The Latest from Iran (19 November): Politics and Human Rights

1225 GMT: Your Friday Prayer Summary. Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi taking the pulpit today, and he has an interesting call to economic arms for the faithful: the Government's subsidy cuts plan deserves the "efforts and sacrfices" of the people.

In case you think that message is a sign of regime nerves, Seddiqi got back to safer ground with declaration that the people had unitied to defeat sedition after the 2009 Presidential election. He also praised the formation of a government in Iraq.

0915 GMT: Diversion Alert. The editors of The Washington Post, meanwhile, would be much happier if we could all just keep our eyes focused on bombs: "Why Give Iran a Reason Not to Fear a Military Attack?"

0905 GMT: What Meeting? Yesterday the trumpets were out that President Ahmadinejad would be meeting Russian President Dmitri Medvedev one-on-one on the sidelines of the five-nation Caspian Sea summit.

That promised to be big news, given recent Iranian-Russian friction over sanctions and Moscow's suspended delivery of S-300 missile systems.

So what happened? This is the entire report from Russia's Interfax:

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of the Caspian summit in Baku on Thursday.

Russian presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told journalists a day before that the meeting would deal with "the explanation of our position, the explanation of Iran's position regarding their plans and willingness to take into account the international community's concerns and looking for ways to promote dialogue on nuclear problems.

Iranian state media, what say you? Nothing --- not a shred of a report this morning.

Hmm....

0855 GMT: Imaginary Threats. Then again, who needs to discuss human rights when there are other shows to watch? From Press TV: "On day four of the military maneuvers that began on Tuesday, the Islamic Republic's anti-aircraft guns shot down the hypothetical enemy's warplanes."

0845 GMT: The World's Youngest Imprisoner Blogger. Reporters Sans Frontieres highlights the case of 18-year-old Navid Mohebbi, currently on trial behind closed doors --- and without the presence of a lawyer --- in northern Iran. 

The author of "The Writings of Navid Mohebbi", a women's rights activists, was arrested on 18 September and charged with “activities contrary to national security”, “insulting the Islamic Republic’s founder and current leader...by means of foreign media”, and being a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign calling for changes to laws that discriminate against women.

Reporters Sans Frontieres also notes other imprisoned bloggers, including Ahmad Reza Ahmadpour, a cleric and editor of the “Silent Echo” website, who was arrested on 27 December and is serving a one-year sentence on charges of “disseminating false information attacking the government” and “discrediting the Shiite clergy”.

0835 GMT: We begin with the latest propaganda salvoes over "human rights". Despite Iran's sustained effort to put the blame on the West for human rights violations --- with a high-ranking delegation from Iran in New York and a barrage of articles in state media on Western transgressions from the death penalty to problems with health care and crime --- Tehran was knocked back in the United Nations yesterday.

By an 80-45 vote, the General Assembly’s Human Rights Committee adopted a US-sponsored resolution criticising Iran's “serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations” and expressing “deep concern” about violence against women, restrictions on freedom of assembly and expression, and persecution of religious minorities, political opponents, lawyers and journalists.

Mohammad Javad Larijani, the head of the human rights division of the Iranian judiciary, called the resolution a “malicious threat” that would “inflict serious damage to the credibility” of the UN. He added that the US, the “mastermind” behind the text, was “deeply and extensively involved” in protests after the 2009 Presidential election.

The General Assembly committee also adopted resolutions criticising human rights violations in Burma and North Korea.