Saturday
Oct242009
The Latest from Iran (24 October): Resurgence at the Fair?
Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 10:32
NEW Iran: Football's Going Green (with the help of Press TV)
NEW Iran: The Karroubi Effect
NEW Iran: Karroubi Statement on Events at Iran Media Fair
NEW Video: Karroubi & Crowd at Iran Media Fair (23 October)
Reading Afghanistan and Iran: Scott Lucas on “The Beautiful Truth” Radio
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Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis
1935 GMT: A Note from the Media Fair. As the rumors and discussion continue over the events and protests of the week, another incident, reported by the Iranian Labor News Agency and passed on by an EA correspondent:
1920 GMT: The reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front has intervened again with an open letter to the former prosecutor of Tehran, judges, Revolutionary Guard, and the Ministry of Intelligence:
1715 GMT: We haven't forgotten you. It is just a relatively quiet period in Iran, and we're heading out to catch up with friends and colleagues. Back later to round up the day's events.
1530 GMT: Saturday Football Story. Looks like the Green wave has made it into a photo of the Iran national team on the Press TV website --- see separate entry.
1455 GMT: The Curious Development with the Nuclear Deal. Something very strange is happening as the Iranian Government deliberates whether to accept the Vienna proposal on uranium enrichment.
Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani has now come out against the agreement, declaring, "Westerners are insisting to go in a direction that speaks of cheating and are imposing some things on us. They are saying we will give you the 20 percent [enriched uranium] fuel for the Tehran reactor only if you give us your enriched uranium. I see no link between these two things."
Larijani's remarks follow those of the Deputy Speaker, Mohammad Reza Bahonar. Neither have had a role in the current negotiations with the "5+1" powers, although Larijani was the former head of Iran's nuclear programme.
So is Larijani, like Bahonar, just staking out some Parliamentary autonomy over whether the deal goes through (and, if so, why)? Or is he reflecting the views of the Supreme Leader, whose endorsement is required for the agreement to proceed?
1430 GMT: For almost two hours, rumours have been racing that Mohammad Khatami and/or Mir Hossein Mousavi have been at the Iran Media Fair this afternoon. The Iranian Labor News Agency was even reporting that Khatami was inside the Mossalla, where the Fair is taking place, before removing the article.
Latest rumours include that Mousavi approached the Fair but did not enter on the advice of security and that one man disguised as Khatami was arrested.
1100 GMT: "Western" Media Foolishness. If Iranian media are highlighting their capacity for distortion and misinformation in their coverage of the Karroubi-Media Fair events, their British counterparts are giving them a run for their money with their representation of Iran's position in the uranium enrichment talks (as we predicted at 0845 GMT). The Times proclaims, "Barack Obama's policy on brink of collapse",while The Daily Telegraph --- citing that most reliable of sources, Mr John Bolton --- yells, "Israeli Military Strike More Likely".
1035 GMT: More Other Side of the Story (see 1015 GMT). The strategy of the Islamic Republic News Agency is to use a member of the Parliament's Cultural Commission to argue that Mehdi Karroubi and his supporters planned yesterday's events at the Media Fair as part of their strategy for "overthrow" of the Iranian system.
Fars News, meanwhile, continues to push the story as one of pro-Government crowds confronting Karroubi with the "Death to the hypocrite" chant, to which Karroubi's bodyguards responded by brandishing guns.
1030 GMT: Deaths in Tehran. Iranian state media is reporting six people, including a judge, have been killed in the Iranian capital. The incident, however, appears to be unrelated to post-election conflict and instead stems from a "family dispute".
1015 GMT: The Other Side of the Story. It is illuminating to compare Mehdi Karroubi's account of the Media Fair experience with that from state media. Press TV portrays a balanced reception --- "Former Iranian presidential candidate Karroubi has been met with slogans both in favor of and against himself....The opponents shouted 'Liar, get lost' and 'Death to Monafeq [hypocrite]' while the proponents chanted, 'Long live Karroubi'." There's also a balance in blame for the violence, "The fair turned into a scene of clashes and some booths were damaged after the politician was attacked by a shoe."
