The Latest from Iran (5 September): Cracking Down after the Disappointment

1905 GMT: The Story to Watch on Monday. Another rift may be opening up between the President and Parliament....

Ahmadinejad's representatives, who have asked for the withdrawal of the 5th Budget Plan because they do not like the amendments of the Majlis, did not appear in the Coordination Commission on Saturday. MP Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi-Fard was sent to the President's office --- Ahmadinejad is on a tour of Tehran Province --- to convince it to change its line.

So far there has been no movement, and the Coordination Commission has stopped its work.

Peyke Iran notes that, six months after the start of the Iranian year, the 5th Plan has not been implemented.

1900 GMT: The Regime Line. The fervently pro-Government Raja News is repeating the claim of the Revolutionary Guard's Javan that 100 reformists met to plot against Mehdi Karroubi.

1845 GMT: Execution (Sakineh) Watch. Yesterday we reported the claim of Sajad Ghaderzadeh, the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, that his mother had been sentenced to 99 lashes because a photograph of a woman without headscarf --- mistakenly identified as Ashtiani --- appeared in The Times of London. The punishment is added to the death sentence that Ashtiani already faces for adultery.

An unusual development today, as Ashtiani's lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, is claiming that Ghaderzadeh was given false information. Mostafaei, who has fled Iran and is now in Norway, says that the story of 99 lashes is untrue.

Ghaderzadeh has appealed to Mostafaei not to make any more comments either on his mother's case or on his father's death.

NEW Iran Feature: An Open Letter to Detained Activist Shiva Nazar Ahari (Vahidmanesh)
NEW Iran Breaking: Uncertainty if Lawyer Nasrine Sotoudeh Arrested
Iran Special: How Do You Analyse a Non-Event? (Lucas)
Iran Overview: “A Small Rally to Make More Enemies” (Shahryar)
Iran Propaganda Special: The Green Sedition Festival
UPDATED Iran Video: The Claimed Attack on Karroubi’s House (2/3 September)
The Latest from Iran (4 September): A Qods Day Failure?

1630 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Bankers and businessmen report that most banks in the United Arab Emirates, a key trading partner and conduit for Iran, have stopped money transfers after the latest round of sanctions.

Dubai-based Iranian businessman Morteza Masoumzadeh, vice president of the Iranian Business Council, said that the latest sanctions have halved trade with Dubai, an important re-export centre for Iranian goods.

A banker with an Emirati bank said that transfers to Iran in dollars and euros are now forbidden, and have become "very difficult, if not impossible, in dirhams," the UAE's currency.

"Transactions by Iranian clients are closely monitored," the banker said, adding that certain activities by Iranian clients, such as transfers to Asia to purchase goods, are sometimes blocked.

"We used to deal with some banks in Tehran, but now it is almost impossible," the banker said.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Sunday responded to trouble on another front, as Japan announced it is suspending new oil and gas investments in Iran and freezing the assets of 88 organizations and 24 individuals. Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said any country that imposes sanctions on Iran will create problems for their companies, waste their national interests, and pass on business opportunities to their rivals.

Better news for Tehran came with the resumption of gas export to Turkey after 12 days of disruption because of an explosion, thought to be the work of the Kurdish separatist movement PKK, that damaged a major pipeline.

1523 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. More sentences against youths: an appeals court in Mazandaran in northern Iran has confirmed the prison sentences and lashings for 10 university students.

1520 GMT: The Karroubi Siege (Wasn't Us Edition --- cont.). The head of the Basij militia, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, has blamed the US, Britain, and Zionists for the attack on Mehdi Karroubi's home.

1515 GMT: We have posted updates on the detention of defense attorney Nasrine Sotoudeh and on the regime efforts to blame "Western media" for the disappointment of the Qods Day rally.

1425 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Iran's Supreme Court has confirmed the death penalty for Kurdish activist Habibollah Golparipour.

