The Latest from Iran (7 April): Ahmadinejad's Support?

2120 GMT: How Big is Ahmadinejad's Support? We may have had a quiet day, but there is debate over whether the President has had even quieter ones recently. Here are purported photographs from his speech at Orumiyeh in northwestern Iran:

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In contrast, this is a photograph posted by Fars News of Ahmadinejad in the area today:



1800 GMT: A Very Quiet Day. We've been around, but there hasn't been much to report. One note, however, as we keep an eyes on events in Kyrgyzstan with a view to featuring tomorrow morning. Here's the reaction of the Iran Foreign Ministry, as reported by Press TV:

Iran says it supports the restoration of peace in Kyrgyzstan after anti-government protests left 40 people killed in the country.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Wednesday that Iran "wants the immediate restoration of domestic stability" in Kyrgyzstan and the prevention of the spread of insecurity to this sensitive region of Central Asia.

At least 40 people have been killed and 400 others injured in anti-government unrest in Kyrgyzstan.

1210 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Morteza Alviri, the former Mayor of Tehran, has been given a five-year prison sentence, four of which have been suspended, because of participation in the march of 15 June.

Rah-e-Sabz expresses concern over the status of human rights activist Somayeh Ojaghloo, whom it claims has been in an unknown location for more than a month.

1145 GMT: Ahmadinejad's Oh-So-Calm Response "I'll Break Your Teeth". The Iranian President has responded in a most measured way to Washington's Nuclear Defense Posture Review, issued yesterday:

American materialist politicians, whenever they are beaten by logic, immediately put their finger on the trigger like cowboys. Mr. Obama, you are a newcomer (to politics). Wait until your sweat dries and get some experience. Be careful not to read just any paper put in front of you or repeat any statement recommended. (American officials) bigger than you, more bullying than you, couldn't do a damn thing, let alone you....

I hope these published comments are not true....He (Obama) has threatened with nuclear and chemical weapons those nations which do not submit to the greed of the United States.

Be careful. If you set step in Mr (George W) Bush's path, the nations' response would be the same tooth-breaking one as they gave Bush.

1130 GMT: The Oil Squeeze. According to industry sources, Russian supplier LUKOil is stopping shipments to Iran.

LUKOil, Russia's second-largest oil company, has been sending 250,000 barrels to 500,000 barrels of gasoline every other month. The last shipment was made between 10 and 12 March.

LUKOil's decision follows withdrawals by Royal Dutch Shell, Glencore, & Vitol.

0930 GMT: Detaining the Press. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that at least 35 journalists were imprisoned in Iran as of 1 April. Another 18 journalists were free on temporary New Year releases and were expected to report back to prison.

CPJ adds, "Many of the incarcerated journalists are under immense physical and psychological pressure to 'confess' to crimes they have not committed, including crimes that could carry the death sentence....Many have also been denied family visits and access to legal counsel. Others have been held without charge for periods far exceeding legal limits."

0900 GMT: In the Universities. Peyke Iran claims 160 students from Sabzevar Teacher's University have been expelled without a formal hearing because of protests.

0845 GMT: Economy Watch. Revolutionary Road reports, from Human Rights Activists News Agency and Iranian Labor News Agency, that "due to lack of raw materials, Metal Factory I of Tehran[one of the largest metal factories in Iran will be shut down and the doors will be closed to all their workers".

0645 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rah-e-Sabz reports that the Revolutionary Court in Mahallat in central Iran has handed down four prison sentences, three of them suspended, one of 18 months, for Green Movement supporters for "acting against national security". Another supporter remains in detention.

0635 GMT: The B-Word. Ahmad Shirzad of the Islamic Iran Participation Front has said that, as there is no legal or political space for effective involvement, the party should boycott the next elections.

0630 GMT: Must Try Harder. Reflecting on the Supreme Leader's Nowruz call on Iranians to double their efforts to build the country, Hamid Reza Taraghi, a key member of the "conservative" Motalefeh party,  has said capabilities are not being used due to mismanagement.

0600 GMT: One to Watch --- The Corruption Charges. We noted this story yesterday, but given its potential significance, it bears repeating. Member of Parliament Elyas Naderan has alleged that First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi is the head of a large "corruption network".