No balance or indeed context in the headline, however: "Karroubi's bodyguard fires into air at Tehran fair".
0920 GMT: We've posted the English translation of Mehdi Karroubi's statement on yesterday's events at the Iran Media Fair in a separate entry.
0855 GMT: Responding to Karroubi. In a signal of the interaction of yesterday's events with the growing clerical movement against the regime, Grand Ayatollah Bayat-Zanjani talked with Mehdi Karroubi by phone after the incidents at the Media Fair. Bayat-Zanjani expressed his admiration for Karroubi’s resistance in front of obscene and hideous acts, calling him a fighter and a true believer: “The more influential you are, the more they [Ahmadinejad supporters] resist you and these insulting attempts [just] reveal how successful you are.”
0845 GMT: The Enrichment Deal is On. Just to be clear, while there will be much huffing and puffing about devious/manipulative/dangerous Iran today, Tehran's delay in signing the Vienna deal on third-party enrichment is --- for now --- only another step on the path to agreement.
The US signalled that it would allow more time for Iran's decision, while making the necessary tough noises, in a statement by State Department spokesman Ian Kelly:
An EA reader adds that there is also an easing of hostility in the French media on the Iran nuclear issue, with newspapers like Le Monde accepting that Tehran's response will come next week.
0745 GMT: Pedestrian has posted an English translation of Mir Hossein Mousavi's remarks on Wednesday to the staff of his Kalemeh Sabz newspaper, which was raided and closed by Government forces on 22 June: "We must not allow the events of the past few months to create pessimism about the revolution."
0725 GMT: Inevitably we are picking up on two major stories this morning.
On the international front, the signs continue that the Iranian regime --- albeit several days after a deadline because of its gamesmanship and the rumblings of its bureaucracy --- will accept the uranium enrichment deal. While it deliberates, the Government has offered another significant concession to the "West"; officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency will arrive in Iran on Saturday to inspect the second uranium enrichment plant at Fordoo near Qom. The visit will last 2-3 days.
However, it is the Mehdi Karroubi story that dominates our initial thoughts this morning. As conversation continues to buzz about his appearance at the Iran Media Fair, the crowd enthusiasm, and the subsequent scuffles, we've posted an analysis of the significance.
NEW Iran: The Karroubi Effect
NEW Iran: Karroubi Statement on Events at Iran Media Fair
NEW Video: Karroubi & Crowd at Iran Media Fair (23 October)
Reading Afghanistan and Iran: Scott Lucas on “The Beautiful Truth” Radio
Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis
1935 GMT: A Note from the Media Fair. As the rumors and discussion continue over the events and protests of the week, another incident, reported by the Iranian Labor News Agency and passed on by an EA correspondent:A stand for the "Wave of Law" website (a deliberate twist of the term "Green Wave") was dismantled at the press exhibition in Tehran for collecting signatures for a petition seeking a complaint against Mir Hosein Moussavi. The stand faced reluctance from exhibition visitors.
Permission to set up the stand for this new website was given in circumstances in which eligible applicants had been refused. Warnings from the organizers of the Tehran Press Fair were instrumental in the stand's ejection.
1920 GMT: The reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front has intervened again with an open letter to the former prosecutor of Tehran, judges, Revolutionary Guard, and the Ministry of Intelligence:
We do not open this letter with “greetings”, as it is a symbol of all that you and your colleagues have denied us and those like us....The mass assault of the agents of the former Tehran prosecutor on the central office of the Participation Front, the election headquarters, and newspapers as well as the mass arrest of the members of the Participation Front, other political, and media activists happened not long ago, and the wave of arrests still continue.
