In the last three weeks, numerous musical tributes to the political movement in Iran have emerged. Yesterday Fintan Dunne tipped us off to a song, overlaid with iconic, powerful (and graphic) images, which he thinks "could be THE anthem of Iran's uprising".
2105 GMT: Reports that more than 15,000 people gathered to lay flowers at the graves of more than 80 "martyrs" in Behesh Zahra cemetery (see 1745 GMT).
2100 GMT: Lara Setrakian of ABC News (US) writes, "Rooftop Allahu Akbars [God is Greats] still on, despite Basij raids. [There was] one case where all residents of a five-floor apartment building were bused to Evin [Prison]."
Setrakian adds, "Rally was set for 6 p.m. today in front of Evin Prison to ask for release of detainees. The next two weeks of protests are planned."
1815 GMT: Press TV, as we reported in a separate entry earlier today, continues to feature the stories of Britain's Channel 4 TV showing 15 June footage of Basiji shooting from the rooftop of their base but not airing the footage of demonstrators attacking the building with Molotov cocktails. It is briefly repeating the "Neda" claim that the doctor who tried to save her is wanted by Interpol (which is false --- see 1730 GMT) and the strained analogy with Venezuela 2002 to imply that Neda was killed by foreign services.
1810 GMT: Reports that Maryam Ameri of Mehdi Karroubi's campaign has been released from detention.
1730 GMT: A quiet, almost stand-still, afternoon. Unlike previous days, where there has been an up-turn in political activity around this time, there has been nothing of notice out of Iran. Chatter is around yesterday's news of a threat to prosecute Mir Hossein Mousavi and the lie of Iranian police chief Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam, spread by Press TV, that Interpol is pursuing the doctor, Arash Hejazi, who tried to save Neda Agha Soltan's life.
1435 GMT: The Bushman Returneth. John Bolton, Assistant Secretary of State and then US Ambassador to the United Nations from 2001 to 2006, reminds everybody why we're fortunate to have an Obama rather than Bush Administration:
Iran's nuclear threat was never in doubt during its presidential campaign, but the post-election resistance raised the possibility of some sort of regime change. That prospect seems lost for the near future or for at least as long as it will take Iran to finalize a deliverable nuclear weapons capability. Accordingly, with no other timely option, the already compelling logic for an Israeli strike is nearly inexorable.
No doubt those campaign for meaningful reform (and not necessarily "regime change") in Iran will thank Mr Bolton for his concern.
1405 GMT: Al Jazeera English, after a forced two-week confinement to its office, was allowed to film briefly in Tehran yesterday. We've posted the video. (Not sure which is braver: reporter Alireza Ronaghi's stand against the authorities or his stand in the middle of a busy Tehran road.)
1310 GMT: How to Turn a Scandal into a Museum Exhibit. The Governor of Shiraz has explained that four unopened ballot boxes, found by chance yesterday in a library, are from past elections for Assembly of Experts, Parliament, and local councils. The boxes will now be "stored as national documents".
1300 GMT: From Lara Setrakian of ABC News (US), "Tehrani source close to those detained says some have been beaten heavily and waterboarded with hot water."
1255 GMT: Human Rights Watch's report on the life-threatening conditions of detained politician Saeed Hajjarian (see 1100 GMT) is now available on the Internet.
1250 GMT: A reliable Iranian activist on Twitter adds to Mousavi's claim of Government restrictions on the websites of "the Imam's List" members of Parliament, "Managers of Parliament News were also threatened by security forces and prosecutor to change their methods."
1245 GMT: Mir Hossein Mousavi's Facebook page has said a "human chain" across Tehran will be formed from 5 p.m. local time on Sunday. The entry declares that the "more people", the "more safety".
Mousavi's page also claims that the websites of "the Imam's List" group of members of Parliament, which were raising the cases of detainees, are now being "filtered" by the Government. The page advises, "A lot of information has to flow to Iran, create a Mailinglist and spend some time to sort and send the news. If you believe it or not, Your Mailinglist is the main media."
1100 GMT: Extract from a report on detained politician Saeed Hajjarian: "Ms. Sarah Leah Whitson, the Executive Director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, mentioned that given Hajarian's physical condition, his arrest is not acceptable in the first place; however, terrible jail conditions together with the pressure on him to confess put his life in danger." Hajjarian was severely disabled by an assassination attempt in March 2000.
