Join Planet Iran’s Chaharshanbeh Souri live blogging of the next wave 0f protests in Iran: March 16th and 17th.

* * Asr’eh Iran website reports: On Saturday, March 13th an ad hoc meeting of the Iranian National and Foreign Affairs Security Commission took place in Tehran. The meeting was attended by some of the Iranian regime’s security and disciplinary authorities in order to brainstorm and explore the issues they will be facing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A member of the Iranian Parliament (the Majles) discussed the possible arrest of some of the “principals of agitation” who intend to once again abuse the Chaharshanbeh Souri festivities for their own means. He said: “While neutralizing the divisive and destructive plans, we came up with other appropriate provisions for this occasion. Security and disciplinary authorities have foreseen the necessary needs and have taken the proper steps to guarantee the minimization of agitation. We know that we will prevail over the riffraff and the opportunists.”

* * Jaras Website reports: Twenty two members of the Nematollahi-Gonabadi Sufi community will soon be on trial in the town of Gonabad. They have been charged with disrupting the peace and social order, as well as refusing to cooperate with authorities.

According to an Iranian website called Majzouban’eh Nour (The Enraptured by the Light), on 19 July 2009 one of the Dervishes belonging to the community died and his body was buried in the Soltani Beidokht cemetery in Gonabad, despite pressure and threats from security forces. Following his burial, on orders of the public prosecutor, the deceased’s wife and two children and the the cemetery caretaker were arrested, leading to the protests by his relative and other Dervishes in front of the persecutor’s office.

Unfortunately, the Dervishes’ protests were soon turned violent by the police who used tear gas and beat up protesters. Some were also arrested and later released.

The ongoing attacks on the Sufi community by the Iranian regime is nothing new. In early 2006 while conducting a peaceful prayer session at the Nematollahi Hosseiniyeh (a club and library for the devout), the premises was attacked by regime authorities who closed the Hosseiniyeh and arrested close to 1000 devotees, among whom were hundreds of women and children.

Updated on March 15th: The following are the names of the 22 who will be facing trail:

1. Ali Kashani-Far
2. Mohammad Kashani-Far
3. Shokrollah Hosseini-Beidokhti
4. Elias Hosseini-Beidokhti
5. Hossein Mahdavi Moghaddam-Beidokhti
6. Ali-Reza Abbassi-Beidokhti
7. Abdol-Reza Kashani
8. Saeed Kashani
9. Hassan Abbaszadeh-Beidokhti
10. Ebrahim Abbaszadeh-Beidokhti
11. Ali-Mohammad Amanian
12. Ehsan Amanian
13. Mohammad-Ali Jafari
14. Reza Kaakhki
15. Behrouz Mojavari
16. Roshan Mojavari
17. Ali Marvi
18. Mohammad Marvi
19. Ruhollah Safari
20. Ramin Soltankhaah
21. Mohammad Ali-Mir
22. Zafar-Ali Moghimi

*  * In another show of internal conflict and betrayal within the Iranian regime, the Iranian judiciary has identified Ahmadinejad’s main adviser as one of the main defendants in an embezzlement case. During recent days some of the highest ranking members of the Iranian judiciary claimed that the individual in the center of the most scandalous embezzlement case and the middleman in charge of “forging governmental and judicial documents in order to pilfer public property” is none other than Ahmadinejad’s own top adviser, Mohammad-Reza Rahimi.

According to informed sources in Tehran, Sadegh Larijani, head of the Iranian judiciary has claimed that Rahimi has been specifically identified as the person responsible for the embezzlement of approximately $700 million (USD). Reportedly Larijani who himself phoned Ahmadinejad to inform him of the facts, claimed that there has been confirmation of Rahimi’s guilt. Larijani is said to have also suggested that in order to prevent the discrediting of Ahmadinejad’s cabinet, prior to Rahimi’s arrest, that Rahimi is discharged from his post. However Ahmadinejad refused to accept the charges and vehemently defends his adviser to Larijani.