This time you and your colleagues have created a new wonder. Thirty years after the establishment of the “Islamic” system, you silenced the “O God! O God!” prayer in the throats of this nation’s sons and daughters and the innocent families of [political] prisoners by your weapons and handcuffs. We remind you of this because it is the duty of every Muslim to stop their religious brothers and sisters from committing bad deeds that we hope are not being committed deliberately and knowingly but rather unintentionally and under pressure.
Before it is too late come to your senses and don’t be the tools of oppression for the tyrant masters of power. Someday that God willing is coming and is not too far away, they will be too caught up as the results of their words and actions to be able to help you.
1715 GMT: We haven't forgotten you. It is just a relatively quiet period in Iran, and we're heading out to catch up with friends and colleagues. Back later to round up the day's events.
1530 GMT: Saturday Football Story. Looks like the Green wave has made it into a photo of the Iran national team on the Press TV website --- see separate entry.
1455 GMT: The Curious Development with the Nuclear Deal. Something very strange is happening as the Iranian Government deliberates whether to accept the Vienna proposal on uranium enrichment.
Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani has now come out against the agreement, declaring, "Westerners are insisting to go in a direction that speaks of cheating and are imposing some things on us. They are saying we will give you the 20 percent [enriched uranium] fuel for the Tehran reactor only if you give us your enriched uranium. I see no link between these two things."
Larijani's remarks follow those of the Deputy Speaker, Mohammad Reza Bahonar. Neither have had a role in the current negotiations with the "5+1" powers, although Larijani was the former head of Iran's nuclear programme.
So is Larijani, like Bahonar, just staking out some Parliamentary autonomy over whether the deal goes through (and, if so, why)? Or is he reflecting the views of the Supreme Leader, whose endorsement is required for the agreement to proceed?
1430 GMT: For almost two hours, rumours have been racing that Mohammad Khatami and/or Mir Hossein Mousavi have been at the Iran Media Fair this afternoon. The Iranian Labor News Agency was even reporting that Khatami was inside the Mossalla, where the Fair is taking place, before removing the article.
Latest rumours include that Mousavi approached the Fair but did not enter on the advice of security and that one man disguised as Khatami was arrested.
1100 GMT: "Western" Media Foolishness. If Iranian media are highlighting their capacity for distortion and misinformation in their coverage of the Karroubi-Media Fair events, their British counterparts are giving them a run for their money with their representation of Iran's position in the uranium enrichment talks (as we predicted at 0845 GMT). The Times proclaims, "Barack Obama's policy on brink of collapse",while The Daily Telegraph --- citing that most reliable of sources, Mr John Bolton --- yells, "Israeli Military Strike More Likely".
1035 GMT: More Other Side of the Story (see 1015 GMT). The strategy of the Islamic Republic News Agency is to use a member of the Parliament's Cultural Commission to argue that Mehdi Karroubi and his supporters planned yesterday's events at the Media Fair as part of their strategy for "overthrow" of the Iranian system.
Fars News, meanwhile, continues to push the story as one of pro-Government crowds confronting Karroubi with the "Death to the hypocrite" chant, to which Karroubi's bodyguards responded by brandishing guns.
1030 GMT: Deaths in Tehran. Iranian state media is reporting six people, including a judge, have been killed in the Iranian capital. The incident, however, appears to be unrelated to post-election conflict and instead stems from a "family dispute".
1015 GMT: The Other Side of the Story. It is illuminating to compare Mehdi Karroubi's account of the Media Fair experience with that from state media. Press TV portrays a balanced reception --- "Former Iranian presidential candidate Karroubi has been met with slogans both in favor of and against himself....The opponents shouted 'Liar, get lost' and 'Death to Monafeq [hypocrite]' while the proponents chanted, 'Long live Karroubi'." There's also a balance in blame for the violence, "The fair turned into a scene of clashes and some booths were damaged after the politician was attacked by a shoe."
No balance or indeed context in the headline, however: "Karroubi's bodyguard fires into air at Tehran fair".
