IRPO & NEA/IR ELECTION SPOT REPORT JULY 2

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 STATE 069790

SIPDIS, SENSITIVE

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDED CAPTION)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: IR KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: IRPO & NEA/IR ELECTION SPOT REPORT JULY 2

STATE 00069790 001.2 OF 004



Note: This will be our final daily spot report on the
post-election crisis unless circumstances change
dramatically.

5:30 PM in Iran:
(U) Iran's Police Chief Claims Neda,s Murder was
Premeditated Scenario to Defame Iran
(U) Press TV reports that Brigadier General Esma'il
Ahmadi-Moqaddam, Iran,s police chief, has announced that
Neda,s murder was a premeditated plot by forces trying to
frame Iran. Ahmadi-Moqaddam claimed that Arash Hejazi,
the Iranian physician who tried to treat Neda, is wanted
by the Ministry of Intelligence and Interpol for murder.
According to Tabnak, Ahmadi-Moqaddam admitted that 20
people have been killed in the past two weeks, and over
one thousand have been arrested.

(U) SMS Service Restored in Iran after Three Week Outage
(SBU) According to Tabnak, SMS service is now available
throughout the country for the first time since June 11.
Other reports confirm that SMS text messaging is now
working in Iran, although some Iranians are still unable
to text internationally.

(U) FM Mottaki Urges Sweden to Prosecute Iran Embassy
Attackers
(U) IRINN reports that in a phone conversation with
Swedish FM Bilt, FM Mottaki criticized the Swedish police
for failing to prevent the attack on Iran,s embassy in
Stockholm. Bilt promised Mottaki that the police are
investigating the incident. Mottaki urged Bilt to change
the EU,s policy on Iran now that Sweden holds the EU
Presidency.

(U) Increasing Calls for Mousavi,s Prosecution
(U) According to Radio Farda, a number of MP,s have
demanded that Iran,s attorney general arrest and
prosecute Mousavi. The Basijis, student branch has also
sent a letter to the attorney general asking that Mousavi
be tried for &endangering national security.8

(U) Iran to Support Families of those Killed in Recent
Unrest
(U) Press TV reports that Iran,s Martyrs Foundation has
announced that it will offer support to the families of
those killed during the post-election violence.

(U) Iran denies Hanging Mousavi Supporters in Mashhad
(U) According to ILNA, the judiciary chief of Mashhad has
rejected rumors that six individuals were recently hanged
for protesting the election results. &If we succeed to
find out the source of this rumor we will officially file
a case against him,8 the judiciary chief told
reporters.

(U) 19 Detained Members of Jebheye Mosharekat Identified
(U) Norooz News has identified on its website at least 19
members of the Reformer organization Jebheye Mosharekat
who are currently imprisoned.

(U) Reports that Imprisoned Etemad-e Melli Editor Has
Confessed to Orchestrating Coup
(U) Javan has claimed that Mohammed Ghochani, Chief
Editor of Etemad-e Melli, has confessed to plotting to
overthrow the government. According to the report,
Ghochani admitted to traveling to Arab countries to
receive instructions. However, Tabnak interviewed
Ghochani,s family yesterday, who denied the report and
said that Ghochani does not even have a passport to travel.

(U) Reports that Four Sealed Ballot Boxes Were Discovered
in Shiraz
(U) According to Norooz News and a number of Twitter
posts, the governor of Fars accidentally discovered four
sealed ballot boxes in Shiraz,s old library during a live
televised visit to the site. The governor claimed that
the ballot boxes were from a previous election, not the Jun
e 12 presidential election.

(U) Calls for July 9th Demonstrations to Commemorate 1997
Student Protests
(U) Iranian students have used social networking sites and
blogs to call for commemoration ceremonies in several
squares in Tehran on July 9th to honor the martyrs killed
at Tehran University in the July 1997 student riots.

