Iran's "Breakout Capacity" and the International Community
September 10 -- In an interview with Radio Farda, Mark Fitzpatrick, the chief of the nonproliferation program at IISS in London, said that a prime concern for the international community is Iran's continued installation of additional centrifuges, which "provides the basis for a future breakout capability, should Iran chose to expel inspectors and use the centrifuges for weapons production." [listen in Farsi / read in English]
Grandsons of Dissident Top Cleric Arrested
September 15 -- The son of dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri told Radio Farda that his sons had been arrested on unclear charges. A day before the arrest, Ayatollah Montazeri issued a statement criticizing the Iranian leadership for post-election crackdowns, and called upon top clerics to break their silence. [read in Farsi]
Rift Deepens Among Iranian Clerics
September 13 -- During Radio Farda's weekly roundtable "Viewpoints," a political analyst, discussing the deepening divisions among Iranian clerics with a dissident cleric and a religious scholar, asserted that the new generation in Iran is unwilling to tolerate Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as previous generations did for his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, despite the fact that Khomeini's actions were far worse than those of Khamenei. [read in Farsi]
"The Oldest and Sickest Political Prisoner in Iran"
September 16 -- The wife of former Tehran University Chancellor Mohammad Maleki, who was arrested in late August, told reporters that her husband's health was worsening as a result of his imprisonment. "Maleki told me he had been repeatedly interrogated until midnight... apart from his cancer, his heart condition has worsened due to the interrogations," his wife said. "He is the oldest and sickest political prisoner in Iran." [listen in Farsi]
Iran's Current Crisis: Who is Responsible?
September 11 -- The nephew of Supreme Leader Khamenei, Mahmud Tehrani, told reporters that he believes President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and the Revolutionary Guard hold the most power in Iran. "I don't think Ali Khamenei has a lot of power, it's likely that all of this is being run by the Revolutionary Guard, and Ali Khamenei is forced to deal with the [Revolutionary Guard] in order not to lose his role as the Supreme Leader," Tehrani said. [read in Farsi / read in English]