0920 GMT: We've posted the English translation of Mehdi Karroubi's statement on yesterday's events at the Iran Media Fair in a separate entry.
0855 GMT: Responding to Karroubi. In a signal of the interaction of yesterday's events with the growing clerical movement against the regime, Grand Ayatollah Bayat-Zanjani talked with Mehdi Karroubi by phone after the incidents at the Media Fair. Bayat-Zanjani expressed his admiration for Karroubi’s resistance in front of obscene and hideous acts, calling him a fighter and a true believer: “The more influential you are, the more they [Ahmadinejad supporters] resist you and these insulting attempts [just] reveal how successful you are.”
0845 GMT: The Enrichment Deal is On. Just to be clear, while there will be much huffing and puffing about devious/manipulative/dangerous Iran today, Tehran's delay in signing the Vienna deal on third-party enrichment is --- for now --- only another step on the path to agreement.
The US signalled that it would allow more time for Iran's decision, while making the necessary tough noises, in a statement by State Department spokesman Ian Kelly:
Obviously we would have preferred to have a response today. We approach this with a sense of urgency. We can stretch things for a few days, and that's really what we're talking about. But we're not going to wait forever.
An EA reader adds that there is also an easing of hostility in the French media on the Iran nuclear issue, with newspapers like Le Monde accepting that Tehran's response will come next week.
0745 GMT: Pedestrian has posted an English translation of Mir Hossein Mousavi's remarks on Wednesday to the staff of his Kalemeh Sabz newspaper, which was raided and closed by Government forces on 22 June: "We must not allow the events of the past few months to create pessimism about the revolution."
0725 GMT: Inevitably we are picking up on two major stories this morning.
On the international front, the signs continue that the Iranian regime --- albeit several days after a deadline because of its gamesmanship and the rumblings of its bureaucracy --- will accept the uranium enrichment deal. While it deliberates, the Government has offered another significant concession to the "West"; officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency will arrive in Iran on Saturday to inspect the second uranium enrichment plant at Fordoo near Qom. The visit will last 2-3 days.
However, it is the Mehdi Karroubi story that dominates our initial thoughts this morning. As conversation continues to buzz about his appearance at the Iran Media Fair, the crowd enthusiasm, and the subsequent scuffles, we've posted an analysis of the significance.
tagged Ali Larijani, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Bayat-Zanjani, France, Ian Kelly, International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Iran Media Fair, Iranian Labor News Agency, Islamic Iran Participation Front, John Bolton, Kalameh Sabz, Kalemeh Sabz, Le Monde, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Pedestrian, Press TV, State Department, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, uranium enrichment in Middle East & Iran
Ali Larijani, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Bayat-Zanjani, France, Ian Kelly, International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Iran Media Fair, Iranian Labor News Agency, Islamic Iran Participation Front, John Bolton, Kalameh Sabz, Kalemeh Sabz, Le Monde, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Pedestrian, Press TV, State Department, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, uranium enrichment in Middle East & Iran
Reader Comments (20)
Peyke Iran suggests shoe throwing event had been coordinated with Fars News Photographers as they seem to be all in the right spot and the right angle to snap the attached shots.
If true, I wonder how low this regime will go. Choreographing an assault with the help of media puppets for the purpose of marginalizing and ridiculing Green Movement and its leader shows how desperate and week the regime has become. Here is the link: http://www.peykeiran.com/Content.aspx?ID=8292
That man is amazing! Thanks Scott for posting his statement, it's quite something.
Could someone please enlighten me? Since when Iranians have engaged in shoe throwing as a form of insult? I do not remember shoe throwing as an Iranian custom. Is this copycatting Arabs or is this another Khomeini custom?
Arabiya TV is reporting, quoting Iranian radio, that 6 people were assassinated in the center of Tehran, but no indication of who those people are. Does anyone have more information?