1420 GMT: The Karroubi Siege (Wasn't Us Edition). The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has issued a statement denying involvement in the attacks on Mehdi Karroubi's home, blaming "rogue elements" for the violence and intimidation.

1415 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. A day marked by news of detentions and trials of student activists (see 0930 and 1105 GMT). It is reported that Sanandaj Azad University student Azad Kamangar was arrested by intelligence agents two days ago. His whereabouts are unknown.

Kamangar's uncle, Farzad Kamangar, was one of five Iranians executed on 9 May for alleged ties to the Kurdish separatist group PJAK.

1410 GMT: Execution (Sakineh) Watch Update. As the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani asks Pope Benedict XVI (see 1220 GMT) to intervene on behalf of his mother, sentenced to death for adultery, the Vatican has issued a statement condemning stoning.

The Vatican's spokesman, the Reverend Federico Lombardi, said the Vatican had not received a formal appeal but was "following the case with attention and interest". He added, "When the Holy See is asked, in an appropriate way, to intervene in humanitarian issues with the authorities of other countries, as it has happened many times in the past, it does so not in a public way, but through its own diplomatic channels."

1220 GMT: Execution (Sakineh) Watch. Peyke Iran reports that Sajad Ghaderzadeh, the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, has appealed to Pope Benedict XVI and the Italian Government to seek clemency for his mother, who is sentenced to death for adultery.

Coincidentally, Keyhan newspaper --- which last week called French First Lady Carla Bruni a "prostitute" and said she should die after she joined the calls for leniency in Ashtiani's case --- has declared that Italian President Silvio Berlusconi, who publicly supported Ashtiani, is a "Mafia leader" and "a symbol of decadence, moral corruption, and sexual addiction".

1120 GMT: Academic Corner. Writing in Haaretz, Zvi Bar'el reports on tensions within Iran's universities. Included in the piece....

*An Iranian academic who writes Bar'el, "We will no longer be able to correspond using the previous e-mail address. I have begun work at Amirkabir University and I am afraid that the supervision of e-mails will be far more stringent," and notes difficulties with resources: "We try to glean whatever we can from the Internet, but the problem starts much earlier, with high-school students. They don't learn anything --- and I'm talking about top students who passed the exams with very high marks."

*The Supreme Leader's plan for the construction of another 1,000 mosques in schools at all levels and the addition of new religious subjects

*The difficulties for graduates in finding suitable employment, with some waiting more than three years to find suitable work.

1105 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Reformist politician Mohsen Safaei Farahani, who suffered a heart attack last week in Evin Prison, has been transferred to the Cardiac Clinic in Tehran.

The final court hearing has been held for two student activists, Bahareh Hedayat and Milad Asadi. We await word on further sentencing: in May, Hedayat received a 9 1/2-year prison term and Asadi was given six years.

1100 GMT: Stopping the Lawyers. As we await word on the fate of defense attorney Nasrine Sotoudeh, summoned to court yesterday, and note the general crackdown by the regime, we flash back to a November 2007 article in the Los Angeles Times, "In Iran, A Cadre of Lawyers Takes the Case of Justice".

0930 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Tehran’s court of appeals has confirmed the sentencing of Mohammadreza Rashad, a student activist at Azad University, to two years of suspended imprisonment. Rashad was arrested a few days after the demonstrations last December at his home and was held in detention for 3 months.

An appeals court has upheld the two-year sentence of Mohsen Abdi, a student activist at Hamadan’s Bou Ali Sina University. Abdi was also detained just after the Ashura demonstration.

0745 GMT: We have posted an open letter to journalist and activist Shiva Nazar Ahari, facing trial and a possible death penalty, from her colleague Parvaneh Vahidmanesh.

0715 GMT: Parliament and Government. Lost this week, amidst Qods Day and the Karroubi siege, is the news that 13 of 21 ministers in the Ahmadinejad Cabinet have been summoned to the Majlis. The ministers --- in science, education, social welfare, labour, foreign policy, oil, health care, interior, communications, industry, energy, and justice --- will be answering queries in several commissions. A list of 78 questions has already been posted.

