Revolutie Iran #13

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 18:35 schreef Disana het volgende:

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Ben het volkomen met jullie eens. Simpel kunnen dus willen scoren, over de ruggen van de protesterende Iraniërs. 'Kijk mij eens kritisch zijn.'

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 19:00 schreef HiZ het volgende:

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Ik vond het meer zo'n stuk van 'kijk mij eens niks weten maar toch een mening hebben'.

Op deze manier is het feit dat Iraniers bij Moskeeën protesteren ook een bewijs dat ze pro-regime zijn. Echte hervormers willen niet in de buurt van een moskee komen. Toch?

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 19:01 schreef henkway het volgende:

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het ging erom dat Rafsanjani daar zou spreken en die is niet pro regime

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Brkg News: Iranian TV: Guardian council confirms Ahmadinajad has won election after partial recount #iranelection

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 19:10 schreef Manke het volgende:
verrassend zeg:
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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 19:12 schreef HiZ het volgende:

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Die lui hertellen net zo snel als ze tellen. Ik weet alleen niet wat ze geteld hebben; kennelijk niet de uitgebrachte stemmen.

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 19:17 schreef Monidique het volgende:

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Wel, als je zegt hoogstens tien procent van de stemmen te gaan hertellen, terwijl het verschil meer dan twintig procent is, dan is het onvermijdelijk dat de uitslag bevestigd wordt.

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 19:00 schreef HiZ het volgende:

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Ik vond het meer zo'n stuk van 'kijk mij eens niks weten maar toch een mening hebben'.

Op deze manier is het feit dat Iraniers bij Moskeeën protesteren ook een bewijs dat ze pro-regime zijn. Echte hervormers willen niet in de buurt van een moskee komen. Toch?

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 19:53 schreef Tokamak het volgende:

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Rafsanjani heeft zich nu erin gemengd, en heeft de kant gekozen van Mousavi. Rafsanjani is net zo machtig, zo niet machtiger dan Khamenei. Het is echt niet voorbij, enkel krijg je nu steeds meer een strijd van mammoeten. En oja, ik zou de '40 days after Neda' ook maar in de gaten houden. Dat kan nog ns 'leuk' worden in de straten. Dus, stiller, ja, voorbij, nee. (de Islamitische revolutie duurde ook enkele maanden)

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 19:53 schreef Tokamak het volgende:

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Rafsanjani heeft zich nu erin gemengd, en heeft de kant gekozen van Mousavi. Rafsanjani is net zo machtig, zo niet machtiger dan Khamenei. Het is echt niet voorbij, enkel krijg je nu steeds meer een strijd van mammoeten. En oja, ik zou de '40 days after Neda' ook maar in de gaten houden. Dat kan nog ns 'leuk' worden in de straten. Dus, stiller, ja, voorbij, nee. (de Islamitische revolutie duurde ook enkele maanden)

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 19:57 schreef Disana het volgende:
Gisteren IN de Ghoba moskee:

مسجد قبا - یکشنبه 7 تیر

En buiten:

http://www.demotix.com/ne(...)l-ayatollah-beheshti

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 19:17 schreef Monidique het volgende:

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Wel, als je zegt hoogstens tien procent van de stemmen te gaan hertellen, terwijl het verschil meer dan twintig procent is, dan is het onvermijdelijk dat de uitslag bevestigd wordt.

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 20:02 schreef The.Apple het volgende:

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Neda is gewackt door de Sis, Als het bassji waren dan hadden we er wel beelden van.
Mousavi is al net zo machtig al Khamenei (op aanzien en op politiek niveau There 2 brothers of the same revolution), Het aansluiten van Rafsanjani is meer symbolisch.

(Mousavi was president in 1981 en Khamenei minister president, deze heren zijn alle 2 van de vorige revolutie, daarbij Rafsanjani komt pas veel later kijken op hoger niveau net als Ahmadinejad, Deze heren
hebben vrijwel geen politiek kapitaal tov Mousavi en Khamenei.)

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 23:34 schreef HiZ het volgende:

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Eh, Rafsanjani heeft Khamenei op zijn positie geholpen en is een van de weinige mensen die hem op wettelijke wijze er weer uit kan zetten.