Edward
[...] rest is here: The Latest from Iran (24 October): Resurgence By admin | category: english, english translation, french | tags: beautiful, coffee, [...]
Edward,
See 1030 GMT - Reuters from Iran state media says killings arose from "family dispute".
S.
Cf. 10.35 GMT, a reminder-résumé of Karubi-bashing team's threats and
doleances.
To send thugs/regime's pitbulls to topple his turban throw shoe etc.
seems so far the only derivatives to the regime's frustration at not being
in position to neutralize him (trial or kill him) NOW!
http://www.roozonline.com/english/news/newsitem/article/2009/october/20//coup-supporters-increase-pressure-on-karubi.html
In the same line of thought (and from the same media Roozonline, by
Fereshteh Ghazi), about Mousavi being object of re"gime's good intentions,
wishful thinking or middle-term riddance plans. Some statements are worth
the reading ;- )
http://www.roozonline.com/english/news/newsitem/article/2009/october/23//majlis-reps-have-wrong-address.html
I don't understand why Larijani could'nt see the link between the two things !! the west wants to take the low enriched uranium( at 3,5 percent) out of iran, after turning it into high enriched uranium ( 20 percent ) in a third country (as Russia or France), to sent it back to Iran !! perhaps Larijani thought the high enriched uranium brought in Iran, has been a gift of the western countries and so free !! and all this only because of the west would have an eye and a control on the process avoiding Iran to make nuclear bomb !! it's not so difficult to understand !!! I think it's the first ( formal )deal with US after 30 years and they have lost their head and been so excited !
Orchestrating obedient media against Karrubi is only a lesser manoeuvre against the Green Movement, which should preferably be called the Rainbow Movement.
Today Larijani attacked Moussavi for his silence on mass executions of leftist dissidents during his presidency in the 1980ies, especially 1988 (koshtare 67), ordered by Khomeini. http://www.peykeiran.com/Content.aspx?ID=8320
Strangely enough the putschists are breaking one of the biggest taboos of the past 30 years by mentioning the darkest chapter of their own "republic" and accusing the reformists for not being democrats! (the pot calling the kettle black)
Obviously Larijani has forgotten that his glorious boss AN ordered to flatten their mass burials at Khavaran with bulldozers last summer.
In response, Mostafa Kavakebian, secretary general of the "Mardomsalari" party, said that Moussavi's former silence is no reason to be silent today.
In any case the regime's desperate efforts to divide the opposition will fire back. Actually it is digging its grave with it own hands.
Of course the greens won't mention the 1988 crackdown. It goes against their whole laughable project to appropriate the legacy of the Ayatollah Khomeini for their ends. The whole "Khomeini as liberal reformer" line is nothing but an attempt to turn historical facts upside down. To paraphrase a well used line it is "the mother of all lies".
The imaginary Khomeini of the greens never walked the streets of Khomein, Qom, Najaf, Neauphle-le-Chateau or Tehran.
@Arshama Thanx for this scoop ! How surprising and odd and unexpected
it seems ! I always heard that a lead bell was weighing on the
1988 events and that politically it was a major taboo. First clerics like
Montazeri or Saanei, then a Larijani dare to bring the subject on the
scene -and he between all uses it as an argument against Moussavi ! Yes,
might you be right, it looks like home-made grave digging... and the situation
certainly seems more and more confuse.
What or whose party is 'Mardomsalari' by the way? Merci
To understand how Imam Khomeini felt about liberal reformers there is no better source than his blunt letter dismissing the traitor Montazeri:
http://www.baabeilm.org/khomeini/montezari.pdf
Money quote:
"Since it has become clear that after me you are going to hand over this country, our dear Islamic revolution, and the Muslim people of Iran to the liberals, and through that channel to the hypocrites [Mojahedin-e Khalq], you are no longer eligible to succeed me as the legitimate leader of the state."