0900 GMT: Jim Sciutto of ABC News (US), who has done very good work during the crisis, parallels our analysis: "Former President Khatami & Pres candidates Karoubi and Mousavi call government illegitimate; bold challenge after Supreme Leader again tries to declare race over. Opposition plan now is ad hoc protests: strikes, withdrawing money from state banks, starve state charities, 'lightning' demos. Watch Iran's many memorial ceremonies, where crowds are legal, giving opposition chance to take advantage."
0610 GMT: Perhaps the most striking description of the Islamic Republic offered to me by Iranians is "Gradual Revolution", the idea that the promise of the ideals behind its creation in 1979 --- despite all the intervening difficulties of war, economic challenges, political arguments, and social conflict --- will be fulfilled.
There may now be a new version of that concept. While supporters of the Government and the Supreme Leader will no doubt argue that they are still the defenders of the Revolution, those who have challenged the system in the last three weeks may now be considering their own "gradual" approach.
Mass demonstrations have not been possible for two weeks, and the more limited gatherings struggle against the possibility of violence from security forces and the reality that there can be almost no media coverage. Campaigns have been disrupted by detentions, and the regime is using the "foreign intervention" theme, repeated almost non-stop by state media and now bolstered by forced confessions, to try and neutralise any thought of legitimate protest.
So the opposition has had to adjust its strategy. While ad hoc demonstrations are still occurring (though we cannot be sure of their size), the focus is on keeping the message of resistance alive. Statements from all three symbolic leaders (Mousavi, Karroubi, and Khatami) were issued yesterday. The claim that "it's not over" could also draw from the debate amongst the clerics; this is now being punctuated by dramatic statements such as Ayatollah Ghaffari's speech and now Ayatollah Taheri's "fatwa" calling the election illegitimate and fraudulent.
On the surface, the Government is showing confidence, following up the Guardian Council's Monday verdict with public declarations of triumph and some relaxation of restrictions (SMS service was unblocked yesterday). Yet it still faces a difficult question over detentions. Public protest is now coalescing around the fate of those taken away by the authorities, with relatives gathering in front of Evin Prison, and those proclaiming the illegitimacy of the regime can highlight the lack of legal process (and, for the clerics, religious justification) for the measures.
So the Government has to release the detainees (some have been bailed or freed, but a significant number of high-profile prisoners remain) or commit to the long-term imprisonment of those who challenge it. The former step risks a strengthening of the opposition; the latter may build up the gradual questioning, not only of individual politicians, but of the structures of the Islamic Republic.
The opposition campaign, therefore, is relying on symbolic pronouncements. Latest proposals have included the call for a general strike, possible action on the "days of religious seclusion" (6-8 July), and the weekly gathering in Laleh Park of the mothers of the killed and arrested. The idea that the movement is still alive is to be maintained through symbolic action such as graffiti in public places and the nightly calls of "Allahu Akhbar".
Now Amnesty has released a fuller report on "war crimes", accompanied by a video (Part 1 is available; Part 2 is still being subtitled). Most of the criticism is of Israeli tactics and operations, although there is also condemnation of Hamas for firing rockets into southern Israel and placing military equipment in civilian areas.
The summary introduction of the full report follows the video:
INTRODUCTION
At 11.30am on 27 December 2008, without warning, Israeli forces began a devastating bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip codenamed Operation “Cast Lead”. Its stated aim was to end rocket attacks into Israel by armed groups affiliated with Hamas and other Palestinian factions. By 18 January 2009, when unilateral ceasefires were announced by both Israel and Hamas, some 1,400 Palestinians had been killed, including some 300 children and hundreds of other unarmed civilians, and large areas of Gaza had been razed to the ground, leaving many thousands homeless and the already dire economy in ruins.
Much of the destruction was wanton and resulted from direct attacks on civilian objects as well as indiscriminate attacks that failed to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilian objects. Such attacks violated fundamental provisions of international humanitarian law, notably the prohibition on direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects (the principle of distinction), the prohibition on indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, and the prohibition on collective punishment.
Hundreds of civilians were killed in attacks carried out using high-precision weapons – airdelivered bombs and missiles, and tank shells. Others, including women and children, were shot at short range when posing no threat to the lives of the Israeli soldiers. Aerial bombardments launched from Israeli F-16 combat aircraft targeted and destroyed civilian homes without warning, killing and injuring scores of their inhabitants, often while they slept. Children playing on the roofs of their homes or in the street and other civilians going about their daily business, as well as medical staff attending the wounded were killed in broad daylight by Hellfire and other highly accurate missiles launched from helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, and by precision projectiles fired from tanks.