Om nog maar te zwijgen over het feit dat Rafsanjani ook een ongekend vermogen heeft en dus net als de 'tegenpartij' mensen kan omkopen en zelf ook nog een Ayatollah is.

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 23:40 schreef The.Apple het volgende:

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En niet te melden heeft bij de IIRG, het is een symbool,
meer niet. En de macht op dit moment ligt bij de IIRG = Achmed en Khamenei

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 23:34 schreef HiZ het volgende:

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Eh, Rafsanjani heeft Khamenei op zijn positie geholpen en is een van de weinige mensen die hem op wettelijke wijze er weer uit kan zetten.

Om nog maar te zwijgen over het feit dat Rafsanjani ook een ongekend vermogen heeft en dus net als de 'tegenpartij' mensen kan omkopen en zelf ook nog een Ayatollah is.

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Op dinsdag 30 juni 2009 00:00 schreef AlexanderDeGrote het volgende:

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Ik blijf telkens berichten tegenkomen over Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, steunpilaar van Ahmadi-Nejad, dat hij zelf Opperste Leider zou willen worden. Als ik de wikepedia pagina over hem lees lijkt me dat niet verbazingwekkend. Hij is ook degene die openlijk voor atoomwapens is itt Khamenei.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Taghi_Mesbah_Yazdi

Iemand hier meer ideeen over?

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Op dinsdag 30 juni 2009 11:50 schreef Tourniquet het volgende:
Ik kwam deze site tegen, interessante analyses van Gary Sick: http://garysick.tumblr.com

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Op dinsdag 30 juni 2009 11:50 schreef Tourniquet het volgende:
Ik kwam deze site tegen, interessante analyses van Gary Sick: http://garysick.tumblr.com

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 23:34 schreef Dunckie het volgende:

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Dat hoeft natuurlijk helemaal niet he slimpie.

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Op maandag 29 juni 2009 07:15 schreef rechtsedirecte het volgende:
deze NZ'se nieuws website heeft een onbevestigd bericht dat persiankiwi veilig is..heeft iemand hier meer over gehoord of gelezen?

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i hve had contact Persiankiwi, they have knowledge of our private conversations from weeks ago, so I am not worried #iranelectionabout 1 hour ago from web

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For those who have not heard, Persiankiwi is fine and will be back. #iranelection #gr88 #iranabout 2 hours ago from TweetDeck

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Op donderdag 2 juli 2009 00:22 schreef AlexanderDeGrote het volgende:
Steeds meer verhalen van mensen over wat er met gevangenen gebeurd, zoals dit verhaal van een net vrijgelaten demonstrant:

http://www.guardian.co.uk(...)rrests-afshin-friend

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Op donderdag 2 juli 2009 15:21 schreef Manke het volgende:
omfg:
http://twitpic.com/8yj6f

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Op donderdag 2 juli 2009 15:21 schreef Manke het volgende:
RT from Iran - Confirmed fr source 4 ballot boxes found dumped in Shiraz. #iranelection

omfg:
http://twitpic.com/8yj6f

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Op donderdag 2 juli 2009 11:28 schreef _Qmars_ het volgende:
Op de achtergrond sluimert het allemaal nog. Ik weet dat de Perzen in Nederland druk aan het overleggen zijn. Dit is nog niet voorbij

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Iranian cleric says UK embassy staff face trial
Fri Jul 3, 2009 10:24am EDT

By Hashem Kalantari

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A powerful Iranian cleric warned on Friday that detained British embassy staff would face trial for their alleged role in post-election unrest, and EU countries summoned Iranian envoys to protest against the detentions.

In London, Britain's Foreign Office said it was "very concerned" about Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati's statement that the local employees could be tried in connection with demonstrations against last month's disputed presidential vote.

"In these developments their embassy here maintained a presence ... Individuals were arrested and inevitably they will be tried as they have (made) confessions," Jannati told Friday prayer worshippers.

Jannati is a conservative who heads the Guardian Council, a powerful 12-member constitutional watchdog. There was no immediate comment from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

A European Union official in Brussels said members of the 27-member bloc summoned Iranian ambassadors to protest against the detention of the Iranian staff from Britain's mission.

He said EU states agreed a gradual approach toward Tehran that could in future include visa bans and withdrawal of ambassadors from Iran, depending on how the situation evolved.

