Reading Independence Day in Iran
American and Iranian revolutionary traditions surprisingly have much in common. When Americans celebrate the 4th of July, they often forget that the core purpose of the famous document penned by Thomas Jefferson was to declare independence from Great Britain. Had the colonies failed in that struggle for freedom to govern themselves, the Declaration of Independence’s famous “unalienable” rights to equality, liberty, and life would have been rendered not self-evident. -Wm. Scott Harrop and R.K. Ramazani - 7/4/09
How Could Iran's Hard-Liners Choose The Next Supreme Leader?
For the last 20 years, the supreme leader has been Ali Khamenei, a man who has never enjoyed that unquestioned status. Khamenei's problems stem from the fact that he was an unlikely choice from the beginning. He did not have the religious preeminence that underpinned Khomeini's central concept for an Islamic state: that it be led by the country's most learned Islamic jurist. -Mazyar Mokti, Charles Recknagel, RFE/RL - 7/4/09
Iranian Newspaper Accuses Opposition Leader of Treason
An editorial Saturday in the conservative daily Kayhan accuses Mr. Mousavi of working with foreign governments after he was defeated in last month's presidential vote. It accuses the former prime minister of acting on orders from the United States to incite the post-election riots. - 7/4/09
Iran Lawyer Says Reformers Held On Security Charges
Several leading reformists detained after last month's disputed presidential election have been accused of acting against national security, a Iranian lawyer has said. Saleh Nikbakht said he was the lawyer for prominent figures including former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, former Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Aminzadeh, former government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, and a former senior member of parliament, Mohsen Mirdamadi. -Reuters - 7/4/09
Iran brings formal charges against UK embassy official
A British embassy employee is to stand trial in Tehran for "acting against national security" — a dramatic escalation in Iran's campaign to blame Britain for protests against disputed election results. -Guardian - 7/4/09
EU Recalls Iranian Envoys in British Embassy Dispute
European Union nations have summoned Iranian ambassadors to protest the detention of British Embassy staff in Tehran. Officials say EU members agreed to the move Friday at a meeting in Brussels. EU officials are considering additional measures including visa bans on Iranian officials. - 7/3/09
Iran's Ultra-Conservatives May See Chance To Revive 'Wilting' Revolution
The hard-line camp of Iran's ruling establishment has so far quashed a major challenge by reformists. The fight has gone to the streets and at least 20 people have been killed by official count. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei -- who has frequently backed the hard-liners -- is ill, and a succession battle looms. Will the hard-liners leave the choice of the next supreme leader to chance? - 7/3/09
I Must Go Home to Iran Again
Six years ago, I went to listen to a man, whom I will not name, in a café in Paris. He said it had been 24 years since he had been back to Iran, that he had to leave right after the revolution of 1979 for political reasons. He talked of many things, and he ended by saying: “Once you leave your homeland, you can live anywhere, but I refuse to die anywhere other than Iran — or else my life will have had no meaning.” -Marjane Satrapi, NY Times - 7/3/09
Let the Usurpers Writhe
Two weeks after Iran’s ballot-box putsch, mysteries still envelop it. Why have a pre-electoral freedom-fest, bring hundreds of journalists to Tehran to witness it, then put on a horror show, throwing them into jail or out of the country? Everything I saw — the sheer brazen clumsiness of the vote theft and its hysterical, club-wielding aftermath — suggest a last-minute decision. -Roger Cohen, NY Times - 7/3/09
Statement in solidarity with the people of Iran in their struggle for democracy and freedom
In the last few weeks the world has witnessed extensive and savage suppression of peaceful protests of hundreds of thousands of Iranian people triggered off by the blatant theft of the June presidential elections. - 7/3/09
Keeping hope alive in Iran
Mousavi's criticism of the Iran regime is no longer about the election – it's about the future of the opposition movement -Baqer Moin, Guardian - 7/3/09
Iran Pursuing Doctor Who Helped Neda, But Interpol Denies Knowledge
Iran's police chief says a doctor who was present at the death of a young Iranian woman during opposition street protests in Tehran is under investigation by both Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and by the international policy agency Interpol. - 7/3/09
No sign Iran seeks nuclear arms: new IAEA head