Talk of corruption and the Ahmadinejad Government is far from new, so what's distinctive here? Well, Naderan is not a reformist or member of the Green opposition: he is a leading conservative voice on Parliament's Economic Committee. And just to note: the report is in the pro-Larijani Khabar Online.

Rah-e-Sabz offers a summary of the alleged "Fatemi Street" network, insurance fraud, and Rahimi's claimed involvement.

0530 GMT: A quieter day on the reformist/opposition front on Tuesday. There were moments such as Mir Hossein Mousavi's meeting with Feizollah Arab Sorkhi, the senior member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front who is on temporary release from detention.



So this is more of a case of waiting and watching. The significance does not have to be in an immediate action or statement of next steps; rather it is that Monday's meetings took place --- for the first time in this crisis to our knowledge, Mousavi, Karroubi, Khatami, Rafsanjani, and reformist MPs all connecting in a series of discussions.

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1945 GMT: Parliament-President Compromise? Mehr News reports that the Majlis and Government have formed a joint committee to resolve the disagreement over revenues from subsidy cuts. The move was announced by Gholam-Reza Mesbahi-Moghaddam, head of the special Parliamentary committee studying the economic reform plan.

Still, the move may not be a smooth one. Mesbahi-Moghaddam told Khabar Online, "After many years of studying and teaching economics in universities, why can't I be taken as an economist, but President Ahmadinejad who hasn't studied economy falsely regards himself as an economist?"

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1940 GMT: Karroubi Advisor Tortured? Saham News, the website of reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi’s Etemade Melli party, claims that Mohammad Davari, the detained chief editor, has been subjected to torture intended to force him to cast public doubt on Karroubi’s claims about the rape of post-election prisoners.


Saham News says Davari is in very poor physical and psychological condition. The website reports that he’s been allowed to meet with his mother briefly in jail only three times since his arrest.

1930 GMT:Academic Purity (cont.). Adding to our report that Professor Morteza Mardiha has been expelled from Allameh Tabatabei University, Pedestrian adds two others who have been suspended from their teaching positions: Mir Hossein Mousavi's chief advisor, Alireza Beheshti, and another Mousavi advisor, Ghorban Behzadian-Nejad.

1635 GMT: Oh, This Is Certain to Be Helpful. As the Obama Administration unveils its Nuclear Posture Review --- “If a non-nuclear weapon state is in compliance with the nonproliferation treaty and its obligations, the U.S. pledges not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against it" --- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates decides he needs to add a bit of Clint Eastwood-as-Dirty Harry to the public spin:

If you’re going to play by the rules ... then we will undertake certain obligations to you. But if you're not going to play by the rules, if you're going to be proliferator, then all options are on the table in terms of how we deal with you.

1625 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, spokesman for the Khatami Government and leading member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, has been given a five-year prison sentence.

Another member of the IIPF, Shahab Tabatabaei, has also been sentenced to five years in prison following appeal.

1620 GMT: Academic Purity. Morteza Mardiha, professor of political philosophy at Allameh Tabatabei University, has been expelled from the campus.

1540 GMT: Protest in The Netherlands. A group of Iranian protesters occupied Iran's embassy in The Hague today. There were a number of arrests as the demonstrators were removed.

1530 GMT: The Oil Front --- All is Well! Hamid Hoseini, the head of Petroleum Products Exports Syndicate, has confirmed that oil exports to India, China and Japan have been sharply reduced. In the case of Beijing, the fall is more than 50%. Hoseini warned that sanctions could be "effective" and Tehran cannot be choosy about its customers.

However, Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mir-Kazemi preferred to talk about imports rather than exports, saying Iran has the potential to achieve self-sufficiency in gasoline production amid the threat of sanctions and disinvestment.

1440 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist and student activist Omid Montazeri, arrested in December when he enquired about the detention of his mother, has been given a temporary release. He has been sentenced to six years in prison.

The detention of Kaveh Kermanshahi, human rights activist and member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, has been extended for another month. Kermanshahi was taken into custody at the start of February.

