Iran Analysis: Ahmadinejad 1, Interviewers 0 (and Why It Matters)

NBC's Ann Curry and Mahmoud AhmadinejadHere's the thing about a UN speech and these interviews with US broadcasters and journalists. They are, first and foremost, part of the political show. Ahmadinejad takes the spotlight and, unless someone greases the stage, he will act out his script, take a bow, and present the applause lines to his audience back home.

It is what happens in the wings that matters. And those "noises off", from the political in-fighting in Tehran to the President's attempt at back-channel negotiations with Washington to a systematic approach to detentions and intimidations to contain and fragment any opposition, demand an attention beyond this week in September.

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Turkey's Erdogan Threatening Cyprus: "We Will Do What is Necessary!"

This feature has been re-titled, "Turkey Feature: Erdoğan at UN --- A Blast at Israel, A Criticism of Assad, and a Warning to Cyprus", and moved to the top of EA Worldview....

Yemen, Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Who's in Charge Here?

See also US and the World (Video and Transcript): President Obama to UN General Assembly "Peace is Hard"
Yemen Analysis: The Latest Deaths and the Mistakes of US Policy
Wednesday's Syria, Yemen, Bahrain (and Beyond): A "Win-Win" Protest?

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2125 GMT: Another photo of the mass opposition rally in the Bahraini capital Manama today:

2105 GMT: Claimed footage of men trying to rescue a shot companion from a street in Talbiseh in Homs Province in Syria:

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Iran Live Video: President Ahmadinejad's Address to the United Nations

President Ahmadinejad's speech to the United Nations General Assembly today --- for snap analysis (even though there is not much to say), see the Iran LiveBlog:

Afghanistan Analysis: After Rabbani's Death, A New Plan is Needed (Rondeaux)

The last time I met with Burhanuddin Rabbani, he had just taken up his post as head of Afghanistan's High Peace Council. He was looking unusually fit and energized and was in a jocular mood, his dark eyes laughing as he regaled his visitors with witty appraisals of Afghanistan's nascent peace process. President Hamid Karzai had taken his time in announcing the names of the High Peace Council members, officially announcing them in October 2010, and less than a month later Rabbani was already complaining that the Karzai administration had been dragging its feet on establishing an office for the council.

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Afghanistan Feature: An Alternative View --- from Afghans --- of the Death of former President Rabbani

“…and Americans wonder why some people still love the Taliban. You are in America. Can’t you tell Americans that if they kill Rabbani’s other [expletive] friends, people will love them more?”

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The Latest from Iran (22 September): Yesterday the US Hikers, Today the UN

See also Iran Video: President Ahmadinejad's Address to the United Nations
Iran Special Analysis: US Hikers Released --- Everyone, including Ahmadinejad, is a Winner (for Now)
Iran Interview: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Runs Circles Around ABC News' Stephanopoulos
The Latest from Iran (21 September): The In-Fighting Over the US Hikers

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2135 GMT: The UN Speech. An EA correspondent notes that, in his attention to the centuries-long perfidy of the West, President Ahmadinejad failed to mention the current issue of Palestine and its quest for statehood. Any significance?

What is definitely significant is the marker set down by Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Parliament's National Security Council, over Ahmadinejad's signals that he would like a resumption of talks with the US: Boroujerdi that is not within the Government's power to decide Tehran's relationship with America.

1945 GMT: Analysis of the Day. Interesting that Press TV opened its de-brief of the Ahmadinejad speech not with praise for the address but by asking about the walkout by many delegates. And Dr Seyed Mohammad Marandi ran with the theme:

I think it shows the intolerance that is dominant in the United States and in Europe...at least at the official level. They are unwilling to even listen to a person who has an alternative viewpoint, yet ironically the United States allows the Mujahedin-e-Khalq [MKO], the terrorist organisation, to rally outside the United Nations at the time of President Ahmadinejad's speech.

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Iran Special Analysis: US Hikers Released --- Everyone, including Ahmadinejad, is a Winner (for Now)

Josh Fattal and Shane BauerThe tale of the hikers has diverted everyone from what is a far bigger part of the story, both within Iran and between Tehran and Washington.

For Ahmadinejad, the freeing of Bauer and Fattal was a signal for a larger negotiation. On the same day that his NBC interview was televised, The Washington Post published his declaration that, if the US would assure Tehran of the supply of 20% enriched uranium, Iran would stop production.

So Bauer and Fattal, pawns for 26 months in the chess game between Iran and the "West", are removed from the board. The bigger pieces are still there. And it remains to be seen whether we are in the endgame in Tehran, with the declaration of checkmate for or against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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Syria, Yemen, Bahrain (and Beyond): A "Win-Win" Protest?

2056 GMT: An activist in Bahrain writes, "the innovation of the Bahraini protesters never stops." The Bahraini government had renamed the road that led to the Pearl Roundabout Monument "Alfaroq junction" after they tore down the monument. This video, reportedly taken yesterday, shows the protesters giving the square what they believe is a more adequate name, by covering up the government's sign with their own that reads "Martyr Square."

2049 GMT: Protesters in the important and central Midan district of Damascus, chant "Long live Syria, down Bashar Assad":

2043 GMT: Evening protests in Khalidiya, Homs, led by students:

A large night protest in the Waer section of Homs:

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The Latest from Iran (21 September): The In-Fighting Over the US Hikers

See also Iran Interview: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Runs Circles Around ABC News' Stephanopoulos
WikiLeaks & Iran Special (June 2009): The Election Was "A Power Grab by Mojtaba Khamenei"
Iran Interview: Ahmadinejad Defies the Judiciary over the US Hikers

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2015 GMT: The US Hikers. The flight carrying US nationals Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, freed on bail this afternoon, has landed in Oman.

Waiting for them were their families and Sarah Shourd, their companion who was also arrested in July 2009 on the Iran-Iraq border and was freed last September. She and Bauer are now engaged.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

And how is this being played by Iran media? Well, here's a clue: the pro-Ahmadinejad State news agency IRNA has posted a set of 26 photos:

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