pul.se results for "Mohammad Khatami"

Le Parisien - Toute l'actualité

2010-03-09 12:51:02 GMT

Toutes les dépêches AFP

2010-03-09 12:00:53 GMT

L'entourage de l'ancien président Mohammad Khatami a démenti mardi une information d'une agence de presse iranienne selon laquelle les autorités auraient interdit au leader réformateur de quitter l'Iran."Cette information est fausse", a déclaré un proche de M. Khatami interrogé par l'AFP.Citant un...

de Volkskrant | Laatste Nieuws

2010-03-09 12:45:00 GMT

TEHERAN - De voormalige president van Iran, Mohammad Khatami, mag het land niet meer uit. Dat heeft het Iraanse persbureau Fars dinsdag gemeld op gezag van bronnen binnen de veiligheidsdienst. (14:24, 09-03-10)

Iran News

2010-03-09 12:31:11 GMT

Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami was banned to leave the country, the Iranian Fars news agency reported citing an anonymous representative of the Security Ministry.

Les Echos - actualité internationale

2010-03-09 10:57:17 GMT

TEHERAN, 9 mars (Reuters) - Les autorités iraniennes ont interdit à l'ancien président réformiste iranien Mohammad Khatami de se rendre à l'étranger, annonce mardi l'agence de presse iranienne Fars.Khatami avait apporté son soutien à Mirhossein Moussavi, devenu le symbole de l'opposition...

Toutes les dépêches AFP Monde

2010-03-09 12:00:53 GMT

- L'entourage de l'ancien président Mohammad Khatami a démenti mardi une information d'une agence de presse iranienne selon laquelle les autorités auraient interdit au leader réformateur de quitter l'Iran."Cette information est fausse", a déclaré un proche de M. Khatami interrogé par l'AFP.Citant un... -

NYT > World

By REUTERS — 2010-03-09 12:07:00 GMT

Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, a leading reformer, has been barred from travelling abroad, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported on Tuesday.

World news: Human rights | guardian.co.uk

Lizzy Davies — 2010-03-07 00:06:15 GMT

Actress Golshifteh Farahani, exiled in Paris, reveals the pressures on Iran's artistic community after anti-government film-maker is arrested

Golshifteh Farahani knows how dangerous it is now to be an artist in Tehran. In 2008 she became the first Iranian-based actress in almost 30 years to appear in a Hollywood blockbuster. Starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott's Body of Lies, she hoped the film would be appreciated in her homeland for its critical stance on America's politics in the Middle East.

She was wrong. When she returned to Tehran the then 24-year-old was subjected to seven months of inquisition from the authorities of the Islamic republic. Reprimanded for not having asked the permission of the government, she became a regular guest of the Information Ministry and intelligence services.

Eventually she cracked. By the time Body of Lies was released, she was an exile in Paris. She does not know when she will go home.

Last week, as the Iranian diaspora reeled from the arrest of Jafar Panahi, the most outspoken film director still living in Tehran, Farahani felt a fresh rush of fury towards a regime which critics say is taking ever greater steps towards a total crackdown on free speech.

Panahi, a vocal supporter of the opposition movement and known for his award-winning, politically subversive movies, was taken from his home in Tehran on Monday night along with 16 others. Most have since been released, but Panahi remains in detention. He had reportedly been making a documentary on the mass protests which came in the aftermath of last year's disputed elections.

"We are so angry," says Farahani, now 26, and a year and half into her new life as one of the French capital's "family" of Iranian artistic exiles. "Jafar is one, maybe the only one… still in Iran who is talking. Most artists [in Iran] don't talk because they would rather work somehow. I appreciate that, but Jafar is the one who had the courage to talk, and he talked for everyone."

Farahani, who is using her time in Paris to make the music she could not have made at home and to pursue her acting career, admits to feeling uncomfortable with her new role as critic-in-exile but says: "There's no bullet in your head. You can talk freely."

She feels the changes in Iran are such that she is obliged, as one of her country's most recognised cultural ambassadors, to speak out. For the past month she has worn a green bracelet discreetly under her shirt sleeve – marking her out as a supporter of the green movement led by Mir Hossein Mousavi. Yesterday she travelled to Geneva to take her place on the jury of the annual Human Rights Film Festival. "This time is the time that for 30 years we have been waiting for. We're not kids any more. We are just asking for our rights," she says, speaking as a member of a generation born after the revolution of 1979 and frustrated with the hardline tendencies of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime.

As a musician and actress who grew up in a country convulsed by widespread violence and repression, Farahani has seen through her own eyes how Iran has become more hostile to those who dare to speak out through their creativity. She remembers how, under the successive presidencies of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, rules governing music and cinema became "relatively" open compared with the stringent censorship that dominated the 1980s. She remembers the first pop music that came out when she was 16 or 17. But she believes that, ever since Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005, things have been very different.

"If you want to do what you want to do, you cannot work," she says. "So art is going to be finished, and this is the will of the Islamic republic: to not have any artists or art and close the doors of all the cinemas and music and everything." After seeing it happen to countless friends, the lure of exile eventually seduced Farahani as well.

"I reached a certain point where I thought 'OK, I cannot stay any more. This is finished'," she says, remembering the pressure put on her by the regime after Body of Lies. "Although it was the best time ever [professionally], I could choose whatever I wanted, I was really highly paid compared to other actresses, I could produce, I could do anything – I chose to say goodbye."

Now the beneficiary of a liberty "incomparable" with the lives of her counterparts in Tehran, Farahani struggles with the creative legacy of that period of her life. She finds herself automatically self-censoring and admits that even in a city more than 3,000 miles from home she does not feel completely free. She worries for her family. When she speaks to them, she knows she is also speaking to the intelligence services.

But, while she says her generation of Iranians have learned "never to hope", she believes the movement for change could soon prove unstoppable. Rather than another revolution, she says, they would like to see "an evolution – we want even the mullahs to live in peace". "It's like a windscreen of a car: when there's a little crack, it will be everywhere," she says. "Either you have to change it or it's going to destroy itself. And now the crack is there."

Lizzy Davies

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

World news : Middle East roundup | guardian.co.uk

Ian Black — 2010-03-02 19:38:30 GMT

• Panahi held with his wife, daughter and 15 guests on Monday
• Tehran's prosecutor claims Panahi's detention is 'not political'

Iranian security forces have detained Jafar Panahi, one of the country's most internationally celebrated film-makers, as part of a continuing crackdown on supporters of the opposition Green movement.

Panahi was held with his wife, daughter and 15 guests on Monday evening, according to Kalame, the website of Mir Hossein Mousavi, who claims he won last June's disputed presidential election.

In the first official comment on the high-profile arrest, Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi was quoted as saying that Panahi's detention was "not political" and was linked to another case that was already under investigation.

Dowlatabadi had recently signalled a more "compassionate" approach to opposition protesters after mass pro-government rallies on last month's anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Still, Panahi's arrest is bound to be seen as part and parcel of repression that has seen thousands of opposition supporters detained in the last few months. Most have been freed but more than 80 people have been imprisoned for up to 15 years and two people have been executed.

Mohammad Amin Valian, a university student who was convicted of crimes against national security, has had his appeal against a death sentence rejected, Green activists reported today.

Panahi, 49, was already under a travel ban imposed after he wore green – the symbolic colour of opposition supporters – at the Montreal film festival. Like many Iranian artists, he supported Mousavi, an architect and well-known cultural figure.

Last summer he was detained after attending a memorial for Neda Agha Soltan, who was shot dead during the first post-election protests, and was banned from leaving the country last month to attend the Berlin film festival.

Most of his films are banned in Iran. One of them, The Circle, which criticised the treatment of women under the Islamic regime, won the Golden Lion award at the 2000 Venice Film Festival. In 2006 his film Offside challenged Iran's official ban on woman attending football matches by portraying a group of girls who disguise themselves as boys to be able to watch a match.

Panahi's arrest follows the closure on Monday of a leading daily newspaper and a weekly magazine run by the family of Mehdi Karroubi, another candidate who was defeated by incumbent hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last June.

Etemad, the daily newspaper, was targeted for publishing remarks by the former reformist president turned opposition supporter Mohammad Khatami, who said the country had been facing a "crisis" since the election and the subsequent crackdown.

The state press watchdog also banned the weekly Irandokht (daughter of Iran) for "not meeting the conditions in the press law on practical commitment to the constitution." Karroubi's wife and son Hossein launched Irandokht as a women's lifestyle magazine but a new editorial team switched the focus of its coverage to political and cultural issues two months ago.

Ian Black

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

San Francisco Sentinel

The San Francisco Sentinel — 2010-03-02 13:42:01 GMT

Al Jazeera Iranian authorities have banned a reformist daily newspaper and a moderate weekly magazine run by the family of Mehdi Karroubi, an opposition leader, Iran’s news agency says. Etemad, the daily, was singled out for publishing remarks by Mohammad Khatami, the former Iranian president turned opposition supporter, who said the country was facing a “crisis” since [...]

Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News

2010-03-02 12:59:56 GMT

Source: [b]al jazeera[/b]

Iranian authorities have banned a reformist daily newspaper and a moderate weekly magazine run by the family of opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi, Iran's news agency says.

Etemad, the daily, was singled out for publishing remarks by Mohammad Khatami, the former Iranian p...

Babylon & Beyond

latme — 2010-03-01 18:28:21 GMT

Mohammad Khatami, the soft-spoken former Iranian president who has come under criticism for not being brave enough in his rhetoric and actions, on Monday issued a polite but firmly worded rebuke of the current hard-line establishment. Khatami's statement appeared to...

INAUGURATION NEWS - Google Blog Search

Zand-Bon — 2010-02-28 00:27:04 GMT

Ahmadinejad's inauguration ceremony was clearly boycotted by several prominent figures such as former president Mohammad Khatami and Chairman of the Expediency Council, Ayatollah Rafsanjani. Saeedi also declared that Hassan Khomeini's ...

CNN iReport - Latest

0LVE — 2010-02-25 20:46:27 GMT

Iran: Cleric calls for repetition of 1988 mass murders

Thursday, 25 February 2010

Source:http://ncr-iran.org/content/view/7847/1/

NCRI - Seyed Hamid Rohani, a cleric confidant of the regime’s founder and its current leader has warned that if a repeat of the 1988 massacre “and a firm and revolutionary approach” does not take place with regards to the nationwide uprising of the Iranian people, “the problems will persist.”

In 1988, on the basis of a religious decree by the clerical regime’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini, and affirmation of the current regime leaders, including Ali Khamenei, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and Mohammad Khatami, thousands of political prisoners were executed in the span of several weeks. Many had already finished their imprisonment sentences.

International rights groups declared that the infamous “1988 massacre” took the lives of thousands of people. Many of those executed, totaling up to 30,000 people, were members and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). They have been buried in mass graves.

Seyed Hamid Rohani demanded in an interview with “Sepidar,” the organ of the so-called “Bassij Organization of University of Tehran Students,” the massacre of political prisoners detained during recent anti-regime protests.

He referred to the 1988 killings and warned, “if a firm, serious and revolutionary approach is not adopted regarding the recent sedition, this problems will persist.”

Ziarati’s remarks about the mass killings of political prisoners in 1988 were unprecedented. He said, “The imprisoned PMOI members tactically repented. After the acceptance of the ceasefire [of the Iran-Iraq war by the regime in 1988] … these prisoners revolted and started to set fire to prisons.”

These remarks, which were made for the first time 22 years after the massacre of political prisoners, are inconsistent with the thousands of reports published thus far by various sources.

In early 1988, less than three months before Hamid Rohani, currently an official historian of the regime, Khomeini demanded the writing of the "history" of “Islamic Revolution.” Rohani drafted and published a voluminous Khomeini biography in three volumes.

He was later appointed as chair of the Islamic Revolution Archives Organization, which is an official regime organ. Shortly thereafter, Rohani’s conflict with a cleric and supporter of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, current mullahs’ President, prompted his resignation. He later founded the “Foundation for Iranian Contemporary History.”

Iran OR Ahmadinejad OR Mousavi. - Google Blog Search

Scott Lucas — 2010-02-25 08:18:32 GMT

This morning, however, it looks this was a non-statement, an attempt by pro-Ahmadinejad members of the Assembly and media to create the image of a regime ready to crush Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Mohammad Khatami (and, ...

Iran OR Ahmadinejad OR Mousavi. - Google Blog Search

Scott Lucas — 2010-02-25 06:41:10 GMT

Sedition leaders flunked the Dec 30 final exam and they were removed from Iran's political spirit. Bam. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, Mohammad Khatami: your resistance is over. Not just over, forbidden. ... Within days, it emerged that the statement had been drawn up by only a handful of clerics and signed by the fiercely pro-Ahmadinejad Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi. A number of Assembly members made it clear that they had no part of the effort, and Rafsanjani remained ...

Latest News - UPI.com

2010-02-23 19:29:09 GMT

TEHRAN, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Iranian opposition leader Mohammad Khatami said his supporters made up the majority of those present during Feb. 11 demonstrations.

Iran OR Ahmadinejad OR Mousavi. - Google Blog Search

Scott Lucas — 2010-02-18 12:15:02 GMT

... and preventing the participation of recognised Green leaders, notably Mir Hussein Mousavi and his spouse Zahra Rahnavard, Mehdi Karroubi and former president Mohammad Khatami, through intimidation and pre-meditated mob attacks. ... Iran's political system, with its bickering elites, remains as dysfunctional as ever. And President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration is still perceived as incompetent even by many of its conservative backers at a time when the ...

openDemocracy

openDemocracy — 2010-02-16 04:04:54 GMT

Author:

Farhang Jahanpour

Summary:

Tehran’s rulers have pushed back the protest-wave that followed the fraudulent election of June 2009. But the achievement of Iran’s opposition movement is already immense - and it now faces the regime with a fundamental choice, says Farhang Jahanpour.

The passing of eight months since the fraudulent presidential election in Iran on 12 June 2009, and the coincident thirty-first anniversary of the Islamic revolution of 11 February 1979, is an appropriate time to assess the current political situation in Iran; and especially the record of the “green movement” that acquired an incipient identity during the election campaign and emerged as a force in the series of protests that followed it (see “Iran’s stolen election, and what comes next”, 18 June 2009).

The official commemoration in Tehran of the 1979 events, and the absence of substantial mobilisation by the opposition, is significant only in relation to the false expectation that this moment would in some way signal the end of the Islamic Republic. Indeed, some observers have compared the current protests to the revolutionary wave that resulted in the relatively speedy downfall of Mohammad Reza Shah's government. However, a realistic assessment of events and in Iran suggests few similarities between the two experiences. The true import of the green movement’s challenge lies elsewhere.

The task

In order to try to define how the green movement has changed Iran, it is worth outlining in a little more detail the differences between 1979 and 2009-10. The most obvious fact is that, although the revolution’s final phase was precipitous, its end was also the climax of decades of anti-regime propaganda and activism - led not least by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from 1963, and by many leftist groups such as the Tudeh and the Mojahedin-e Khalq.

By the revolution’s last days practically the entire nation had been mobilised against the Shah's regime, and even those who had most benefited from that regime felt themselves neither to be indebted to the system nor to have a particular stake in the system; rather, they thought they could maintain their privileges and social position regardless of whatever system came to power (and in the worst outcome they could leave Iran and lead comfortable lives in the west).

In addition, Ayatollah Khomeini in 1978-79 was successful in portraying the Shah as a “lackey” of the west and appealing to Iranians’ sense of patriotism and national independence; the slogan of “freedom and independence” was indeed one that the entire nation - from hard left to hard right - could rally under, with Khomeini's charismatic leadership as the glue.

