Tag "Iran"
The gullible, useless, clueless and mindless Left
The situation in Iran is volatile and fluid and things could get much worse (there are already reports about Mousavi supporters being arrested with explosives!) and it is way too early to draw some deep conclusions about these events. One thing, however, is absolutely clear: the so-called “Left” showed no common sense, no critical thinking and no analytical capabilities whatsoever. Even the best Leftist websites and commentators (Pepe Escobar, Counterpunch,
Iran’s ‘Stolen’ Election: a Hardline Demagouge’s Victory Over a ‘Reformer’? Not So Fast
By Phil Wilayto for AlterNet As this is being written, official announcements in Iran today of a landslide victory by incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are being met with cries of “fraud” by supporters of his principal challenger, former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi. The New York Times is reporting that “at least one person had been shot dead in clashes with the police in Vanak Square in Tehran. Smoke from burning
Rafsanjani: shark or kingmaker?
by Simon Tisdall for The Guardian The man accused by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of masterminding the opposition campaign to oust him from the presidency has dropped out of view since election day. But Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani remains a formidable figure in Iranian politics with a network of well-placed allies straddling the reformist and moderate conservative camps. If any one leader is able to force a re-run of last Friday’s disputed
Rafsanjani’s gambit backfires
By M K Bhadrakumar for the Asia Times (thanks for Lucia for pointing out this article to me) Iranian politics is never easy to decode. The maelstrom around Friday’s presidential election intrigued most avid cryptographers scanning Iranian codes. So many false trails appeared that it became difficult to decipher who the real contenders were and what the political stakes were. In the event, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei won a
Insider report about the events in Iran
I am publishing a report form one of my contacts who actually has, shall we say, “inside access” to the ongoing events in Tehran. I have asked him to explain to me what the real context of these events actually is, and I am deeply grateful for his reply. He also told me that he would be available to answer any questions his analysis might raise. So please, if you
Reliable Poll predicted landslide victory for Ahmadinejad Iran election 2009
Take a look at what one American poll showed in May of this year: Listen also to his comment that most Azeris would vote for Ahmadinejad and not for Musavi (Hey Juan Cole – are you paying attention?!) For other polls, check out the Wikipedia entry on this topic here
Hezbollah: Iran has succeeded once again in the test of democracy
The AFP reports: A member of the political bureau of Hezbollah Ghaleb Abu Zeinab, told AFP on Saturday that during the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Islamic Republic has succeeded, “once again the test of democracy” . Abu Zeinab said that the party was “pleased with the choice of democracy and the Iranian people.” “Iran has proved its democracy, and succeeded time and again in the test of democracy.”
Wishful thinking from Tehran
Againt the background of the “Tsunami” of baloney coming out from so many less than critically thinking “experts” and pundits, I recommend this well written article from the Guardian. VS by Abbas Barzegar for The Guardian I have been in Iran for exactly one week covering the 2009 Iranian election carnival. Since I arrived, few here doubted that the incumbent firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad would win. My airport cab driver
Decontructing Juan Cole’s “evidence”
The Iranian election is a fraud. Now we have “proof” and that “proof” of fraud is in the open, via Juan Cole. He has not one, but six elements of “proof” listed in his latest article. Let’s take a closer look. 1. It is claimed that Ahmadinejad won the city of Tabriz with 57%. His main opponent, Mir Hossein Mousavi, is an Azeri from Azerbaijan province, of which Tabriz is
Why was Mousavi allowed to run?
I am coming back to one of the points I made yesterday – the issue of why a person like Mousavi was ever allowed to run. In the comments section of my previous article on the elections in Iran, altigerrrr make a very good point that the Guardian Council could not prevent Mousavi from running because he is a reformist. I understand that, but that is not quite what I
Musings on yesterday’s elections in Iran
Let me begin my saying that I did not follow the campaigns of the four contenders to the post of President of Iran very closely. Nor did I carefully scrutinize their electoral platform. I did have a vague preference for anyone the West would consider a “moderate” (an utterly nonsensical concept) if only because it would make a military aggression on Iran by Israel and/or the USA harder to sell,
Medvedev invites Ahmadinejad to SCO summit
Press TV reports: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has invited his Iranian counterpart to participate in an upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Mahmoud Reza Sadjadi, was quoted as saying by IRNA on Monday that President Ahmadinejad would attend the summit, which will be held in Russia’s Yekaterinburg city. Iran, an observer member since 2005, has been seeking to join the 9-year-old international organization since 2008. The
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrives in Tehran
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon reports: The Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has arrived in Tehran for a four-day visit to hold talks with Iranian officials. Iranian Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, welcomed the Venezuelan president in Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport on Wednesday night, IRNA reported. During Chavez’ visit to Tehran, Iran and Venezuela will launch a joint bank. The Venezuelan president will leave Tehran for Tokyo after meeting with Iranian officials. President
Obama’s first foreign policy initiative: scrapping the anti-missile system in Europe
Russian and western media outlets are reporting that Obama has offered a deal to the Russians: help us with Iran and we will not deploy the anti-missile system in Europe (see, for example, here). Officially, the American logic goes like that: IF the Iranians drop their nuclear program and IF they stop the development of long-range missiles, THEN there is no more need for an anti-missile system in Europe. Talk
Iran to probe into Parachinar ‘genocide’
Press TV reports: A report to the Iranian parliament has cited grave human rights abuses against Shias in the northwestern Pakistani city of Parachinar. Lack of government control over the highly sensitive border areas of Kurram Agency, the capital of which is Parachinar, has lead to an increased Taliban presence in the area. Local Pakistani media reported last week that Taliban-linked militants in Parachinar, Hangu district and much of the
Iranian students offer $1.5m reward for Mubarak execution
The Guardian reports: Radical Iranian students have angered Egypt by offering a $1.5m (£1m) reward for the execution of its president, Hosni Mubarak, after accusing him of failing to oppose Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. The bounty has been put up by the Students’ Justice-Seeking movement, which last week staged a sit-in at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport demanding to be sent to Gaza as pro-Palestinian volunteers. The group has labelled Mubarak an
Larijani Meets Hamas’s Mashaal in Damascus
al-Manar reports: A senior Iranian politician met Hamas politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal in Damascus on Wednesday as the Palestinian Islamic resistance group is studying an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Ali Larijani, speaker of parliament and one of the major figures in the Islamic Republic, met Mashaal and several high level officials from Hamas at the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, witnesses said. The meeting
Islamic Revolution Leader issued a statement Sunday on the horrendous tragedy of Gaza bloodbath in the hand of the Zionists
Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei issued a statement Sunday on the horrendous tragedy of Gaza bloodbath in the hand of the Zionists, strongly condemning the heinous complicity of the criminal Bush’s regime with the Zionists, adding that the silence of some international bodies and some Arab states provided for the crimes. Ayatollah Khamenei declared Monday as day of general mourning and called on all Muslim people and free
Iran holds Egypt liable for Israeli crimes
Press TV reports: A senior Iranian official says Egyptian support for Israel makes Cairo accountable for any crime committed in the Gaza Strip. “Egypt has closed the Rafah crossing and tightened the siege (of Gaza),” said Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Iranian Assembly of Experts, at Tehran’s Friday prayers. Tel Aviv placed the Gaza Strip under a blockade after the democratically-elected Palestinian government of Hamas took control
