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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Riddle of the Day: the Obama Ideology

American Thinker: "Obama's Attraction to Human Rights Violators", by Lauri B. Regan

(...) Sadly, the Obama presidency keeps getting "curiouser and curiouser." According to Obama, Israel's settlement building is illegal, the Iranian elections are legitimate, and the Honduran military's respect for the rule of law is not legal. In other words, it is fine for the Obama administration to meddle in the internal affairs of a sovereign ally, it has no interest in defending a popular uprising in which people are dying in the name of freedom, and it will support the Chavez-cloned dictator in the face of a democratic struggle.


Many have suggested that due to the voter fraud pervasive during his campaign, Obama is not troubled by a similar occurrence in the Iranian and Honduran elections. Yet this is the same man that made human rights a benchmark of his campaign speeches. And how does one rationalize his completely irrational responses to the various events taking place across the globe as citizens of repressed nations attempt to achieve freedom and democracy. The leader of the free world persists on choosing the wrong side of the fight.

The only discernable pattern to Obama's foreign policy decisions since taking office seems to reflect an attraction by Obama to dictatorial governments and disdain for freedom loving democracies. How else can one rationalize the disparity between his silence and weak response to the protests and bloodshed in Iran and his powerful and demanding response to the coup in Honduras? America's President is consistently supportive of tyrants at the expense of oppressed citizens who bear a terrible price for his policies. (...) >>>
We claim, it's the Postmodern philosophy - of which BHO is the quintessential adept - making a bee-line from the Anti Modernist (or the Counter-Enlightenment) movement headed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Kant and Hegel, straight to Marx (Socialism, Communism), Nietzsche (proto Nazi), Heidegger (Nazi and full-blown pomo), to post WWII Existentialists (Stalin and Mao apologists) to the Deconstructionists (Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, Richard Rorty, et al).

This is what author Richard Wolin has to say about that branch of anti philosophy:
"Time and again [these] commentators express their surprise of postmodernism ending up on a par with Nazi, Fascist or extreme Nationalist ideas, expressing their shock, shock at postmodernist involvement in Nazi scandals, or anti-philosophes suddenly spouting crypto Fascist propaganda. Richard Wolin admits that the postmodern assault on reason familiarly rings of the standard European reactionary critique as traditionally expressed by the anti-modernists [Richard Wolin, "The Seduction of Unreason: The Intellectual Romance with Fascism from Nietzsche to Postmodernism", Princeton University Press, 2004, Introduction p. 12]. "

The
discerning observer might notice what connects these thinkers and ideologies: collectivism and an abhorrence for "middle-class" democratic values, individualism and capitalism.

On the other hand, another contributor lately came up with this novel approach, which may be the same conclusion by another route. What do you think?

American Thinker: "Obama, the African Colonial", by L.E. Ikenga

Had Americans been able to stop obsessing over the color of Barack Obama's skin and instead paid more attention to his cultural identity, maybe he would not be in the White House today. The key to understanding him lies with his identification with his father, and his adoption of a cultural and political mindset rooted in postcolonial Africa. (...) >>>

- Filed on Articles in "The Pomo Presidency" - 

Monday, June 29, 2009

Iran: The Fall Out

After the indignation and outrage, the rejections and the errors, there are emotions, opinions and peoples hedging their bets. A few wise men have written op-eds in support, among them former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton - a keen observer as ever - and former Spanish PM, Jose Maria Aznar. Rejectionists talk of the geopolitical need for a stable Iran, as if an oppressive regime isn't inherently always instable.

Present blog has - reluctantly at first - endorsed the popular participation in the revolt. The de facto leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, is after all a man steeped in the history of the bloody Islamofascist Republic.

On the other hand, thanks to the theocratic system, he's all they've got! If Iranians have entrusted him with their destiny, then so be it!

The alternative is the status quo. Only the most deluded libtard can believe nuclear war is still avoidable by parley with the regime.

Yeah, like Chamberlain: peace in our time. It has now become quite clear what Obama's 'negotiation rounds' with despots will lead to: nuclear extortion and the legitimization of evil regimes, while democratic movements and innocents are left in the lurch.

It beggars belief, but the most cynical of Postmodern nihilists even side with them. They believe in the Great and the Small Satan as much as the regime does. But it is not too late to let wisdom prevail over foreign policy by false emotion.

So, what the world is presented with here is a unique opportunity to change the course of history, which in its current trajectory may prove very ugly indeed. Almost inevitably we will find Mousavi wanting, but that does not warrant the cold rejection of this brave effort.

Pamela Geller has these observations (Brava! she also chased down the Swiss bank accounts):

American Thinker: "The Case for Iran: Fighting for Freedom"

Many people (including Barack Obama) have pointed out that Mir Hussein Mousavi, the defeated presidential candidate and a key figure in the Iranian protests, is scarcely different from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. After his numerous overtures to the mullahs, it is not hard to know why Obama is hoping the opposition will be crushed. But there are signs that many of the Iranian protesters are not fighting for Mir Hussein Mousavi. Mousavi is an Islamic Republic establishment hack. Are people in Iran dying for more of the same thing they have been getting from the Islamic Republic for thirty years? (...) 

The ultimate question is what a regime change, or even modification of the regime with a Mousavi as president, would mean to Iran's nuclear program. I am optimistic on this front for two reasons: one, because I do not hear Mousavi saying bad things about the U.S. and Israel to whip up the crowds; and two, if he wants rapprochement with the West, he will have to give up the bomb. And I think he does want the support of the West. If he becomes President, he will need the West as a bulwark in his defenses against a resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism.

He is a Muslim -- nothing much has changed about that, but he may bow to pressure from the Iranian people for a relaxation of Shari'a rule and a return to something like the way Iranian society was under the Shah. This could lead him to moderate things in Iran a bit: no bomb, and perhaps no Syria, Hezb'allah and Abbas as proxies by which to wage terrorism. It is conceivable.  This result would be wonderful in light of the ongoing radicalization of Syria, Turkey, and Pakistan. A moderate Iran could be a very stabilizing thing in the region. This is why Obama's failure to seize the moment is so shortsighted and stupid. (...) >>>

Amen to that. In his blog today Afshin Ellian writes that Makhmalbaf, the Iranian film director and Mousavi's representative in Paris called upon Mousavi not to send the people home, oppressed by loneliness and disappointment. "Do not demand from an illegal Government its permission to demonstrate. The majority voted for you and awaits your orders. Ask us to go onto the streets, for picketing and combat".