Those greens who keep pushing these lies deserve a truckload of shoes to come down on their heads.
dear Samuel
once again your sweet words; everything is good to win and sorry , one day " WE WILL WIN"...
it's never late to change (people involved in 1988 crackdown) !!
from somebody who is "fanatically pro iranian people"
dear ange,
Everyone can change that is absolutely true. I, for one, don't believe that Montazeri was always a traitor to the Revolution and to Imam Khomeini.
But if those greens now regret their role in the 1988 crackdown how can they still proclaim their loyalty to the Ayatollah Khomeini legacy? Only two explanations are possible; the greens are either crazy or they are hypocritical liars. I don't think they are crazy.
It would be as if a former member of Hezbollah in Lebanon suddenly became a fanatical Zionist yet still claimed to be a devoted follower of Hassan Nasrallah and the Supreme Leader.
For those that don't know Hezbollah in Lebanon is a proud follower of Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurisprudent) (See video below at 3:20)
http://www.shiatv.net/view_video.php?viewkey=0fc1515b9fe3865abbb1&page=&viewtype=&category=
Dead Enders of this regime foolishly credit Green Movement to Mousavi and Karroubi and believe by exposing these two men they will succeed in killing the Movement. They fatally fail to recognize that Green Movement is people revolt against 30-year of tyranny, it is the rejection of Islamic Republic and its failed system of governing with or without Mousavi or karroubi. These two men accidently served as the badly needed spark and ignited a massive wildfire that sooner or later will burn down the Islamic Republic House of Cards.
Mousavi and Karroubi are accidental Rock Stars who for now are enjoying the ride. Islamic Republic focus on these two men instead of recognition of its own failure and the need for substantial overhaul will hasten its end. With its Kamikaze maneuvers these past few months, Islamic Republic is a dead man walking.
"Dead Enders of this regime foolishly credit Green Movement to Mousavi and Karroubi and believe by exposing these two men they will succeed in killing the Movement."
Well it is not only "Dead Enders". EA and other sites treat Karroubi in particular with the same reverence that devout traditional Catholics reserve for the Pope. You even see references to "Saint Karroubi" or "the sainted Karroubi" once in a while.
In fact we know more about Karroubi's daily life reading pro-reform sites than we knew about the daily life of Susan Boyle a few months back when she became a worldwide youtube phenomenon.
Your view re: Karroubi and Mousavi is spot on but I think you are aiming your Kalashnikov at the wrong targets.
@Megan You're right to remind that Green Movement encompasses much
more than these 2 iconic figures and that 30 long years are at stake !
Yet, some dead men (even long dead corpses) walking with strong crutches
are not uncommon sight in politics Sometimes civil war or heavy military
dictatures come in the way as the ultimate 'arguments' against all form of
emancipation -'specially when the power starts to slip away from predatory
ruler's hands...
Seems difficult to believe that IRCG and consorts (see the last moves of their 'restructuration' maneuvres with bassij and Intelligence) will easily let go
their nice little carrier-plans and sources of income... STILL let's hope ordinary
people of all backgrounds and obediences will unite to put tyranny to end and
for the best at the right moment ( + now at least the world is more and more
aware of what's going on in IRI , an important step -days of invisibility are
gone for some IRI's 'family' bosses )
samuel
I watched 5 secondes of your video (15 ) and I could say one thing : " oh my god !!!"
@ Yseut
Mardomsalari is the literally Persian translation of democracy, and this party really exists. Kavakebian is obviously pro Moussavi and Khatami, here his website:
http://www.kavakebian.com/fa/
@ Megan
Thanx for your comment. damet garm!
@ Samuel
Changing this system does not come in a day. Iranians who advocate a secular and democratic system certainly will not accept a religious leader any more, but for the moment Karroubi is the only person, who loudly utters the common refusal.
Some of his remarks at the tv duell with AN were really funny, and I never expected him to behave so bravely after these fraud elections. This is the reason for his popularity, otherwise many Iranians inside have learned that they are responsible for their future and have to act on their own.