Iranian views: Divided country

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sworn in as president in the Iranian parliament. But protests over the disputed 12 June election have continued and Iran’s political elite appear divided.

(BBC | 5 August 2009) – Here, four Iranians reflect on the inauguration of the president and the future of the country. Read the rest of this entry »

August 6, 2009 Protest

Tehran Bazar, 14 Mordad (5 AUG)

Iran’s crisis – does it feel like velvet?

Submitted by Leila Zand for FORpeace on August 5, 2009 – 6:01pm.

Much has been written, discussed, and debated since the Iranian presidential election in June. One of the most interesting subjects discussed in these conversations and debates, both in the U.S. among activist groups and in Iran among politicians on both sides (the “Principalists” and the“Reformists”), is the nature of the uprisings that began right after the election and that still continue. Read the rest of this entry »

Defiant Ahmadinejad sworn in as president

(Al Jazeera English – August 5, 2009) Iran’s president begins his second term of office by appealing for unity and denouncing foreign interference even as some protesters are reportedly arrested in Tehran. In a defiant speech he again blamed foreign powers for the post-election unrest.  Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston reports.

Inauguration Expected To Spark More Unrest In Iran

National Public Radio – August 3, 2009

By Mike Schuster Read the rest of this entry »

Iranians Gather in Grief, Then Face Police

Protesters chanting slogans at an opposition rally at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery outside Tehran on Thursday.

By ROBERT F. WORTH and NAZILA FATHI (New York Times, July 30, 2009)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Thousands of people gathered in Tehran on Thursday to commemorate those killed in Iran’s post-election crackdown, but a vast deployment of police officers used tear gas and wooden batons to disperse them, in some of the largest and most violent street clashes in weeks.

The mourners gathered at the freshly-dug graves of protesters, including Neda Agha-Soltan, a young woman whose bloodied image has become an icon of the opposition movement. As opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi arrived at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, the police barred him from entering, and angry mourners chanted “Neda lives! Ahmadinejad is dead!” referring to Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, witnesses said. Read the rest of this entry »

Reports of Prison Abuse and Deaths Anger Iranians

By ROBERT F. WORTH (Published in the New York Times on July 28, 2009)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Some prisoners say they watched fellow detainees being beaten to death by guards in overcrowded, stinking holding pens. Others say they had their fingernails ripped off or were forced to lick filthy toilet bowls.

The accounts of prison abuse in Iran’s postelection crackdown — relayed by relatives and on opposition Web sites — have set off growing outrage among Iranians, including some prominent conservatives. More bruised corpses have been returned to families in recent days, and some hospital officials have told human rights workers that they have seen evidence that well over 100 protesters have died since the vote.

Read the rest of this entry »

Windows on Iran – 84 / Election Special

Dear All,

It is now believed that the Friday rally [w]as bigger than a million [people].

New developments are reported in Iran around the clock. While there is frustration, there is also hope that some positive changes will result.  Please see the PeaceWithIran.com posting for photos of recent demonstrations.

36 Army Officers Arrested

Quoting Persian websites, Mr. Mousavi’s Facebook [site] reported – hours ago – that on Friday (July 17) 36 army officers were arrested in Iran because they planned to attend Mr. Rafsanjani’s sermon wearing their uniforms as a sign of the opposition of the army to the way members of the Basij have treated peaceful protesters in Iran.  While these officers were arrested before taking their action, their plan may represent the feeling among a larger segment of the army which has not made its sentiments public yet.  For more on this, please see the July 19 article, “36 Army officers arrested over protest plan,” in the Guardian (UK). Read the rest of this entry »

Tehran’s streets erupt after a key cleric speaks

Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s harsh rebuke of Ahmadinejad supporters is followed by renewed violence, suggesting the discontent over recent election results is as strong as ever.

AP Video of July 17 Protests (Click image to see video)

By Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim in the Los Angeles Times July 17, 2009 (9:24 AM PDT)

Reporting from Tehran and Beirut — Security forces fired tear gas and plainclothes militiamen armed with batons charged at crowds of protesters gathered near Tehran University after a Friday prayer sermon delivered by the cleric and opposition supporter Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, his first appearance at the nation’s weekly keynote sermon since before the election. Read the rest of this entry »

Friday Surprise in Iran?

Published on July 16, 2009 in the The Daily Beast by Reza Aslan

AP Photo

Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the second most powerful man in Iran, is delivering the Friday Sermon in Tehran. Will it be the end of the protests, or a new challenge to the regime?

Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the second most powerful man in Iran (after the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) and one of the principal figures behind the anti-Ahmadinejad movement that has rocked the country over the last month, will deliver the Friday Sermon in Tehran this week, the first time he has been offered the prestigious pulpit in years. Read the rest of this entry »