As the Iranian government's murderous repression of the Iranian people continues, critics right and left agitate over the deafening silence of an American president who, as a candidate, derided the Bush administration's ambitious democracy promotion as too timid. They speculate as to why Barack Obama won't speak out: Why won't he condemn the mullahs? Is he daft enough to believe he can charm the regime into abandoning its nuclear ambitions? Does the self-described realist so prize stability that he thinks it's worth abandoning the cause of freedom -- and the best chance in 30 years of dislodging an implacable American enemy?
In truth, it's worse than that. Even as the mullahs are terrorizing the Iranian people, the Obama administration is negotiating with an Iranian-backed terrorist organization and abandoning the American proscription against exchanging terrorist prisoners for hostages kidnapped by terrorists. Worse still, Obama has already released a terrorist responsible for the brutal murders of five American soldiers in exchange for the remains of two deceased British hostages.
The White House has rescinded the invitations to Iranian diplomats to attend July 4 celebrations at U.S. embassies around the world.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said nobody from Iran RSVPed to come, and at this point, the invitations are no longer valid. "Given the events of the past many days, those invitations will no longer be extended," Mr. Gibbs said.
Yea right, of the over 300 missions worldwide, not one Iranian called in? Robert Gibbs call them all did he? No plans for last minute walk-in's? This RSVP thing sounds an auwfully lot like a....'precondition.'
This is from the Guardian's newsblog (June 24, 3:32 PM)
Newspaper Roozonline has an interview (in Persian) with one of the young plainclothes militiamen who have been beating protesters.
UPDATE: Robert says the man is paid 2m rial per day, which would be about £1220 for ten days of work. A hefty fee, even by UK standards. A reader writes: "You can imagine what that kind of money means to a villager from Khorasan". (Could some of our British readers convert that into $? I think it's ~$225/day)
The Guardian's Robert Tait sends this synopsis:
The man, who has come from a small town in the eastern province of Khorasan and has never been in Tehran before, says he is being paid 2m rial (£122) to assault protestors with a heavy wooden stave. He says the money is the main incentive as it will enable him to get married and may even enable him to afford more than one wife. Leadership of the volunteers has been provided by a man known only as "Hajji", who has instructed his men to "beat the counter-revolutionaries so hard that they won't be able to stand up". The volunteers, most of them from far-flung provinces such as Khuzestan, Arak and Mazandaran, are being kept in hostel accommodation, reportedly in east Tehran. Other volunteers, he says, have been brought from Lebanon, where the Iranian regime has strong allies in the Hezbollah movement. They are said to be more highly-paid than their Iranian counterparts and are put up in hotels. The last piece of information seems to confirm the suspicion of many Iranians that foreign security personnel are being used to suppress the demonstrators. For all his talk of the legal process, this interview provides a key insight into where Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, believes the true source of his legitimacy rests.
I hope you don't mind two Kass articles in one week. I think this offers an interesting perspective. Excerpt here:
...For the past several days, Obama has been thwacked by Republican critics, Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, for being too timid and weak on Iran. Other critics have pummeled him with images of the late President Ronald Reagan standing up to the Soviet repression of a democratic Poland, as the evil empire began to crack under Reagan's resolve.
But Iran isn't Poland. The themes involving freedom and self-determination may be similar, but the dynamics aren't the same.
After an extremely cautious first several days, Obama ratcheted up the rhetoric just a bit at his Tuesday news conference, saying he's appalled and outraged. But not enough to do anything about it publicly.
"I've made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran and is not interfering with Iran's affairs," Obama said carefully....
#1
Obama's tougher talk is welcome. His "I've been consistent" bullshit is not. He's a vacillating empty suit and a facile liar. Nobody asked him to send troops. All anybody expected is that the "Leader of the Free World" show some f*cking spine and support a people struggling to overthrow a corrupt theocratic thugocracy. A simple "we stand with the people of Iran and support them in seeking a free and fair society" would've been acceptable, especially compared to the mealy-mouthed stumbling and ice cream/golf outings this tool gave us. Jebus. We're only 5 months in....gird your loins!
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/24/2009 8:41 Comments ||
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#2
Liz Cheney: President Obama said that were going to offer unconditional talks if you unclench your fist and in response theyre shooting young women in the streets in Tehran.
