I remind you, Barack Obama wants to negotiate with Iranian president Ahmadinejad, who is responsible for not only rigging an election, with the help of the so-called Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council, but who controls the regime that is now hanging Iranian citizens for protesting the fraudulent election.
As the Iranian authorities warned the opposition on Tuesday that they would tolerate no further protests over the disputed June 12 presidential elections, a report emerged of the hangings of six supporters of defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
H/T Gateway Pundit, we see what the Iranian regime does to those that are fighting for a fair and Democratic election and for their votes to actually be counted.
Atlas Shrugs brings to our attention this news article which shows that Ahmadinejad's Basij militia is calling for Mir Hossein Mousavi's, (challenger in rigged election) execution as well.
Iran's opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi today became the target of the notorious Basij militia as it called for him to be prosecuted for his role in the greatest political unrest in Iran since the Islamic revolution.
In a letter to the country's chief prosecutor, the Basij accuse Mousavi of involvement in nine offences against the state, including "disturbing the nation's security". That charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
The letter came as the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, cancelled a planned trip to Libya without explanation. The last-minute cancellation is being seen as a sign of the continuing volatility in Iran as the authorities struggle with the fallout from last month's disputed election, in which Ahmadinejad was declared the winner.
One of the other candidates, Mehdi Karroubi, a reformist cleric, vowed to continue his fight to annul the election despite the endorsement of the poll by the powerful guardian council after a partial recount of the vote.
"I don't consider this government legitimate," Karroubi said on his website.
It was later reported that the daily Etemad-e-Melli, a newspaper allied to him, had been closed down.
As I remind you on every post about the fight for freedom being held on the streets of Iran, keep your eye on Twitter feed #Iranelection, where Iranians, mostly using proxies are risking their lives to post news, pictures and videos, so the world can see their struggle for freedom.
All previous pieces on the Iran Election can be found here.
While the Iranian regime is threatening to execute the leaders of the massive protest movement going on in Iran right now over the rigged election that the Supreme Leader and the Guardian council handed Ahmadinejad, and Iranian dissident is pleading with Israel for technological help.
"Dear Israeli Brothers and Sisters," writes Iranian dissident Arash Irandoost, "Iran needs your help more than ever now. And we will be eternally grateful. Please help opposition television and radio stations which are blocked and being jammed by the Islamic Republic (Nokia and Siemens) resume broadcast to Iran. There is a total media blackout and Iranians inside Iran for the most part are not aware of their brave brothers and sisters fighting and losing their lives daily. And the unjust treatment and brutal massacre of the brave Iranians in the hands of the mullah's paid terrorist Hamas and Hizbullah gangs are not seen by the majority of the Iranians. Please help in any way you can to allow these stations resume broadcasting to Iran.
"And, please remember that we will remember, as you have remembered Cyrus the Great's treatment of you in your time of need," Irandoost concludes, signing his blogged call for help "Your Iranian Brothers and Sisters!"
Iranians are fighting for their country and in doing my searches, I ran across a piece, titled "Today Everyone is an Iranian."
The whole this is a must read, but it clearly shows what the Iranian people, fighting for their freedom and democracy, are asking of the world at this time.
President Obama’s halting comments only made clear his fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the Islamic regime. It appears President Obama is going to betray Iranian people as Jimmy Carter did 3 decades earlier. Senator John McCain, President Obama's rival in last year's US election, described the president's response as "tepid," and blasted him for abandoning the "fundamental principles" of the United States.
Iranian people don't expect the Americans to come to Iran and fight for them. Every decent and freedom-loving nation knows that the Iranian people have the right and the duty to change their form of government. What Americans can do for the Iranian people is to lend them their support; not to fight on their behalf, but to rally to their side and to cheer their struggle.
We Iranians in spirit—free people of the world--greatly cherish liberty, where the mind is imbued with enlightenment, and every individual, by the virtue of being born human, is afforded freedom. It is within the open expanse of liberty that each and every person can be at his or her best. And when the individual person is at his best, humanity is at its best.
Today, we are reaching outside of ourselves. Today, we are raising our own standard. Today, we are standing tall and declaring our perpetual commitment to the liberation of Iran and her citizens. Today, we are marching for the support of the brave and courageous people of Iran. Today, our demonstration is inspired by demonstrations of the Iranian people inside Iran against the dictatorship and barbarity of the Islamic Republic. We s
hall all demonstrate until every Iranian is free. Today, everyone is an Iranian.
(Emphasis mine)
Is what they are asking all that difficult? To be their moral support? To acknowledge their struggle against the regime that is murdering them on the street for daring to protest a fraudulent election?
To the protesters, those fighting for their country.
Across the Arab world, Iran's massive opposition protests have triggered a wave of soul-searching and conflicting emotions. Many question why their own reform movements are unable to rally people to rise up against unpopular authoritarian regimes. In Egypt, the cradle of what was once the Arab world's most ambitious push for democracy, Iran's protests have served as a reminder of how much the notion has unraveled under President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled the country for 30 years.
"I am extremely jealous," said Nayra El Sheikh, 28, a blogger and Sharkawy's wife. "I can't help but think: Why not us? What do they have that we don't have? Do they have more guts?"
The frustration comes against a backdrop of deep-rooted skepticism among pro-democracy activists that U.S. policies under President Obama will help transform the region, despite his vow to engage the Muslim world in a highly publicized speech here last month. Some view Obama's response to Iran's protests, muted until Tuesday, as a harbinger of U.S. attitudes toward their own efforts to reform their political systems. The Egyptian government, they note, is a key American ally, and U.S. pressure on Egypt for reforms began subsiding in the last years of the Bush administration.
"When Obama does not take a stance, the very next day these oppressive regimes will regard this as a signal. This is a test for his government," said Ayman Nour, a noted Egyptian opposition politician who was recently released from jail. "If they can turn a blind eye to their enemy, they can turn a blind eye to any action here in Egypt."
Obama wants to "reach out" and negotiate with people like Ahmadinejad instead of reaching out to the people that want freedom, he is too busy bowing to those that are keeping it from them.
He may have come out, finally, against the violence being committed against the Iranian people by their own government, but he is still will to negotiate with very same government.
As I remind you on ever post about the fight for freedom being held on the streets of Iran, keep your eye on Twitter feed #Iranelection, where Iranians, mostly using proxies are risking their lives to post news, pictures and videos, so the world can see their struggle for freedom.
It seems that it is not only the protesters on the streets of Iran that do not accept the bogus results of the Iranian presidential election and the selection vs election of Ahmadinejad as president.
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.
Good for them.
NYT reports on more arrests of those challenging Ahmadinejad so-called "win."
Opposition figures said Thursday that 70 academics had been arrested after meeting with the main opposition leader, Mir Hussein Moussavi, on Wednesday, adding to a wave of detentions that has been depicted as the most sweeping since the Iranian revolution in 1979. But Mr. Moussavi said Thursday in a Web posting: “’I will not back down even for a second, even for personal threats or interests.”
In his first public comments for several days, Mr. Moussavi called the recent election a “big fraud” and said government security forces had “attacked protesters inhumanely, killed, injured or arrested them.” In remarks on an opposition Web site, he said,
“I am willing to show how election criminals have stood by those behind the recent riots and shed people’s blood.”