1430 GMT: Karroubi's Message. There is now a Persian summary of Mehdi Karroubi's meeting with the reformist coalition in Parliament (see separate entries for the Mousavi and Rafsanjani meetings) and a short English extract:

Mehdi Karroubi, strongly condemning the growth of lies, rumours, and deception in the name of Islam and religion by a small group, added, “Today I am not only mourning for Imam Khomeini [as the founder of the revolution] and what has happened to the revolution but more than anything I am mourning for Islam and Imam Ali (shia’s first Imam who is the symbol of justice).”

1310 GMT: Corruption and the Ahmadinejad Government. Elyas Naderan, a "conservative" MP and member of the Majlis' Economic Commission, has alleged that First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi is the head of a "corruption network".

0955 GMT: Iranian Spying Down Under? The Australian publishes an article claiming that the Iranian Embassy in Canberra is "spying on Iranian democracy activists in Australia, collecting intelligence on their activities, and reporting back to Tehran".

0945  GMT: The Post-Election Dead. Emrooz has posted a list of alleged names and burial places of 50 post-election protesters in Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery.

0830 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Human rights activist Mohammad Rhana Ghaznavids has been arrested.

0710 GMT: The Saberi protests. EA readers update us on the ongoing protests in front on the Japanese Embassy in Washington over the threatened deportation of activist Jamal Saberi.

Mission Free Iran reports on Sunday's demonstration, "Iranian Sweets and a Saberi Solidarity Cherry Tree", and announces another protest for next Sunday.

0700 GMT: We've now updated on the resumed political manoeuvres, posting a full translation of the meeting between Mir Hossein Mousavi and the reformist Parliamentary coalition.

0620 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The families of three of Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s advisors have visited Qom to appeal to senior clerics.

The families of Arab Maziar,  Alireza Beheshti Shirazi, and Ghorban Behzadian Nejad visited Grand Ayatollahs Vahid Khorasani, Mousavi Ardebili and Bayat Zanjani to express concerns about continuing detention and denial of legal rights.

All three men were detained on 28 December, one day after the Ashura demonstrations.

0610 GMT: Looks Like We Have a Theme. "There are a series of unresolved issues that the Parliament could take further" (0530 GMT) --- the Iranian Labor News Agency reports that 233 of the 290 members of the Majlis have written to Iran's head of judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, demanding a fight against "big" corruption.

0600 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Cleric Seyed Ahmadreza Ahmadpour, a senior member in Qom of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, has been given a one-year prison sentence by a clerical court.

The 1 1/2-year sentence of student activist Kaveh Rezaee has been upheld by an appeals court.

0530 GMT: We start this morning with the impression that, after the New Year holidays, the political battle has been resumed, big-time, in Iran.We put up a summary of Mousavi's statement to the reformist coalition at the end of our Monday updates, and we've now posted the exchange between the reformists and Rafsanjani.

We have a snap analysis, "Playtime's Over", of the developments.

Iran Snap Analysis: Playtime's Over

No doubt about it. Politics, conflict, and manoeuvring are back in Iran. After the New Year’s holiday, almost all the players were on court yesterday — the Supreme Leader, the President, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mir Hossein Mousavi, reformist MPs.

This re-surge of politics, marked by the fight over Ahmadinejad's subsidy cut and spending proposals and the meeting of reformists with Mousavi, Rafsanjani, Mehdi Karroubi, and Mohammad Khatami, has even caught the eye of journalists who have written little since the supposed bust of the Green Movement on 22 Bahman (11 February).

The non-Iranian media has only a limited view, however, and are scrambling for explanations: The New York Times, for example, decides that the Supreme Leader has come down strongly on the side of Ahmadinejad in the subsidy battle --- a fair hypothesis, but the "proof" comes from the declarations of the Islamic Republic News Agency and Press TV. (The Times article also takes no note of the Mousavi-Rafsanjani-Karroubi-Khatami meetings with reformists.)



What does all this mean? A proper analysis will take some time and will also need to be flexible to take account of the rush of developments, but here are some starting points:

1. This conflict has always been more than just the Green Movement v. the regime. Some coverage of 22 Bahman (11 February) fed that misleading view; the events yesterday demonstrate that we can now put away the narrative of "it all ended on that day".

