The Iran Thread

[StorminNorman]

It's not going to happen. These protests are over, the movement is done.

 

[SuBe]

It's amazing, 77% of the people polled here on this Thread, do not agree that Iranian Government should be recognized. 7% agree that it should. Yet, where were all the people that wanted The Teleprompter President to sit with Them for Tea?

 

[BlackLantern]

is this the part where Norman laments about the US' lost opportunity??

 

[StorminNorman]

Yes, yes it is.

I hope I am wrong, but I now see no chance of preventing Israeli military action against Iran which can only escalate into war. Which will lead to American dead bodies, neutralizing the ONLY advantage that was gained by not helping protesters.

But of course I am the short sided one here.

 

[SuBe]

Yes you are Stormy. Shame on you for being so short sighted.

 

[BlackLantern]

if the Israelis want to pick a fight with Iran, our only action should be to ensure that the fight stays between those two and other countries do not get involved

 

[StorminNorman]

if the Israelis want to pick a fight with Iran, our only action should be to ensure that the fight stays between those two and other countries do not get involved

And that's completely unrealistic.

America doesn't have the luxury of staying neutral.

 

[Kelly]

If it escalates into war, I have a feeling it would look very similar to Israel's war with Egypt back in the 60's....

And yes, the US can sit back and watch Israel do what alot of Americans wanted the US to do....lol

 

[SuBe]

I do not believe the United States should get involved. "Talk Loudly, Carry a Big Stick, and let your buddy borrow your stick, so you don't have to be the one that Swings it."-Not Teddy Roosevelt.

 

[BestGirl]

It will be quiet, and then the protest's will come back.

The Mousavi supporters can't keep it up forever. I'm sure Iran's leaders are banking on holding on long enough that the protests and strikes lose steam.

 

[Paradyme]

Iran's president says enemies' 'soft overthrow' failed

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says unspecified foes caused the turmoil in which hundreds of thousands of Iranians protested alleged election fraud. A reformist group calls for an end to demonstrations.

Reporting from Beirut -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his controversial reelection affirmed by clerical allies a day earlier, on Tuesday hailed his victory as a triumph for the nation as opponents continued to question the legitimacy of the vote.

The hard-line president blamed unspecified "conspiracies" and Iran's "enemies" for the recent turmoil over the election, which led to a severe crackdown in which dozens of Iranians were killed and hundreds jailed.

After two weeks of street clashes, Tehran was calm much of the day without any visible presence of riot police or pro-government Basiji militiamen except in Jomhouri (Republic) Square.

State-controlled television, between reports about foreign powers stirring up trouble in Iran, interviewed people who said they were eager for an end to the acrimony created by the June 12 vote.

Speaking to employees of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, Ahmadinejad said the election served as a referendum on the direction he had set for the country. That includes, the president said, a foreign policy focused on "breaking the monopoly" of world powers.

"The enemies were not able to reach their objectives for the soft overthrow of the system," he said, according to the semiofficial Iranian Labor News Agency, or ILNA.

"The enemy is pursuing the objective of undermining the nation's capabilities after the 85% turnout at the polls."

All three of Ahmadinejad's challengers and hundreds of thousands of Iranians who poured into the streets in protest have decried his reelection as a fraud.

The Guardian Council, whose 12 members were appointed directly or indirectly by Ahmadinejad's patron, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, approved his reelection Monday after recounting ballots that critics said had been forged.

The Combatant Clergy Assn., the main reformist clerical group, Tuesday called for a halt to protests, saying that taking the conflict to the streets was costing lives and giving Ahmadinejad's allies in the security forces an excuse to beat and imprison dissidents.

"While we protest the election results, and believe in the right to protest, this should not cost the dear people any more," a statement carried by ILNA said.

"And we expect the officials to make plans for ending the security and military atmosphere, release the prisoners . . . and officially recognize the right for civic protests and freedom of speech."

Ayatollah Jalaledin Taheri, a reformist cleric and former prayer leader in the city of Esfahan, criticized state-controlled television, which is widely seen as a mouthpiece of Khamenei and Ahmadinejad.

In an indication that the rift over the election continued to sharply divide the religious and political establishment, Taheri accused the country's leadership of abusing the legacy of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic.

"Did imam [Khomeini] believe that those who should remain impartial during election can take sides publicly in favor of a particular candidate?" Taheri said in a statement issued Tuesday.

"Did imam permit using the public treasury for a particular candidate without any limitations?"

Meanwhile, the pro-Ahmadinejad Fars news agency reported that Iranian Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, a correspondent for Newsweek who was arrested in the recent unrest and held in Tehran's Evin Prison without access to a lawyer, made a videotaped confession in which he admitted being part of a "velvet revolution" meant to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

The report could not be confirmed.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran1-2009jul01,0,4811927.story

Sounds to me like it is over in their eyes.