Disturbing questions remain unanswered as to why such high-precision weapons, whose operators can see even small details of their targets and which can accurately strike even fast moving vehicles,1 killed so many children and other civilians.
Scores of civilians were also killed and injured by less precise weapons, such as artillery shells and mortars, and flechette tank shells, which can be accurately aimed but which disperse thousands of deadly metal darts at great velocity over a large area.
White phosphorus, a highly incendiary substance, was repeatedly fired indiscriminately over densely populated residential areas, killing and wounding civilians and destroying civilian property. It was often launched from artillery shells in air-burst mode, which aggravated the already devastating consequences of the attacks. Each shell ejected over a hundred felt wedges impregnated with highly incendiary white phosphorus, which rained down over houses and streets, igniting on exposure to oxygen and setting fire to people and property. Once their incendiary content had been discharged, the artillery shells often crashed into buildings causing further deaths and injuries. Repeated denials of the use of white phosphorus by Israeli officials during the conflict delayed or prevented appropriate treatment for people suffering agonizing burns. Some who died might otherwise have been saved.
Artillery in general and white phosphorus shells in particular should never be used in populated areas. Yet in Gaza Israeli forces repeatedly fired them into densely populated residential areas, knowing that such imprecise weapons would kill and injure civilians. Such attacks were indiscriminate and as such unlawful under international law.
The scale and intensity of the attacks were unprecedented, even in the context of the increasingly lethal Israeli military campaigns in Gaza in previous years. More Palestinians were killed and more properties were destroyed in the 22-day military campaign than in any previous Israeli offensive.
Israeli forces could not conceivably have been unaware of the presence of civilians in locations which were repeatedly attacked, including with white phosphorus and other imprecise weapons, given that these areas were under close surveillance by Israeli drones. Even though Israeli officials knew from the first days of Operation “Cast Lead” that civilians were killed and wounded in significant numbers, Israeli forces continued to employ the same tactics for the entire duration of the 22-day offensive, resulting in growing numbers of civilian casualties. The pattern of attacks and the resulting high number of civilian fatalities and casualties showed elements of reckless conduct, disregard for civilian lives and property and a consistent failure to distinguish between military targets and civilians and civilian objects.
Thousands of civilian homes, businesses and public buildings were destroyed. In some areas entire neighbourhoods were flattened and livestock killed. Much of the destruction was wanton and deliberate, and was carried out in a manner and circumstances which indicated that it could not be justified on grounds of military necessity. Rather, it was often the result of reckless and indiscriminate attacks, which were seemingly tolerated or even directly sanctioned up the chain of command, and which at times appeared intended to collectively punish local residents for the actions of armed groups.
Throughout Operation “Cast Lead” Israeli forces frequently obstructed access to medical care and humanitarian aid for those wounded and trapped. They prevented ambulances and medical staff from attending to the wounded and transporting them to hospital and in several cases targeted ambulance and rescue crews and others who were trying to evacuate the wounded. As a result people who could have been saved died and others endured needless suffering and a worsening of their injuries. Children, women and elderly people were among those trapped and refused access to medical care and/or passage out of areas which had been taken over by Israeli forces. Medical and humanitarian vehicles and facilities were also destroyed or damaged as a result of both targeted and indiscriminate Israeli attacks.
In several cases Israeli soldiers also used civilians, including children, as “human shields”, endangering their lives by forcing them to remain in or near houses which they took over and used as military positions. Some were forced to carry out dangerous tasks such as inspecting properties or objects suspected of being booby-trapped. Soldiers also took position and launched attacks from and around inhabited houses, exposing local residents to the danger of attacks or of being caught in the crossfire.
Israel and Egypt kept Gaza’s borders sealed throughout Operation “Cast Lead” and its 1.5 million inhabitants could neither leave nor find a place in Gaza where their safety could be guaranteed. Unlike in southern Israel, where the Israeli authorities have built bomb shelters to protect local residents from rocket attacks by Palestinian armed groups, in Gaza there are no bomb shelters and none can be built because Israel has long forbidden the entry of construction material into Gaza.
