The Latest from Iran (21 September): Protests and Gasoline

2025 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. AFP has now picked up the story that former President Hashemi Rafsanjani met the families of political prisoners and promised to raise their cases with the Supreme Leader.

2015 GMT: Attacking the Judiciary. A curious and possibly significant editorial in the official Islamic Republic News Agency --- which is generally in league with the President's office --- criticising Iran's judiciary for allowing political prisoners to write letters which are then publicised.

1930 GMT: Economy Watch. Vice President Mohammad Reza Mirtajoddini has denied that the Government is postponing the implementation of its subsidy cuts, scheduled for next week.

1925 GMT: Mahmoud's Disappointment. Some folks suspected we were being a bit harsh on the Iranian President, suggesting that he did not have a sell-out audience for his speech today at the UN's Millennium Development Goals Summit. So here's the picture:

1545 GMT: And There Goes Mahmoud..."

Ahh, this is why there was no fanfare for the Ahmadinejad speech. From AFP in The Times of India:

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a chaotic speech at the UN summit on Tuesday — with no one except for the controversial leader and his delegation really sure what he said. 

Ahmadinehad broke off one minute into his presentation to complain about the translation to the UN assembly presidency. 

The president carried on again but at the end, the UN interpreters said they were only "reading from a translated text" and not following Ahmadinejad's comments. 

The assembly hall was half empty, but Western delegations did not boycott the speech as they have done in previous years. 

According to the translated text, Ahmadinejad called for fundamental reform of "the undemocratic and unjust" world order. 

"Demanding liberal capitalism and transnational corporations have caused the suffering of countless women, men and children in so many countries," he was quoted as saying.

1445 GMT: Here's Mahmoud....

Well, President Ahmadinejad has addressed the Millennium Development Goals Summit at the UN, and I've got to say that's an undramatic curtain-raiser for his speech to the General Assembly on Thursday. No doubt he's doing a fine job, but a picture shows a fairly empty auditorium, and no one --- not even Press TV English --- is carrying the speech live . 

Press TV's website offers this snapshot from Ahmadinejad's "call on world powers to abandon their undemocratic decisions": "Those who only take their own interests into consideration will never be able to bring justice and prosperity to the world. We should name the second decade of the millennium 'The Joint Management of World Affairs by the UN."

1355 GMT: Protests. The Los Angeles Times picks up on last night's rooftop chants in Tehran, adding the message put out by Green Voice of Freedom: "The people's chants left no doubt that should the Iranian regime be foolish enough to in any form or shape imprison the Movement's leaders, the repercussions will indeed by 'bitter' and painful for Iran's ... rulers."

1215 GMT: Ahmadinejad Spins. We are waiting for the video of the President's interview on Monday night with the US Public Broadcasting Service. Iranian media are putting out Ahmadinejad's standard line that he is open to talks on the nuclear programme but "we can't tolerate that [the 5+1 group of the US, France, Britain, Russia, China, and Germany] uses the language of threat and pressure against us so that their conditions dominate the negotiations."

However, in light of our opening entry (0545 GMT) on problems for Iran with gasoline supply, we were struck by this assertion by the President: "When sanctions were not imposed we only met 10% of the national oil industry needs. However, following the imposition of sanctions, currently, more than 70% of the needs of national oil industry are provided for domestically with the hard efforts of Iranian experts."

1205 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Persian2English has translated a letter from Arjang Davoudi, who is nearing the 70th day of a hunger strike in Rajai Shahr Prison:

Freedom lovers of the world,

Can human rights be respected by [this] government?

Can a regime whose leaders talk about wiping out a country that is a member of the United Nations be trusted to respect the rights of prisoners, especially the rights of political prisoners?

Is a regime, where the black and white turbans of the governing entities are the indicators of discrimination within its higher levels, capable of recognizing and respecting the rights of its citizens?

Does a 64[+] day hunger strike by a 57 year old political prisoner not touch every free-minded person around the world? Does the negligence by prison physicians and authorities not shock them?

1200 GMT: Parliament v. President. Is this a warning to Ahmadinejad or an attempt to fend off criticism from legislators by saying, "Sure, we'll do something"?

Mohammad Reza Bahonar, until recently the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, has said that the Majlis could discuss the President's impeachment.

1155 GMT: Economy Watch. MP Mohammad Taghi Rahbar has warned that, as the Government introduces subsidy cuts, the Iranian people must "prepare to endure six months of hardship".

1150 GMT: Facebook and the Artists' Boycott. In the midst of William Yong's article on Tehran Bureau, "Iranians Shift to Facebook for Art", there is this telling passage:

Following the election result and its violent aftermath, hundreds of Iranian artists withdrew from government sponsored events, culminating with the annual Fajr Arts Festival, a celebration of the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution held every February, where the absence of Iran's best artists this year was most keenly felt.