0710 GMT: Film Corner. Director Jafar Panahi, detained for three months earlier this year and barred from leaving Iran, tells the US film newspaper Variety by phone, "I have learned something, and that is that I never lose hope. I hope that things will change even tomorrow, or in the next year so that I can start working again."

0645 GMT: Regrouping. A series of items on attempts by some conservatives and principlists to re-establish a common front....

Habibollah Asgarouladi used tough talk, denouncing those who "try to increase tensions everyday" and declaring that "system-breaking reformists have broken all bridges behind them" and "cannot return to the Revolution, Supreme Leader, and people". He added that some had tried to divide the clergy, but the clerics were too clever to accept this.

Asgarouladi capped out his move by saying that the "fitna" (sedition) movement was passing its last days, and the leaders were related to Al Qa'eda.

Other principlists are publicly discussing whether to make approaches to reformists or to focus on the reconstruction of their movement. Emad Afrough summarised that the solution to actual problems is that "the Revolution gets back in the hands of well-founded persons", declaring also that "there is unity in diversity".

0635 GMT: The Battle Within. Khabar Online reveals what occured during a meeting between the President and Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Expediency Council and 2009 Presidential candidate, two months ago.

Khabar asserts that  Ahmadinejad was given nine points of advice. These included strengthening legal institutions, support for private sector, creating a uniform management structure and opposing sanctions, supporting the domestic economy, and supporting relations with neighbouring countries.

If the report is true, this meeting took place around the time that --- according to our sources --- Rezaei was meeting Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and key MP Ahmad Tavakoli to discuss the limiting of Ahmadinejad's authority and possibly his replacement.

Rumours of three other meetings with the President have been denied by the Rezaei camp.

0630 GMT: Speaking of Legitimacy. Prominent commentator Babak Dad has praised the letter of Fatemeh Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's wife, to the Supreme Leader during the siege of the Karroubi home. He notes that the mere fact that a woman would dare to write to Khamenei is an insult to the regime.

In the letter, Fatemeh Karroubi challenged the Supreme Leader by asking if he condoned the "unethical acts" of the pro-regime crowd around the Karroubi residence.

0625 GMT: The Regime Line. Javan, the newspaper linked to the Revolutionary Guard, has tried another line of attack, claiming that a group of about 100 members of the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front members staged a rally against Mehdi Karroubi.

0620 GMT: Speaking of Legitimacy. The Palestinian Authority has struck back at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denunciation, in his Qods Day address on Friday, of the Israel-Palestinian direct talks.

It did so by going to the heart of Ahmadinejad's claim of authority. A spokesman said, "He who does not represent the Iranian people, who forged elections and who suppresses the Iranian people and stole the authority, is not entitled to talk about Palestine, or the President of Palestine."

0615 GMT: The Karroubi Siege and the Supreme Leader. This extract from an interview of Mehdi Karroubi's son Hossein, conducted by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, is striking: “My father believes the attackers were organized by the security forces and government. There is no point in filing a lawsuit against these actions, as we know it’s not going to go anywhere. The attackers have complete impunity.”

0610 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. An Iranian activist, drawing from RAHANA, has updated the list of known political prisoners, posting 591 names.

0600 GMT: A busier than expected Saturday, with lots of follow-up on the apparent disappointment for the regime of its Qods Day show and some signs of quiet satisfaction amongst the opposition. One activist asserted, "The regime was heavily duped by the Greens.They "jaa khaali daadand" (sidestepped) and left Ahmadinejad alone with his misery."

The twist on Saturday, however, is that the Government was not ready to be left alone with misery. Instead, the evidence was of a follow-up --- as has happened on other occasions --- of intimidation. While more information came in of last week's attacks on Mehdi Karroubi's home and the Qoba Mosque in Shiraz, there was more propaganda against "enemies" and detentions.

