When Iran holds state-run ceremonies this week for an important Islamic feast day, there will be one very noticeable change: former President Hashemi Rafsanjani will not be leading the prayers. The removal of Rafsanjani from the high-profile role is the latest slap by the ruling establishment against the single figure they may fear most — a powerful combination of elder statesman, super-wealthy tycoon and head of the only group empowered to remove Iran's supreme leader. It's also a... Read Full Story
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi on Wednesday accused the authorities of using the Basij volunteer Islamist militia to intimidate Iran's own people. Members of the Basij, set up by Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to defend the 1979 Islamic revolution, were used extensively to crack down on protesters after June's disputed presidential poll. "Should that force, which once represented our nation's bravery, be used to intimidate Iranians?" asked Mousavi ahead of the... Read Full Story
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Iran was in the throes of a "soft war" with its enemies abroad, and that events after the disputed presidential election in June were part of this. Speaking to thousands of members of the volunteer Basij Islamist militia, the all-powerful cleric said countries hostile to Iran were trying to create an atmosphere of conflict inside the country. "Presently the fight against the enemy's soft war is our main priority," he was quoted as... Read Full Story
From Iran comes word that a high-ranking Islamic cleric once close to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the inspiration of the 1979 revolution, has emerged as the spiritual leader of ongoing opposition to the reigning government in Tehran. Followers of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, regarded as the most knowledgeable Islamic scholar in the country of 66 million, could pose a real threat to the Shiite theocracy headed by current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and to the conservative... Read Full Story
LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf won the Freedom to Create Prize on Wednesday, and dedicated his award to leading cleric Hossein Ali Montazeri and the popular opposition movement he supports. Makhmalbaf, 52, is a respected film maker who won international acclaim with his 2001 Afghan picture "Kandahar." He is also one of Iranian opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi's most well-known and vocal supporters overseas, having left Iran around five years ago. "I've been in... Read Full Story
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi said Sunday the reform movement would not be cowed by the hardline government's harsh methods as riot police prevented a demonstration by moderates taking place. Mousavi's remarks preceded a scheduled gathering Sunday by moderates to commemorate the killing of Dariush Forouhar and his wife, who headed the illegal but tolerated Iran Nation Party. They were stabbed to death by "rogue" agents in 1998. Iran's security forces have... Read Full Story
All very Darth Vader-esque! Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday urged Muslim ulema to vent their anger on the enemies of Islam and masterminds of all seditions led by the Zionists and US. In his message to the Hajj pilgrims, the Leader said nowadays, we clearly see that the hands of the ill-wishers of the world of Islam are busy more than the past driving wedges among Muslims, thus the Islamic Ummah is in need of integrity and unanimity more than ever... Read Full Story
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's parliament approved on Sunday the last three ministers in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 21-member cabinet after rejecting his original choices in September, the semi-official ILNA news agency said. Parliament voted to support Ahmadinejad's new candidates for the energy, welfare and education portfolios, although deputies criticized the nominee for the welfare job for mismanaging a disputed June 12 presidential election. Eighteen of Ahmadinejad's proposed ministers... Read Full Story
Mind control! Such displays of independent thought are simply unacceptable in post 1984 Islamic Revolutionary Iran. The kids from here on will get to say their first 'Death to America' at a much earlier age! Last month in Tehran, pupils elected a classmate in student elections because his name was similar to opposition leader Mousavi's. In the central city of Isfahan, a student running for school office copied Mousavi's campaign and used the green as his signature color. TEHRAN, Iran ( AP... Read Full Story
Just minutes before anti-riot police charged opposition marchers in Tehran last week, a new chant bubbled up from the crowd: "Death to Nobody." It was more than just a play on the "Death to America" slogans that are staples of Iran's political life. The cries give a sense of how much the protest movement has evolved since the raw outrage of last summer. The demonstrations have moved beyond narrow attacks on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his disputed re-election in June. They are now... Read Full Story
