Latest from Iran (31 August): Religious Freedom & Lakes Drying Up
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 6:11 | James Miller in EA Iran, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 1842 GMT: An EA Correspondent has this assessment of the Supreme Leader's approach to the upcoming Majilis elections.
:Farrokh Negahdar, a Fedayeen member who always defends the IR, commented on Kham's statement on Radio Farda today: apparently the SL prefers "secure" Majlis elections to a massive outcome of voters, i.e. high security measures will be taken to guarantee a fluid "election" for appearances' sake. To me this news is the most obvious evidence for the fact that he has lost all hope in attracting the masses via pro-regime "reformists".
1840 GMT: Al Jazeera English is reporting that Mehdi Karroubi has resided in solitary isolation inside an Iranian prison for the last several weeks. However, they have not provided the source of their report.
1700 GMT: According to Fars News, Abbas Mottahari, the Revolutionary Guards commander in Garmsar, has stated:
"the final goal of the new structure of the Basij is to make 70% of the people in the neighborhood Basij members, 50% participants in group prayer, and 20% participants in Friday prayer."
1441 GMT: "TV Makes Kids Satan" Alert - IRNA is reporting that Ayatollah Mazaheri said today that satellite dishes are far more dangerous than the atomic bomb, because TV is making the youth turn towards moral corruption and prostitution.
1335 GMT: Never Work with Children, Animals, or Honest Experts. The danger of live television, as an Iran News Network anchorman found in this interview with an analyst on Afghanistan....
The trouble began when the analyst, instead of keeping focus on the problems and errors of the US, said, "Countries in the region, including Pakistan and Iran, don't want a democracy to exist in Afghanistan,... [Iran and Pakistan] have carried out damaging interference in Afghanistan in the past 10 years,"