Iran Daily Report

Full Report

On the Streets

1. Commander of Tehran’s Internal Security Forces: Sunday passed quietly – The Commander of Tehran’s internal security force claimed that the capital was generally calm on Sunday, and that no major disturbances were registered. This, he added, was due to his forces’ decisive action against rioters. Security officials also announced that 475 rioters were arrested on Saturday for participating in illegal demonstrations unheeding warning issued by the Minister of Internal Affairs. Tehran’s Chief of police stressed that his forces had not fired on demonstrators in the past days. Here are several clips of demonstrations (clip 1, clip2, clip3).


2. Tehran and Internet awash with rumors that Khamenei has fled the city – According to unconfirmed rumors that are spreading throughout Tehran and on the Internet, Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei has fled the city.





3. "Bloody Saturday" and "Black Saturday" – Pictures from unrest and violence in Iran. Nada, the young woman killed on camera, has become the hero of blogs and websites, with Iranian citizens deciding, unofficially, to change the name of the street on which she was killed, Amir-Abad Street, to Nada Street, and many bloggers choosing to use her picture as the logo for their posts. Meanwhile, reports note that Basij forces severely beat a young man who filmed the "Bloody Saturday" incidents in Tehran. The Basij forces searched the man, found his cellphone and beat him with clubs and cables. He was admitted to hospital with broken ribs and a concussion. Elsewhere in Tehran, demonstrators attacked and torched a Basij base on Azerbaijan Street. Click here to view a clip of the incident.



4. Neda Agha Soltan – a symbol of defiance and of the regime’s murderousness - Neda Agha Soltan, a 27 year old student of philosophy, who was shot in the heart by a sniper has become a symbol of defiance in Iran. She was buried under heavy security restraints and her family was forced to cancel mourning services that were to be held in a mosque. To commemorate Neda’s death a page was opened in twitter (neda#) that has been flooded with messages from across the globe carrying strong condemnations against the current regime.

5. Basij Commander in Action - The man pulling out a pistol is identified as Hassan Mir Kazemi, the commander of Basij Force at Elhadi Mosque at Tehran’s Shams Abad district. He is also the director of Donya Felez plant situated on Tehran-Karaj Road.

6. Pregnant woman killed in Tehran – Various websites are reporting that a pregnant woman was shot and killed during a demonstration in Tehran on Saturday. The reports add that officials from the office of Iran's supreme leader instructed hospital staff not to publish any information on the incident, but a picture from the shooting has been published on numerous sites (very graphic image, please contact Terrogence).



7. Three killed in Shiraz on Saturday – Three Iranian civilians were killed in Shiraz on Saturday during clashes with security forces that went on into the night. The city is said to be under a cloud of tension, with calls of "Allah Akbar" being heard through the night.



8. Officials take up positions in printing presses to control publications – Representatives of the general prosecutor’s office took up positions at printing presses and are controlling the content of newspapers and other publications without notifying the editorial staff. For example, a headline of the Reformist leaning Etemad Melli daily on a proclamation by Karrubi was altered yesterday.



9. Report: Special anti-riot forces lay siege to area between Azadi Square and Enqelab Square – According to the reports, the siege involves thousands of special anti-riot squad members, IRGC members and plain-clothed forces who are not allowing any pedestrian traffic in the area. The reports also speak of the deployment of tanks in Azadi Square. Meanwhile, the unrest continues in numerous parts of the capital. Click here to view clip.



10. Security forces deployed at clinics and hospitals to collect information on casualties – Medical teams and families of injured civilians are reporting on the increased presence of security forces at medical centers and hospitals where casualties from the unrest in the country are being treated. According to the medical staff and families, the security forces are trying to collect information about the casualties and have even demanded a file on every person either injured or killed in the violence. Meanwhile, bloggers are warning citizens who have been injured or harmed by the riots not to submit their personal details to a website asking them to do so. The bloggers say the site belongs to the Intelligence Ministry, which is trying to collect details about the demonstrators.



11. A general strike to be held in the Kordestan province on Tuesday – A human rights group in the Iranian Kordestan province as well as a writers’ and students’ union have announced that a general strike will be held in the province on Tuesday to protest of the deaths of civilians across the country.



12. A senior aide to the Reformist candidate, Karrubi, election campaign was arrested – Abdollah Momeni, a senior member of Karrubi’s election campaign staff, and a spokesman for a student’s union was arrested late last night. Momeni was one of the more prominent student activists and has been detained several times.



13. Member of Iranian National Front's central committee arrested – Security forces in civilian dress last night raised the home of Kourosh Zaeim, a member of the Iranian National Front's central committee, and took him into custody. The security forces also conducted a search of the house and seized the man's computer and other personal items. Zaeim's current whereabouts remain unknown. Reports are also speaking of the arrest of a number of members of Mousavi's headquarters, including former Majlis members Davoud Salimani and Ali Tajirania.