2. Rafsanjani, Mousavi, and the reformists all signalled that they want to work within the framework of the Islamic Republic, and Rafsanjani in particular made it clear that there should be no challenge to the Supreme Leader. At the same time, all also stated firmly that the Government has distanced itself from the people, the marker of continuing and possibility escalating challenge to Ahmadinejad.

3. The meetings with the reformist coalition of MPs emphasised the importance of Parliament in the Iranian system. That is not just deference to those were in attendance; it is a sign that the Majlis is seen as the site of a move against the President. That in turn points to an attempt to work with the conservative "opposition within", including Larijani, in the battle on the budget and economic legislation.

4. But it's not just economics. There are a series of unresolved issues that the Parliament could take further, notably the investigation of the Government's post-election abuses.

Playtime is over.

The Latest from Iran (5 April): Repression

2230 GMT: To close this evening, a photograph of reformist leader Feizollah Arab Sorkhi, temporarily released from prison today, with his family (inset).

2215 GMT: Mousavi's Statement. Back from an evening break to find a summary of Mir Hossein Mousavi's discussion with reformist members of Parliament. We'll have an analysis in the morning but here is the substance....

Mousavi advised Iranian authorities to return to models set up by Ayatollah Khomeini and base policies on “collective wisdom” to remedy the post-election crisis. Had that wisdom prevailed earlier, “we would not have witnessed such bitter incidents.”

Mousavi, as he has done before, criticised both Iranian state media and foreign media. Iran's national broadcaster was “destroying the doctrines of the Imam (Khomeini)”: “In my opinion Seda va Sima [Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting] and the foreign media have been acting like the two edges of a pair of scissors in distorting the luminous face of the Imam.”

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Mousavi also invoked Khomeini to claim the "ability of the country to pass through the crises of the time” was through direct connection of the people with the regime, the government, and the leadership. In Khomeini's time, decisions were made through “rational discussions” and the Imam “provided a basis for the presence of different factions and opinions without barring anyone’s presence”.


1745 GMT: Spin of the Day. Press TV rewrites the critical letter of Ali Larijani (see 1615 GMT) to the President:

"As the Ahmadinejad government and Parliament move to iron out the details of the subsidy reform bill, Speaker Ali Larijani said Monday lawmakers would do their utmost to cooperate with the president, asking him to do the same."

1740 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Kalemeh reports that the release from detention of senior reformist Feizollah Arab-Sorkhi (see 1340 GMT) is for only five days and comes with a bail of $1 million.

1615 GMT: Larijani Responds to Ahmadinejad. We noted earlier today that the President had made an appeal, in a letter to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, for revision of the legislation on subsidy reform and spending.

Larijani has now replied sharply. In his letter, he defends the approach of the Majlis and criticises Ahmadinejad's speeches and request for a public referendum. He accuses the President of intervention and interference in the Majlis' affairs.

Larijani aligns himself with the Supreme Leader's recent advice for more co-operation between the Majlis and the Government. However, he asks Ahmadinejad to answer two questions:

Firstly, what is the Government forecast for the rate of inflation in each of the two scenarios of an extra $20 billion spending (The Parliament-approved bill) and an extra $40 billion"(Ahmadinejad's demand)?

Secondly, what would be the Government's estimate of economic growth in each of the scenarios?

1600 GMT: Nowruz Snub for Ahmadinejad? According to Khabar Online, only one-third of the Majlis' members attended the Norouz meeting held with the President.

Ali Larijani (head of Parliament), Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi Fard (First Deputy Speaker) , Mohammad Reza Bahonar (Second Deputy Speaker), Ahmad Tavakoli (Director of Majlis Research Center), Elyas Naderi, and a number of other well-known MPs are amongst those who did not attend the meeting.

1340 GMT: Arab-Sorkhi Released. EA has learned from a reliable source that Feizollah Arab-Sorkhi, the leading member of the Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution party detained since last summer, has come out of Evin Prison.

1320 GMT: Mahmoud's Nuclear. Oh, good, this should lead to a lot of heated press speculation. The head of Iran's atomic energy programme, Ali Akbar Salehi, has foreshadowed Iran's revelation of a "series of scientific achievements" on National Nuclear Technology Day: "The President [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] will have good news for the nation on Friday."

