 0855 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Philosophy student Ali Moazzami has been released on bail; however, other detainees such as journalist Emadeddin Baghi remain behind bars for Nowruz.
0845 GMT: Remembering. Mourners gathered yesterday at the graves of post-election martyrs, placing flowers and cards.
In front of Evin Prison, relatives gathered to demand the release of detainees, including Ms Elham Ahsani, supporter of the Mothers of Mourning.
NEW Iran: Ethnic Minorities and the Green Movement (Ghajar)
NEW Iran Academic Question: Suspending North American Studies?
Latest Iran Video: Mousavi’s and Rahnavard’s New Year Messages (18 March)
Iran: Reading Mousavi & Karroubi “The Fight Will Continue” (Shahryar)
Iran & the US: The Missed Nuclear Deal (Slavin)
The Latest from Iran (18 March): Uranium Distractions
0825 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Here’s the Rumour of the Day — Islamic Republic News Agency claims Hashemi Rafsanjani flew to Kish Island to meet his son Mehdi Hashemi, who wants to return illegally to mainland Iran via Dubai.
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Tags: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Balatarin, Christian Science Monitor, Elham Ahsani, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, Evin Prison, Financial Times, Flynt Leverett, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Mann Leverett, Hossein Mar'ashi, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Isa Saharkhiz, Islamic Republic News Agency, Jahangir Amuzegar, Khabar Online, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mehdi Hashemi, Mehdi Yahyanejad, Mothers of Mourning, Najmeh Bozorgmehr, New York Times, Russia, Scott Peterson
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On Thursday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden made an appearance at Radio and Television Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington. He said:
I just got back from five days in the Middle East. I love to travel, but it’s great to be back to a place where a boom in housing construction is actually a good thing.
Israel-Palestine: Gaza Rockets, Settlements, & Relations with Washington
Tags: East Jerusalem, Israel, Joe Biden
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 Last night, seeking an answer to a question concerning Iran and the US, I sought counsel from the English-language website of the Institute of North American and European Studies at the University of Tehran. (Dr Seyed Mohammad Marandi, one of the most prominent post-election commentators on non-Iranian media, is based at INAES.)
I got no joy, for INAES’ homepage reads simply: “This Account Has Been Suspended”.
Why?
Tags: Institute of North American and European Studies, Iran, Seyed Mohammad Marandi, Tehran University
3 Comments »
 Shayah Ghajar writes in insideIRAN.org:
Iran is home to a staggeringly diverse population, with a wide variety of languages and cultures. Due to centuries, if not millennia, of cultural exchanges, intermarriages, and the inherent fluidity of identity in such a pluralistic nation, “ethnicity” does not necessarily hold the same racial baggage that it does in Western cultures, and a family’s self-described ethnicity may change from one generation to the next.
Nevertheless, certain minority cultures in Iran are restricted from publishing in their native languages, and face educational and economic disadvantages. Academics and political figures active in promoting their cultures face arrest, and are occasionally executed. Consequently, many Iranian minorities feel antagonized by the current government and support political causes to increase their cultural rights and representation.
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Tags: Abdulmalik Rigi, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Green Movement, InsideIran.org, Iran, Islamic Republic News Agency, Jundullah, Kaveh Ghoreishi, Kurdish Globe, Medya News, Mehdi Karroubi, Mohammad Khatami, Mohammad Khiabani, Mostafa Hejri, Press TV, Rooz Online, Shayan Ghajar
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 Gaza Rocket Attack: After Gaza militants fired a Qassam rocket into the western Negev on Thursday, killing a Thai foreign worke, Israel’s response was firm. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said, “With or without Goldstone [Report on the Gaza War], Israel will defend its citizens. Today we see how absurd the Goldstone report was.”
According to the Israeli Defense Forces, more than 100 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel since Operation Cast Lead ended in January 2009. Although Hamas did not take the responsibility, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai declared the Palestianian organisation responsible. Deputy Premier Silvan Shalon vowed that “the Israeli response will be appropriate. It will be strong,” adding, “This is a crossing of the red line, which Israel cannot accept.”
