The Latest from Iran (10 June): Tough Talk Takes Over

See also Iran Feature: Lost Files --- Families of 55 Post-Election Victims Still Seek Justice
The Latest from Iran (9 June): Spiralling to a Nuclear Breakdown

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1638 GMT: Nuclear Watch. ISNA has published the full text of the letter of Ali Bagheri, its deputy leader of nuclear negotiations, to the European Union's Helga Schmid, featuring the question, "Why do you reject [preparatory] talks after the formal Baghdad discussions [last month]?"

Iran and the 5+1 Powers are scheduled to hold another round of formal negotiations in Moscow on 18-19 June.

1627 GMT: CyberWatch. Kamal Hadianfar, the head of a special police cyber-unit, has repeated that Iran is poised to launch a crackdown on Virtual Private Networks.

VPNs use a secure protocol to encrypt users' data, circumvent online blocks by Iranian authorities.

"It has been agreed that a commission (within the cyber police) be formed to block illegal VPNs," Hadianfar said. He claimed "about 20 to 30%" of Iran's 36 million web users employed VPNs.

Hadianfar said legal VPNs would only be used by "the likes of airlines, ministries, (state) organisations and banks", and these would be monitored.

1625 GMT: Sports Report. The live broadcast of football's European Championships in cinemas has been stopped by Iranian police because of the presence of women in the audience.

“It is an inappropriate situation when men and women watch football in (movie) theatres together,” said Bahman Kargar, deputy police commander in charge of social affairs. “Men, while watching football, get excited and sometimes utter vulgar curses or tell dirty jokes. It is not within the dignity of women to watch football with men. Women should thank the police."

1235 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Al Jazeera English reports on the effect of sanctions on local farmers:

1225 GMT: Tough Talk Watch. Ali Saeedi, the Supreme Leder's representative to the Revolutionary Guards, has put out a message on the nuclear talks, "The only path in front of [the "West"] is to accept Iran's demands in an atmosphere of mutual respect, and to stop politicising it."

Saeedi continued, "Unfortunately, the P5+1 [5+1 Powers] logic, especially that of America, is of bullying, which is in no way acceptable to our people and officials." He accused the Western nations of "pursuing their own aims that go beyond the (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) regulations and the agency, and which do not fall within the IAEA's remit".

Saeedi maintained that, despite recent difficulties in talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency, "The Islamic Republic of Iran has accepted the IAEA's regulations and it is in the interest of the West to adhere to the agency's regulations."

1200 GMT: Economy Watch. Reuters offers an overview of the economic challenges for the regime --- the opening paragraphs:

Iran's state finances have come under unprecedented pressure and the resilience of ordinary people is being tested by soaring inflation as oil income plummets due to tightening Western sanctions and sharply falling oil prices.

Tough financial measures imposed by Washington and Brussels have made it ever more difficult to pay for and ship oil from Iran. Its oil output has sunk to the lowest in 20 years, cutting revenue that is vital to fund a sprawling state apparatus.

Already down by more than a quarter, or about 600,000 barrels per day, from rates of 2.2 million bpd last year, shipments of crude oil from Iran are expected to drop further when a European Union oil embargo takes effect on July 1.

Tehran is already estimated to have lost more than $10 billion in oil revenues this year.

1150 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Syrian Front). Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of the Expediency Council, has warned that Syria "is now past the tipping point".

0824 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Syrian Front). Fars News sets out the proper media line on the Syrian coflict:

Terrorist groups in Syria are now armed with chemical weapons, media reports disclosed on Saturday, adding that these groups receive the needed trainings on how to use such lethal weapons in Turkey.

According to a report by Syrian DamPress, these chemical weapons have been transferred to Syria from Libya.

The news agency pointed to the growing number of media reports on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and warned, "Any report released or to be released on the Syrian Army's alleged use of the chemical weapons is meant to pave the ground for the terrorists to use these weapons against the people and accuse the Syrian army and government of that crime."

This is the first we have heard of "Syrian DamPress" and we have not seen the claim elsewhere.

0633 GMT: Economy Watch. Alef reports that private banks have increased fees for lines of credit by 100% to compensate for withdrawals of cash by the Central Bank.

0625 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. A side note on this week's developments has been the relatively muted presence of the President, signalling that he is now on the sidelines of Iran's approach to the nuclear issue. The headline appearance of Ahmadinejad at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Beijing produced little beyond some standard rhetoric about Tehran and the West.

State news agency IRNA continues to promote Ahmadinejad, but its lead story is unwitting in revealing Ahmadinejad's distance from the central discussions: "The President Visited the National Exhibition of Medicinal Plants".

0610 GMT: Amid the spiralling difficulties over the nuclear talks between Tehran and the 5+1 Powers, tough talk is taking over headlines in Iranian media. 

The latest site of stalemate, and possibly failure, are the discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, which ended with the IAEA's statement of a "disappointing" outcome and no date set for further negotiations.

Press TV now features the defiant headline, "Iran will not allow Western spies to visit Parchin: MP", referring to the military base which the IAEA wants to inspect after claims of nuclear activity on the site:

“Parchin industries are non-nuclear military industries and we will not allow Western spies to inspect our military technology,” Iranian lawmaker, Evaz Heidarpour, said on Saturday. 

He added that Iran has high deterrence power in military terms and is the dominant power in the region in military industries. 

“The US and the West are trying to access information related to our military industries. We, as the people’s representatives, will not allow our military industries, which are devoid of any kind of nuclear activity, to be visited by Western spies,” he reiterated.

The lawmaker stated that Iran may even sue the IAEA for taking satellite photos of Parchin military site. 

Then there is State news agency IRNA's framing of the statement by Minister of Defense Ahmad Vahidi: "Western Countries Should Be Urged to Obey the Logic of Iran".