Ahmadinejad compares Obama with Bush for finally condemning the violence, arrests and murder of innocent Iranians protesting the election fraud.
After the official presidential results were announced, giving Mr. Ahmadinejad an 11 million-vote margin, President Obama was initially cautious in his response. But he has gradually adopted a much tougher stance, saying Tuesday he was “appalled and outraged” by events in Iran.
“Mr. Obama made a mistake to say those things,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said Thursday at a ceremony to open a petrochemical plant.
The election had brought a chance for a “new start in international relations” in which Iran would “speak from a different position based on dialogue and justice,” he said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency,
While Iran believed Britain and other European countries had a “bad record” in their relationship with Iran, he said, “we were not expecting Mr. Obama” to “fall into the same trap and continue the same path that Bush did.”
He also demanded an apology from President Obama for his most recent statement. “I hope you avoid the interfering in Iran’s affairs and express your regret in a way that the Iranian people find out about it,” he said.
Yeah Ahmadinejad, I hope you hold your breath until you get that apology, stand in line because some of Obama's own supporters are still waiting for their apologies for his broken campaign promises.
More on his little rant against Obama from The Telegraph:
"Will you use this language with Iran (in any future dialogue)? If this is your stance, there will be nothing left to talk about. Do you think this behaviour will solve the problem for you? This will not have any result except that the people will consider you somebody similar to Bush."
One of the blogs from Guardian, has the Iran Crisis: Live, with continuous updates, one of which shows that "One of the leading European importers of Iranian caviar, Hague-based Persian Caviar, has decided to boycott the product, France Soir reports (in French).
"I will not give any more money to a regime that is massacring my people," said Hossein Akef, the Iranian director of the company. "
Washington Times reports that protesters are altering their protesting tactics to avoid being massacred in the street by the Iranian regime.
Iran's pro-democracy movement is changing strategy and will use smaller and more dispersed demonstrations to try to protect protesters from security forces, who dissidents now say have killed nearly 250 people in the past 10 days.
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, a prominent Iranian filmmaker who is serving as a spokesman in the West for opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, told The Washington Times that the opposition movement is also asking Iranians all over the world to light candles in silent protest Friday to commemorate Neda Agha-Soltan, a young woman killed by security forces Saturday.
Her slaying, captured on video and sent around the world via the Internet, has become a symbol of the protest movement and of the Iranian government's crackdown on those disputing the purported landslide victory of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
I saved the best for last though... this could be big if they follow through.
IBTimes reports "Rafsanjani has enough support to remove Khamenei."
As the Iranian government continues to crackdown on protestors against the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, behind the scenes there is reported to be movement which, although hidden, could bring an end the reign of the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei and Mr Ahmadinejad.
Behind the scenes Khamenei's arch rival, Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is believed to be working to remove the Supreme Leader and is even reported to be considering abolishing the post of Supreme Leader altogether in what would be the biggest constitutional change since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Rafsanjani is the head of Iran's Expediency Council and crucially the Assembly of Experts which is responsible for overseeing and if necessary removing the Supreme leader. He is also a prominent backer of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated presidential candidate who has become the focal point for protestors.
You might remember that Rafsanjani had family members "detained" then released, which could have been because the Supreme Leader and Ahmadinejad got wind of what he was doing behind the scenes.
According to unconfirmed reports Rafsanjani is currently lobbying and meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts to gain support for the removal of Khamenei and for replacing the position of Supreme Leader with a form of collective leadership.
According to Al-Arabiya, high-up sources say that Rafsanjani has already gained enough support within the Assembly for the removal of Khamenei, but has found less of a positive response to the proposal to replace the position of Supreme Leader altogether.
As I remind you on ever post about the fight for freedom being held on the streets of Iran, keep your eye on Twitter feed #Iranelection, where Iranians, mostly using proxies are risking their lives to post news, pictures and videos, so the world can see their struggle for freedom.
While CNN reports the Iranian regime claims the killing of Neda was a "mistake" it isn't stopping them from beating and killing more protesters on the streets of Iran today.
Via Gateway Pundit and Revolutionary Road, who is covering the protests live, we see the violence against protesters has stepped up a notch.
YouTube warning about age content, just click signing in and confirm age to watch video below of the Iranian authorities beating women:
Gateway Pundit has quite a few updates, so make sure you go read and follow all the links.
From Revolutionary Road:
>25 journalist were arrested last night. >Arrested journalists have been threatend to write in support of Ahmadinejad and his government and not to support popular gatherings anymore.
> Mohsen Rezae popular communications office, in an open letter criticized him for getting back his complaint from the Guardian Council inregards 2009 Iran election
>Army Helycopters flying over Baharestan and Vali Asr Sq.
>'Larijani pressing for Mousavi to be given airtime on IRIB to discuss elections'
>Thousands of detainees family members have gathered in front of Tehran's revolution(Enghelaab)court. The force police has surrounded them.Fervent atmosphere in place and conflict is possible at any moment.
> Emad-e-din Baaghi was served by Enghelab court & warned for interview with Persian media outside Iran.
>Conflict at Baharestan Sq.Even police attack pedestrian by tear gas.
> The Islamic Republic of Iran does not allow under any circustances any form of mourning ceremony for NEDA AGHA SOLTAN
>The streets, squares and around BAHARESTAN (Approx. South-eastern of Tehran) is swarming with military forces, civilian forces, the security motorists
>Baharestan sq and surrounding streets are filled with force police and motorcyclist plain clothes(Basijis)
>Today, as there are demonstrations and gatherings in central areas of Tehran, people's mobiles are being controlled in order to find pictures and videos of current violations
>In Baharestan Sq. in the Police shooting, A girl is shot and the police is not allowing to let them help
>Cell network down in Baharestan & nearby area
>Conflict still in Baharestan Sq they even people who talk with their cellphone
>The girl who was shot was taken to a private clinic, not known yet of her well being...alive or not?
>People gathered in Baharestan but police & plain cloths don't let the core of the rally to form
>All shops and Passages are closed at Baharestan SQ, Gunshot being heard from Jomhori St
> Gunshot being heard at Baharestan Sq.
>About 5,000 Protesters gatherd at Sadeghieh Sq, Bassij and Hezbollah attcking them
>Hezbollah Attcked to some people trying to gather at Tajrish Sq
Much more at that link as well.
The Lede has more concerning updates, including but not limited to:
Update | 8:12 a.m. Iran’s Press TV reports that police officers in Tehran have raided a campaign office for the opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi, and declared that it was the “headquarters for a psychological war against the country’s security.” According to the satellite broadcaster financed by Iran’s government:
The Intelligence and Security Department of the Tehran Police has declared that the building — located on Tehran’s Haft-e-Tir Square — was investigated on Monday night after a search warrant was obtained, IRNA reported. The plotters have been arrested and are currently under investigation.
Documents found in the building indicate an ongoing plot against Iran’s security was being implemented, the police said in a statement.
“After scrutinizing the building, which was the campaign office of a presidential candidate, it was discovered that the organization of illegal gatherings, the promotion of unrest, and efforts to undermine the country’s security were carried out from the building,” the statement added.
Evidence has been found in the building that reveals the role of foreign elements in planning post-election unrest.
What can we do other than offer our moral support?