"Of all the people who are well known in the art world I didn't see a single one who took part," said Reza Hedayat, a long-established Iranian painter whose work draws on images from the folklore and symbols of his native region of Kurdistan.

"I'm not a political person, I don't understand politics. But in certain conditions, even if you don't call it boycotting, many people just don't feel good about participating in particular events."

1140 GMT: Jobs for the President's Boys. Kalemeh claims that an associate of President Ahmadinejad's right-hand man, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, has landed a $450 million contract for a development on Kish Island.

1130 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Kalemeh posts a statement by 220 political and social activists demanding the release of all political prisoners.

0825 GMT: Clerical Reminder. Ayatollah Javadi Amoli has advised, "Don't forget the main culprits in the Kahrizak case."

In the aftermath of the 2009 election, detainees were abused and killed at the Kahrizak facility. Two personnel were eventually sentenced to death and 11 others given prison sentences, but no other official has been punished. 

Last month, three officials, including Presidential aide Saeed Mortazavi, were officially suspended by the judiciary from their posts for possible complicity in the abuses, but none have been charged yet.

0810 GMT: The Rooftop Protests. Green Voice of Freedom summarises the locations in Tehran of last night's rooftop chants (see video in separate entry and at 0545 GMT) and adds that drivers honked their horns in support. Rooz Online has a report.

0755 GMT: Sanctions Watch (Turkey Hits Back Edition). Oops, doesn't look like that Western pressure on Ankara (see 0745 GMT) over trade with Iran has done the trick....

President Abdullah Gul, in New York for the UN meetings of heads of state, has said that Turkey "is engaged in very active cooperation both visible and invisible" with the U.S. and others to resolve questions over Iran's nuclear programme.

Gul added, however, that while Turkey would adhere to sanctions imposed by the UN on Iran, it would not necessarily support the wider US restrictions. Gul said punitive economic measures against Iran were "not productive" and risked breeding "hatred and hostility among the people".

0745 GMT: Sanctions Watch (Pressing Turkey Edition). Unnamed "diplomats" have hit back at Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's declaration last week --- amidst a visit by Iranian 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi --- that he foresaw Ankara's trade with Tehran tripling to $30 billion per year, despite US and international sanctions.

The "Western" officials told Reuters that Turkey and "other US allies" have been allowing Iranian banks to operate. Not only that, they fed classified documents to the news agency: one said, "Turkey's blossoming financial-economic relationship with Iran provides Iran with a gateway to the entire European financial system. The fact that Turkey is allowing itself to be used as a conduit for Iranian activity via Turkish banks and the Turkish lira is making it possible for Iranian funds in Turkish guise to make their way into Europe."

0720 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Those pursuing the eternal quest of understanding and anticipating the manoeuvres of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani are encouraged to note a debate in Tabnak between Sadegh Zibakalam and Ebrahim Fayez.

0715 GMT: Execution Watch. Cyrus Farivar, echoing information from sources posted on EA yesterday, says that Iran's "Blogfather", Hossein Derakhshan, is awaiting sentencing on his espionage conviction and that the prosecutor is seeking the death penalty. 

0545 GMT: We begin this morning by noting two developments. 

Clips continue to arrive which claims to be of last night's rooftop chants in Tehran. An EA correspondent offers an additional note on this footage taken by one protester: "Listen to the whistles of the security forces in the background."

Beyond the signs of protests, we get a message about the economic situation in Iran, specifically the question of whether there is a squeeze on the country's supplies of gasoline.

Defenders of the government have seized upon a recent assertion by Juan Cole that "the regime is not vulnerable" over gasoline imports, leading to the wider assertion, "Ahmadinejad comes to New York with a substantially strengthened position".

Dr Paul Sullivan, a specialist on the energy sector helps EA take apart the claim:

The Government recently announced that "self-sufficiency" was being achieved in part because of the conversion of petrochemical plants --- with the suspension of their exports --- into production facilities for gasolines. However, petrochemicals plants cannot be turned into "refineries" without massive investments, usually economically and technically absurd investments, given that transport vehicles might blow up or break down regularly because of impure and incorrect results in production cycles which replicate those of refineries.

Crude oil is the main feedstock for gasoline production and this seriously affects any petrochemical output. To make enough gasoline from petrochemicals plants to make up for the reduction in imports, petrochemical plants have to supplant massive amounts of production of other important commodities.

In short, this is a very expensive way of producing gasoline. So Iran is subsidising even more expensively produced gasoline at the same time cutting back on petrochemical production.