Happy Fourth of July Weekend – We’ll be taking a little break from posting this weekend,though will still be following events in Iran as they happen. As always, check back here for major developments, and have a great weekend.
4:39 pm: Mowj confirmed that Rafsanjani will not lead the Friday prayers

Mowj announced that Hashemi Rafsanjani has “declined” to lead the Friday prayers for a second time.  “Temporary Friday prayer Imams” are scheduled to lead the sermons by taking turns.  No official reason has been announced on why 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.”
3:31 pm: Twitter feeds confirm that  Hashemi Rafsanjani will still not attend the Friday Prayer that will be held tomorrow.
2:53 pm: Parleman News filtered – Parleman News, the formal news portal of the Followers of Imam’s Line, reports that it has been filtered since Wednesday.  “This site was one of the only few unfiltered news sites which was trying to deliver the news relating to the reformists within the legal framework.”
2:32 pm: Over at BloggingHeads, Ellen Laipson and Paul Salem discuss the recent events in Iran, noting particularly how the Arab world is responding as things develop.  Ms. Laipson is the President and CEO of the Stimson Center, a security and non-proliferation think tank in Washington DC, and Mr. Salem is the Director of the Carnegie Middle East Center.
[vodpod id=Groupvideo.2864650&w=425&h=350&fv=playlist%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fbloggingheads%252Etv%252Fdiavlogs%252Fliveplayer%252Dplaylist%252F20822%252F00%253A00%252F55%253A30]
2:24 pm: Thousands pay respects to “martyrs” in Tehran – According to Peyke Iran, thousands of Tehranis paid their respects to those who were killed during the recent unrest at the Behesht Zahra cemetery, reportedly filling the cemetery with flowers.

“The painful scene of mothers and fathers mourning the loss of their loved ones made others feel like they are all one family and that was everyone’s pain.”

Plainclothes police were also reportedly present at the cemetery, patrolling and carefully monitoring the people.
11:58 am: Twitter feeds are reporting that the mothers of the dead demonstrators are organizing a silent demonstration in the 4 major parks of Tehran on Saturday, July 4.  This is interesting, as the 4 major parks in Tehran are very large, so they must be expecting a large crowd.
11:26 am – Tell Russia, China, and the EU to stop the violence in Iran – The United States has no diplomatic relations and very modest commercial ties to Iran; therefore there just isn’t a whole lot that our government can do to stop the brutal crackdown against the Iranian people.  But others do have leverage and can put pressure on the government to end the violence.
Russia, China, and the EU all have the ability to put intense pressure on the government of Iran.  These countries have not done enough to put a stop to the bloodshed.
Please take a moment to send a letter to the Embassies of Russia, China, and the EU, telling them to use their influence with Iran to stop the crackdown.

11:10 am: According to kodoom: “People from Iran and outside of Iran have contacted senior clerics in Qom, demanding that they condemn the violence that is used on the demonstrators.” They also provide contact information for many of these clerics and encourage individuals to write or call them.

Ayatollah Sistani (Quom)

Office #: + 0251-9-7741415

Email: [email protected]

Web site: http://www.sistani.org

…

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi

Office #: + 0251-7840003

Email: [email protected]

Web site: http://www.makaremshirazi.org

…

Ayatollah Javady Amolly

Office #: + 0251- 2931168 or 2931178

Web site: http://esra.ir/main.asp

…

Ayatollah Vahid Khorasany

Office #: + 0251-7742445 or 7740611

Email: [email protected]

Web site: http://www.vahid-khorasani.ir

…

Ayatollah Saafi

Email: [email protected]

Web site: http://www.saafi.ir

…

Ayatollah Saanei

Office #: +0251- 10- 7744009

Email: [email protected]

Web site: http://saanei.org

…

Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili

Office #: + 3- 7745291

Email: [email protected]

Web site: http://www.ardebili.com

…

Ayatollah Rohani

Office #: +0251- 7743538

Email: [email protected]

Web site: http://www.rohani.ir

…

Ayatollah Hassani Shirazi

Office #: 0251- 7700368

Email: [email protected]

Web site: http://www.shirazi.ir

Mohammad Reza Nasab Abdullahi, an Iranian journalist in Shiraz, said yesterday on his blog that four ballot boxes were discovered in the incomplete building of Shiraz Central Library.  “The Governor of Fars [province] asked the journalists not to mention this discovery…According to election laws, the boxes should have been sent to Tehran.”
Today, Abdullahi reported that he was put under pressure to remove the news from his blog and deny it.
The authorities have announced that these ballots “have nothing to do with the 10^th presidential elections … and will be moved to the National Library and Archives of Iran as national files.”
10:15 am: Karroubi’s newspaper, Etemadmelli, was prohibited from distributing its paper yesterday by the Ministry of Islamic Guidance.

“The newspapers were printed and ready to be delivered on Tuesday night, however the Ministry of Guidance contacted us and indicated that in order for the newspaper to be released, Etemadmelli must take out the statements from Karroubi.  Mr. Karroubi did not agree with the terms of the Ministry and hence the newspaper was not published yesterday.”

These are the same statements that we released on our blog yesterday.
10:08 am: Nico posted this video of an Iranian member of parliament condemning the violence that has been going on since the election.  English captions are available by hitting the button in the bottom right and clicking the (cc) button.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVLtSq7yGkc]
10:02 am: Chilling statements from Tehran’s police chief – According to Roozna, Karroubi’s official newspaper released a statement from the Police Commander of Tehran, Esmaiel Ahmadi Moghdam.  According to him:

“There have been 20 deaths and 1032 arrested individuals in Tehran.”

“Most of the arrested individuals have been released; some had to pay financial penalties, while others who have not been released yet will be prosecuted in accordance with a special tribunal.”

“The 20 casualties, are all civilians and not members of the armed forces or the Basij.”

“80 students that were arrested in the University of Tehran dorm attacks have all been released.”

“Reports out of the province of Esfahan indicated that 280 arrested have been released, while the province of Shiraz has reported 100 arrests who also have been released.”

“More than 500 armed forces members have been wounded and hospitalized, this number could have been higher, however 15 days before the election we had intelligence reports indicating that demonstrations were likely to erupt; hence, we prepared ourselves.”

9:48 am: With many pictures of violence and unrest coming out of Iran, a reader in Los Angeles wanted to express something more hopeful with this photo that he took at a rally in Westwood, CA last Sunday.

9:36 am: The Light (A Song for Iran) – An Iranian American reader living in Los Angeles sent us this video of a song that he wrote:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt1CTBLyH04]