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"Tonight is a critical & dangerous night. Iran's fate could be decided today. I'm very scared, very!" #iranelection10 minutes ago from web

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Is this the lull before the storm. Tehran and major cities reported very quiet today #iranelection #Iran #Iran #Iran #Iran #Iranelections24 minutes ago from TweetDeck

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Op zaterdag 4 juli 2009 18:58 schreef HiZ het volgende:
Ja ik had het ook gelezen. En ik zat me af te vragen hoe lang Rafsanjani nog dacht te kunnen afwachten. Als hij niets blijft doen, dan komen ze straks niet zijn dochter maar hemzelf halen. En dan is het voorbij voor hem.

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za 04 jul 2009, 16:49
Iran hangt 20 drugshandelaren op
TEHERAN - In Iran zijn zaterdag twintig mensen in een keer opgehangen na veroordelingen wegens drugshandel. Dit heeft het persbureau Fars gemeld.

Iran kent na China wereldwijd de meeste executies per jaar: 246 vorig jaar. Toch is het zeldzaam dat in de islamitische republiek zo veel mensen tegelijk worden opgehangen.

In Iran staat de doodstraf op tal van vergrijpen, zoals moord, verkrachting, roof, drugshandel en overspel.

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Mousavi: The assembly of teachers and scientists of "Qom" cleric school, declarethis election to be illegitimate. #iranelection #Iranabout 3 hours ago from TweetDeck

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Op zaterdag 4 juli 2009 19:51 schreef AlexanderDeGrote het volgende:
Maar ook dit (uit meerdere bronnen):
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http://twitter.com/oxfordgirl

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The most important group of religious leaders in Iran called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate on Saturday, an act of defiance against the country’s supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country’s clerical establishment.

A statement by the group, the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum, represents a significant, if so far symbolic, setback for the government and especially the authority of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose word is supposed to be final. The government has tried to paint the opposition and its top presidential candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, as criminals and traitors, a strategy that now becomes more difficult — if not impossible.

“This crack in the clerical establishment, and the fact they are siding with the people and Moussavi, in my view is the most historic crack in the 30 years of the Islamic republic,” said Abbas Milani, director of the Iranian Studies Program at Stanford University. “Remember, they are going against an election verified and sanctified by Khamenei.”

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Op zaterdag 4 juli 2009 18:58 schreef HiZ het volgende:
Ja ik had het ook gelezen. En ik zat me af te vragen hoe lang Rafsanjani nog dacht te kunnen afwachten. Als hij niets blijft doen, dan komen ze straks niet zijn dochter maar hemzelf halen. En dan is het voorbij voor hem.

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Iran clerics declare election invalid and condemn crackdown

Martin Fletcher

Iran’s biggest group of clerics has declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election to be illegitimate and condemned the subsequent crackdown.

The statement by the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qom is an act of defiance against the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has made clear he will tolerate no further challenges to Mr Ahmadinejad’s “victory” over Mir Hossein Mousavi.

“It’s a clerical mutiny,” said one Iranian analyst. “This is the first time ever you have all these big clerics openly challenging the leader’s decision.” Another, in Tehran, said: “We are seeing the birth of a new political front.”

Professor Ali Ansari, head of Iranian Studies at St Andrews University, said: “It’s highly significant. It shows this is nowhere near resolved.”

The association’s statement also shows how deeply the political establishment is divided, and the extent to which the Supreme Leader now derives his power from military might, not moral authority. It makes it much harder for the regime to arrest Mr Mousavi and other opposition leaders.

At the weekend a top aide to Mr Khamenei demanded that Mr Mousavi and other opponents be tried for “terrible crimes”, and the elite Revolutionary Guards accused them of “trying to overthrow the Islamic establishment”.

In other developments, David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said yesterday that he expected the eighth of the nine British Embassy employees arrested ten days ago to be released soon but a lawyer representing the ninth — a political analyst named Hossein Rossam — said he would be charged with threatening national security.

Mr Miliband expressed “cold anger” at the way the nine had been treated.

The regime freed Iason Athanasiadis, an Anglo-Greek journalist arrested on June 19. However, a lawyer for Maziar Bahari, a Canadian-Iranian journalist working for Newsweek, said he faced charges of “instigating riots and acting against national security”. The Association of Researchers and Teachers is based in Qom, the clerical nerve centre of Iran, and includes many leading ayatollahs with impeccable revolutionary credentials and big personal followings.

