The Latest from Iran (7 March): The Elections Next Door

2225 GMT: Petraeus Pronounces. On a slowish political evening, General David Petraeus dishes out some rhetoric on Iran's "thugocracy". We'll have an analysis tomorrow (hint: it's actually a signal that US is backing off any immediate military pressure), but for now, we've posted the video.

1945 GMT: Larijani Watch. Nice move by the head of Iran's judiciary, Mohammad Sadegh Larijani. He has announced the discovery of a large group inside the Government carrying out fraud and economic corruption: one case alone was embezzlement of 6 bilionl Toman more than $6 million).

NEW Iran: Senior Reformist Amani “We Have Not Decided to Remain Silent”
UPDATED Death, Confusion, and Clerics in Iran: The Case of Mohammad Amin Valian
NEW An Open Letter to the Editors of Iran’s “Principled” Newspapers
The Latest from Iran (7 March): The Elections Next Door

Thus, Larijani takes a swipe at Ahmadinejad and poses as a a defender of justice for the Iranian people.


1930 GMT: Bypassing Sanctions. All the way back to our first update (0730 GMT) on "Western" firms who trade with Tehran: Welt Online has a lengthy article on German companies who use Dubai as a "back door" to get into Iran.

1900 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Madhi Forouzandehpour, who was in charge of Mir Hossein Mousavi’s office, has been released after more than two months in detention.

1750 GMT: The Uranium Enrichment Deal. Don't say EA didn't tell you....
A couple of weeks after the visit by Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani to Tokyo, this nugget from the Foreign Ministry:

Iran is ready to conduct its uranium exchange plan also with fresh countries, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Sunday, according to the Fars News Agency.

"As we have reached no results yet with France, Russia and the United States over the uranium exchange plan, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head has asked other countries to get involved," Mehmanparast said.

"We will wait and see whether other countries would be capable to provide us with the required fuel," the spokesman added in a meeting with students at the Shahid Beheshti university in Tehran.

Japan is reportedly one of the countries interested to get engaged in the deal.

1730 GMT: Political Prisoner/Mohareb Watch. Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatababi announced that 250 Ashura detainees have been indicted, but he said reports of a confirmed death sentence for Mohammad Amin Valian were false.

1710 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Leading student activist Abdollah Momeni has reportedly been released on $800,000 bail.

1645 GMT: Karroubi Takes on Mohareb. It looks like Mehdi Karroubi may have another front in his battle against the regime over its conception of "justice". He told an audience today,

I have previously pointed out [the need for] changing the definition of Mohareb [warring against God] in the current situation and have asked judiciary officials for its abolition....Some officials, unpremeditatedly or premeditatedly and even intentionally, called the streets protests and movements Moharebeh, and this is unfortunate.

Karroubi referred to the case of Mohammad Amin Valian, the Ashura protester condemned to death, as a “negative point” since Valian was only “taking part in street protests.” Karroubi claimed that Iranian officials "don’t know that Iran’s reputation in the international community is tarnished with such acts”.

1640 GMT: On the Women's Front. The Iranian Labor News Agency dares to proclaim, on the eve of International Women's Day, that "statistics and recent events in Iran indicate Iranian women did not experience an enjoyable year".

1630 GMT: That Cyber-War Thing. Following the declaration of Iranian officials that the Green Movement will be "crushed" in the battle of the Internet, an Islamic Revolution Guard Corps commander has said that 18,000 IRGC troops will be deployed in the "cyber-war".

1615 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Amirhossein Kazemi, weblog writer and member of the Freedom Movement of Iran, was arrested last night after being summoned to the Intelligence Ministry and taken to an unknown location. Emad Behavar, the head of the youth branch and member of the political bureau of the FMI, has been arrested for the third time in the post-election crisis.

Many of the FMI's leaders have been detained.

1200 GMT: We've posted an interview with a senior reformist, Shahrbanou Amani, considering the state of the Green Movement: "We Have Not Decided to Remain Silent".

1000 GMT: Posture of the Day. The Iranian Government, represented by Minister of Defense Ahmad Vahidi, is boasting of a new domestically-manufactured short-range cruise missile that can "eliminate targets of up to 300 tons".

0800 GMT: Butterfly on a Wheel. Golshifteh Farahani, the first Iranian actress since 1979 to appear in a major Hollywood film, has spoken of the oppression of Iran's artists by the current regime.

