One Year Later: Are We Missing the Real Story?
Much attention has been given to the absence of large street protests on the anniversary of Iran’s disputed elections. This focus on street protests however, largely misses the point of the opposition movement today. “A government that is scared of a corpse is a weak government,” Shirin Ebadi said, referring to the government’s decision to […]
The Bastions of the Paramilitary
Hossein Sajedi, Tehran’s police chief, said yesterday that despite the fact that “some media” (read: Mousavi and Karroubi) have called for rallies on June 12, Iranian security forces will confront any “illegal” demonstrations. “Police will confront any illegal gatherings … police are vigilant and in charge of public order and security,” he said. My question […]
The Significance of Today’s Events
Today clearly breathed new life into Iran’s opposition movement. Opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi both took the risk and attended alongside countless other mourners. (Mousavi’s convoy was reportedly attacked en-route back to Tehran by plain-clothed security officials who cut off the convoy and bashed in a window of one of the […]
Violence Spills into Day 2
Payvand via Radio Zamaneh is reporting that members of the Basij and Revolutionary Guard (Sepah; IRGC; Pasdaran) have stormed Tehran University and Shahid Beheshti University. According to Amir Kabir Newsletter, Revolutionary Guards and Basij forces have entered the campuses… and engaged in beating the students with the assistance of university security. Amir Kabir reports that […]
Green Movement and Iranian Government Clash Flares Up
While Iranian authorities continue their campaign against the growing opposition, the Green Movement does not appear to be letting up, even as some of its leaders’ efforts were thwarted from participating. Yesterday’s National Student Day protests were preempted by arrests of student activists from universities across Iran as reported by the International Campaign for Human […]
Today’s Headlines from Payvand (via Radio Zamaneh)
Tehran University Students Invite Opposition Leaders to Student Day Over three thousand students of Tehran University have signed a petition inviting opposition leaders, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, to attend Day of the Student ceremonies at their institution on December 7. The students urge the two opposition leaders to renew their protests to the […]
“The foreign policy apparatus in Iran has frozen”
“‘The foreign policy apparatus in Iran has frozen,” IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei has told the New York Times. ElBaradei’s comments come in light of Iran’s apparent unwillingness or even inability to accept the deal that their own diplomats negotiated with the P5+1 and the IAEA. While the talks were successful in getting the IAEA […]
Khamenei says questioning the election is “the biggest crime”
Ayatollah Khamenei stated on Wednesday that questioning the results of the June election is a crime. According to an Associated Press article, Khamenei said “The day after the election, some people, without logic or reason, called the glorious election a lie,” and disputing the election results is “the biggest crime.” The Supreme Leader’s statement contains […]
Iranian MPs File Complaint Against Mousavi
Radio Zamaneh – 100 Iranian members of the parliament filed a complaint against Mir Hossein Mousavi with Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ezhei, Iran’s deputy attorney general. According to lawmaker Hamid Rasaie, the MPs complained about Mousavi because his statements and actions “have severely damaged the image of the regime…” “We initially hoped that Mousavi would change his actions […]
Opposition leaders say sanctions will hurt the Iranian people; gov’t won’t care
The reformist Presidential candidate turned opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi has officially spoken out against further economic sanctions. He joins the outspoken Mehdi Karroubi, who came out against sanctions earlier this month. “We are against any sanctions against our nation,” Mousavi said in a statement posted on Rouydadnews reformist website.He said sanctions “will impose agonies on […]
Meetings between non-hardliner politicians, ayatollahs increase in frequency
Mir Hossein Mousavi met last night with Grand Ayatollah Mousavi-Ardebili, Ayatollah Yousef Sa’anei, and Seyyed Hossein & Seyyed Mohsen Mousavi-Tabrizi (brothers) in Qom, according to Tabnak. Ayatollah Shahrestani, Grand Ayatollah Sistani’s right-hand man in Iran, and Ahmad Montazeri (Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri’s son whose three sons were arrested earlier this week) were also present. […]
Video compilation of Quds Day protests
BBC Persian has compiled some of the videos of today’s Quds Day demonstrations, which were held in the cities of Bushehr, Rasht, Tabriz, Isfahan, Shiraz, Ahvaz, and Mashhad, in addition to the capital city of Tehran. There is still no word yet on whether or not Mousavi attended any of the rallies today, though the […]