The association did not support a candidate in the election, but has now lined up firmly behind Mr Mousavi. In a rebuke to the regime it declared on its website: “Candidates’ complaints and strong evidence of vote-rigging were ignored . . . Peaceful protests by Iranians were violently oppressed . . . Dozens of Iranians were killed and hundreds were illegally arrested . . . The outcome is invalid.”

It called on other clerics to speak out, demanded the release of all those arrested in the past three weeks, and directly challenged the authority of the Guardian Council, a body of 12 senior clerics that has openly backed Mr Ahmadinejad and his patron, Mr Khamenei. “How can one accept the legitimacy of the election just because the Guardian Council says so?,” it asked.

On Wednesday, a day after the Guardian Council said that the election result was final, Mr Mousavi talked of forming a new political grouping to fight an illegitimate government.

With the popular former president Mohammad Khatami and Medhi Karoubi, another defeated candidate, challenging the Government’s legitimacy, and Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, another former president, pointedly meeting the families of those killed in street demonstrations, that coalition is beginning to take shape.

“The fact that anyone dares to condemn the election when people were calling for Mousavi and Karoubi’s heads is remarkable,” said the analyst in Tehran. “It shows there is depth to Mousavi’s support. They have not been bullied into silence, there are factions forming and this is not over.”

Mr Mousavi issued a 25-page paper detailing election abuses ranging from the printing of 14 million extra ballot papers to bribes to ballot boxes containing not a single vote for him even in his hometown.

Mr Miliband expressed fury at Mr Rossam’s detention. The charge that he had helped incite the protests had “absolutely no basis”. Mr Rossam, 44, was “an honourable, patriotic Iranian, who has been working in a completely open and transparent way for the UK”.

The European Union’s member states have protested to Iran and will consider tougher measures if Mr Rossam is not released this week. British officials are also hoping for a strong statement from Wednesday’s G8 summit.

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Op maandag 6 juli 2009 13:02 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:
Ik heb de serie even voor een week gemist.
Maar er zijn geen protesten meer alleen in de top blijft het onrustig

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Tehran to be shut down for 24 hrs (48 4 industries) due to severe air pollution: http://bit.ly/NUNKy19 minutes ago from TweetDeck

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Breaking News: The speaker of the Guardian Council may step down, citing academic interests. #iranelectionabout 2 hours ago from web

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Tehrani on how ppl feel now: Graffitti showing up on walls. Allahu Akbars still going. People will strike back, just waiting for the chanceabout 21 hours ago from web

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#nir contact, regarding 18 Tir rally "This might prompt Experts to call upon the Forces & declare State of Emergency."about 3 hours ago from web

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Op maandag 6 juli 2009 17:53 schreef AlexanderDeGrote het volgende:

Breaking News: The speaker of the Guardian Council may step down, citing academic interests. #iranelectionabout 2 hours ago from web

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De Franse president Nicolas Sarkozy heeft vandaag vrijlating "op zeer korte termijn" geëist van een in Iran opgepakte Franse docente. De 23-jarige Clotilde Reiss werd 1 juli op de luchthaven van Teheran wegens spionage gearresteerd. Sarkozy noemde de aanklachten tegen de Française "pure fantasie", berichtte de Franse radiozender Europe1.

De Iraanse autoriteiten beschuldigen Reiss van deelname aan de protesten tegen de omstreden verkiezingen van 12 juni. Ook zou ze foto's van de demonstraties, die ze had gemaakt met haar mobiele telefoon, hebben gestuurd naar een vriend in Teheran. Reiss gaf sinds vijf maanden Franse les op de universiteit van Isfahan.

Frankrijk riep de Iraanse ambassadeur gisteren in Parijs op het matje.
fok.nl

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WASHINGTON - De Verenigde Staten hebben Israël geen toestemming gegeven de nucleaire installaties van Iran aan te vallen.

Dat zei de Amerikaanse president Barack Obama dinsdag tegen CNN.

De president voegde eraan toe dat Washington andere landen niet kan dicteren wat hun belangen op het gebied van veiligheid zijn.