Some thing boycotting companies that sell to Iran, via Wired:
Consumers are calling for a boycott of telecom equipment makers Nokia and Siemens after the Wall Street Journal reported that the companies’ joint networking firm sold sophisticated internet surveillance equipment to Iran — a story that the company says is false.
Despite the denial, boycotters have written Nokia saying they’ve destroyed their Nokia phones, and are telling friends and family to avoid Nokia products until the company “can make the right ethical choices.”
And remember, these are the folks that Obama wants to "negotiate" with, still.
As I remind you on ever post about the fight for freedom being held on the streets of Iran, keep your eye on Twitter feed #Iranelection, where Iranians, mostly using proxies are risking their lives to post news, pictures and videos, so the world can see their struggle for freedom.
Dana Milbank's, via Wapo, gets snarky in calling the press conference where Barack Obama prearranged questioning with a Huffington Post writer and evidently got a little "testy" with reporters that asked legitimate questions that were not prearranged, "The Obama Show."
In his first daytime news conference yesterday, President Obama preempted "All My Children," "Days of Our Lives" and "The Young and the Restless." But the soap viewers shouldn't have been disappointed: The president had arranged some prepackaged entertainment for them.
After the obligatory first question from the Associated Press, Obama treated the overflowing White House briefing room to a surprise. "I know Nico Pitney is here from the Huffington Post," he announced.
Obama knew this because White House aides had called Pitney the day before to invite him, and they had escorted him into the room. They told him the president was likely to call on him, with the understanding that he would ask a question about Iran that had been submitted online by an Iranian. "I know that there may actually be questions from people in Iran who are communicating through the Internet," Obama went on. "Do you have a question?"
Pitney recognized his prompt. "That's right," he said, standing in the aisle and wearing a temporary White House press pass. "I wanted to use this opportunity to ask you a question directly from an Iranian."
Pitney asked his arranged question. Reporters looked at one another in amazement at the stagecraft they were witnessing. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel grinned at the surprised TV correspondents in the first row.
Liberals used to speculate, with outrage, about Bush planting prearranged questions at pressers, but Obama takes the speculation away by just doing it blatantly.
Weekly Standard though, keeps their eye on the ball and takes a deeper look into behind the scenes of the Obama Show:
Less than 24 hours after Barack Obama's strongest statement on Iran, three new stories underscore his administration's fundamentally weak approach to the terrorist regime and offer hints as to why he has been so eager to engage the mullahs. First, a Washington Times article by former USA Today reporter Barbara Slavin reveals that the Obama administration sent a letter directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in early May. According to the report, the letter laid out the administration's desire for "cooperation and bilateral relations."
SNIP
Now comes a blockbuster story from National Review's Andy McCarthy. He writes:
Even as the mullahs are terrorizing the Iranian people, the Obama administration is negotiating with an Iranian-backed terrorist organization and abandoning the American proscription against exchanging terrorist prisoners for hostages kidnapped by terrorists. Worse still, Obama has already released a terrorist responsible for the brutal murders of five American soldiers in exchange for the remains of two deceased British hostages.
Here's what happened:
About two weeks ago, the Obama administration released Laith Qazali after extensive negotiations with the Asaib al-Haq terror network. That network has long been in negotiations with the fledgling Iraqi government, dangling the possibility of laying down its arms, renouncing violence, and integrating into Iraqi society, provided that its top members — particularly Qais and Laith Qazali, as well as Ali Mussa Daqduq — be released. Realizing, however, that these terrorists were responsible for kidnapping and killing American soldiers in gross violation of the laws of war, the Bush administration had declined to release them.
The Obama administration has not only released Laith Qazali, it has been in negotiations to release his brother, Qais Qazali, as well. The negotiations and release were carried out in flagrant disregard of the longstanding policy against exchanging prisoners for the release of hostages. Undermining that policy endangers all American troops and civilian personnel — as well as the troops and civilian personnel of our allies — by encouraging terrorists to kidnap them to use as bargaining chips.
Surely the most transparent administration in history will release the letter sent to Khamenei, no? And surely they will explain the release of terrorists responsible for killing American soldiers, right?
Read the whole thing and make sure you follow the links.
In a blatant act of defiance, a group of Mullahs took to the streets of Tehran, to protest election results that returned incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.
While Obama is finally using stronger language to condemn the violence against the protesters in Iran, it seems to be too little, too late as the Iranian regime step up their actions against protesters on Weds.
Security forces wielding clubs and firing weapons beat back demonstrators who flocked to a Tehran square Wednesday to continue protests, with one witness saying security forces beat people like "animals."
At least two sources described wild and violent conditions at a part of Tehran where protesters had planned to demonstrate.
"They were waiting for us," the source said. "They all have guns and riot uniforms. It was like a mouse trap."
"I see many people with broken arms, legs, heads -- blood everywhere -- pepper gas like war," the source said.
About "500 thugs" with clubs came out of a mosque and attacked people in the square, another source said.
The security forces were "beating women madly" and "killing people like hell," the source said.
"They beat up a woman so bad, she was all bloody," the source said in a description that underscores the growing and central role of women in the uprising.
That same CNN article brings news that Iran has also arrested some British foreign nationals.
Iranian authorities said they have arrested several foreign nationals, some with British passports, in connection with the country's post-election unrest.
Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ezhei said some with links to the West and Israel had planned a series of bombings in Iran ahead of the June 12 election, the government-funded Press TV reported Wednesday.
"England is among the countries that fan the flames with their heavy propaganda, which is against all diplomatic norms," Mohseni-Ezhei was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency. "And the BBC Farsi has also played a major role. Also, a number of people carrying British passports have played a role in the recent disturbances."
The British Foreign Office said it was looking into the claims.
"We have seen reports of the arrest of British nationals in Iran," the foreign office said. "Consular colleagues and the embassy in Tehran are making inquiries."
To top of the "audacity" of the Iranian regime, they are claiming the cold blooded murder of Neda, which was caught on video and been show across the globe... was a "mistake."
Keep your eye on Twitter feed #Iranelection, where Iranians, mostly using proxies are risking their lives to post news, pictures and videos, so the world can see their struggle for freedom.
This is from the end of my last piece, but the more I thought about it and looked over reactions and previous Bush speeches, the more I thought this deserved it's own place here.
In the meantime, in a blatant attempt to spin after Obama got slammed, left and right, for his weak, pathetic response to the atrocities being committed against the Iranian people by their government, the Washington Post reports the White House is trying to credit Obama's Cairo speech with the Iranian uprising.
Excuse me for a second while I laugh hard enough to fall off my chair.
Try this on for size.
The Iranian people look to their neighbors, Iraqi's, who have obtained freedom, liberty and Democracy, hold fair elections where their votes DO count and they see what they want for themselves.
Maybe more people should point out that the Iranian people would not have had that type of example from a Muslim country in the Middle East, if not for...yes, I do dare say it.... GEORGE BUSH.
The Middle East will either become a place of progress and peace, or it will be an exporter of violence and terror that takes more lives in America and in other free nations. The triumph of democracy and tolerance in Iraq, in Afghanistan and beyond would be a grave setback for international terrorism. The terrorists thrive on the support of tyrants and the resentments of oppressed peoples. When tyrants fall, and resentment gives way to hope, men and women in every culture reject the ideologies of terror, and turn to the pursuits of peace. Everywhere that freedom takes hold, terror will retreat.