The incoming head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Friday he did not see any hard evidence Iran was trying to gain the ability to develop nuclear arms. Amano, a veteran Japanese diplomat, won over the agency's member states on Friday, including developing countries which had tried to thwart his bid for the politically-sensitive post. -Reuters - 7/3/09
Achievements
Despite the expected approval of the results of the election by the Guardian Council, what is achieved so far is fantastic. First achievement, the solidarity of Iranians throughout the world. Second, re-gaining of our Iranian international respect and prestige. Third, learning about the people around, from neighbors to colleagues, relatives … Fourth, the collapse of censorship for a short period in pre-election days. The fifth which hopefully will continue and deepen is the growth of understanding and thus forgiveness of the ignorant brainwashed militia... -Roya Monajem, Tehran - 7/2/09
Many Religious Figures Critical Of Iran Election Results: Cleric
In Iran, Ayatollah Jalaledin Taheri, the former Friday Prayers leader in the city of Isfahan, recently described the reelection of Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad as "illegitimate" and "tyrannical." In recent days, a number of other Iranian clerics have stepped up to criticize the official election result and the ensuing crackdown on peaceful protesters. - 7/2/09
Former Iranian President: Election 'Coup' Against Democracy
Former Iranian president and leading reformist Mohammad Khatami says the outcome of Iran's disputed presidential election is a "coup" against democracy. Khatami also accused Iran's government of suppressing the rights of people to protest the election results. His statement Wednesday comes two days after Iran's powerful Guardian Council upheld the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. - 7/2/09
Crackdown In Iran Spawns Creative Forms Of Dissent
It's been more than a week since protesters last took to the streets of Tehran in their tens of thousands. Protesters are finding other ways to air their views, even amid a clampdown on the media. They include turning on car headlights or honking horns. Or releasing homemade green balloons from rooftops. And there are new underground newspapers being passed among protesters and cropping up on the Internet. - 7/2/09
Sadeq Larijani To Replace Shahroudi As Iran's Judiciary Chief: Sources
After serving almost ten years as the Judiciary chief, many say Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi will soon be replaced by Guardian Council member Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, the Mehr News Agency has learned. - 7/2/09
Iran's Opposition Down but Not Out
Tehran's streets, in which hundreds of thousands of demonstrators thronged two weeks ago, have largely gone quiet. Small-scale demonstrations are still staged every couple of days, but the regime has effectively reasserted control through its willingness to use violence, and the threat of violence, against those protesting the disputed election result. But the absence of protesters from the streets doesn't signal an end to the political crisis that has roiled the regime -TIME - 7/2/09
Brown: Iran Using Britain as Scapegoat for Political Unrest
The diplomatic row between Tehran and London continues to rumble. Speaking during prime minister's question time in the House of Commons, Gordon Brown said he believed some elements in Iran are using Britain as an excuse not to allow totally lawful demonstrations to go ahead. - 7/2/09
Swedes Launch EU Presidency With Plea To Iran
Sweden found its diplomatic prowess tested on the very first morning of its European Union Presidency as relations between Iran and the bloc appear to be heading into free fall. EU diplomats say member states are calling for a temporary mass pullout of the bloc's ambassadors from Tehran in protest over the arrests of nine of the British Embassy's Iranian staff on charges of sedition last week. - 7/2/09
Russia Still Opposes US Plan for Missile Shield in Eastern Europe
Russia strongly opposes the U.S. plan to station a missile defense system in Eastern Europe. That issue will be discussed during the upcoming summit meeting in Moscow between U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev. - 7/2/09
Iran Opposition Leaders Speak Amid Crackdown
Iranian opposition figures re-emerged to accuse the government of a virtual coup against its people and plan a new political party, even as the regime hardened its crackdown on opponents and accused them of endangering national security. -Farnaz Fassihi, WSJ - 7/2/09
Nick Ferrari quits show on Iran-funded Press TV channel
Ferrari quit his Press TV show following what he claims, according to today's Times, was a shift in what had been "reasonably fair" coverage after the election on 12 June. -Guardian - 7/2/09
Made for Revolution: Iran and Us