Here are two notable differences with 2009-10. First, a definite segment of Iranian society - members of the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the basij militia, intransigent clerics and their circles, the devout lower classes - do have a major stake in the system and think that they have nowhere else to turn.

Second, the Iranian regime has characterised the post-election protests as western-instigated and part of an intended "velvet revolution". It is also using Iran's nuclear programme as a lever to win support in a way analogous to the popular oil-nationalisation policy of Mohammad Mosaddeq, the prime minister of 1951-53 who was later ousted in the coup d’etat that restored the Shah to power. This populist argument that the west is trying to deprive Iran of its legitimate right to scientific development has no parallel with 1979, when western powers such as the United States and Britain (the coup-backers of 1953) were among the Shah’s strongest supporters..

These contrasts suggest that the task of the green movement in Iran is if anything even harder than that faced by its predecessor in 1978-79. In this light, and in the context of less than a year’s development, the movement has made some remarkable advances that would not long ago have been unimaginable. Above all, it has posed the greatest challenge to the clerical regime in its thirty-year existence and has given rise to a national mobilisation that promises some fundamental changes in Iranian society.

The achievement

The overall impact of the green movement can be defined in terms of six notable achievements.

The first is to have given rise to a grassroots campaign that seeks to bring change from below rather than impose it from above. Some observers see this, and the associated absence of a single charismatic leader as a weakness, but it is actually the opposite. If the movement were dependent on one leader, it could be defeated or undermined by his arrest or removal.

True, the movement has a figurehead, the leading reformist candidate in the 2009 election: Mir-Hossein Moussavi. But Moussavi has consistently stressed that he is a fellow-participant in the people's movement rather than its leader. Mohammad Reza Khatami, the head of Iran’s largest reformist party the Participation Front (and brother of the reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami) has in a similar vein said that the green-movement leaders are trailing the people.

The second achievement is the fact that the green movement has triggered a change of attitude and discourse in Iranian society. Iranians have begun to “see” differently in many directions - towards the government, the symbols of the regime, the religious establishment, the west and liberal democracy, and even towards Islam. This phenomenon is less visible to foreign observers, but it is profoundly important.

The third is that the green movement is a pluralistic movement that respects differences of views. Ayatollah Khomeini's main weapon against the Shah was his constant advocacy of vahdat-e kalemeh (the unity of word), by which he meant uniform obedience on the basis of his word. The present movement is calling for unity in diversity. Moussavi was right to say that the green movement was not a party but a network. In other words, it is composed of different groups in society that have come together to demand change.

The fourth achievement is that it provides a channel through which the Iranian people can express their political maturity. The new generation is acquiring a degree of judgment that is rare and impressive in the context of Iran’s modern history. In a a young man quoted in an interview expresses the change well: “We must fight against the power, policies and mentality of the regime, which neither tolerates any criticism nor allows any independent thought, by adopting a culture and way of thought that is different from it."

The movement understands that in order to confront the regime it is necessary to allow criticism and differences of opinion. Thus it has remained calm and composed, and is thinking of strategic rather than tactical gains.

The fifth achievement of the green movement is that its attitude to violence is the very antithesis of the regime’s. It does not use force against force; its strength lies in in peaceful resistance, even in the face of brutal atrocities. There is rational calculation as well as principle here: people realise that they cannot match the regime's instruments of violence (its armed forces, Revolutionary Guards, police, plainclothes thugs and basij). But the movement’s non-violent opposition is also a potent weapon, for it exposes the thuggish and lawless core of a regime that ultimately believes only in its own power. This has robbed the regime of its legitimacy in the eyes of a growing number of people, even among the religious classes.

The sixth and greatest achievement of the green movement is that it has turned the anniversary of the revolution into a nightmare for the regime, which had to use all its resources of intimidation and mobilisation to celebrate its own existence and prevent it from being embarrassed by its own citizens. It had to transport thousands of its supporters from around Tehran to orchestrated demonstrations; close down communication with the outside world; confine reporters to the vicinity of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech; and arrest dozens of opposition figures in a systematic clampdown before the big day (which included the execution of two young student activists).

The demands

The use of brute force by the regime to preserve its power is accompanied by violent language from government and security officials and pro-government clerics, which breaks all the bounds of decency and humanity (let alone of "Islamic compassion"). By contrast, the language of Mir-Hossein Moussavi and his allies is marked by moderation, statesmanship and a desire for compromise.

Moussavi's interview before the 1979 revolution’s anniversary was at once defiant and measured. In it he made five fundamental demands.

First, the government should be held directly accountable to the nation, the majlis (parliament) and the judiciary. This demand goes beyond the present dispute and in effect proposes a way out for the regime: abide by the constitution and make the government answerable to the people.

Second, hold free elections on the basis of a transparent and confidence-building electoral law. Here Moussavi is calling for new elections free from the control of the Guardian Council - and not simply to replace Ahmadinejad with a more acceptable figure from inside the regime. This would amount to a different form of government, a different political system and a different society. So far, this does not extend to a new constitution, for Moussavi has demanded only the implementation of its clauses on the rights of the people; but he has pointed out that the constitution is not eternal and may have to be amended.

Third, free the political prisoners and restore their honour by rejecting the government's conspiracy theories and false claims of foreign direction of the green movement. This would entail the regime accepting the legitimacy of the popular protest as a movement that stems from the heart of the society.

Fourth, allow the press and media to report and comment freely, a prerequisite for a healthy and real democracy. This would end the government's monopoly of the means of propaganda and allow the people to hear opposition voices.

Fifth, recognise the people's right to take part in legal gatherings, marches and demonstrations.

These demands are elementary, but they also go to the heart of Iran’s crisis. If they are not met, the ambitions of many Iranians for even more radical change - the establishment of a secular democracy, the separation of religion and state, and the replacement of the regime itself - will surely grow.

The choice

The implication of this trade-off between the demands made by Mir-Hossein Moussavi and the more radical aspirations of many Iranian people is that if it does not accept the former, the regime may be faced with a far more radical internal challenge.

The choice confronting the regime is stark. It lost its legitimacy in the deceit over the June 2009 election, a trend confirmed by the increasing disaffection even of some pillars of the Islamic Republic establishment. This is illustrated by the actions of Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini and curator of his office. The anniversary of Khomeini’s death is an occasion when traditionally the supreme leader and other dignitaries visit his former residence and take part in mourning ceremonies. On the latest such occasion, Hassan Khomeini invited Mohammad Khatami to speak, and - when the government restricted the former president’s movements, blocking his attendance - cancelled the entire event in protest.

More recently, Hassan Khomeini sent a strongly-worded letter to Iran’s state broadcaster, chiding it for biased reporting and for distorting the words of his grandfather. He warned that if it did not correct its ways he would forbid it from using Khomeini's words again. On 11 February 2010, the anniversary of the revolution, the authorities arrested Mohammad Khatami and his wife Zahra Eshraqi, Ayatollah Khomeini's granddaughter. When the regime makes enemies even of such figures, it is clear both how fearful it is and how it is prepared to deal with others.

The display of fervid control the regime was forced into on 11 February 2010 reveals its desperation. A foreign assault, which would unite all Iranians behind a power they hate, could yet give it an infusion of strength - all the more reason for the west to ignore Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's provocations, and face its people without false comfort. Mir-Hossein’s Moussavi’s demands offer the regime an opportunity to restore governance to a path of legitimacy. It seems unlikely that it will turn back from the self-destructive path it is on.

Sideboxes

'Read On' Sidebox:

BBC - Iran crisis

Tehran Bureau

Juan Cole, Informed Comment

Ali Gheissari & Vali Nasr, Democracy in Iran: History and the Quest for Liberty (Oxford University Press, 2006)

Ali Ansari, Confronting Iran (Basic Books, 2006)

Ray Takeyh, Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic (CFR, 2006)

Iranian.com

Rooz

Nikki R Keddie, Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution (Yale University Press, 2006)

Michael Axworthy, Empire of the Mind: A History of Iran (C Hurst, 2007)

Sidebox:

Farhang Jahanpour is a former professor and dean of the faculty of languages at the University of Isfahan, Iran

Also by Farhang Jahanpour in openDemocracy:

“Cartoons, caricatures and civilisations” (23 February 2006)

“Iran’s stolen election, and what comes next” (18 June 2009)

oD-wide classification

Country:

Iran

Topics:

Democracy and government

International politics

FRONTLINE: Tehran Bureau | PBS

2010-02-12 16:43:42 GMT

[ opinion ] February 11, the thirty-first anniversary of the Iranian Revolution of 1979, finally arrived. Many people had high hopes that the day would represent another major advance for the Green Movement. A glance at the Persian websites indicated that some people seemed to believe the Islamic Republic itself would be toppled. In their view, the only thing that the people had to do was show up in the streets and demonstrate.

Alas! The envisioned triumph did not happen, and it was clear to some, this author included, that it was never likely. Why? For several reasons:

One was that just as the Green Movement gains experience, so also do the hardliners. They have learned, based on the demonstrations that took place on both November 4, the anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover, and December 27, the Day of Ashura, that saturating the streets of Tehran with security and plainclothes intelligence agents, as well as the Basij militia, is effective at preventing the formation of large clusters of Green supporters and undermining their capacity to demonstrate. This tactic was successfully utilized on February 11. Wherever Green supporters did try to gather, they were beaten up badly by the security forces.

It would have deeply embarrassed the hardliners if Green supporters had successfully staged large-scale demonstrations on the anniversary of the day that brought to power the very political system that they always claim is supported by the Iranian masses. It should have been clear that they would do everything in their power to prevent that from happening.

Indeed, the hardliners took unprecedented steps. They saturated Azadi Square--where Iran's president has always delivered his speech on the anniversary of the Revolution--and the streets around it with their own supporters on Wednesday night, February 10, to prevent protesters from getting close to the area. Tens of thousands of people were bused in for this purpose from cities and villages around Tehran.

The hardliners also installed loudspeakers along a corridor extending from Imam Hussein Square in east Tehran to Azadi Square in the west, and used them to broadcast revolutionary and religious slogans, disrupting the efforts of Green supporters to organize effective protest chants.

The harsh crackdown on the demonstrators was clearly intended to terrify people and make them think twice before they participate in any future demonstration. The hardliners have made it clear that the photographs and video images taken of Green supporters during the demonstrations would be used against them in court. These actions follow the jailing of thousands of people, including dozens of reformist leaders, journalists, and human rights advocates; the murders of at least a hundred, including the prominent assassinations of Ali Mousavi, Mir Hossein Mousavi's nephew, and physics professor Masoud Ali-Mohammadi; and the systematic infliction of rape and sodomy on many young people.

The demonstrations thus did not take place the way many had envisioned. Make no mistake, though. A large number of Green supporters did show up, as evidenced by their many clashes with security forces, not just in Tehran but in Esfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Ahvaz, and other cities, as well. Still, the more idealistic supporters of the Movement had envisioned the Revolution's anniversary in a very different way. So, does the way things turned out imply defeat for the Green Movement? Has it been driven underground? I believe not.

First, the very fact that on the thirty-first anniversary of the Revolution, the hardliners had to saturate Tehran and other large cities with security forces just to prevent peaceful demonstrations by the opposition represents a significant victory for Green supporters. This is the day when the people are supposed to come out freely and celebrate the establishment of the political system that the hardliners claim they support, and yet there was an unofficial state of emergency, with tens of thousands of security forces patrolling the streets.

I was reminded of the days following September 11, 1973, when Salvador Allende, the socialist president of Chile, was overthrown in a coup planned by the CIA and carried out by the Chilean military. In those days, the capital of Santiago was similarly saturated by the military, people were beaten en masse, thousands were jailed, and many were killed or disappeared. (The 1981 movie Missing, written and directed by Costa-Gavras, recounts these events.)

So, what kind of victory could this represent for the regime? As Mousavi said on January 1, in his statement number 17, addressed to the hardliners,

Suppose through arrests, violence, shutting people's mouths, and closing newspapers and means of mass communication that calm and silence return to the society. What are you going to do about the fact that people's judgment of the political establishment has changed? What are you going to do about the destruction of its legitimacy? What are you going to do about the rebukes of the world and its astonishment about the degree of violence that the government has used against its own people? What are you going to do about all the unsolved economic problems that, due to the utter incompetence of the government, continue to worsen? On what basis can you claim the competence, national consensus, and effective foreign policy necessary to remove the shadow of foreign powers demanding ever more concessions?

In short, this was not a victory, but a defeat for the hardliners. Eight months after the rigged presidential election of June 12, the Green Movement is alive and well. Indeed, the hardliners were sufficiently terrified of the Movement that they deployed anti-riot forces to surround the headquarters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (there were even reports that he and his family had been spirited away to a secret location); the broadcast centers for national television and radio, the Voice and Visage of the Islamic Republic; and many other government institutions. Mousavi was forcefully prevented from participating in the demonstrations and his wife, Dr. Zahra Rahnavard, was assaulted, as were Mehdi Karroubi and former president Mohammad Khatami.

These events should teach the supporters of the Green Movement a few lessons. First, the Movement needs effective organization and leadership. Some have claimed that people can simply inform each other of demonstration plans via Facebook, Twitter, and other such means. But, as events on Thursday, as well as the Day of Ashura, demonstrated, such ideas are naïve and impractical. Even the hardliners recognize the importance of organization and, hence, expert organizers. This is exactly why Behzad Nabavi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Mohsen Aminzadeh, and Mohsen Mirdamadi, political activists for decades who have proven to be excellent organizers, have been jailed since soon after the election. In fact, according to Nabavi, their arrest warrants were issued a few days before the election.

A related observation is that Mousavi and Karroubi were too cautious. They did not provide any specific plans. It is not enough to call on supporters to participate in the "celebration" of the anniversary of the Revolution. Even important foreign-based pro-Green websites, such as Jaras, were overly restrained. They called on people to dress conservatively and even chant some of the same slogans favored by the hardliners.

Although some may disagree, the question of leadership has, in my opinion, largely been settled. Mir Hossein Mousavi is the leader of the Green Movement. But he needs to be in more contact with the people, speak to them more frequently, try to organize various events by giving Movement supporters specific suggestions and instructions, and set aside his caution. It is not enough to issue statements in reaction to external developments. Karroubi, Khatami, and others also play important roles. Together with Mousavi, they must develop a unified voice and common positions. As Mousavi has said repeatedly, they must agree on a "minimum set of demands," speak about them forcefully and often, and avoid airing their differences.

Another crucial lesson is that the tactics for confronting the hardliners must change constantly. They must be dynamic. If the same tactics are routinely employed, the hardliners adapt and learn how to defuse them, as Thursday's events clearly demonstrated. The tactics must also become more sophisticated. The most effective are those that target the economic interests of the hardliners, and make it more difficult for Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei to govern.

The final lesson is that the struggle for democracy in Iran is a war of attrition, not a swift "shock and awe" campaign, a marathon, not a sprint. Because the Islamic Republic has degenerated into a military junta, and because a military force always loses a war of attrition to irregular forces--that is, the people--the Green Movement and its leaders need to be patient, carefully analyze developments, and develop realistic and achievable goals that advance the cause of democracy.

There is a new dawn in the struggle of the Iranian people for democracy and the rule of law. The Green Movement must develop the necessary organization and adjust its tactics dynamically in order to make further progress during this turbulent era.

Iran News

2010-02-12 07:42:17 GMT

Editor's note: Three paragraphs were added to the article

Granddaughter of Iran's former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini Zahra Ashrafi, Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi 's son Ali Karroubi and Iranian ex-president Mohammad Khatami's brother Muhammadrza Khatami were arrested during the rallies in Tehran to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Parlemannews reported.