Our enemies understand this. They know that a free Iraq will be free of them -- free of assassins, and torturers, and secret police........
Today, Iran remains the world's primary state sponsor of terror -- pursuing nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve. We are working with European allies to make clear to the Iranian regime that it must give up its uranium enrichment program and any plutonium re-processing, and end its support for terror. And to the Iranian people, I say tonight: As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.
The Domino Effect that many criticized and scoffed at, seems to be moving forward, as we speak, in Iran.
Reaction from people in the Middle East, at that time:
My Iranian friends were in disbelief when they heard the American president committing America to stand with "the democrats of Iran, if they stand for themselves." Tehran's despots cannot expect to oppress their people much longer. "Even if nothing else happens after this speech,” an Iranian activist told me over the phone, "I feel I had enough of human recognition." He and his fellow reformers have not been so recognized by any administration in the past.
President Bush also crossed other lines last night. By asking Egypt to lead the Arab world towards democracy as it led it towards peace, the president responded to those who accused him of being one-sided in his call for change. For years, on al-Jazeera and scores of fundamentalists and anti-American commentators pounded America with a familiar accusation: the U.S. wants freedom for its enemies, but not for its allies. Last night, Bush's answer fell hard on the Arab world's inquisitors. The American president coaxed his own Arab allies to move towards democracy. More importantly, he defied policies established by the previous State Department, which barred touching the Wahhabi Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as it is the chief provider of our oil. The president spoke directly to them: Riyadh must open up its system, emancipate women, and move out of the Middle Ages with respect to human rights.
The praise for Jordan, Morocco, and Bahrain was right on target. Constitutional monarchies are making a few steps forward. And skillfully, Bush's speech elevated the issue of Palestinian rights higher – with recognition of their statehood. The president grabbed the historic opportunity to define its necessary terms: two states living side by side, with security for Israelis.
America's commitment to freedom worldwide, and especially in the Arab world, has no equivalent in international relations. But the alliance between the American people and the democratic movements in the Middle East is a startlingly new doctrine. In his first term, President Bush declared the strategy of fighting terrorism must be pursued with the spread of freedom. In his second term, Bush's administration is now fulfilling its election mandate of committing itself to build the alliances necessary to win the War on Terror.
On the Senate floor, Arizona Senator, John McCain addresses the issue of the fraudulent Iran election and the public unrest, demonstrations, protests and the Iranian Government arresting, detaining and murdering people on the streets.
Then he speaks of "Neda", who is rapidly becoming the face of the protesters, the example of the repression and human right's violations against the Iranian people by the government of Iran and their corrupt leaders.
The video of Neda's death was shown across the globe, we showed the video here in a previous piece. A young girl, watching the protests, shot and killed for nothing more than standing there.
(An undated photo of Neda Agha-Soltan, a 26-year-old aspiring tour guide who was killed by gunfire Saturday during protests in Tehran over the disputed presidential election. Photo provided by a family friend.)
This is Neda after:
Iranian authorities are concerned how "Neda" has become a symbol of what the people of Iran are fighting for and against in their defiance of the government cheating them, ignoring their votes, faking the results of an election, then declaring they would violently make them shut up about being repressed.
The Iranian authorities have ordered the family of a student shot dead in Tehran to take down mourning posters as they struggle to stop her becoming the rallying point for protests against the presidential election.
Neda Salehi Agha Soltan, 26, was killed as she watched a pro-democracy protest, and mobile phone footage of her last moments have become a worldwide symbol of Iran's turmoil.
The authorities had already banned a public funeral or wake and have prevented gatherings in her name while the state-controlled media has not mentioned Miss Soltan's death.
Today it was reported that they had also told her family to take down the black mourning banners outside their home in the Tehran suburbs to prevent it becoming a place of pilgrimage. They were also told they could not hold a memorial service at a mosque.
Nevertheless posters of Miss Soltan's face have started to appear all over Tehran.
The attempted crackdown came as friends present as Miss Soltan died came forward to detail what happened.
In the meantime, in a blatant attempt to spin after Obama got slammed, left and right, for his weak, pathetic response to the atrocities being committed against the Iranian people by their government, the Washington Post reports the White House is trying to credit Obama's Cairo speech with the Iranian uprising.
Excuse me for a second while I laugh hard enough to fall off my chair.
Try this on for size.
The Iranian people look to their neighbors, Iraqi's, who have obtained freedom, liberty and Democracy, hold fair elections where their votes DO count and they see what they want for themselves.
Maybe more people should point out that the Iranian people would not have had that type of example from a Muslim country in the Middle East, if not for...yes, I do dare say it.... GEORGE BUSH.
The Middle East will either become a place of progress and peace, or it will be an exporter of violence and terror that takes more lives in America and in other free nations. The triumph of democracy and tolerance in Iraq, in Afghanistan and beyond would be a grave setback for international terrorism. The terrorists thrive on the support of tyrants and the resentments of oppressed peoples. When tyrants fall, and resentment gives way to hope, men and women in every culture reject the ideologies of terror, and turn to the pursuits of peace. Everywhere that freedom takes hold, terror will retreat.
Our enemies understand this. They know that a free Iraq will be free of them -- free of assassins, and torturers, and secret police........
Today, Iran remains the world's primary state sponsor of terror -- pursuing nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve. We are working with European allies to make clear to the Iranian regime that it must give up its uranium enrichment program and any plutonium re-processing, and end its support for terror. And to the Iranian people, I say tonight: As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.
The Domino Effect that many criticized and scoffed at, seems to be moving forward, as we speak, in Iran.
Reaction from people in the Middle East, at that time:
My Iranian friends were in disbelief when they heard the American president committing America to stand with "the democrats of Iran, if they stand for themselves." Tehran's despots cannot expect to oppress their people much longer. "Even if nothing else happens after this speech,” an Iranian activist told me over the phone, "I feel I had enough of human recognition." He and his fellow reformers have not been so recognized by any administration in the past.
President Bush also crossed other lines last night. By asking Egypt to lead the Arab world towards democracy as it led it towards peace, the president responded to those who accused him of being one-sided in his call for change. For years, on al-Jazeera and scores of fundamentalists and anti-American commentators pounded America with a familiar accusation: the U.S. wants freedom for its enemies, but not for its allies. Last night, Bush's answer fell hard on the Arab world's inquisitors. The American president coaxed his own Arab allies to move towards democracy. More importantly, he defied policies established by the previous State Department, which barred touching the Wahhabi Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as it is the chief provider of our oil. The president spoke directly to them: Riyadh must open up its system, emancipate women, and move out of the Middle Ages with respect to human rights.
The praise for Jordan, Morocco, and Bahrain was right on target. Constitutional monarchies are making a few steps forward. And skillfully, Bush's speech elevated the issue of Palestinian rights higher – with recognition of their statehood. The president grabbed the historic opportunity to define its necessary terms: two states living side by side, with security for Israelis.
America's commitment to freedom worldwide, and especially in the Arab world, has no equivalent in international relations. But the alliance between the American people and the democratic movements in the Middle East is a startlingly new doctrine. In his first term, President Bush declared the strategy of fighting terrorism must be pursued with the spread of freedom. In his second term, Bush's administration is now fulfilling its election mandate of committing itself to build the alliances necessary to win the War on Terror.
