhaps he got one of those special e-mails offering him a lot of money if he helped get the funds of a late President/General/businessman out of the country. Or maybe there is some connection with Nigeria taking over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council.

1805 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Activists report that Narges Mohammadi , the vice-chair of Shirin Ebadi's Center for the Defenders of Human Rights, has been released on $50,000 bail.

1800 GMT: Speaking of Universities and Threats. BBC Persian reports that some applicants for Iran's universities have received a threatening text message warning that, if they participated in post-election protests last year, they will be ineligible for acceptance regardless of their performance on entrance examinations.

The head of the government agency that administers the examinations has harshly criticised the sending of the messages. Iran Unfiltered concludes that this is an example of "hardline" elements of the regime acting without the consent and probably the prior knowledge of officials.

1750 GMT: The Universities Crisis. The dispute between Parliament and President over Islamic Azad University, analysed by EA's Mr Verde yesterday, has finally hit the non-Iranian mainstream press. The Guardian of London offers a summary, framing the battle as "a bitter political battle for control between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his most powerful rival, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani".

1740 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Labour activists claim that the Iranian government has informed the International Labour Organization that Mansour Osanloo, a leader of Tehran's bus union, is due for release.

The Interational Transport Workers Federation and the International Trade Union Confederation have welcomed the news but also insisted that 52 other innocent trade unionists should be freed.

1605 GMT: Cyber-Shelter. Reporters Without Borders has launched the world’s first “Anti-Censorship Shelter” for use by foreign journalists, bloggers, and activists.

The organization said at a gathering in Paris, "At a time when online filtering and surveillance is becoming more and more widespread, we are making an active commitment to an Internet that is unrestricted and accessible to all by providing the victims of censorship with the means of protecting their online information.”

The initiative, pursued with the communications security firm XeroBank, offers free high-speed anonymity services, including encrypted email and web access, to those who use the Shelter Connection through a Virtual Private Network routes traffic across XeroBank's gigabit backbone network. As it passes from country to country, mixed with tens of thousands of other users, it creates a virtually untraceable high-speed anonymity network.

The network will be available not only to users of the Shelter in Paris but also to their contacts anywhere in the world and to all those identified by Reporters Without Borders. They will be able to connect with the XeroBank service through access codes and secured, ready-to-use USB flash drives.

1545 GMT: Larijani "Mans Up". Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani continues to put forth the even-tougher-than-the-President line on international matters.

Speaking at the end of an Islamic Inter-Parliamentary summit in Damascus, Larijani said the Americans' ulterior motive in imposing new sanctions lay not in Tehran but in the West Bank and Gaza: "We are told that Iran's approach toward Palestine is important for them [the US], and they think they can change our will by pressuring us."

Larijani added, "Considering the Zionist regime's plots, countries in the Islamic world should stand beside each other."

1400 GMT: Rewriting the Past for the Present. The head of the Basiji militia, Mohammad Reza Naqdi has announced a new Basij Cyber Army. To introduce this advance in Iranian warfare, Naqdi declared that the Soviet Union was toppled by Iranian martyrs, and those fighters also ensured Zionists are surrounded by Hamas and Hezbollah today.

1220 GMT: Refugee Watch. OMID Advocates have published an extensive, vital study, "Report on the Situation of Iranian Refugees in Turkey".

1125 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Pedram Rafati, a student activist at Amir Kabir University, has been sentenced to two years in prison and fined. Reports claim that the presiding judge, Abolghassam Salavati, threatened Rafati with a longer term if he appeals.

Labour activist Khosro Boukani has been given a two-year sentence.

0945 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Hossein Marashi, former Vice President and relative and ally of Hashemi Rafsanjani, has returned to jail after a temporary release during his one-year sentence.

Professors and students have demanded the release of Ehsan Abdoh Tabrizi, a Ph.D. candidate at Durham University in Britain. Tabrizi was detained on Ashura during a visit to his relatives.

0935 GMT: Economy Watch. Sadegh Mahsouli, the Minister of Welfare and Social Security, has announced that the  subsidy reduction plan will be implemented in six provinces --- Isfahan, Sout Khorasan, Kermanshah, West Azerbaijan, Bushehr, and Golestan --- from July.

Minister of Housing Ali Nikzad has expressed his concern about a "housing bazaar gone mad", resulting in extremely high rents.

Six million families will receive a basket of goods for Ramadan, with a reduction of 20 percent in price.

