With only three days remaining until the Iranian Green Movement’s 22 Bahman rally (this is the 11th of February coinciding with the victory of the 1979 revolution), a commander of the Islamic Passdaran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) explained what he referred to as “details of the plan to assassinate Mohammad Khatami and the martyrdom conspiracy,” raising concerns in political circles about the possibility of the assassination of one of the Green Movement’s leaders in the coming days.

With three days remaining to the February 11th anniversary of the Islamic revolution (in Iran known as the 22nd of the month of Bahman), the main topic of conversations in Tehran’s streets, taxis and parks are the creation of insecurity for activists and journalists even at their residences and the constant broadcast of contradictory interviews to frighten the public and intimidate protesters not to participate in the gathering.

A group of Iranian journalists have written a letter to foreign reporters who are invited to Iran by Iran’s government to provide media coverage to the celebrations of the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Arresting and pressuring student activists is never ending. While new reports emerge every day of the disturbing conditions of detained students, we are witnessing a new wave of arrests; a new wave that has led to the arrest of more than 15 students.

On the fourth trial session of individuals arrested on Ashoura Day, a 20-year-old student was charged with Moharebeh [armed struggle against state] and two other defendants were accused of spying for foreigners.

As criticism mounts in Iran over the country’s policy of importing non-essential goods from China, and the government’s response has been the announcement that it has curtailed such imports by 40 percent, without giving any detailed statistics, the commander of the para-military Basij force said during a Basij seminar that unemployment remained the most serious problem of the government, adding, “We must not allow our markets to be filled with foreign goods, particularly products from Chinese companies that have hurt our economy.”

As the anniversary of the 1979 revolution that brought on the Islamic republic approaches on February 11 (ie 22 of the Persian month of Bahman), presidential contender Mir-Hossein Mousavi blasted Iran’s judiciary’s actions and the government’s treatment of protesters in an interview, reiterating his previous positions and announcing, “Today, people’s resistance is the Islamic revolution’s precious legacy, aptly demonstrated by our people’s intolerance for the dishonesty, fraud and corruption that we witness these days.”

The Assembly of Combatant Clergy [Majma Rohaniyoon Mobarez], an organization headed by former president and green movement leader Mohammad Khatami, issued a statement last night reiterating the demands made by Hashemi Rafsanjani in his landmark Friday prayer speech last summer and Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s statement no. 17 issued last December and calling for the green movement’s supporters to attend next Thursday’s rally while “Refraining from any kind of violence, respecting civil behavior and displaying tolerance and acceptance even in face of violence.”

Marvin Zonis is Professor Emeritus of International Political Economy at the University of Chicago. In the 1960’s Mr. Zonis traveled extensively in Afghanistan and lived in Iran for a while. He has written on oil, business, digital technology, Russia and foreign policy.

The judiciary released a report yesterday detailing the cases of Arash Rahmanipour and Mohammad Reza Alizamani. The report does not mention the specific date of their arrest and has no reference to “participation in protests” under the listed charges.