From the “don’t believe everything you read” department, further evidence that Murdoch’s London paper is pushing spin over Iran’s supposed nuclear capability. Gareth Porter reports: New revelations about two documents leaked to The Times of London to show that Iran is working on a “nuclear trigger” mechanism have further undermined the credibility of the document…
Showing all posts tagged Iran
The BBC will not overthrow Tehran
The Islamic Republic increases its attack on “enemies” and outside forces. A paranoid regime – with, it must be said, some justified reason to fear attempts from the West for regime change – simply convinces its foes that it trusts nobody and fears everybody: Authorities in Iran intensified their campaign to blame the country’s political…
Iran may be moving to a country we don’t recognise
The disparate opposition in Iran continues to grow. Anti-government protests show no sign of stopping. If anything, they’re getting more brazen. The New York Times columnist Roger Cohen outlines a possible way forward (and gels with my experiences there in 2007, a people maybe looking for change, but not a revolution): Something has to give,…
The young Iranians creating a new future away from their parents
Iranian Nasrin Alavi sent out the following email and photograph on New Year’s Eve: This is sent to you with great hopes of triumph, peace and liberty for 2010. The image below was taken a few days ago and is of a group young Iranian climbers on the summit of Alborz. The banner that they…
Don’t pop the champagne yet for the end of Tehran’s rule
Chaos reigns again in Iran, with the Islamic Republic murdering a number of innocent civilians in its quest to maintain power, including an opposition leader’s family member. Could this really be the end of the regime?
Iran’s stance inspires the non-Western world
“As long as Tehran can cast the issue as one of imperialists trying to deny their rights to nuclear technology, Iran gets the support of a significant swath of the developing world,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, a senior fellow for nonproliferation with the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
Ahmadinejad raises himself and speaks of nuclear power
The (probably) illegitimate President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sits down with Britain’s Channel 4 reporter Jon Snow: Snow’s description of his interview is interesting: To make up for our long journey to find him the presidents aides had setup a grandiose setting for our interview. The gorgeous shrine of the great 14th Century Persian poet…
How an old cleric challenged the Islamic Republic at its core
The death of Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri in Iran has caused huge public grief and anger: Blogger Cyrus Farivar reminds us of the man’s influence on Iran’s internet culture: I’m obviously fascinated with Montazeri’s small role in Iran’s Internet history. As best as I can tell, this is the first example of the Islamic Republic’s…
Reporters taking on the powerful are killed with impunity
Journalists simply doing their job are at risk. We stand in solidarity with anybody challenging the business or political elites: The number of journalists killed around the world in 2009 rose to a record 68 after a massacre in the Philippines, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Thursday. The press freedom group said…
And we watch the slow-moving Iranian state unravel
Iranian Nasrin Alavi writes on a momentous day in Iran: Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri passed away last night. His opponents have in recent years referred to him in the Iranian media as the “Simpleton Sheik” omitting to even use the prefix Ayatollah. Crowds are gathering outside his residence in Qom for his funeral on Monday.…