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Friday
Aug052011

The Latest from Iran (5 August): Please Shut Up....

1520 GMT: Labour Front. An article by the Iranian Labor News Agency warns that "reform" of labour laws, reducing workers' rights, will not solve the problem of unemployment and that workers will not forgive MPs who sign the legislation.

1515 GMT: More Battle Within. Mohammad Karamirad says he and two other MP have filed a complaint against the President's right-hand man, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, and Vice President Hamid Baghei and that Parliament is checking it.

Karamirad restated the demand made by other politicians and clerics, including hardline MP Mohammad Ali Bozorgvari: President Ahmadinejad must distance himself from the two men.

1505 GMT: The Battle Within. Back from a break for Syria coverage to find that Habibollah Asgarowladi, a senior conservative figure, is not very happy. He says the political and cultural atmosphere are not as desired, with many senior clerics and the Supreme Leader dissatisfied, "Criticism and dialogue should be revived."

Asgarowaladi targets enemies inside and outside the establishment, saying that there can be no reconciliation with sedition and the deviant current. However, "We should not eliminate rivals. We need calmness in the country."

Meanwhile, Ghodratollah Alikhani, an MP on the National Security Commission, is looking for reconciliation: "By accepting reformists' demands, decent elections can be held --- hardliners know that participation of reformists will increase" with such a move.

1040 GMT: Oil Watch. Another pipeline explosion in western Iran has halted flows of up to 4,000 barrels per day to the oil port of Ahwaz.

Hormoz Qalavand, executive director of the National Iranian South Oil Company, said, "So far it is not clear if the incident happened due to technical problems or a terrorist act."

Last Friday an explosion halted gas exports to Turkey. Authorities later blamed the incident on Kurdish insurgents.

0905 GMT: Clerical Intervention. Seyed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the late Ayatollah, has said that widespread unemployment, great poverty, and economic hardships "govern society".

0900 GMT: CyberWatch. The block imposed on the website of former Deputy Foreign Minister Sadegh Kharrazi, imposed earlier this week, has been lifted.

0800 GMT: Music Watch. The regime has again banned the song "Rabanna" by the legendary Mohammadreza Shajarian during the month of Ramadan.

For 30 years, "Rabbana" has been the accompaniment as people in Iran break their daily fast. Shajarian fell foul of the authorities, however, over his comments after the 2009 Presidential election, including criticism of President Ahmadinejad's portrayal of his opponents as "dust and trash".

"Rabbana" was also reportedly banned last year, although representatives of State TV later issued a denial.

0755 GMT: The President Censors Himself. We have just posted the transcript of President Ahmadinejad's interview with EuroNews.

The "hard-line" Raja News claims, however, that not all of the interview is available on Ahmadinejad's official website, as this exchange has been removed:

Jon Davies, euronews:

There’s a gap growing though, isn’t there, between yourself and the Parliament? It’s being seen from outside Iran. There’s a gap growing between yourself and the Supreme Leader. Does this weaken your position?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

I think in a free society such things happen. There should always be discussions between Parliament and the government. Is it bad to have a free government and a free parliament? The position of the Leader is also clear in Iran. There are no differences. We’re a free society in which everyone can express his or her views. There’s no problem there. Do you realise that the Parliament voted for four new ministers today? And they were all voted for by high numbers, so there is freedom in this country.

(We are trying to check the story, but the President's website is not responding at the moment.)

0645 GMT: At the Movies. Opposition website Kalemeh claims that the new film Joseph the Prophet by President Ahmadinejad's friend Farajollah Salahshouri, has had a less-than-enthusiastic reception: in three Tehran cinemas, it has had 10 viewers in its first two days.

0630 GMT: We open this morning with a feature on the Little Boy Who Said Too Much on State TV --- "Farnood the Truthful" is now making his way across the Internet via video, music, and cartoon after he embarrassed the presenter of a television show.

But it is not just that presenter who is wishing people would stop making troublesome comments. Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi addresses bigger boys and girls: as the Supreme Leader has insisted on a calm political atmosphere so the Ahmadinejad Administration can end its two-year term, "don't question the government and nezam (system)".

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