The fallout from the rigged Iranian election continues with Reporters Without Borders reporting that 23 Iranian journalists have been arrested in Iran, with the latest news showing a Newsweek reporter, Maziar Bahari, has also been "detained", leading Newsweek to demand his release.
Iranian officials have attempted to clamp down on reporters covering the chaos that has stemmed from the election which is being challenged publicly by the opposition to Ahmadinejad, who was declared the winner within 4 hours of tens of millions voters having voted on paper ballots.
According to Reporters Without Borders, over 20 Iranian journalists and bloggers have been detained since the disputed presidential elections on June 12. In its statement, NEWSWEEK condemned the seizure of innocent journalists as a violation of the right to a free press in Iran, and called upon world governments to use whatever influence they have to make clear that the detention of Bahari is unwarranted and unacceptable, and to demand his release.
The Iranian regime has also attempted to block access of Facebook, Twitter and other internet based sites which the Iranian people, protesting the election results as fraudulent, have been passing along photos, news and videos to the rest of the world, since reporters cannot do their job, the people Iran has been doing it for them.
Two separate videos posted on YouTube and Facebook following street battles Saturday in Tehran showed a young woman with blood pouring from her nose and mouth as people — shouting in Farsi — frantically tried to help her. The YouTube video described the location in central Tehran and said the woman, identified on the video as "Neda," had been fatally shot.
The images began to appear on media around the world, including at protests by Iranian-Americans in Los Angeles. The AP noted the existence of the videos but could not independently verify the content, its location or the date it was shot.
The AP conducted phone interviews and exchanged e-mails with protesters who witnessed Saturday's clashes with police and militia, but none of those interviewed had witnessed the scene shown on the Web sites.
"Getting out the accurate verified story is the goal," said John Daniszewski, AP senior managing editor. "The restrictions now imposed on reporters in the country make it more difficult but we are succeeding nevertheless. We rely on correspondents in Iran and those outside the country to sift fact from rumor for the most reliable dispatches possible."
Iran's Guardian Council, who is supposed to be "looking into" the results of the election with a "partial" investigation and the accusations of fraud, has found irregularities.
The council's Spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, who was speaking on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Channel 2 on Sunday, made the remarks in response to complaints filed by Mohsen Rezaei -- a defeated candidate in the June 12 Presidential election.
"Statistics provided by the candidates, who claim more than 100% of those eligible have cast their ballot in 80-170 cities are not accurate -- the incident has happened in only 50 cities," Kadkhodaei said.
Kadkhodaei further explained that the voter turnout of above 100% in some cities is a normal phenomenon because there is no legal limitation for people to vote for the presidential elections in another city or province to which people often travel or commute.
A very interesting tidbit, reported on, in an article from BBC, shows that several family members of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a powerful opponent of Ahmadinejad as well as the head of the Assembly of Experts, which has the power to remove the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were also detained, then released.
Security forces continued to round up protesters on Saturday - with state media saying 457 people had been arrested.
Among the detained were several family members of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani - a powerful opponent of Mr Ahmadinejad.
Analysts said the arrests came as a surprise because Mr Rafsanjani is head of the Assembly of Experts - a cleric-run group which has the power to remove the supreme leader.
All of Mr Rafsanjani's relatives were reported to have been freed by Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, Mr Mousavi, whose supporters make up most of the protesting crowds, urged them to continue their rallies.
"Protesting against lies and fraud is your right. In your protests continue to show restraint," a statement on his website said.
More updates can be found at the Guardian blog and Hot Air is keeping tabs on the news as well.
Most importantly, keep your eye on Twitter feed #Iranelection, where Iranians, mostly using proxies are risking their lives to post news, pictures and videos, so the world can see their struggle for freedom.
Within 3 minutes of opening #Iranelection this morning, 1106 more tweets have been posted. Some is hard to verify, but it gives people a starting point and even news organizations are grabbing information from them.
Updates to follow.
[Update] Via CNN, Britain is withdrawing the family members of its embassy staff members from Iran until the situation there improves.
Riot police attacked hundreds of demonstrators with tear gas and fired live bullets into the air to disperse a rally in central Tehran Monday, carrying out a threat by the country's most powerful security force to crush any further protests over the disputed presidential election.
Helicopters hovered overhead as several hundred protesters gathered at Haft-e-Tir Square. Hundreds of anti-riot police quickly put an end to the demonstration.
Witnesses said police at the scene tried to prevent any gathering, even small groups. At the square's subway station, police did not allow anyone to stand still, asking them to keep walking and separating people who were walking together.
"There is a massive, massive, massive police presence," an Iranian woman told the Associated Press by telephone. She spoke from the location of the opposition march before it started. "Their presence was really intimidating," she said, asking not to be identified because she was worried about government reprisals.
The latest clash came hours after the Revolutionary Guard threatened to crush any further protests, warning demonstrators to prepare for a "revolutionary confrontation" if they took to the streets again.
It might be late, it may not be as strong as it could be, but Barack Obama finally grew a "small pair" of balls, enough to take the side of the Iranian protesters.
The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.
As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.
Martin Luther King once said - "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples’ belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.
Still, the regime is coming out in full force, violently, against the protesters, but at least the protesters are getting a chance to see that protests are springing up here in America as well, in support of them and their right to Democratic elections, not the fraud that was perpetrated onto them with the farce the world saw.
Read Obama's words, look at the video, it is very graphic, so fair warning, but then tell us whether Obama's statement is strong enough or whether he should be showing outrage, not giving calm platitudes.
Note to Obama: The men, the regime, responsible for that woman's death, are the same people you are so anxious to "talk to" without "conditions."
Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Federal Building in Westwood Saturday in a showing of solidarity for protesters in Iran whose challenges to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent reelection have been met with violence.
The protest began around 11 a.m. at the intersection of Veteran and Wilshire Boulevard.
Protesters held signs that read "Stop the killing" and "Where is my vote?". Many wore green armbands, headbands, and t-shirts, in support of the Green Wave Movement, lead by Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.
The Westwood protest is the latest in a string of similar protests alleging voter fraud in the June 12 Iranian election. Opponents of Ahmadinejad locally and in Iran have angrily accused the hard-line president of using fraud to steal away any chance of a fair election.
The protesters also called on President Barack Obama to take a harder stance on Iran.
Fox News has had continuous coverage throughout the weekend on Iran and the protests going on, despite the threats from the Supreme Leader warning of violence and bloodshed.
Thousands of protesters defied Iran's highest authority Saturday and marched on waiting security forces that fought back with baton charges, tear gas and water cannons as the crisis over disputed elections lurched into volatile new ground.
'
Kudos to Fox for keeping their eye on the ball and on Twitter, bringing video, photos and news from the #Iranelection feed at Twitter, where thousands upon thousands of tweets, (messages) are being posted every hour and where Iranians, using cell phones to take photos and videos are trying to speak to the world.
The protesters are holding signs up in English, they are trying to communicate, asking for some moral support, to be noticed, to be heard.
They want their freedom from the dictators that have been ruling them for so long.
Good luck to them. Hopefully they know America and the whole world is watching and supporting them.