Iran News

Iran News — 2010-02-12 02:28:08 GMT

TEHRAN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday Iran was close to enriching uranium nearly pure enough for atomic bombs but the United States was dismissive, saying he spoke to rally government supporters on the Islamic revolution's 31st anniversary.

Ahmadinejad told a vast, flag-waving crowd of government supporters in central Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square that Iran could now enrich uranium to more than 80 percent purity, coming close to levels experts say is needed for a nuclear bomb, although he again denied any such intention.

"The Iranian nation is brave enough that if one day we wanted to build nuclear bombs we would announce it publicly without being afraid of you," Ahmadinejad said, addressing Iran's Western enemies.

He told the crowd, "When we say that we don't build nuclear bombs, it means that we won't do that because we don't believe in having it."

The United States does not believe Iran is capable of enriching uranium to that degree, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in response.

"Iran has made a series of statements that are ... based on politics, not on physics," he told reporters.

In Vienna, a think tank tracking nuclear proliferation said that "while Iran may take longer than expected to make sufficient weapons-grade uranium, few believe it will fail in that effort."

The report by David Albright and Christina Walrond of the Institute for Science and International Security said international sanctions had slowed Iran's progress but not stopped it.

Iranian State television said "tens of millions of people" rallied to support the revolution across the country of 70 million, which is facing its worst domestic crisis in three decades after a disputed presidential election.

Opposition supporters have coalesced around the reformists who lost to Ahmadinejad in the election last June, and refused to yield to government demands to halt protests.

SECURITY FORCES FIRE SHOTS

State television showed footage of hundreds of thousands of people, some carrying Iranian flags and pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walking to the square.

Khamenei later thanked the Iranian people for turning out in such numbers.

An opposition website, Iran's Green Voice, said security forces fired shots and teargas at supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi staging a Tehran counter-rally on the anniversary of the revolution that toppled the Shah.

The opposition Kaleme website said plainclothes security officers beat Mousavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, with batons when she tried to attend the rally, but she "was rescued by Mousavi's supporters."

A third website, Jaras, said security forces attacked another opposition leader, Mehdi Karoubi, and moderate former President Mohammad Khatami. It said the windows of Karoubi's car were smashed but he was not seriously hurt.

Jaras said clashes continued in Tehran's Ariashahr district and gunshots were heard.

Jaras said at least 100 mainly young protesters were detained in the northeastern city of Mashhad, and there were some "limited" clashes with security forces. It said more than 20 people were detained in the southern city of Shiraz, as anti-riot police sought to prevent protesters from gathering.

The reports could not be verified independently because journalists working for foreign media were escorted to Azadi Square and were not at liberty to cover opposition rallies.

SANCTIONS CALLS

There were no reports of the kind of violence that erupted in late December, when eight people were killed in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters.

Neither side has shown much appetite for compromise since the vote, which the opposition says was rigged to secure Ahmadinejad's re-election. The authorities insist it was fair.

Since June, thousands of people protesting the conduct of the vote have been arrested. Most have since been freed, although more than 80 people have been jailed for up to 15 years, including several senior ex-officials. In January, Iran hanged two people sentenced to death in post-vote trials. At least nine others are appealing such sentences.

The country faces growing Western calls for a new round of targeted U.N. sanctions against it after Ahmadinejad this week ordered the start of higher-grade uranium production.

The West accuses Iran of covertly trying to build nuclear bombs. Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude oil exporter, says its nuclear facilities are part of a peaceful energy program and it would retaliate for any attack on them.

France's U.N. ambassador said in New York on Thursday night that world powers discussing possible new sanctions against Iran should wait for China if necessary.

"It's totally essential to work with the Chinese, even if it means waiting a bit," Gerard Araud told an audience of academics, students and diplomats at Columbia University.

He declined to provide any details on negotiations on a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Tehran under way among the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China.

China has indicated that it is very reluctant to pursue new sanctions against Tehran, with which it has close economic ties.

Iran says it moved to produce the 20 percent enriched uranium for a Tehran research reactor making medical isotopes out of frustration at failure to reach agreement on a uranium exchange with world powers.

"By God's grace ... it was reported that the first consignment of 20 percent enriched uranium was produced and was put at the disposal of the scientists," Ahmadinejad said. "In the near future we will treble its production."

Iran had previously purified the fuel to just 3.5 percent, the level required for a nuclear power plant. Western experts say the jump to 20 percent is a technical leap toward enriching uranium to the 90 percent-plus needed for a nuclear bomb.

Iran's newly launched 20 percent nuclear fuel production was going "very well," the Islamic Republic's Atomic Energy Organization chief told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran had the capacity to enrich uranium up to a level of 100 percent. "But we never had the intention and we do not have the intention to do so, unless we need (to)," Salehi said.

(Additional reporting by Hossein Jaseb, Ramin Mostafavi and Reza Derakhshi and Lou Charbonneau in New York; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Phil Barbara and Peter Cooney)

World news: Iran | guardian.co.uk

Ian Black — 2010-02-11 20:39:22 GMT

Huge rallies hear country now 'a nuclear state' while Green movement is dealt a blow as protests are muted

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad struck a defiant note today as Iran's Islamic regime celebrated the anniversary of the 1979 revolution with a major security clampdown and huge official rallies that dealt a grave blow to supporters of the opposition Green movement.

The Iranian president told a crowd of hundreds of thousands in Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) square that Iran was now a nuclear state, having produced its first batch of uranium enriched to a higher level than before. The announcement will fuel fears that the country is getting closer to building a nuclear weapon in defiance of international demands, although Ahmadinejad flatly denied this.

"When we say we do not manufacture the bomb, we mean it, and we do not believe in manufacturing a bomb. If we wanted to manufacture a bomb, we would announce it," he said. "Iran must be free, Iran must be powerful and it must be at the forefront of technology."

State television reported that "tens of millions of people" attended rallies on the most important day in Iran's revolutionary calendar – a claim that is impossible to verify given a near total crackdown on independent media in the country of 70 million people. Outside Tehran opposition protests were reported to have taken place in Shiraz, Isfahan, Mashhad and Ahwaz. But signs were that they were relatively muted. The regime's overall control never seemed in doubt.

Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the man who claims to have beaten Ahmadinejad in last June's disputed presidential election, still managed to make their voices heard, with many reportedly calling for a referendum to resolve the continuing political crisis. But demonstrations in the capital were held well away from the route of the main pro-government rally.

Mousavi was reported by opposition websites to have been present during protests while his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, was attacked by baton-wielding militia. Mehdi Karroubi, another defeated presidential candidate, was forced to flee Tehran's Sadeghiyeh area after being attacked by security forces. Hossein Karroubi, his son, called the clampdown the "most violent in the past eight months".

However, there were few reports of the kind of violence that erupted during the Ashura festival in late December, when eight people were killed and thousands arrested in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters.

Today heavy security, intimidation and a media blackout gave the authorities the upper hand. Militiamen sealed off access routes and sprayed demonstrators with paint for ease of identification. Among those arrested were the granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini, and the brother of the former president Mohammad Khatami. Both were later released.

Iranian officials were quick to claim victory in the latest round of unrest, the worst the regime has seen in 31 years. "The massive turnout for the [official] rally …shocked the central command of the arrogant front, including the US, England and the Zionist regime," said Major General Gholam-Ali Rashid, deputy chief of Iran's armed forces. "The thinktanks of the seditionists will be destroyed for good."

Opposition websites reported a sense of disappointment as well as fear of the consequences of confronting the security forces. Many people had decided to leave Tehran for the holiday weekend. Observers said there were fewer people making V-signs or wearing the green armbands or wristbands worn by Mousavi supporters than during previous protests.

"There were 300 of us, maximum 500. Against 10,000 people," one protester told the Associated Press. "It means they won and we lost. They defeated us. They were able to gather so many people. But this doesn't mean we have been defeated for good. It's a defeat for now. We need time to regroup."

Morteza, 23, a student, said: "It's not fair. The government has all the facilities to organise their own rallies but we've not been given permission to hold one protest since the election. They bus in basiji militia from other cities to Tehran and give them free food and transportation.

"There were lots of protesters among pro-government people but they couldn't chant their slogans because the whole area was surrounded by well-equipped riot police. That's why it's difficult to say how many protesters were in streets today."

If the mood was downbeat, anger against the regime remains undiminished. "Iranians have not yet gained what they wanted 31 years ago," said Alireza, a graphic designer. "They are still suffering from dictatorship and now it has become worse because it is a religious dictatorship, as Mousavi said in his latest interview."

International attention on Iran has focused largely on the nuclear issue, with talk of a US-led diplomatic effort to impose sanctions that will force compliance. But the EU tonight expressed its "great concern" that Iranians had been prevented from expressing their views.

"The scenes of violent repression today are part of a pattern over the past few months," said Lady Ashton, high representative for foreign affairs. "Violent crackdowns on those calling for the fundamental right to freedom of expression and assembly have cost the regime the trust of its own people as well as that of the international community. The determination shown by protesters on Iran's streets clearly demonstrates the strength of their desire for democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms."

Ian Black

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Iran News

2010-02-11 10:23:49 GMT

A Pakistan News

Gulraiz — 2010-02-11 12:33:18 GMT

TEHRAN : Iran News, Iran Protests, Iranian opposition leaders Mohammad Khatami and Mehdi Karroubi were attacked and their supporters clashed with police during marches marking the Islamic revolution on Thursday, an opposition website and Karroubi’s son said. The cars of the leaders came under attack by police and plainclothes security men but neither was hurt, website [...]

ABC Nyheter - Forsiden

AFP — 2010-02-11 09:31:00 GMT

De iranske opposisjonslederne Mohammad Khatami og Mehdi Karroubi ble angrepet i sine biler under en marsj for å markere den islamske revolusjonen i Iran torsdag.

Breaking News

2010-02-11 17:40:00 GMT

Source: Telegraph (UK) (2-11-10)

Opposition leaders were attacked and security forces flooded the streets of Iran's major cities on Thursday as the authorities put down protests they feared would mar rallies to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Republic.

The three men who have become unofficial leaders of the "Green" opposition movement all faced off against police and plain-clothes government security forces as they tried to join government rallies.

There were contradictory reports as to whether Mir Hossein Moussavi, a defeated candidate in last year's presidential election, succeeded in getting through. But cars carrying another reformist candidate, Mehdi Karroubi, and a former president, Mohammad Khatami, were seen being surrounded by plain-clothed security forces....

The government rallies, an annual highlight usually marked by defiant speeches and calls of "Death to America" from huge crowds, commemorate the anniversary of the return of Ayatollah Khomeini from exile in 1979 and the subsequent flight of the Shah.

Government news agencies said tens of millions of people attended in cities across the country. Television pictures showed huge crowds in Freedom Square in Tehran. Opposition activists based abroad said they had been paid to attend, and given food.

In a lengthy speech, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told them that criticism of the regime from the West was because of its fear of Iran's "greatness and glory".

The government had been warning for days that no dissent would be tolerated....

The Guardian World News

Matthew Weaver — 2010-02-11 07:50:00 GMT

Protesters have clashed again with the Iranian security forces amid official celebrations to mark the 31st anniversary of the revolution. Follow live updates

3.26pm:
More dejection from opposition supporters, this time from NIAC, a blog representing the Iranian-American.

The post said:

It's still very early to be drawing conclusions from today's events, as people are still out in the streets. But one thing I'm struck by is just how much the government has been in control today. Sure, they chartered buses and lured tens of thousands to the official government rally with free food, but they have also managed to keep the opposition activities largely on their terms today.
The government's strategy is to depict the protesters as a small group of rioting thugs, burning trash cans and disrupting order for their own radical, "foreign-backed" agenda. Toward that end, they have been very effective at keeping the demonstrations today dispersed and nervous...
Above all else, the ruling elites know the danger of big crowds: strength in numbers takes over and individuals no longer feel like they will be held accountable for their actions, thus their demands get more radical and their tactics more extreme; this forces a harsher backlash from security forces, possibly including using lethal force...
So today's events (like previous ones) have seen security forces disrupt crowds before they can coalesce into a large group, arresting numerous individuals as a way of controlling the crowds before they get out of the police's hands.

3.04pm:
Another new video purports to show a motorcycle belonging to the security forces on fire in the midst of a fairly large opposition protest. They are chanting "Freedom, Independence and an Iranian republic" (as opposed to an Islamic Republic).

2.53pm:
A half-stripped man, presumably a protester, is shown taking a savage beating by a riot policeman in this graphic new footage. It was apparently filmed today, but as with most of these videos this is difficult to verify.

2.30pm:
Mousavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, was attacked and prevented from attending a rally in Sadeghiye Square, according to an unconfirmed report on his Facebook page. She was able to leave the area after being protected by supporters, it says.

2.04pm:
Protesters were heavily outnumbered by those at the official rally, according to AP's Tehran correspondent.

The agency talked to some dejected opposition supporters.

"There were 300 of us, maximum 500. Against 10,000 people," one protester said.

"It means they won and we lost. They defeated us. They were able to gather so many people. But this doesn't mean we have been defeated for good. It's a defeat for now, today. We need time to regroup," she said.

Another protester insisted the opposition had come out in significant numbers, but "the problem was that we were not able to gather in one place because they (security forces) were very violent."

"Maybe people got scared. Today was not a good day."

AP's sources also confirmed reports of paint ball attacks on protesters.

Riot police fired paint-filled balls at hundreds of protesters chanting opposition slogans in Sadeqieh Square, about a half-mile from the anniversary rally, witnesses said.

1.46pm:
It's very difficult to know exactly what has taken place today because the accounts differ so sharply. Compare and contrast the following. First here's an account from a caller to Radio Farda translated by blogger homylafayette.

"I was in Sadeghiyeh and though people were not holding up any symbols, I think most of them were against the regime because they wouldn't respond to the official chants from the loudspeakers.
The security forces attacked the crowd violently, with cables, batons, and gas. Where I was, I can say that the 22 Bahman celebrations did not take place. I saw a small gathering of regime supporters and even they were dispersed by the police.
The people were beaten and I even saw some seriously injured individuals. That's what happens when you're attacked with chains. But no shots were fired."

Secondly here's state-run Press TV's write up of today's events:

Millions of Iranians across the country have taken to the streets to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
Huge demonstrations were held all across the nation on Thursday in commemoration of the occasion.
In the capital Tehran, an extraordinarily high number of people from all walks of life marched across the city and gathered at Azadi (Freedom) Square to take part in the festivities. They were carrying banners denouncing the enemies of the country.
A few hundred of supporters of Iran's defeated presidential candidates also rallied in Tehran.
Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi gathered in a western Tehran district.
Police stepped up security in the area to prevent possible disturbances. Defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi was seen among the protesters.

1.31pm:
There are several reports that protesters have been shot with paint pellets so that they could be identified later. One of Karroubi's body guards was badly injured in clashes according to an unverified account which also mentions paint guns.

1.11pm:
Those attending the official rally were given free food as this video shows. One of the reasons that 22 Bahman celebrations are always well attended is because of the freebies available.

1.04pm:
Protesters have been filmed tearing down a poster of Ayatollah Khamenei and then trampling on it.

12.31pm:
The movements of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi are always hard to pin down on these protest days.

The opposition website, Iran's Green Voice, claimed he attended one of the rallies. "Eyewitnesses said that Mousavi appeared at the rally amongst ordinary citizens in a manner that made it difficult to tell him apart," it said. It gave no further details.

There also images circulating of Rafsanjani attending the official rally.

12.16pm:
Protesters have been filmed throwing stones and shouting abuse at the security forces in the video below. There also appears to be the sound of gunfire. We think the film was taken outside Evin prison in north Tehran, if you have more information please let us know (see 8am for contact details).

12.02pm:
The opposition movement has been trying to organise rallies in the main square in central Tehran at 4pm (12.30pm GMT), according to the opposition website Rahesabz.

