President Ahmadinejad Orders Inquiry into 'Suspicious' Death of Neda
TIMES ONLINE: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has ordered an inquiry in to the "suspicious" death of Neda Soltan, the woman shot by government militiamen during a protest in Tehran.

The President sent a letter to the chief of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, requesting a serious investigation to help to identify and prosecute “the elements” behind the killing earlier this month.

“Given the many fabricated reports around this heartbreaking incident and the widespread propaganda by the foreign media... it seems there is clear interference by the enemies of Iran who want to misuse the situation politically and tarnish the clean image of the Islamic republic,” the president wrote.

“Therefore I am asking you to order the judicial authorities to probe the killing of this woman with utmost seriousness and identify and prosecute the elements behind the killing." >>> Joanna Sugden | Monday, June 29, 2009

The Swan Song of the Islamic Republic
THE HUFFINGTON POST: Whatever happens from this point on, nothing will ever be the same in Tehran.

Whatever happens, if the protest gains momentum or loses steam, if it ends up prevailing or if the regime succeeds in terrorizing it, he who should now only be called president-non-elect Ahmadinejad will only be an ersatz, illegitimate, weakened president.

Whatever happens, whatever the result of this crisis provoked two weeks ago by the enormity of a fraud that serious-minded people can no longer doubt, no Iranian leader can appear on the global scene, or in any negotiation with Obama, Sarkozy, or Merkel, without being haloed, not by the nimbus of light dreamed of by Ahmadinejad in his 2005 speech to the United Nations, but by the cloud of sulphur that crowns cheaters and butchers.

Whatever happens, the Ayatollah Khamenei, Khomeini's successor and Supreme Leader of the regime, tutelary authority of the President, father of the people, will have lost his role as arbiter, will have shamelessly sided with one faction over the others, and will have therefore lost what remained of his authority: "Only God knows my vote," he carefully replied four years ago to those who were already calling upon him to denounce the fraud--"in the name of merciful God, I armor, I hammer, and I dissolve the people," he has responded this time to the naïve who believed he was there to uphold the Constitution.

Whatever happens, the block of ayatollahs who had always succeeded in maintaining a united front, whatever their differences and divergent interests, will have put their ferocious divisions on display: the ones behind Khamenei, approving of the decision to crush the movement with blood; the others, like the ex-President Rafsanjani, leader of the very powerful Assembly of Experts, warning that if the wave of protests were not taken seriously, veritable "volcanoes" of anger would erupt. Others still like the Grand Ayatollah Montazeri who, since his house arrest in Qom, has been calling for a recount and for national mourning for the victims of the repression; and without mentioning the leading religious experts of the "Office of Theological Seminaries" who no longer fear proposing the possibility--what passed for heresy not long ago--of Khamenei's resignation and of his replacement by a "Guidance Council."

Whatever happens, and beyond these internal conflicts, the people will be dissociated from an anemic and fatally wounded regime. >>> Bernard-Henri Lévy, French philosopher and writer | Monday, June 22, 2009

Translated from French by Sara Phenix.

Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Hits Out at Barack Obama
THE TELEGRAPH: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, has harshly criticised President Barack Obama's condemnation of the country's "iron fist" response to demonstrations over its disputed election.

The Iranian leader denounced Britain for meddling in the election aftermath and said that Mr Obama had fallen into the same trap.

"They (The British) already have a bad record in these matters," he said, describing Downing Street as being run by "political retards". "But why did the US president fall into their trap?"

He advised Mr Obama to take a different approach from his predecessor President George W Bush.

"I hope you (Obama) will avoid interfering in Iran's affairs and express regret in a way that the Iranian people are informed of it," Mr Ahmadinejad said.

"Will you use this language with Iran (in any future dialogue)? If this is your stance, there will be nothing left to talk about. Do you think this behaviour will solve the problem for you? This will not have any result except that the people will consider you somebody similar to Bush." >>> Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, June 25, 2009

Iran: Les événements en temps réel
leJDD.fr: Alors que les partisans de Mahmoud Ahmadinejad célèbrent en Iran le succès de leur champion, des milliers de manifestants appellent à l'annulation du scrutin de samedi dernier. Le Conseil des gardiens vient d'annoncer qu'elle excluait d'annuler l'élection présidentielle, comme l'a demandé Mirhossein Moussavi, le candidat modéré. La communauté internationale, inquiète, reste prudente.

18h55: Pour Sarkozy, une réaction "proportionnelle" à la fraude
Dans un communiqué diffusé mardi, le Quai d'Orsay affirme la "profonde préoccupation" de Nicolas Sarkozy et François Fillon face à la répression des Iraniens descendus dans la rue pour contester le résultat de l'élection présidentielle de vendredi dernier. Plus, le président de la République a déclaré mardi que la fraude électorale lors du dernier scrutin en Iran était "proportionnelle à la violence de la réaction". Il a jugé "choquantes" et "insupportables" les images de répression des manifestations de partisans du principal candidat de l'opposition, Mirhossein Moussavi.