14. Two people executed in Zahedan – Human rights activists from the Sistan ve-Balouchestan Province are reporting that two individuals, Esmaeil Qadeeri and Ahmad Dast Goshad, have been executed at the central jail in Zahedan. Officials newspapers say the two were convicted of possessing drugs, but activists believe they may have been among the civilians arrested during unrest in the city in the wake of the elections.





Reactions to International Interest

15. Jon Leyne, the BBC's correspondent in Iran, has been give 24 hours to leave the country; Ahmadinejad advises Western states to refrain from intervening in Iran's domestic issues - BBC correspondent Jon Leyne, who has been ordered out of Iran, has been accused of false reporting, ignoring impartiality in reporting, supporting rioters, disregarding the rights of the Iranian nation, fuelling unrests, provoking and deceiving public opinion, and ignoring the journalists' ethical charter. On Sunday, meanwhile, Ahmadinejad advised Western states to keep out of the country's domestic issues. Directing his remarks at the U.S. and British leaders, Ahmadinejad said: "You definitely won't be placed inside Iranians' circle of friendship with such hasty comments; therefore I advise you to rectify your interventionist stances… The enemies are not aware that 70 million people of Iran are against interference of foreigners and against the arrogance."

16. Iranian FM accuses UK of intervening in Iran’s internal affairs, sowing seeds of discord in the United Arab Emirates and the Persian Gulf and ill-advising the United States – Speaking during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said: "In the final weeks before the election, given the large number of passengers, the Tehran-London flight turned to a Jumbo Jet [Boeing] 747. Certain people with certain plans travelled to Iran from Britain; they were elements affiliated to the intelligence operators of Britain. They wanted to come here to see, to have certain effects." He added that since Barack Obama became U.S. president, 350 lectures, conferences, seminars and gatherings had been held at various U.S. universities by British professors and lecturers with the aim of offering goals and objectives to Obama and to guide him. Mottaki further claimed that the UK played a key role in bringing the United States to Iraq and that in Afghanistan, under Britain's watch, drug production had surged, reaching some 9,000 tons. According to Mottaki, the UK is trying to sow seeds of discord in the United Arab Emirates and the Persian Gulf. He advised the foreign ambassadors to provide "realistic and accurate reports" to their respective governments, saying: "Millions of dollars are being spent every month by yours governments in Iran and they naturally expect you to come up with some realistic and accurate reports based on precise and accurate analysis of the developments in Iran."



17. Chairman of the Majles National Security and Foreign Policy Committee: Foreign countries have allowed themselves to interfere in Iran's domestic affairs; Musavi must obey the Constitution. Ala’eddin Borujerdi, Chairman of the Majles National Security and Foreign Policy Committeehas said that his committee would investigate forces dressed as civilians who are not official members of the Law Enforcement Force or the Basij. Borujerdi said that the unrest has been taking place at the instigation of some of the candidates, and unfortunately foreign countries have allowed themselves to interfere in Iran's domestic affairs. “People should have enough patriotic sense not to create situations where countries such as America and Britain have the opportunity to interfere in Iran's domestic affairs”. In reply to a journalist's question on his assessment of Mirhoseyn Musavi's statement, he described it as totally unacceptable. “Musavi must obey the Constitution… any remarks about not accepting the Guardian Council’s decision cannot be accepted by any reasonable person. Not believing in the Guardian Council means not believing in the Constitution”, he said. (Mehr News Agency, June 21)

18. “Javan” newspaper argues that Enemies of Iran intend to create a velvet revolution in Iran. Under the headline "The enemy's propaganda and media activities" the newspaper points at the velvet revolutions that took place in some East European countries, adding that the enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran intend to create a similar revolution in Iran by using foreign media channels. The author calls on the country's propaganda and media officials to use all their abilities to nullify the enemies' efforts (“Javan”, June 21)



Emerging Rift Amongst Clerics



19. Members of Council of Guardians meet with senior “sources of emulation” – Council of Guardians spokesman Abasali Kadkhodaei has announced that members of the council met with three senior sources of emulation - Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi and Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli – and presented them with the report from the elections supervisory committee, promising that all complaints will be looked into objectively and carefully and that the conclusions will be publicly published. Amoli condemned the unrest and riots and called on the public to express their protests in a legal manner.

20. Ayatollah Montazeri calls for three-day mourning period in memory of victims of unrest; Reformists declare strike day – According to an unconfirmed report, the Reformists have called for a general strike in the economy on Tuesday. In addition, Ayatollah Montazeri has announced a three-day mourning period, beginning today, in memory of the victims of the recent unrest and violence in the country. Meanwhile, hundreds of students at Tehran University are continuing their sit-in strike in protest against the election results and the ‘Ansar Hezbollah’ militia forces' violent actions on the campus, where a number of people have been killed.