At this point, only the short-term future of Iran's clerical regime remains in doubt. The current protests could be repressed, but the unelected institutions of priestly rule have been fatally undermined. Though each aspect of the Islamic Republic has its own dynamic, this is not a regime that can last many more years.
When it comes to repression, Iran has a spectrum of security instruments that can be used synergistically. The national police can take care of routine crowd control; riot-police units can beat some demonstrators in order to discourage others; the much more brutal, underclass Basij militiamen enjoy striking and shooting affluent Iranians; and the technical arm of the regime can block cellular service to disrupt demonstrations, as well as stall Internet services. If the protests were to seriously escalate, the Revolutionary Guard troops with their armored vehicles might also be called in, though at some risk to the regime, given that reformist presidential candidate Mohsen Rezai was their longtime commander. The alternative -- calling in the regular army -- would be much more risky since the loyalty of the generals is unknown. So far the regime has required neither.
What has undermined the very structure of the Islamic Republic is the fracturing of its ruling elite. It was the unity established by Ayatollah Khomeini that allowed the regime to dominate the Iranian people for almost 30 years. Now that unity has been shattered: The very people who created the institutions of priestly rule are destroying their authority. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leading rival for the presidency, Mir Hossein Mousavi, was prime minister from 1981-89 when the Islamic Republic acquired its administrative structure, including its unelected head, the supreme leader. Though the supreme leader must be obeyed in all things, Mr. Mousavi now flatly rejects the orders of Ali Khamenei to accept Ahmadinejad's re-election. In this, Mr. Mousavi is joined by another presidential candidate, former parliament speaker and pillar of the establishment Mehdi Karroubi, and a yet more senior founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Rafsanjani. President from 1989-97, Mr. Rafsanjani is also chairman of the Assembly of Experts, whose 86 members choose the supreme leader and can ostensibly remove him.
During the campaign, Ahmadinejad accused Mr. Rafsanjani and his children of corruption on live television. So if Ahmadinejad's re-election is to be "definitive" and even "divine," as Supreme Leader Khamenei has declared, Mr. Rafsanjani would have to resign from all his posts and his children would have to leave Iran. Instead, he is reportedly trying to recruit a majority of the Assembly of Experts to remove Khamenei, or at least force him to order new elections. The other key undemocratic institution of the Islamic Republic, founded in part by Messrs. Mousavi and Rafsanjani, is the 12-member Council of Guardians that can veto any laws passed by the elected parliament and any candidate for the parliament or the presidency. In recent years, the Council has persistently sided with extremists and Ahmadinejad, using its veto powers aggressively. Supreme Leader Khamenei logically chose the Council to deal with the election dispute.
Last week, the Council of Guardians announced that it might recount 10% of the ballots and summoned Messrs. Mousavi, Karroubi and Rezai. All three rejected the recount offer, and only Mr. Rezai showed up before the Council. Messrs. Mousavi and Karroubi simply refused to appear, explicitly denying the Council's authority as well as that of the supreme leader. This is highly significant. Were it not for the office of the supreme leader and the Council, Iran would be a normal democratic republic. In theory, if Ahmadinejad, Khamenei and the extremists of the Council of Guardians were all replaced by consensus figures, the Islamic Republic could continue as before. But in practice, that is impossible. Huge numbers of Iranians haven't been demonstrating at risk of beatings and worse for the uncharismatic and only marginally moderate Mr. Mousavi. His courage under pressure has certainly raised his popularity, but he is still no more than the accidental symbol of an emerging political revolution.
What's clear is that after years of humiliating social repression and gross economic mismanagement, the more educated and the more productive citizens of Iran have mostly turned their backs on the regime. Even if personally religious, they now reject the entire post-1979 structure of politicized Shiite Islam with its powerful ayatollahs, officious priests, strutting Revolutionary Guards and low-life Basij militiamen. Many Iranians once inclined to respect clerics now view them as generally corrupt -- including the Ahmadinejad supporters who applauded his attacks on Mr. Rafsanjani. Had Mr. Mousavi won the election, modest steps to liberalize the system -- he would have allowed women to go out with uncovered heads, for example -- would only have triggered demands for more change, eventually bringing down the entire system of clerical rule. In the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev's very cautious reforms designed to perpetuate the Communist regime ended up destroying it in less than five years. In Iran, the system is much newer, and the process would likely have been faster.
