CAIRO -- The Revolutionary Guard tightened its already powerful hold over Iran during the post-election turmoil, raising alarm among some Iranians that it is transforming the Islamic Republic into a military state. The Democratic Underground hasn't heard about the AP's new rules. I Googled an AP headline and noticed a DU posting, so I linked to that one, not the original AP. I'm still guilty, though, right?
The 120,000-strong force has its own ground, naval, air and missile units and is believed to be better armed and equipped than the far larger regular military. Are they about to see the Law of Unintended Consequences?
Oh Lawzy I am so surprised. Not.
Anyone at all surprised? As soon as the Old Goat™ died you knew this had to happen. The government does not enjoy the support of the people. It hasn't for a while. When the Iranian economy was decent the people were content to ignore the government and get on with their lives, even if it meant that the women had to wear burlap sacks in public.
But now the economy is in the dumpster. Short Round and Khamenei have made clear that they'll continue to hold the reins of government by force. So the Revolutionary Guards, prepared for just such an occasion, come to the front.
The Basiji are the SA. The RG are the SS. Surprised?
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/27/2009 06:39 ||
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Apparently, the AP was surprised.
Maube I'll go see if anyone at the DU believed this, or thought it was another Rovian plot.
Nah. Not worth it.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/27/2009 12:41 Comments ||
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I am hearing noises like the Basij are having trouble keeping people. People are being forced by their families to choose between their family or the Basij.
One thing to also remember, the Revolutionary Guard controls much of the oil and gas industry and is set to take the entire thing over:
Ahmadinejad is also seeking to appoint Brig. Gen. Rostam Qassemi, a commander of the Revolutionary Guard, as oil minister, reported Khabar Online, a news website close to parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani. Qassemi now commands a multibillion-dollar Revolutionary Guard business involved in the oil industry.
The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, dismissed two key cabinet ministers on Sunday in the latest fallout of a bitter dispute among conservatives this is the NYTimes so nutcase radicals are called conservatives
that has exposed Mr. Ahmadinejad's political vulnerability in the wake of last month's disputed presidential election.
Mr. Ahmadinejad sacked the intelligence minister, Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ejei, and the Islamic culture and guidance minister, Muhammad-Hassan Saffar-Harandi. Both men had walked out of a cabinet meeting last week in protest of Mr. Ahmadinejad's promotion of a former culture minister, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, who drew fierce criticism last year over comments that were friendly to Israel.
There were also reports late Sunday that two more ministers might also be sacked...as reformist factions have rallied against Mr. Ahmadinejad, his own rivals among conservatives appear to smell blood in the water, and have pressed him hard over the promotion of Mr. Mashaei.
Mr. Ahmadinejad is now in something of a quandary: he has dismissed more than half his cabinet, which means under Iranian law only if you mean "law" in the literal sense
that he must obtain a vote of confidence from the Parliament.
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Posted by: Lord garth ||
07/27/2009 00:00 ||
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The BBC story about this was torpedoed when somebody suggested the ministers were sacked "Because they had been bitten by a moose."
#4
Sunday's firing and resignation were significant because both Intelligence Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei and Culture Minister Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi are especially close to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
i.e. Short Round is p*ssing into the wind.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
07/27/2009 12:11 Comments ||
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Does this mean that the rhubarb about Mashaei was Khamenei's cronies turning on Ahmadinejad? I had just assumed that it was the less-likeable Principalist backers of Rafsanjani making hay while the sun shone.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/27/2009 12:54 Comments ||
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A Tehran court has found Iranian Minister of Industries and Mines Ali-Akbar Mehrabian guilty of fraud after he registered someone else's invention in his own name.
The verdict came after plaintiff Farzad Salimi filed a complaint against former municipality officials Mehrabian and Mousa Mazloum over the dishonest registration of an invention dubbed "Safe Room for Earthquakes" in their names.
According to documents provided by the plaintiff, the project proposal was put forward to Tehran municipality in 2003.
However, the project did not receive much attention from the then municipality officials in Tehran and Salimi was referred to other research institutes by the authorities.
The then municipality officials, Mehrabian and Mazloum, later registered the project -- obtained from Salimi -- in their own names and proceeded further by publishing a book on the subject, titled the Safe Room.