Iran’s social contradictions have once more erupted into conflict. It does not help for us to wave the flag of intervention, or even to throw our support between one or the other camp in this current situation. Mass action within Iran is now a well-developed institution. The best solidarity from afar is to be analytical, not emotional about what is occurring. -Vijay Prashad, Counterpunch - 7/2/09
Ahmadinejad's rivals defiant on Iran vote
Two losing contenders in Iran's presidential election denounced the result Wednesday in clear defiance of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's next cabinet would be illegitimate. Also, a leading reformist party said the election had been a "coup d'etat" that harmed the legitimacy of the establishment. -Reuters - 7/1/09
Chancellor denies asking police to enter University of Tehran dormitory
University of Tehran Chancellor Farhad Rahbar rejected claims on Tuesday that he had asked the police to enter the university's dormitory on June 15. Kouhkan, a leading MP in the conservative camp, said, "Rahbar himself had asked the security forces to enter the University of Tehran's dormitory in order to maintain the security." - 7/1/09
Iran says 20 killed in turmoil as opposition wanes
Iran said on Wednesday that 20 people were killed and more than 1,000 arrested in the wave of protests over the disputed presidential poll as the authorities kept up the pressure on the opposition. "No policeman was killed in the Tehran riots but 20 rioters were killed," Iran's police chief Ahmadi Moghaddam said. -AFP - 7/1/09
Interview: 'Iranians Have Inspired People Around the World'
Iran's postelection crisis and the protests by many Iranians calling for change have generated a lot of media interest around the world, especially in the United States, where a number of popular websites have been live blogging the events in Iran. One of these websites is "The Huffington Post," - 7/1/09
Teach-In on Iran in Los Angeles: Uprising Of The Human Spirit - Peaceful Evolution not Bloody Revolution
Thursday, July 2 - Come learn what's really going on in Iran; bring your questions and curiosities - Panel: Narges Erami, Amitis Motevalli, Nasrin Rahimieh, Muhammad Sahimi, Ali Shakeri - 7/1/09
Basij militia calls for Mousavi to be prosecuted over post-election unrest
Iran's opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi today became the target of the notorious Basij militia as it called for him to be prosecuted for his role in the greatest political unrest in Iran since the Islamic revolution. -Guardian - 7/1/09
New Bipartisan Measure Targets Companies Selling Sensitive Technology to the Government of Iran
On June 26th, Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) announced their plan to introduce legislation which would place restrictions on companies that sell the Iranian government sensitive electronic equipment that could be used to spy on their citizens. - 7/1/09
The Walk
Today I saw hundreds of my brothers and sisters with wills made of steel who were visibly showing the V sign of victory; in groups large and small or individually they had taken to the streets and will do so again and again this week and next week and next month until we, the youth of the land of Iran, of the Iranzamin, will shake off all the tyrants of power and demand our right to peaceful demonstrations, the annulment of this charade of an election and move towards more transparency and democratic government and an equal rule of law for a better Iran for all. -Kamand Saba, Tehran - 6/30/09
Iran: Detained political leaders at risk of torture, possibly to force "confessions"
Amnesty International is gravely concerned that several opposition leaders detained in the wake of the 12 June elections may be facing torture, possibly to force them to make televised "confessions" as a prelude to unfair trials in which they could face the death penalty. - 6/30/09
Liberty and the Tehran Spring
A small but vocal number of U.S. anti-interventionists are reacting to the sight of hundreds of thousands of Iranians putting their lives on the line for a greater measure of liberty. If Iran is being threatened by the U.S. government, then the regime must be unconditionally defended, no matter how bloody the repression. It is Szamuely redux, and it is wrong, both factually and morally. -Justin Raimondo, antiwar.com - 6/30/09
Clinton Cites 'Huge Credibility Gap' in Iran Over Election
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that a "huge credibility gap" remains among Iranians about their country's June 12 presidential election, despite the partial vote recount that is said to have upheld the announced victory by incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Clinton also deplored Iran's detention of several Iranian staff members of the British embassy in Tehran. - 6/30/09
The Iranian Uprising: Green, But Not Velvet
