Ahmadinejad's lies

Iran Unrest Shifts Power Dynamics

The large-scale protests in Iran since its hotly disputed June 12 presidential election have shaken the Islamic republic's long-standing balance of political power. For decades, hard-line members of Iran's cleric-led government controlled the judiciary, military, intelligence and state media. But reformists also had wide public support and room to push for more moderate social and political policies. That delicate balance worked for both sides, providing an outlet for people who chafed at the Islamic regime's austerity and isolationism, while ... Read More

Iran regime has become a 'naked dictatorship'

Three leading Iranian reformists who have rejected the results of last month's election questioned the legitimacy of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government Wednesday. This comes as Ahmadinejad is set to take office at the end of the month. Presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi wrote a letter in his party's newspaper, saying he would not recognize the government and vowing to "stand by the people and the revolution, until the end of my life." His statement prompted Iran's government to block publication of the newspaper. Ahmadinejad's main ... Read More

I Must Go Home to Iran Again

By MARJANE SATRAPI
PARIS- Six years ago, I went to listen to a man, whom I will not name, in a cafe in Paris. He said it had been 24 years since he had been back to Iran, that he had to leave right after the revolution of 1979 for political reasons. He talked of many things, and he ended by saying: "Once you leave your homeland, you can live anywhere, but I refuse to die anywhere other than Iran - or else my life will have had no meaning." His statement touched me very deeply. I’ve thought about what he said, not just understanding him ... Read More

Arrested demonstrators facing torture and forced televised "confessions"

Reza Pahlavi's "IRAN REALITIES AND PRESPECTIVES"

Ladies and Gentlemen:
Thank you for coming. Thank you for your time, and attention to the cry for freedom and democracy in Iran. The past three weeks, my brave compatriots have paid in blood the price of ripping the facade of acceptability of the regime in Iran, and its legitimacy to speak for the people of Iran abroad. The ensuing murderous oppression can silence the streets, and media blackout can reduce world attention. In the West you may see headlines declaring the end of the protests. Some will say a family quarrel inside the Islamic ... Read More

Neda, Obama and the Power of Pictures

The Issue: At a White House press conference last week, a reporter asked President Obama about Iran and whether he had watched the video of Neda Agha-Soltan being shot in the chest and bleeding to death on a Tehran street. Obama said he had, and added: "It's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking." He went on to condemn Iran's suppression of demonstrators, saying, "There are certain international norms of freedom of speech, freedom of expression." That's when the reporter Helen Thomas started to say, "Then why won't you allow the photos..." ... Read More

Time for an Israeli Strike?

By John R. Bolton - With Iran's hard-line mullahs and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unmistakably back in control, Israel's decision of whether to use military force against Tehran's nuclear weapons program is more urgent than ever. 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. ... Read More

Iran hangs 12

Iran has hanged 12 people for murder and drug trafficking over the last two days, according to Iranian media reports on Thursday. Six people were put to death for murder in Tehran's Evin prison on Wednesday morning, the Etemad newspaper said, adding two others due to be executed at the same time were spared by the families of their victims. On Thursday, six drug traffickers were executed in prison in Qom, a Shi'ite Muslim holy city south of the capital, the Fars News Agency quoted a judiciary official as saying. Amnesty International has ... Read More

Merkel seeks "strong message" by G8 leaders to Iran

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that she wanted the leaders of the Group of Eight [G8] to send a strong signal to Iran, when they meet next in Italy. "I hope the meeting sends a strong message of unity, a united message that the right to demonstrate and human rights cannot be separated and that they apply to Iran," Merkel told parliament, according to Reuters. At the same time, Merkel stressed that it was important to keep open the possibility of talks with Tehran on its nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at ... Read More