18h36: Obama pour la libre-expression
Interrogé mardi sur la contestation de la réélection d'Ahmadinejad, Barack Obama a déclaré aux journalistes que la voix du peuple iranien devait "être entendue, pas étouffée", a fait savoir Reuters. Le président des Etats-Unis a toutefois ajouté ne pas vouloir donner l'impression de se "mêler" des affaires intérieures iraniennes, compte tenu de l'état tumultueux des relations entre les des deux pays. >>> Par la Rédaction, leJDD.fr | Mardi 16 Juin 2009

Iran Protest Cancelled as Leaked Election Results Show Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Came Third
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran's reformist presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi has called off a major rally to protest last Friday's election results, amid claims police had been cleared to open fire on protesters.


Supporters had been due to turn out en masse in Tehran on Monday afternoon, despite government warnings to stay off the streets.

But this morning, a statement on Mr Mousavi's campaign website announced that the demonstration had been postponed – although it said Mr Mousavi would go to the site to ensure any supporters who showed up remained calm.

Mr Mousavi's wife and co-campaigner, Zahra Ranavard, was reported as warning that riot squads would be equipped with live ammunition, raising the prospect of serious bloodshed.

Iran's Interior Ministry said Mr Mousavi would be responsible for any consequences if he went ahead with the protest.

Mr Mousavi's cancellation of the protest came as sporadic disturbances continued around the Iranian capital, and reports circulated of leaked interior ministry statistics showing him as the clear victor in last Friday's polls.

The statistics, circulated on Iranian blogs and websites, claimed Mr Mousavi had won 19.1 million votes while Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won only 5.7 million.

The two other candidates, reformist Mehdi Karoubi and hardliner Mohsen Rezai, won 13.4 million and 3.7 million respectively. The authenticity of the leaked figures could not be confirmed. >>> By Colin Freeman | Monday, June 15, 2009

Shots Fired as Thousands Take to the Streets of Iran to Protest Election Results
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran's defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi has joined hundreds of thousands of supporters at a mass rally in Tehran to protest against alleged vote rigging.

Con Coughlin on Iran election results
Despite official orders banning the demonstration from going ahead, Mr Mousavi addressed his followers as they chanted "give us back our votes".

Standing on a car roof and speaking to the surging crowds through a loud hailer, he declared: "The vote of the people is more important than Mousavi or any other person."

In contrast to a previous rally on Saturday, the security forces made no attempt to break up the gathering, although there were occasional clashes with bystanders suspected to be supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

As night fell, there were reports of gunmen firing on protesters, killing at least one person and wounding several others in Tehran's Azadi Square. The shooting is thought to have come from a compound for volunteer militia linked to the Revolutionary Guard.

But most police stood watching with their helmets and shields at their sides, while protesters – wearing the green wristbands, scarves and hats that have symbolised the Mousavi campaign – urged them to join in the demonstration.

"Law enforcers, support us, support us!" they shouted. "You are green like us!" Others urged Mohammad Khatami, the former president who pioneered the reformist movement and who backed Mr Mousavi's candidacy, to also attend the rally. Mr Khatami had earlier criticised the authorities for denying permission for the demonstration, and said that the election had dented public trust in the regime. >>> By Colin Freeman | Monday, June 15, 2009

TIMES ONLINE: Hardliners Open Fire as Tension Grips Tehran

Tehran was a tinderbox last night after government paramilitaries started shooting during a huge public protest against last Friday's disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Members of the Basij, a force of young Islamic hardliners, killed one demonstrator and wounded several more when their building was attacked, after tens of thousands of demonstrators held a rally against election fraud in defiance of a government ban.

In another incident, a witness told The Times how she watched from her car as riot police on six motorbikes opened fire on youths walking under a bridge after the rally.

“The riot police started shooting them with big guns,” she said. “It wasn’t like the films where there is just a small hole — the shooting was blowing off hands, limbs. It was terrrible, terrible.”

Gunfire was heard in at least three other districts of the Iranian capital. The Ministry of the Interior was rumoured to have authorised the use of live ammunition as the regime struggled to maintain control. Supporters of the defeated candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, fought running battles with the police and Basiji, who have flooded into Tehran. >>> Martin Fletcher | Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Tehran Is Running Scared of the Uncontrollable Forces of Freedom
TIMES ONLINE: The surge of revolt threatened to become a tidal wave. So the Islamic republic responded with ‘a coup against the coup[’]

Iran seldom admits the international media. It makes an exception at election times because it wants the world to see the Islamic republic's glorious democracy in action. Thus some 400 foreign journalists and television crews were given ten-day visas to cover Friday's presidential election, and for a week we really did see a vibrant and impressive democratic process.