It also reports that at least 100 protesters were arrested in the eastern city of Mashhad, and that another 20 were detained in the southern city of Shiraz in Fars province.

11.50am:
The scale of the crackdown is becoming clear. The security forces were lining up next to each other in rows eight men deep along the routes of the official rally, according to a photograph published by the opposition website rahesabz. This video also shows scores of police in riot gear.

11.39am:
Blogger homylafyette has been listening in to the callers to US-based ePersian Radio and translating what they say. One caller said listen to this and held her phone up to loud chants of "with God's help, victory is near. Death to this deceitful government."

Other callers have urged Iranians abroad to sabotage the Intelligence Ministry's hotline for informing on protesters.

11.10am:
Here are the main points so far:

• Hundreds of thousands of people have turned up for official rallies to mark the 31st anniversary of the revolution.

• President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a huge crowd in Tehran that Iran has produced its first batch of uranium enriched to a higher level.

• The opposition has also taken to the streets of Tehran and other cities.

• A massive security presence prevented protesters disrupting the main rally in Tehran, forcing them to assemble elsewhere.

• A number of protesters have been arrested, including the granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini and the brother of the former president Mohammad Khatami. Both have since been released.

10.59am:
Kalame, the opposition website closest to Mousavi, reports that opposition supporters have received threatening texts from the Iranian intelligence service telling them that today will be the last day of the unrest. The photo on the left shows an image of the text.

Similar texts have also urged people to inform on protests by texting 113 to the security forces.

10.45am:
On yet another video protesters can be heard shouting "Death to Khamenei". So far the protests seem quite limited in scale, the protesters also appear nervous.

The video below shows perhaps the largest gathering of protesters filmed so far today, but again the crowd is relatively small compared to the demonstrations last summer. They are calling for the release of prisoners.

10.37am:
Here are some of the key quotes from Ahmadinejad's speech, courtesy of AP:

"I want to announce with a loud voice here that the first package of 20% fuel was produced and provided to the scientists."
"We have the capability to enrich uranium more than 20% or 80% but we don't enrich (to this level) because we don't need it."
"When we say we do not manufacture the bomb, we mean it, and we do not believe in manufacturing a bomb. If we wanted to manufacture a bomb, we would announce it."
"God willing, daily production (of low enriched uranium) will be tripled."

10.29am:
There are reports of clashes in west and north Tehran, according to the opposition website Jaras. The first video of apparent scuffles between protesters and the security forces today has also been uploaded to YouTube.

It shows people running in panic after shouting slogans against the government.

10.13am:
The first video of protests outside Tehran today has emerged on YouTube. This appears to show demonstrators chanting protest songs in Isfahan.

And there is a report on an opposition website of a protest march in Ahwaz in the south-west of the country.

Back in Tehran, this video shows people chanting against the Basij militia.

10.04am:
Al Jazeera's Tehran correspondent Nazanine Moshiri says she has witnessed opposition supporters chanting against the regime. But she said the security forces prevented them gathering at the official rally in Azadi square.

9.54am:
Human rights abuses against opposition supporters have been even more flagrant than previously thought, according to a new report. Human Rights Watch has documented the abuses which included extra-judicial killings; rapes and torture; violations of the rights to freedom of assembly and expression; and thousands of arbitrary arrests and detentions during the nine months since last June's elections.

There is more on a Guardian project to put faces to all those killed and detained in the protests.

9.39am:
Video footage is emerging of people chanting anti-government slogans on the Metro. Our translator, who shall remain nameless to protect his identity, says they are singing an old revolutionary song that is traditionally sung on 22 Bahman (11 February) celebrations. But they substituted the words "traitor shah" for "traitor leader".

And this video shows state-run TV footage of Ahmadinejad's speech. The broadcasters cut the sound when chants of "death to the dictator" became audible.

9.35am:
The usually reliable Twitter user Oxfordgirl reports that protesters are now moving towards the headquarters of State TV and Evin prison in northern Tehran. You can read an interview I did with Oxfordgirl here.

9.25am:
This video appears to show numerous buses used to drive Ahmadinejad's supporters to the official rally.

Another shows protesters chanting "Death to Russia" which is seen as an ally of the Iranian government.

9.17am:
The first videos of the protests have been uploaded to YouTube (credit again to YouTube user onlymehdi who has been consistently fast in uploading such footage).

This video shows people chanting "referendum, referendum". The demonstration appears to be taking place in front of Sadeghieh metro station in west Tehran, near where Karroubi was planning a demonstration.

Another video shows people chanting support for Mir Hossein Mousavi.

8.57am:
The security forces are preventing the people from reaching Enghelab and 7 Tir Squares and clashes have been reported around Baharestan Square, according to an impressive new live blog in English and Farsi by astreetjournalist.com.

Live blogger homylaftayette has published a map showing the routes of the official rallies.

8.50am:
A full impromptu translation of Ahmadinejad's speech, complete with asides and reaction from the crowd has been posted on Twitlonger.

8.41am:
Opposition supporters chanting "death to the dictator" have just been heard by my Farsi-speaking colleague listening to a radio broadcast of Ahmadinejad's speech.

During the speech Ahmadinejad announced that Iran has produced its first package of highly enriched uranium.

Iran is now a "nuclear state" and had produced its first batch of 20% enriched uranium, AP quoted him as saying.

8.28am:
Riot police have shot at protesters in the Ariashahr area of central Tehran after people chanted slogans against the supreme leader Ayatollah Khameni, according to the opposition website Rahesabz.

The granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini, has been arrested according to Reuters, citing an opposition website. She is also the sister-in-law of the reformist ex-president Khatami.

The Jaras website said Zahra Eshraqi and her husband Mohammad Reza Khatami, were detained during the rallies. Jaras said the son of a leading opposition figure Mehdi Karroubi was also detained.

There are also reports on Twitter of clashes between protesters and riot police in the city of Isfahan, south of Tehran.

8.05am:
CNN is showing live footage of Ahmadinejad speaking in front of hundreds of thousands of his supporters in Azadi Square. This is state TV footage, but the regime certainly appears to have succeeded in getting out its supporters in huge numbers for what is the most important day in the Iranian calendar.

Meanwhile, there are reports on opposition websites that one of the opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi has been attacked. His son Hossein confirmed that his father has been attacked by Basiji militia in Ashrafi Isfahani Street in Tehran.

Mohammad Reza Khatami, the brother of the former president, has been arrested, according to the opposition website Rahesabz.

In a further sign of the crackdown Iran's telecommunications agency has announced the suspension of access to Google's email service Gmail.

8.00am:
The Iranian opposition has been gearing up for another day of protests amid mounting international concern about Iran's nuclear ambitions. State television has shown images of tens of thousands of people attending the official rally in Azadi square to hear a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The regime seems more determined than ever to stamp out protests and news of protests, as it celebrates the 31st anniversary of the revolution.

"Iran's security forces have adopted all the necessary measures in preparation for the day," the semi-official Fars news agency announced.

There have been more arrests, reports of Basij being bused into Tehran, and it has been ominously difficult to contact people in Iran, amid continuing restrictions on the internet.

On a practical level the regime appears ready to drown out the chants of protesters by installing loud speakers along Azadi (Freedom) Street, the route of one of the planned protests towards Azadi Square (just visible in the background of this picture).

The opposition website Rahesabz says Basij militia stayed last night in Sharif University close to Azadi Square.

The map below shows proposed routes of one of the rallies marked in green. The area shaded in blue shows where speeches may be held. The text asks protesters try to be at the square by 9am (6.30am GMT). But the official rally also appears to be taking place in Azadi Square, with Ahmadinejad due to speak there soon.

The opposition movement has been considering mounting two alternative rallies in northern Tehran if the security services block the square. One possible location is Evin prison, where many of the protesters from previous demonstrations have been held. The other is Jam-e-jam close to the headquarters of the state TV station.

There is a virtual media blackout in Iran which means that reliable information is difficult to obtain, so if you are in Iran and have news, please email me at matthew.weaver@guardian.co.uk or for a more secure encrypted message email me at matthew_weaver@hushmail.com and please post updates or interesting links in the comments section below.

Matthew Weaver

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

World News Australia

2010-02-11 09:24:24 GMT

Iranian opposition leaders Mohammad Khatami and Mehdi Karroubi were attacked and their supporters clashed with police during marches marking the Islamic revolution, according to reports.

Booman Tribune

2010-02-11 15:15:04 GMT

Why have the Iranian Government and its senior officials (including President Ahmadinejad) been announcing all sorts of advances in enrichment of uranium, and taunting the West about it's potential nuclear prowess recently? The answer may have far less to do with Iran's so-called desire to destroy Israel and far more with the domestic political scene in Iran, one in which the political opposition is still staging mass protests against Ahmadinejad's right to govern. The anniversary of the 1979 revolution has become a test of strength between Mr. Ahmadinejad and an opposition movement that took root after the elections, creating the biggest political challenge since the fall of the shah. Apart from the crackdown on the streets, the authorities on Wednesday drastically slowed Internet service in Iran and shut down text messaging services. One official said that Gmail, the Google e-mail service, would be blocked. But news reports indicated that the measures had not kept protesters off the streets. An Iranian opposition Web site said security forces fired shots and tear gas at supporters of an opposition leader, Mir Hussein Moussavi, as they mounted a counter-rally in central Tehran. “Security forces opened fired at protesters and fired tear gas in central Tehran,” Reuters quoted the Green Voice Web site as saying, citing witnesses. Another opposition Web site, Jaras, said that security forces attacked another opposition leader, Mehdi Karoubi, when he attended a rally marking the anniversary. Jaras also said security forces attacked former President Mohammad Khatami and briefly arrested his brother and his brother’s wife, who is a granddaughter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Revolution. The authorities had warned that they intended to confront protesters harshly. Witnesses quoted by The A.P. said the police deployed hundreds of officers in central Tehran to block protests. The confluence of the protests and Mr. Ahmadinejad’s nuclear claims offered a graphic illustration of how much Iran’s foreign policy is being driven by domestic concerns, analysts said. Much like any government without a popular mandate, Iran's rulers have seized upon the one issue that distracts any nation's populace from internal debate and dissent regarding their legitimacy: by ginning up the bogeyman of external threats from foreign "enemies." We in America saw the way the Bush administration, in reaction to far less turbulent protests of its policies, played the fear of "Terrorism" and "Islamofascism" again and again to diminish and weaken its domestic political opponents. Thus, we should not be surprised when Ahmadinejad stirs the nuclear pot presumably with the support of Iran's Supreme Ruler, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They are a regime under siege from within after committing massive election fraud to prevent a less conservative leader, Mir Hussein Moussavi, from being elected last summer. It would be well for all who see Iran's recent announcements regarding its space and nuclear programs as evidence of an impending nuclear threat to realize that what is driving the regime's actions and rhetoric at this point is its decision to play the "patriot" card to wean its people away from the internal political opposition movement that threatens its right to rule. When our leaders ratchet up their rhetorical response to Ahmadinejad, they are playing his game, one that has far less to do with us and far more to do with tarring internal dissenters as traitors to the Islamic Revolution. Because, as we know all too well here in the US, illegitimate leaders love to claim that any opposition to their abuses of power constitutes treason, and the easiest way to do advance that political strategy is to claim that since one's nation is "at war" all true "patriots" should support their President.

FP Passport

Joshua Keating — 2010-02-11 13:24:14 GMT

Ahmadinejad declares Iran a "nuclear state" as protests rage

Top news: Huge crowds gathered in central Tehran today for the 31st anniversary of the Iranian revolution as opposition protesters clashed with security forces and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a major announcement about the country's nuclear program.

Saying that Iran is now a "nuclear state," Ahmadinejad announced that the country has produced its first batch of 20 percent enriched uranium, but again denied that Iran seeks nuclear weapons.

"We have the capability to enrich uranium more than 20 percent or 80 percent but we don't enrich (to this level) because we don't need it," he said. 90 percent enriched uranium is needed to produce a bomb.

As Ahmadinejad spoke, police fired tear gas to disperse the opposition demonstrators who again used a major public gathering as an opportunity to protest. Authorities blocked roads and stationed police and Basij militia to block the protests. The crackdown extended to cyberspace too where Internet access was slow and the Gmail e-mail service was blocked.

Opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and former President Mohammad Khatami were reportedly attacked by security forces while trying to attend the demonstrations.

The Obama administration on Wednesday slapped new sanctions on companies affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Economy: The European parliament rejected a deal to share bank data with the United States.

Europe

European leaders reached a deal to help Greece recover from its debt crisis.
Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential election loser Yulia Tymoshenko appeared in public for the first time this week, but still refused to concede.
Russian security forces killed 10 militants in Ingushetia, according to local reports.

Asia

U.S. marines and Taliban exchanged fire ahead of a planned major offensive in Helmand.
Japan's foreign minister apologized for the occupation of Korea.
China has denied the appeal of jailed political activist Liu Xiaobo.

Middle East

Iraq has ordered hundreds of Blackwater security guards to leave the country.
Israel has begun rerouting its separation barrier to restore land to a Palestinian village after a supreme court ruling.
Egyptian textile unions clashed with riot police over the planned privatization of a factory.

Africa

South Africa celebrated the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's release from prison.
Nigeria's interim leader Goodluck Jonathan removed the country's justice minister.
At least 11 civilians were killed in fighting in Mogadishu.

Americas

Haiti has retracted to earthquake death toll of 270,000 released yesterday and it's unclear what the latest estimate is..
A Haitian judge is likely to rule today on whether the 10 U.S. missionaries charged with kidnapping will face trial.
The former dictator of Uruguay was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images

The Corner on National Review Online

webmaster@nationalreview.com (NRO Staff) — 2010-02-10 18:12:49 GMT

For 30 years, the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution has been an occasion for Iran’s Khomeinist rulers to demonstrate their power with a mixture of military parades and mass gatherings in the capital (Tehran) and other major cities. The highlight of the show has always been the appearance of the “Supreme Guide,” flanked by the regime’s grandees, at Tehran’s largest square to deliver a sermon in a ceremony called “renewal of bonds.”

This year, however, the Khomeinist rulers are nervous.

To start with, they have decided to keep the Supreme Guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, away from the main ceremony. Although the crowds will consist mostly of rent-a-mob elements, many of them shipped to Tehran from the provinces, no one can guarantee the kind of sheep-like discipline that has marked such gatherings in previous years. Today Iran is in a decidedly insurrectionary mood. With hundreds of figures from past governments, including two former presidents and one former prime minister, having joined the opposition, along with scores of former lawmakers, there is every possibility that even supposedly loyal crowds could switch sides on the spur of the moment.

The Khomeinist establishment, or at least what is left of it, has been debating strategy for the anniversary for weeks. The more radical faction -- led by Gen. Mohammad-Ali Aziz Jaafari, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, and backed by Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- has been urging a mass crackdown against the opposition. According to sources in Tehran, Jaafari has presented a plan code-named “Tanzih” (Eradication), which envisages the arrest of some 3,000 opposition activists, including former president Mohammad Khatami and former prime minister Mir-Hussein Mussavi. The plan would also authorize the Revolutionary Guard and the paramilitary Basij (Mobilization) street fighters to crush any mass demonstration by force, even if that means producing a bloodbath.

General Jaafari is said to favor a “Chinese-style” crackdown to silence the growing pro-democracy movement. During the past six weeks he has been shipping units into Tehran and its environs and positioning Basij fighters, often in civilian clothes, at sensitive points. By Thursday he will have over 100,000 men in the capital.