 

[Paradyme]

and

Iran militia wants probe of opposition leader

Iran's feared Basij militia asked the country's chief prosecutor Wednesday to investigate embattled opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi for his role in violent protests that it said undermined national security in the aftermath of last month's presidential election.

The semiofficial Fars news agency said the militia — known as supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's street enforcers — sent the prosecutor a letter accusing Mousavi of taking part in nine offenses against the state, including "disturbing the nation's security," which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.

Iran's regime says 17 protesters and eight Basiji were killed in two weeks of unrest that followed the June 12 election. Mousavi insists the vote was tainted by massive fraud and that he — not incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — is the rightful winner.

The powerful Guardian Council, Iran's top electoral oversight body, pronounced the election results valid earlier this week — paving the way for Ahmadinejad to be sworn in later this month for a second four-year term.

"Whether he wanted to or not, Mr. Mousavi in many areas supervised or assisted in punishable acts," said the Basij letter, which also accused Mousavi of bringing "pessimism" into the public sphere.

......
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090701/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election

 

[Marx]

PROTESTERS AGAIN CLASH WITH SECURITY FORCES
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/09/iran.protests.anniversary/index.html

Iranian pro-government Basij militia members dispersed crowds of protesters in Tehran Thursday -- sometimes with force -- according to a journalist on the scene.

The demonstration is taking place on the 10th anniversary of a student uprising that, at the time, posed the biggest threat to the Islamic regime since its inception in 1979.

The protesters are using the anniversary to resume demonstrations against the outcome of the June 12 presidential election.

An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people crowded the streets and headed toward Tehran University, the site of the 1999 student uprising.

Several protesters were hit on the arms and backs by the Basij, the journalist reported. The militia tried to persuade one man, whose face was bleeding, to get into an ambulance, but he refused.

Some of the protesters shouted "Allah u Akbar," or "God is Great" and "Ya Hussein, Mir Hussein" referring to opposition candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi.

Police blocked other roads leading to Tehran University, while some protesters set trash cans on fire to counter the effects of the tear gas.

Earlier, the commander of Iran's security forces warned that police would "strongly confront" anyone planning to protest on the anniversary of a pivotal point in Iran's reformist movement.

In an interview with the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Maj. Gen. Esmaeel Ahmadi Moghadam said authorities would confront protesters and that no demonstration permit had been issued for Thursday.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

Good for the Iranians. They didn't let Michael Jackson death make them forget about the protest.

 

[StorminNorman]

Without legitimate support from the Western World, the protests will never succeed.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

That's a tuffy. Politics aside.

The protesters weren't/aren't actually trying to overthrow their government. The ayatollahs would still be in power, they just wanted Mousavi installed or at least new,fair elections. Without the support of a much larger Iranian will(outside Tehran and across the entire country) no one will fully stick their necks out in the West.

I mean, what will get the rest of the sideliners out in the streets? I'm sure the Iranian govt. is waiting for us to speak so they can legitimize their silly propoganda (not that they haven't tried already) and make the sideliners feel okay about what is happening.

I do think Obama will be forced to declare full support for the protesters at some point.

 

[Nivek]

I don't understand why some of you feel that we need to have the President publicly back anything what is going on there? What the hell does that do? I certainly don't want any Military action, I don't even want the black op's stuff to be too profound because they are gonna get busted and cheapen whats going on there.

 

[Marx]

AHMADINEJAD CRITICIZED BY HARD-LINERS OVER VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CHOICE
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/19/ahmadinejad-criticized-by_n_240252.html

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, already at the center of a post-election crisis, came under criticism from his own hard-line supporters Sunday for appointing a first vice president who once caused an outcry by saying Iranians were friends of Israelis.

Ahmadinejad has been under siege by opposition supporters who claim he stole last month's election from pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.

The latest criticism was a reminder that while hard-liners have supported Ahmadinejad in the election dispute, they often criticized him before the vote, especially over his handling of Iran's economy.

The disagreements among hard-liners had been set aside since the June 12 election as they faced hundreds of thousands of Mousavi supporters who protested in the streets over what they said was massive vote fraud.

Authorities have cracked down violently and have arrested hundreds, including Iranian employees of the British Embassy. Iran released the embassy's chief political analyst on bail Sunday after charging him with harming national security for alleged involvement in the protests, said the man's lawyer.

Police arrested 40 people on Friday after they clashed with thousands of protesters in the biggest opposition show of strength in weeks, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported Sunday. Some of those arrested were eventually released, it said.