Some important clerics have long suggested that men of religion should strive to regain popular respect by voluntarily giving up political power. That may provide a way out eventually. But for now, Supreme Leader Khamenei is in the impossible position of having to support a president whose authority is not accepted by much of the governing structure itself. Even the extremist Parliament Speaker Ali Larjani has declared that the vote count was biased. Therefore, even if he remains in office, Ahmadinejad cannot really function as president. For one thing, the parliament is unlikely to confirm his ministerial appointments, and he cannot govern without them. If Khamenei is not removed by the Assembly of Experts and Ahmadinejad is not removed by Khamenei, the government will continue to be paralyzed.
The great news is that, below the eroding machinery of priestly rule, the essential democratic institutions in Iran are up and running and need only new elections for the presidency and the parliament.
Continued on Page 47
#1
Somehow, when we look back on this period in Iran, I hope we don't end up regretting our approach much like we ended up regretting and criticizing Bush 41's approach to leaving Saddam alone in 92 after we destroyed his Army in Kuwait. The Shia misunderstood our intentions and look what happened to them. I see the same thing happening in Iran - very similar to Tianamen.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
06/24/2009 9:47 Comments ||
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Prior to this month's disputed presidential election in Iran, the Obama administration sent a letter to the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for an improvement in relations, according to interviews and the leader himself.
Ayatollah Khamenei confirmed the letter toward the end of a lengthy sermon last week, in which he accused the United States of fomenting protests in his country in the aftermath of the disputed June 12 presidential election.
U.S. officials declined to discuss the letter on Tuesday, a day in which President Obama gave his strongest condemnation yet of the Iranian crackdown against protesters.
An Iranian with knowledge of the overture, however, told The Washington Times that the letter was sent between May 4 and May 10 and laid out the prospect of "cooperation in regional and bilateral relations" and a resolution of the dispute over Iran's nuclear program. Not sure why this is a big deal, but it is reported as an "Exclusive" in the Washington Times, DC's 'other' newspaper.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/24/2009 06:26 ||
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#1
Speculation time: The O-Team sent a craftily worded letter hinting that they would prefer the Mullahs to select anyone other then Short Round for President. That way it would allow for the appearance of a complete new era of Bi-lateral negotiations. They probably also insinuated about the possibility of street protests if the election was seen as a sham. And that a crack down on those protesters would make overt talks near impossible. That might explain the Poobahs reference to foreign agent provocateurs. It might also explain Obamas reluctance to find his throat until he actually saw the Persian middle finger. Of course, the Mullahs always blame everything on external forces and Obama has proven to be a neophyte on all things foreign but its one angle.
#2
Speculation time: The O-Team sent a craftily worded letter hinting that they would prefer the Mullahs to "select" anyone other then Short Round for President.
Doubtful. Obama really does believe that the Iranian leadership is made up of reasonable people with legitimate grievances. The letter was probably directed to Khamenei to reinforce that Obama would like to push the reset button regardless of who won the election.
#3
It's not a big deal, but if they ever need to defend themselves, The Washington Times can now point to this and say the broke and exclusive Bad Obama story.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
06/24/2009 16:03 Comments ||
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#4
Again, Obama promoted status quo tyranny, while a democratic-revolution brewed. What a bastard!
President Obama has decided to return a U.S. ambassador to Syria after an absence of more than four years, marking a significant step toward engaging an influential Arab nation long at odds with the United States.
The acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, Jeffrey D. Feltman, informed Syria's ambassador to Washington, Imad Mustafa, tonight of Obama's intention, according to a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision had yet to be made public. By returning a senior U.S. envoy to Damascus, the Syrian capital, the Obama administration is seeking to carve out a far larger role for the United States in the region as the president works to rehabilitate U.S. relations with the Islamic world and the Arab Middle East.
The Bush administration withdrew its ambassador in February 2005 to protest the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri. Syrian intelligence officials are suspected of being behind the bombing in Beirut that killed him, a claim Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has long rejected.
The loss of U.S. diplomatic leverage in the region -- because of opposition among many Arabs to the Iraq war and a perceived U.S. favoritism toward Israel -- has left a vacuum in recent years filled in large part by Iran. The decision to return the ambassador to Syria, senior administration officials said, represents the restoration of a sustained U.S. diplomatic presence in a secular Arab country central to many U.S. interests in the region. "It did not make any sense to us not to be able to speak with an authoritative voice in Damascus," the senior administration official said. "It was our assessment that total disengagement has not served our interests."