STATE 00069790 002.2 OF 004


(U) July 4th Protests Planned in France
(U) Radio Farda reports that Iranian journalists abroad
plan to gather in front of the European Parliament in
Strasbourg on July 4th to demand that the EU not recognize
Ahmadinejad,s government.

(U) Mohsen Sazegara Calls for Strike Next Week
(U) Sazegara, a founder of the Revolutionary Guard and
U.S.-based dissident, has called for a strike in Tehran
July 6 ) 9. He has also encouraged Iranians to hold
brief, 5 minute rallies in Tehran,s metro stops before
security forces are able to break them up. (
http://www.sazegara.net/persian/)

(U) Unconfirmed Rumors of Lebanese Hizballah Attacking
Protesters
(U) There are continued unconfirmed reports of Iranian
security forces using Arabs, reportedly members of
Lebanese Hizballah, to crack down on demonstrators. Ali
Reza Nourizadeh of VOA has claimed that the Arabs are
shipped into Tehran from training camps outside the city.

(U) Selected Editorials from Today,s Iranian Papers (OSC
IAP2009070295002):

Jomhuri-ye Eslami (hard-liner): &Following the remarks
of the spokesman of the Guardian Council confirming the
result of the election, there is no room for more
questions and ambiguity and the Judiciary should seriously
deal with question makers.8

Javan (conservative): &Crisis and clashes that have
taken place in the country since the tenth presidential
elections were predetermined and planned by AMERICA and
its alliances like Britain, several months before the
elections. The aim was to carry out a soft revolution in
the Islamic Republic.8

Hemayat (conservative): &America's
psychological-propaganda organizations which have been
expanding daily, have always acted as one of this
country's main arms in war and peace...Hollywood holds a
significant status and it is under the rule of
international Zionism8

Resalat (conservative): &American intrusion in Iran's
domestic affairs, and particularly the hostile remarks of
Barack Obama regarding the presidential election in Iran,
prove that Americans are still thinking about toppling the
system in the country and there is no difference in
strategies of the Republicans or the Democrats as far as
Iran is concerned.8

Siyasat-e Ruz (conservative): &What is being pursued
by
the West, to return its dominance over regions of the
world such as Iran, some Arab countries and even Latin
American countries, is a creation of colored revolutions.8

Mardom Salari (moderate): &Bani Sadr was a person who
cut off from people and stood against the goals of the
Revolution which were accepted by the people. Mr. Mousavi
is not like him and there is no similarity between him and
Bani Sadr and the analogy is rather a joke.8


2:30 AM in Iran:

(U) Bonyad to Compensate Families of Victims,: Fars
News reports that Iran,s Martyrs Foundation (Bonyad
Shahid va Isaargaraan) will compensate &families of the
innocent victims of Tehran,s post-election riots.8 The
U.S. Treasury Department designated the group a sponsor of
terrorist activities in July 2007, saying that the
foundation channels financial support from Iran to several
terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah, Hamas and
Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Iran's Martyrs Foundation
reportedly supports families of those martyred or maimed
in the Iraq-Iran war. Bonyads are controversial
charitable trusts/foundations that dominate Iran,s
non-petroleum economy, controlling an estimated 30% of
Iran,s GDP. Several bonyads are run by Khamenei
loyalists and funded directly by the state. As such, they
are often exempt from official oversight, taxes and
customs ) thereby facilitating virtual monopolies in
import and distribution activities inside Iran.
(U) Rafsanjani Will Not Lead Friday Prayers: Mowj News
has confirmed that Hashemi Rafsanjani will not lead
tomorrow,s Friday Prayers. According to Mowj News,
Rafsanjani has &declined8 to lead Friday prayers for a
second time. No official reason has been announced on why

STATE 00069790 003.2 OF 004


Rafsanjani has not been present for his last two turns.
&The rumors regarding resignation from his position as a
temporary Imam have not been confirmed.8

(U) Report: Four Sealed Ballot Boxes Found in Shiraz
Library: Mohammad Reza Nasab Abdollahi, an Iranian
Journalist in Shiraz, said yesterday on his blog that four
ballot boxes were discovered in Shiraz Central Library )
a building he says in still under construction. &The
Governor of Fars (province) asked the journalists not the
mention this discovery(According to election laws, the
boxes should have been sent to Tehran. Today, Abdollahi
reported that he was put under pressure to remove this
news from his blog and deny it. Iranian authorities have
announced that these ballots &have nothing to do with the
10th presidential elections(and will not be moved to the
National Library and Archives of Iran as national
files.8 This report is still UNCONFIRMED.

