The Latest from Iran (31 July): So This is Freedom of the Press....

2010 GMT: Clerical Intervention. Grand Ayatollah Sane'i, challenging the Government's portrayal of "security" in Iran, has asked, "Is it safe?" when figures like Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi are kept under prolonged house arrest.

2000 GMT: You Gotta Laugh. President Ahmadinejad was in northwest Iran today, celebrating the inclusion of the Tabriz Grand Bazaar on the list of World Heritage Sites. However, it was this episode earlier in the week that made us smile:

In a meeting of the cabinet with provincial governors and other senior government officials around the country, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said sarcastically, "Anybody who sits next to us is arrested." He made the statement after asking Hamid Baghaei, his vice president for executive affairs, to sit next to him. Over the last few months there have been persistent rumors that Baghaei's arrest is imminent.

Ahmadinejad will want to hold on to that sense of humour. Reformist MP Dariush Ghanbari, who has struck out at the Government this week, continued his criticism in Parliament today with the declaration that the people of Iran have become "debtors or unemployed" under Ahmadinejad's leadership. He sent the message to the President, "Rather than oil money reaching Iranian households, [people] are receiving court orders to repay their debts or report to jail, because your administration has mishandled the restructuring of subsidies."

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The Latest from Iran (13 May): Friday the 13th

1935 GMT: Karroubi Watch. An interesting intervention by Mehdi Karroubi's advisor Ahmad Vahidi in an interview with Khodnevis....

Vahidi, who is based in the US, made a distinction between Karroubi and the Green Path Coordinating Council of the opposition. He said that neither he nor any of Karroubi's associates held memberships in the Council, although they had been consulted by them.

Vahidi continued that those on the Council had views similar to Karroubi's in regards to free and fair election and people's rights. However, he indicated that "the goal of the movement should not be restricted to the application of the Consitution", adding that people's demands are beyond what the Council offers.

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The Latest from Iran (12 May): So You Thought the Battle Was Over?

2025 GMT: At the Movies. The Cannes Film Festival is honouring filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof --- both sentenced to long prison terms --- and Iranian officials are not amused.

Mohammad Hosseini, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance said, “The festival takes a political stance on certain specific cases, which is unacceptable and we condemn it. We think that since Cannes is an international event, it should keep its artistic and professional biases to itself."

Last week, Cannes organizers said they would show Rasoulof’s “Good Bye” and “This Is Not a Film”, Panahi’s depiction of a day in his life as he waits for the verdict of a court appeal.

Panahi will also be awarded the Carrosse d’Or (Golden Coach) prize by the SRF (Film Directors’ Society) in absentia as a tribute to the “innovative qualities, courage and independent-mindedness” of his work.

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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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The Latest from Iran (7 January): The Closing of the Bookstores

2025 GMT: The Nuclear Talks. A spokesman for the European Union's representative for foreign policy, Catherine Ashton, has confirmed that the next round of discussions between Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, Germany, France, China, and Russia) will take place on 20-21 January in Istanbul.

1815 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. The daughter of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, Faezeh Hashemi, has visited the family of the detained reformist leader Feizollah Arabsorkhi. 

1800 GMT: Karroubi and the Detained Journalist. On Wednesday, Mehdi Karroubi visited the family of detained journalist and activist Emaduddin Baghi. Karroubi expressed regret over the recent arrest of Baghi's son-in-law Ali Maghami and said, "Baghi is a man of faith who has remained true to our social ideals. He has never hesitated to sacrifice for his beliefs and for the reform of our society."

Karroubi added, "The political system should encourage our youth to remain engaged in defining their destiny. This type of action, unfortunately only seeks to weaken hope in society. We must of course never give up on our rights and on our hope to achieve sovereignty."

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WikiLeaks and Iran Special: Did Ahmadinejad Get Slapped by His Revolutionary Guard Commander?

A few weeks ago a WikiLeaks cable emerged in which an Iranian source, talking to a US diplomat, said President Ahmadinejad had been slapped across the face by the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari.

Nobody paid much attention then, but in the last few days, with websites looking to fill space in the holiday season, Mahmoud's slap-down has raced around the Internet.

Only one problem: like many good tales, it may not be true.

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The Latest from Iran (12 November): Protesting (Clothes Optional)

1935 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Al-Rai newspaper claims, citing a central bank circular, that Kuwait has asked Gulf emirate banks, investment companies, and money exchange firms to start implementing United Nations sanctions against Iran.

The instructions call for the freezing of assets and financial resources related to “Iran’s sensitive nuclear programmes or activities”. The circular bans the opening of branches or representative offices for Iranian banks in Kuwait and forbids Kuwaiti financial institutions from opening offices or accounts in Iran.

1830 GMT: Really, It's Coming. Yet another declaration, after weeks of delays, that the government's subsidy cuts programme is going to be implemented: according to Mehr, new energy prices will be announced within days.

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