His forces have set up a special headquarters, named “Simorgh” after a mythical Persian bird, with one of Jaafari’s aides, Asghar Abkhizr, at its head. Simorgh has announced two days of free travel on all trains, private and public coaches and buses, and taxis for those wishing to come to Tehran for the occasion. In every case, however, only those whose loyalties are ascertained by the Guard will be allowed to reach the capital.

At a press conference in Tehran yesterday, Abkhizr announced that pro-regime demonstrations would take place at 33 locations in Tehran. This is part of an unofficial agreement with the opposition to prevent clashes between rival crowds. Tehran’s longest thoroughfare, Revolution Street, will divide Tehran into two halves. The northern half will be open to the opposition to hold its rival demonstrations. The southern half will be totally covered by pro-regime crowds.

The subtext of all this is that while the regime is prepared to tolerate some opposition demonstrations in parts of the capital, it will not allow the pro-democracy movement to contact and thus “contaminate” pro-regime elements shipped in from all over the country.

Some sources in Tehran fear that the Guard and the Basij may stage-manage clashes between rival crowds as a pretext for crushing the opposition Chinese-style. Pro-Ahmadinejad newspapers in Tehran are clamoring for a “tough stance to end the sedition once and for all.” Yet others within the regime have made no secret of their opposition to a Tiananmen-style massacre. Ali Larijani, speaker of the Islamic Majlis, Iran’s ersatz parliament, and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the mayor of Tehran and a general in the Revolutionary Guard, have called for a “political solution” rather than a massacre in the streets of the capital.

The final decision rests with Khamenei, who appears to be wavering.

The announcement this week that Tehran has started to enrich uranium to an even higher grade, in defiance of five resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council, may be seen as a further move by the radical faction to mobilize its base.

Concern that Tehran may witness a bloodbath this week is not confined to Iran itself. In a rare show of harmony yesterday, the 27-member European Union and the United States warned the Khomeinist regime not to opt for a bloody crackdown. The pro-democracy movement has welcomed the U.S.-EU joint statement as a sign that the major democracies may have started shedding their illusions about persuading the Khomeinist regime to abide by international law and respect the human rights of its citizens.

The coming showdown in Tehran could mark a new phase in the struggle for the future of Iran. A bloodbath could actually hasten the demise of the regime, for Iran today is not what China was in 1989. If the scenario for separate demonstrations by pro-regime and pro-democracy marches is allowed to proceed, the existence of two mutually exclusive visions of Iran will be further highlighted. Even if nothing spectacular happens, the fact that regime has lost its popular base and is forced to rely on coercive forces and rent-a-mob crowds would further undermine its legitimacy.

— Amir Taheri is an Iranian-born journalist based in Europe, and author of The Persian Night: Iran Under the Khomeinist Revolution.

Iran OR Ahmadinejad OR Mousavi. - Google Blog Search

Scott Lucas — 2010-02-09 06:53:30 GMT

0655 GMT: Amidst the articles on Iran this morning, full marks to Reza Aslan at The Daily Beast as he previews 22 Bahman and puts the President's nuclear move in its place: “Ahmadinejad is trying everything in his power to change the ... Both Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mohammad Khatami used meetings and interviews to reiterate demands and determination, while making clear that their approach was not tainted by foreign intervention and within the framework of the Republic. ...

Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7

DPA — 2010-02-08 20:25:47 GMT

TEHRAN - Former Iranian deputy foreign minister Mohsen Aminzadeh has been given a six-year jail term for his involvement in the post-election protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, opposition websites reported Monday. Aminzadeh, who served under the reformist president Mohammad Khatami, was a supporter of Green Movement leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi in last June’s presidential election. Aminzadeh was .... Source article : Iranian opposition leader sentenced six-year jail.

The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

The Huffington Post News Editors — 2010-02-08 14:17:00 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's supreme leader vowed Monday to deliver a "punch in the mouth" to the country's enemies if the opposition goes ahead with major new protests planned for this week, as a senior pro-reform figure was sentenced to six years in prison over postelection unrest.

The opposition has called for a large turnout for protests on Thursday to coincide with celebrations for the 31st anniversary of Iran's Islamic revolution. Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is determined to participate in the demonstration, a step that could escalate tensions, his Web site reported Monday.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced the opposition as "counterrevolutionaries" being used by the country's enemies, the United States, Britain and Israel, and vowed that Iranian unity in support of the Islamic revolution would defeat them.

Iranians "will punch (them) in their mouths to shock them," Khamenei said.

The opposition, he said, was not a part of the Iranian people. "Today, it is clear that those who stand against the great job done by the Iranian nation in the election, are not a part of the people" of Iran.

The opposition claims that Mousavi was the rightful winner of June 12 presidential elections and that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory was fraudulent. Street protests have persisted despite a heavy crackdown by security forces in which hundreds have been arrested.

In the past month, two people have been executed, and death sentences have been announced against nine others accused in the postelection unrest – moves widely seen as an attempt by the court to intimidate protesters.

The semiofficial ISNA agency said Monday that former deputy foreign minister Mohsen Aminzadeh was sentenced to six years in prison by a Revolutionary court – one of the most senior figures yet to be sentenced from a group of 100 reform activists and politicians in a mass trial from the postelection crackdown.

Aminzadeh's lawyer, Abbas Shiri, told ISNA his client was convicted of conspiring to "disturb security" and "spreading propaganda" against the ruling Islamic establishment. Aminzadeh served during the 1997-2005 administration of former pro-reform president Mohammad Khatami.

Gen. Ahmad Reza Radan, the deputy chief of Iran's police, warned the opposition against demonstrations on Thursday, saying slogans and banners deviating from the message of commemorating the 1979 Islamic reovlution will not be tolerated.

He said the paramilitary Basij, the feared street wing of the elite Revolutionary Guard, would be deployed to provide "order and security during the ceremony."

Mousavi, meanwhile, rallied supporters behind the demonstrations.

"While our beloved friends, classmates and teachers are in prison we will take to the streets Thursday with our green signs and show hard-liners we will deliver the Islamic republic from their jail, sooner or later," he told a group of students, according to his Web site, Kaleme.

Opposition supporters, he said, would avoid violence in Thursday's protest.

Thursday's are expected to be the largest protests since tens of thousands turned out for street marches in late December, held to coincide with a major religious holiday Ashoura. Those turned into the most violent clashes since the summer, with at least eight people killed in fighting between protesters and security forces.

Iran OR Ahmadinejad OR Mousavi. - Google Blog Search

Carl in Jerusalem — 2010-02-07 16:25:00 GMT

Iran blames the Jooos for the opposition. No great surprise here: The Ahmadinejad regime is blaming the Jooos for the existence of the opposition Green movement in its country. The regime, evidently anxious about the increasing strength of ... Fars News Agency released pictures of demonstrators in support of the regime, holding pictures of three reform leaders (Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karoubi and Mohammad Khatami) on the three points of a Star of David with the sign ...

Iran OR Ahmadinejad OR Mousavi. - Google Blog Search

Scott Lucas — 2010-02-06 08:08:54 GMT

Inviting foreign journalists to provide media coverage of the anniversary of the 1979 revolution on February 11, 2010 is another part of the deceitful plan of Ahmadinejad's illegal administration. ... The Allaho Akbar cries that will fill the night in Iranian towns will be the cries of people's protests and the start of the march of million green Iranians who will fill the streets at the invitation of Mohammad Khatami, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi. ...

FRONTLINE: Tehran Bureau | PBS

2010-02-04 20:53:53 GMT

Press Roundup provides a selected summary of news from the Iranian press, and excerpts where the source is in English. The link to the news organization or blog is provided at the top of each item. Tehran Bureau has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Please refer to the Media Guide to help put the story in perspective.

China warns against talks of Iran sanctions
PressTV| Feb 4

China has warned world powers against threatening Iran with sanctions over its nuclear energy program, saying such a move could prove to be counterproductive.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Thursday that threats of sanctions will make it harder to find a diplomatic solution to the Western disputes over Tehran's nuclear program.

"To talk about sanctions at the moment will complicate the situation and might stand in the way of finding a diplomatic solution," Yang said during a visit to France.

He added that Beijing wants the continuation of direct talks between Tehran and the so-called P5+1 -- the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

While the West is resolute on imposing more sanction on Iran, China and Russia insist that dialogue is the best way to resolve the issue.

"All countries, Iran included if they obey by IAEA rules, have a right to a peaceful use of nuclear energy," said Yang.

Washington and its allies accuse Tehran of pursuing a military nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), however, has repeatedly said that it has found no evidence supporting the allegation.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, confirming the non-diversion of nuclear material in the country's functional and under-construction plants.

Iran also denies the allegation, saying that it needs nuclear energy to produce electricity to meet the country's growing demand.

Taiwanese man charged in US with Iran exports
Washington Post| Feb 4

MIAMI -- A Taiwanese man has been arrested on charges of exporting a series of prohibited items to Iran, including missile components and engines that can be used in unmanned military drones, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Yi-Lan Chen, 40, arranged at least 30 banned shipments to Iran since 2007, according to an affidavit by a U.S. Commerce Department enforcement agent. Most involved "dual use" items that have both commercial and military applications.

"The dual use items allegedly exported in this case could easily be used in missile development and other military components," said acting U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sloman.

Arrested this week in Guam, Chen waived extradition at a hearing Thursday and will be flown to Miami to face trial, prosecutors said. Court records did not show an attorney yet for Chen, who runs a company in Taiwan called Landstar Tech.
ad_icon

The Commerce Department's Office of Export Enforcement field office in Miami is involved in several investigations of Iranian entities seeking to obtain banned products from the U.S.

Chen was arrested after arranging to meet with the undercover agent in Guam on Wednesday.

If convicted, Chen faces up to 20 years in prison and $1 million in fines.

Petraeus says strike on Iran could spark nationalism
Reuters | Feb. 3, 2010

A military strike on Iran could have the unintended consequence of stirring nationalist sentiment to the benefit of Tehran's hard-line government, U.S. General David Petraeus told Reuters.

Iran's June election gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term but sparked the worst internal crisis in the Islamic Republic's history, putting internal pressure on a government already facing the threat of more sanctions over its nuclear program.

"There is certainly a history, in other countries, of fairly autocratic regimes almost creating incidents that inflame nationalist sentiment. So that could be among the many different, second, third, or even fourth order effects (of a strike)."

Tensions over Iran's nuclear program have set off speculation that Israel could make good on veiled threats to hit its arch-foe pre-emptively. But Israel's envoy to Washington said in December the U.S.-Israeli dialogue on Iran has not reached the point of discussing the military option.

U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, have warned that any strike on Iran would not stop the Islamic Republic from pursuing nuclear weapons. Instead, it would only delay Tehran, an opinion Petraeus said he shared.

Petraeus, commenting on advances of Iran's nuclear program, said: "On the one hand, there is no question that there has been a continuation of various aspects of the nuclear program but I'm not sure it has always proceeded as rapidly as has been projected at various times."

Kahrizak doctor's final cause of death announced
Fararu| Feb.3

The Medical Examiners office announced prescription drug overdose as the Kahrizak doctor's cause of death.

"As we previously announced through judicial authorities, the coroner has announced the cause of the Kahrizak doctor's death as poisoning with [prescription] medication and the report has been sent to authorities," said chief medical examiner Hassan Abedi.

When asked why the ME's office had earlier announced the Kahrizak doctor's cause of death to be homicide or suicide, Abedi expressed surprise.

"I do not know anything about the Kahrizak doctor's homicide or suicide and this is a matter that judicial authorities or the judge should look into."

Preachers want Mashai to keep quiet for one year
Khabaronline| Feb. 3

One week after Esfandyar Rahim Mashai's speech in front of members of the Preachers' Society, state news agencies continue to use the incident to write in support of the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chief of staff.

According to khabaronline, many of the participants in last week's gathering have not been satisfied with Mashai's explanations and some of the participants have requested that Mashai does not speak publicly for at least a year.

Meanwhile, one news agency in a guided interview claimed that the members of the Preachers Society had asked Mashai for forgiveness for misjudging him.

Vaez-Tabasi: Why are seditionists blind?
Tabnak |Feb. 3

The Leader's representative in Khorasan Province, Ayatollah Abbas Vaez-Tabasi, said those who accuse the current Iranian leaders of dictatorship should have experienced the Pahlavi-era repression.

Addressing a crowd of schoolboys in Mashhad of Wednesday, the caretaker of the Razavi Shrine said, "God will not forgive those who accuse the current Iranian leaders of dictatorship; if you had experienced the pre-Revolution situation you would have understood what repression and tyranny means."

"During the Pahlavi era no one dared say a simple sentence that could be considered impolite about the Shah," ISNA quoted Vaez-Tabasi as saying.

"Why are the seditionists blind? Why are they ignoring their human and Islamic conscience in their quest for power and cannot see this free atmosphere that is allowing the younger generation room for growth, development and advancement? Why are they not proud of the establishment's achievements and [our] national accomplishments? They
are entranced by the foreigners. Of course God Willing it is only because of their ignorance."

"Today if one member of the movement opposing the establishment speaks
in my praise, I will be under scrutiny and I will ask myself what have
I done to cause someone against the establishment to praise me. How is
it possible that the heads of Western countries voice support for one
or two individuals, and one who is devoted to the nation, and the
prominence and independence of this country; who loves the leader of
this Islamic society and the constitution does not shudder upon
hearing such words of praise."

"Our dear youth must be thankful for this [positive] atmosphere. I do
not want to say we have no problems and I do not want to say I have no
criticism about the management [of the country] but we must make
calculated judgments and add up the positive and negative points
before giving a score [to the performance of the government]," added
Vaez-Tabasi, who is also a member of the Expediency Council.

The veteran cleric closed by advising against being influenced by
rumors about and insults hurled at the prominent members of the
establishment.

Khatami says letter to Leader was confidential

fararu| Feb 2

A reformist website reported that former president Mohammad Khatami wrote a nine-page letter to Iran's Leader, which was hand delivered Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in the month of Ramadan.

According to Parlemannews, the letter contained Khatami's analysis of the incidents that took place on election day and after the vote.

Khatami concluded his letter by offering a list of solutions he believed would help the country exit its current crisis.

Following the publication of reports on Khatami's letter and speculation about its content, the former Iranian president expressed his dissatisfaction with the rumors, stressing that his letter was a private one and not intended for the public.

Khatami added that he has not revealed the contents of the letter or the response he received as it is morally incorrect for him to be the one to go public with this information.

Ban lifted on parlemannews website
Parleman News>/a<| Feb. 2

The ban on the website belonging to Reformist members of the Iranian parliament has been lifted.

According to reports, following talks between high-ranking members of the Majlis minority bloc and authorities the filtering applied to Parlemannews was lifted.

cartoon
http://news.gooya.com/columnists/archives/099926.php

Ahmadinejad hails Iran's aerospace achievements

Iran fires satellite carrier into space

Prosecutor : Death sentence not final for 9 rioters
|Feb. 2

Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi said the appeals court has yet to confirm the guilt of the nine individuals sentenced to death for moharebeh (militancy).

"As soon as we receive the verdict of the appeals court we will make an announcement," Dolatabadi told ISNA.

Regarding the assassination of physicist Dr. Ali Mohammadi, Dolatabadi said, "Investigations are ongoing in this case and as soon as we reach a conclusion we will make an announcement."

GroundReport.com

2010-02-02 18:11:34 GMT

They say it weakens their role and status at home and in society.

By Sahar Sepehri in Washington (MR No. 22, 01-Feb-10)

Iranian women’s groups and other rights organisations are fighting a much discussed proposed law which they say would encourage polygamy by allowing a man to take a second wife without the permission of the first in certain circumstances.

