Friday
Dec112009
The Latest from Iran (11 December): Ripples and then Ruptures?
Friday, December 11, 2009 at 14:35
2200 GMT: Burning Khomeini's Picture? All day long, we have been following Iran state media's exploitation of a video allegedly showing the burning of Ayatollah Khomeini's picture during the 16 Azar protests. (At one point, the top four stories on Fars News' website were devoted to the supposed incident.) Readers may recall that we had posted the video in question on Monday but pulled it after two hours because we thought it may have been staged, possibly as a disinformation ploy to discredit the opposition.
Tonight Mir Hossein Mousavi has issued this statement:
2040 GMT: Some Friday-Night Posturing. Continuing the thump-thump-thump of American rhetorical pressure on Iran over the nuclear negotiations (see separate entry), as well as trying to keep Tehran out of America's backyard, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laid it on thick in a press conference:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAPbelwaMhQ[/youtube]
Really? You've spent all week telling the world that Afghan-Pak-istan is harbouring the Al Qa'eda menace, and it's Iran that is #1 Terrorist supporter? I understand it's power politics, but try to keep it believable.
Tehran, meanwhile, is doing its own posing, this time in the Middle East:
2025 GMT: Parliament, the Guards, and "Questionable" Financial Arrangements. This in from an EA source in Iran:
1845 GMT: A Friday Treat. It seems that Kermit the Frog has updated his "It's Not Easy Being Green" to take account of the last six months in Iran. We've got the video.
1835 GMT: Here's Your Medal, As For Your Rights.... The Norwegian and Swedish Foreign Ministers said yesterday that Iranian authorities have returned the Nobel Peace Prize medal and diploma of lawyer and activist Shirin Ebadi; however, they added:
1605 GMT: Hmm, those Anti-16 Azar Rallies.... Not quite sure how significant they are. Fars News so far only has an item on a march in Rasht. The Islamic Republic News Agency has a lengthier piece on a gathering after Friday Prayers complaining about the alleged burning of Imam Khomeini's picture by opposition protesters. For unknown reasons, IRNA has blurred the photograph of those who were supposedly involved in today's rally.
1455 GMT: The Anti-16 Azar Rallies? Iranian state television is reporting that "thousands" of pro-Government students have demonstrated in Tehran and other cities after Friday prayers. They reportedly chanted, "Down with the U.S." and "Down with Israel" and read out statements saying the opposition could not "achieve their miserable aims by insulting" the Supreme Leader.
1430 GMT: An inspection team from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Iran on Thursday for its third visit to the "second enrichment plant" at Fordoo near Qom.
1100 GMT: Interpreting the Attack on Rafsanjani. EA correspondent Mr Azadi thinks that Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi's criticism of Hashemi Rafsanjani on Thursday marks the renewal of President Ahmadinejad's battle with Rafsanjani, even though the Supreme Leader has warned against such a conflict:
1000 GMT: We've converted a lengthy update on developments in the US media, President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech, and American statements on sanctions into a separate entry, "A Renewed Washington Love Affair With The Green Movement?"
0915 GMT: So much for a quiet Friday. Although it is the Iranian weekend, a series of developing and breaking stories has churned political waters. There is excitement, concern, and uncertainty as people try to assess whether those ripples will spread and strengthen. And all of this is occurring as we move into the week before the sacred month of Moharram.
The Government contributed to the tension yesterday, turning Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi loose in a frontal assault on former President Hashemi Rafsanjani. Moslehi told student clerics in Qom (and, yes, the choice of venue and audience is significant, given that the religious community is split over the post-12 June actions of the Government), “[Mr Rafsanjani] believes if people do not accept the velayat-e-faghih [the rule of the Supreme Leader], he has to step down." Moslehi also sustained the ongoing warning that Rafsanjani's son Mehdi Hashemi faces prosecution for stirring of post-election conflict.
From the opposition, the arrest of student leader Majid Tavakoli on 16 Azar is spurring new forms of protest. The regime's attempt to humiliate Tavakoli by displaying him "in disguise as a woman" seems to have backfired, as supporters rally behind Tavakoli by dressing in hejab and posting satirical photographs of the Supreme Leader. The video of the activist's last speech is also racing around the Internet.
The biggest ripple this morning, however, may have come out of the Iranian military. After months of rumours of unhappiness and even divisions over the Government's actions, a letter and audio which is allegedly from eight Army and Air Force regiments, declares that they will "stand with the Iranian people" if violence against dissenters. continues.
