WikiLeaks and Iran 2009: Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi "More Powerful Than Ahmadinejad"

Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi is a prominent cleric, politician, and member of the Assembly of Experts. He has been called the "spiritual mentor" of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

But is he really "more powerful" than the President?

Well, that is what one source told US diplomats in September 2009. The Tehran University professor, in a wide-ranging discussion on post-election politics, religion, and society, declared that the "profoundly anti-democratic" Mesbah Yazdi was working behind the scenes to shape the Iranian system. He asserted, ""You can't understand what's been going on in Iran without understanding (the beliefs and activities of) Mesbah-Yazdi."

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Terrorism Weekly: What is Behind Britain's Transportation Alerts?

This is undoubtedly a reminder to the travelling public to be vigilant (although authorities have to be careful: frequent alerts arguably have the opposite effect). However, there is another audience for this alert. In this case the threat is posed not by known terrorists  under surveillance --- about 2000, according to the British intelligence service MI5 ---  but the terrorists who are, in the parlance of Donald Rumsfeld, the “known unknowns". It is a small group or even an individual who has managed to remain under the radar that create concern for obvious reasons.

The message to them is “we are on to you”. Although some terrorists may not be terribly bright, they generally tend to be rational and  thus can be deterred from their plans by a superior show of force or greater vigilance.

Or so the state may hope.

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The Latest from Iran (9 January): The Enemy are Facebook and Twitter

2200 GMT: Plane Crash. Fars is now reporting that 72 of the 105 passengers died when Iran Air's flight from Tehran to Oroumiyeh in the northwest of the country crashed near its final destination.

2010 GMT: Plane Crash. The Red Crescent Society says that "scores have been killed". There are at least 35 survivors, but many of these are in critical condition.

1855 GMT: The Assassinated Scientist. Fars News claims, from an "informed source", that those responsible for the killing of physicist and professor Masoud Alimohammadi in January 2010 have been arrested.

Alimohammadi was killed by an explosive as he left for work. Iranian officials have accused foreign elements of being behind the crime.

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Tunisia Latest: At Least 9 Dead in Saturday Clashes

1945 GMT: Radio Kalima is claiming more than 50 people died on Saturday night and Sunday morning: 16 in Thala, 22 in the Kasserine region, 2 in Meknassi, 1 in Feriana, and 8 in Reguab.

The site claims special forces and militia used live ammunition and also fired on funeral processions and burial ceremonies.

1525 GMT: A two-minute video of the dead and wounded, lying in hospital, from the Thala clash is racing across the Internet. (Warning: graphic images)

Reuters says Tunisian authorities are now admitting eight were killed in Tala and the Kasserine region last night.

The Regional Federation of Labor, Kasserine, has published the names of 19 victims.

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Algeria Updates: Parties React as Government Offers Concession on Sugar and Cooking Oil

2125 GMT: Ali Belhadj, who was Vice President of the now-banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), and fellow detainees have been brought to court from the headquarters of national security. The charges are not clear, although they are thought to be related to this week's protests.

In late 1991, FIS won the first round of Parliamentary elections, but these were called off by the military, who banned the party. Belhadj was jailed from 1991 to 2003 and re-arrested in 2005 for a statement on Al-Jazeera. He was freed in March 2006 under the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation.

2000 GMT: Journalist Mustapha Benfodil has been released after several hours of questioning. He was detained with several demonstrators in a protest in Staouéli (see 1645 GMT).

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Egypt Latest: Investigating a Death from "Torture"; Challenging the Government and Sectarianism

1435 GMT: Mohammad ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency of a founder of the National Alliance for Change, has responded to the alleged torturing to death of Sayed Balal: "If torture is proven to have occurred, officials at all levels must be punished. Torture is a crime against humanity. It is not an internal affair."

0725 GMT: The Egyptian public prosecutor has ordered an autopsy on the body of Mohamed Sayyid Bilal, who died in detention on Wednesday after he was arrested in a protest in Alexandria. 

Bilal's brother Ibrahim claimed the body had signs of burns and other abuse, and the family then filed a report with the prosecutor's office demanding an investigation.

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Sudan Special: Today's Referendum for Secession by the South (Ezell)

Photo: Associated PressToday voters in southern Sudan decide whether to secede from the north to form the world’s newest nation.

Assuring peace in Sudan this weekend will not be easy, but it is imperative to keep all parties satisfied. In an agenda including the great partition, power-sharing, and equal distribution of revenuesfrom natural resources, the hope is that both Khartoum and Juba have recognized that a bold, shrewd form of government-tribal reconciliation is essential to prevent an explosion of violence.

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Syria Transcript: US Sends Ambassador so Damascus Can Challenge Hezbollah

On Saturday, State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley briefed the press on the appointment of Robert Ford as the ambassador to Syria. His explanation of the decision was far from consistent. If the matter  has nothing to do with "placing ambassadors in countries with which Washington has significant disagreements", why is there no ambassador to Tehran or an attempt to build official dialogue with Hamas-ruled Gaza? Why just Damascus?

The answer? Washington wants to assign "a constructive role" to Syria, such as dealing with the "Hezbollah concern" in Lebanon and in the region.

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WikiLeaks Latest: US Department of Justice Subpoenas Twitter Records of Volunteers (Greenwald)

Last night, Birgitta Jónsdóttir --- a former WikiLeaks volunteer and current member of the Icelandic Parliament --- announced on Twitter) that she had been notified by Twitter that the DOJ had served a Subpoena demanding information "about all my tweets and more since November 1st 2009.

What hasn't been reported is that the Subpoena served on Twitter -- which is actually an Order from a federal court that the DOJ requested -- seeks the same information for numerous other individuals currently or formerly associated with WikiLeaks, including Jacob Appelbaum, Rop Gonggrijp, and Julian Assange.  It also seeks the same information for Bradley Manning and for WikiLeaks' Twitter account.

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Algeria Latest: At Least 3 Dead in Friday's Protests

1755 GMT: Protests took place today in the Kabylie region east of Algiers on Saturday, including in the cities of Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia.

The Government continues to combine denunciation and reassurance. Abdelaziz Belkhadem, a representative of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, condemned protesters. He said oil revenues were improving living standards for Algeria's 35 million people, but improvements would take time as there had been no investment during fighting between the government and Islamist groups in the 1990s.

Minister of Trade Mustapha Benbada said urgent measures would be taken and promised, "From the start of next week, the situation will get better." Possible measures included fixed profit margins on goods such as cooking oil and sugar.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in his third term, has not made any public comment on the protests.

1410 GMT: Minister of Interior Daho Ould Kablia has issued his first statement on this week's protests.

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