"We're determined to engage in a comprehensive way in the region," the official said. "This is an important step we are taking as part of that strategy." The official said the administration tonight also informed the ambassadors of other countries in the region, including Israel.
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A question for someone smarter: is this a good thing in that it gives us a base for intelligence and espionage? Not that gentlemen would read each other's mail, of course.
TEHRAN: After winning a landslide victory in Iran's closely-contested and disputed 10th presidential election, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be sworn in before parliament between July 26 and August 19.
On Tuesday, parliament's board of directors set July 26 to August 19 as the period for the president's swearing-in and the introduction of the new cabinet, Iranian media reported.
Parliamentary deputies will also review the credentials of the proposed ministers during the same period.
Iran's Interior Ministry declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the winner of the June 12th election with almost two-thirds of the vote.
The defeated candidates, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Mohsen Rezaei, have cried foul once the results were announced and reported over 600 irregularities in the electoral process to the Guardian Council.
However, the council which is tasked with supervising the elections ruled out the possibility of nullifying the presidential election, saying there has been no record of any major irregularity.
Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, the spokesman of the council, said late on Monday that most of the complaints reported irregularities before the election, and not during or after the vote.
Continued on Page 47
Iran's clerical establishment is considering scrapping the position of the Supreme Leader, currently held by Ayatollah Khamenei and forcing out President Ahmadinejad according to reports.
The country's Expediency Council and the Assembly of Experts is reported to be considering the formation of a collective leadership to replace the position of supreme leader, according to Al Arabiya, citing sources in the holy city of Qom.
Both groups are headed by former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a key rival to Ayatollah Khamenei and a strong supporter of defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
On Saturday five members of Rafsanjani's family were arrested for taking part in demonstrations against the controversial re-election of President Ahmadinejad. They have subsequently been released.
The Assembly of Experts, a body of Islamic clerics, is responsible for overseeing the Supreme Leader and can even remove the Supreme Leader should they decide to. The Expediency Council is responsible for mediating disputes between the parliament elected by the people and the unelected Guardian Council.
Members of the Assembly of Experts are reported to be considering making changes to the Iranian system of government that would be the biggest since Ayatollah Khomeini set up the Islamic system in the revolution of 1979, by removing the position of the supreme leader.
Secret meetings are said to have taken place in Qom and included a representative of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most prominent Shiite leader in Iraq.
Clerical leaders are also said to be considering forcing the resignation of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad following over a week of unrest since he was elected in what senior opposition leaders claim was a fraudulent election.
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Posted by: Anonymoose ||
06/24/2009 00:57 ||
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Sistani consulting with Rafsanjani to pop A'jad and Khamenei and adjust the system of clerical control. Even if its rearranging deck chairs after a contrived crisis over a bogus 'election', it means the rearanging is guided from Karbala, not Qom. I'll take that.
Also, once the door is opened we have seen that reforms can progress out of control even when the reforms are intended to preserve an totalitarian system, not destroy it.
#6
If this happens, watch for Obama to unjustifiably take credit for it, with the full assistance of the infotainment and education industries. They'll be manufacturing the narrative as they go.
Can't happen? In terms of factual history, it was a weak, dissembling JFK meeting with Kruschev that emboldened the Soviets to place missiles in Cuba. The world barely escaped nuclear war as a result.
What do the Democrat-controlled history texts teach instead? That Kennedy was brilliant in "defusing" the Cuban missile crisis and that on that basis alone he was a great president. This assessment has, of course, no basis in reality.
But most Americans, if they've heard of the Cuban missile crisis, believe the lie that it was resolved by the great JFK, instead of knowing the truth that it was precipitated by his incompetence and inexperience.
Look for the education and "news" industries to start pushing a similar meme for what happens in Iran. NPR is doing it already, with your tax dollars.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
06/24/2009 5:53 Comments ||
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#7
Of course it's due to Obama - why, he made a speech in Cairo!
#8
This looks like an echo report from the rumor over the weekend. I'm guessing no new news, just a rumor sanitized into "news" by Fleet Street clowns.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
06/24/2009 10:05 Comments ||
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#9
The Iranian system is modelled on the Soviet communist system. The Assembly of Experts is the equivalent of the Central Committee. The Supreme Leader being the General Secretary.
As in the Soviet Union, the Assembly of Experts is nominally in charge. In practice the Supreme Leader becomes a de facto dictator or at least leader for life.