"Makmalbaf is a incisive intellectual. Yes, the people want a leader. They are not afraid for Basieej and other scum. (...) The entire Middle East is watching Persia closely. If the Persians can obtain a modicum of freedom and the rule of law, it may well spread like an oil spill all over the Middle East."

"One thing is for sure: the tyranny in Persia is collapsing on many fronts. The hegemony of Islamofascism can no longer be taken for granted. Mousavi will not forsake Iran's Nedas."

Just in: a young man molested yesterday by state thugs at a "legal" rally:



Mousavi site in English, more link ups. And honor where due, The Guardian has been very good during this entire episode. They're now putting faces to the missing, killed and detained. Report them with The Guardian.

Shout (فریاد) Update

... and then there's this! 



The above comes courtisy of Afhin Ellian's blog on Elsevier. He writes:

"Mohammed Reza Shadjarian is presently the most famous, traditional singer in Iran. He is not a modernist. But his music was barely tolerated. Shadjarian demanded that Iranian state broadcasting would no longer play his patriotic songs. For the ralliers he sang this impressive song: "The Shout".

Artists have made it into a video clip. The images are wonderful: women with open arms, a petrified man standing over a corps, hope and a green heart. This is the translation:

I knock with my fist on a door;
I rub my hand over the windows.
I am suffocating, oppressed, suffocated.
It's closing in on me, unbearably.
I will shout;
Oh, I am with you;
Open the doors.


I am looking for space
on a roof
on a mountain top
in the heart of a dessert
to breath fresh air.
I want to shout long and hard,
so that my voice be heard.

I will shout;
my pain will heal through righteousness.
Who of you sleepers will emerge,
to shout along with me?
When I pound the door with my fist (...) 


Sunday, June 28, 2009

Anatomy of a Power Struggle



Consider also this interview with former CIA operative Robert Baer.

Here's more footage of today's demos at Ghoba Mosque.  This is far from over.

A Tribute to the Heroes of the Democratic Movement of Iran



By Meanstreak

Revolution in Iran updates the list of those who paid the ultimate price.

The Axis of Pomo

The New York Times for once conformed to reality in palpably painting the atmosphere of melancholy that has descended on the city of Tehran like a suffocating blanket. Reuters relays Human Rights Watch reporting that "paramilitary Basij forces stage nightly raids in Tehran, invading private homes and beating residents in an attempt to stop protests against Iran's disputed election."

"Witnesses are telling us that the Basijis are trashing entire streets and even neighborhoods as well as individual homes trying to stop the nightly rooftop protest chants," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a June 26 report by the New York-based group.
State terrorism has been part of Marxist revolutionary theory from the outset. One might translate the justification into what Alexander Solzhenitsyn called "the lie": the ethics of our goal is so noble, that all live by the convention to pretend we reached "cosmic achievement", if not .... 

Reality is incontrovertible, but lies and pretence can be extorted. The pretence of having reached the culmination of human makeability never fails to sharply contrast with the reality of poverty, misery, oppression, and amorality followed by spiritual death.

This is all made possible by the fallacy that thought creates reality (leading to pretence, wishful thinking and make-believe), resting in turn on the omission to distinguish between metaphysical reality and man-made reality (notable exception: global warming).

We've written extensively about the relationship between coercion and Utopian ideology in a series entitled "The Left's* Default Position: Coercion" of which the third part is yet to be posted. 

Not all may have gotten the picture at the time, but the Islamic Revolution in Iran was heavily injected with the serum of Postmodernity. The result is a highly corrosive potion of Islamism, Socialism and Fascism, also known as the Unholy Alliance. Waller R. Newell explains it brilliantly in "Postmodern Jihad" in The Weekly Standard.

But back to updating the situation, there's some breaking news vying with events involving President Zeyala of Honduras, yet another Postmodern, Chavist President displaying the usual contempt for the Constitution of his country, and whose army doesn't intent to wait till freedom has been forfeited altogether (we'll pick up that story elsewhere; Fausta has more on what is by now is a full blown coup; WH reiterating polylogistic Prime Directive).

CNN: "Iran allows demonstration despite weekend clampdown"

It may well be a ploy, but the regime will allow a demonstration at Tehran's Ghoba mosque Sunday, CNN has confirmed.  The gathering is officially meant to honor Mohammad Beheshti, a hero of the 1979 Islamic Revolution who was killed in a bombing on this date in 1981. (...) A post on a Web site associated with opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi urged people to go to the rally. (...) >>>

Also, local staff members of the British Embassy in Iran have been arrested. (...)  "The Foreign Office did not confirm the number of people held. Last week, Tehran expelled two British diplomats. London responded by booting two Iranians. Iran then recalled its ambassador to Britain, saying it would reconsider its diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom."

- Caption: first image from Ghoba Mosque. Also watch Twitcaps for the latest tweet pictures. First video on YouTube

The latest: AP: "Iranian police clash with up to 3,000 protesters"

The reports could not immediately be independently verified because of tight restrictions imposed on journalists in Iran.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.

The reason why the golden opportunity to steer Iran off its nuclear collision course with history was squandered, is that it sadly coincides with a Postmodernist currently occupying the White House. Enough has been commented on the failed Iran policy over the last few weeks. But no mistake: this is a wake-up call. It is not all that difficult to peek into the future by the art of extrapolation. If so, do Gird Your Loins! The forces of retrogression are gathering.


* "the Left" here stands for Leftist and Rightist Socialists

Saturday, June 27, 2009

The Legacy of Margaret Thatcher

Reason TV present John Blundell and the legacy of The Iron Lady:


View in a pod "The Legacy of Margaret Thatcher", posted with vodpod
More on John Blundell's biography of Margaret Thatcher.

Behind the Scenes of a Popular Revolt

As the revolt appears to be sizzling out, seventeen people gave their lives for freedom, including a young woman who has become the icon of Liberty in Iran. Attached again the footage of her violent death at the request of another young student in Tehran. This is his blog.



