Why Rafsanjani is so important for the Greens
Six months ago in Mashad, Iran, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani delivered a speech to a group of Iranian student activists saying: “If people want us, we will govern; and if they don’t, we will have to go.” This might have seemed like nothing new, but it wasn’t coming from just anyone — it was said by […]
Video: Gates on Iranian politics
[vodpod id=Video.3597223&w=425&h=350&fv=] Secretary of Defense Gates spoke with CNN’s John King yesterday about the internal situation in Iran and whether the resentment and popular unrest following last year’s election is still continuing. I think Secretary Gates is correct in saying that, despite things being calm on the surface, there is a reservoir of popular dissatisfaction […]
Executions Meant to Be a “Warning,” Spark Protests Instead
Protests took place in Tehran and major cities around the world including Frankfurt, London, Vienna, Toronto, Koln, and Paris, among many others, on May 9 and May 10, 2010 after the execution of five political prisoners in Iran’s Evin Prison. The Tehran protests included chants of “Freedom,” and “Basiji get out of here,” and “Students […]
Who is Mousavi Challenging in His New Statement?
Mir Hossein Mousavi issued a statement just a few days ago calling for the implementation of each and every article of the Iranian constitution. According to Mousavi, the full implementation of the law is the only peaceful solution to the existing crisis in Iran, and he commits to this path forward. His English translated statement […]
Ex-Iranian diplomat in Norway: target sanctions, talk up human rights abuses
InsideIRAN.org interviewed Mohammad Reza Heidari, the Iranian diplomat in Norway who defected over the June 12, 2009 elections and the aftermath. The full interview can be found here but we’ve highlighted some of his comments below: I have friends in the IRGC, the basij, the Ministry of Intelligence, Iran’s radio and television, and other places […]
Is the Sanctions Debate Justifying the Military Option?
This post originally appeared at InsideIran.org. To an outsider, it may seem like Washington is united in favor of imposing new sanctions on Iran. But, like in Iran itself, the internal wrangling over this question among Washington policymakers is much more complex and divided by factions than one may assume. Congressional leaders from both parties […]
Reporting for Duty?
Hossein Yekta, a high ranking member of the Basij militia and a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, said this week that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already declared “war,” but “no one is reporting for duty.” Raja News, one of the most hard line news agencies in Iran reported that Yekta tells student Basijis to get […]
JARAS: Tajbakhsh to be Released from Prison
According to the Jaras website, the most prominent Iranian opposition website, Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, top researcher and sociology professor from Columbia University will be released from prison for Norooz, most likely by the end of today. Citing an unnamed source, Jaras is reporting that Dr. Tajbakhsh will be released by tonight or tomorrow. It appears […]
NIAC 2010 Conference Video: Iran at a Crossroads
In case you missed our livestream video, here is the full conference video, available for viewing. We apologize for the beginning part being cut off, we experienced some technical difficulties at the start (but it gets better!) [vodpod id=Video.3209888&w=425&h=350&fv=loc%3D%2F%26amp%3Bautoplay%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bvid%3D5333531] more about “NIAC 2010 Conference Video: Iran at a…“, posted with vodpod
Iran at a Crossroads – LIVESTREAMING Here
UPDATE: It’s confirmed, we’ll be Livestreaming our conference here at niacINsight tomorrow. So tune in between 9:00 and 2:00 to see what’s happening! Iran used to be a pretty black-and-white issue. You either wanted war, or not. Diplomacy, or not. Regime change, or not. Those days of simple choices between two clear opposites–they’re long gone. […]
Iranian Women Band Together, Caution Against Broad Sanctions
March 8th, International Women’s Day, was celebrated with even more passion this year in Tehran. Zahra Rahnavard – the outspoken wife of the presidential election challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi – issued a statement at a meeting with members of the women’s rights movement in Iran praising all the brave women of the Green Movement for […]
A Death Sentence for Throwing Rocks
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran confirms that twenty-year-old Mohammad Amin Valian, a student at Iran’s Damghan University, has lost his case in Iranian appeals court; Iran’s judiciary upheld Valian’s death sentence in connection with the December 27th Ashura protests. Valian is among 11 others who were charged with “moharebeh”, or waging war […]