The Soviet Central Committee only ever dismissed one General Secretary I recall and that was Khruschev for being too reformist. But who knows with Iran.
#10
This looks like an echo report from the rumor over the weekend. I'm guessing no new news, just a rumor sanitized into "news" by Fleet Street clowns.
Actually it appeared in the June 21st edition of a Saudi newspaper. So if it's an fabrication, it's a Saudi one.
#12
it would be interesting to see some mullahs executed by other mullahs
sort of a revolution eats its children kind of thing
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/24/2009 13:19 Comments ||
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#13
Pappy, I didn't call it a fabrication, I called it a rumor. It could be true, I hope it is. And that Gulf Arab report from the weekend was the rumor I was talking about, although I could have sworn I saw it first in one of Ledeen's crap-I've-heard-today rumor-dumps on the Corner.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
06/24/2009 16:27 Comments ||
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#14
When Fleet Street reported it, the general- consenus-commentary immediately labeled it a Saudi fabrication. Hence my remark.
#15
But, Ahmadinejad controls the pampered bureaucracy, while Khamenei controls hundreds of mosques and madrasas. It is impossible to force a democratic-revolution anywhere in the world, when the US President is unsympathetic to same.
Iran's oil minister Gholamhossein Nozari was likely to keep his job in any new cabinet formed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian industry sources said on Tuesday.
The world's fifth-largest oil exporter has seen the worst unrest in 30 years after a disputed presidential election earlier this month. Deputy oil minister Akbar Torkan was replaced on Monday. Sources said he was sacked for political reasons.
Nozari is not politically affiliated to Torkan and there were no signs the minister would follow the deputy, sources said.
"I don't think the president would want to replace Nozari," one said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The president had lots of problems initially getting parliament to accept his choice for oil minister. I don't think he'll want any problems like that now."
Ahmadinejad appointed Nozari, a technocrat, to the job in 2007, in what was seen at the time as a presidential move to exert more control over the strategic ministry.
After coming to power in 2005, Ahmadinejad struggled to fill the oil portfolio. Parliament rejected his first three candidates for the oil ministry before accepting fourth-choice Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh. He later sacked Vaziri-Hamaneh in favour of Nozari.
While Ahmadinejad has sought to increase control over the oil ministry, final say on all major policy matters in Iran lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Ahmadinejad has until August 18 to form a new cabinet. Each minister must be approved by parliament.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
So this time they shot the deputy, but NOT the sheriff.
Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats ||
06/24/2009 14:53 Comments ||
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#2
Ummm, let me guess, fired because he couldn't keep the price up high?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/24/2009 19:21 Comments ||
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#3
Grenter - nice Marley ref!
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/24/2009 21:15 Comments ||
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Iranian authorities said they would teach an exemplary lesson to "rioters" held in the worst unrest since the birth of the Islamic Republic, and accused Western powers on Tuesday of inciting the violence.
Riot police and Basij militia on Tehran's main squares warded off the mass protests that have marked the 11 days since disputed elections. Iran's hardline leadership appeared to have gained the ascendancy, at least for the moment.
The conflict, which has revealed unprecedented division in the religious leadership, began to play out on the diplomatic arena, with Britain so far bearing the brunt of Iran's anger.
But that was before President Barack Obama, whose comments on Iran had been highly restrained, on Tuesday said the United States was "appalled and outraged" by Iran's crackdown. The United States would not interfere in the protests over Iran's contested election, and accusations it was instigating them were "patently false and absurd," Obama said.
"I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost," he told a news conference. "We must also bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society. And we deplore violence against innocent civilians anywhere that it takes place."
Iran's top legislative body, the Guardian Council, rejected demands for a vote rerun from former prime minister Mirhossein Mousavi, who says the election was rigged and he is the rightful victor, and pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi.
EXTENSION GRANTED
But in an apparent concession, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who holds all the key levers of power in Iran, accepted a request from the 12-man council for a five-day extension to the deadline for candidates to make complaints over the election.
The troubles have erupted against a background of tension between the West and Iran, a major oil and gas producer and pivotal factor in regional stability. Tehran's hardline leadership is locked in dispute with Western powers over its nuclear program, which it says is intended for generating electricity but which the West suspects could yield nuclear weapons that could destabilize the region.