Democracy activists in Iran believe that another strong independent opposition is being born within the system that is not looking for regime change; critics, observers and outside actors need to respect and accommodate this birth, and not undermine it through sectarian and selective politics. -Farid Marjai - 6/30/09
US forces to free Iranian diplomats
As part of its security accord with the Baghdad government, the US military will release the Iranian diplomats it took hostage in Iraq two years ago. - 6/30/09
Iran hardliners hail confirmation of Ahmadinejad win
"Those who asked for the annulment of 10th presidential election are anti-revolutionary and against the regime," hardline cleric Ahmad Khatami told the official news agency IRNA, in an apparent reference to opposition groups led by Mousavi. -AFP - 6/30/09
Panel Discussion at UCLA: Iran after the 10th Presidential Elections
July 1st, 7-9 PM: The Islamic Republic of Iran and the question of Legitimacy; An Ethical Appraisal of the Absolute Rule of Jurist; The Women’s Role in the Elections and Post-Elections Politics; and The Post-Election Coup and Prospects for the Future - 6/30/09
U.S. grants support to Iranian dissidents
The Obama administration is moving forward with plans to fund groups that support Iranian dissidents, records and interviews show, continuing a program that became controversial when it was expanded by President Bush. -USA Today - 6/30/09
1979: The Great Backlash
If you want to understand the surge of politicized religion, post-communist globalization, and laissez-faire economics that has defined our modern era, forget 1968. Forget even 1989. It's 1979 that's the most important year of all. -FP - 6/30/09
Change Lies in Iran's Institutions
That means the regular army, with ample reason to resent Mr. Ahmadinejad and his Revolutionary Guard loyalists, is a potential force to power the opposition. One U.S. official says there are reports of "discomfort" among some army officers -- and even among some leaders of the Revolutionary Guard -- at how opposition is being crushed within Iran. -WSJ - 6/30/09
Envoy: US has no plans for Iraq talks with Iran
The United States has no imminent plans to resume talks with Iran about Iraq, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq said Monday, taking a hard line against Tehran amid tension over its postelection turmoil. -AP - 6/30/09
Iran Confirms Ahmadinejad Win After Partial Vote Recount
News Iranian officials have again declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of the nation's disputed presidential election. The powerful group that supervises Iran's elections, the Guardian Council, conducted a partial recount Monday of 10 percent of random ballot boxes nationwide. - 6/29/09
Iran's Guardians Council Begins Partial Recount
Iran's Guardians Council has begun a partial recount of the country's fiercely disputed presidential vote, state media report. The move follows more than two weeks of sometimes deadly street clashes as hundreds of thousands of Iranians protested against initial results that showed incumbent conservative Mahmud Ahmadinejad winning in a landslide. - 6/29/09
Battle for Iran shifts from the streets to the heart of power
The power struggle inside Iran appears to be moving from the streets into the heart of the regime itself this weekend amid reports that Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani is plotting to undermine the power of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Rafsanjani's manoeuvres against Khamenei come as tensions between the speaker of the parliament, Ali Larijani, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also appeared to be coming to a head. -Guardian - 6/29/09
Making Sense of Recent Events in Iran
Events in Iran are usually more complicated than they look at the first glance. Recent events are no exception. It seems they are protest by a people whose election is stolen. This is sure true. As many have pointed out, the land-slide victory of Mr. Ahmadinejad is a statistical improbability. There is no doubt that his re-election is a fraud. Thus people are justifiably asking "where is my vote?" -Reza Ghorashi - 6/29/09
Crackdown In Iran Puts Mousavi in Tight Spot
With the opposition visibly weakening in Iran amid a government crackdown, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his supporters have begun to use his disputed victory in this month's election to toughen the nation's stance internationally and to consolidate control internally. -Thomas Erdbrink, Washington Post - 6/29/09
US Says Door Remains Open for Nuclear Talks With Iran
Top Obama administration officials say the door remains open for nuclear talks with Iran. They are discounting the latest anti-American rhetoric from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. - 6/29/09
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