1245 GMT: Economy Watch. Kalemeh that 150 workers of a textile factory in Ardebil province in northwestern Iran gathered in front of the governor's office of the governor to protest unpaid wages for the last seven months.

The demonstration is politically significant because the factory was launched as part of the Ahmadinejad economy agenda in his re-election campaign. It is reported that the factory has cut its workforce by 85%.

1240 GMT: So Much for Development. Mizan Khabar reports that the Industrial Development and Renovation Organisation has prohibited the use of laptops, external drives, and other hardware by its managers on their foreign trips.

1235 GMT: Nuke Chatter. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has repeated its current line, without any sign of compromise, "Iran is still ready to negotiate a solution to its nuclear stand-off with the West, but only on the condition that foreign powers agree to a fuel swap on Iranian territory. "

1140 GMT: President's Subsidy Appeal. The Iranian Labor News Agency reports another intervention from President Ahmadinejad on the issue of subsidy reform and spending. He has written Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani to claim problems in the implementation of the Parliament-approved proposal and to call on the Majlis to help the Government.

1130 GMT: The Big Repression Question. An EA correspondent gets to the politics of the recent nes of detentions, in particular the contest with former President Hashemi Rafsanjani:

The next big question is whether all the high-profile political prisoners will go back to Evin, given that they were let out for the Nowrouz holidays and we are way past the end of them. In the case of Marashi, Rafsanjani's close associate, it seems that his period of liberty has come to an end.

Hassan Lahuti, Faezeh Hashemi's son and Rafsanjani's grandson, will have to face court proceedings and will therefore be barred from returning to London. The court proceedings of Rafsanjani's children, Mehdi and Faezeh Hashemi, are also going to happen within the near future, according to Rah-e-Sabz.

1035 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The authorities have not only put Hossein Marashi, ally of Hashemi Rafsanjani and a former Vice President, in jail; it appears they have also taken his blog off-line. A cached copy of Marashi's last entry, written on Sunday just before he was returned to prison, seems to be available.

(An EA correspondent reports that he can access Marashi's latest post, but I am still having no luck. In it, Marashi confirms his return to jail and says that he does not see the new period as that of a prisoner of the Islamic Republic but rather as a new duty and experience.)

1030 GMT: Economy Watch. The Central Bank of Iran claims that the annual inflation rate has declined sharply to 10.8% for the year ending 20 March 2010. This compares to 25.4% for the previous 12 months.

0900 GMT: One to Watch. Parleman News reports that delegates of the coalition of reformist parties, the Imam Khomeini Line, are in meetings with Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, Hashemi Rafsanjani, and Mohammad Khatami. Details are promised soon.

0830 GMT: Journalist and filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad, the imprisoned journalist and filmmaker, will appear in court today, offering his family the first chance to see him during his 107-day detention. Nourizad was reportedly not allowed to make a phone call for more than three months because of his refusal to accept interrogators’ demands and conditions. In the only call allowed to his famtily, he assured, “I am standing firm with an iron will.”

0545 GMT: One of the striking features of the debate over Iran's legal and political situation on Race for Iran, the blog of Flynt and Hillary Leverett, is the near-total refusal of regime and Ahmadinejad advocates --- including the Leveretts --- to discuss or even acknowledge the Government's detention and treatment of opponents. (That is a major reason why they focus on the question of the vote count in the Presidential election; it allows them to shut away the less savoury developments of the next 9 1/2 months.)

Occasionally, there will be a repetition of the regime line that the abuses at Kahrizak Prison, including the three deaths, were recognised by the Supreme Leader, but this is followed by the implication that this resolved any difficulties.

So this morning we begin with more news of political prisoners. Yesterday, we reported from an absolutely reliable source on the poor health of detained journalist Emad Baghi and the harassment of his family. In a few minutes, we'll post a disturbing message from the wife of imprisoned film director Jafar Panahi on concerns for his well-being.

In an audio interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, the son of journalist Isa Saharkhiz says his father’s condition has deteriorated since a hunger strike in March. Mehdi Saharkhiz said that his father has lost 20 kilogrammes (45 pounds) over the past few months and that solitary confinement and the harsh prison environment have threatened his health.