0930 GMT: The Battle Within. Fatemeh Bodaghi, the President's deputy for judicial affairs, notes that complaints against member of Parliament Elyas Naderan, a vocal critic of the Government, and (even more politically interesting) Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf are still in court and asks Iran's judiciary why they have not been handled.

0920 GMT: Spinning the Nuclear Talks. What is highlighted in Khabar Online's coverage of the statement by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: his call for renewed discussions between Russia, the US, France, and Iran.

What's missing: Lavrov's pre-condition that Iran suspend the attempt to enrich uranium to 20 percent.

0915 GMT: A Challenge to Moscow. Iran's Minister of Defense, Ahmad Vahidi, has demanded Russian delivery of S-300 missiles to Tehran. The shipment has been held up for months amidst the international manoeuvres over sanctions and Iran's nuclear programme.

0910 GMT: The Fall-Out from the Attack on Khomeini. Another message from a cleric for Seyed Hassan Khomeini, who was shouted down by regime supporters when he tried to speak at the 4 June for his late grandfather....

That is far from unusual. What is distinctive this time is that the backing comes from a member of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, seen as a bulwark of the regime. Hojatoleslam Dr. Ahmad Ahmadi wrote to Hassan Khomeini, "I was stunned when I heard of this ugly uproar."

0755 GMT: The Voices of Women. Zahra Rahnavard has asserted that joining international conventions is the best way to prevent domestic oppression.

Female followers of the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri have asked Grand Ayatollah Sistani, the leading Shi'a cleric in Iraq, to insist on a reopening of Montazeri's offices, recently sealed by Iranian authorities.

0750 GMT: Irony, Sarcasm, or a Message for Ahmadinejad? Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani offered this nugget to the press in a meeting with Bahrain's Foreign Minister on Tuesday, "The strategic policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Iraq is the formation of a national unity government with the presence of all political, religious and ethnic groups."

Now, Mr Larijani, is your tongue in your cheek or are you really pushing the idea of "national unity" not only for Iraq but for its neighbours? (And if it is the latter, does Fars News understand what you are doing?)

0745 GMT: Websites for Human Rights. An EA reader brings to our attention CrowdVoice: Tracking Voices of Protest, which included a section with news on "Prisoners of Conscience in Iran".

0735 GMT: Ahmadinejad's Token Sanctions. Iranian state media say that President Ahmadinejad has announced a boycott of Western companies and goods in retaliation against sanctions by the US and UN. Included are Coca-Cola, IBM, Intel, and Nestle.

Hmm.... Not quite sure why Ahmadinejad is presenting this as "new". I certainly couldn't get hold of an evil Coke when I was in Tehran --- instead, I got hooked on the politically correct (and quite tasty) Parsi Cola.
0725 GMT: More on Depression in Tehran. Yesterday we noted the headline, via Iranian Labor News Agency, on a study of the emotional state of Tehran residents: 30% depressed.

Rooz Online offers much more on the study, by Tehran's Aria Strategic Studies Center, and on press coverage. The "30%" refers to severe depression; another 28% claim to suffer from mild depression. The report says concerns about marriage, housing, employment, and income are among those that have caused anxiety and unease among Tehran residents.

The official unemployment is now 14%, with higher rates amongst youth and university graduates.

0710 GMT: Cyber-Development. The International Committee for Human Rights in Iran has launched a podcast. This week's topic: "Will more political prisoners face execution soon?”

0620 GMT: Nuclear Front. Another signal that talks on Iran's uranium enrichment may resume: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said Tehran will respond to a Russian proposal to meet with the Vienna Group (US, Russia, and France) after consulting with Brazil and Turkey.  He suggested that the discussions be held in Tehran.

Mottaki offered no comment, however, on the US-Russia-France pre-condition that Iran halt efforts to produce 20% enriched uranium.

0610 GMT: We have posted a feature, "The Green Movement Goes Underground", the third part of Persian2English's interview with activist Ahmad Batebi.

0450 GMT: Wednesday was another day in what seems to be the pattern of Iranian politics, now 12 1/2 months after the disputed Presidential election. Opposition activity was relatively muted, at least on the public front, while the Government tried to deal (or sometimes evaded) a series of conflicts within the establishment.

A follow-up to one of those possible emerging conflicts: Rooz Online have now published an English version of Mohammad Reza Yazdanpanah's lengthy article claiming that pro-Ahmadinejad members of Parliament are turning on the Motalefeh Party, a key group in Iranian politics since 1979, with the Islamic Azad University argument as a catalyst.