Iran Special: Highlights From The Third Presidential Debate

Iran's Presidential race has, in many ways, turned into a contest not only between the eight individual candidates but perhaps even more so between the Principlist/ Conservative and the Reformist/Moderate camps.

Although Friday's Third Presidential debate was an opportunity for the candidates to set out their views and policies on foreign policy and politics, it also provided a space to explore this factional divide.

Principlist and conservative candidates --- Ali Akbar Velayati, Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, Gholam-Ali Haddad- Adel -- used the debate to criticize the Reformists and past Reformist governments, while Reformist candidate Mohammad-Reza Aref and his moderate counterpart Hassan Rouhani slammed the Principlist movement and the current Ahmadinejad administration. Independent candidates Mohsen Rezaei and Mohammad Gharazi hit out at both factions and called for an end to factionalism.

Some of the main highlights of the debate (thanks to Al Jazeera English and Hassan Rouhani's campaign team, who live-tweeted the debate).

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The Latest from Iran (9 November): The "Rule of Law"

1610 GMT: Press Watch. ICHRI claims, from a "reliable source inside Hamshahri newspaper", that four senior journalists have been suspended and a reporter has been dismissed. Though there have been many dismissals at Hamshahri Newspaper in the past, the suddenness of the actions has surprised many of the people who work at the newspaper. The source says it is feared that the suspensions are the beginning of an intiative to put in journalists who have the same political orientation as the paper’s management. In the last year, Hamshahri’s management has been filled by individuals who formerly worked in the police force or the judiciary, including Managing Director Mehdi Zakeri.

1508 GMT: A Change of Philosophy. The United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization has withdrawn from the holding of World Philosophy Day in Tehran, less than two weeks before the event.

There had been sustained protests, including an academic challenge led by philosopher and former political prisoner Ramin Jahanbegloo, against UNESCO's persistence in supporting the gathering. The arrangements had been made in 2008 but came under fire amidst post-election conflict, repression, and the Iranian regime's restriction on Western humanities in universities.

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