The Latest from Iran (5 October): Ahmadinejad Makes a Televised Move

2010 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Back to our opening story, courtesy of Muhammad Sahimi's translation of the account in Aftab News of the President's TV interview last night:

This was Ahmaidnejad's defence over claims that Government mismanagement, neglect, and/or corruption contributed to the $2.6 billion bank fraud scandal:

I have been speaking about our banking system for six years and have been rebuked for it. We see things and believe that they should be reformed, and we will begin fundamental reforms before this administration ends [in 2013]. Right from the beginning [of my presidency], we kept saying that there are problems and I have said repeatedly that a few can profit greatly, but common people cannot. The fact is our banking system is not controlled by anyone, and the government has no control over it. I am not saying nothing can be done, but sometimes certain regulations are approved without paying attention to their consequences.

If the system [his administration] was not willing to confront [corruption], one could complain. But the system itself has discovered [the embezzlement], persists, and seeks to punish the offenders.... But I believe some are taking revenge against the Iranian nation, which acted very well. The targeted subsidies demonstrated that the future is bright. The Iranian nation makes great decisions, carries out great plans, [takes] great steps, whether in industry, or agriculture, or science. The nation can move forward and stand at the top. But some come forward and by insulting the government and making accusations, take revenge against the people, whereas nothing [unusual] is going on and we are doing our job. Why are you [critics] destroying yourselves? We should live in this country, and be happy and hopeful. Why are you trying to ruin everything? We have of course declared that we keep silent. We are still silent. These [accusations] all have responses, but we have kept silent for the sake of the nation.

2000 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (with Musical Accompaniment). Bultan News has reported the arrest of 25 music video producers who made clips for foreign-based satellite TV stations. They are accused of producing "trash music" for singers and "underground music groups" in the holy city of Mashhad. Two "well-known music directors and producers" are supposedly among the detainees.

1930 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Kalemeh reports that journalists Mehdi Afshar-Nik and Ali Akrami have been arrested in their homes. Melli adds that journalist Mohammad Heydari has been seized.

Afshar-Nik was a reporter for Mehdi Karroubi's outlet Etemad-e Melli before it was banned in autumn 2009. Akrami and Heydari are affiliated with the National Religious Party, whose leadership has been decimated by detentions since the 2009 Presidential election.

1654 GMT: Foreign Affairs Watch (Syrian Front). Fars has featured a statement from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, insinuating that he was willing to light Israel on fire if attacked by an outside power (cross-posted from our Arab Spring LiveBlog):

"If a crazy measure is taken against Damascus, I will need not more than 6 hours to transfer hundreds of rockets and missiles to the Golan Heights to fire them at Tel Aviv," Assad said after Davutoglu conveyed the United States' warning message to him.

He also reiterated that Damascus will also call on Hezbollah in Lebanon to launch such an intensive rocket and missile attack on Israel that the Israeli spy agencies could never imagine.

"All these events will happen in three hours, but in the second three hours, Iran will attack the US warships in the Persian Gulf and the US and European interests will be targeted simultaneously," Assad said.

So, for all the talk about Iran distancing itself from Syria, Fars is more than willing to give Assad the stage for his threats.

1625 GMT: Bank Fraud Watch. A couple of warnings for the Ahmadinejad administration over the $2.6 billion bank fraud....

Ali Saeedi, the Supreme Leader's representative to the Revolutionary Guards, has said that weak government monitoring and supervision led to the fraud. Mehdi Taeb, cleric and brother of senior Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Taeb is even more ominous: a "special person" and a "special current" committed the bank fraud to weaken people's trust in the system.

1615 GMT: Behind Every Supreme Leader Is A.... There is a Mrs. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. We now know this because an interview with her, reportedly the first ever, has been published. It was a long-term process --- the chat took place in 1993 --- and she still does not have a face or a name: she is just "“the wife of the leader” or "the wife of the leader of the revolution".

But at least we now that Ayatollah Khamenei is a caring husband, even though he does not do the dishes, and that full-length black is the best fashion for the Iranian woman....