As we are doing so, the site of the Foundation for Democracy in Iran (FDI) appears to have obtained information about what and who's behind the ongoing power struggle. On June 23 they rebut our information that: "FDI sources tell us that the real power behind the Khamenei throne is not so much his son, Mojtaba, but the long-standing head of IRGC intelligence, Morteza Rezai. (...) 

Two years ago, Morteza Rezai "retired" from the IRGC, but our sources say he was put in charge of a top secret program on behalf of Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, to guarantee his re-election in 2009. Part of the plan, as we revealed below (Update 3 from yesterday) was for Ahmadinejad to suspend the constitutional term limits on his office, and become president for life - like Hugo Chavez. All the billions of dollars these reformists say has gone missing these past few years have gone to Morteza Rezai to plan this coup," a former Iranian intelligence officer told FDI."

Update 3 reads: "Ahmadinejad sought to become president for life. In a memo that purports to be a transcription of private notes taken at a pre-election meeting of Ahmadinejad's top staff in April, Ahmadinejad explains that as soon as his re-election victory is announced as planned, they have to move "very quickly" to replace key members of the Judiciary and other government agencies in order to change the constitution "to remove the 8-year limitation"on the president's term. If Parliament interferes, Ahmadinejad tells his top aids that they will "learn a lesson soon after we take office." Pointing to the success of Hugo Chavez in suspending term limits in Veneuzuela, Ahmadinejad boasts: "If Chavez was able to achieve this, so can we." Read the memo."

NiteOwl on Anonymous Iran forum has 're-engineered' events in Iran during the last couple of days from translated tweets. "No large rallies or protests were held today [Friday 26]. There were unconfirmed reports of small gatherings in isolated areas of the city, but for the most part, Tehran didn't seem to witness the same as it has been for the past two weeks. Sources indicated that it was in no way a sign of giving up, but rather a brief interval in more protests that are to come. They added that currently, the Sea of Green is organizing and regrouping as well as coming up with new ways to defy the authorities and also know of the fate of their leaders in order to progress." Hat Tip: Bill Collier Freedomists.

Word in the Washington Post has it that autocrates around the world are feverishly pulling the levers of censorship out of fear the Iranian "sea of green" might infect their own oppressed populations. (Is this a missed opportunity, or what?!) And Jacko isn't helping either.

Over on the Daily Beast Scott Horton, law professor and writer on legal and national security affairs details for us the violence and gruesome torture tactics wielded by the regime. It contains a link to visual evidence of a tweet we were alerted to the other day and few dared credit: that a militiaman had taken an axe to the protesters.

On the diplomatic front we can but hope President O is a fast student of ethics. As the eyeless dwarf of Tehran observed, Obama has already manipulated himself into a corner (White House press briefings would beg to ahmm, d...difffer): 

Fox News: "Ahmadinejad: U.S. 'Has Made a Mistake'"

Iran's hardline president lashed out anew at the United States and President Barack Obama on Saturday, accusing him of interference and suggesting that Washington's stance on Iran's postelection turmoil could imperil Obama's aim of improving relations. (...) "They keep saying that they want to hold talks with Iran ... but is this the correct way? Definitely, they have made a mistake," Ahmadinejad said. (...) >>>

Dutch-Iranian refugee, pundit and Leiden University lecturer, 
Afshin Ellian has another great post up at Elsevier. He disects the erratic Obama policies and in an astute analysis calls him "not the President of ethics, but the President of polls". With reference to the 4th of July invitation extended before the Iranian elections and affirmed only last week, Ellian wonders what Obama believes the relationship is between the Islamofascists and "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness"? An excellent question. Obama uninvited the mullahs only when poll figures began to plummet: over sixty percent of Americans disapprove of his Iran policies.

Talking of Neda's assassination Obama said that "yes, he's the President of the U.S. and at stake is national security of the United States".  Iranian state radio repeated that single sentence and added: "And Ahmadinejad is the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ellian poses the rhetorical question," since when is the Islamic Republic not a matter of U.S. national security?Obama prostrates before the King of Saudi Arabia, but is immovable where freedom is concerned!"

The author has shredded his invitation for the 4th of July festivities, lamenting the inexperience of the President. He then goes on to hit the nail on the head: "Or is he pro Ahmadinejad?" Well, of course he is! As we've already figured, the Postmodern President is a sucker for power (why do you think the genuflexion before the Saudi King occurred?), and harbors a philosophical contempt for democracy and every other value his country stands for.

- Caption: Hat Tip Foundation for Democracy in Iran

Ellian wraps up his post by remarking on the green and black balloons that went up yesterday all over Iran--green for 'Change', black for mourning (see also reports on Demotix).

Updating throughout. 

Friday, June 26, 2009

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Iranian Uprising and the Forces of Retrogression

A Pajamas TV item yesterday showed a clip of the US President quipping at a press conference at the expense of John McCain at a time when people are dying in the streets of Tehran. In the same item we are informed that Obama has extended invitations to Iranian officials to join the festivities on the 4th of July. Perhaps we should not be surprised at the administration's pussyfooting where the mullahs are concerned. They're in his own circle of advisors! Do watch the entire episode. But there's more.

Yesterday we learnt from an exclusive in the The Washington Times that invitations to parley were extended to the Ayatollahs even before the elections, and that the overture was ridiculed by Khamenei in his now infamous Friday sermon.

Ken Timmerman on NewsMax tells of a key Iranian dissident who was stunned when he heard Obama tell reporters that, despite government's brutal crackdown in Tehran, the Islamic Republic has time to regain “legitimacy” in the eyes of the Iranian people. “I was hoping President Obama would lead the world and start a boycott of Iranian oil,” said former presidential candidate and opposition activist Mohsen Sazegara. (...) “This is the best way to save the lives of the Iranian people.” Instead, Sazegara told Newsmax, he listened to Obama’s news conference on Tuesday with a sense of disbelief.  (...) >>>

Vel Nirtist on American Thinker has another suggestion: "If President Obama shares the view of the man he nominated to head the National Intelligence Council, his slowness in condemning Iran's repression comes into clear focus. Remember Chas Freeman, President Obama's nominee for the chair of the National Intelligence Council, who withdrew after relentless attacks by the "Zionist lobby?" A quote:

"I do not believe it is acceptable for any country to allow the heart of its national capital to be occupied by dissidents intent on disrupting the normal functions of government, however appealing to foreigners their propaganda may be. Such folk, whether they represent a veterans' "Bonus Army" or a "student uprising" on behalf of "the goddess of democracy" should expect to be displaced with despatch (sic) from the ground they occupy."
Those views on the Tienanmin uprising sharply remind us, that Postmodernists (like BHO) are the heirs of the Counter-Enlightenment, not of the Enlightenment proper, as is often erroneously thought. It comes to the fore from time to time when their actual views on individual rights, democracy and capitalism come to the surface: they hate it for the middle-class, Western constructs they take these concepts to be. Do note the contempt for democracy in above quote!

