The Latest from Iran (21 June): Beyond Quiet Remembrance

2025 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Zahra Farajzadeh, the wife of imprisoned Azeri activist Ayat-Mehr-Ali Bigloo, has been detained. She was reportedly held by authorities when she asked the Revolutionary Court for a telephone conversation with her husband.

Farajzadeh's sister, Hamideh Farajzadeh, is also in prison.

NEW Iran, One Year On: The Names of 107 Killed in Post-Election Violence
Iran Document: Karroubi Takes on the Supreme Leader (20 June)
Iran Special: Legal Analysis of Post-Election Violations of Rights (Shadi Sadr)
Iran Video, One Year On: The “Neda” Documentaries
The Latest from Iran (20 June): Remembering the Protests and the Dead

1845 GMT: The Oil Squeeze. Reuters reports that China's imports of Iranian oil dropped 74 percent in May, compared to a year earlier.

Iran is now #8 oil supplier to China, down from #3 in April. Industry analysts said the main cause of the decline was the uncompetitive pricing of Iranian crude oil, with China boosting purchases from Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Angola.

1745 GMT: The Fall-Out from 4 June. A representative of Grand Ayatollah Sistani, who is based in Iraq, has met Seyed Hassan Khomeini in Qom and expressed regret for the "insult" to him at the ceremony for Ayatollah Khomeini early this month.

1450 GMT: Iran and Palestine. Remember those Iranian aid ships which were making headlines with their planned trip to Gaza (indeed, at one point, it was said one was en route)?

The Iranian Red Crescent said today that  due to lack of international coordination, the ships were delayed and no date had been fixed for their journey.

1445 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist Nasour Naghipour has been released on bail, after 110 days' detention, while he awaits trial.

1435 GMT: A Health Care Crisis? Dr. Rahbar Mozhdehi Azar, the head of Iran's pharmacists, has reportedly claimed that several pharmacies closed because they have not been paid by insurers for six months. Aftab News reports that 19 hospitals are waiting for 350 millions tomans ($35 million) in payments.

Khabar Online wonders if  pharmacies can cancel their agreements with with insurers, leaving people with debts unable to get medication.

1425 GMT: The Economic Battle, Chapter 437. More sniping by members of Parliament against the Ahmadinejad budget. Reformist Darius Ghanbari says that reports from the Majlis point to budget deviations by the Government, and Ali Akbar Oulia adds criticism of "deviations" are in economic growth, revenues, and employment in the 4th development plan.

1420 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Just for the record --- because I'm too tired to evaluate yet another inscrutable comment by Hashemi Rafsanjani --- the former President has said in his most recent interivew that he expected the Supreme Leader to speak out against the “accusations” made against “certain officials of the regime.”

Rafsanjani said in an interview that Mahmoud Ahmadienjad’s statements in his presidential debate with Mir Hossein Mousavi were “highly inappropriate.” He also talks at length about his letter to Ayatollah Khamenei, sent three days before the election, over Ahmadinejad's accusations of financial corruption against Rafsanjani and his family.

Now is Rafsanjani trying to give a signal of support for Mousavi or is he merely fighting his personal corner in his running battle against the Government and its pressure against him, his allies, and his children?

1410 GMT: Corruption Watch. Member of Parliament Elyas Naderan has kept the corruption issue alive, saying that his complaint against 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi --- made over an insurance fraud scandal --- is still valid and he is still pursuing it.

1405 GMT: The Fall-Out from 4 June. Another sign of support for Seyed Hassan Khomeini after he was shouted down at the ceremony for his grandfather earlier this month: Ayatollah Amini, the Friday Prayer leader of Qom, has met Khomeini and declared his regret over the incident.

1354 GMT: Yesterday's "Fear of the Gravestones". Fereshteh Ghazi writes of the security buildup on 25 Khordad, with all roads to Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery covered by security forces. About 1000 people were at the cemetery, and Ghazi reports that victims' families were menaced.

