Following Iran

From the Daily Dish:

Karroubi Ally Arrested

The latest on the coup:

Leading Iranian reformist Mohammad Ali Abtahi was arrested on June 16, his office said... Reformist sources said another prominent reformer, Saeed Hajjarian, was arrested on June 15. Hajjarian is an ally of moderate Mir Hossein Musavi... Separately, the semi-official Fars News Agency quoted a senior police official as saying some "anti-revolutionary" people had been arrested with bomb material and weapons.

Rumours from inside Iran via Twitter:

Confirmed info: hezbollah mobilized & lebanese coming in. this is going to get a lot worse before it gets any better pass it down

it's not only police that we're dealing with. there's basij, anti riot guard, elite IRGC

Basij (pro leader militia) is announcing a demonstration at 3 in ValiAsr Sq. , Mousavi's is at 5; same place.

The first one, it is confirmed that Hezbollah has been importing soldiers into the country.
Via Huffington Post's LiveBlog:

11:34 PM ET -- Revolutionary Guards arrested? Could it be? Probably not, I'm told. But fyi. In case you hear of anything similar, let me know.

According to the Cyrus News Agency, Tuesday morning 16 senior members of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps were arrested. "These commanders have been in contact with members of the Iranian army to join the people's movement," CNA reports. "Three of the commanders are veterans of Iran-Iraq war. They have been moved to an undisclosed location in East Tehran."

This report has not been confirmed by other sources. If true, it shows that the regime is losing the loyalty of some members of its control appartus, which is necessary if the opposition has any chance of achieving fundamental change. Mass rallies can easily be broken up and revolutions crushed, as we saw at Tiananmen Square in 1989. But if members of the armed forces, police and especially Revolutionary Guards decided to switch sides, then one can begin speaking of revolution.

It seems highly unlikely although it's a small number. Perhaps the most important news is that Ahmadinejad is attempting to keep himself above the fray and show he is still the legitimate ruler. It also could be used for a blood bath while he's not there.

Again via Huffington Post:

Apparently he's leaving for Russia after all. (Thanks to reader Nick.)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will arrive in Russia on Tuesday for a regional summit that began on Monday, a source at Iran's embassy in Moscow said.

Earlier the embassy said that Ahmadinejad had postponed his visit to the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, in which he was to attend the two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), bringing together Russia, China and the four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan."

Yahoo reporting 7 dead so far according to Iranian Media

Seven people were killed when a military post was attacked near a rally held a day ago in Tehran to protest the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, radio Payam announced.

"Several thugs wanted to attack a military post and vandalise public property in the vicinity of Azadi Square," the radio said referring to the site of the rally held on Monday.

"Unfortunately seven people were killed and several others wounded in the incident."

However, a source told AFP that the emergency services department had information that eight people were killed and several wounded in the incident.

Update: The BBC is reporting a recount offer has been extended.

"Iran's powerful Guardian Council says it is ready to recount disputed votes from Friday's presidential poll."

Huffington Post adds that:

From the AP:

Authorities restricted journalists, including Iranians working for foreign media from reporting on the streets, and said they could only work from their offices, conducting telephone interviews and monitoring official sources such as state television.

The rules prevent media outlets, including The Associated Press, from sending independent photos or video of street protests or rallies.

Also Tuesday, foreign reporters in Iran to cover last week's elections began leaving the country. Iranian officials said they will not extend their visas.

More from CBS: "Iran's hard-line regime, starting to show stress under the mounting pressure of massive opposition rallies, has told foreign media that if they're seen on the streets of Tehran today with a camera, they will be arrested."