Tonight Mir Hossein Mousavi has issued this statement:
Those who respect me would never allow the slightest insult to Imam Khomeini and they always respect him. I am sure that the students would never do such a defiant act....I don’t have the information if this event happened or not, additionally there is no clear information about those who committed this act, but if such an event really happened, it is a suspicious act and showing such an anti-revolutionary footage from the national TV was wrong.
It would be expected from those foreign media who are hostile toward the Islamic Republic to take advantage of such event and broadcast the footage but showing this footage on the national TV that owes its very existence to the revolution that was won with the leadership of Imam Khomeini, is not acceptable at all.
2040 GMT: Some Friday-Night Posturing. Continuing the thump-thump-thump of American rhetorical pressure on Iran over the nuclear negotiations (see separate entry), as well as trying to keep Tehran out of America's backyard, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laid it on thick in a press conference:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAPbelwaMhQ[/youtube]
Really? You've spent all week telling the world that Afghan-Pak-istan is harbouring the Al Qa'eda menace, and it's Iran that is #1 Terrorist supporter? I understand it's power politics, but try to keep it believable.
Tehran, meanwhile, is doing its own posing, this time in the Middle East:
Iran and Syria have signed an agreement to improve defense cooperation as the two sides are faced with “common enemy and challenges.”
The agreement was signed between Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi and his Syrian counterpart Lt. General Ali Mohammad Habib Mahmoud in Damascus on Friday.
2025 GMT: Parliament, the Guards, and "Questionable" Financial Arrangements. This in from an EA source in Iran:
On Tuesday, Mr. Omidvar Rezaei, a member of the supervisory committee of the Parliament (and brother of Presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei), called the establishment of a new Bank of Iran-Venezuela (following Hugh Chavez's trip to Iran earlier this year) very questionable. Mr. Rezaii said that the political maneuvring of some security organizations in order to participate in the management of this bank is against the economic interests of the country and added that the enemies will interpret these tendencies under the "holy uniform of the 12th Imam soldiers" as abuses, and it will add fire to the rumors that some organizations are transferring all oil money out of the country.
During this meeting, MP Elias Naderan said that a company called Mehr Iran belonging to the Revolutionary Guards has been established in Venezuela with a billion dollar investment in visual networks and this is inappropriate because of current situation in the country.
1845 GMT: A Friday Treat. It seems that Kermit the Frog has updated his "It's Not Easy Being Green" to take account of the last six months in Iran. We've got the video.
1835 GMT: Here's Your Medal, As For Your Rights.... The Norwegian and Swedish Foreign Ministers said yesterday that Iranian authorities have returned the Nobel Peace Prize medal and diploma of lawyer and activist Shirin Ebadi; however, they added:
Her situation continues to be serious. Ms Ebadi is prevented from working as a defender of human rights in her home country and the Iranian authorities have closed the Defenders of Human Rights Centre of which she was co-founder. The confiscation of the medal and the numerous threats directed at her, her family and her colleagues give cause for great concern and are yet another example of the worsened human rights situation in Iran since the election in June this year.
Norway and Sweden urge the Iranian authorities to allow Ms Ebadi’s safe return to Iran and to allow the Defenders of Human Rights Centre to reopen so that she can resume her important work for human rights in the country.
NEW Iran Special: Kermit the Frog Re-Mixes “It’s Not Easy Being Green”
Iran: A Renewed Washington Love Affair With The Green Movement?
Iran’s Arrest of Majid Tavakoli: “Khamenei in Hejab/We Are All Majids”
Iran: The Arrest of Majid Tavakoli “His 16 Azar Speech on Video”
Iran: “The Military Will Stand with the Iranian People”? (with Audio)
Breaking News: Khamenei Wins 2009 “Dictator of Year”
Iran Analysis: Are Rafsanjani and National Unity Plan “Spent Forces”?
The Latest from Iran (10 December): Reading the Chessboard
1625 GMT: Your Friday Prayer Summary. Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi taking care of business today and, according to Press TV, he was not too fussed about 16 Azar. For Seddiqi, it's all about the nukes:
The Iranian nation will never give up its nuclear right at any price. [The West] cannot prevent us from using nuclear energy for peaceful aims by lies and propaganda....The enemy will concede another defeat in this propaganda war.
1605 GMT: Hmm, those Anti-16 Azar Rallies.... Not quite sure how significant they are. Fars News so far only has an item on a march in Rasht. The Islamic Republic News Agency has a lengthier piece on a gathering after Friday Prayers complaining about the alleged burning of Imam Khomeini's picture by opposition protesters. For unknown reasons, IRNA has blurred the photograph of those who were supposedly involved in today's rally.
