The Latest from Iran (12 December): Paranoia --- It'll Destroy Ya

See also Iran Interview Special: What Has Happened to the 1000s Wounded After the Election?
The Latest from Iran (11 December): Being Tough...To a Point

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Mohammad Javad Larijani1925 GMT: Ahmadinejad Shoe-Throwing Watch. Ghased News offers more on today's hurling of shoes, by a 45-year-old unemployed textile worker, at the President during his visit to Sari in northern Iran.

The website claimed the shoe-thrower is a recidivist, having tossed a tomato at Mohammad Khatami when he was President. After his effort today, spectators beat him up --- “If the police was not present, nobody knows what would have happened to him,” Ghased pondered.

There is no mention of the President's tour, let alone the incident, on the homepage of State news agency IRNA. Fars News mentions the visit, but not the shoe-throwing, on its English-language site; however, its Persian-language homepage is silent --- earlier today, the website deleted an article which mentioned the shoe-thrower's motive as 17 months of unemployment.

1900 GMT: Long-Shot of the Day. President Obama today at a joint press appearance with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, "With respect to the drone inside of Iran, I'm not going to comment on intelligence matters that are classified. As has already been indicated, we have asked for it back. We'll see how the Iranians respond.”

1850 GMT: J'Accuse. Iran Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei has said that Tehran, in a letter to Interpol, has asked for the prosecution of two former US Government officials for the attempted assassination of Iranian officials, including General Qassem Suleimani, the head of the Qods Force of the Revolutionary Guards.

Mohseni Ejei said Tehran is seeking the arrest of retired General Jack Keane and Reuel Gerecht, "a senior advisor to Congress and the American government".

Keane is a former Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army. Gerecht, a former CIA officer, is no longer working for the US Government but is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

1745 GMT: The Embassy Attack. Almost two weeks after the occupation of the British Embassy, yet another claim that the assault was entirely "spontaneous"....

Three representatives of the so-called "British Spy Nest Pickets' Council" said they were among the attackers: "There had been no prior planning made to enter the embassy. But the rage people felt towards Britain led to the loss of control and resulted in the entry into the embassy."

The men added, in response to the possibility that they were members of the Basij militia, "Don't refer to us as Basijis today....What happened was merely a slap by revolutionary students."

1705 GMT: Tough Talk of the Day. Parviz Sorouri, a member of Parliament's National Security Committee, puts out today's rhetoric on the downed US drone, saying that its information has been extracted and decoded, saying that this will be used to file a lawsuit against the US for the "invasion". Sorouri also claimed that Iran can reproduce the drone through reverse engineering.

On non-drone matters, Sorouri said a forthcoming navy drill will practice the closure of the Strait of Hormouz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the passageway for about 40% of the world's oil tanker traffic: "Iran will make the world unsafe," if it is attacked.

1645 GMT: Where's Mahmoud (cont.)? Fars has recovered enough from the shoe-throwing incident which distinguished President Ahmadinejad's visit to Sari in northern Iran this morning to post a report (albeit without mentioning the shoe-throwing)....

Ahmadinejad's showpiece, either before or after the shoes, was an order to the Ministry of Oil to launch exploration of the Amir Kabir drilling site as soon as possible: "All authorities should start work to bring this project into effect."

Minister of Rostam Qassemi announced on Sunday that the country has discovered a large gas reservoir in the Iranian part of the Caspian Sea.

1325 GMT: Supreme Leader Watch. Ayatollah Khamenei, meeting staff members, has spoken of the need to maintain the religious faith of Iran's people, eradicating the "disease" of protests that beset the country after the 2009 Presidential election.

Two years ago, demonstrations during the Ashura holidays in December were able not only to demonstrate the strength of opposition but, in some cases, to push back Iran's security forces.

1300 GMT: Where's Mahmoud (cont.)? Back from an academic break to find that President Ahmadinejad's visit to Sari in northern Iran (see 0730 GMT) has had a glitch --- <em>Shafaf reports that a has thrown his shoes at the President, protesting that he has not having received his unemployment benefits.

The shoe-thrower was reportedly laid off from a textile factory in the northern city of Sari. His shoes missed Ahmadinejad.

Officials in charge of the visit led slogans in support of the Government and President and apologised to Ahmadinejad.

State news agency IRNA is not reporting the incident. Indeed, the President's visit to Sari has disappeared --- for now --- from the homepage of the website.

0730 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? President Ahmadinejad is in Sari in northern Iran today, opening a complex of more than 18,000 housing units and marking the second anniversary of the death of former Minister of Interior Ali Kordan.

0725 GMT: Press Watch. The story of the US drone appears to yesterday's news in Iran's newspapers. Headlines this morning focus on the resurgence of damaging air pollution in Tehran, the Audit Court's claim that the Ahmadinejad Government continues to commit financial violations, and the inability of the head of the Central Bank, Mahmoud Bahmani, to halt the slide of the Iranian currency and the rising price of gold coins.

0610 GMT: Bank Fraud Watch. MP Javad Karimi Ghoddousi has called for the detention of Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Parliament's National Security Committee, in connection with the $2.6 billion bank fraud.

Reports have linked up to 10 MPs with the embezzlement, and Boroujerdi and his son were questioned this autumn by security services. Boroujerdi reportedly said last week that any case involving him in the embezzlement is now "history".

Meanwhile, prominent MP Ahmad Tavakoli uses the pages of his newspaper Alef to press his analysis of the causes of the biggest bank fraud in Iran's history: they lie in the protection of those who carried out corruption and embezzlement in the past. Tavakoli said that, even greater than the loss of billions was "the loss of public confidence in Government and the national disaster that has struck the country --- this can not be calculated".

0550 GMT: We liked this juxtaposition on the pages of Press TV so much that we moved the story from last night's LiveBlog to open this morning's coverage.

The State outlet's lead Iran article is the proclamation by Mohammad Javad Larijani, a top official in the judiciary, that "the US and its allies have become paranoid about growing Iranian influence in the region".

And two stories just below that? Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi declares, "Virtual Embassy is US Trap to Recruit Spies", and the Foreign Ministry puts out this announcement: “A number of Iranian nationals have walked straight into the traps laid by Western intelligence and security organizations in recent years. Iran's Foreign Ministry therefore urges Iranians who intend to travel abroad to pay particular attention, and turn down financial, job, trade, residence, citizenship as well as other tempting offers from strangers.”