The embezzlement case is related to the Iran Insurance Company and other than Rahimi, a member of the board of directors of the insurance company, Ismaili and another member of the board of directors of the Iranian National Bank (Bank Melli) have been charged and indicted in this case.

According to informed source, the arrest warrant for Rahimi has also been issued but has so far not been served as the judiciary, on the insistence of Ahmadinejad is waiting for strings to be pulled through the regime leadership in order to possibly exonerate Rahimi.

This of course is not the only case of embezzlement by the regime authorities. Several months ago Iranian activists who have followed the Iranian money trail were able to produce a document that provides information on at least a small portion of the wealth that has escaped Iran through the authorities of the regime in Tehran.

* * The Iranian Revolutionary Court announced that thirty individuals have been arrested and charged with being members of a U.S.-based cyber network involved in undermining the Iranian regime. The issued statement claims that said individuals have been identified through a extraordinary efforts and complex methods used by the information technology and communications sectors of the regime’s investigative body and that their activities were supervised by a network that goes by the name of “Iran Proxy”. According to the revolutionary court authorities, members of Iran Proxy were also paid huge sums of money to distribute among seventy thousand internet proxies.

The statement also claims that among other activities, these individuals downloaded national databases, infiltrated and sabotaged internet sites, resisted governmental filtering attempts, created secure areas for users networks, created secure telephone communications and data for reportage to Iranian television and radio networks such as the BBC, Voice of America and so on. Also among the charges are the publishing of false news, supporting Jundollah leader Abdolmalek Rigi, association with Monarchists, provoking public opinion, organizing nationwide disruption and creating security covers for armed combat against the regime.

According to the statement, the two main ‘ringleaders’ of the group are Sadegh Naghashkar and Behrouz Javid-Tehrani who created the group four years ago. Both Naghashkar and Javid-Tehrani were arrested following the June elections though Javid-Tehrani has been a political prisoner in Iran since the July 1999 student uprising.

Finally, the statement also states that a large number of the members of the so-called network who run websites and interface with the detainees, are currently living outside Iran and that the judiciary is working very closely with Interpol in order to bring them to justice.

* * During Tehran’s Friday (March 12th) mass prayer, ultra-conservative Mullah Mohammad Emami Kashani said: “If the Islamic society has shortcomings, they should be concealed and not exposed for all to know and examine. People should avoid talking about the flaws in the system.” He went on to say that his interpretation of Shiite principles dictates that: “It is our duty not to challenge or undermine our leaders.”  Emami-Kashani, who is a member of the two high assemblies of the Iranian regime, the Guardian Council and the Expediency Council, emphasized: “If we divulge our defects, the enemy will become aware of it, that is when we have committed treason against our system. This is a principle that should be followed by every individual and group in society.”

* * No bike riding for women and girls in Iran. Recently a bicycle rental station in the beautiful Chaharbaagh area of Esfahan was set up by Esfahan’s city hall. A few days after the announcement of the installation of this service however, a publication entitled “Ebrat’eh Ashoura” (the Lessons of Ashoura) published a comment expressing extreme distress

about the irresponsible approach of Esfahan’s city hall officials in allowing women and girls to think that it was appropriate for them to ride bikes, an issue that is “not in keeping with Islamic principles”. The commentary goes on to vehemently advise the responsible parties “to refrain from renting bicycles to ladies in order to prevent any worrisome displays that are counter to Sharia decorum.”

* * The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) forbids the publishing of Hashemi-Rafsanjani’s photo. Abdol-Reza Davari (photo), IRNA’s news editor whose recent memo barring his staff from referring to Hashemi-Rafsanjani as “Ayatollah” has now issued a follow-up memo specifically barring the publishing of Hashemi-Rafsanjani’s photo. The memo issued on March 8th advises that “the publishing of any images of programs that include the head of the Expediency Council is also prohibited.”

* * Below: Video of student protest and hunger strike at the University of Mazandaran