Wat Obama betreft wordt de onenigheid met Iran over de nucleaire ambities van het land via de diplomatieke weg opgelost.

Biden

In het weekeinde zei vicepresident Joe Biden in een interview met de Amerikaanse omroep ABC dat de VS Israël niet in de weg zullen staan, als de regering van premier Benjamin Netanyahu besluit tot een aanval op Iran.

Als de regering van Istraël besluit tot een nieuwe richting in het Iranbeleid, heeft ze het het soevereine recht dat te doen, aldus Biden
nu.nl

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Iran 'security state' lambasted

Iranian opposition leaders have criticised what they describe as the "security state" imposed in the country after the controversial June elections.

They also called for the release of people detained during mass protests that followed the vote.

Runner-up Mir Hossein Mousavi's website said the call was backed by fellow defeated candidate Mehdi Karoubi and former President Mohammad Khatami.

The vote was won by hardline incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Although many opposition figures have accused the state of rigging the result, Iran's most powerful figure, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has given his seal of approval.

“ If the people had not been lied to or disrespected, the situation would have never turned to a national crisis ”
Ghalamnews report

On Monday, Ayatollah Khamenei issued a sharp warning to Western nations not to meddle in Iran's internal affairs, saying relations would suffer if they did.

More than 1,000 opposition supporters and prominent reformists were reportedly arrested in the aftermath of the election, and three weeks later it is possible hundreds remain in prison.

'Extraordinary peace'

The strongly worded statement on the Ghalamnews website followed a meeting between the three opposition and reformist figures, as well as a number of supporters.

It conveyed their harsh criticism of "attacks against innocent people, dormitories, and houses... and some shocking brutalities carried out by plainclothes forces supported by security forces".

IRAN UNREST
# 12 June Presidential election saw incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected with 63% of vote
# Main challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi called for result to be annulled on grounds of electoral fraud
# Street protests saw at least 17 people killed and foreign media restricted
#

It also referred to the deaths of protesters "whose only crime was to object to the election fraud... at spontaneous several-million-strong demonstrations held in extraordinary peace and order".

"If their rights had been slightly respected or if the people had not been lied to or disrespected, the situation would have never turned to a national crisis," the Ghalamnews statement says.

Mr Karoubi, Mr Mousavi and Mr Khatami go on to underline the importance of ending the "super-security state" and call for the immediate release of protesters who had not committed any crime.

If the current situation is allowed to continue, the statement says, it would lead to increased radicalisation of politics.

Along with the other arrests, the authorities are holding a local employee from the British Embassy, who has been charged with "acting against national security".

Correspondents say, Iran's clerical leadership is showing a steely determination to keep control amid the controversy, and urging people to unity in the face of western enemies.

In another sign of this toughness, late on Sunday the commander of the Revolutionary Guard, under direct control of the supreme leader, acknowledged that his elite force had played a key role in putting an end to street protests.

Gen Mohammad Ali Jafari said the RG's intervention had given "new life" to the Islamic Revolution and "strengthened its pillars".
BBC

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It was Ahmadinejad's first national speech since the supreme leader declared the election results valid despite outcry from the other candidates and weeks of street protests claiming that the results were fraudulent.

"This is a new beginning for Iran ... we have entered a new era," the president said, explaining that the 85 percent turnout and overwhelming win had given his government a new legitimacy.

"It was the most clean and free election in the world," he said, adding that during the re-count "no fault was discovered. The whole nation understood this."

"This election has doubled the dignity of the Iranian nation," he said.

During the half hour speech, Iranians in many parts of the capital Tehran could be heard shouting from their rooftops, "death to the dictator" and "God is great" — actions that have become a symbol of defiance since the elections.

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In his speech Tuesday, president criticized his election rivals and accused them of working with Iran's enemies.

"Unfortunately, some people inside Iran collaborated with them. They repeated the remarks made by certain Western countries," Ahmadinejad said, as he accused the West of interfering in the country's politics.

"The result of their childish acts of interference in Iran's internal affairs is that the Iranian nation and government will enter the global stage several times more powerful," he said

Despite the regime's rhetoric, a number of top clerics have continued to question the election — a rare defiance of the supreme leader from the ranks of the religious establishment.