Following the complaint, the general court of Tehran convicted the two officials of fraud and ordered the disputed invention to be registered in Farzad Salimi's name.
A safe room or a panic room is a fortified room within a residence. The room aims to provide a safe hiding place for the inhabitants in the event of a threat, such as an earthquake, a tornado or a break-in.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned that Washington will not afford a nuclear Tehran, saying it will do everything in its power to avert the prospect.
Clinton alleged on Sunday that Iran was making efforts to obtain nuclear weapons as a tool to impose its power on the region but warned that the US was determined to avert the prospect of a nuclear Iran.
"What we want to do is to send a message to whoever is making these decisions (in Iran), that if you are pursuing nuclear weapons for the purpose of intimidating, of projecting your power, we're not going to let that happen," Clinton said on NBC television's Meet the Press.
The former first lady however said that the door will be still open for engagement with Iran over its disputed nuclear program.
"There's a lot that we can do with Iran if Iran accepts what is the international consensus," she said, namely that Tehran has 'a right to pursue a peaceful use of civil nuclear power' but not nuclear weapons.
Clinton had told the BBC on Thursday that both she and the US President Barack Obama believed that direct dialogue with Iran would guarantee success.
The West, spearheaded by the US and Israel, the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, accuses Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program under the guise of enrichment activities, an allegation dismissed by Tehran.
Iran argues that unlike Israel, it is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has willingly opened its atomic activities to the most stringent supervision of UN nuclear watchdog inspectors, according to the terms of the NPT.
The new US administration says it wants to diplomatically engage Iran, mend ties and resolve the country's disputed nuclear program. Iran says it favors talks over its nuclear work, but has called for logical negotiations without any preconditions.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2009 00:00 ||
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Washington ... will do everything in its power to avert the prospect.
I expect the Obama Administration will certainly attempt to avert the prospect but they'll roll over like a puppy at the actual fact when it comes to pass.
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No, no - worse than that. We're going to cut off diplomatic relations!
What? Why not? When did that happen?
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/27/2009 5:52 Comments ||
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Clinton had told the BBC on Thursday that both she and the US President Barack Obama believed that direct dialogue with Iran would guarantee success.
I just feel so comforted knowing that our country is in the hands of such hard headed, realistic leaders. /sarc
I see it like a car in the right lane on an empty interstate with it's left turn signal flashing. It IS a 'warning signal' and it MIGHT mean 'something'. It most likely doesn't, though.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
07/27/2009 15:40 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] After the dismissal of Iran's intelligence minister, a lawmaker declares as 'illegal' all Cabinet sessions of the current government until President Ahmadinejad's official inauguration for his second term. "More than half of the Cabinet members have been changed. So, in less than two weeks before the government's tenure, the Cabinet sessions are illegal and cannot pass ratifications," Vice Speaker of Parliament Mohammad-Reza Bahonar told Mehr News Agency on Sunday.
According to Article 136 of Iran's Constitution, if more than half of the members of Cabinet are replaced, "the government must seek a fresh vote of confidence from Parliament."
"If such changes occur in normal conditions, the president has to introduce the entire members of the Cabinet to the Majlis and seek a vote of confidence. But within two weeks, we cannot do this," he added. The lawmaker reiterated that after President Ahmadinejad's official inauguration, the Cabinet sessions would be "legal".
Bahonar's remarks came after Ahmadinejad chose to sack Intelligence Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei on Sunday. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be sworn in as the Iranian president for a second term on August 5, a day after he is officially approved by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
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Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2009 00:00 ||
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Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has said that the Israeli regime may launch another attack on Lebanon by the next spring.
May is such a nebulous word. The Messiah may come by next spring, too.
In a meeting with Lebanese expatriates visiting the country, Nasrallah estimated that Israel would not remain inactive, but rather, initiate an aggression on the country "sometime between the end of this year and next spring", Lebanese television channel al-Jadid reported on Saturday.
The prominent leader added that should Israel wage another war on his homeland, the Hezbollah movement would use new tactics and methods to repel the assault. He stressed that this time the group would not hesitate to attack Tel Aviv, if the southern suburbs of Beirut were hit.
That strikes me as a really bad idea.