How did you meet your husband?
I married him in 1964. The wedding took place as it was customary in religious families of those days; her mother came to our house to ask for my hand.
How many children do you have?
We have four sons and two daughters. Our sons were born before the [1979 revolution] and our daughters after.
How did you help your husband in his struggle [against the Shah’s regime]? I think my biggest role was to preserve a calm atmosphere in our home so that he could do his work in peace. I would sometimes visit him in prison without telling him about our problems. In response to his questions about us, I would only give him good news. Of course I was also active in distributing pamphlets, carrying messages and hiding documents, but I think [these actions] are not worth mentioning.
Does your husband help you at home?
He neither currently has time [to help] nor do I expect him to do so. One admirable trait he has which could be as an example for others, is that even, though he often comes home tired from work, he does his best to keep work-related problems away from home.
Are you a government employee?
As a Muslim woman in the Islamic Republic, like all the other Muslim sisters, I have some responsibilities which I perform with full force. But I don’t have any official responsibility.
What does your husband expect from you?
He doesn’t expect anything but a happy, calm, and healthy family environment.
Please tell your view about the Islamic Hijab for our readers.
I think chador is the best cover for outside the home. For inside the home, it’s very different. Of course clothing should always be according to Islamic chastity.

1315 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (BBC Edition). Just checking in to find a significant twist in the story of six filmmakers who were arrested last month on the pretext that they worked for BBC Persian....

Peter Horrocks, the BBC's head of global news, is claiming that relatives and friends of 10 members of BBC Persian's staff have been arrested, as Iranian authorities stage a "dramatic increase in anti-BBC rhetoric" and intensify blocking of the channnel.

The measure follow a documentary on the Supreme Leader, aired by BBC Persian in Spetember.

"Iranian police and officials have been arresting, questioning and intimidating the relatives of BBC staff. We believe that the relatives and friends of around 10 BBC staff have been treated this way," said Horrocks. "Passports have been confiscated, homes searched and threats made. The relatives have been told to tell the BBC staff to stop appearing on air, to return to Iran, or to secretly provide information on the BBC to the Iranian authorities."

0415 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. The President, as well as getting his live interview, also got some good news on Tuesday. According to Tehran MP Hossein Nejabat, eleven MPs --- including high-profile critics of the President such as Ahmad Tavakoli --- have withdrawn their complaint against the President over the $2.6 billion bank fraud in deference to the Supreme Leader's wishes. They will now await the outcome of a report by Parliament's Article 90 Commission.

0355 GMT: In the end, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got his live interview on State TV. The rumour that his opponents within the establishment would press IRIB into airing a recorded talk, rather than giving the President a prime-time slot --- on IRIB 2, not IRIB 1 --- was unfounded.

Ahmadinejad used the opportunity to polish his self-image as an economic saviour for Iran, bringing it the necessary reform of subsidy cuts and a surge in employment. He put on the display of world leader, combined with the standard declarations of ascendancy over the US and Israel, by referring to the "success" of his United Nations speech. And along the way, he again tried the significant move of talks with the US, albeit on the pre-condition that Washington took its warships out of the Persian Gulf.

Whether this amounts to more than a few minutes of cherished air-time remains to be seen. The President's economic proclamations are likely to be swallowed up by the furour over the $2.6 billion bank fraud --- not to mention the lack of evidence on Iran's streets, as unemployment and inflation both rise --- and the domestic opposition to any approach to the US is likely to pre-empt Ahmadinejad's hopes that he can pull off the victory of both enhancing his power and Tehran's international standing with a high-profile deal with Washington.

Indeed, the signs that the President is being contained --- despite his "live" victory --- are there. We had reports last night that there were "broadcast problems" during parts of his interview, notably passages on talks with the US and on Ahmadinejad's overhaul of a weak and Western-style administrative system with his "popular" provincial tours. 

The pro-Ahmadinejad State agency IRNA, in its lengthy summary of the interview, leads with the President's rhetoric about victory at the United Nations, leaving the economic section for much later in the article and couching the references to talks with Washington to "a relationship with the US", highlighting the President's criticism of the warships in the Persian Gulf. The English-language Press TV is sparse in its coverage, giving only a brief mention to Ahmadinejad's promise to create 2.5 million jobs this year. It leads with the sentence, "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has criticized the presence of US-led foreign troops in the Middle East, saying they escalate instability in the region," making no reference to his consideration of a "relationship with the US".