Admittedly the four candidates were handpicked by the regime, but they ranged from the liberal to ultra-conservative, offered starkly contrasting visions for the future and engaged in remarkably outspoken TV debates. The people responded. Armies of supporters took over the streets, festooned every square with posters and banners and, on election day itself, flocked to the polling stations in numbers that shamed most Western democracies.

The charade ended abruptly on Friday night. Scarcely had polling ended than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cronies in the Interior Ministry and Elections Commission declared him the winner. They gave him not a razor-thin victory, which might just have been credible - the President did have legions of diehard supporters among the pious and rural poor. They gave him nearly two thirds of the vote, a figure that defied belief and raised two unmistakable fingers to the Iranian people and the world. They claimed that the main challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, lost heavily even in his own village. The number of votes allegedly cast for Mr Ahmadinejad, 24.5 million, was probably chosen so that he could claim to have more support than any president in the republic's 30-year history. The previous high was just over 20 million, cast for the reformist Mohammad Khatami in 1997.

The crackdown began instantly. Mobile phone and text messaging systems were taken down so the opposition could not organise. Opposition websites and international news services were blocked. Baton-wielding security forces flooded on to the streets. Overnight the festive atmosphere turned to fear, exuberance to terror, as the regime showed how evil it is.

All weekend protests were ruthlessly suppressed. Demonstrators were beaten. Foreign journalists, including a reporter and photographer from The Times, were detained. Leading reformists were arrested. Iran's “Prague Spring”, its “Velvet Revolution”, was crushed with Soviet-style ruthlessness by a regime practised in silencing dissent. Mr Ahmadinejad, the self-styled man of the people and champion of the oppressed, unleashed the full force of the state machinery on his own population. Meanwhile, congratulations poured in from... well, Syria and Venezuela.

Why the volte-face? Why did the regime open the door a crack, only to slam it shut so violently? Almost certainly because it was appalled by what it saw on the other side. >>> Martin Fletcher | Monday, June 15, 2009

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 'Takes Back Tehran' with Hardliners, as Police Resort to Beatings
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brought tens of thousands of supporters into the heart of Tehran tonight in a bid to take back the capital after a weekend of vicious running battles between state security forces and large crowds of Iranians who insist that Mr Ahmadinejad stole last Friday’s presidential election.

Chanting ’Allah o’Akbar” (God is great) and “Ahmadi we love you”, the army of zealous hardliners poured into the central square in a massive show of strength designed to intimidate the furious supporters of Mr Ahmadinejad’s relatively moderate opponent, Mir Hossein Mousavi.

They came from far beyond Tehran. “The protestors are lying. There was no cheating,” declared Farang Kamalwand, 39, a chador-clad woman who had travelled 700 kilometres by bus from Lorestan. “We came to prove to people outside this country that we love and support our president,” said Karamollah Rahimi, a builder who had journeyed nine hours from Lordegan.

Mr Mousavi, 67, a former prime minister, has been in hiding since Friday night, but has issued a stream of internet statements urging his supporters to continue their nationwide protests against an election he called a “charade”: some results were announced before the ballot boxes had even been opened. Tonight, he appealed to the Guardian Council, a powerful body of senior clerics, to declare the election void.

Zahra Rahnavard, Mr Mousavi’s wife, accused Mr Ahmadinejad of “dictatorship”, saying: “The Iranian people voted to change Ahmadinejad, but this vote became a vote to solidify Ahmadinejad.” Mousavi aides accused the regime of mounting a “coup d’etat”.

Britain, the United States and other western governments expressed serious concern. Several leading reformists have been arrested including, briefly, the brother of Mohammed Khatami, the former president.

As the regime used overwhelming physical force, electronic jamming and censorship to suppress protests raging barely a mile from his presidential office, Mr Amadinejad gave a surreal, Orwellian press conference at which he called his victory an “epic achievement” that made Iran’s brand of religious democracy, with its emphasis on ethics, a model for the world. >>> Martin Fletcher in Tehran | Sunday, June 14, 2009

Crowds Join Ahmadinejad Victory Rally
Mr Ahmadinejad told crowds the election was free and healthy.
BBC: Tens of thousands of people have joined a rally in central Tehran to celebrate the re-election of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The president's closest opponent in the election, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, has lodged an official appeal against the result amid continuing angry protests.

Security forces have arrested up to 100 members of reformist groups, accusing them of orchestrating the violence.

Mr Ahmadinejad denied any vote-fixing, saying the result was "very accurate".

At an earlier news conference, the president accused foreign media of refusing to accept the result because they did not like it.

"Forty million people have taken part in this process. How can they question it?" he said.