In the meantime for later on today another rally is scheduled in Tehran. Things are getting grimmer by the day. 



While Dutch MP Geert Wilders is vilified and ridiculed for his proposal to sever diplomatic ties with Iran, Iranian lawyer, Human Rights activist and 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Sherin Ebadi is doing precisely that.

On Tuesday she attended  a meeting of  the Human Rights Committee of the European Council. In her statement she urged the European Union to be more active. She urged the EU to ask Iran to stop the violence against the people. If Iran refuses to do that she urged the EU to ask its governments to recall their ambassadors from Iran with immediate effect. Watch it with subtitles on EUX TV.

Hot off the press ...

Reuters: "Washington Times journalist arrested in Iran"

Iranian authorities have arrested a Greek journalist covering Iran's disputed presidential election for the Washington Times, a Greek foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday, calling for his release. Greek national Iason Athanasiades was arrested three days ago in Tehran on charges of "illegal activities, a friend of the journalist told Reuters earlier on Tuesday. (...) >>>

Update I: more on Athanasiades arrest on account of "visa irregularities" on Demotix.

Update II: Demotix now reports charges of spying are being dropped, and his camera returned. It's too early to say however if this signals a relaxation of the ban on the foreign press.

In the meantime in Europe ...

The Iranian chargé d'affaires to the Netherlands Majid Ghahremani has lodged an official complaint with the Dutch Foreign Office in relation to subsidizeRadio Zamaneh, an independent "blog-talk-radio" service broadcasting from Amsterdam since 2006.

- Caption: "Sweet!" from Twitpic! Let's hope the pomo traitors at Columbia get the picture - 

The Iranians take it as 'meddling'. "Balderdash", says editor-in-chief Farid Haerinejad. "We're reporting the news. I understand they don't want us to broadcast in Iran. Last week a the Revolutionary Guard issued a press release accusing the BBC of stoking the uprising. Nothing new there! One of our local freelancers has been arrested and nobody knows where he is!" 

Broadcasts of Radio Zamaneh are blocked in Iran, but the website enjoys 10,000 unique visitors every day. Haerinejad: "Iranians know how to find us!" Zamaneh Vimeo Page.

The BBC is reporting that Iran and the UK are diplomatically tit-for-tatting and that "more than 180 Iranian MPs appear to have snubbed an invitation to celebrate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election win, local press reports say. All 290 MPs were invited to the victory party on Wednesday night, but only 105 turned up, the reports say. A BBC correspondent says the move is a sign of the deep split at the top of Iran after disputed presidential polls. Meanwhile, Mr Ahmadinejad has told the US not to interfere in Iranian politics, the Fars news agency reports (...)" >>>

Meet the mullahs from hell!

PJTV SPECIAL REPORT: Uprising in Iran ... Tehran Goes From Bad to Much Worse

CNN: some citizen-reporters missing over the last few days, there's a complete blockade of foreign journalists, while 59 Iranian journalists have been arrested.

Slashdot: "Iran Tries to Pacify Protesters With Lord Of The Rings Marathon"

Iranian Tweeter claims that "Presence of Lebanese Hezbollah among Basij in Tehran now proven"

Picked up this rather important tweet of a domestic nature: "Those missing loved ones can contact the society for defense of prisoner's rights at 88975905-88951952 (area code 21)."

Updating throughout.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Team O's Pre-election Overtures

Breaking News: 
The Washington Times: "EXCLUSIVE - US Contacted Iran's Ayatollah Before Elections - Administration overture to Khamenei ridiculed in sermon"


Read it all! And then come back, hear John McCain and learn why ...



"Diplomatic Neutrality is Not an Option"

As we've explained in these pages over the last couple of days, neutrality in the presence of evil is a myth. It doesn't exist. A neutral stance translates into siding with it. Too bad for postmodern society, but a moral choice is on the cards. In Bush terms: you're either for us, or against us. You either support the people of Iran, or you end up on the scrapheap of history with the evil ayatollahs and other apologists of oppressing regimes.

The Washington Times today tells of Neda - the iconic martyr created by the mullahs. A video of her killing has been posted here on the specific request of our contact in Tehran. Please pass it on. A single girl might bring down an entire regime of angry old men  - who knows, save the world from nuclear terrorism.

The TWT editorial confronts the American administration with its stark choices (who could have thought!):

"As recently as a month ago, many Americans doubted that the Iranian people wanted democratic change. That debate is over. No one can credibly claim that the West is foisting the ideals of freedom on Iran's millions. They are telling us through their actions that these truths are self evident and not limited to any culture, time or place. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, they are placing before mankind the common sense of the subject in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent."
Afshin Ellian is further clarifying his and Geert Wilders' demand  earlier this week for the Dutch Embassador to Iran be recalled and diplomatic ties severed between the countries.

In debates with opponents Ahmadinejad maintained that his foreign policies are very successful. He needed to do that because his rivals identified him as a dangerous adventurer. Ahmadinejad countered by pointing out that because of his policies, 
the Americans no longer pushed for regime change. And the Europeans would be willing to strengthen ties with Iran as evidenced by the fact that Europe is Iran's largest trading partner. In other words, foreign policy is the central theme in the discourse.

The regime is pointing the finger at the West for stoking social unrest. A ludicrous accusation: it is rather disingenuous to tell Iranian mothers that their children are acting on the behest of the CIA, Mosad, AIVD and MI5.

At the same time the regime presents itself as a stable, internationally recognized state. Important in that respect are North America and Europe, because of young Iranian protesters' affinities with these continents. The business world of Tehran is standing before a stark choice: participate with the people, or remain neutral.