London said two of its diplomats had been expelled from Iran and it had ordered out two Iranians in retaliation. About 100 hardliners gathered in front of the British embassy in Tehran, chanting "British embassy should be closed."
Supporters of hardline anti-Western President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held a news conference in the building of the old U.S. embassy that was seized by students after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and held with 52 U.S. hostages for 444 days. "We don't need to have such useless relations with Britain," said one of the student leaders. "If Britain continues its interference...we will destroy their houses over their heads."
Mousavi, himself a scion of the religious establishment, says he does not seek to undermine the Islamic Republic but to purge it of what he calls lies and deceit.
FOREIGN BROADCASTS BLAMED
Iranian state television, in broadcasts clearly intended to discredit opponents defying a ban on protests, paraded people it said had been arrested during weekend violence. "I think we were provoked by networks like the BBC and the VOA (Voice of America) to take such immoral actions," one young man said. His face was shown but his name not given.
A woman whose face was pixilated said she had carried a "war grenade" in her hand-bag. "I was influenced by VOA Persian and the BBC because they were saying that security forces were behind most of the clashes. I saw that it was us protesting ... who were making riots. We set on fire public property, we threw stones ... we attacked people's cars and we broke windows of people's houses."
At least 10 protesters were killed in the worst violence on Saturday, and about seven more early last week.
Mousavi was quoted by an ally on Saturday as calling for a national strike if he was arrested and Karoubi signaled on Tuesday opposition would continue, calling on Iranians to hold ceremonies on Thursday to mourn those killed at protests.
The official IRNA news agency quoted senior judiciary official Ebrahim Raisi as saying on state television late on Monday: "Those arrested in recent events will be dealt with in a way that will teach them a lesson." He said a special court was studying the cases. "The rioters should be dealt with in an exemplary way and the judiciary will do that," Raisi said.
Iran's Foreign Ministry accused U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of interfering in Tehran's affairs "under the influence of some powers" -- an apparent reference chiefly to Britain and the United States.
Iranians on social networking sites called for mourning for "Neda," a young woman shot dead on Saturday. Footage of her death has been watched by thousands on the Internet. Iranian TV, quoting an unnamed source, said Neda was not shot by a bullet used by Iranian security forces. It said filming of the scene, and its swift broadcast to foreign media, suggested the incident was planned.
Her fiance Caspian Makan told BBC Persian TV that Neda Agha-Soltan had been caught up accidentally in the protests. "She was near the area, a few streets away, from where the main protests were taking place, near the Amir Abad area. She was with her music teacher, sitting in a car and stuck in traffic," it quoted him as saying. "She was feeling very tired and very hot. She got out of the car for just a few minutes."
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
So your courts are used to teach your people a lesson rather than to determine truth or guilt or innocence. Screw you dinnerjacket and you so-called religious men, you self-serving jerks.
#2
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article about Israel's daily Farsi language radio show, which has been broadcasting with the same Persian-born reporter for half a century. They claim to have an audience of between two and six million regular listeners. link
Iran lashed out at UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday over remarks the foreign ministry said smacked of "meddling" in its affairs, the state broadcaster reported. "These stances are an evident contradiction of the UN secretary general's duties, international law and are an apparent meddling in Iran's internal affairs," ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said.
"Ban Ki-moon has damaged his credibility in the eyes of independent countries by ignorantly following some domineering powers which have a long record of uncalled-for interference in other countries? internal affairs and colonisation," he said.
The Mad Mullahs are so rattled they're even whining about ineffectual world leaders ...
On Monday, Ban called on the Iranian authorities to stop resorting to arrests, threats and the use of force against civilians in the post-election unrest that has gripped the country for more than 10 days.
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Things must be pretty bad if they are actually worried about the UN.
#2
Has the UN ever done anything? The accusation of meddling is almost ludicrous.
Iran should know something about meddling. They meddle in Iraq. They meddle in Gaza and Palestine. They meddle in Lebanon. How about we send some of the IEDs that they send to Iraq and Afghanistan to the people in the streets of Iran to use against their corrupt government? Now there is payback.
Shops remained closed throughout the day on Tuesday in cities in the western Iranian province of Kurdistan, Iran Focus has learnt.
Two separate sources have confirmed that Kurdish shop-owners went on strike on Tuesday in protest to a major crackdown on anti- government protests in Tehran and other parts of the country.
