The Latest from Iran (6 September): What Strategic Reserve?

The Supreme Leader and the head of the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani, today (see 1227 GMT)

See also Iran Analysis: Participate or Boycott? Reformists Debate the 2013 Presidential Election
The Latest from Iran (5 September): Admission --- The Sanctions Hurt Both the People and the Regime

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2015 GMT: Currency Watch. The confusion over the state of the Iranian Rial continues. Khabar Online, which had early put the Rial as weak as 22510:1 vs. the US dollar --- another historic low --- claims the currrency is now back at 22180:1. Mesghal.ir has said all day that the Rial strengthened on Thursday to 21930:1, but Mesghal.com --- which posted a different rate --- is now off-line.

1955 GMT: Supreme Leader Watch. The Foreign Ministry's Mojtaba Ferdowsipour has asserted that defence of Syria is a "red line" for Iranian foreign policy.

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Azerbaijan Non-Surprise: Aliyev's Ruling Party Dominates Elections (Press TV)

There does not appear to be much interest in the US media in Sunday's elections in Azerbaijan, with only the Associated Press providing a short story. Press TV, however, takes an interest in the issue of a powerful government claiming legitimacy:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's ruling party has won the parliamentary elections with a majority of 73 out of 125 constituencies with more than 90 percent of the votes counted so far.

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