[Update] From IranFacts, the latest letter from Mir Hossein Mousavi
In the name of God, the kind and the merciful
Indeed god demands you to safe keep what people entrust in you, and to rule them with justice. [this a verse of Koran]
Respectable and intelligent people of Iran,
These nights and days, a pivotal moment in our history is taking place. People ask each other: “what should we do?, which way should we go?”. It is my duty to share with you what I believe, and to learn from you, may we never forget our historical task and not give up on the duty we are given by the destiny of times and generations.
30 years ago, in this country a revolution became victorious in the name of Islam, a revolution for freedom, a revolution for reviving the dignity of men, a revolution for truth and justice. In those times, especially when our enlightened Imam [Khomeini] was alive, large amount of lives and matters were invested to legitimize this foundation and many valuable achievements were attained. An unprecedented enlightenment captured our society, and our people reached a new life where they endured the hardest of hardships with a sweet taste. What this people gained was dignity and freedom and a gift of the life of the pure ones [i.e. 12 Imams of Shiites]. I am certain that those who have seen those days will not be satisfied with anything less.
Had we as a people lost certain talents that we were unable to experience that early spirituality? I had come to say that that was not the case. It is not late yet, we are not far from that enlightened space yet. I had come to show that it was possible to live spiritually while living in a modern world. I had come to repeat Imam’s warnings about fundamentalism. I had come to say that evading the law leads to dictatorship; and to remind that paying attention to people’s dignity does not diminish the foundations of the regime, but strengthens it. I had come to say that people wish honesty and integrity from their servants, and that many of our perils have arisen from lies. I had come to say that poverty and backwardness, corruption and injustice were not our destiny. I had come to re-invite to the Islamic revolution, as it had to be, and Islamic republic as it has to be.
In this invitation, I was not charismatic [articulate], but the core message of revolution was so appealing that it surpassed my articulation and excited the young generation who had not seen those days to recreate scenes which we had not seen since the days of revolution[1979] and the sacred defense. The people’s movement chose green as its symbol. I confess that in this, I followed them. And a generation that was accused of being removed from religion, has now reached “God is Great”, “Victory’s of God and victory’s near”, “Ya hossein” in their chants to prove that when this tree fruits, they all resemble. No one taught hem these slogans, they reached them by the teachings of instinct. How unfair are those whose petty advantages make them call this a “velvet revolution” staged by foreigners! [refering to state TV and Khameneni, perhaps!]
But as you know, all of us were faced with deception and cheatings when we claimed to revitalize our nation and realize dreams that root in the hearts of young and old. And that which we had predicted will stem from evading law [dictatorship], realized soon in the worst manifestation.
The large voter turnout in recent election was the result of hard work to create hope and confidence in people, to create a deserving response to those whose broad dissatisfaction with the existing management crisis could have targeted the foundations of the regime. If this good will and trust of the poeple is not addressed via protecting their votes, or if they cannot react in a civil manner to claim their rights, the responsibility of the dangerous routs ahead will be on the shoulders of those who do not tolerate civil protests.
If the large volume of cheating and vote rigging, which has set fire to the hays of people’s anger, is expressed as the evidence of fairness, the republican nature of the state will be killed and in practice, the ideology that Islam and Republicanism are incompatible will be proven.
This outcome will make two groups happy: One, those who since the beginning of revolution stood against Imam and called the Islamic state a dictatorship of the elite who want to take people to heaven by force; and the other, those who in defending the human rights, consider religion and Islam against republicanism. Imam’s fantastic art was to neutralize these dichotomies. I had come to focus on Imam’s approach to neutralize the burgeoning magic of these. Now, by confirming the results of election, by limiting the extent of investigation in a manner that the outcome will not be changed, even though in more than 170 branches the number of cast votes was more than 100% of eligible voters of the riding, the heads of the state have accepted the responsibility of what has happened during the election.
In these conditions, we are asked to follow our complaints via the Guardian council, while this council has proven its bias, not only before and during, but also after the election. The first principle of judgment is to be impartial.
I, continue to strongly believe that the request for annulling the vote and repeating the election is a definite right that has to be considered by impartial and nationally trusted delegation. Not to dismiss the results of this investigation a priori, or to prevent people from demonstration by threatening them to bloodshed. Nor to unleash the Intelligence ministry’s plain clothes forces on people’s lives to disperse crowds by intimidation and inflammation, instead of responding to people’s legitimate questions, and then blaming the bloodshed on others.
As I am looking at the scene, I see it set for advancing a new political agenda that spreads beyond the objective of installing an unwanted government. As a companion who has seen the beauties of your green wave, I will never allow any one’s life endangered because of my actions. At the same time, I remain undeterred on my demand for annulling the election and demanding people’s rights. Despite my limited abilities, I believe that your motivation and creativity can pursue your legitimate demands in new civil manners. Be sure that I will always stand with you. What this brother of yours recommends, especially to the dear youth, in terms of finding new solutions is to not allow liars and cheater steal your flag of defense of Islamic state, and foreigners rip the treasures of the Islamic republic which are your inheritance of the blood of your decent fathers. By trust in God, and hope for the future, and leaning on the strength of social movements, claim your rights in the frameworks of the existing constitution, based on principle of non-violence.
In this, we are not confronting the Basij. Basiji is our brother. In this we are not confronting the revolutionary guard. The guard is the keeper of our revolution. We are not confronting the army, the army is the keeper of our borders. These organs are the keepers of our independence, freedom and our Islamic republic. We are confronting deception and lies, we want to reform them, a reform by return to the pure principles of revolution.
We advise the authorities, to calm down the streets. Based on article 27 of the constitution, not only provide space for peaceful protest, but also encourage such gatherings. The state TV should stop badmouthing and taking sides. Before voices turn into shouting, let them be heard in reasonable debates. Let the press criticize, and write the news as they happen. In one word, create a free space for people to express their agreements and disagreements. Let those who want, say “takbeer” and don’t consider it opposition. It is clear that in this case, there won’t be a need for security forces on the streets, and we won’t have to face pictures and hear news that break the heart of anyone who loves the country and the revolution.
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, via The Guardian claims he speaks for Mir Hossein Mousavi since he has been "silenced."
I have been given the responsibility of telling the world what is happening in Iran. The office of Mir Hossein Mousavi, who the Iranian people truly want as their leader, has asked me to do so. They have asked me to tell how Mousavi's headquarters was wrecked by plainclothes police officers. To tell how the commanders of the revolutionary guard ordered him to stay silent. To urge people to take to the streets because Mousavi could not do so directly.
Tehran residents are climbing to their roofs and crying "God is Great!" in open defiance of Iran's supreme leader.
The late-night cries of "Allahu Akbar!" and "Death to the Dictator!" throughout Tehran Friday are a direct challenge to the cleric who has ultimate authority under Iran's constitution. They come hours after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned opposition supporters to stop protesting the June 12 election they say was rigged in favor of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Hot Air is keeping up with things with multiple updates, keep refreshing.
Sullivan is live blogging day 8, many updates, so keep refreshing.
Congress voted for and passed the resolution listed as "Expressing support for all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and rule of law, and for other purposes."
As was mentioned yesterday, John McCain has a similar one written up for the Senate to vote on.