Perhaps the most significant development was the widening of the campaign against defence lawyers with the summoning of Nasrine Sotoudeh to court. She was held overnight, and we'll be looking today to see if she has been arrested.

We're also keeping an eye out for the outcome of the trial of prominent journalist and activist Shiva Nazar Ahari, which was supposed to take place yesterday.

One correction: last night we reported a demonstration of several hundred people in Sari in Mazandaran province in northern Iran was over discrimination in university admissions. It was actually over discrimination in alllocation of jobs.

Iran Video & English Summary: Mehdi Karroubi and Son On 5th Night of Pro-Regime Siege (3 September)

UPDATE 1220 GMT: Mehdi Karroubi's son Hossein tells Deutsche Welle that last night's attack was a response to his mother's letter on Wednesday to Ayatollah Khamenei.

Fatemeh Karroubi had described the siege of her home and asked the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei if he condoned such “unethical acts”.

UPDATE 1040 GMT: Video of the burned and damaged residential complex of Mehdi Karroubi:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFl-5hJ6_xM&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Iran Urgent: Breaking News with Video on Day 5 of Karroubi "Siege"

UPDATE 0900 GMT: The audio of Radio Farda's interview with Hossein Karroubi, carried out during last night's attacks (see earlier updates), has been posted.

After the violence during the siege of his house last night, Mehdi Karroubi spoke with Rasa TV:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDoFugoW0Os[/youtube]

Summary from Facebook page supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi:

Following these events Mehdi Karroubi in an interview with Rasa TV once again announced that he is ready to pay any price and will stand in this path till the end.

Karroubi also once again stressed attendance T the Qods Day demonstrations.

Mehdi Karroubi in this phone interview said: "Following the elections many events happened in the country and everyone witnessed the consequences. We also expressed our positions clearly and caringly. But my clear and frank positions regarding hte country's issues have not gone well with these guys and [therefore] they plan these events and attacks."

Mehdi Karroubi, citing problems such as fraud in the 10th Presidential election (of June 2009) and also problems with foreign policy, said: "Not only there was fraud but there was engineering of votes. From the very beginning the outcome of the election has been decided. We made a mistake entering the election race. We were optimistic and thought that we have elections in this country but later on we realized that this is not the case."

Mehdi Karroubi again emphasised that he did not regret taking this path and declared his readiness to debate pro-government representatives.

Karroubi said: "Regarding the sanctions and the problems with foreign policy, I am announcing that essentially a part of the Revolutionary Guards is [creating] this situation, and they create tensions as much as possible so that in the shadow of sanctions they can plunder people's wealth."

Karroubi added, "This administration that cannot solve the problems of foreign policy or solve economic and cultural problems, and in fact cannot do anything, is after creating tension. Its life depends on the crises."

Mehdi Karroubi emphasised that he supported the Islamic Republic but said,

The current government is not Islamic Republic. Neither its Islamic aspect not its Republic aspect have been preserved. What the people wanted and carried out a revolution for it is different from what is in power today --- if it was [Islamic and a Republic] many of the problems of the people would be solved. The people of Iran are Muslim and are not at warwith Islam and are not at war with the Republic....

Mehdi Karroubi said that the reason for the thugs gathering in the recent nights at his house is his statements on participation in Qods Day: "They have been gathering for five nights, chant slogans, break the windows and tonight it was escalated to its peak. But I am standing. Both myself and my family are ready to pay any price; I am staying here, I am not going anywhere and I have my plans."

Mehdi Karroubi, while expressing sorrow over the discomfort and harassment that the thugs have imposed on his neighbors and family, said:

Where in the world do they organize a bunch of juvenile thugs and muggers to make chaos and insult a political opponent because of disagreement? At this moment that I am talking with you after midnight. They are chanting slogans in the street. It is even more tragic that, after all these scandals, insults, breaking the windows, they start reading the Quran in the street and mourning for Imam Hossein (Shia's third Imam). Apparently they are determined to disgrace Islam.

