Iran’s two main opposition Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have asked the Interior Ministry, which is controlled by an acolyte of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, to allow for a march at Tehran’s Azadi Square on Feb. 14 in support of the Egyptian uprising and the Tunisian revolution.
Iran’s hard-line authorities won’t approve a permit for the march, especially at the same site where up to 3 million anti-government protesters staged a rally on June 15, 2009. These days, only rallies by supporters of the Iranian government, often bused in and handed free food, are allowed.
But the audacity of the request suggests how the political contagion wending its way through the Arab world may affect Iran, a non-Arab Muslim country that nonetheless maintains strong connections to its neighbors.
Khamenei, who has been either president or Supreme Leader of Iran as long as Hosni Mubarak has been the man in charge in Cairo, has praised the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings as an “Islamic awakening” similar to Iran’s 1979 revolution. Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s main Islamic opposition group, quickly dismissed the characterization, and the White House likened the uprising to Iran’s 2009 revolt against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed reelection.
But Mousavi, a former prime minister, and Karroubi are asking authorities to let Iranians show their support for the fight against tyranny, according to Kaleme, Mousavi’s website (in Persian).
“In order to show solidarity with the popular movements in the region and specifically the freedom-seeking movement embarked on by Tunisian and Egyptian people against their autocratic governments,” says a letter addressed to the Interior Ministry, “we hereby request permit to call for a rally – as Article 27 of the constitution authorizes – on Monday, Feb 14, 2011, at 3 p.m. from Imam Hossein to Azadi Square.”
source: LA Times
Iran's Expediency Council is accusing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of "undermining the system and instigating Iran's enemies both within and outside the country." The statement is part of the council's response to Ahmadinejad's official letter of complaint, which attacked the council's chair and the heads of the legislative and judicial branches of the government.
The Expediency Council maintained that it has always been "lenient in the supervision of government actions in accordance with the Supreme Leader's recommendations" and that it has always adhered to the articles of the constitution. The Expediency Council said no government institution can override its authority, according to the Guardian Council.
The Expediency Council statement says its chairman, Ayatollah Rafsanjani, will refrain from any personal attempt to defend himself against Ahmadinejad's accusations, out of concern for the integrity of the system. Following the Council's recommendations, the Chairman has decided to respond through a legal letter prepared by the Council.
Ahmadinejad sent the contentious letter two weeks ago, complaining to the Members of the Parliament that Ayatollah Rafsanjani was using his position to interfere in the affairs of the government. He accused two other top officials of helping him to undermine the administration: Ali Larijani, the parliamentary speaker, and Sadegh Larijani, head of the judiciary.
These disputes arise from parliament's attempt to limit the president's power to appoint the head of the Central Bank. Under parliament's plan, the president would have merely recommended a candidate, with parliament having the final say. When the Guardian Council rejected parliament's proposal, the MPs appealed to the Expediency Council to get the bill approved.
Accusations are flowing both ways: Ahmadinejad says the parliament is interfering in government affairs; the parliament says Ahmadinejad's administration is trying to circumvent parliament in its role as government supervisor.
The Expediency Council is comprised of Islamic Republic experts appointed by the Supreme Leader to a five-year term. The current term expires next year.
source: Radio Zamaneh
An Iranian court began closed-door proceedings Sunday in the espionage trial of three Americans — two still in custody and one freed on bail — whose detention has been the subject of impassioned family appeals and backdoor outreach by Washington through an Arab ally in the Gulf.
The case also highlights the power of Iran’s judiciary, which is controlled directly by the nation’s ruling clerics and has rejected apparent efforts by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to urge for some leniency. But Ahmadinejad also has tried to draw attention to Iranians in U.S. jails, raising the possibility the detainees were viewed as potential bargaining chips with Washington at a time of high-stakes showdowns over Iran’s nuclear program.
Authorities in the Tehran Revolutionary Court imposed a blanket ban on observers, including Swiss Ambassador Livia Leu Agosti who represents U.S. interests in Iran. Details of the initial proceedings were not known, but local journalists reported that the session was under way.
The Americans were detained in July 2009 along the Iraqi border. They claim they were hiking in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and — if they crossed into Iran — it was inadvertent. Iran, however, pressed forward with spy charges that could bring a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted.
In September, Iranian officials released one of the Americans, Sarah Shourd, on $500,000 bail arranged through the Gulf nation of Oman that maintains close ties to the West and Iran. The two others — Shourd’s fiance Shane Bauer and their friend, Josh Fattal — remain in Tehran’s Evin Prison.
It was not clear whether the two men were in the Revolutionary Court, which deals with state security issues such as those arrested in the violent aftermath of Iran’s disputed elections in 2009. Last week, Iran officially demanded that Shourd return for the trial, but she has stayed in the United States.
The families of the detainees have made high-profile appeals for their release, including during a visit by the three mothers to Tehran in May. The trip, however, was carefully orchestrated by Iranian authorities and included a meeting between the mothers and relatives of five Iranians held for more than two years by the U.S. military in Iraq.
The current case in Tehran recalls that of American-Iranian journalist Roxanna Saberi, who was arrested in Iran in January 2009 and convicted of espionage and sentenced to eight years in prison. She was freed on appeal in May 2009.
source: AP
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