Peyke Iran reports on security forces at Vanak Square (we have video of this in yesterday's updates) and Enghelab Square.

1348 GMT: A New Battlefront Within. Looks like another conflict between President Ahmadinejad and Parliament deserves attention. This one is Ahmadinejad's attempt to get more say about free universities: the Parliament voted 134-72 to maintain the current system of oversight. The President reportedly then cancelled a conference between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches over the issue.

1345 GMT: Bad Hijab. Looks like President Ahmadinejad's criticism of the zealousness of the "morality police" has not made a bit of difference in Qom. Tehran Today, quoting Colonel Khorasani, Head of Public Security in Qom Province, says 62,000 women have been warned about inappropriate attire.

1340 GMT: Thanks to all readers for helping out. Now let's see what has been happening.

0730 GMT: We're on the road at the University of Leicester today. Updates will be limited until mid-afternoon.

As always, news and comments from our readers are most welcome to keep everything up to speed until we return.

0725 GMT: Nuclear Posturing. Iran has barred two UN nuclear inspectors from entering the country. The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, said the two were declared persona non-grata for authoring an "untruthful" report by the International Atomic Energy Agency about Iran's nuclear work.

0650 GMT: Culture Corner. Hat-tip to an EA reader for pointing us to a BBC Persian programme reviewing art, politics, and protest before and after the 2009 Presidential election.

0625 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Mehdi Karroubi has visited with the family of the detained politician Ali Tajernia, an executive member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front.



0530 GMT: Sunday's commemoration of 25 Khordad, the anniversary of mass demonstrations and the deaths of protesters, appeared to pass quietly in Iran. There was a heavy security presence in areas of Tehran, noted by Rah-e-Sabz in addition to its headlining of the "scathing silence" of the Mothers of Mourning.

Politics was far from silent, however. During the afternoon, news emerged of Mehdi Karroubi's latest statement, and it became clear that he had not just restated his personal determination, criticism of the Government, and the determination of the opposition. He had also issued a pointed query about the powers of the Supreme Leader. We have posted the English translation in a separate entry.

And Kalemeh clarifies our news yesterday that Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Karroubi, and Hassan Khomeini had all called Grand Ayatollah Sane'i in the aftermath of the attack on his house by regime supporters. This was not just a case of individual phone calls; this was a "dialogue" involving the former Presidents, clerics, and opposition figures.

The Latest from Iran (14 June): The 2nd Year Is Underway....

1955 GMT: The Sting in Mousavi's Statement. While making the obvious moves over 22 Khordaad, stressing opposition resilience and the Government's struggle for legitimacy, Mir Hossein Mousavi used Sunday's attacks on the homes of prominent clerics to extend his challenge:

More than ever before, the people in government need to create 'incidents' that enable them to conceal the consequences of the misfortunes they have brought about for the country. Attacking the office of an eminent cleric and an admired student of Imam Khomeini [Grand Ayatollah Sane'i] is entering a new phase in creating such crises.

Have they forgotten that it was attack against the house of Imam Khomeini which paved the way for liquidating the roots of tyranny on 6 June 1963 and laid the foundation for [the revolution of] February 1979?

Have they still not learned their lesson?

NEW Iran: The Attack on Montazeri, Sane’i, Karroubi
Iran Analysis: The Regime’s Next Push Against “Nothing Special”
Iran Document: Karroubi “Greens Stronger & More Mature Than Last Year” (12 June)
Iran Special: EA Gets Highest Award from Tehran Government!
Iran: The US State Department’s Comment on the Election Anniversary
Iran Result: The 22 Khordaad Cup “Greens 1, Darks 0″ (Lucas)
The Latest from Iran (13 June): And So It Goes On….

1810 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Mohammad Reza Jalaiepour of the Third Wave Movement has been re-arrested.

Jalaiepour was detained in June and held for 88 days.