If the policies of Europe change, they cannot maintain an attitude of neutrality. Even more so, because another rally has started around 4 PM [ed. yesterday June 23rd]. This means that the business sector is no longer able to function as of noon. And they are profoundly anxious what might happen to their own children en grandchildren participating in the rallies.

What do we win in severing diplomatic ties?

- It is a strong signal to Tehran. Angela Merkel has affirmed Germany's support of the protesters. In so doing she undercut the legitimacy of the Iranian Government. Simultaneously the Iranian people will take it as a firm endorsement.

- A clearer and sharper European policy will cause the regime's elite to split. It is already
devided and they are facing a people who won't stop mass demonstrations. There are also a number of international interests at stake: peace, security and democracy in the Middle East.

- And the humanitarian situation? We must not forget the Iranian state is responsible for the safety and wellbeing of the people. There is not a civil war going on yet that might warrant humanitarian assistence.

The Italian Embassy offering emergency assistence to a number of the injured, is just symbolism. The absolute majority of  wounded cannot be helped by Western embassies. The wounded are usually treated at home by doctors and nurses. The moment the Netherlands or any other EU countries start assisting injured protesters in any significant way, the Iranian Government will start blocking the roads to these embassies.

And finally in the coming days we can expect more casualties, some will be fatal. But after thirty years of state terrorism there's a real chance to influence the government of Iran in a positive way. That should be the main focus now, also of European nations.

The price for change is high. But if the regime doesn't change, the price will be even higher. If Khamenei stays on, the killings will go on on a greater scale and the European embassies will be powerless to act.

So sever ties and send a clear message to the Government and to the people of Iran. Neda Salehi was remembered yesterday on a square in Iranian style: after a few minutes the rally was violently broken up. Neda was probably killed by a professional sniper of the Revolutionary Guard. Civilians are usually bludgeoned to death by their leaders. 

To instill fear some demonstrators have been shot from rooftops. The same tactic was used in Sarajevo. The people's answer is: Natarsid, natarsid ma hame ba ham hastim, do not be afraid, do not be afraid, we are together. Wouldn't that be a beautiful motto for EU foreign policy?

P.S.
Many ask me in the Netherlands and abroad why I do not include more messages in my blog. It's simply not wise to do so. I only disclose matters if I can do so without endangering people's lives.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Mousavi to O: Cut the Moral Equivalence!

What stands out  in the public discourse on Iran like a wart on a baby's bottom, are the petty, peeved reactions by some Western Postmodern politicians, to wit White House and Democratic spokespersons in the US, and in the UK in an article in The Guardian, Foreign Secretary David Miliband with regard to Iranian accusations of "meddling" ... 

"I reject categorically the idea that the protesters in Iran are manipulated or motivated by foreign countries."

After having railed against George Bush for ousting Saddam Hussein's fascist regime in Iraq and establishing a democracy (of sorts) in its place, pomo politicians can think of no greater sin than doing the right thing ... chase the tyrant and establish a Government by the people.

But it's more profound than that!

What the reader needs to know for a proper understanding, is that to Postmodernists democratic principles are nothing more or less than subjective, Western constructs which we're wont to foist on other peoples, whether they like them or not! That was the basis of being "against the war in Iraq".

Foisting, 'meddling' is the single most gravest sin in the Postmodern creed.

What an unholy mess these people have created in their minds! The cognitive dissonance must be deafening!


Moral equivalence is now starting to cause serious damage in the global political arena. It's the result of the relativist idea that 'eternal truths' do not exist and every view is valid from its own perspective (including Adolf Hitler's, Lenin's, Stalin's, Saddam's and Ahmadinejad's), thus throwing out the entire field of ethics! (They've shed epistemology as well, but that's for another time.)

Many more such 'ideological accidents' are bound to happen. Consider the following messive that surfaced yesterday ... it doesn't matter all that much whether the letter indeed originated at the desk of Iran's main opposition leader, Mr Mir Hossein Mousavi:

PajamasMedia: "Sunday Morning in Iran, A Letter from Mousavi’s Office", by
 Michael Ledeen

I’ve received what purports to be a statement from Mousavi’s Office in Tehran.  Like everyone else covering the revolution, I get a lot of material that can’t be authenticated, and one must always take such material with a healthy dose of skepticism. 

That said, the person who sent this to me is undoubtedly in touch with the Mousavi people on the ground, that much is certain.  His information has been proven reliable throughout this period.  So while the following open letter carefully puts distance between the author(s) and Mousavi himself, I am quite sure that at a minimum it accurately reflects the state of mind of the Mousavi people. So here you go:

From  the Office of Mr. Mir Hossein Mousavi

To the President of the USA, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama:

Mr. President,
In the name of  the Iranian people, we want you to know that when you recently made the statement “Achmadinejad or Mousavi? Two of a kind,” we consider this as a grave and deep insult, not just to Mr. Mousavi but especially against the judgment of the Iranian people, against our moral conviction and intelligence, especially those of the young generation that comprises a population of 31 million. "

It is a specially grave insult for those who are now fighting for democracy and freedom, and an unwarranted gift and even praise for Mr. Khamenei, whose security forces are now killing peaceful Iranians in the streets of every major city in the country."

Your statement misled the people of the world.  It was no doubt inspired by your hope for dialogue with this regime, but you cannot possibly believe in p
romises from a regime that lies to its own people and then kills them when they demand the promises be kept."

By such statements, your administration and you discourage the Iranian people, who believe and trust in the values of democracy and freedom.  We are pleased to see that you have condemned the regime’s murderous violence, and we look forward to stronger support for the rightful struggle of the Iranian people against the actions of a regime that is your enemy as well as ours. (...) >>>
A number of updates follow the open letter.

Voila, the "under the bus" phenomenon, already a key feature of the Obama administration! Relativist thinkers are no longer mentally capable of making a moral judgment. That was the whole idea behind it. Target: absolutes and 'eternal truths' like those once part of the core ideas of Judeo-Christianity; the secular sanctity of man of Humanism; or the inalienable individual rights of Classical Liberalism - all nixed as evil, Western constructs!

- Caption: "Running Battles", Demotix -

Underlying all that is the Postmodern premise that an objectively true world is but a figment of our imagination ... the balderdash you get when your thinking about thought states that "we are unable to see because we perceive".