Mehdi Karroubi in another interview with Saham News...said: "On this holy night (Qadr Night), whatever the almighty God has destined for me, I will welcome with open arms and until my last breath I will not give up on people's rights."

Despite the insistence of his guards and family, Mehdi Karroubi refused to leave the building:" I am standing until the end."

Iran Urgent: Breaking News with Video on Day 5 of Karroubi "Siege"

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5l4Adu6m_Y[/youtube]

LATEST Iran Video and English Summary: Mehdi Karroubi after 5th Night of Pro-Regime Siege (3 September)
Iran Breaking: Karroubi on Election Fraud; House Surrounded by Pro-Regime Crowd

UPDATE 3 September: Student Supporters of Karroubi and Mousavi have issued a statement calling for a demonstration of support on Saturday at around 7:30 p.m. local time in front of Karroubi's residence..

UPDATE 2045 GMT: Saham News says that Special Guards units are now at the Karroubi house and attackers are retreating into alleys around the home. There are reports that the Guards are trying to move Karroubi to another location for his safety but the cleric is refusing to leave.

The Karroubis live on the 5th floor of the apartment complex.

UPDATE 2030 GMT: The full statement of Mehdi Karroubi's son Hossein as he talked to Radio Farda before the family's phone was cut off:

The home is completely blockaded. Our neighborhood is now just like the desert of Karbala (where Imam Hossein was martyred after being denied water for days) and occupied Palestine. The building is completely surrounded. There were gun shots fired directly at the building. The bodyguards in return fired some warning shots. All windows of the building are broken. They shot out all the street lights in the alley. Apparently some [assailants] were injured and ambulance has taken them [to hospital].

The situation is very chaotic now and the attackers are continuously chanting slogans and their attack word is “We are responding, O Khamenei”.

Hossein Karroubi added that the attackers were trying to enter the home by setting it on fire so Mehdi Karroubi’s bodyguards fired warning shots, injuring some of the attackers

Hossein Karroubi said that his father was reading the Quran and his mother, Fatemeh Karroubi, is with her sons and daughter-in-laws.

Hossein Karroubi addresed the Supreme Leader:

You think of yourself to be just like Imam Ali [Shia's first Imam]. Is this the way of Imam Ali? Is this the way of Ali, that you want to confront someone, have attacked the home of a 73-year-old man and have blockaded his home and set it on fire?

UPDATE 2000 GMT: Saham News reports that one of Mehdi Karroubi's bodyguards, "Mr Yari", has been taken to hospitaland is in a coma.

The website says that water pipes around Karroubi's complex are destroyed, and electricity has been cut. Security forces have abandoned the scene.

Karroubi's son Hossein says, according to an activist, that his father's bodyguards did not fire into the air but at assailants as they tried to enter the house. Rah-e-Sabz says that the phone was cut off as Radio Farda talked to Hossein: amongst his statement, in a reference to Qods Day tomorrow, was "Here is Palestine".

Fatemeh Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's wife, tells BBC Persian that tonight's attack is "different" and that the crowd is trying to kill her husband (video at top of entry).

UPDATE 1850 GMT: A fifth consecutive night of harassmant has begun, with the pro-regime crowd reportedly throwing Molotov cocktails and Karroubi's bodyguards firing shots into the air. The entrance --- whether to the house or to the residential complex --- was broken as the crowd tried to get into the house.

UPDATE 1500 GMT: Saham News has posted images of the damage done to Mehdi Karroubi's residential complex.

Alleged video has also emerged:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvdtteMwOHI[/youtube]

UPDATE 1100 GMT: In a phone call to Mehdi Karroubi, Grand Ayatollah Sane'i condemned the ongoing, "inhuman" attacks on Karroubi's home. Sane'i wished Karroubi patience and perseverance to follow the people's rights and to reform the corrupt system.