This week, a party close to one of the most politically powerful clerics — former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani — issued a statement rejecting Ahmadinejad's victory. It was one of the strongest hints yet on the powerful cleric's stance. He is the head of two major clerical ruling bodies and is a bitter enemy of Ahmadinejad, but has kept his distance from the postelection turmoil.

"Due to the unhealthy trend of the election, widespread irregularities and the support extended by a majority of Guardian Council members to a specific candidate, the result of this election is not acceptable," the Kargozaran party said in its statement, published on Mousavi's Web site.

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RT @atlatl2 Aren't Ahmadi's speech and Jackson's funeral happening at the same time? Was that intentional? #iranelectionabout 4 hours ago from TweetDeck

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Ahmadinejad about to appear on TV. Take down the grid. #iranelectionabout 4 hours ago from web

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Tehran will be in Forced Holiday tomorrow Again, in fear of General Strike and Demonstrations! #iranelectionabout 2 hours ago from web

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Black Out: Khomini Shahr, Shahin Shar, Folad Shahr,Kashan.., #iranelection #iranabout 2 hours ago from web

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It is More than 45 mins, People Still chanting on the roofs all over the city: Death To the Dictator! #iranelectionabout 3 hours ago from web

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By JASON REZAIAN in Dubai | 5 July 2009

[TEHRAN BUREAU] The many tools implemented by the Islamic Republic to sedate its populous are the same ones now being used as detours around restrictions of public assembly. I’ve often wondered, over the years, how Iran gets anything done with its endless series of public holidays honoring the births and deaths — mostly deaths — of important figures of its history, both ancient and modern.

Public art in Iran, the naming of streets and squares, and its political discourse are all wrapped up in a package laden with heavy doses of mourning. Ironic, as Iranians are notoriously lovers of all things living and lively.

What has become a dominant part of the social landscape is finally being co-opted by the people of Iran. Mourning rituals, once thought of as arcane practices of the second class, are now being used to mobilize the masses.

Over the past month and a half many of these moments have felt historically convenient. Perhaps it’s just that Iran has so many flashpoint dates in its old Islamic, as well as revolutionary history book. Regardless, these anniversaries keep popping up.

The next one, and perhaps most pivotal to the current movement, happens to fall on Thursday of this week: the 18th of Tir (or 9th of July.)

On that day in 1999 students protesting the closing of the reformist newspaper Salaam were attacked in their dormitories in Tehan and Tabriz. Six days of protests ensued, which began with several hundred students and blossomed into thousands of people from all walks of life supporting the demonstrations. They were the biggest display of anti-regime sentiment in the Islamic Republic’s then twenty-year history, and they were put down by the regime with a mandate by the threatened leadership to stop the unrest “at any cost.” Sounds familiar.

The difference between then and now is that ten years of small victories and heavy setbacks for reformers have left them disillusioned, but also hardened and more fearless. I have been in Iran on the 18th of Tir several times over the past eight years, and have seen firsthand that security is always heightened that day. The regime knows that in its love for anniversaries, they’ve created a volatile beast that may need taming. It’s interesting to note that I’ve also twice witnessed the same security increases on the anniversary of September 11.

Through the events of the past month it’s become very clear that deep cracks within the establishment exist, and they are now visible to everyone. A group of influential clerics in Qom have gone so far as to use the imagery of loss and mourning to begin to compare the recent death of protestors to those killed in the revolution and the war with Iraq. In a statement issued on the 4th of July, they asked to save “the dignity that was earned with the blood of tens of thousands of martyrs.” While such comparisons may seem early to some observers, the authors of the letter fully understand their intentions in making such a bold proclamation.

So far it’s unclear how this 18th of Tir will be marked. I’ve heard from friends still in Tehran that “something big” is in the works, but no one has any details yet. This is partially because they don’t want to broadcast their hand to the security forces, who will undoubtedly be prepared to defeat the crowds. Perhaps more troubling though is that, as with the original 18th of Tir protestors, so many of the current movement’s leadership has been detained or otherwise silenced.

Mass emails have begun to circulate, and I know of Iranians abroad planning to return to Tehran to participate in the protests. This is a marked difference from anti-regime protests of the past, many feebly fueled by calls from disreputable satellite channels beamed in from Los Angeles by self interested, self-proclaimed exiles.