Can someone please save the world and get a stash of Objectivist books to the White House please - ASAP?! It may already be too late! In this article on Friday ...
"Newsmax has learned that the Obama administration also has zeroed out funding for pro-democracy programs inside Iran from the State Department budget for fiscal 2010, just as protests in Iran are ramping up."
Victor Davis Hanson is offering five ways why Obama should speak out and five reasons why he has not done so. VDH nails it in the final paragraph: "His (Obama's) entire anti-Bush foreign policy is then in trouble. We’ve heard for eight years a cheap slur of “neo-cons” did it, not that in the dangerous world abroad there are no good choices, but supporting freedom is usually the better alternative if one must choose. If a peaceful democratic revolution succeeds in Iran, then what happens with “outreach” to Putin, Chavez, and Hamas? The new liberal realpolitik insisted that we don’t offer moral judgment, and was framed instead by winning the hearts and minds of tyrants through humbling ourselves and meae culpae. But if these democracies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and an Iran (?) were to succeed, then what? You would not go to Chavez and promise first to talk about shared colonial racist oppression, but rather say to the Venezuelan people, “We stand with you in your struggle to achieve freedom and dignity and to join the other democracies of Latin America”? That is not just in the cards, and so Iran, is well, a monkey-wrench. (...) >>>

- Filed on Articles in "The Pomo Presidency" - tiny URL: http://twitthis.com/yx4y54

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Of Severing Ties with Iran and a Message to Muslims

Dutch Islam critic and Libertarian MP Geert Wilders is demanding an emergency debate in Parliament. Together with Dutch-Iranian refugee, pundit and Leiden University lecturer Afshin Ellian, he's demanding the Embassador to Iran be recalled and diplomatic relations severed. No moral fence-dwelling and false equivalence here.

I'm sensing utter confusion among some Leftists. The news is slowly sinking in: "How ever did we end up siding with the ayatollahs? Aren't we supposed to be the revolutionaries?" Philosophically taken for a ride by the forces of relativism - ha ha!

Listen up, guys. In the face of evil, there's no such thing as a compromize. You cannot bargain with Hitler on the length and depth of the Holocaust, nor can you negotiate with the mullahs about the extend of their nuclear program (Wiping Israel off the map? Would that be entirely, or would a partial nuclear annihilation suffice?). Capiche, asshats?

Ellian meanwhile has a few things to say with regard to Arab Muslims living in the Netherlands. Here's a translation of his latest post:

Elsevier: "Severe Ties with Iran, Now!"

The sons of Allah yesterday relentlessly struck at the demonstrators. Are they desperate now? No, they aren't yet broken. But nobody knows how long they'll last.

Mousavi also shortly took part in the rally. No matter how I feel about his past, I have to admit he's a brave man and hasn't abandoned the people. The last few days he was offered money and political and economic positions. He and his family were also threatened. But he's still standing, will not break, nobody doubts him.

The highest religious and political leader on Friday gave an extraordinary ... no, a historical speech. For the first time in the history of Persia a leader of state directly threatened his own people with death and destruction. Usually they leave such unpleasantry to their strawmen.


Everything that happened on Saturday was anticipated in this speech. Khamenei said he wouldn't allow the Zionists - as in Georgia - to start a revolution on a few million bucks. An old lady from the north of Iran told me: "Khamenei should be ashamed of himself, because my son, my daughter and my grandchildren weren't paid by anyone. What is Zionism? Is that the Jews? Me and my children have never spoken to a Jew. I've never rallied, but today I do. Down with that thug".

Khamenei said that in the current climate terrorists might strike. A day later state television claimed a bomb had exploded at imam Khomeini's grave. The Dear Leader's orders are carried out faithfully. Someone in Isfahan told me: "A bomb at Khomeini's grave? Terrorists? Yeah, the Government".

But they were relentless. Hundreds, possibly thousands have been arrested, more than a thousand injured. Scores have been killed on the orders of the Iranian Government. There's footage in evidence. This short video (with very shocking pictures) should tell you enough. Finished your laments? You've seen correctly: that beautiful girl is dead. All she wanted was freedom and the rule of law.

Are you shocked? Many Dutch citizens have asked me how they can show solidarity with the Iranian people. Mail, call and write to your representatives and demand an emergency debate be held in Parliament. MPs should ask the Government to severe diplomatic ties for as long as violence against civilians continues, and political prisoners aren't released. 

Would that impact the regime in any way? At least it would support the people in their lonely fight against tyranny. I say lonely purposely, because they do not happen to be Palestinians, and their opponents do not happen to be Jews. Where are all those fine Dutch Muslims who rally in support of each and every backward Palestinian terrorist? Where are the Moroccans? Shouldn't they be out in support of a fellow Muslim people, oppressed by other Muslims?

We won't hear most Moroccan intellectuals, always so eager to show solidarity with Palestinian terrorists. Their emotions are reserved for Palestinian scum that shoots rockets at another people. According to the AIVD (Netherlands Intelligence) - during a conflict involving the Palestinians - Moroccans may easily be swayed into Islamic terrorism. I wouldn't dare to accuse them here of antisemitism.

No, they believe in a religion that was fond of Jews from the get go. Where are Hans van der Broek, Dries van Agt (senior statesmen) and other haters of the Jewish state? In their views the drama in Iran is just an internal squabble. But who doesn't share their views - luckily most Dutch - must demand the expulsion ofIranian diplomats. Send the thugs home and rattle the Iranian Government.

Take pictures of the victims and stick those to the gates of the Iranian representatives in The Hague. Hack the official Iranian sites and leave photos and films of tortured and assassinated citizens: Fars, IRNA, ISNA, Tabnak, the Ministries and Departments, the Embassies, the site of Parliament, state broadcasting, and the official sites of the President, Khamenei and the judiciary. [Ed. here's an idea.]

Let's hope that this appeal for worldwide, peaceful civil disobedience against gross human rights violations in Iran will also be seeded and disseminated by the ANP (Dutch Press Agency) and the television and radio broadcasting. How many will be killed today and tomorrow in Persia? We do not know.

Today in Iran, So Far ...





Vigilante Journalist on YouTube (more new material)

Blog on Vigilante Journalist website

Great! Slide show of post election art!

