Under the dull surface at Iran's PressTV

In its tortuous, indirect way, official Iranian media seems to be reflecting a move by some in the Iranian  establishment to read Mousavi's ringing affirmation of citizens' rights and denunciation of government response to the June elections as something of an olive branch. 

While Mousavi's Jan. 1 statement challenged the Iranian government to roll back all its repressive actions following the June elections, PressTV today chooses to read his statement as a retreat from challenging the government's legitimacy - echoing an interpretation to that effect from fellow presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei, (who first joined Mousavi and Karroubi in protesting the June election tally but later caved) reported yesterday.

Iran admits that June uprising was spontaneous, indigenous

PressTV, the Iranian regime's English-language media outlet, reports these "findings" from a statement by Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi:

"The Intelligence Ministry has obtained good clues in respect to the elements who had a role in the recent riots," Moslehi said in a televised interview on Thursday.

"This unrest is different from that of the past and is a prearranged counter-revolutionary movement, designed by agents of sedition," he added. 

 "Different from that of the past"? Such as the outpouring of hundreds of thousands of protesters in June, when the government asserted the following?

"We believe this is an organized network which is most probably affiliated to foreign-related groups and deliberately disturbs the peace and security of the public. Of course we have already ordered the law enforcement forces to deal with the issue," read the letter.

Iranian students chomping at the bit?

Interesting dynamic in the Student Day protests in Iran noted by Alireza Ronaghi, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tehran:

"Opposition leaders are trying to calm them [the students] down and prevent any kind of violent clash that could harm the movement in a way that could be irreversible... it seems like the students are moving ahead of their leaders and it's not going to be easy for anyone to control the situation."

Meanwhile, the lead article in the "Iran" section of PressTV, the English-language Iranian government-controlled news outlet, is "Paris exhibits Emdadian paintings". Three quarters of the 123-word article allotted to today's student protests describe the historical foundation of Student Day, the killing by the Shah's regime of three students protesting a Richard Nixon visit in 1953. Today's substantial protests are described as "sporadic clashes" with "anti-government protesters" who have "attempted to hijack the occasion."


Move along, not much happening here....