1745 GMT: Mousavi Speaks. In a brief statement, Mir Hossein Mousavi has praised the fortitude of the Iranian people and the Green Movement o on the anniversary of the election and asserted that the unprecedented security deployment shows how the regime has failed to convince the public of its legitimacy.

Mousavi has promised a statement tomorrow outlining the objectives and strategies of the Green Movement.

1740 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Behzad Heidari, a student activist from Amir Kabir University, was arrested on 12 June during a protest near Enghelab Square.


1735 GMT: No, I Didn't. Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi has denied that he issued an order blocking detainees' visits with their families (see separate analysis).

1720 GMT: Human rights and women's rights activist Saba Vasefi has regained consciousness after being in a coma for two weeks. Vasefi was struck by a motorcyclist who fled, hitting her head on the curbside.

1550 GMT: The Attack on the Clerics. Reformist member of Parliament Darius Ghanbari has demanded that the security forces who carried out the attack on Grand Ayatollah Sane'i's house be held accountable.

1445 GMT: The Attack on the Clerics. We've published the most concise account we've seen so far --- from Saham News --- of Sunday's attack by a pro-regime crowd on Grand Ayatollah Sane'i, the family of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, and Mehdi Karroubi in Qom.

1255 GMT: The Attack on Ayatollah Sane'i. The Facebook site supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi has posted 33 photographs of the damage caused by the crowd that surrounded the house of Ayatollah Sane'i on Sunday.

1225 GMT: Assessing 22 Khordaad. There is still a siege of ill-informed pieces on Saturday's events in the Western media, as well as high-brow discussions of the "Green Movement" which ignored the latest developments.

In this context, the report of Michael Theodoulou --- who has excellent sources in Iran --- takes on added importance:

Thousands of Iranians, defying regime threats, staged a silent and peaceful anti-government protest in Tehran on yesterday’s anniversary of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election a year ago, witnesses told The National.

“There were many women, some veiled in black, and many men, people of all ages,” one Tehran resident said....

One witness, who has proven consistently reliable in the past, said that there were at least 100,000 protestors....“There was little chanting but once in a while you could hear ‘down with the dictator’,” he said. Security forces beat some with batons to break up gatherings....

“This can well be considered a success for the opposition,” said an analyst in Tehran who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They [the protestors] managed to make the government admit its fear and weakness by bringing so many forces to the streets,” he said. “And by remaining silent, most of the time, they managed to suffer the least beatings and arrests – so far.”

NEW Iran: The Attack on Montazeri, Sane’i, Karroubi
Iran Analysis: The Regime’s Next Push Against “Nothing Special”
Iran Document: Karroubi “Greens Stronger & More Mature Than Last Year” (12 June)
Iran Special: EA Gets Highest Award from Tehran Government!
Iran: The US State Department’s Comment on the Election Anniversary
Iran Result: The 22 Khordaad Cup “Greens 1, Darks 0″ (Lucas)
The Latest from Iran (13 June): And So It Goes On….

1205 GMT: Iranian Embassy in London "Hosts" Protest Film. HomyLafayette reports on how demonstrators projected a short film, documenting the post-election unrest and crackdown, onto the facade of the Iranian Embassy in London on Saturday night.

1200 GMT: Another Attack on a Cleric. Khabar Online reports that an "unknown person or persons" attacked the home of Ayatollah Nouri-Hamedani last night, breaking windows.

0725 GMT: Ahmadinejad on the Election. The President did mark the anniversary of the Presidential vote in his interview on national television about "the manifestation of the united and grand human will of 40 million people in a 100 percent free" vote. He claimed, "Those who opposed [the election] were governments of injustice who interfered in [our] internal affairs. Even the American president, who was new to the scene, joined them. But the Iranian nation defeated them."