1455 GMT: The Anti-16 Azar Rallies? Iranian state television is reporting that "thousands" of pro-Government students have demonstrated in Tehran and other cities after Friday prayers. They reportedly chanted, "Down with the U.S." and "Down with Israel" and read out statements saying the opposition could not "achieve their miserable aims by insulting" the Supreme Leader.
1430 GMT: An inspection team from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Iran on Thursday for its third visit to the "second enrichment plant" at Fordoo near Qom.
1100 GMT: Interpreting the Attack on Rafsanjani. EA correspondent Mr Azadi thinks that Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi's criticism of Hashemi Rafsanjani on Thursday marks the renewal of President Ahmadinejad's battle with Rafsanjani, even though the Supreme Leader has warned against such a conflict:
It appears that the pro-Ahmadinejad newspapers, sites, and clerics are attacking Rafsanjani not only to limit his political influence but to provoke him to oppose the Supreme Leader. But Ayatollah Khamenei has emphasised his respect for Rafsanjani. The defense of Rafsanjani by the Friday Prayer Leader in Mashaad, Ayatollah Alamalhuda, was due in part to the Supreme Leader's approach.
Now with Moslehi’s speech, it seems that the crisis between Ahmadinejad and Hashemi is in a new stage. Indeed, in giving the speech, he appears to have opposed the Supreme Leader.
Moslehi criticised Hashemi Rafsanjani for two reasons: 1) Rafsanjani's views on the election result and post-election events, including his support of leaders of the Green movement and demand for the release of political prisoners; 2) Rafsanjani's recent speech in Mashhad, which Moslehi portrayed as asserting that the Supreme Leader's ultimate authority (Velayat-e-Faqih) exists only as long as it is supported by the people.
Jomhoori Islami newspaper, backing Rafsanjani, immediately responded by publishing his book in which he analysed velayat-e-faqih.
1000 GMT: We've converted a lengthy update on developments in the US media, President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech, and American statements on sanctions into a separate entry, "A Renewed Washington Love Affair With The Green Movement?"
0915 GMT: So much for a quiet Friday. Although it is the Iranian weekend, a series of developing and breaking stories has churned political waters. There is excitement, concern, and uncertainty as people try to assess whether those ripples will spread and strengthen. And all of this is occurring as we move into the week before the sacred month of Moharram.
The Government contributed to the tension yesterday, turning Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi loose in a frontal assault on former President Hashemi Rafsanjani. Moslehi told student clerics in Qom (and, yes, the choice of venue and audience is significant, given that the religious community is split over the post-12 June actions of the Government), “[Mr Rafsanjani] believes if people do not accept the velayat-e-faghih [the rule of the Supreme Leader], he has to step down." Moslehi also sustained the ongoing warning that Rafsanjani's son Mehdi Hashemi faces prosecution for stirring of post-election conflict.
From the opposition, the arrest of student leader Majid Tavakoli on 16 Azar is spurring new forms of protest. The regime's attempt to humiliate Tavakoli by displaying him "in disguise as a woman" seems to have backfired, as supporters rally behind Tavakoli by dressing in hejab and posting satirical photographs of the Supreme Leader. The video of the activist's last speech is also racing around the Internet.
The biggest ripple this morning, however, may have come out of the Iranian military. After months of rumours of unhappiness and even divisions over the Government's actions, a letter and audio which is allegedly from eight Army and Air Force regiments, declares that they will "stand with the Iranian people" if violence against dissenters. continues.
tagged Ayatollah Alamalhuda, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Ruhollah Kho, Defenders of Human Rights Centre, Fars News, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Heydar Moslehi, Hillary Clinton, Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, Hugo Chavez, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Jomhoori Islami, Latin America, Mahdi Tavakoli, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mehdi Hashemi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohsen Rezaei, Mr Azadi, Nobel Peace Prize, Norway, Omidvar Rezaei, Shirin Ebadi, Sweden, Syria, Velayat-e-Faqih, Venezuela, al-Qaeda in Middle East & Iran
Ayatollah Alamalhuda, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Ruhollah Kho, Defenders of Human Rights Centre, Fars News, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Heydar Moslehi, Hillary Clinton, Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, Hugo Chavez, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Jomhoori Islami, Latin America, Mahdi Tavakoli, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mehdi Hashemi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohsen Rezaei, Mr Azadi, Nobel Peace Prize, Norway, Omidvar Rezaei, Shirin Ebadi, Sweden, Syria, Velayat-e-Faqih, Venezuela, al-Qaeda in Middle East & Iran
Reader Comments (13)
The SL is not the only one who's come in for ridicule recently. I've been following with great amusement the domestic fallout from AN's statement in Isfahan that he has proof that the US attacked Iraq not for the oil, but to prevent the return of the 12th Imam to the region at the end of days. If you don't know what this is all about you can consult this article first: 'The Apocalypse, Messianism Define Ahmadinejad's Policies'
http://www.rferl.org/content/The_Apocalypse_Messianism_Define_Ahmadinejads_Policies/1899060.html
For your reading pleasure (courtesy of Tehran Bureau):
Ayatollah Bayat-Zanjani questions Ahmadinejad's faith
Parleman News
| Dec. 7, 2009
A Shia Source of Emulation questioned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's adherence to the Shia faith over his controversial remarks about the Hidden Imam in Isfahan.