Randomly placed telephone calls with recorded warning messages, radio broadcasts and leaflets dropped by the Israeli army all over Gaza telling people to leave their homes and neighbourhoods caused widespread panic but offered little protection. In some areas residents were trapped in their homes, hearing the Israeli army broadcasts warning people to leave but unable to do so because Israeli forces in the area were not allowing any movement and therefore anyone who went out risked coming under fire. Others who fled their home were killed or injured when UN schools and other places where they had sought shelter came under Israeli attack.
In southern Israel civilians also continued to come under attack from rockets fired daily by Palestinian armed groups throughout the 22-day conflict. The armed wing of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups launched several hundred rockets and mortars into southern Israel, killing three civilians and injuring dozens of others. Several civilian homes and other structures were damaged, some extensively. Six Israeli soldiers were also killed in Palestinian attacks.
Mortars and so-called Qassam rockets, which are locally made in Gaza, and longer range Grad-type rockets smuggled into Gaza via the tunnels from Egypt, are unguided projectiles which cannot be directed at specific targets. Attacks using such rockets are indiscriminate and hence unlawful under international law. Though in most cases these rockets explode in empty areas, without causing casualties, each rocket is potentially lethal and the intensified barrage of such rockets throughout the 22 days of Operation “Cast Lead” caused panic among the civilian population of southern Israel. Thousands of families fled to other parts of the country and those who remained in their homes in the south had to run for cover every time the alarm sounded, warning of an incoming rocket.
Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups also violated international humanitarian law in their conduct within Gaza. They launched rockets and located military equipment and positions near civilian homes, endangering the lives of the inhabitants by exposing them to the risk of Israeli attacks. They also used empty homes and properties as combat positions during armed confrontations with Israeli forces, exposing the inhabitants of nearby houses to the danger of attacks or of being caught in the crossfire. However, contrary to repeated allegations by Israeli officials of the use of “human shields”, Amnesty International found no evidence that Hamas or other Palestinian fighters directed the movement of civilians to shield military objectives from attacks. It found no evidence that Hamas or other armed groups forced residents to stay in or around buildings used by fighters, nor that fighters prevented residents from leaving buildings or areas which had been commandeered by militants.
Throughout Operation “Cast Lead”, and for several weeks prior to start of the Operation, the Israeli army refused to allow into Gaza independent observers, journalists, international human rights monitors and humanitarian workers – effectively cutting off Gaza from the outside world and hindering independent monitoring and reporting of the conduct of its forces there. Even after the ceasefire was declared on 18 January, the Israeli army continued to deny access to Gaza to many human rights and humanitarian workers and journalists. Some continued to be refused entry into Gaza four months later. To date, five months after the end of Operation “Cast Lead”, the Israeli authorities have failed to establish any independent and impartial investigation into the conduct of their forces and actively oppose any such investigations being established. They have refused to co-operate with and to grant access to the country to an international independent factfinding mission set up by the UN Human Rights Council and headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, undermining its ability to fulfil its mission. They have also rejected the findings of a UN Board of Inquiry, which investigated nine attacks on UN facilities and personnel during Operation “Cast Lead.
The Israeli authorities have rejected allegations of war crimes and other serious violations of international law committed by Israeli forces during Operation “Cast Lead” published by Amnesty International and numerous other human rights organizations and media – international, Israeli and Palestinian – claiming that Hamas prevents any independent investigations and forces people to make untrue allegations. However, such claims do not stand up to scrutiny. Amnesty International’s delegates who visited Gaza during and after Operation “Cast Lead”, as on many other occasions in recent years, were able to carry out their investigations unhindered and people often voiced criticisms of Hamas’ conduct, including rocket attacks. While in Gaza Amnesty International delegates also investigated crimes and human rights abuses committed by Hamas forces and militias against fellow Palestinians, including deliberate killings, torture, abductions and arbitrary detention. The findings were published on 10 February 2009 in a report entitled: Hamas’ deadly campaign in the shadow of the war in Gaza.
As of 18 June 2009 the Israeli authorities had not responded to Amnesty International’s repeated requests, first made in early February, for meetings to discuss its findings and concerns, nor to the requests for information concerning many of the cases mentioned in this report.