Pedestrian reports on a bit of good news with the release of student Sourena Hashemi after more than three months but adds this context: there is no word of the fate of his friend Alireza Firouzi, who was detained at the same time.

One of the reasons for Hashemi's arrest was his appearance in a campaign video for Mehdi Karroubi. All the students involved were expelled or suspended from their universities.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-Q_gyPkw0&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Of course, these are events which are not highlighted by the Iranian state. Yesterday, for example,there was a focus on the declaration of Iran's top nuclear negotiatior, Saeed Jalili, after his trip to Beijing that there were increasingly close relations between Iran and China. (More importantly, no word from Jalili about the substance of the negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme and threatened international sanctions.) Look also for big play of the story that China and India will attend Tehran's conference on nuclear disarmament on 17-18 April.

And many in the Western media can be distracted. A lot of the US press corps is being taken along with the book promotion of a "former Revolutionary Guard turned CIA agent", Reza Kahlili (a pseudonym), a story which could be true but is more than a decade old. Still, that doesn't stand in the way of headlines for Kahlili's headline assertion, "Iran will be a nuclear-armed state in the very near future....The only way to stop that from happening may be to attack Iran now, before it gets a nuclear weapon."

Top prize for scary distraction, however, goes to the  Financial Times which, with almost no support, announces, "US Fears Iran Could Use Powerboat as a Weapon."

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2225 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Javad Sharafkhani, the spokesperson for Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s election campaign in Ilam province in western Iran, has been arrested.

2220 GMT: We'll Get You (Even If You're Outside Iran). Minister of Justice Morteza Bakhtiari has announced that a special prosecutorial branch will be established shortly to deal with Iranians residing abroad.

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2215 GMT: Economy Watch. Mehdi Aqdaie, the deputy director of Iran's Privatisation Organization, has said that Iran hopes to raise about $12.5 billion by privatising more than 500 state firms during the 2010-11 year, including two refineries and two car makers.


1835 GMT: Propaganda Watch. Press TV --- bless 'em --- get it right this time. A day after headlining the Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki's statement with the prospect of nuclear annihilation, they correctly frame today's Mottaki declaration, which says nothing new: "Mottaki Calls For Global Nuclear Disarmament".

1445 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Radio Farda reports that Hossein Marashi,  a close political ally of Hashemi Rafsanjani and a cousin of Rafsanjani's wife, has been sent to jail again. Marashi, who has been given a one-year sentence, was detained last month but freed after a few days.

1420 GMT: Bayat-Zanjani and the Political Prisoners. Ayatollah Bayat-Zanjani, meeting the families of political prisoners, has said:

I am shocked that [our leaders] don’t learn from the fate of the rulers that came to power and fell throughout history? Why should one ignore the lessons learned from the past and commit the same wrong actions against the best of the people? Know this that the struggle to stay in power by any means possible requires confrontations such as what is being done against you. You are oppressed and the prayers of the oppressed will be answered.

1405 GMT: More Subsidy Fun. The Iranian Parliament has reconvened after the New Year break, and already battle has been joined over the President's insistence that he get more revenues from subsidy cuts.

Speaker Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Parliament announced that discussions have been "finalised", although the Parliament will “collaborate closely with the Government giving close attention to its views and reasoning.”

Defying Larijani, however, a group of MPs announced that they have prepared a new proposal for allocation of $35 billion from cuts instead of the already approved $20 billion. Ruhollah Hossenian, a fervent Ahmadinejad supporter, said that the proposal  has already been signed by 100 legislators.

1320 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist and human rights activist Abolfazl Abedini has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

There are concerns over the poor health of Farid Taheri, a member of the Freedom Movement of Iran detained on 27 January and held in Section 350 of Evin Prison.

The status of Ehsan Mohrabi of Farhikhtegan newspaper is unknown.

Jahangir Abdollahi, a Masters student in political science at Tehran University, is under pressure in Evin Prison to confess.

1045 GMT: We have posted absolutely reliable, disturbing information on the poor health of detained journalist Emaduddin Baghi and the harassment of his family.

1040 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. A new Rah-e-Sabz documentary highlights the role of Hashemi Rafsanjani in post-election events and attempts by the regime to limit his public intervention.