UPDATE 2 September: Saham News reports that, despite the open letter of protest to Ayatollah Khamenei by Mehdi Karroubi's wife Fatemeh (see update below), the Karroubi residence was surrounded by a pro-regime crowd for a fourth consecutive night.

The group, which gathered from about 10 p.m. Tehran, chanted slogans against Mehdi Karroubi and in support of the Supreme Leader, threw rocks, and sprayed paint on the walls of the residential complex. The crowd broke windows and vandalised the building's security cameras. Chants included "If only Khamenei would give us the order to fight" and "We congratulate the union of the United States and Karroubi".

UPDATE 1 September: Fatemeh Karroubi, the wife of Mehdi Karroubi, has written to the Supreme Leader to condemn the attacks on her home and family by pro-regime crowds.

Fatemeh Karroubi asks the Leader: “What do the disagreements between you and my husband over issues, that are evident to all by now, have to do with our right to live?”



She pulls no punches as she describes the crowd chanting “derogatory words” against Mehdi Karroubi and “writing slogans on the walls of the residential complex and the neighbours' houses": “These obvious crimes are taking place with your support and in front of the security forces who do not dare to approach these attackers.”

So, noting the policy of “attacking the family and neighbours of political opponents”, Fatemeh Karroubi asks Ayatollah Khamenei if he condones such “unethical acts". (cross-posted from Iran LiveBlog)

UPDATE 1610 GMT: Fatemeh Karroubi, the wife of Mehdi Karroubi, first spoke to Fereshteh Ghazi of Rooz Online at 11 p.m. local time on Monday (English summary via Negar Irani). She said that those surrounding her residence carried tear gas, batons, and weapons, and although the police were also present, they were no more than spectators. During the interview, there were chants such as "Karroubi is illiterate and a puppet in the hands of Mossad" and "even the army of the entire world can't stand against us". According to Mrs. Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi was in his room, meditating and reading the Qu'ran.

When Ghazi contacted the house an hour later, the crowd had dispersed, although they vowed to be back on Friday morning.

Fatemeh Karroubi said, "We are...truly distressed by the fact that the regime has reduced itself to a level of governing in this manner, that in these nights of Ramadan, they have chosen to inflict such stress and anxiety on the families and neighbours living in our area....We are concerned about the foundations upon which this regime was based and the rights of the people....

Fatehmeh Karroubi confirmed that Karroubi would participate in Qods Days ceremonies this Friday, and asked, "Does this decision frighten and terrorize them so much that they need to gather so many people to insult, threaten?" She continued, "Mr. Karroubi's crime was that he had the audacity to say that if rape and torture is taking place in the prisons, then the government should put an end to it right away."

Fatemeh Karroubi concluded, "My children and I will continue to stand with [Mehdi] Karroubi. We are ready to face anything."

---
For the second night in a row, Mehdi Karroubi's house was surrounded by a pro-regime crowd --- on Monday, Karroubi's son Hossein spoke to Deutsche Welle:

Deutsche Welle: Mr. Karroubi, at this moment (12 midnight local time) the house of Mehdi Karroubi is surrounded. Explain what is happening there and who are these individuals? It seems like they are armed.

Hossein Karroubi: It is 10 minutes since these individuals left. I myself was trying to get in to the house for about an hour but could not get in the house. These individuals were cursing and chanting slogans in support for the Supreme Leader. They were threatening that they would come back on Friday morning and would gather ten times more individuals. They will bring them in front on Mehdi Karroubi’s house and will not let him leave the house to go for the Qods Day rally.

Deutsche Welle: Do you think that these events are a continuation of the events that had happened Sunday night to prevent Mr. Karroubi from participating in the Qadr Nights religious ritual?

Hossein Karroubi: It is both to prevent him from participatig in Qadr Nights religious ritual and, what is very important, to prevent him from participating in the Qods Day rally.

Deutsche Welle: Were you able to get into Mehdi Karroubi’s house now?

Hossein Karroubi: Yes, Mr. Karroubi is fine and is in very high spirits. My mother, my brothers, and I are all beside him.