"Tel Aviv in response to an attack on the Dahiya," Nasrallah said, referring to a suburban stronghold south of the Lebanese capital.
The Hezbollah chief may have been referring to a statement made last year by an Israeli commander, Gabi Eisenkot, who introduced a new war strategy against Lebanon's Hezbollah called the "Dahiya doctrine," Israeli sources said. According to the doctrine, Israel would use "disproportionate" force to destroy even small villages from where Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel.
The Israeli military has been under pressure over its 33-day war on Lebanon in 2006 which failed to achieve any of its stated goals including the destruction of the Lebanese resistance movement despite massive air raids on the country. The offensive killed 1100 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and about 120 Israelis mostly troops.
Meanwhile, later in the meeting, Nasrallah once again stressed that his organization does not carry out "security operations" outside Lebanon, rejecting US claims that the group holds a military wing outside the country.
The recent remarks come as tensions escalated between Lebanon and Israel, over the establishment of an Israeli military outpost along the country's border. The outpost sparked demonstrations across the border and the Lebanese army placed its forces on high alert. The event forced Hezbollah to ban demonstrations across the border, in a bid to prevent a possible confrontation with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
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Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2009 00:00 ||
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[Khaleej Times] TEHRAN - Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have applied for interior ministry permission to hold a mourning ceremony for demonstrators killed in protests over last month's election.
"We request permission to hold a ceremony to commemorate the 40th day after the deaths of our citizens who lost their lives following the start of the saddening events," the two leaders said in a letter to Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli.
The website of Etemad Melli, the political party of Karroubi, said the ceremony was to be held on Thursday.
The ISNA report said the organisers planned to hold the ceremony in central Tehran's Grand Mosalla, an open prayer venue where religious ceremonies are often held.
"The ceremony will have no speeches. It will consist only of recitals from the Koran and participants will be asked to pay their respects in silence," the letter carried by ISNA said.
Iran witnessed massive street protests over the June 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Official reports said at least 20 people were killed and scores wounded.
Following the violence that erupted during the protests, authorities banned gatherings in the capital, especially those planned by opposition groups.
Despite the ban, defiant protestors have managed to stage demonstrations but on a much smaller scale, although thousands took to the streets on July 9 on the anniversary of bloody student unrest in 1999.
The call from the two leaders came a day after they joined reformist former president Mohmmad Khatami in urging Iran's clerics to intervene to prevent "oppression" by the authorities against detained protestors.
Hundreds of demonstrators, political activists and journalists have been arrested in the post-election crackdown by security forces.
"We want you, the top clerics, to remind the authorities of the harmful outcome of not abiding by the law and prevent them from spreading oppression in the Islamic republic," the three said a joint statement released on Saturday.
They accused the regime of "savagery" and said its "interrogation methods are a reminder of the dark era of the Shah" Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was toppled in the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The reformist Etemad newspaper reported that two protestors have died in custody.
Mousavi and Karroubi, who stood against Ahmadinejad in the June poll, have rejected the legitimacy of his new government and called for a re-run of the election.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sacked only the intelligence minister, his office said on Sunday, denying reports that he had also dismissed three other ministers.
The official IRNA news agency quoted Mohammad Jafar Mohammadzadeh, deputy communication director at Ahmadinejad's office, as saying that only Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie had been sacked. He denied reports carried by several Iranian news agencies that three other ministers too were dismissed by the hardline president.
Ahmadinejad sacked Ejeie just days before he was due to announce a new cabinet line-up in the midst of hardliner criticism over his vice presidential pick
According to earlier reports, Ahmadinejad also sacked Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi, Labor and Social Affairs Minister Mohammad Jahromi and Health Minister Kamran Baqeri Lankarani.
Ejeie was sacked "following a verbal quarrel between the intelligence minister and the president in Wednesday's cabinet meeting over the appointment of (Esfandiar Rahim) Mashaie," the Mehr news agency quoted an informed unnamed source as saying. Ahmadinejad named Mashaie Saturday as his advisor and head of his office after sacking his controversial deputy in the first major blow to forging a new government since his disputed re-election, the state news agency IRNA reported late Saturday.
Mashaie stepped down as first vice president earlier on Saturday after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Ahmadinejad his appointment would cause "division and frustration."
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Posted by: Fred ||
07/27/2009 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