No, this is something else entirely, and it will help separate those with the genuine goal of constructing an Iran that simultaneously respects its ancient past but also its goals for the future, from those callous opportunists who differ little no matter on which continent they perch.

Kudos to Marjane Satrapi for perfectly encapsulating what many have wanted to say for the past 30 years, but few have had the conviction or eloquence to do so.

“Once you leave your homeland, you can live anywhere. But I refuse to only die in Iran. I will one day live in Iran… or else my life will have had no meaning.”

Now the question is how many people making these pronouncements from abroad are ready to follow through, by making the simple gesture of returning to Iran.

The protests in Iran of the past month have become an issue of global importance to Iranians and non-Iranians alike. Thursday may prove very telling as to whether future generations will look back on the 18th of Tir as a day of celebration or just another in the long list of mourning.

Copyright © 2009 Tehran Bureau

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Khamenei's son takes control of Iran's anti-protest militia

• Mojtaba Khamenei's move dismays clerics and Revolutionary Guard generals
• Tehran doctor says death toll much higher than official figure

The son of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has taken control of the militia being used to crush the protest movement, according to a senior Iranian source.

The source, a politician with strong connections to the security apparatus, said that the leading role being played by Mojtaba Khamenei had dismayed many of the country's senior clerics, conservative politicians and Revolutionary Guard generals.

But these conservatives are reluctant to challenge the Khameneis openly out of fear that any conflict would destabilise the Islamic Republic and weaken Iran in the region. Instead they will use their positions in the organs of state to make it hard for the supreme leader and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to govern.

"This game has not finished. The game has only just started," the source said, on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his own position in Iran.

He said Mojtaba had played a leading role in orchestrating Ahmadinejad's disputed election victory on 12 June and had led the backlash against protests through direct control of street militias, known as basiji.

The official death toll from that backlash is less than 20 but, according to a Tehran doctor who has given his account to the Guardian, the actual number is much higher – 38 in the first week at his hospital alone. He said the basiji covered up the deaths and pressured doctors not to talk.

"Mojtaba is the commander of this coup d'etat. The basiji are operating on Mojtaba's orders, but his name is always hidden in all of this. The government never mentions him," the Iranian politician said. "Everyone is angry about this. The maraji [Iran's most senior ayatollahs] and the clerics are angry, the conservatives are very angry and strongly critical of Mojtaba. This situation cannot continue with so many people on the top against it."

Very little is known about Mojtaba Khamenei. He is the supreme leader's second son, reportedly being groomed to succeed his father. Such a dynastic succession would be very hard under present circumstances as the leader is supposed to be chosen by a clerical assembly of experts on the basis of the candidate's religious standing. Mojtaba wears clerical robes but by no means has the theological status to rise to the top job. A major upheaval in the clerical establishment would be required to arrange it.

Within Iran, Mojtaba is widely believed to control huge financial assets. There are claims on Iranian dissident websites that the current anti-British campaign in Tehran is motivated in part by Britain's announcement on 18 June that it had frozen nearly £1bn in Iranian assets, in accordance with UN and EU sanctions. The frozen funds included a lot of Mojtaba's money, it is claimed.

Mojtaba's name does not appear on the Treasury's list of targets of those sanctions, but one British official said the supreme leader's son may operate through state-run enterprises that are listed. "I'd be amazed if some of the money wasn't his," the official said.

The Iranian politician who spoke to the Guardian said the supreme leader had long been leaking support among the religious hierarchy on which his powerbase was once built and had now virtually lost it altogether. Among the roughly 20 maraji ("sources of emulation", from whose ranks the supreme leader is supposed to be chosen), he said Khamenei could only rely on the support of a handful.

He said that an axis of lay conservatives in important positions would also try to hinder Ahmadinejad's efforts to wield power. That axis includes Ali Larijani, the parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Tehran mayor, and Mohsen Rezai, one of the defeated presidential candidates and the secretary of the expediency council, which mediates disputes between the clerical and lay state institutions. They would be supported by the opposition's most powerful backer behind the scenes, former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the expediency council and the assembly of experts.

The Iranian source also claimed there were splits in another pillar of the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guard. The overall commander, General Ali Jafari, and the Tehran province commander, General Ali Fazli, were opposed to Mojtaba's power grab.