After her appearance in Body of Lies with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, Farahani was harassed by Iranian intelligence services for months before she went into exile in Paris.

Reacting to the arrest of award-winning director Jafar Panahi last week, Farahani said, "We are so angry. Jafar is one, maybe the only one… still in Iran who is talking. Most artists [in Iran] don't talk because they would rather work somehow. I appreciate that, but Jafar is the one who had the courage to talk, and he talked for everyone."

0755 GMT: A Government's Satanic Aims. Former President Mohammad Khatami has delcared in a speech:

It is a catastrophe that satanic aims and inhuman methods are imposed on the people in the name of God and holiness. Peace is the most beautiful word that exists, but unfortunately we see rare examples in the historical reality (today).

0750 GMT: Here's Some Culture for You. Former Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi has declared at a conference that Iran's "cyber-army" will reach "greater achievements", crushing the Green Movement.

0730 GMT: Nine months after Iran's Presidential election, media attention --- including that of Iranian outlets --- will be focused on a vote next door, as Iraqis go to the polls. We'll be starting our Iran morning in a reflective mood, with a senior reformist politician, Shahrbanou Amani, considering the state of the movement: "We have not decided to remain silent."

Anticipating US legislating punishing firms who trade both with the American Government and with Iran, The New York Times has published a list of 74 companies who could have been affected. Heading the list is Halliburton, the oil and gas drilling services firm connected with former Vice President Dick Cheney, at $27.1 billion. (Like a number of others on the list, Halliburton has now officially withdrawn from Iran.)

Iran: Senior Reformist Amani "We Have Not Decided to Remain Silent"

Shahrbanou Amani, the speaker of House of Iran's Political Parties (a supervisory body over all Iranian parties) and former lawmaker, interviewed by Khabar Online:

KHABAR: Why have the reformists had no voice? Their leaders do not comment on the latest problems raised in the country and do not take a transparent stance. Is it a strategy?

AMANI: We have not opted for that. You see, whenever the ground is prepared, the reformists show an enthusiasm to express their ideas. In my view as our society has become so tense, those who are prime firebrands of such tensions have even targeted sensible Principlists as well, the figures who have served the country but are under the threat of elimination. [They do this] since those who hold the power, do not bear any voice except the echo of their own voice.


Furthermore ,when the clashes are intensified, the toleration for hearing the voice of truth, logic, and ideas based on knowledge shrinks. Currently the universities are among the rare places where the reformists can articulate their ideas.

KHABAR: What is the key problem of the reformists in conveying their ideas?

AMANI: One of the key problems is that we don't have a mass media. What can the reformists do? They don't have access to visual and aural media. No TV and radio channel is allocated to voice their ideas; even among several TV channels, none will give them just one hour to make their suggestions.

One of the issues discussed among our reformist friends (and once more I underline that it's not an organizational option) is that we prefer to express our opinions by local media. When the spouses of the post-election detainees are interviewed by foreign media, they [the spouses] say we made our utmost effort to voice our concerns through Iranian media, but they didn't allow us to do so.

On the other hand, the media serving the rival group has adopted a selective approach, censoring parts of the interviews and articles. For example on the "2030" news program aired by state TV, the programmers broadcast the parts of the items which may serve their goals. They are not faithful to the entire material.

It's not a new tactic adopted by IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) and other state-funded media. In several consecutive years, they have tried to eliminate one of the main Iranian political currents, which ironically has played an important role in the Islamic Republic's campaigns and suffered many tortures in the course of the revolution.

KHABAR: You said you are not allowed access to the media. Actually the reformists say we are deprived of the public forum, but they convey their ideas through the international media including Farsi-language ones. The influence of such media is undeniable, since some accuse local media, including IRIB, of following a biased strategy against the government critics. For the same reason, some are under the influence of foreign media.

AMANI: Actually right now the Green Movement and reformists are deprived of a public forum. Even at the late presidential election in June, we didn't have access to that. Some say how people joined [us] for the election. I would say because the round-the-clock trips made by many reformists and Principlists who campaigned for the other candidates except Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were greeted by people. Many of them [campaigners] are reputable people who selflessly devoted themselves to the country during the "sacred defense" (the eight-year Iraq-Iran war).

The key problem of the reformists was their limited face-to-face communication with people. Also their campaign was begun rather late. Mr. Mohammad Khatami [former President] walked out of the election and Mr. Mir Hossein Mousavi [former Prime Minister] accepted running for the Presidency rather late.