 

[StorminNorman]

I don't understand why some of you feel that we need to have the President publicly back anything what is going on there? What the hell does that do? I certainly don't want any Military action, I don't even want the black op's stuff to be too profound because they are gonna get busted and cheapen whats going on there.

Because I understand that the public statements of the American President are relevant to world politics. I understand that the American President supporting the Iranian cause against their government is a GOOD THING. Because I expect more from an American President.

I don't want any black op's stuff - I want any action American takes to be above the table.

 

[Marx]

AHMADINEJAD MAY FACE 'CONFIDENCE VOTE' IN PARLIAMENT
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/26/iran.ahmadinejad.vote/index.html

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad fired two members of his cabinet, and may have to face a vote of confidence in parliament for the final few days of his current term, two semi-official Iranian news agencies reported Sunday.

But the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted a government official as saying that only one cabinet member was fired, so no such vote would be needed.

Iran has 21 ministries. According to the country's constitution, if more than half the cabinet members are changed in a single term of presidency, a vote of confidence in Iran's parliament is required. During his presidency, Ahmadinejad has replaced nine cabinet members. Two more would make 11 -- more than half the total.

Ahmadinejad, whose controversial victory in presidential elections in June stoked widespread unrest in Iran, is scheduled to be sworn in for his second term during the first week of August.

The Iranian Labour News Agency and Fars News Agency -- both semi-official -- said Sunday that Ahmadinejad had fired intelligence minister Mohseni Ejeie and culture minister Saffar Harandi.

Fars said that after firing Harandi, the president was trying to get him to come back in order to avoid a confidence vote.

 

[Marx]

REVOLUTIONARY GUARD LEADER: 'WE CAN HIT ISRAEL'S NUCLEAR FACILITIES'
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/25/iran.israel.nuclear/index.html

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Saturday that Iran will strike Israel's nuclear facilities if the Jewish state attacks Iran, a semi-official news agency reported.

"If the Zionist regime attacks Iran, we will surely strike its nuclear facilities with our missile capabilities," said Gen. Mohammed Ali Jaafari, according to the Iranian Labor News Agency, referring to Israel.

"Our missile capability puts all of the Zionist regime within Iran's reach to attack," Jaafari said, according to ILNA.

The military chief said calls against Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran maintains is for peaceful purposes, are part of the "psychological war that the West has launched against Iran."

Iran has refused international calls to suspend its production of enriched uranium, which it insists will be used to fuel civilian nuclear power plants.

Jaafari has said in the past that any strike against Iran's nuclear facilities would be regarded as the beginning of war.

"We have no illusions whatsoever as to the hostile intentions of the theocratic radical regime in Iran," said Mark Regev, the spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister, about Iran's threat.

Israel, which regards Iran's nuclear program to be a considerable threat, is widely believed to have nuclear weapons itself.

 

[Paradyme]

Iran Awaits Ayatollah's Nod to Build Atomic Bomb

Iran has perfected the technology to create and detonate a nuclear warhead and is merely awaiting the word from its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to produce its first bomb, Western intelligence sources have told The Times of London.

The sources said that Iran completed a research programme to create weaponised uranium in the summer of 2003 and that it could feasibly make a bomb within a year of an order from its Supreme Leader.

A U.S. National Intelligence Estimate two years ago concluded that Iran had ended its nuclear arms research programme in 2003 because of the threat from the American invasion of Iraq. But intelligence sources have told The Times that Tehran had halted the research because it had achieved its aim — to find a way of detonating a warhead that could be launched on its long-range Shehab-3 missiles.

They said that, should Ayatollah Khamenei approve the building of a nuclear device, it would take six months to enrich enough uranium and another six months to assemble the warhead. The Iranian Defence Ministry has been running a covert nuclear research department for years, employing hundreds of scientists, researchers and metallurgists in a multibillion-dollar programme to develop nuclear technology alongside the civilian nuclear program.

“The main thing (in 2003) was the lack of fissile material, so it was best to slow it down,” the sources said. “We think that the leader himself decided back then (to halt the program), after the good results.”

Iran’s scientists have been trying to master a method of detonating a bomb known as the “multipoint initiation system” — wrapping highly enriched uranium in high explosives and then detonating it. The sources said that the Iranian Defence Ministry had used a secret internal agency called Amad (“Supply” in Farsi), led by Mohsin Fakhri Zadeh, a physics professor and senior member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Council.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,536203,00.html

....

 

[Marx]

...great. Just great.

 

[GreenKToo]

I fully expect to wake up one morning VERY soon to find that Israel has bombed Iran.
If that happens, no telling where it could lead.

 

[Kelly]

Not good things for Iran, that's for sure....they will get their ass kicked....