He said the hardline statements issued in the Revolutionary Guard's name, threatening a "decisive confrontation" with protesters, were the work of the political and public relations departments, which are under the direct control of Ahmadinejad, and did not represent a united position. That is a controversial claim. Most analyses have presented the Revolutionary Guard as monolithic and entirely behind the regime.

For revolutionary stalwarts uneasy over the direction of the regime, open rebellion was unthinkable, the politician said. "For them, the red line is the stability of the country," he said. "They will continue softly."

He said this hidden internecine struggle would last a considerable period and the outcome was far from clear. The only certainty was that the Khameneis and Ahmadinejad had not yet won. "They control things on the surface," he said. "But Iranians are not sheep."

* guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009

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Iran election protests: Iranians set Thursday as day of protest in more than 200 cities and towns

Ramin Mostaghim and Borzou Daragahi, Tribune Newspapers
July 9, 2009

TEHRAN - -- There are no formal organizers. But in cities across Iran, thousands of people are planning to silently march Thursday in forbidden demonstrations.

The protesters intend to show their discontent over the re-election last month of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and mark the 10th anniversary of a violent confrontation between students and security forces.

According to one circular passed around online, demonstrations are planned in more than 200 Iranian cities and towns, though opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has called for an end to public protests.

Tehran police chief Gen. Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam vowed Wednesday that his forces would confront any demonstration.
But many in Iran say they will go ahead with the demonstrations anyway.

"A virtual campaign is in full force, and nobody is able to keep it in check," said one announcement, advising protesters to carry no weapon heavier than a rose.

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No Mobile Network at Centrlal Tehran. #iranelectionabout 1 hour ago from web

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People Gathering at Vanak Sq. #iranelectionabout 1 hour ago from web

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Enghelab Sq is not completely closed but Police standing everywheree try to find key protesters among crowd...#iranelectionabout 1 hour ago from web

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Army Unit (IRG) Positioned infront of Interior Ministry. #iranelectionabout 1 hour ago from web

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Guards moving toward Jmalzadeh Cr. and Police replaced at Enghlab Sq. #iranelectionabout 1 hour ago from web

18 Tir 1388, Tehran, Bolvare Keshavarz (part 1)

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Violent clashes erupted today in downtown Tehran between more than a thousand determined young men and women chanting, "Death to the dictator" and "God is great" and security forces wielding truncheons.


The screams of a woman being beaten could be heard from nearby buildings, a witness said. Business owners could be seen hustling protesters into their buildings to shield them from plainclothes officers and anti-riot police who fired tear gas canisters.

Passing drivers and motorcyclists honked their horns and flashed the "V" sign in support of the clumps of demonstrators. At least one trash bin was set afire, a witness said, sending a plume of black smoke rising as dusk approached.

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Op donderdag 9 juli 2009 18:45 schreef Disana het volgende:
Bedankt voor de updates. Ik kende omidhabibinia nog niet trouwens.

Moedig dat ze de straat op zijn gegaan.

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Op donderdag 9 juli 2009 22:44 schreef Hukkie het volgende:
Toch welk frappant dat je hier over helemaal nie s in de media hoort of leest.

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Op vrijdag 10 juli 2009 00:46 schreef Disana het volgende:

[..]

Er was een nieuwsflits in het NOS Journaal van 8 uur, met beelden van rennende mensen. Er werd gezegd dat er met traangas werd gegooid.

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Call for Tomorrow Demonstatrtion at 17.00, Vali Asr Sq. #iranelectionabout 2 hours ago from web

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Two friends was with my injured friend arrested hospital, he got shot in the shoulder and may transfer to a military Hospital.#iranelectionabout 3 hours ago from web

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Ghaemi: many basijis in this week's #iranelection violence were under 18, many more than in previous protestsabout 5 hours ago from txt

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security source: #irenelection protesters did cause nationwide blackouts by deliberately spiking energy use during AN's July 6 TV speechabout 7 hours ago from web

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I will have to try get 100% gd source for Khamenei illness. No good speculating on rumours. #iranelection13 minutes ago from TweetDeck

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Khamenei ill & his son 2 take power? If tru, my sources no confirmation, then no wonder Grand Ayats welcome ppl turning on gov #iranelection15 minutes ago from TweetDeck