Deutsche Welle: Who were these individuals that were gathered there today? Did they have any specific characteristics?

Hossein Karroubi: These are the plainclothes militias whom the government fully supports. They are armed with both guns and machetes. According to Mr. Karroubi, they wear thick jackets and beneath their jackets they carry all sorts of weapons. These individuals are completely under the order of the Revolutionary Guards.

Deutsche Welle: Mr. Karroubi talked about participating in Qods Day rally. Is he still determined to carry on with his decision?

Hossein Karroubi: Mr. Karroubi is very much determined to carry on with his promise and decision. Today he had a meeting with Mir Hossein Mousavi in Mir Hossein’s house. In fact they are going to invite people to participate in the Qods Day rally.

The Latest from Iran (1 September): The Threat of Stoning

1750 GMT: Repression. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has issued a new statement, "Authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran are continuing to arrest and jail civil society activists while persecuting and prosecuting independent lawyers."

“With a majority of Iranian human rights activists and lawyers already imprisoned or forced into exile, their remaining colleagues are systematically being taken down by the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,” Aaron Rhodes, a Campaign spokesperson said.

1740 GMT: At the Movies. Esteemed director Jafar Panahi, who was detained for three months earlier this year, has been barred by Iran authorities from attending the Venice Film Festival.

Panahi's short film "Accordion" is showing at the event, but he claims he has officially been banned from making movies for five years. He says, ""Despite having been released, I am still not free to travel outside my country to attend film festivals. When a filmmaker is not allowed to make films, it is as if his mind was still imprisoned. Maybe he is not locked up in a small cell, but he keeps wandering in a much bigger jail."

NEW Iran Special: Thoughts on Protest, Stoning, and Human Rights (Shahryar)
Iran: Ahmadinejad’s Trash Talk (Theodoulou)
Iran Witness: Activist Mahboubeh Karami on Six Months in Detention
Iran: The Latest on the Karroubi “Siege” and the Qods Day Rally
The Latest from Iran (31 August): Unity? What Unity?

1515 GMT: Karroubi Watch. In a meeting with clerics and students of Qom, Mehdi Karroubi has said the intrusion of some security and intelligence forces in hawzah (religious circles) is "very alarming".

1500 GMT: Economy Watch. Conservative MP Ali Motahari, a member of Parliament's Communications Commission, has issued a warning over privatisation: "We oppose any kind of monopoly in the (tele)communications sector."

Khabar Online reports an extensive reshuffle of officials in Iran's national oil company is on the way, concluding that the move is "not sensible at all".

An EA correspondent reads the report as a warning of consolidation of power by Ahmadinejad allies.

1440 GMT: Today's We-Are-Not-Scared-at-All Message. Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi has declared, "If people stage a riot or coup, we must stop them with security forces."

1425 GMT: Another Slap at Ahmadinejad's Foreign Policy. Hossein Sobhani-Nia, a member of the National Security Council, has repeated the Supreme Leader's criticism of the President's appointment of four special representatives for international matters.

Sobhani-Nia declared that Ayatollah Khamenei had said that the Foreign Ministry's position should not be damaged. He emphasised that, for unity in foreign policy and in accordance with the Constitution, all decisions must be made by the Foreign Ministry. Parallel organisations should not stop that and division in foreign policy should not prevent Iran from reaching its goals.

1415 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Teacher's union activist Mokhtar Asadi has been released on bail after two months in detention.

1400 GMT: The Karrroubis Fight the Siege. Fatemeh Karroubi, the wife of Mehdi Karroubi, has written to the Supreme Leader to condemn the attacks on her home and family by pro-regimes crowds.

Fatemeh Karroubi asks the Leader: “What do the disagreements between you and my husband over issues, that are evident to all by now, have to do with our right to live?”

