November 17th, 2009 by Zack

Al-Arabiyya reports that the Iranian Parliament has approved President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s final three cabinet nominations (click here for a complete cabinet list) while the IAEA warns there could be more nuclear sites and the U.S. and Russia warn that international patience for a nuclear deal is ebbing.

According to reports, Iranian student protester Abdullah Momeni has been sentenced to eight years for protesting election results.   TehranBureau has written an account of the trial and execution of Ehsan Fattahian, a 28-year-old Kurdish activist.  In the wake of this and the announcement that the regime will form a new police unit to silence opposition Internet outlets, Ali Akbar Dareini and Jason Keyser report that Iranian opposition leaders are accusing the regime of being more brutal than that of the Shah.  “I can’t understand why they should treat people like this,” said Mehdi Karroubi.

The Daily Star reports that Tehran is also considering a reduction of subsidized gasoline quotas by twenty percent during the winter to help cut consumption and reduce Iranian vulnerability ahead of possible sanctions.

Claire Messud has written a review of My Prison, My Home: One Woman’s Story of Captivity in Iran by Haleh Esfandiari,highlighting both Esfandiari’s personal story and American political blunders that continue to elude currently policy makers.

Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Elections, Freedom, Iran, Technology, US foreign policy, sanctions |