The Latest from Iran (20 October): 240 Days of House Arrest

Iran Feature: A "Son of Stuxnet" Attack Against Tehran's Computers?
Iran Video: Anything to See Here? Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Interview with Al Jazeera English
The Latest from Iran (19 October): Tehran Embraces Occupy Wall Street

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2030 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The six-year prison sentence of journalist Abdolreza Tajik has been confirmed by an appeals court.

Tajik was arrested in June 2010 and charged with acting against national security, propagating against the regime, and collaborating with the Centre for the Defence of Human Rights, co-founded by Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi.

Tajik has worked for several reformist newspapers.

1400 GMT: Contradiction of the Day. Stephen Kinzer offers a classic example of how an analyst gets so wrapped in the stereotype of "Great Power" competition that he no longer sees what is significant and what is a distraction.

Writing for The New York Times about "Iran, the Saudis and the New 'Great Game'", Kinzer seems to have reached the important point --- well beyond Riyadh and Tehran:

Here lies an essential truth of the intensifying rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Most people in the Middle East reject both of them. The political and social models they offer are less attractive than ever. Both countries are isolated from the world and governed by misogynistic gerontocracies. They are hardly inspirational models for idealistic Arabs — especially not for the young, who have no wish to live under the paralyzing social restrictions that deaden life in Iran and Saudi Arabia.

And then, having noted that Iran-Saudi relations are on the margins for most people in the Middle East, Kinzer promptly erases the useful observation from his mind and does a 180-degree turn: "Much of what happens in the Middle East over the coming months and years will be shaped by this semi-clandestine war."

1300 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Some pointed messages to the President from MPs....

Esmail Kousari says documents about the relationship of Ahmadinejad's team with foreigners are available and will be shown to people at the right time.

And Mohammad Dehghan warns that if Ahmadinejad's advisors cause "an impasse in the system", it will be dealt with severely before the end of the Presidential term.

1225 GMT: Picture of the Day. A photograph of the Supreme Leader with the Ahmadinejad Cabinet on Wednesday in Kermanshah....

To the left of Ayatollah Khamenei, there's 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, And I see controversial Ahmadinejad advisor Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, two places further along.

But wait --- where's the President?

0825 GMT: Scare Story of the Day. Charging ahead, despite scepticism over their initial claims of an Iranian plot to kill the Saudi Ambassador to Washington, three American officials have fed Reuters the line that "the United States believes Iran's shadowy Quds Force is becoming increasingly aggressive overseas and may be working on other international plots".

A "senior US official" told Reuters, "They're being more aggressive...not only in Iraq but worldwide."

Reuters notes that the officials "declined to provide details of the evidence that the Quds Force may have other plots in the works", but it then highlights their spin that this is "more than just speculation or analysis": ""These are not merely aspirational plots dreamed up by the Quds Force. In fact, there is active planning around them,"

To drive home the threat, Reuters --- using the comment of analyst Karim Sadjadpour --- calls the head of the Quds Force, Qassem Suleimani "the second most powerful man in Iran".

Perhaps inadvertently, Reuters offers a clue to all the posturing around The Plot, whether or not the high-level Iranian involvement is true: this is part of the fencing between Tehran and Washington for position in a changing region. The US official tips off the line, "There are opportunities [the Iranians] think they can exploit in various places in the Middle East, that either they've got some foothold, and we're on one side, and they're on the other."

0635 GMT: Sedition Watch. Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi has declared that the "slightest movements" of hypocrite groups are under the close scrutiny"of Iran's intelligence services.

Moslehi asserted, “There are always hypocrite and terrorist grouplets, but fortunately, having a strong intelligence apparatus at our disposal we do not permit anyone to launch any terrorist or espionage activity, particularly thanks to our full control over our border regions.”

0630 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Arash Najbaei, arrested in February and bailed in April, has been sentenced to six years in prison for conspiracy to disturb national security and anti-regime propaganda.

Masoud Sadeghi, also arrested after protests on 14 February, has been sentenced to six years in prison and 74 lashes on the same charges, as well as insulting the Supreme Leader. He has also been sentenced to 74 lashes for insulting the President.

Souran Alipour, who has been in detention for the past 10 months, has also received a six-year prison sentence for collaborating with religious movements.

0500 GMT: The Facebook page supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi posts the English translation of an interview with the three daughters of Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, both of whom have been under strict house arrest with fellow opposition figures Mehdi and Fatemeh Karroubi since mid-February:

After our father's decisive exchange with a judicial authority who was present at our home during the month of Ramadan [in August], all communication with our parents was completely cut off. It has been more than 50 days since we had any news of our parents. A few days ago, however, [the security forces] contacted our grandparents and said that they were fine. They also contacted one of our relative...and allowed this relative to visit with our parents on that very same day. We three [daughters], however, have been completely deprived of hearing our parents' voices and seeing them in person. The relative allowed visitation with our parents informed us that they are healthy and in good spirits.

The daughters continued:

Naturally, in an attempt not to worry us, our parents generally don't talk about their living condition. There are certain things, however, that we...saw or heard about. For example, we noticed that iron bars were installed on all the windows in the house. The entire house and the street leading to the house is filled with cameras and spotlights. Our parents have been incarcerated on one floor, with iron bars on their windows with absolutely no communication with the outside world. 

It goes without saying that this type of behaviour has been very difficult for us to endure, but our father has always reiterated that he is not bothered by all this pressure and he is thankful to God for giving him the opportunity to work towards his goals and ideals. They continue to pressure our parents by ensuring that they remain incommunicado for long periods of time while feeding them lies about us three daughters. They also pressure them by threaten to have us arrested because of the few vague reports we have published regarding our parents. Let us not forget that, except for the day our grandfather passed away, when our father was only allowed to briefly come to our late grandfather's house for about 20 minutes and even then under extreme security measures, our father has not been allowed to see any of his family members.