At last there's some statistical evidence how the election books may have been cooked:

The Washington Post: "The Devil Is in the Digits", by Bernd Beber and Alexandra Scacco

Since the declaration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's landslide victory in Iran's presidential election, accusations of fraud have swelled. Against expectations from pollsters and pundits alike, Ahmadinejad did surprisingly well in urban areas, including Tehran -- where he is thought to be highly unpopular -- and even Tabriz, the capital city of opposition candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi's native East Azarbaijan province. (...) These pieces of the story point in the direction of fraud, to be sure. They have led experts to speculate that the election results released by Iran's Ministry of the Interior had been altered behind closed doors. But we don't have to rely on suggestive evidence alone. We can use statistics more systematically to show that this is likely what happened. Here's how. We'll concentrate on vote counts (...) >>>

Here are a few more sources:

- "Iran Election at Live Stream"
- "2009 Iranian election protests"
- "Rotten Gods"
- "Tehran Bureau"
- "Olive Tree News"
- "Iran Press News" (working on a new site, should be up and running in a couple of days)
- "Tehran 24"
- "Neda Revolution"

It's truly sad but it would appear this uprising could do with better leadership:

The Guardian: "Streets of Tehran left empty as protesters wait in vain for sign"

• Mousavi fails to offer direction after clampdown
• Injured demonstrators and journalists detained

Saturday, June 20, 2009

A Prague Spring for Iran?

The following is a free translation of a post writen by Dutch-Iranian refugee and Leiden University lecturer, Afshin Ellian, published earlier today in Elsevier Magazine.

"We owe allegiance not to Gaza (Hamas) nor to Lebanon (Hezbollah), only to Iran", Iranians were shouting the last few days. After thirty years of Islamism, Islamic terrorism no longer has the support of the people.

The expenditure in support of terrorist groups is a secret of state. According to the opposition it involves billions of dollars. This money belongs to the Iranian people. Many live under the poverty line.

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah said in a live television interview that 40 million Iranians voted for Khamenei and therefore for the theocratic system. He also said that "our friends are quarelling over the result, but with Khamenei's wisdom all will be settled in due course.

Does the terror chief of Lebanon know more than we do? He's afraid he will lose the support of Iran. 

Hamas, Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood and Syria were the first to congratulate the Iranian people with their anti Israeli election. Now the people of Iran hate them even more. Civilized countries and organizations have refused to congratulate Admadinejad on his election [ed. that statement says all we need to know about Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, who was one of the very first to extend his warmest wishes. D'Escoto is the former foreign minister of Communist Sandinista Nicaragua, and a Catholic priest who advocates Marxist-oriented liberation theology. He currently serves as the  President of the UN General Assembly!]. 

Each wish is an insult to the people of Iran. Only thirteen countries have recognized the Ahmadinejad Presidency, amongst them oppressive autocrats, Russia and China. These two countries take an enormous risk. If the people win this battle they'll not be able to make as much money out of Iran as they used to. They have a vested interest in disrupting Iranian relations with the West.

Due to censorship and state sponsored terrorism we are unable to verify all information coming out of Iran. These are the facts:

- In the last couple of days many citizens got killed and many hundreds have been wounded.

- A number of universities are closed. Some two hundred professors quit their posts.

- Hundreds of people have been arrested. They are interned in Dept. 209 of the infamous Ewin Prison at Tehran. Through torture the regime is trying to obtain confessions that they have acted on the orders of the West and Israel.

- Huge protest rallies continue to be held every day.

- The Revolutionary Guard and other security services have been mobilized, and are on a war footing. 
- All means of communication are regularly scrambled.

We are unsure about the reliability of sources within the regime. These are people who say they no longer wish to cooperate with the system:

- A colonel of the guard and an officer of the Revolutionary Guard said they were ordered to beat civilians so hard they would no longer be able to rally. "We have the right and the duty to kill". Yesterday they were ordered not to attack. There would be other assignments. 

- The religious city of Qum has been entirely militarised with the view to disrupt communications between disgruntled clerics and the outside world.

- Rafsanjani, the chief of the disenfranchised faction, has tried to convince other clerics of his plan to replace Khamenei with Ayatollah Montazeri. The latter was deposed by Khomeini. He has been living under house arrest for almost twenty years. Rafsanjani's plan hasn't worked, so far.

- The regime wants to instigate a confrontation between two factions of citizens and use that as a excuse to set the country officially on a war footing. The legal basis would be the general safety of the public. This will allow them to push through extraparliamentary legislation.

- Garrisons of the Revolutionary Guard in the larger cities have been reinforced. Some 20,000 extra troops have been assigned to Tehran alone. The plan is the re-enactment of the Prague Spring. The regime will use all the means at its disposal.

Furthermore there's a distinct possibility a Chinese tank model will be deployed. The army will not be involved. They're afraid the army will side of the people. The same is possible with members of the Revolutionary Guard.

There are also reports that the regime is utilizing Arab radicals (from Lebanon), currently training at Sepah Quds for terrorist operations, for the oppression of the people of Iran. Sepah Quds is on a US terror watch list. It's a sub-unit of the Revolutionary Guard. According to American and British sources Sepah Quds also trained Iraqi radicals for operations in Iraq.

The next few days will not be easy for the Iranian people. Things will get tense. But they have expressed their wishes. "Not to Gaza, nor to Lebanon, just dedicated to Iran."

Update:

Tehran Bureau: "Iran Updates"

Mousavi’s open letter to the people of Iran. Released tonight at 9:21pm. It states that he stands with the people to protect the original aims of the revolution to reach human rights and democracy. He states that what they got instead was fraud, injustice, torture and lies. He states why he will not stand down and why all the security forces of Iran are brothers and sisters that should support the nation. He says the body charged with investigating the elections is not a neutral body. He calls on authorities to pull the security forces and basij out of the streets and allow the people’s voices to be heard peacefully. (...) >>>

- Filed on Articles in "Iran Power Play" -

Are They Mental?!

Today, one week after the rigged election process in Iran, Gordon Brown crawls out of the woodwork after Britain has been cast by Khamenei as 'evil' and the 'worst offender' of foreign meddling in Iranian affairs. Heaven knows what political expediency warranted that mysterious declaration! An English summary of Khamenei's Friday sermon is available on Memri.