The proposal comes at a time when the country has been rocked by protests, in which women have played a major part, following the disputed re-election last June of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Although Sharia law permits a man to take up to four wives, polygamy is not widely practiced in Iran and women have enjoyed greater rights and freedoms than in some other Muslim countries. At present, an Iranian man needs his first wife’s permission to take a second.

A so-called Family Protection Law, proposed by the government in 2008, said a man could marry a second wife on condition only that he could afford both wives financially. The parliament dropped that clause following a wave of opposition from women but is now reconsidering a different version of the provision.

The spokesman for the parliament’s Judicial and Legal Commission, Amir Hussein Rahimi, announced recently that the commission had now approved article 23 of the proposed Family Protection Law that said, “A man can marry a second wife under ten conditions.”

The new version still requires the first wife to give permission, though controversially this would not be required under certain conditions, such as if she is mentally ill, or suffers from infertility, a chronic medical condition or drug addiction, in which case the husband can marry another woman. Also if the first wife does not cooperate sexually, the husband can take another wife.

The change is being promoted by conservative members of the parliament as a move that supports Islamic law. A leading conservative deputy, Ali Motahari, said in parliament last year, “Polygamy is Islam’s honour.”

Iranian women still oppose the legalisation of polygamy, saying it weakens their role and status at home and in society. Shahla Ezazi, professor of sociology at Allameh Tabatabai University, conducted a survey in 2008 which showed that 96 per cent of Iranian women do not approve of allowing a man to take a rival wife.

The original plan was dropped after a group of intellectuals, religious, social and human rights activists created a movement to voice their opposition to the law. In September 2008, a group of 50 well-known women, including poet Simin Behbahani, politician Azam Taleghani and lawyer and Noble prize winner Shirin Ebadi, met representatives from the parliament to express their concerns about what they called “an anti-family protection law”.

Islamic organisations such as the Zeinab Association and the Women’s Organisation of the Islamic Revolution also supported the movement. In addition, organisations such as the One Million Signatures campaign, which opposes discrimination against women, played a significant role in mobilising public opinion.

The law was also controversial among government officials and several reformists protested against it openly. Iran’s former president, Mohammad Khatami, called it “persecution”. Even a leading cleric, Grand Ayatollah Yousef Sanei, stated, “If the first wife does not permit her husband to take another wife, the marriage will not be legitimate, even if a man can support both wives financially.”

Nevertheless, the speaker of the parliament, Ali Larijani, has declared that it will consider a slightly amended version of the controversial article.

A lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, “When a government imprisons the women who ask for a change of discriminatory laws, and it persistently proposes a law that encourages men to marry a second wife, it is only natural that women don’t trust such a government.”

A young member of the Centre for Iranian Women, Taraneh Bani Yaghoub, said, “The women’s movement will not remain quiet.”

Iran’s first law that recognised polygamy according to Islamic Sharia law was passed when Reza Shah, who ruled between 1925 and 1941, was in power. In 1970, women activists demanded the secular government of Mohammad Reza Shah outlaw polygamy but despite the government’s positive reaction to their demand, clerics prevented it. In 1975, an alternative was adopted that polygamy was permitted under certain conditions, such as obtaining the first wife’s permission.

Much has changed in Iran since the 1976, when only 36 per cent of women were literate. Now, according to the Statistical Centre of Iran, 80 per cent of women are educated, and almost 1.6 million are university students – half the total and compared to 46,000 in 1976. Women’s education has also brought about a drastic change in their demographic behaviour. A woman’s average age on marriage is 24 while in 1976 it was 18 and the birth rate has dropped by one third compared to 30 years ago.

In addition, despite government restrictions on women, the number of female professionals has increased at around six per cent a year, so that about 2.5 million women were working in 2006, according to official statistics. A large group of educated women – scientists, doctors, academics, writers, artists, cinematographers, lawyers – has shaped today’s Iranian society. For years, these women have demanded legal and social rights and equal treatment with men. They have resisted any law that weakens their rights or degrades their position in society.

They say the proposed new law on polygamy is intolerable, also in the light of other laws on, for instance, divorce, fixed-term marriage contracts for men (or Sighehs), and child custody. Under Iranian divorce law, men can split from their wives under any circumstance, whereas women must have a “valid justification” such as the man’s addiction to drugs. Married men can have as many Sighehs as they wish, whereas women are stoned to death if they have an extramarital affair. In most cases, men also get custody of the children.

While women are angry with the proposed new law, they have also been disappointed by the reaction of key figures of the opposition movement. A recent statement signed by a group of women activists accused defeated presidential contenders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi of ignoring women’s rights and even their existence in their political manifestos. “We believe that women’s issues are a major part of the current crisis and no solution will be achieved unless this issue is included,” they said.

Sahar Sepehri is a journalist and media analyst based in Washington, DC.

TweetMeme - Political News

twitter:@enduringamerica — 2010-02-02 05:36:46 GMT

0630 GMT: Three prominent Iranian authors have been arrested: Reza Khandan, Omid Montazeri, and Alireza Saqafi.0620 GMT: So the big news from the 1st day of the commemorations of the 1979 Islamic Revolution? There was no big news.Perhaps the most notable development was former President Mohammad Khatami joining the calls, albeit implicitly, for people to rally on 22 Bahman on 11 February (see…

0 comments Source: enduringamerica.com

iran election - Google News

2010-02-01 10:14:31 GMT

GulfNews

Iran's Green Revolution leaders seek compromise with Supreme Leader
World Socialist Web Site
Shortly thereafter, Mohammad Khatami, Iran's president from 1997 to 2004 and one of the principal sponsors of Mousavi's election campaign, issued an even ...
Iran opposition leaders call for protestsCNN
Iran warns protesters as post-vote trial startsReuters
Iran pays homage to KhomeiniSydney Morning Herald
AFP -BBC News -www.worldbulletin.net
all 443 news articles »

FRONTLINE: Tehran Bureau | PBS

2010-01-30 23:05:56 GMT

Shadow of Extra-Judicial Executions Looms Large over Dissidents

IHR | Jan. 31, 2010

Sixteen defendants currently facing a "show trial" in Tehran have been selected to intimidate specific groups of dissidents and pave the way for applying the charge of Mohareb, or "enemy of God," to large numbers of dissidents and protestors, charges that can lead to their execution, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. Five of the sixteen defendants prosecuted in the post-Ashura trials of 30 January face the death penalty, having been charged with that crime.

"After the extra-judicial massacre of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, large scale executions of dissidents again loom before Iranians and the world community, this time after transparently political show trials. These trials do not adhere to the most basic standards if justice and rely on the charge of Mohareb to justify sending peaceful dissidents to the gallows," said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign's spokesperson.

According to the ISNA news agency, the prosecutor read the charges against the 16 defendants individually (see below). While five of the defendants were charged as Mohareb, the charges against others included assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against national security and propaganda against the state, charges the Campaign believes are arbitrarily applied to convict critics of the government.

On 29 January, one day after two political prisoners (Arash Rahmani Pour and Mohammad Ali Zamani) were hanged, the hardline cleric and member of the Guardian Council, Ayatollah Ali Jonati welcomed these executions. Given his prominent position amongst the ruling elite's "hardliner" faction, his statement is interpreted as a green light for further political executions. He explicitly stated that if widespread executions had taken place following the post- election unrest, the protests would not have been prolonged. Addressing the head of the Judiciary, Jonati said at Friday prayers in Tehran: "For God's sake, just as you expedited these two executions, continue on like a man and bravo for these actions."

The authorities did not release the names of the 16 defendants. However, Shekoofeh Montazeri told the Campaign that her brother, Omid Montazeri was amongst those prosecuted in court on 30 January. Shekoofeh's mother, Mahin Fahimi, and her brother Omid Montazeri have been in detention for over a month. Mahin Fahimi is a member of the group Mothers for Peace.

Regarding the statements made in court today, Shekoofeh said that Omid Montazeri 's so-called confession, as reported by Iranian news agencies that identified him only by his initials and as "defendant number three," was not consistent with her brother's usual way of speaking and suggested he had been under physical and psychological pressures. Omid is a journalist and a poet who was detained along with his mother on 28 December 2009. His father was a political prisoner who was executed during the massacre of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.

Shekoofeh Montazeri told the Campaign that her brother has been in incommunicado detention, except for two extremely brief phone calls lasting no more than a minute. She rejected the charges against Omid and said that since the execution of their father in 1988, the family has had no relations with any political groups.

According to reports published in Iranian media, no evidence has been presented against the first three defendants except their admissions that they participated in peaceful protests, and they clearly stated they had no role in violent actions or destruction of property. The only evidence presented against them was one's membership in a student group and their internet communications.

Defendant number two was quoted as telling the court: "Mr. Prosecutor told me to speak here such that it would influence the thinking of those people who are outside."

The Campaign believes that the latest "show trials" are intended to intimidate any citizens who are planning to demonstrate on the anniversary of the Iranian revolution on 11 February. The selection of the 16 defendants appears to address a representative range of political tendencies present in the society at large.

These prosecutions take place as four members of the student association Daftar-e Tahkim (Office to Foster Unity) and seven members of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, as well as many ordinary detained protestors, are facing the charge of Mohareb for allegedly having relations with the opposition group Mojahedin-e Khalq. None of these detainees have access to lawyers, and according to brief calls they have made to their families, they are under heavy pressure to make false confessions.

"Members of the international community were surprised at how the Islamic Republic moved ahead with the two executions of last week to intimidate the protest movement. Both those men were detained well before the elections and were promised if they made false confessions they would be released. Now the international community should know that the Iranian authorities are determined to keep executing innocent people to silence the protest movement," Ghaemi said.

"If we are silent in the face of these show trials based on no evidence whatsoever, we could be facing large scale killings of the young detainees," he added.

The Campaign once more calls on the Iranian government to respect the internationally recognized rights of the Iranian people to freedom of assembly, expression, and press. The Campaign calls for the immediate halt of the trials of protesters that are underway, and the release of all political prisoners.

The detailed charges against each of the 16 defendants, as read by the prosecutor in the court on 30 January, are as following:

-Defendant number one charged with assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against national security, insulting top government officials, and propaganda against the state through extensive soft war activities against the state;

-Defendant number two charged with assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against national security and propaganda against the state through membership in the counter revolutionary branch of the student organization Office to Foster Unity (Daftar-e Tahkim Vahdat);

-Defendant number three has neo-communist sympathies and is charged with assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against national security and propaganda against the state by participating in protests on Ashura and interviewing with foreign media;

-Defendant number four charged with propaganda against the state through membership in the Baha'i sect and assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against the state through participation in the riots following the orders of Baha'i leaders;

-Defendant number five charged as Mohareb through communications with the terrorist hypocrites' organization (Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization);

-Defendant number six charged as Mohareb and Corruptor of the Earth (Mofsed fel-Arz), assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against national security and propaganda against the state;

-Defendant number seven charged as Mohareb through communicating, sympathizing, and cooperating with the terrorist hypocrites group (Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization) and propaganda against the state;

-Defendants number eight and nine charged as Mohareb and Corruptor of the Earth (Mofsed fel-Arz);

-Defendant number ten charged with assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against national security, propaganda against the state, insulting top government officials, and disobeying government agents;

-Defendant number eleven charged with assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against national security, committing arson against public property, and propaganda against the state;

-Defendants number twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen charged with assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against national security and propaganda against the state by participating in Ashura protests;

- Defendant number sixteen charged with assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against national security, propaganda against the state, insulting top government officials, participating in the destruction of public property, and disobeying government agents.

Prayers Leader urges displaying executed bodies to stop riots

Khabar Online | Jan. 30, 2010

Orumieh Friday Prayers leader Hojjatoleslam Gholam-Reza Hassani said the bodies of executed dissidents must be displayed in public to prevent further riots.

"In order to prevent further unrest, the bodies of the executed [protesters] must be put on public display in the streets of Tehran," Hassani said. "The tongues of those saying 'Iranian Republic' instead of 'Islamic Republic' must be pulled out, and the hearts of the families of martyrs and those devoted to the establishment will only feel relief when those insulting Ashura are executed."

"Iran is no place for seditionists; they must leave because if they stay they will defile the scared Friday prayers. They are the same people who danced at Tehran's Friday prayers; they have no place in Iran."

"It is hard to bear the fact that the leaders of sedition are being kept safe while they are thinking about overthrowing the rule of the worthy (pious). Why is it that the people's tax money must be spent on the safety of the leaders of the sedition?"

Mohammad Moein's condition dire in prison: lawyer

Parleman News | Jan. 30, 2010

Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, a lawyer who represents Mohammad Moein, the son of a leading reformist, said that his client was not in good health.

According to Etemad, Alizadeh Tabatabaei said that the Moein family was extremely concerned about their son's condition.

Alizadeh Tabatabaei will be representing six Ashura detainees in total: Dr. Ali Arab Mazar, Mohammad Moein, Khaliji (Ali-Reza Beheshti's son-in-law), Mohammad Firouzandehpour (Mir Hossein Mousavi's chief of staff), Mohammad-Javad Mozaffar and Mohsen Mohagheghi (Mehdi Bazargan's son-in-law).

"Despite having legal documents appointing me as their counsel," the lawyer added, "they [authorities] will not accept them."

Khatami meets with Mozaffar Family

Parleman News | Jan. 29, 2010

Former Iranian president Seyyed Mohammad Khatami met with the family of Mohammad-Javad Mozaffar, who was detained following the Ashura protests.

According to the Norouz news Web site, in the meeting that took place, Khatami expressed gratitude for Mozaffar's past cultural and political services.

"In his last contact [with us], Mr. Mozaffar said that his blood pressure was too high, but he does not have a past history of it," Mrs. Mozaffar said.

Mrs. Mozaffar added that her husband had not had any contact with his family in the past two weeks.

Mozaffar was a member of the Center for the Defense of Press Freedom and the founder of Kavir Publications.

Assailants raid Principlist daily's office in Tehran

Tabnak | Jan. 30, 2010

Unidentified assailants have raided the office of the Rahe Mardom (path of the people) daily in Tehran today.

The assailants raided the newspaper's office located on Satari Street, breaking all its windows. The motive for the attack was unknown.

Naser Qadiri is the editor-in-chief of Rah-e Mardom

Grand Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili visits Leader

Tabnak Parleman News | Jan. 30, 2010

Shia Source of Emulation Ayatollah Abdolkarim Mousavi-Ardebili came to Tehran on Thursday to reportedly meet and confer with Iran's Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

According to the Jomhouri Eslami daily, Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili will also meet with current and former government officials.

Informed sources say Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili is in Tehran to discuss the recent developments in the country and to help resolve outstanding political issues.

Some of the meetings were held on Thursday.

Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili served in the judiciary during the life of the late Imam, Rouhollah Khomeini. He is believed to be a Source of Emulation close to the Reformists.

Rafsanjani invites all to attend 22 Bahman demos

Fararu | Jan. 30, 2010

In the lead up to the 22 Bahman ceremonies, head of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani invited all political parties to participate in the Revolution Day demonstrations.

"Those devoted to the establishment, from whichever party or front, must try to participate in this year's national celebration of 22 Bahman with calm ... as any conflict or violence will be in line with the desires of the enemy," said Rafsanjani before starting the meeting of the Expediency Council on Saturday.

The head of the Assembly of experts also urged the nation to participate in the 22 Bahman demonstrations in a show of national unity aimed at safeguarding the establishment and in support of the Islamic Republic.

"22 Bahman is the central point of safeguarding, strengthening and uniting [the Islamic establishment] and symbolizes the loyalty of the nation to the Islamic establishment and we [Rafsanjani] hope that it [the celebrations, demonstrations] will be held with special grandeur."

Trial of 16 Ashura riot detainees begins in Iran

Press TV | Jan. 30, 2010

The trial of 16 individuals involved in last month's unrest in Iran has started with the prosecutor laying out the charges brought out against the defendants.

