Iran Special: Images Of Women Supporters In The Presidential Campaign

Over the past week, several of the eight Presidential candidates --- especially moderate candidate Hassan Rouhani --- have attempted to emphasize that they have female supporters or are reaching out to women voters in their campaigning. EA provides a brief look at some images from the past several days:

Fars News Agency general director Abbas Aslani tweeted a photograph of two women, one a Rouhani supporter and the other supporter of principlist candidate Saeed Jalili, and commented on the difference between them:

#IranElection 2 different pics of 2 candidates' supporters in Iran elexn, one supporting Rouhani & other Jalili. twitter.com/abasinfo/statu…

— Abas Aslani (@abasinfo) June 3, 2013

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Iran Feature: So What is The Regime's "Must Read" US Book?

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So which US book is catching the eye of the Iranian leadership these days --- and doing so with approval?

Fars News, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, offers a clue this morning with s a glowing review of the latest opus from Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett: "Going to Tehran: Why the United States Must Come to Terms With the Islamic Republic of Iran".

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Iran Follow-Up Video: How Fars News Protected the Oscars from Michelle Obama's Shoulders

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

See Iran Feature: Top Iran News Agency Protects the Oscars from Michelle Obama's Shoulders

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On Monday, EA featured the story of how Fars News, linked to the Revolutonary Guards, had done some PhotoShop Fashion Therapy on the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama. The website replaced Obama's dress, in which she presented the Best Picture Award at the Oscars to "Argo", with a spangly top which covered up her shoulders.

The article soon went viral, with mentions for EA on sites like The Times of London. That evening, however, we were pleased to see we had a walk-on role in the US prime-time Rachel Maddow Show --- we are at the end, after Maddow has moved from last year's Iranian media manipulation of the Oscars to its outrage this year at "Argo" to Fars' "arms control" of Michelle Obama.

Iran Follow-Up: Fars News Apologises for Running Story from The Onion

The original Fars English story, copied directly from The Onion

See also Iran Feature: Fars News and The Onion Agree --- "Rural American Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad to Obama"

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On Friday, we featured the story of how Iranian media, including Fars News' English-language site, were headlining, "Gallup Poll: Rural Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad to Obama". The small problem with the breaking news? It was taken from the satirical on-line "newspaper", The Onion.

Today, Fars English's Editor-in-Chief has apologised:

Unfortunately an incorrect item was released on our website on Friday which included a fake opinion poll on popularity rate of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and US President Barack Obama. The news item was extracted from the Satirical Magazine, The Onion, by mistake and it was taken down from our outlook in less two hours.

It is not quite a full retraction, however. The Editor continues, "Although it does not justify our mistake, we do believe that if a free opinion poll is conducted in the US, a majority of Americans would prefer anyone outside the US political system to President Barack Obama and American statesmen."

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Iran Feature: Fars News and The Onion Agree --- "Rural American Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad to Obama"

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UPDATE 1745 GMT: Looks like Fars English has realised that its scoop might not be real --- the story has been withdrawn from the website.

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Iran's Fars News Agency has a surprise revelation, "According to the results of a Gallup poll released Monday, the overwhelming majority of rural white Americans said they would rather vote for Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than US President Barack Obama."

Fars has ventured where no US media outlet seems to have gone in breaking this news. Mitt Romney has not trumpeted this as proof of his ascendancy. Fox News has not yet proclaimed the evidence that the Great Liberal Menace has been defeated.

Indeed, Gallup does not seem to have the poll on its website.

So where did Fars' reporters make this discovery?

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Iran Propaganda Feature: Fars News Makes Up Interview with "Bahrain Opposition Leader"

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On Saturday, Fars News featured an interview with a "Sheikh Sadiq Kadhim Al-Jamri", a Bahraini who extolled the Islamic Republic as a model for Muslims in the Middle East. Al-Jamri said that it was the late Ayatollah Khomeini who had first inspired the "Arab Awakening" with the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which had "brought revolutions to Muslims from Tunisia to Egypt and Libya to Yemen and Bahrain ".

But who is Sheikh Sadiq Kadhim Al-Jamri?

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The Latest from Iran (15 August): The World According to the Regime

1557 GMT: This update via Scott Lucas:

Claim of Day. Emruz, the website of the reformist Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution, claims it has a tape of President Ahmadinejad's right-hand man, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, making some admissions about the 2009 Presidential election....

The site asserts that, in a private meeting with Ahmadinejad supporters, Rahim-Mashai acknowledged that Mir Hossein Mousavi received at least 15 million votes --- the official total was 11 millions v. more than 23 million for Ahmadinejad.

And there's more: Rahim-Mashai supposedly warned that "the opposition" is strong and that the President has been trying to attract its supporters.

1424 GMT: Cartoon alert - The result of the cooperation between Khatam al-Anbia, a large engineering firm with close ties to the Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the oil ministry (Kowsar):

1416 GMT: Molavi Abdolhamind, a very well renowned Sunni cleric in Iran, reiterated that the unity and national security of Iran depends on government non-interference in religious matters. The statement, made at Friday prayers in Zahedan, are likely a response to the new enforcement of a law that would require a representative of the Supreme Leader to oversea all Sunni seminaries. The law is seen as both a political and a religious power play, particularly in southeast Iran.

1408 GMT: Professors and employees of the Sanandaj Free University have staged a sit-in to protest an article, which appeared in the university journal last week, that insulted Sunni Muslims.

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Iran Snapshot: The Flying Saucers Are Coming!

State media report that Iran has unveiled a home-made unmanned flying saucer as well as a light sports aircraft in an exhibition of strategic technologies.

There has been no response so far from US officials about the possible impact of this development on the current discussions over Iran's nuclear programme or even the prospect of a Flying Saucer Arms Race.

The Supreme Leader's office has also not responded to our enquiries as to whether Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered the development of a manned version of the Flying Saucer.

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The Latest from Iran (17 December): Did We Miss the Regime's Show of Support?

1645 GMT: Division over the Foreign Minister. Deputy Speaker Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi-Fard has supported President Ahmadinejad's dismissal of Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, but MP Mohsen Kouhkan, who said he heard of Mottaki's firing by SMS text, said the move was not wise at this moment.

Koukhan also claimed that MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a key member of the National Security Commission, is favoured as the new Foreign Minister by the Parliament.

1640 GMT: Ashura Moment. Aftab News publishes a photograph of President Ahmadinejad greeting supporters at a mourning ceremony.

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Iran Breaking: Ahmadinejad "We're Ready to Give Advice on Democracy"

Sometimes a political move is so audacious that it leaves me lost for analysis. So over to you, readers. From Fars News, via Azerbaijan's Trend:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday that Iran was ready to provide Europe with "its experiences and criteria" on implementing democracy, dpa reported with reference to Fars news agency.

Ahmadinejad, referring to protest demonstrations in Europe in general and the unrest in France in particular, said it was time that the political leaders listened to their people.

"It would be to the advantage of the Western leaders to implement justice rather than using violence against their people and suppressing their demands," Fars quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

"Iran was ready to provide these countries with its experience and criteria so they can again reconcile with their people and get out of the current political deadlock," he said.

Ahmadinejad blamed the political system in Europe and said that people were forced to vote for two or three parties created by the leaders, rather than for political figures they really wanted....