For Obama the entire situation is far above his pay grade. After giving vent to personal anxieties for a week, the White House said today it had no reaction to Mr. Khamenei's remarks. (...) "We're not going to be used as political foils and political footballs in a debate that's happening by Iranians in Iran," Mr. Gibbs said.

That's right! There's nothing to choose between the protesters and the representatives of the regime. Here we are: eye-witnesses on the global stage to what a false philosophy can do to man's mind, rendering him mentally incapable of separating good from evil, of distinguishing one Iranian from the next - all equally valid! Can we please stop doing moral equivalence now, before even greater damage is done? Read the entire story ...

Wall St Journal: "Pressure on Obama to Act Forcefully Is Growing - Khamenei's Stance Prompts Congressional Resolutions, Adds to Calls for President to Quit Muted Approach to Iran"

(...) Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), who introduced the legislation in the Senate, said administration policy broke with a long U.S. tradition of supporting pro-democracy movements, and said that demonstrators -- who have been carrying protest signs in English -- were "waiting for an expression of support" from the U.S. "The administration does not want to 'meddle' and has refused to speak out in support of these brave Iranian citizens, most of them young, who are risking their very lives to protest what was clearly an unfair and corrupt election," Mr. McCain said after proposing the legislation, cosponsored by his longtime foreign policy ally Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent. (...) >>>

Obama is beaten to it by European and Asian leaders, left, right and center. Most outspoken, French President Nic Sarkozy, unpredictably favoring ethics over pragmatism:

"The extent of the fraud is proportional to the violent reaction. If Ahmadinejad has really made progress since the last election and if he really represents two thirds of the electorate ... why has this violence erupted?"

Somebody name a square after him!

Twitter meanwhile is still proving a strong and invaluable tool. There are words of caution for moles and disinformation, as well as encouraging tweets that "it takes more than a day for Change to take place" (really?) ... prayers, good wishes and counsel to "hold a copy of the Koran since it is a sin in Islam to kill a person holding one", raising the question if it's okay to kill a man who's empty handed; messages of a domestic nature petitioning (twititioning) "Google Earth to update satellite images of Tehran".

Twitter Updates .......

CassandraTroy Just posted: "Politeia: Addresses Embassies in #Tehran #iranelection #gr88" (http://twitthis.com/xoagds)

.............. Watch
fresh pictures on Demotrix 
- more - video on YouTube ....

09:30om:
Dutch-Iranian refugee and Leiden University lecturer, Afshin Ellian has posted another remarkable story out of Iran. He has it that the protesters are shouting "Nor Gaza (Hamas), nor Libanon (Hezhollah), dedicated only to Iran!" It's a great but very worrisome story: apparently the regime is working on a rapid mobilization of the (para)military. I'll be working on the translation for the rest of the day, and won't be back unless there are significant developments to report.

09:05pm:
Washington Times posting unconfirmed report that intelligence services may allow for SMS/text service enabling them to track those who are organizing protest. Also that Tehran bureau blog reports that there are arrests among the IRGC officers for pro-demonstrator sympathies. Very significant if true. 

The Guardian had been live blogging (see below), but presently appears to have clocked off for the day. We'll carry on as best we can, gathering our info from various other sources.

4.40pm:
Mousavi has sent a letter to the guardian council alleging that there were plans to rig the election months in advance, according to his website.

Here's the Farsi version, and there is a very rough Google translation here.

The letter sets out a number of detailed complaints about counting discrepancies and concerns about how the ballot was conducted.

4.25pm:
http://twitpic.com/7wjz2">A picture claiming to show teargas being used against protesters today has been posted to Twitpic.

3.55pm:
The police have attempt to portray the protesters as rioters by detailing the damage they have caused, and claimed public backing for a violent crackdown.

Iran's deputy police commander, Ahmad-Reza Radan, said 400 police have been wounded since last Friday's vote.

He claimed 10,000 complaints have been been made, according to state-run Press TV. "They have called on the police to deal with rallies firmly," he said.

"The recent rallies destroyed 700 buildings, burst 300 banks into flame, damaged 300 cars and 300 public properties," Radan added.

3.40pm:
Mousavi supporters have set to a building in southern Tehran used by backers of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a witness told Reuters.

The witness also said police shot into the air to disperse rival supporters in Tehran's south Karegar street.

Does that refer to this incident shown on the BBC Persian service?

3.30pm:
An eyewitness in Enghelab square reports around 20,000 riot police, made up of Basiji militiamen and soldiers, and armed with rifles, tear gas and water cannons.

The eyewitness saw dozens of people beaten by riot police in an attempt to frighten them into evacuating the square, with one young man being beaten to the ground by four policemen.

The protesters were not wearing the green insignia that signifies support for Mousavi, and were not making victory signs or chanting.

The eyewitness reports riot police attacking people on passing motorbikes and, on occasion, innocent passersby who have no way of escaping the heavy police presence. Nonetheless, there are thousands of Mousavi supporters, marching peacefully near the square, where rthey have been subjected to these brutal reprisals from the police.

Across Tehran, there is widespread fear and panic, with many desperate to know what is going on in Enghelab square, but unable to find out due to reporting restrictions. Now the question seems to be: what will Mousavi do next?

3pm:
This video, uploaded today, purports to show an explosion and what looks like teargas shells in Tehran.

2.45pm:
The security forces out-number the protesters, according to al-Jazeera.

2.35pm:
More on that explosion at the shrine: "A suicide bomber was killed at the northern wing of Imam Khomeini's shrine. Two people were injured," Fars news agency said, according to Reuters.

Khamenei talked about the threat of terrorism in his speech yesterday.

"Street demonstrations are a target for terrorist plots. Who would be responsible if something happened?" he said.

2.30pm:
Protesters are being shot at in Azadi Street, according to an unconfirmed report from Saeed Valadbaygi.

2.25pm:
One person has been killed in an explosion near the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Tehran, according to the Fars News Agency.

Two people were injured, Reuters quotes it saying. State TV has the same report, according to AP.

2.20pm:
There are heavy clashes on Azadi Street, and chants of death to Khamenei, according to this regularly updated live blog from Iran. It also reports intense clashes on Enghelab Square. It's impossible to verify this at the moment.

2.15pm:
Witnesses: police using tear gas, water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters in Tehran, says a flash on AP.

- Filed on Articles in "The Pomo Presidency" -

 
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