0720 GMT: The Attack on the Clerics. Ahmad Montazeri, the son of the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, has issued a statement about the attack on the Montazeri offices:

The interesting point...is the presence and silence of the police and special security forces and the complete coordination between them and the plain clothes militia! In this attack all the items of the office were damaged and the photos of late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri were torn up and insulted. They broke office’s windows, chairs and even the television set, torn down the curtains and by hanging from the ceiling fan and treading down the vacuum cleaner damaged them.

Following these attacks on the morning of Monday, 14 June 2010, about 12 individuals from intelligence forces with a court order from the Special Court for the Clergy in Qom came to the office of the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri and searched the office, confiscated the damaged items, and shut down and sealed the office; and by this action approved all the destructive actions of those who attacked. While one would expect from the security forces to control the plain clothes individuals and bring security to the area, unfortunately not even one of the thugs was arrested.

0650 GMT: The Battle Within. An important signal of a possible anti-Ahmadinejad coalition, sanctioned by the Supreme Leader, and a boost to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani: Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, has warned the President that he cannot interfere in the responsibilities and authorities of other officials of the regime: "Some people are trying to take advantage of the situation and take on responsibilities for which they lack the necessary competence.”

Janati writes that the Guardian Council is the only point of reference for determining the legality of Parliament’s legislations and other officials and government bodies “have no duty other than executing and heeding those laws” once they are approved by the Guardian Council.

A less dramatic sign of challenge comes from Fereydoun Hemmati of the Supreme Audit Council, who claims the Government's budget declaration is "full of attacks and lies".

And Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghaddam of Parliament's Economic Commission has reiterated that "the government cannot refuse to implement laws".
0645 GMT: The 4 June Fall-Out. Add Ayatollah Javadi Amoli to the long list of senior figures denouncing the regime's mis-handling of the ceremony for Ayatollah Khomeini, criticising the shout-down of his grandson, Seyed Hassan Khomeini: "The events were an obvious injustice to the Imam and his beyt descendants."

0615 GMT: The 22 Khordaad Arrests. Daneshjoo News claims, from "informed sources", that about 400 people detained on Saturday have been moved to Evin Prison.

0610 GMT: More on Tomorrow's Statement (see 0540 GMT). The advance notice of the statement for Tuesday claims that "Mir Hossein Mousavi [has] proposed a charter for the Green Movement which includes objectives, strategies and definition for [its] identity...and offered it as a proposed platform to the movement to be reviewed and judged by the public and the experts."

0600 GMT: ??????. I am at a loss to evaluate this statement made yesterday on national television on Sunday by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It is either the height of hypocrisy or a relevation of a President who is not in command. From Agence France Presse:

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that he was "strongly" opposed to a police crackdown against women deemed to be in un-Islamic dress and on the behaviour of youths in public.
"I am strongly against such actions. It is impossible for such actions to be successful," Ahmadinejad said in an interview on state television when asked about the crackdown which has intensified in past weeks....

"I prefer to work in a cultural way. Any punishment must be given after a judge's decision," said Ahmadinejad, adding that his government had no role in the crackdown.

"The government is not interfering in this. We consider it is insulting to ask a boy and girl about their relationship. Nobody has the right to ask people such a question," he said.

"I hope such things will not happen in our country and that such actions are stopped before I have to give serious warnings," he added.

0540 GMT: Now to the Next Anniversary. Kalemeh, the website of Mir Hossein Mousavi, has announced that Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi will issue a statement tomorrow, the anniversary of the first mass protest against the Presidential election.

Meanwhile, Green Voice of Freedom has posted an English-language summary of the Mousavi-Karroubi press conference that was held several days before the 12 June demonstration but mysterious disappeared.

0530 GMT: We begin this morning with an analysis of "The Regime's Next Push" against an opposition that refused to go away on 22 Khordaad, the anniversary of the 2009 election.

One of the incidents this weekend pointing to continued tension was the gathering of protesters outside the home of Grand Ayatollah Yusuf Sane'i, who was meeting Mehdi Karroubi, in Qom. Another video of the gathering has emerged:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qim9MkopK5Q&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]