Iran Special: Ahmadinejad v. The Revolutionary Guards

General Jafari & President AhmadinejadThe news was so unexpected that it took some hours to sink in. In a speech crticising Iranian groups who were importing commerical goods and avoiding customs duties, President Ahmadinejad had stared straight at the Revolutionary Guards: they were "brothers who are also smugglers".

Ahmadinejad had warned last month, amidst the increasing pressure on his camp with arrests of his advisors, that he could reveal information that would embarrass key officials within the Iranian establishment. Last weekend he told journalists that there was a "red line" against moves on his Cabinet and inner circle --- when State broadcaster IRIB censored the passsage, his staff posted the uncut video on the President's official website.

But to take on the country's most important military institution, one which many analysts have seen as a bulwark of Ahmadinejad's rise to power?

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Iran Special: Ahmadinejad v. The Republican Guards

This entry has been moved to the top of the website. Many apologies for the error in title.

The Latest from Iran (1 June): A Silent Protest for the Election Anniversary?

Video of Haleh Sahabi with the body of her father, shortly before she died after a scuffle with security forces disrupting the funeral procession

2020 GMT: A Death at the Funeral. The interview of the opposition channel RASA TV with Haleh Sahabi, broadcast the night before her death, has been posted on YouTube.

2010 GMT: Arrests at the Funeral. Habibollah Peyman, a leader of the National-Religous Coalition, Hamid Ahrari, and Hamed Montazeri, grandson of the late Grand Ayatollah, were arrested at the funeral of opposition figure Ezzatollah Sahabi.

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The Latest from Iran (25 May): Oil and Politics

The funeral of legendary footballer and manager Nasser Hejazi in Azadi Stadium, Tehran (see 0750 and 1625 GMT)

2035 GMT: The Fire at the Refinery. Ebrahim Nabavi, reviewing yesterday's blaze at the Abadan oil refinery, notes that President Ahmadinejad ordered widespread purges in the National Iranian Oil Company and Oil Ministry during the past two years.

Meanwhile, the NIOC has denied that the refinery was opened too early, leading to errors in construction.

2025 GMT: Football and Politics. Mardomak reports clashes at the funeral of revered footballer Nasser Hejazi (see 0750 and 1625 GMT), with at least 15 people arrested.

The site also posts claimed video of women at the funeral.

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The Latest from Iran (11 May): Assessing the Revolutionary Guards

Jafari and Ahmadinejad2045 GMT: So You Thought the Battle Was Over (one to end the evening)? President Ahmadinejad hits back at Ali Larijani in the Government v. Parliament battle over the merger of ministries (see 0800 GMT): "The respected speaker of the Majlis believes that he is the law, which is not true."

2005 GMT: So You Thought the Battle Was Over (continued even more)? And now the conflict expands to take in supporters of Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf....

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The Latest from Iran (5 May): Cabinet Confusion

1730 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Ali Malihi, a senior member of the alumni organisation Advar Tahkim-e Vahdat, has been released on bail after 14 months in prison.

Malihi has been sentenced to four years for "assembly and collusion with the intention of disturbing the domestic security of the regime, propaganda against the regime, participation in illegal gatherings, publishing falsehoods and insulting the President".

1700 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Another warning to the President, this time from the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari: "In defending the Islamic Revolution, Sepah [the Guards] will not wait for instructions".

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The Latest from Iran (24 April): Noticing Syria

2300 GMT: Apologies for the suspension in service --- EA staff have been on a holiday break this evening with family and friends. We will be back from 0530 GMT with all the latest news.

1500 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Alireza Rajai of the Freedom Movement of Iran has been arrested for "security offences".

1150 GMT: Fashion Wars. Tehran Friday Prayer leader Ahmad Khatami has explained, ""Cultural education and work are not enough to eradicate bad Hijab --- blood must be spilled."

1130 GMT: A Proper Facebook. Tebyan.net, affiliated to the Islamic Propagation Organization of the regime, has announced that it will launch a "social networking" site.

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The Latest from Iran (7 February): Anticipating 25 Bahman

1800 GMT: No Nerves Here. Both Mohammad Javad Larijani, the head of the human rights section of Iran's judiciary, and Gholam-Hossein Elham of the Guardian Council have spoken loudly about the respect for authority in the country.

Javad Larijani said democracy lovers should kiss the Supreme Leader's hands for saving the country from a "putsch": Ayatollah Khamenei is the "anchor of democracy".

Elham asserted that whoever opposes the Supreme Leader "will be destroyed". Even if Ayatollah Khamenei got more power, this does not smell of dictatorship.

He added a warning for Parliament: if the Guardian Council says something is illegal, Majlis must obey and cannot change laws.

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Wikileaks and Iran: Did Mojtaba Khamenei Rig the 2009 Election? (And Where Did the Cable Go?)

A curious story unfolding today: did the son of the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, worked with the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Abbas Ali Jafari, to manipulate the ballot?

That appears to be the claim, in at least one document released by WikiLeaks and obtained by the Daily Telegraph of London, by at least one Iranian source to US diplomats within days of the vote. But then another mystery starts....

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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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