In Saqqez, which has a majority Kurdish population, more than 80 percent of shops remained closed.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) warned on Monday it would unleash its wrath on anyone breaking a government ban on demonstrations. It ordered demonstrators to "end the sabotage and rioting activities" and said their resistance is a "conspiracy" against Iran.
In a statement it warned demonstrators to "be prepared for a resolution and revolutionary confrontation with the IRGC, Bassij and other security forces". The hard-line Bassij militia is a paramilitary force that acts as the clerical regime's storm troopers to put down anti-government demonstrations.
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2009 00:00 ||
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Mohsen Rezaii, who finished in third place in the June 12 presidential election, is ready to hold televised debates with Interior Ministry officials, an MP said on Tuesday.
Holding face-to-face live debates on the national network Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is the best way to clear up any misunderstandings or lingering doubts about the election, MP Omidvar Rezaii told the Mehr News Agency.
Omidvar Rezaii, who was a senior member of Rezaii's campaign office, suggested that all sides involved in the presidential election should express their views and then let the people judge for themselves.
Omidvar Rezaii, a trained physician who sits on the Majlis Health Committee, said it is necessary to act transparently in order to clear up any lingering doubts about the election results.
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran ruled out on Tuesday overturning the disputed presidential election as U.S. President Barack Obama said there were significant questions about the poll's legitimacy and condemned the crackdown on post-election protests. But supreme goon leader Ayatollah Khamenei agreed to a request by the top election watchdog, to extend by five days Wednesday's deadline to examine vote complaints, ISNA news agency said.
Clearly feeling the heat and hoping to string this out out until the heat dies down ...
As international alarm mounted over the crisis, the most serious challenge to the Islamic regime in its 30-year history, Britain said it was expelling two Iranian diplomats after a similar move by Tehran. At the same time, other European nations hauled in envoys to protest at the election and the repression of protests.
Five-day extension
The top election watchdog, the Guardians Council, insisted the vote would stand. "We witnessed no major fraud or breach," spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodai said on English-language state television Press TV. "Therefore, there is no possibility of an annulment taking place."
However, it was later disclosed that council head Ahmad Jannati asked Khamenei for for a five-day extension "to remove any ambiguity" of irregularities, the ISNA news agency reported. Khamenei responded by saying "I give my agreement to your proposition. Act accordingly."
The council, which has acknowledged there were more votes cast than eligible voters in 50 of 366 constituencies, had been due to make its final ruling on Wednesday.
The opposition claims that the June 12 poll that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power for a second four-year term was rife with fraud. Defeated challengers listed 646 irregularities and are demanding a new election.
Defeated opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi plans to issue a "full report of electoral fraud and irregularities," a statement on his official website said. But the interior ministry warned Mousavi "to respect the law and the people's vote" after his defeat, state-run IRNA news agency said.
The authorities reject opposition charges of vote fraud, although analysis by a British think tank showed "irregularities" in the turnout and "highly implausible" swings in Ahmedinejad's favor.
The defeated candidates have submitted a total of 646 complaints about the election. Earlier this week, a Guardian Council spokesman said one common complaint was that the number of votes surpassed eligible voters in some constituencies.
State media said at least 17 people have been killed and many more wounded in the unrest that has convulsed the nation for 11 days. Hundreds of protesters, prominent reformists and journalists have been rounded up by the authorities -- even figures close to top regime officials including powerful cleric and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Mousavi has urged his supporters to continue demonstrating but to adopt "self-restraint" to avoid more bloodshed.
Defeated reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi called for a ceremony on Thursday to mourn slain protesters.
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11148 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
The old ring-a-ding-ado of making it look like you are doing something but not really.
[ADN Kronos] Iranian police attacked hundreds of protesters with teargas on Monday who were gathering at a main square in the capital Tehran, despite a warning from Iran's powerful military force or Revolutionary Guard against holding rallies.
The protesters - mainly supporters of pro-reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi - gathered at Tehran's Haft-e Tir Square but were quickly dispersed by anti-riot police who also fired weapons into the air.
The protesters were also confronted by the volunteer and pro-government Basij militia, which take orders from the Revolutionary Guard.
"We warn the main elements behind the riots and their deceived supporters to ... halt their acts of sabotage and end their riots or be prepared for a decisive and revolutionary confrontation with the Guards, Basij and other security and disciplinary forces," said the Guards in a Monday statement quoted by English-language network PressTV.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11136 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Iranians need to learn a few things others have learned over the years:
A 30-inch piece of pipe will cripple a motorcycle, and can split the heads of anyone not wearing a helmet. If the jerkwad IS wearing a helmet, aim for the space between the 6th and 7th cervical vertebra.
