Leader Pardons 81 Political Prisoners, Hundreds More Remain Incarcerated
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pardoned 81 of some 530 political prisoners jailed in the wake of the 2009 presidential election. The fate of the other 450 who remain incarcerated is unknown and new arrests continue to be made. The government has not released the names of those pardoned or confirmed their wrongful prosecution. According […]
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 […]
May Day in Tehran: The protest you may have missed
Though most Iran watchers this weekend focused on the impromptu protest which followed Ahmadinejad’s surprise speech at Tehran University, another tense gathering occurred outside the Labor Ministry. Approximately five thousand people were walking outside of the Labor Ministry on Saturday, May 1st around 5:30 pm in honor of International Labour Day. Factory workers have been […]
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 […]
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 […]
Esteemed Film Maker Jafar Panahai Arrested
Radio Zamaneh reports (via Payvand.com) The Creator of revered films “The White Balloon” and “The Circle”, Jafar Panahi, was arrested in his home. The director’s home was raided and security forces detained members of his family along with fifteen other guests; many of the guests were also prominent members of the film industry. The raid […]
Drop Broadband, Not Bombs
Although plenty of Washington policymakers say the US should “support the green opposition in Iran,” how to do so remains a puzzle. One proposal in today’s Guardian has caught some attention: provide Iranians with high speed internet access. One of the pillars of [Iran’s] repressive policy has been media propaganda depicting protesters as vandals and […]
Bearing Witness
By all accounts, tomorrow should be another crucial day for Iran’s Green movement. 22 Bahman marks the anniversary of the fall of the Shah in 1979, and the three main opposition leaders – Mousavi, Karroubi, and Khatami – are all calling on their supporters to come out en mass. The Iranian government has been stepping up […]
Even More Crackdowns on Iranian Media
Radio Zamaneh reports ( via www.payvand.com) that Iran’s Ministry of Culture has cautioned fifteen newspapers for publishing criticism of Iran’s domestic unrest following the June presidential election. Iran’s Ministry of Culture has issued warnings for 15 newspapers for “spreading rumours” and “representing a false image of the country’s situation.” Seven of them were reprimanded for […]
U.S. Decides to Punish Iranian Regime, Not People
Cross-posted from the Huffington Post Last week countless protesters across Iran made yet another brave stand against their government, in an event that had political reverberations across the world. The continued demonstration of strength by the Iranian opposition has not only showed the increasing isolation of Iran’s ruling elite, but also helped cement a dramatic […]