The hearing, presided by Judge Abul Qasim Salavati, began with a general indictment against 14 men and two women on Saturday morning at Tehran's Revolution Court.

The prosecutor explained that five of the defendants were facing charges of Moharebeh (enmity towards God), while the others were being tried for taking part in "illegal protests, threatening national security, and spreading propaganda against the establishment."

The indictment said that the latter individuals had targeted the country's security "by encouraging others to rebel."

According to the prosecutor, all the suspects were working in line with the interests of the US and other foreign states that "were seeking regime change in the Islamic Republic of Iran."

FRONTLINE: Tehran Bureau | PBS

2010-01-30 00:39:45 GMT

[ comment ] On Thursday, the Senate approved S2799 -- the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2009 -- which authorizes President Obama to impose sanctions on any entity that exports gasoline to Iran, or helps expand the country's oil-refining capacity by, in part, denying them loans and other assistance from U.S. financial institutions. The legislation is supposedly intended to pressure the Islamic Republic to give up its uranium enrichment program. Even if that were truly the intent of the law, it is misguided.

On Dec. 15, 2009, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the "Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009," which is largely similar to what the Senate just passed. But the Senate bill extends sanctions to companies that build oil and gas pipelines in Iran and provide tankers to move Iran's petroleum. It also prohibits the U.S. government from buying goods from foreign companies that work in Iran's energy sector. So, in effect, the Senate bill imposes sanctions on Iran's entire oil and natural gas industry.

Although Iran has the world's third largest oil reserves, it must import a significant portion of its gasoline to meet domestic demand because it lacks the required refining capacity. Anticipating gasoline sanctions for at least two years now, the Islamic Republic has been working hard to reduce its dependency on gasoline imports, which has gone from 40 percent of total consumption down to 25-30. At least one new refinery is under construction, which will come online in about two years. In addition, as I described in a previous article, Tehran can take several relatively simple steps to further reduce its dependency on gasoline imports.

Although President Obama warned Iran of "growing consequences" over its nuclear program in his State of the Union address on Wednesday, his administration has not shown a great deal of interest in the legislation. In fact, it had expressed strong reservations about the Senate bill.

On December 11, 2009, Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg sent a letter to Senator John F. Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in which he stated that,

As I testified before the Congress in October, it is our hope that any legislative initiative would preserve and maximize the President's flexibility, secure greater cooperation from our partners in taking effective action, and ultimately facilitate a change in Iranian policies. However, we are entering a critical period of intense diplomacy to impose significant international pressure on Iran. This requires that we keep the focus on Iran. At this juncture, I am concerned that this legislation, in its current form, might weaken rather than strengthen international unity and support for our efforts. In addition to the timing, we have serious substantive concerns, including the lack of flexibility, inefficient monetary thresholds and penalty levels, and blacklisting that could cause unintended foreign policy consequences.

On January 4th, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that,

Our goal is to pressure the Iranian government, particularly the Revolutionary Guard elements, without contributing to the suffering of the ordinary [Iranians] (emphasis mine), who deserve better than what they currently are receiving.

This position was reiterated by Clinton on January 11:

It is clear that there is a relatively small group of decision makers inside Iran... They are in both political and commercial relationships, and if we can create a sanctions track that targets those who actually make the decisions, we think that is a smarter way to do sanctions.

P.J. Crowley, the State Department spokesman, reiterated the Administration position on January 5th:

As the Secretary said, one possibility is to focus more specifically on the Revolutionary Guards, the IRGC. We're taking a much more prominent role within Iran. We want to do this in a way that can target specific entities within the Iranian Government but not punish the Iranian people (emphasis mine), who are clearly looking for a different relationship with their government.

Other unnamed Administration officials have been quoted as saying that they are opposed to legislation that hurts ordinary people. For example, on Dec. 29, 2009, Paul Richter of the Los Angeles Times reported that,

[U.S.] officials are increasingly concerned that broad sanctions harming ordinary citizens would appear harsh to the outside world and would risk alienating parts of the population with which the West seeks to establish common cause.

Richter quoted an anonymous senior State Department official as saying that, "the discussions [within the State Department] were aimed at making the sanctions as narrow as they can be."

On Dec. 30, 2009, Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post reported that an anonymous senior Administration official stated that,

We have never been attracted to the idea of trying to get the whole world to cordon off their economy... We have to be deft at this, because it matters how the Iranian people interpret their isolation -- whether they fault the regime or are fooled into thinking we are to blame.

In fact, on Dec. 15, 2009, Richard R. Verma, Assistant Secretary of State for legislative affairs, sent a letter to Senator Carl Levine, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, in which he stated that,

The Department of State is recommending that the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issue a general license that would authorize downloads of free mass market software by companies such as Microsoft and Google to Iran necessary for the exchange of personal communications and/or sharing of information over the internet such as instant messaging, chat and email, and social networking. This software is necessary to foster and support the free flow of information to individual Iranian citizens and is therefore essential to the national interest of the United States.

Though the Administration may be seeking targeted sanctions against the leaders of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), who are the effective power behind the military junta headed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the gasoline sanction will hurt only ordinary Iranians.

Even U.S. business groups warned the administration that the bill would undercut the President's strategy of working with U.S. allies in finding a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program, because the legislation targets companies of U.S. allies doing business with Iran. But the neoconservatives, Israel lobby and its allies in the Senate, such as Senator Joseph Lieberman, were firmly behind it. And what the Israeli lobby wants, the Israeli lobby gets. Thus, the legislation was approved. Indeed, the passage of the legislation was praised by the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, which called for even tougher sanctions.

The legislation is terrible news for ordinary Iranians that have been struggling to make ends meet, especially since the rigged June 12 presidential election. At least a million Iranians work in the transportation sector and millions more depend on transportation for their work or business -- not to mention the agriculture sector, especially in the remote areas of the country, which also relies heavily on transportation.

It is widely believed in Iran -- and there is considerable concrete evidence for it -- that there is a gasoline "Mafia" linked to the hardliners. They sell the gasoline, which is subsidized by the government, to neighboring countries at a much higher price and make a huge profit from these transactions. The sanction would inevitably lead to much higher gasoline prices in Iran. That would only tighten the gasoline Mafia's grip on the market, hence increasing the power that the IRGC and the hardliners already have. This is the opposite effect that the legislation is supposedly intended to have.

Those who had pushed hard for the passage of this legislation had argued that its resulting hardship would pressure the Iranian people to demand policy changes from the government. But, if this is the true purpose of the legislation (and I highly doubt it), then there is no need for it. There is now little doubt that a great majority of Iranians are deeply angered about what has been happening in Iran in the aftermath of the rigged June 12 presidential election. There have been recurring demonstrations -- often bloody -- daily arrests of political figures, activists, journalists, university students, human rights advocates and ordinary people; thousands have been detained, dozens have been murdered, both in jail and during demonstrations; two men, Mir Hossein Mousavi's nephew and Professor Masoud Ali-Mohammadi, have been assassinated; show trials have been held; unjustified sentences have been handed out to detainees; several young people have been hanged, and many newspapers and other publications have been banned. What more motivation do the people need?

In fact, it is such developments that have given birth to the Green Movement which has been gathering strength over the past several months. The Green Movement's leaders -- former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi, and former president Mohammad Khatami -- have opposed sanctions, particularly those that hurt only ordinary Iranians. But while the sponsors of the Congress sanction bill pay lip service to the bravery of the Iranian people and their courage to stand up to the hardliners, in practice they hurt them by imposing such sanctions. And that's because the goal is not to help the Iranian people, but satisfy Israel and its lobby.

Others have argued that tough sanctions will hurt Iran's economy, to the point that it will cripple the hardliners and prevent them from pursuing their nuclear program. But, if this is the true purpose of the legislation, there is again no need for it.

First of all, Iran's nuclear program has significantly slowed down, due both to the internal crisis and the array of technical difficulties it faces. Recently leaked documents reflecting the internal debates within the administration indicate that the Obama administration believes that, even if Iran were to produce a nuclear weapon (at least up to now, there has been no evidence for it), it does not have a breakout capability (that is, the ability to convert its stockpile of low-enriched uranium to highly enriched uranium to make a weapon) for up to three years. This is ample time for both diplomacy and to allow Iran's internal developments to grow.

Secondly, Ahmadinejad's economic policy -- if it can be called that -- has already hurt Iran's economy and the public's economic welfare greatly. Inflation is rampant, to the point that the government is seriously thinking about devaluing the currency, the Rial. Starting on March 21, the Iranian New Year, Ahmadinejad is scheduled to remove all price controls and eliminate all subsidies on basic commodities (i.e., food). Iran's most prominent economists have warned that such actions will increase the rate of inflation to at least 60 percent (from its current official rate of close to 30 percent), further impoverishing millions of Iranians, and driving many businesses to ruin.

Third, Iran has a labor movement that is increasingly stronger and more vocal. The movement is demanding better pay, more labor-friendly laws, uprooting corruption, and cutting the hands of the IRGC from the economy. The labor movement, together with the feminist movement, and the one led by the young people, only add to the strength of the Green Movement.

Therefore, in addition to the illegality of interfering in Iran's internal affairs, Iran's internal developments and dynamics are doing what even the best-intentioned legislation by foreign powers can never achieve -- driving Iranians to push for a democratic political system, supremacy of the rule of law, and a free press that would reveal the depth of corruption and mismanagement by the hardliners and the IRGC, which are the root causes of the terrible state of the economy in Iran.

In my opinion, Iranian people do not need, nor have they called for, foreign interference in their internal affairs, the supposed intention of the gasoline legislation. They can tackle their problems themselves. What they need is moral support and strong and meaningful condemnation of the gross violations of human rights that are daily occurrences in Iran.

If sanctions are to be imposed, they should be designed to strip away the power of the hardliners to block the free flow of information on the internet. If sanctions are to be imposed, they should be designed to isolate the IRGC leaders and their allies in Iran's conservative camp, which implies diplomatic sanctions -- not economic ones that hurt Iranians just when their century-old struggle for democracy is beginning to bear fruit.

FOK!frontpage Nieuws

2010-01-29 17:20:57 GMT

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, een invloedrijke hardliner in de Iraanse geestelijkheid, heeft vandaag gezegd dat meer activisten van de oppositie moeten worden opgehangen. Als daar meteen na de presidentsverkiezingen in juni mee was begonnen, was de rust in het land al lang weergekeerd, zei hij in een preek na het vrijdaggebed. "Wat wij doormaken komt door onze slapheid. Hoeveel mensen heeft het gerecht op 9 juli terechtgesteld?" vroeg Jannati, doelend op een van de zwaardere protestdagen. 'Wij toonden zwakte en toen kwam Ashoura', een sjiitische gedenkdag met opnieuw bijzonder felle protesten op 27 december. "Als je nu zwakte toont, wordt de toekomst erger. Er is geen ruimte voor islamitische genade." Gisteren werden twee Iraniërs opgehangen, omdat ze deel zouden hebben uitgemaakt van een gewapende groep die de regering omver wilde werpen. Ze waren weken voor de verkiezingen opgepakt, maar werden met later opgepakte betogers op een hoop geveegd en tegelijk met hen in een massaproces berecht en veroordeeld. De autoriteiten maakten gisteren bekend dat negen mensen die bij de protesten betrokken waren eveneens ter dood zijn veroordeeld. Jannati prees het hoofd van de rechterlijke macht, Sadeq Larijani, voor de executies van gisteren. Hij spoorde hem aan er meer te laten voltrekken. "Sta moedig recht, omwille van Allah, op dezelfde manier zoals u deze twee personen heeft laten terechtstellen." Vervolgens haalde hij verzen uit de Koran aan, die heersers machtigen hun tegenstanders te doden, onder wie 'huichelaars met kwade bedoelingen en degenen die geruchten verspreiden'. Geestelijke hardliners hebben al eerder opgeroepen tot de berechting en terechtstelling van oppositieleiders als presidentskandidaat Mir Hossein Mousavi, ex-president Mohammad Khatami en oud-parlementsvoorzitter Mahdi Karroubi. De autoriteiten hebben honderden mensen opgepakt, maar activisten van de oppositie gaan sporadisch door met omvangrijke protesten tegen de volgens hen frauduleuze verkiezingsoverwinning van president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Sommigen in de oppositie willen niet alleen het aftreden van Ahmadinejad, maar bekritiseren ook de Iraanse geestelijke leiders, onder wie de hoogste leider ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

openDemocracy

openDemocracy — 2010-01-29 09:57:32 GMT

Author:

Paul Rogers

Summary:

The American-led effort to map Afghanistan’s future neglects the role of the country’s neighbours – and could yet be derailed by events over Iran.

The international summit on Afghanistan’s future held in London on 28 January 2010 produced three main outcomes: a very clear willingness to negotiate with the insurgents, the provision of substantial funding ($140 million) to lure elements of the insurgency from their campaign, and a focus on more rapid training of Afghan security forces. At the same time, it is reported that elements of the Taliban are already engaged in informal talks with United Nations officials.

These proposals represent a remarkable change from the policy of the George W Bush administration, driven by a search for clear military victory in Afghanistan. Barack Obama and his team take a different view: they recognising that the war cannot be won and that compromise is essential. They also make a concession to the Bush approach in believing that a position of military strength is route to securing the best compromise possible - hence the military “surge” that is currently under way. There remains a large question over the effectiveness of this approach; the infusion of more foreign troops could provoke increased resistance by Afghans who see them as occupiers.

Behind the coalition’s shift in policy is the concern that public opinion in the United States and Britain is moving against the war, and that more people in both countries increasingly want their forces to leave. Many other Nato countries may be involved in Afghanistan, but these two states are pivotal: the US for its political and military leadership, and Britain for the size of its own involvement (it has more than twice the number of soldiers in Afghanistan as any other European state), which helps make it a marker for European attitudes as a whole.

The worry about a possible early withdrawal of Nato forces is what prompted Hamid Karzai to speak in London of the need for a longer-term programme (amounting perhaps to fifteen years) of western involvement to ensure a stable country. The sub-text of the Afghan president’s remarks is that a failure of commitment on Nato’s part could ensure Kabul’s fall to the Taliban - with al-Qaida too back in the frame.

The Iran factor

The decisions made in London reflect the Barack Obama administration’s search for a more intelligent and flexible strategy in Afghanistan. But the change of emphasis persists in ignoring another key element of the Afghan reality: namely, the role of important regional states (beyond the most obvious one of Pakistan). For a number of such states - Russia, China and especially Iran – has the capacity to reinforce or help derail western policy towards Afghanistan.

Iran’s position is made highly relevant by a set of factors: the extensive common border with Afghanistan, its political and social involvement in the west of the country, transport links to the Iranian ports of Chabahar and Konarak, and Tehran’s perennial concern over drug-trafficking across the border.

The Tehran government is no friend of the Taliban, in part as its memories of the killing of Iranian officials a decade ago are still fresh. It is suspicious of Pakistan’s support for the Afghan Taliban and sees this as a real obstacle to increasing its own influence in Kabul. This suspicion even extends to a willingness to improve links with India; some analysts identify the development of a Tehran/Kabul/Delhi axis that would cause the deepest of concern in Islamabad (see Kaveh L Afrasiabi, “Iran waits in the wings”, Asia Times, 27 January 2009).

This prospect has added significance in that Iran’s involvement is essential to Afghanistan’s long-term stability - yet (in part because of wider tensions over its foreign and domestic policy) it is the one state most likely to be sidelined in current discussions.