If you're a strong guy, wrap your arms around the torso of the individual you wish to harm and squeeze. You have one of three possible outcomes: his ribs crack, you "separate" a rib or two, or you force him to fall limp from lack of air. Once he's limp you can cut his throat with his own knife.
Find a copy of Mila-18, and read about some of the terror tactics used by the dastardly Jews in killing German soldiers. It'll also work for Iranians killing Basijis.
Piano wire has many, many uses.
A two-by-four in the face of a motorcycle rider is a sure-fire argument-winner.
Dump a pail of soapy water in front of a motorcyclist and then try to force him to make a turn.
Empty a CO-2 fire extinguisher in someone's face. If he survives, he'll never be worth much afterwards as a terrorist.
Pikes work as well against motorcyclists as they did against horse cavalry. You need to have an element of surprise to make 'em work, though, so don't be brandishing them or standing them upright until the last minute.
See what Uncle Sam's military training and a curious mind can lead to...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/24/2009 16:13 Comments ||
Top||
#2
FREEREPUBLI **BREAKING** > Witness in Tehran claims that the BASIJ had suddenly attacked and FIRED UPON? a large group of demonstrators, and have allegedly killed a unknown number of same???
[Iran Press TV Latest] The ousted Shah of Iran Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi's son urges Israel to support post-election riots in Iran to bring down the government of Tehran.
Reza Pahlavi, who is seen as a promising figure in pushing for a change of the government in Iran, told Maariv that Israel should back up recently sparked riots in Iran following the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the next president of the country.
The very existence of the ruling government in Iran could lead to a nuclear Holocaust, the former crown prince said but warned against an Israeli attack on the country. He said that any military attack against Tehran could prompt the Iranians to stand by the government instead and therefore it would shatter hopes of any resumption of ties between Iran and Israel.
Iran and Israel had close ties before the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew the US-backed monarchy in Iran. The two cut off all relations following the revolution with Iran refusing to recognize Israel as a state.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi criticized certain Western countries for their meddling in the country's internal affairs. Iranian officials have blamed US and British media outlets for the recent post-election turmoil across the country.
"Voice of America (VOA) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) are state-funded channels and not privately-run. Their budgets are ratified in the US Congress, as well as the British Parliament. The two channels serve as mouthpieces of their respective governments," Qashqavi stated on Saturday.
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11132 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
The ousted Shah of Iran Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi's son urges Israel to support post-election riots in Iran to bring down the government of Tehran
#2
In a sense it would be far better to overthrow Iranian government by street fighting than by nukes.
I personally think a few selected assassinations
(All "Holy Men") would solve around 90% of the world's troubles)far less damaging than by nukes, it'd cost far less lives too.
You read world history, and somewhere around 99% of the world's troubles/deaths and wars were directly caused by religion, of one sort or another.
Knocking of a few "Religious Dictators" will have the same future effect as strangling Adolf Hitler in his cradle.
Gawd, for a time machine.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/24/2009 14:31 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Hitler wasn't a religious authority,
nor was Stalin,
nor Mao
nor Pol Pot
99% may be an overestimate
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/24/2009 19:24 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Knocking of a few "Religious Dictators" will have the same future effect as strangling Adolf Hitler in his cradle.
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At this point, only the short-term future of Iran's clerical regime remains in doubt. The current protests could be repressed, but the unelected institutions of priestly rule have been fatally undermined. Though each aspect of the Islamic Republic has its own dynamic, this is not a regime that can last many more years.
Iran's clerical establishment is considering scrapping the position of the Supreme Leader, currently held by Ayatollah Khamenei and forcing out President Ahmadinejad according to reports.
Iranian authorities said they would teach an exemplary lesson to "rioters" held in the worst unrest since the birth of the Islamic Republic, and accused Western powers on Tuesday of inciting the violence.
Shops remained closed throughout the day on Tuesday in cities in the western Iranian province of Kurdistan, Iran Focus has learnt.
[ADN Kronos] Iranian police attacked hundreds of protesters with teargas on Monday who were gathering at a main square in the capital Tehran, despite a warning from Iran's powerful military force or Revolutionary Guard against holding rallies.