[Update] While Congress and the Senate considering resolutions, which doesn't help, but at least shows moral support to the people of Iran, Obama is resisting a "tougher stance" on Iran.
With Iran on a razor’s edge after a week of swelling protests, the Obama administration has fended off pressure from both parties to respond more forcefully to the disputed election there. But if Iranian authorities carry out their latest threat of a more sweeping crackdown, the White House would reconsider its carefully calibrated tone, officials said Friday.
Administration officials said events this weekend in Tehran — when demonstrators plan to rally in defiance of the authorities — would be a telling indicator of whether President Obama would join European leaders and lawmakers on Capitol Hill in more harshly condemning the tactics of the Iranian government.
Congressional Republicans and conservative foreign-policy experts stepped up their pressure on the White House to take a firmer stand in support of the demonstrators, even as Mr. Obama worked to keep Democrats from breaking openly with him on Iran.
Remember to watch Twitter feed #Iranelection, for on the spot word directly from Iran.
I opened it and within minutes there were 400 more tweets.
“I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get killed. I’m listening to all my favorite music. I even want to dance to a few songs. I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows. Yes, maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow! There are a few great movie scenes that I also have to see. I should drop by the library, too. It’s worth to read the poems of Forough and Shamloo again. All family pictures have to be reviewed, too. I have to call my friends as well to say goodbye. All I have are two bookshelves which I told my family who should receive them. I’m two units away from getting my bachelors degree but who cares about that. My mind is very chaotic. I wrote these random sentences for the next generation so they know we were not just emotional and under peer pressure. So they know that we did everything we could to create a better future for them. So they know that our ancestors surrendered to Arabs and Mongols but did not surrender to despotism. This note is dedicated to tomorrow’s children…”
I will update more as I run across things of interest.
Mr. Khamenei firmly called for a stop to the recent street demonstrations by Mr. Ahmadinejad's rivals and said vote disputes must be settled legally, not in the streets. He also said if the demonstrations didn't stop there might be chaos and bloodshed, and that rival candidates calling for protests would be blamed.
With his own words, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei verifies the rumors that have been floating around the past couple days saying the Iranian regime would be taking even more violent action against the protesters that have been protesting since Friday's rigged election allowing Ahmadinejad to keep his presidency.
Recap
For a week now, we and the world have been following the protests being held, how the Iranian government have barred any journalists from reporting on the protests, with one journalist being injured badly, phone services have been interrupted, text messaging was stopped for a while and any other means the Iranian government could use to stop the protesters from being able to communicate.
Not only have the people managed to communicate with each other to stage massive protests, but they have also used proxies to get the word, photos and videos, out to the world, via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
(Karim khan bridge filled with protesters crossing)
All previous pieces will be linked at the bottom of this post.
Fast forward
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had previously promised to run a partial investigation into allegations of fruad during the election, with news reporting it could take up to ten days, yet a few days later, he gave a speech backing the election results and threatening the protesters.
Amnesty International is saying the speech gave "legitimacy to police brutality" against those protesting.
This morning's speech by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, indicates the authorities' readiness to launch violent crackdowns if people continue to protest which may cause a widespread loss of life, Amnesty International said today.
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme, said:
'We are extremely disturbed at statements made by Ayatollah Khamenei which seem to give the green light to security forces to violently handle protesters exercising their right to demonstrate and express their views.
'If large numbers of people take to the street in protests in the next couple of days, we fear that they will face arbitrary arrest and excessive use of force, as has happened in recent days, particularly as permission for a demonstration to be held in Tehran on Saturday 20 June has been denied.'
'For a Head of State to put the onus of security on peaceful demonstrators and not on the security forces is a gross dereliction of duty and a licence for abuse.'
In a televised address to the nation during Friday prayers in Tehran, Ayatollah Khamenei called for an end to street protests against the outcome of the election. Instead of warning security forces, including the volunteer Basij militia, to act with restraint and in accordance with the law, he said that if people continued to take to the streets, the consequences would lie with them.
Peaceful assembly is expressly permitted under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Iran is a state party. Law enforcement officials must use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty. They must not use firearms unless strictly unavoidable and in order to protect life. Law enforcement personnel must exercise restraint, minimise damage or injury and respect and preserve human life.
Farzad Agha, an Iran analyst explains"This is clearly a threat to the demonstrators and supporters of the opposition candidates ... saying if you continue the process we will deal with you."
Mr Khamenei's address was a mixture of the profane and the declamatory. Like an onion the speech got sharper as the layers of his message were peeled away. The mass demonstrations in Tehran and elsewhere this week were declared illegal. The explicit threat to unleash the thugs and hardmen of the Basij militia was made and reiterated.
It is a measure of the gravity of the challenge the Islamic Republic faces that Mr Khamenei chose to go on a direct attack against his opponents. Not just against the "Zionists and British," but the only active Iranian leaders who could be considered his peers.
The demonstrations in favour of presidential challenger Mir-Hossein Musavi were declared to be a threat to the Islamic Republic....
Gateway Pundit shows, quite graphically via video, what type of violence is already being seen from the Iranian regime against protesters.
In the meantime, while Barack Obama pussyfoot's around, Congress is not and they are offering what they can, which is a bipartisan resolution to stand with the people of Iran, the protesters.
Via RedState, we have the wording of the resolution:
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and rule of law, and for other purposes.
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— (1) expresses its support for all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and rule of law; (2) condemns the ongoing violence against demonstrators by the Government of Iran and pro-government militias, as well as the ongoing government suppression of independent electronic communication through interference with the Internet and cellphones; and (3) affirms the universality of individual rights and the importance of democratic and fair elections.
Perhaps everyone should send Obama a copy of this NYT column, words from a student in Iran:
WE look over this wall of marching people to see what our friends in the United States are saying about us. We cannot help it — 30 years of struggle against the Enemy has had the curious effect of making us intrigued. To our great dismay, what we find is that in important sectors of the American press a disturbing counternarrative is emerging: That perhaps this election wasn’t a fraud after all. That the United States shouldn’t rush in with complaints of democracy denied, and that perhaps Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the president the Iranian people truly want (and, by extension, deserve).
People can not sit back any longer and say "well they voted him in, they deserve what they get".... these massive protests, at the risk of their lives, should show everyone that these Iranians did not choose their leader.
The fact that these protesters are risking just as much to find ways to get the photos, videos and news out because reporters cannot, tell us that they need international support, they are begging for it.
Khamenei had demanded that Hossein Mousavi, the man who supposedly lost the rigged election, that he must stand by him, "toe the line" in his appearance.
No one is asking Obama to get his hands dirty, to do anything except speak up. Lend his voice to Germany's, to others, that are giving moral support to the people of Iran who are shouting, literally, from their rooftops.
The Spirit of Man found the perfect cartoon to represent Obama's lack of appropriate responses here.
[Update] Via MotherJones, the worrisome warning from Wayne White, a former State Department intelligence analyst with expertise on Iran. from an email he sent colleagues:
Those who have talked of the regime's need for compromise, Khamenei's fears and hesitation, etc. urgently need to reconsider seriously the overall situation.