There is a further point to remember here. The United States’s ability to respond to the 9/11 attacks by terminating the Taliban regime within three months had a lot of help from the Iranians; yet Iran promptly found itself part of the notorious “axis of evil” targeted by George W Bush in his state-of-the-union address in January 2002:

"States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world… I will not wait on events, while dangers gather. I will not stand by, as perils draw closer and closer. The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons."

In June 2002, the president went further in his graduation address at the West Point military academy:

"All nations that decide for aggression and terror will pay a price. We will not leave the safety of America and the peace of the planet at the mercy of a few mad terrorists and tyrants. We will lift this dark threat from our country and from the world."

The regime in Tehran was led at the time by the reformist president, Mohammad Khatami; but the sense of insult from these rhetorical barbs remains embedded in Iranian politics to this day, and is a potent weapon in the armoury of Khatami’s hardline successor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his supporters.

The China-Russia factor

The stance of Russia and China is also a neglected factor in western discussion of Afghanistan. In each country, there are two opposing calculations at work. The first is a fear that the Taliban and other radical Islamist groups will gain more power in Afghanistan and be able to spread their beliefs and influence among Muslim minorities in (for example) the north Caucasus and Xinjiang regions. China, with its common border with Afghanistan and its huge investment in mineral-extraction there, remains determined to maintain full control over the Uyghur people, and Russia looks on Chechens and other Muslim-majority communities with suspicion. This leads both countries to want a stable and moderate Afghanistan.

The second calculation, however, is that Moscow and Beijing do not want Afghanistan to be a pro-American state with large US bases at Bagram and Kandahar; neither do they want the Pentagon to maintain close connections with the republics of central Asia. They are well aware that such bases are, from the Pentagon’s point of view, almost the only positive thing to come out of eight years of war; and that for Washington, the US-central Asian link means influence in a key energy-rich region – in the very backyards of two potential rivals to US global power.

Iran, China and Russia – albeit with differing interests and emphases - all want a stable Afghanistan with minimal US influence, whereas India is content to deepen its own links with Kabul and is willingly improving its relations with Washington. Pakistan, meanwhile, is absolutely determined to avoid a pro-American Indian-influenced Afghanistan; the implication is that Islamaband’s bonds with the Afghan Taliban and other groups are far more important than expending excessive effort in controlling its own Islamist paramilitaries.

The Israel factor

The absence of such geopolitical considerations from the discussions in London limits the relevance of the conference there. The Pakistani dimension may receive great attention, but the neglect of Iran, China and Russia is both damaging and little noted.

Iran, as so often, may turn out to be the most important “absentee” – and, again as so often, find itself being written into the story. There are clear signs that the Obama administration is preparing to take a much harder line towards Tehran in the coming months (see Jim Lobe, “Sanctions, ‘Regime Change’ Take Centre Stage”, IPS, 27 January 2010). At the very least there will be a major effort to secure much stronger sanctions at the United Nations Security Council; at most, the administration may withhold any effort to constrain Israeli military action.

The harder line will coincide with Israel’s completion of a major upgrade of its tanker-aircraft, allowing it to extend its capability to undertake long-range air strikes (see Alon Ben-David “Expanded Reach”, Aviation Week, 11 January 2010). Israel already receives routine military aid from the United States equivalent to about 20% of its defence spending, and these military links have recently been further upgraded with congressional permission to the Pentagon to store up to $800 million of war-reserves in Israel - much of it available to Israel for emergency use (see Barbara Opall-Rome, “U.S. Expands War Stocks in Israel”, Defense News, 11 January 2010).

The risk of an Israel/Iran war is rising (see “Israel’s shadow over Iran”, 14 January 2010). But the Iran/Afghanistan connection tends to be excluded from any such scenario. Many analysts have argued that the dangerous consequences of such a war include Iran’s capacity to interfere in Iraq and to disrupt Gulf oil-supplies. These dangers most certainly exist, but it may well be that an even greater impact would be felt in Afghanistan.

The London summit could signal a change in attitude to the Taliban that might just presage some hesitant progress in a complex, costly and divisive conflict. But if there were to be an Israeli attack on Iran, all could be derailed.

Sideboxes

'Read On' Sidebox:

Department of peace studies, Bradford University

Oxford Research Group

Afghanistan Conflict Monitor

Long War Journal

Afghanistan Analysts Network

Foreign Policy - The AfPak Channel

Pajhwok Afghan News

Pakistan Conflict Monitor

Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)

Iran: Consequences of a War (Oxford Research Group, February 2006)

Iran and IAEA

Sustainable Security

Sidebox:

Paul Rogers is professor in the department of peace studies at Bradford University, northern England. He has been writing a weekly column on global security on openDemocracy since 26 September 2001

Bradford’s peace-studies department now broadcasts regular podcasts on its work, including a regular commentary from Paul Rogers on international-security issues. Listen/watch here

In addition to his weekly openDemocracy column, Paul Rogers writes an international security monthly briefing for the Oxford Research Group; for details, click here

Paul Rogers’s books include Why We’re Losing the War on Terror (Polity, 2007) - an analysis of the strategic misjudgments of the post-9/11 era and why a new security paradigm is needed; and Losing Control: Global Security in the 21st Century (Pluto Press, 3rd edition, 2009)

oD-wide classification

Country:

Afghanistan

The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

The Huffington Post News Editors — 2010-01-29 14:56:43 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran — A powerful hard-line Iranian cleric on Friday called for the execution of more opposition activists to silence anti-government protests, praising the hanging a day earlier of two men caught up in the leadership's postelection crackdown.

Speaking in a Friday prayer sermon, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said the wave of street demonstrations sparked by the disputed June presidential election would not have lasted until now if protesters had been executed early on.

"Whatever we suffered was because of our weakness. How many did the judiciary execute on July 9?" he said, referring to one of the particularly large protest days.

"We showed weakness, so then we had Ashoura," he said, referring to a major protest on Dec. 27. "If you show weakness now, the future will be worse ... There is no room for Islamic mercy."

Iran's judiciary is stepping up death sentences as the leadership intensifies its campaign to eliminate the challenge from the pro-reform opposition movement. Authorities announced Thursday that nine people accused of involvement in protests have been sentenced to death – including five who allegedly had a role in the Dec. 27 protests, which saw a particularly violent clampdown.

Iran's top prosecutor said a new group of protesters and others would soon be brought to trial.

The two men executed Thursday were arrested before the June 12 election on charges of belonging to an armed group aiming to topple the government. But authorities lumped them in with opposition activists arrested during the postelection crackdown.

In his sermon, aired live on state radio, Jannati thanked Iran's judiciary chief, Sadeq Larijani, for Thursday's executions and urged more, saying: "Stand up courageously for the sake of God, the same way you executed these two persons very quickly."

Jannati cited verses from the Quran, Islam's holy book, that he said show Islam permits rulers to kill their opponents, including "hypocrites, those with evil intentions and those who spread rumors."

Jannati is one of the best known hard-line clerics in Iran and frequently delivers the nation's keynote sermon during prayers on Friday. He holds positions on one of the powerful councils of clerics that under Iran's Islamic Republic system vets laws passed by parliament and controls who can run for the legislature.

Hard-liners have called for the trial and execution of Iran's opposition leaders including Mir Hossein Mousavi and former reformist president Mohammad Khatami and former parliamentary speaker Mahdi Karroubi.

Hundreds have been arrested in the heavy crackdown by security forces against opposition protests, but activists have continued to hold sporadic, large street rallies. The opposition says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory in the June election was fraudulent and call for his removal – though some in the movement have expanded to criticize Iran's clerical leadership.

The two men who were executed – Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, 37, and Arash Rahmanipour, 20 – were convicted by a Revolutionary Court of belonging to "counterrevolutionary and monarchist groups," plotting to overthrow "the Islamic establishment" and planning assassinations and bombings.

They were arrested months before the election. But they were put on the same mass trial as around 100 opposition activists, protesters and politicians who were arrested in the postelection crackdown – an attempt by the leadership to show that the political opposition is in league with violent armed groups in a foreign-backed plot to overthrow the Islamic system.

FRONTLINE: Tehran Bureau | PBS

2010-01-28 22:44:00 GMT

Reflections on Democracy, Non-Violence and Political Change in Iran

[ analysis ] Struggles for democracy generally require three critical ingredients for success: effective and incorruptible leadership, a strategy for mass mobilization and a sense of hope that engenders sacrifice. Last year at this time, none of these existed in Iran. The clerical oligarchy was firmly in control, the Reform movement was in disarray and political apathy reigned supreme. Today, eight months after the disputed presidential election, all three key ingredients are now firmly in place. Defying expectations, Iran's Green Movement (Jonbesh-e Sabz-e Iran) soldiers on in the face of an authoritarian regime whose brutal suppression has failed to intimidate or subdue it. Whether this movement will be triumphant is unknown but what is clear is that an indigenous movement for democracy has delivered a major blow to the Islamic Republic: Iranian politics henceforth will never be the same. How did these three elements come together?

Understanding the origins and the defiant posture of the leadership of the Green Movement requires returning to an event in August 2000 that marked a critical denouement for the reformist-conservative struggle in Iran. At this time, the Reform Movement was in its prime, winning landslide elections at the presidential, municipal and most recently the parliamentary level. Hope for democratic change was in the air as Reformers captured all of the key democratically-contested institutions of the state in quick succession, to the shock and bewilderment of their conservative rivals.

The first item on the legislative agenda of reform-dominated 6th parliament (2000-2004) was to overturn an illiberal press law passed in the final days of the outgoing hard-line parliament. The print media in Iran had flourished during President Khatami's first term and quickly became a bastion of support for pro-democracy activists. Courageous journalists and editors were breaking political taboos by transcending the narrow ideological confines of Iran's post-revolutionary elite consensus. A public sphere was created whereby Iranian society was in full scale debate -- to the mortification of the ruling clerical establishment -- about the relationship between tradition and modernity, religion and democracy and the moral basis of legitimate political authority.

As parliamentary debate on the press law began with the eyes of the nation upon it, the speaker suddenly intervened to halt the proceedings. He announced that he had just received an important summons from the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei demanding that the existing (illiberal) press law not be revised and that all debate on this topic cease immediately. Khamenei's letter -- which angry MPs forced the speaker to read into the parliamentary record -- specifically warned that "should the enemies of Islam, the revolution and the Islamic system take over or infiltrate the press, a great danger would threaten the security, unity and the faith of the people....The current [press] law ... has been able to prevent the appearance of this great calamity, and [therefore], its amendment and similar actions that have been anticipated by the parliamentary committee are not legitimate and not in the interest of the country and the system."

Scuffles and fistfights broke out among rival members of parliament. Several deputies walked out in protest as chaos soon enveloped the parliamentary chamber. The speaker tried to restore calm by reminding everyone that the Supreme Leader's actions were legally permissible. "Our constitution has the elements of the absolute rule of the supreme clerical leader [velayat-e motlagh faghih] and you all know this and approve of this. We are all duty-bound to abide by it." The speaker at the time was Mehdi Karoubi, a 2009 Reformist presidential candidate and today one of the courageous leaders of the Green Movement, famous for exposing a policy of systematic rape in Iranian prisons. His defiance of Khamenei today, in contrast to his deference nine years ago, is worth noting.

After the June 2009 election, and following a week of demonstrations that brought three million people into the streets of Tehran, Khamenei delivered his much anticipated Friday sermon. He publicly endorsed Ahmadinejad as president, declared the election to be free and fair on balance and then went a step further. Similar to his August 2000 intervention, he forcefully demanded a halt to all debate on the topic, declaring the issue resolved while threatening the opposition with violence if their defiance persisted. This time, however, the senior leadership of the reform movement stood firm and boldly defied the explicit wishes of the Supreme Leader. This marked a critical turning point in the relationship between reformers and the Islamic Republican establishment. Their disobedience inspired millions of Iranians and provided Iran's democratic forces with the internal leadership it desperately sought and previously lacked.

By all measures, the leadership of the Green Movement comprised of the troika of Mir Hossein Mousavi (former Prime Minister), Mehdi Karoubi (former Speaker of Parliament) and Mohammad Khatami (former President), can be characterized as relatively mild and measured in their speeches and political statements. All remain loyal to the Islamic Republic, its current constitution and the political theology of Ayatollah Khomeini, albeit emphasizing a democratic and humanistic reading of this legacy. Nonetheless, despite repeated warnings from the Supreme Leader and a growing chorus of hard-line opinion demanding their arrest -- and more recently their execution -- the leadership continues its defiance of established power and its steadfast support for the civil and human rights of their fellow citizens. The future of the Green Movement and any hope for an eventual democratic transition in Iran will be dependent on the ongoing resistance of these leaders.

The strategy of mass mobilization and street protests has at best a tenuous link to Iran's Green leadership. It has been accurately reported that leaders are responding to and being led by society and not the opposite. In his most recent statement to the nation, (No. 17, January 1, 2010), Mousavi explicitly acknowledged the point that protests are occurring not because he has called people into the streets but rather due to the prevalence of "widespread social and civil networks that were formed during and after the election through the people themselves and which continue to self generate." This fascinating development suggests the extent to which the Green Movement has penetrated key sectors of Iranian society based on the existence of underground networks of activists scattered in major cities who rely on the internet and mobile phone technology to spread their message. This also explains why the movement has been hard to crush, notwithstanding the best efforts of the regime.

And finally there is the issue of hope. In a recent in-depth report on the state of human rights Iran after the June election, Amnesty International noted that "human rights violations in Iran are now as bad as at any time in the past 20 years." To date, the Islamic Republic has imprisoned almost every leading opposition figure, human and civil rights activist, student leader and dissident journalist. In fact, it is hard to think of the name of prominent Iranian pro-democracy activist that the regime has not arrested. In its desperation, it even picked up the sister of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi, an apolitical figure, with the sole intention of intimidating her more famous sibling.

Yet notwithstanding this repressive atmosphere replete with show trials, torture, rape, death and threats of mass executions, Iranians who sympathize with the Green Movement today are experiencing a deep sense of hope, cautious optimism and at times exhilaration about the prospects of a better future. There is a general appreciation that a transition to democracy will not emerge without significant sacrifice and a long-term commitment to oppositional activity. A rejection of violent revolution and a commitment to a strategy of nonviolence resistance by necessity demands patience, prudence and time. In the words of Columbia University Professor Hamid Dabashi: "This is not sprint but a marathon."

A realization that there are no quick fixes to the problem of political authoritarianism in Iran is informed by the fact that the Iranian regime, despite being shaken and confused, remains firmly in control of the key institutions of violence, the administration of justice and economic production (largely oil). Evidence that this control has weakened is shaky at best. Moreover, the Iranian regime, in part due to its control over the media, retains significant support in rural and poorer areas of the country including a core group of loyal devotees who dominate the upper echelons of the security forces, many of whom believe that Ali Khamenei is God's representative on earth.

The next stage of confrontation is set for early February and the date could not be more symbolic -- the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Expectations are for a similar repetition of defiant street protests, a harsh government crackdown and then a wave of mass arrests. Meanwhile Iran's Green Movement continues its nonviolent resistance. Its future success will depend on whether the three key ingredients for democratic change -- effective leadership, a strategy for mass mobilization and hope -- remain in place and grow stronger with time.

Nader Hashemi is the author of Islam, Secularism and Liberal Democracy: Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies.

iran election - Google News

2010-01-26 19:18:28 GMT

Daily News Brief
Council on Foreign Relations
Iran: Two of Iran's opposition leaders, Mohammad Khatami and Mehdi Karroubi, said they accept (NYT) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as head of state, according to ...

and more »

Iran OR Ahmadinejad OR Mousavi. - Google Blog Search

admin — 2010-01-23 15:48:06 GMT

Former Iran president and key reformist leader Mohammad Khatami slammed the United Arab Emirates on Saturday for its decision to allow National Infrastruct...