Here, in the half-hour "World News in Full" between 1300 and 1330 GMT, is Press TV English's All You Need to Know on the current Iranian situation:
Item 1 (about nine minutes into the broadcast): Mir Hossein Mousavi "will follow up his electoral complaints through the judicial system". No mention of the opposition campaign's other initiatives, from "human chain" demonstration to general strike. And definitely no mention of the hundreds detained to prevent such initiatives. Followed by....
Item 2: Iran's police chief "has called the death of Neda Agha Soltan a premediated act of murder".
Who did it? "Arash Hejazi, the doctor who witnessed Neda's death, is wanted by Iranian intelligence authorities and Interpol. [The police chief] said Hejazi has given a completely false account of the incident to foreign media. Hejazi, who is studying in England, came to Iran shortly after the post-election unrest started and fled to London a day after Neda's death....[Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad has called on the judiciary to investigate the death and find those behind it."
After all, "Neda was shot with a small-calibre pistol which is not used by Iranian security forces."
Followed by....
Item 3: "The unrest after Iran's June 12 election is similar to the coup attempt in Venezuela in 2002 when the opposition called for mass demonstrations demanding the vote be annulled...."
In the bloody encounter between pro- and anti-Government protests, "military reports show a number of demonstrators who were targeted with precise head shots by snipers. The military says the snipers were never used by the Venezuelan security forces. Among those shot and killed was a young woman. The video was broadcast repeatedly on opposition TV stations....Many say the scene was staged. Neda Agha Soltan was shot dead in Tehran riots on June 20. She was shot by a small-calibre pistol which was not used by Iranian security forces."
Followed by....
Item 4: "Press TV has obtained new pictures from an attack on a Basiji base during a post-election demonstration in the Iranian capital of Tehran on June 15. The pictures that you are about to see will give you a better understanding of how some TV news channel reports were top-heavy with bias over the developments that were unfolding."
After the reporter describes British Channel 4 News' display of an image of a Basij gunman on the roof of the building while ignoring the violence of the protestors, Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari [who, far from incidentally, is detained and was brought before a news conference to make a "confession"] says full footage was given to Channel 4.
I spent a frustrating hour yesterday on The Islam Channel discussing "The Western Media and Iran". It was frustrating because one of the other panellists, referring to stories of demonstrations, violence, and detentions, kept repeating the mantra, "How do we know?" That question, on its own, is fair enough: indeed, it should be asked every time we post a piece of information. In this case, however, the speaker added the direct charge or implication that the demonstrations were the product of the US Government and that reports of violations of human rights were fabrications or exaggerations of the "Western" media.
So it was a useful test case this morning to read the work of Josh Shahryar, who has been blogging for "Anonymous Iran" during the crisis. Shahryar's "Green Brief" is an excellent starting point to test what happened or may have happened in the last 24 hours. We tested some of his claims in the days after the election, and in light of continuing important (but often hard to determine or decipher) developments, I set the list today against our latest information:
1. There have been unconfirmed reports of a protest in Tehran today. There were reports of clashes in Rasht that could be partially confirmed. Clashes broke out when police tried to disperse people who were mourning dead protesters. A doctor and two nurses were badly beaten in Loghman Hospital in Tehran after they tried to stop security forces from arresting an injured protester from the facility. A tweet source talked to a Basiji in Tehran today. According to the source, the Basiji claimed that he was working for Islam, but hoped that he wouldn’t be forced to quell protests again. [The report of clashes in Rasht, if true, is a rare and important indication of demonstrations outside the capital. The report of the beating of hospital staff has not emerged elsewhere and cannot be verified. The report of the penitent Basiji should be treated with caution; similar accounts, changing various details, are racing around the Net and may be a highly-desired symbol of a crack in the security forces.]
2. Protests are being planned for tomorrow - although none could be fully confirmed. A number of Iranian women who’ve formed a quasi-group called Mourning Mothers have announced that they will gather at Laleh Park on Saturday to mourn the dead. Reports from Tehran suggest that shops are being closed earlier than usual. Several sources claimed that the city is in a virtual state of an unofficial curfew. [A good summary --- see our Morning Update, "The 'Gradual' Opposition" --- but reports of earlier shop closings and "unofficial curfew" are not verified.
3-6 (summarised). 3. Mousavi today released his 9th statement since the elections....Khatami criticized the government in a new, harsher tone that suggested outright contempt today....Khatami later met with several families of loved ones arrested during in the violence the past two weeks....A video of Ayatollah Hadi Ghaffari, another prominent Shi’ite cleric has surfaced in which he directly accuses Khamenei of sinning against the people by ordering arrests and killings. [All verified, except the "video" of the Ghaffari statement, as far as we know, is audio overlaid with pictures.]
7. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reportedly said today that there was as much truth to electoral fraud in Iran as there was for the Holocaust. (Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust denier.) Ahmadinejad reportedly cancelled his trip to Libya to attend an African summit today as well. The media reported that Ahmadinejad was too busy at work and there were ‘other priorities’ for him to get to. This comes at a time when some reformists abroad are secretly planning on creating a shadow government for Iran – according to unconfirmed reports. [The cancellation of the President's trip was reported by state media yesterday. This is the first I have heard of a comparison between fraud and the Holocaust. And great caution should be exercised about any claim of planning for "shadow government" --- this is a key part of the State's attempt to portray an attempt by foreign forces for regime change in Tehran.]
8. The Imam's Way Faction (a group of MP’s) of parliament, which is slightly pro-reform, asked the families of detainees to send them documented information about their arrested family members. More high-profile Iranians were arrested today. Among the arrested were: Saeedeh Kordinejad and Zoia Hasani -members of Mosharekat Party, Vahid Amoozadeh-Khalili - the son of another pro-reform personality and Omid Mosleh - a prominent film critic. Mosleh was later released. Mohammad Mostafayee, a prominent lawyer who had been arrested two days ago, was also released on bail today. [All verified.]
9. Vahid Amoozadeh-Khalili’s detention could only be confirmed today, although he had been missing for two days. A high-ranking official in the Police Department confirmed that 1,032 people had been arrested since the start of the protests. According to independent sources, the numbers are likely much higher. There was partial confirmation of the release of 4 other British Embassy's local staffers from Iranian detention. One still remains under arrest.... [Verified.]
10. The Iranian government claimed that the murder of Neda Agha-Soltan was in no way, shape, or form related to the recent ‘riots’. Iran’s Chief of Police announced today that one of the key eye-witnesses of Neda’s death, Arash Hejazi, is actually wanted by Interpol for unspecified crimes. The government had earlier claimed that the bullet that killed Neda was not shot by any weapon currently in use by Iranian Security Forces. [Verified.]
11. Mohammad Ghouchani, the detained editor-in-chief of Etemade Melli, has denied reports published in IRG’s main media outlet Javan Daily that he confessed committing crimes and breaking the law in organizing protests. He also rejected Javan’s claim that he had been secretly trained in an Arab country to carry out subversion tactics. He claimed to not even own a passport. [Verified.]
12. Etemade Melli will be published again starting tomorrow after being banned for a day by the government for reportedly attempting to publish Karoubi’s statements yesterday. Reports suggest that the government is now heavily censoring Etemade Melli as well as other newspapers in order to stop any such statements from getting out to the public. A reporter of government-owned Press TV has also quit his job over perceived bias in the station’s reporting of the events after the election. [Verified. The Press TV reporter is the British, London-based journalist Nick Ferrari.]
13. Today, reporters accompanying the governor of Fars province and the Friday prayers’ Imam of Shiraz stumbled upon four unopened ballot boxes from the elections in Shiraz’s main library. Per electoral rules in Iran, all ballot boxes were supposed to be shipped to Tehran. According to reports, the governor promptly declared the contents of the boxes ‘national documents’ and asked the reporters not to report the incident. [This claim raced around the Internet yesterday. It rings true, but its significance. On its own, it is proof of negligence or error, rather than fraud.]
14. Chants of Allah o Akbar continued to rattle Tehran and other cities of Iran at dusk. A report published by the Guardian reports through a protester's friend that the protester was arrested, beaten and raped. [Verified.]
Friday, July 3, 2009 at 5:44 
2105 GMT: Reports that 
Here, in the half-hour "World News in Full" between 1300 and 1330 GMT, is Press TV English's All You Need to Know on the current Iranian situation:
I spent a frustrating hour yesterday on The Islam Channel discussing "The Western Media and Iran". It was frustrating because one of the other panellists, referring to stories of demonstrations, violence, and detentions, kept repeating the mantra, "How do we know?" That question, on its own, is fair enough: indeed, it should be asked every time we post a piece of information. In this case, however, the speaker added the direct charge or implication that the demonstrations were the product of the US Government and that reports of violations of human rights were fabrications or exaggerations of the "Western" media.