(U) Report: Mobile Phone Shut Down Costs Iran $15 Million:
Press TV reports that Iran,s telecommunication
companies lost $15 million during the 20-day suspension of
the services, which had been widely used by protesters to
organize street rallies following the election.

(U) Iranian MP Condemns Violence, Rule By One Voice, in
Majles Address: MP from Tabriz, Masoud Pezeshkian, speaks
out against government actions in an address to the Majles
on Monday (Video subtitled in English ) click on
&arrow8 button in lower right-hand corner of the screen,
then click on &cc8 button).

(U) IRGC Commander: Non-Military Basij Can Enter
Political Discussions,: According to IRNA, on sidelines
of a Basij Forces Cooperation conference,
Brigadier-General Ali Jafari said &Basij forces differs
from the military forces; we should not count basij forces
as military forces, so they can enter political discussion
and have an active role in that field. Jafari referred to
the Supreme Leader,s notification on separating the
military basij forces and non-military basij forces, with
the aim of expanding basij activities in different
fields. &The corps has planned an expanded program in
scientific, cultural, political and social fields. The
most significant point is to develop the soft power in the
military. It is no linked to military activities and the
major responsibility of the basij concerns non-military
issues.8

(U) Report: Two More News Websites Blocked in Iran:
Tabnak reports that Parliament News and Ebrat News
websites have both been blocked without advance warning.
According to Tabnak, Parliament News was one of the few
news websites which had not been blocked after the
election, and it &tried to observe the law and
regulations regarding reformists and pro-reform
individuals.8 Consultations to end the filtering have
started among Majles MPs.

(U) Report: Washington Times Reporter To Be Released,:
The Guardian reports that Iason Athanasiadis ) a
Washington Times reporter detained for more than a week by
Iranian authorities ) is to be released within hours.
Athanasiadis was arrested as he was attempting to leave
the country last Tuesday, June 23. According to a Greek
politician, Iran,s ambassador in Athens told Greek
official on Thursday that the journalist would be freed
"in the next few hours.8

(U) Report: Crisis Response Hints At Early Stages Of
Iranian Power Struggle,: &Over the past month, Iran has
experienced some of its worst unrest since the founding of
the Islamic Republic three decades ago. The focus has been
on who should be the next president. But in the not too
distant future, many observers are convinced that Iran's
political establishment will face a far greater crisis
that revolves around who will succeed ailing Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei.8

(U) Iran Unrest Shifts Power Dynamics, Reformists Must
Rethink Strategy: &But the recent protests attracted
hundreds of thousands into Iran's streets, resulting in at
least 17 deaths and many more injuries. The hard-liners
have tightened their grip, leaving the reformists to
decide whether they should keep playing the old game or
whether the rules have changed so much that the game no
longer exists.8

(U) Report: Controversy Over Ballots Used in Guardian
Council Recount: There is growing commentary and
criticism of photographs released by Iranian authorities
of ballots included in the Guardian Council,s recount on

STATE 00069790 004.2 OF 004


Monday. Roozonline, and opposition candidate Mohsen Rezai,
highlight two points: 1) The name &Ahmadinejad8 appears
to have been written on many of the ballots in exactly the
same handwriting; 2) The ballots don,t appear to have
been folded. Photographs from Election Day seem to bear
out that Iranian voters * and candidates * had to fold
their ballots to fit them into ballot boxes.
CLINTON