In a meeting with the members of the Islamic Participation Front, Ayatollah Bayat-Zanjani urged attendees to do everything in their power to safeguard the younger generation from superstitions, adding, "Unfortunately some of the echelons are party to this attack by superstitions."
"Sometimes the remarks [made by certain parties] reflected in the news amazes one and makes one think if the speaker of such words has any Shia beliefs at all? How must the youth who hear these remarks from people who affiliate themselves with the Hidden Imam react?"
He urged clerics to inform the youth that "some of the things said by officials in this country have nothing to do with Islam or the Shia faith and one must have serious doubt about the religious awareness and the intentions of their speaker."
The grand Ayatollah was referring to controversial remarks by Ahmadinejad in Isfahan in which he claimed to have evidence that the Americans were preventing the Hidden Imam from coming.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Karroubi: Ahmadinejad causing establishment to lose honor
Hammihan News | Dec. 8
Opposition cleric Mehdi Karroubi said Ahmadinejad's remarks about Americans preventing the coming of the Hidden Imam are causing the establishment to lose its honor.
"Many of the Sources of Emulation are critical of the present situation. Some voice their criticism and pay the price for it, while others due to certain considerations keep silent. Such remarks, which unfortunately have become a habit for him [Ahmadinejad], play with the [religious] beliefs of the people."
Karroubi read out parts of Ahmadinejad's remarks in which he said, "We have documented proof that they believe that a descendant of the prophet of Islam will rise in these parts [Middle East] and he will dry the roots of all injustice in the world. They have devised all these plans to prevent the coming of the Hidden Imam because they know that the Iranian nation is the one that will prepare the grounds for his coming, and will be the supporters of his rule."
"The Doctor [Ahmadinejad] has made two claims here: one, that Americans are trying to prevent the coming of the Hidden Imam and two, that they have found proof of it. Are you keeping these documents in the foreign ministry? Our clergymen have been saying for centuries that there is no way to tell when and how the Hidden Imam would be coming and that the predictors of the coming are liars," Karroubi said.
"What kind of thing is that to say? How are the Americans going to stop the Hidden Imam from coming? By arresting him or assassinating him? What is the meaning of such childish remarks about the Imam? What is the real objective behind such claims?"
Karroubi went on to say that if a Reformist had made even a fraction of these types of remarks, radicals would have raked them over the coals, but no one has tried to stop Ahmadinejad from such sacrilege.
"If making such remarks has become a habit of his [Ahmadinejad], echelons should stop the spread of such remarks and the rational should warn him [to stop talking]."
"It is one thing to claim they wanted to kidnap me in Iraq or assassinate me in another place, even though uttering such remarks by an Iranian official is unfortunate it does not hurt anyone, but here [with his Hidden Imam remarks] the [religious] beliefs of the people have been targeted. This is not a personal issue. We must not allow such things to happen and we must warn and call [Ahmadinejad] to virtue and caution [him] against vice.
Karroubi closed by saying that the threat of a stupid friend and a zealot is much greater than a wise enemy.
Majid Tavakkoli's case adds indirectly a new demand to other demands of the movement: equal rights for women. Of course noticed by a woman:
http://www.rferl.org/content/Men_In_Hijabs_Iranian_Green_Movements_New_Tactic/1900501.html
Do you remember the IRGC telecommunication deal? PI reports that Dr. Majid Soleimanipour, one of Tose'e Etemad Mobin's managing directors, died under suspicious circumstances (gas suffocation) yesterday: http://www.peykeiran.com/Content.aspx?ID=10603
I (and many others) have been pointing out for months that the regime is faking protest footage and making ridiculous claims about pro-government rallies that are unverifiable since any actual journalism is no longer allowed in the country. The regime makes a totally unverified claim that thousands ralliled to support the government and western media reports it because its the only official news they can get out of Iran. Lazy journalism on their part, and shameful.