She pulls no punches as she describes the crowd chanting “derogatory words” against Mehdi Karroubi and “writing slogans on the walls of the residential complex and the neighbours' houses": “These obvious crimes are taking place with your support and in front of the security forces who do not dare to approach these attackers.”

So, noting the policy of “attacking the family and neighbours of political opponents”, Fatemeh Karroubi asks Ayatollah Khamenei if he condones such “unethical acts".

1350 GMT: Claim of the Day. From the Supreme Leader's representative to the Revolutionary Guards, Mojtaba Zolnour: "Israel is out to kill the hidden (12th) Imam."

1345 GMT: Academic Corner. Minister of Science Kamran Daneshjoo, who threatened universities with "destruction" if they were not Islamic enough, now wants a referendum on their fate.

Iranian authorities have "retired" almost 20 senior officials at universities in recent months.

0920 GMT: A Break in Service for Birthdays and Monkeys. It is Ms EA's birthday today, and we're celebrating by going to Monkey Forest --- yes, really.

I'll be away until late afternoon but, as usual, I know I can rely on EA's top-flight readers to bring in the latest news and analysis.

0825 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Mojgan Ebadi and Nasim Rouhi, both of the Baha'i community, have been re-arrested 24 hours after their release from prison.

RAHANA also reports that more activists have been detained in northern Khuzestan in western Iran.

0815 GMT: The Next Campaign? International attention to the case of 18-year-old Ebrahim Hamidi, sentenced to death for sodomy, is growing. Writers Philippe Besson and Gilles Leroy organised an open letter by French activists, publicised by Le Monde last week.

0715 GMT: If You Don't Accept Stoning, You are a Prostitute (cont.). The Foreign Ministry may have told off "hard-line" media for calling Carla Bruni, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a "prostitute" after she criticised the death sentence handed down to Sakineh Mohammad Ashtiani; however, the message does not seem to have gotten through.

Iran Newspaper on Network (INN), citing British reports of Bruni's past affair with singer Mick Jagger, declares, "Western Media approved implicitly the fact that Carla Bruni is a prostitute". (The story has been reprinted in the almost surreal website www.barackobama.ir. More on this "news outlet" later in the week.)

0655 GMT: Sieges for Qods Day. Pro-regime crowds, who surrounded the home of Mehdi Karroubi on Sunday and Monday night, reportedly moved to the house of reformist politician and cleric Abdollah Nouri on Tuesday evening.

0650 GMT: Freedom of the Press? Daneshjoo News reports that several journalists of Nasim-e Bidari magazine were threatened and interrogated on Tuesday.

0645 GMT: On Air. RASA TV, the Internet-based opposition channel, is now broadcasting.

0605 GMT: Labour Front. Writing for In These Times, Kari Lyderson reports on the continuing repression of Iran's trade unionists, specifically members of the Vahed Bus Workers Syndicate.

0600 GMT: We have posted a special feature by Josh Shahryar, reflecting on the reaction to his speech at last Saturday's rally in Washington against stoning, "Thoughts on Protest, Stoning, and Human Rights".

0500 GMT: We noted earlier this week how the controversy had grown over the death sentence for adultery --- initially to be carried out by stoning, though that has been suspended --- handed down on Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani; indeed, the Iranian Government was now appearing very unsettled by the reaction.

Although one website supporting the Government has tried to deflect the issue with the question, "Does the West Want a Real Discussion with Iran?", it is unlikely to disappear. There are reports of two other people condemned to die by stoning. Yesterday Ashtiani's son Sajad said his mother was subjected to a "mock execution", told last Saturday that she was to be hanged at dawn on Sunday.

Ashtiani wrote her will and embraced her cellmates in Tabriz Prison just before the call to morning prayer, but nothing happened as she waited. Sajad Ashtiani said, "Pressure from the international community has so far stopped them from carrying out the sentence but they're killing her every day by any means possible."

Sajad Ashtiani added that he had been told by Iranian authorities that the file on his father's murder case had been lost. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, first convicted of adultery, was later found guilty of complicity in the homicide.