0830 GMT. And More Subsidy Clashes. Gholam-Reza Mesbahi-Moghaddam of Parliament's  Economic Committee has said that the Ahmadinejad Government is seeking to delay the implementation of the subsidy reform plan. Parliament only gave the President $20 billion of the extra $40 billion in revenues he was seeking from subsidy cuts.

0825 GMT: Oil Crunch. Could disinvestment in Iran's oil production (see 0615 GMT) become a crisis? Consider the half-empty, half-full spin of the Government.

Iran's Oil Minister Masoud Mirzakemi says the country needs $200 billion in investment in the oil sector. However, the head of Iran's Committee for Transportation and Fuel Management insists the country is capable of becoming self-sufficient in gasoline production this year.

0815 GMT: Press TV Funnies. Yesterday, the Iranian media outlet featured a headline which indicated Iran's Foreign Minister was supported nuclear annihilation (see our 0730 GMT update on Saturday). We are encouraged that Press TV staff are reading Enduring America since, soon after we noted this, the headline was changed to "FM: Iran Strongly Supports Elimination of Nukes".

Today, bless 'em, Press TV is chronologically confused over Iran's promotion of a nuclear-free world:

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says Tehran's international conference on nuclear disarmament has been widely welcomed.

According to Mehmanparast, the conference dubbed "Nuclear energy for all, nuclear weapons for none,” will be held in Tehran on March 17th and 18th.

0715 GMT: Photo of Day (see inset). Behzad Nabavi, the prominent reformist sentenced to five years in prison, and his wife enjoy the last days of his temporary release.

0713 GMT: Movies and Rights. Activist Shadi Sadr has received Amnesty International's  "Golden Butterfly" award for appearance in film Women in Shroud. Sadr writes, "I believe [this] is for all activists of the “Stop Stoning Forever Campaign” –-- both those who appeared in the documentary film...and those who didn’t."

Bahman Ghobadi, the director of the drama-"documentary" No One Knows About Persian Cats, received two awards from the international film festival in the Netherlands.

0710 GMT: Renewal. The cultural newspaper Farhang-e-Ashti has reappeared after its suspension and the arrest of a number of its journalists.

0705 GMT:  InsideIRAN offers an overview of the emergence of the women's movement:

It is certainly too soon to draw conclusions or write endings for a fragile movement that has been under increasing pressure, but just like other aspects of the green movement, it is the outreach of the women’s movement within society that gives it strength and prominence. Despite the heavy crackdown on some of its most notable leaders, as long as fourteen-year-old girls across Iran are engaging in conversation, it will be an ongoing struggle and a voice that cannot be silenced.

0650 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Green Voice of Freedom publishes the names and sentences of 26 "lesser-known" detainees in Section 350 of Evin Prison.



Kalemeh warns of the declining health of journalist Mohammad Nourizad. Arrested on 20 December, Nourizad suffers from a heart problem and diabetes.

Nourizad wrote for the pro-government Kayhan but became a vocal critic of the regime after the 12 June election.

Baha’i photographer and musician Artin Ghazanfari has been released on $50,000 bail.

0640 GMT: Interviewed by Rah-e-Sabz, Farrokh Negahdar of the socialist Organization of Iranian People's Fedayyin supports non-violent protests, with constant pressure for change of laws and expansion of the popular base, especially amongst workers.

0615 GMT: A Happy Easter Day to all those celebrating the occasion.

More on yesterday's visits by hundreds of reformists to former President Mohammad Khatami. Khabar Online --- far from a reformist publication --- offers two articles, providing a list of visitors and observing that visits continued even after the noon prayer. Indeed, not all those stopping by were reformists; several visitors came in Government cars, indicating they are currently serving in the Ahmadinejad administration.

Mohammad Javad Haghshenas, the publisher of Mehdi Karroubi's now-banned newspaper Etemade Melli, has said that reformists should seek an understanding with "hardliners", while expanding their popular base of support.

The prominent academic Sadegh Zibakalam has evaluated that further sanctions against Iran are inevitable; China can lessen but not prevent them.

On the economic front, in a sign that company disinvestment from Iran is having an effect, Hamid Hosseini of the Chamber of Commerce complains about insufficient participation of the private sector in the oil industry.