Scott, thank you for being one of the only Iran journalist/commentators that is willing to think critically.
Great news, praise Allah, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who will be supervising the caviar sculptures at the Global Warming Conference in Copenhagen is to demand our rightful carbon credits, but our outrage will be vindicated: there is no truth to the rumor that the President will ask for a Nuclear Winter and a partridge in a persian berry tree, or will ask 72 Copenhagen virgins to help him find the Hidden Imam, but he will indeed negotiate with the Russians to persuade them not to dump the carbon credits that they have left over from Kyoto. However, it will be reiterated to the world that it will not do to forgo Fordoo when sovereignty is a rug never to be pulled out. Lastly, we will not allow statements that make analogies, instigated by MI6, between the pagan Santa Claus and the Hidden Imam.
I used to think the stuff about the hojjatieh trying to instill chaos and war to usher in the 12th imam was a load of crap to justify confrontation or even war, but I'm highly reconsidering that opinion now. If the U.S. opposition to a nuclear Iran is stalling the arrival of the hidden Imam, precisely what do they need their nukes for so badly?
http://notoahmadinejad.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Ahmadinejad is coming to Copenhagen. It is reported by the "No To Ahmadinejad" website ( http://notoahmadinejad.blogspot.com ):
"Ahmadinejad is on his way to Copenhagen for The Cop 15 Climate Conference in December, we expect him to be here arround 16th – 18th of December and we are planning a great “welcome” to our city."
Did any one else notice the quick "human rights" plug by Clinton in the clip above?
From Khabar English: http://www.khabaronline.ir/news-29397.aspx" rel="nofollow">Mousavi out at IAA?
"Those who respect me would never allow the slightest insult to Imam Khomeini and they always respect him. I am sure that the students would never do such a defiant act….I don’t have the information if this event happened or not, additionally there is no clear information about those who committed this act, but if such an event really happened, it is a suspicious act and showing such an anti-revolutionary footage from the national TV was wrong."
Mr. Mousavi those students despise Imam Khomeini which is why they are trying to destroy his Revolution. Your little charade of pretending that you are the one who truly represents the legacy of Khomeini is over. IT IS DONE. They burn the Imam's picture and soon they will burn your picture. The battle is now between the radicals and the Basij. The radicals will meet the same fate as their predecessors in the MoK. It is time for you and Khatami and Karroubi and all the other clowns in Green to get the hell out of the way.
"It would be expected from those foreign media who are hostile toward the Islamic Republic to take advantage of such event and broadcast the footage but showing this footage on the national TV that owes its very existence to the revolution that was won with the leadership of Imam Khomeini, is not acceptable at all."
So Prime Minister Mousavi now you want to censor the press? I see it is the fault of the press for showing your childred burning the picture of the Greatest Iranian who ever lived???
Prime Minister Mousavi may be schocked and saddened by the fact that his followers are burning the picture of the Greatest Iranian who ever lived but it really is quite logical. These radicals despise all the Islamic talk of a Mousavi a Khatami or a Montazeri. They don't want reform, they want to destroy the Islamic state brick by brick.
They know quite well what the Greatest Iranian who ever lived would do to those who threatened the Islamic state and the Revolution. Why he told us himself:
http://www.shiatv.net/view_video.php?viewkey=d38b55728a9f56b043d3
The greatest Iranian who ever lived was Korush e-Kabir.
Chuck
He was Persian - as in the "Persian Empire" and the "Persian Gulf"
Mussolini was born in Italy - but that does not make him "Roman". Modern day Italy is a shadow of it's former life as ROME
Any similarity between the past great Empire of Persia - and the modern State of Iran is purely coincidental. Who now in Iran could be compared to Cyrus of Persia?
Barry
RE Arshama's post #2
Here's a bit more info on the same from Radio Zamaneh's site:
"An Iranian photographer rallied Iranian men on facebook to protest the treatment of Majid Tavakoli by the Iranian security forces. He invited them to post a picture of themselves in Muslim head gear on the internet site.
The call, which resulted in over 250 pictures, states that the arrest of Majid Tavakoli and the publishing of his picture in hijab (Muslim female covering) is a mode of “straining the student movement and the Green Movement in Iran,” as well as “belittling Iranian women.”
The statement adds: “To prove that we are behind Majid Tavakoli, to prove that there is nothing wrong with female clothing and the only thing that’s wrong is the compulsory wearing of hijab whether it is forced on the women of this country or upon Majid Tavakoli; to show that we are all together, post your picture in hijab!”
Organizers of this project are also planning a poster in support of Tavakoli."
http://www.zamaaneh.com/enzam/