Khamenei's sermon today appeared to have closed the book on substantial concessions to the opposition and its ardent supporters on the streets. Although the Guardian Council's review might still be underway technically, Khamenei reiterated flatly that Ahmadinejad was and remains the winner and warned protesters to get off the streets or face and be responsible for the consequences. In fact, Khamenei rendered an accurate evaluation of the relatively insignificant investigation and partial recount supposedly underway: the margin of victory the regime has accorded Ahmadinejad (albeit falsely and shamelessly) was so wide that the collection of individual complaints involved in the recount probably could not erase Ahmadinejad's victory (even if most all of the complaints were ruled valid by a biased Guardian Council led by a notorious hardline cleric who probably was party to the election theft scheme in the first place).
The conservative, anti-reform establishment's patience would appear to have worn out at this point, and now we can expect a ramped-up crackdown on demonstrations and other signs of dissent with most of the media previously able to record such ugly, brutish behavior now largely swept conveniently away and much of the country's prominent reform-oriented leadership behind bars. Many accurate reports on the unfortunate events to come doubtless will get out to the world, but probably only the proverbial tip of the iceberg regarding the totality of the violence that may well be pending. As has been the case already (especially away from the main demonstrations and in other cities beyond Tehran less generally accessable to the media), the crackdown will likely become gradually more severe and more costly in terms of casualties, with the regime hoping that such a paced escalation can drive the protests to ground without one huge confrontation.
A report this morning by email or some such routing from Iran read out on, I believe, CNN came from a hospital (specific location unknown to me) speaking of numerous civilian casualties flowing in—both dead and badly wounded—with authorities arriving to prevent any personal data from being recorded and taking away the arrivals. Such is being carried out by the same ruthless, fanatical elements that dragged an ailing Ebrahim Yazdi out of a hospital intensive care unit on Wednesday. I very much fear that this is the future.
I would like nothing more than to post analysis that would convey more hope and less in the way of dire warnings, but, with considerable sadness, the above is what I truly believe to be yet another emerging bottom line that will increasingly define the remainder of this crisis. Over the long-term, especially with the steady mounting of demographics largely against this now more bare-knuckled, abusive authoritarian order, the days of the regime are numbered, but the robust, admirable challenge mounted in the course of this crisis may well be unable to overcome such violent countermeasures this time around. [Emphasis added.]
Go to Twitter, #IranElection and watch them as they continue to fight for their vote to be counted.
All previous pieces about Iran's election can be found here.
One of the great innovations in the Obama administration's approach to Iran, after all, was supposed to be its deliberate embrace of the Tehran rulers' legitimacy. In his opening diplomatic gambit, his statement to Iran on the Persian new year in March, Obama went out of his way to speak directly to Iran's rulers, a notable departure from George W. Bush's habit of speaking to the Iranian people over their leaders' heads. As former Clinton official Martin Indyk put it at the time, the wording was carefully designed "to demonstrate acceptance of the government of Iran."
This approach had always been a key element of a "grand bargain" with Iran. The United States had to provide some guarantee to the regime that it would no longer support opposition forces or in any way seek its removal. The idea was that the United States could hardly expect the Iranian regime to negotiate on core issues of national security, such as its nuclear program, so long as Washington gave any encouragement to the government's opponents. Obama had to make a choice, and he made it. This was widely applauded as a "realist" departure from the Bush administration's quixotic and counterproductive idealism.
It would be surprising if Obama departed from this realist strategy now, and he hasn't. His extremely guarded response to the outburst of popular anger at the regime has been widely misinterpreted as reflecting concern that too overt an American embrace of the opposition will hurt it, or that he wants to avoid American "moralizing." (Obama himself claimed yesterday that he didn't want the United States to appear to be "meddling.")
But Obama's calculations are quite different. Whatever his personal sympathies may be, if he is intent on sticking to his original strategy, then he can have no interest in helping the opposition. His strategy toward Iran places him objectively on the side of the government's efforts to return to normalcy as quickly as possible, not in league with the opposition's efforts to prolong the crisis.
Is Obama willing to forfeit right and fair and Democratic, for expediency and "appearance"?
As more news gets out, despite the Iranian regime's best attempts to stop it, McClatchy reports that Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, Iran's most senior Islamic cleric, stands with the protesters in saying the vote and election results were rigged, stating on his website, that the official results cannot be believed.
"No one in their right mind can believe" the official results from Friday's contest, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri said of the landslide victory claimed by Ahmadinejad. Montazeri accused the regime of handling Mousavi's charges of fraud and the massive protests of his backers "in the worst way possible."
"A government not respecting people's vote has no religious or political legitimacy," he declared in comments on his official Web site. "I ask the police and army personals (personnel) not to 'sell their religion,' and beware that receiving orders will not excuse them before God."
SNIP
Montazeri's pointed public comments provided fresh evidence that a serious rift has opened at the top of Iran's powerful religious hierarchy after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei endorsed the official election results and the harsh crackdown against the opposition.
A leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution who's often feuded with Khamenei and once vied with him for the supreme leader's position, Montazeri accused the government of attacking "the children of the people with astonishing violence" and "attempting a purge, arresting intellectuals, political opponents and scientifics."
"He is questioning the legitimacy of the election and also questioning the legitimacy of (Khamenei's) leadership, and this is the heart of the political battle in Iran," said Mehdi Noorbaksh, an associate professor of international affairs at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania. "This is very significant. This is huge support for Mousavi and the demonstrators on the reformists' side."
Foreign reporters are barred from the streets, so information is coming from the Iranian people themselves, by bypassing bans set by the Government and using proxies to send photos, videos, and news. They are using Twitter, which is updating at a rate which can barely be kept up with, providing the world with a look of what is happening inside Iran right now.
Phone services, text services are spotty as the government of Iran tries to stop the people of Iran from communicating on a large scale as they set up times and places for their protests, yet by word of mouth, they are hearing about it and showing up en masse.
One day after the government revoked press credentials for foreign journalists and ordered journalists not to report from the streets, there were increasing signs Wednesday that the authorities were preparing further restrictions on opposition figures and on news about the protest. Government officials telephoned or sent faxes Wednesday to reporters in Tehran working for foreign news organizations telling them not to venture outside to cover events being held without an official permit. That included rallies by supporters of Mr. Moussavi and news conferences or other public events held without the government’s approval, reporters in Tehran said.
Government officials told journalists that they were at risk on the streets following an incident on Tuesday when a photographer was stabbed and wounded while covering a rally. Two well-known analysts, Sayeed Leylaz and Mohammad-Reza Jalaipour, were detained Wednesday and were likely to be held for several days, associates and family members said.
The Associated Press reported that the powerful Revolutionary Guards threatened restrictions Wednesday on the digital online media that many Iranians use to communicate among themselves and to send news of their protests overseas. In a first statement since last Friday’s vote, the Revolutionary Guards said Iranian Web site operators and bloggers must remove content deemed to “create tension” or face legal action, the A.P. said.
Defying the restrictions, new amateur video surfaced outside of Iran on Wednesday, apparently showing a government militia rampaging through a dormitory area of Tehran University late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
These people are risking their lives to get information out of Iran and available for the world to see the chaos going on inside the country now.
In Paris, Soazig Dollet, a spokeswoman for Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom advocacy group, said at least 11 reporters had been arrested since the elections and the fate of 10 more was unclear since they may either be in hiding or under arrest.
