The Latest from Iran (25 October): No Gratitude for CNN

See also Iran Video Interview: Ahmadinejad Puts Out His Standard Lines to CNN's Zakaria
The Latest from Iran (24 October): How To Instantly Become an Iranian Citizen

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1845 GMT: All-Is-Well Alert. In an interview with the Swiss newspaper NZZ, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has said that everyone in Iran has access to the Internet, and there are daily papers from all political camps.

1835 GMT: No Gratitude for CNN. Back to where we began this morning, with Iran State TV's attack on CNN and Fareed Zakaria....

It appears the cause for the assault was not Zakaria's interview of the President but an accompanying piece he did about life in Tehran. Zakaria was positive about many aspects of life in a Tehran of "order" and "cleanliness" (somehow missing Tehran's extraordinary levels of air pollution and minimising the significance of its crowded roads), but State TV claimed he had spoken of a "dark and gloomy" city. Specifically, he "tried to prove U.S. claims that Iran is under pressure because of the sanctions. In order to do so he resorted to lies".

Indeed, Zakaria, while ignoring issues such as unemployment and inflation, did hone in on sanctions. He said Iranians blamed the regime in part for the situation and indicated that the Western measures had strengthened the grip of the Revolutionary Guards on the economy:

1830 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? Aftab News has a different emphasis on the Ahmadinejad speech (see 1825 GMT), quoting the President, "People will sweep away my enemies within two seconds."

1825 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? President Ahmadinejad was in Birjand in eastern Iran today, but his theme was Libya.

Ahmadinejad claimed Western countries supported former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi when it benefitted them but bombed Tripoli when Qaddafi no longer served their purpose, so they could "plunder" the country's oil wealth: "Some people said they killed this gentleman to make sure he would not be able to say anything, just like what they did to [Osama] bin Laden."

The President called on Libyans to "stand and run the country themselves".

1815 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Hamidreza Katouzian, the head of Parliament's Energy Commission, has added his voice to those insisting that the questioning of the President by Parliament is still possible (see 1310 GMT).

Katouzian said 85 of Iran's 290 MPs were still on the petition to interrogate Ahmadinejad.

1755 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Actress Marzieh Vafamehr, detained for more than three months, has been released on bail.

Vafamehr was arrested after she appeared in the film Tehran for Sale, directed by Granaz Moussavi. She was reportedly sentenced to a year in prison and 90 lashes.

1318 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Saudi Front). In another sign that Tehran is trying to contain any tension over the alleged plot to kill the Saudi Ambassador to the US, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi will attend the funeral of the Saudi Crown Prince.

1310 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. It looks like the argument over whether Parliament should question the President is not quite over. MP Abdoljabbar Karami has said that the head of a Parliamentary commission, rather than ruling out interrogation, should have backed the demand of dozens of legislators for questioning.

Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad met with Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani on Monday for three hours. No details of the talks were offered.

0635 GMT: Elections Watch. It looks like the pro-Ahmadinejad Islamic Constancy Front, which has held out against unity talks with other conservative and principlist factions, may be in a bit of trouble. With Morteza Agha Tehrani withdrawing his candidacy for next March's Parliamentary election, no member of the Constancy Front's Central Committee will be running.

0630 GMT: The Bank Fraud. In the latest attempt to deal with the politics of the $2.6 billion bank fraud, Iran Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei went on television Monday night.

Mohseni Ejei tried to show that his staff had control of the situation: the bank fraud had been put into effect after a master plan, but 31 people had been arrested, out of 67 questioned, and the Chief Executive Office of the Amir Mansour Khosravi Company, at the heart of the fraud, had confessed. He said that if the former head of Bank Melli, Mahmoud Reza Khavari, did not return from Canada, Iranian authorities would apply to Interpol for his arrest.

As for the politics, Mohseni Ejei said he could not name those close to power who were involved, but assured that some of them had been summoned and the results of the investigations would be out within a month. Is that a statement to control not only the enquiry but also President Ahmadinejad and his inner circle?

0530 GMT: Energy Watch. Deputy Minister of Oil Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr has said Iran needs to invest $48 billion for development of its oil and natural gas industries.

Khojasteh-Mehr said development of the South Pars gas field, the world’s largest, is a priority, with $16 billion to be invested there.

0525 GMT: Reassurance of the Day. Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has spoken, during a visit to Switzerland for the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting, of his assurances to delegates: "I told them that we are not seeking to be an empire, and that the equation presented by the Islamic Revolution is basically different from the conventional equation of the (world) powers."

0449 GMT: Supreme Leader v. President? In a lengthy review of the Supreme Leader's recent suggestion that a directly-elected President might be replaced by a Prime Minister selected by Parliament, Muhammad Sahimi has this interesting note:

The daily Iran, which is a strong supporter of Ahmadinejad, seemed to mock what Khamenei said..., "Those who want to be known as the political elite are after such a plan. The competition now is over recognition. That means everybody is trying to find a way to get himself recognized. For example, in order for you [the person who is after recognition] to demonstrate that you are a political elite, you may say we do not need a president, but need a prime minister, or a magistrate."

This article was removed from the Iran website, but not before it was noted by others. Interestingly, Dolat-e Ma, a website that supports Ahmadinejad and had reposted Iran's article, was first blocked and then replaced the article by blank space.

0445 GMT: Media Watch. Iran Police Chief Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam has declared that working with the BBC and Voice of America is an offense. He said those who wish to do so must obtain a permit from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and they can only pursue their projects "if they are not pursuing certain goals in Iran".

Six filmmakers were arrested last month on the pretext that they were working with BBC Persian. Three are still detained.

0440 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Ali Tari, the head of Mir Hossein Mousavi's 2009 Presidential campaign in Mazandaran Province, has been summoned to serve his six-month prison sentence.

0430 GMT: A twist on CNN's high-profile interview of President Ahmadinejad....

We thought the President deftly handled Fareed Zakaria, possibly leaving behind some significant remarks on Syria but little else; however, someone in Iran is not happy about the episode. Channel 2 of State broadcaster IRIB swipes at those who gave Zakaria a visa to enter Iran:

Among the claims, all of them distortions of the CNN journalist's statements: Zakaria supports the US claim that sanctions hurt Iran,denies IR influence on the Arab Spring, and has headed a boycott campaign against Ahmadinejad.