21. “Iran” newspaper claims that the majority of the votes of Qom's senior clerics were for Ahmadinejad" - According to the latest details of the election results, the majority of the votes in the two mobile ballot boxes devoted to Qom's senior clerics and sources of emulation were in favor of Ahmadinejad. Accordingly, out of 586 valid voting papers in these two boxes, Ahmadinejad won 351, and Musavi got 182 votes (“Iran”, 21 June). In this regard – “Keyhan” (June 21) claims that except for Ayatollah Sane'i, prominent clerics in Qom have refused to see reformists who went there to gather support



The Internal Political Scene



22. Intelligence and interior ministers fail to appear before Majlis Foreign Affairs and Security Committee – The Majlis Foreign Affairs and Security Committee held an emergency session in the presence of the foreign minister. The chairman of the committee announced that the interior and intelligence ministers had been invited to attend the meeting but had been unable to due to the ongoing events in the country.



23. Five Rafsanjani family members arrested and later released – Security forces on Saturday night arrested five members of the Rafsanjani family, including his daughter, Faezeh. The five are believed to have participated in demonstrations on Saturday. According to an Iranian security official, the arrests were made with the aim of protecting Hashemi's relatives from being assassinated by "[terrorist] groups and rioters." The security official referred to the presence of terrorist groups including the Mojahedin Khalq Organization among the rioters and said that: " there were fears that the elements of Monafeqin might harm them in order to blame the system and fuel unrest and division. But this plot was foiled thanks to the vigilance of the security forces… Yesterday, some of the close relatives of Hashemi-Rafsanjani including his daughter attended an illegal rally at Jomhuri Square and according to a report, security forces immediately transferred them to the nearest military base and kept them there until the end of the riots. (Fars News Agency, June 21). Meanwhile, Iranian Judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said in reply to an ILNA correspondent's question on whether the reports about the arrest of family members from a "high-ranking official" (presumably, Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani) were true or not, Jamshidi said that "in the next few days some good news will be announced."



24. Hackers attack Mousavi website – Zara Ranourad, the wife of Mousavi, has announced that the Qalam News website, which is currently serving as Mousavi's official website, has been attacked by hackers.



25. Iran election watchdog reports voting irregularities in 50 cities – The Guardian Council has suggested that the number of votes collected in 50 cities surpass the number of people eligible to cast ballot in those areas. The council's Spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhoda'i, who was speaking on national TV (21 June), made the remarks in response to complaints filed by Mohsen Reza'i - a defeated candidate in the 12 June presidential election. "Statistics provided by the candidates, who claim more than 100 per cent of those eligible have cast their ballot in 80-170 cities are not accurate - the incident has happened in only 50 cities”. The spokesman, however, said that although the vote tally affected by such an irregularity could be over 3 million and the council could, at the request of the candidates, re-count the affected ballot boxes, "it has yet to be determined whether the possible change in the tally is decisive in the election results".



26. Editorial in E'temad-e Melli” argues that people’s votes express their will to form their future, and therefore they can cast doubt on the election results and have the right to protest.The author points to the Iranian people's protests against the release of the tenth presidential election's results and says people are the ultimate owners of their votes because the votes express people's will to form their future, and therefore they can doubt the results of the elections and have the right to protest (E’temad-e Melli, June 21)



27. The “Keyhan” editorial calls on Mr and Mrs Mussavi to come forth and prove their accusations of election fraud” – An editorial in Keyhan, titled “The day of no conspiracy” quoted the central Shiite figure, Imam Ali, who once advised “do not take steps until you have thought them through”. Keyhan asserts that today’s events in Tehran are of paramount importance and asks “how can Mussavi – who had over 4,000 observers in polling stations across the country – claim that election fraud occurred, without putting forward a single shred of proof”. “Mussavi has tried to duck such questions and his ‘respected’ wife prefers to be interviewed by the BBC announcing that she has proof of cheating. Mr Mussavi was invited by the Guardian Council to state his case but turned down the offer, preferring to call his supporters to take to the streets. If Mussavi does not believe in the integrity of the Guardian Council and the Ministry of Interior, why did he stand as candidate in the first place ?”



Economic Affairs

28. Iran introduces candidate for GECF secretary general – Iran has announced a candidate for the position of Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) secretary general. GECF members include Iran, Algeria, Bolivia, Brunei, Indonesia, Egypt, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad, Tobago, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

29. "Agriculture Jihad Minister promises - We shall not import wheat this year" Mohammad Reza Eskandari spoke to the press on the state of wheat production in the current year. He said the production is expected to reach 13.5 million tones. (Jomhuri-e Eslami, June 21).



Security Affairs

30. Iranian Air Force begins maneuvers – Iranwill carry out an air maneuver today to strengthen the operational might of the air force. The air drill, known as "Milad-e-Noure-Velayat" (dawn of homeland illumination), aims at increasing the logistical power and jet fighters capability. Fueling and refueling operations will also be carried out during the air show. The fighters will fly at low altitude at a distance of 700 km over the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. They will test new ammunition that was produced by the Air Force. The reconnaissance and surveillance aircrafts will also be used during the war game. This maneuver is to promote the efficiency of the Air Force personnel in loading the ammunition into the fighters. The Air Force also carried out a war game named "Ra’ad 2" over the Persian Gulf waters and the Sea of Oman earlier this year in which the war planes flew distances of approximately 2000 kilometers.