Israel-Palestine Video: Biden’s Settlements Humour
The killing came an hour after the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, stepped into the Gaza Strip. She said:
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Tags: AFP, Avigdor Lieberman, Ban Ki-Moon, Barack Obama, Bashir al-Assad, Benjamin Netanyahu, Catherine Ashton, Danny Ayalon, East Jerusalem, European Union, Fox News, Gaza Strip, Goldstone Report, Ha'aretz, Hamas, Hillary Clinton, Israel, Israeli Defense Forces, Jackson Diehl, Matan Vilnai, Michael Oren, Shimon Peres, Silvan Shalon, Syria, The New York Times, United Nations, West Bank
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 2225 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. This could be interesting — Hossein Marashi, cousin of Hashemi Rafsanjani’s wife and a Vice Secretary-General of the Kargozaran Party. has been arrested.
2220 GMT: Edward Yeranian of the Voice of America offers an analysis, “Iranian Government Releases Prisoners for Persian New Year”, with contributions from EA staff.
NEW Latest Iran Video: Mousavi’s and Rahnavard’s New Year Messages (18 March)
NEW Iran: Reading Mousavi & Karroubi “The Fight Will Continue” (Shahryar)
NEW Iran & the US: The Missed Nuclear Deal (Slavin)
Iran Labour Front: Minimum Wage, “Unprecedent Poverty and Hunger”, and Strikes
Iran Analysis: What Does the Fire Festival Mean?
Latest Iran Video: Two Views of the Fire Festival (16 March)
UPDATED Iran Document: Mousavi Speech on “Patience and Perseverance” (15 March)
The Latest from Iran (18 March): Uranium Distractions
2215 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Women’s rights activist Somaiyeh Farid was arrested on Wednesday. Farid was at Evin Prison enquiring about her husband, Hojat (Siavash) Montazeri, who was arrested on 5 March.
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Tags: Abolhasan Darolshafaei, Akbar Montajabi, Alexei Borodavkin, Ali Akhbar Salehi, Ali Kantouri, Ali Kanturi, Amnesty International, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Bahman Ahmadi Amoui, Bahman Amoui, Barbara Slavin, BBC, Committee of Human Rights Reporters, Edward Yeranian, Faribors Raisdana, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hassan Rowhani, Hojat Montazeri, Hojatoleslam Mir Ahmadizadeh, Hojatoleslam Ruhollah Hosseinian, Hossein Mar'ashi, International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Josh Shahryar, Kalemeh, Kargozaran Party, Keyvan Samimi, Khabar Online, Mehdi Karroubi, Melody Moezzi, Milan Asadi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Khatami, Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution, Russia, Somaiyeh Farid, The Huffington Post, uranium enrichment, Voice of America, Zahra Rahnavard, Zhila Baniyaghoub
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Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard addressing the Iranian people for Nowruz. The English translation of Mousavi’s statement is from Khordaad 88, as is Rahnavard’s.
The Latest from Iran (18 March): Uranium Distractions
MOUSAVI:
In the name of God, the Compassionate and the Merciful,
The unified caravan of martyrs
I wish all of our people a Happy New Year, as we approach the green spring and this national holiday.
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Tags: Hafez, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Kalemeh Sabz, Khordaad 88, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Nowruz, Pedestrian, Zahra Rahnavard
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 Mr Verde reflects on the triumph of Tuesday’s Chahrshanbeh Suri celebrations over the Supreme Leader:
You get the feeling that some people (including a few journalists) who look into Iran from the outside seem to think they are watching a Hollywood movie: they are always looking for the next adrenaline rush of something “dramatic”. If no one is hurt or killed in the streets, then it is assumed that nothing of interest is happening in Iran. While the terrible footage of people being shot in the streets of Tehran or the sickening details of the torture and rape of detainees are important (very important) and relevant (very relevant), we have to understand that the struggle in Iran is not limited to being shot in the streets or raped in prisons. These sickening events are part of the regime’s mechanisms for trying to control and kill off the opposition (although it is obvious that it failed to do so), but they are surely not what we want to see happening in Iran on a daily basis.
Iran Analysis: What Does the Fire Festival Mean?
Latest Iran Video: Two Views of the Fire Festival (16 March)
The Latest from Iran (18 March): Uranium Distractions
On one level this year’s Chaharshanbeh Suri was what it should really be: despite the annual attempt of authorities to crack down on the occasion, people celebrated an ancient tradition and enjoyed themselves.
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Tags: 22 Bahman, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Chahrshanbeh Suri, Mr Verde
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0855 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Philosophy student Ali Moazzami has been released on bail; however, other detainees such as journalist Emadeddin Baghi remain behind bars for Nowruz.
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