US doubt

Asked about Iran's nuclear programme and Tehran's relations with foreign powers, he said the nuclear debate "belongs to the past", and that Iran had "embraced" the idea of an international effort to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Global reaction to the election has been muted, but US Vice-President Joe Biden told broadcaster NBC there was "an awful lot of doubt" about the result.

Mr Ahmadinejad's closest rival in the election campaign, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, announced on Sunday he had lodged an official appeal appeal against the result to Iran's Guardian Council.

"I urge you Iranian nation to continue your nationwide protests in a peaceful and legal way," he said in a statement.

Mr Mousavi has called several times for his supporters to avoid violence, but angry protesters have been setting light to vehicles and throwing stones in Tehran.

Reuters reported that police charged a 2,000-strong group of students who were protesting at the University of Tehran. >>> | Sunday, June 14, 2009

BBC: Debris on the Streets of Tehran



BBC: Iran Arrests after Street Clashes

Sieg des Populismus über die Vernunft: Kommentar zum Ausgang der iranischen Präsidentschaftswahlen
Bild: Google Images
NZZ Online – Kommentar: Der heisse Wahlkampf der letzten zwei Wochen und der grosse Aufmarsch der Wähler an den Urnen hatten bei vielen Beobachtern den Eindruck erweckt, bei den iranischen Präsidentenwahlen würde der bisherige Amtsinhaber Mahmud Ahmadinejad abgewählt. Doch wie sich nun zeigt, war der Wunsch der Vater ihrer Prognosen, Ahmadinejads prominentester Gegner, der ehemalige Ministerpräsident Mir Hossein Moussavi, würde das Rennen machen.

Die Konkurrenten des Präsidenten hatten dessen Politik einer vernünftigen und berechtigten Kritik unterzogen, auf die Ahmadinejad reagierte, indem er die Register des Populismus zog. Er bezichtigte seine Gegner der Lüge und warf eminenten Persönlichkeiten des politischen und religiösen Establishments vor, bestechlich und geldgierig zu sein. Mit der Verteilung von Geld und Vergünstigungen in den Vorstädten und auf dem Land hatte Ahmadinejad in den vergangenen vier Jahren sein Versprechen einzulösen versucht, die reichlichen Öleinnahmen auf den Mittagstisch der Armen zu bringen. >>> Von Jürg Bischoff, Beirut | Samstag, 13. Juni 2009

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Ahmadinejad Re-election a Blow to U.S.-Arab Allies

DUBAI--Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announced election victory Saturday could deal a blow to Washington's Arab allies, who have been alarmed by Iran's regional ambitions and hoped his ouster might moderate them.

Officials in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and U.S.-allied Persian Gulf sheikdoms followed the elections in nearby Iran closely. Many have maintained cordial relations with Mr. Ahmadinejad. But tensions between Arab capitals and Tehran have escalated because of Iran's nuclear program and its sponsorship of proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

Friday's election had offered some hope that, should Mr. Ahmadinejad lose, rapprochement with Iran on a number of issues--from territorial disputes to business and trade ties--might be easier.

Mr. Ahmadinejad's biggest challenger, former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, had criticized some of Mr. Ahmadinejad's foreign policy as adventurism on the campaign trail.

U.S. officials and those across the Arab world saw Mr. Mousavi, a sober, experienced statesman, as an attractive alternative to the erratic anti-American firebrand president.

"The continuation of Ahmadinejad certainly poses challenges for the U.S. and the Gulf states," said Hady Amr, director of the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. Still, he said, Gulf officials--however hopeful--have been braced for his election victory. >>> By Chip Cummins | Saturday, June 13, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Iran Elections Commentary: Dreams of Change Turn to Dust

In the mass election rallies of the last few weeks, countless young Iranians have dared to hope that real political change was possible. Those dreams have turned to dust with remarkable speed.

An Iranian woman argues with members of a group protesting against the Presidential elections in Iran. Photo: The Telegraph
The announcement that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has won re-election with about 63 per cent of the vote sends an unmistakable message: the leaders of the Islamic Republic will not bow to the verdict of the ballot box.

The official result of this contest lacks any credibility. One consistent thread has run through every Iranian election, without a single exception, since the victory of Mohammed Khatami, a liberal cleric, in the presidential polls of 1997: high turnouts favour reformist candidates, low participation rates help the hardliners.

No-one disputes that turnout in this election was extremely high, with the authorities suggesting it may have exceeded 80 per cent. But the same officials are asking Iranians to believe that, for the first time in their electoral history, a massive voter response has delivered a convincing victory for a hardline candidate.

Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the former prime minister who was Mr Ahmadinejad's leading challenger, has already said that he cannot believe that all past experience of Iranian elections has suddenly been turned upside down.

Shortly after the results were announced, Mr Mousavi denounced the entire process. "I will not surrender to this dangerous charade," he said. "The result of such performance by some officials will jeopardise the pillars of the Islamic Republic and will establish tyranny."

In the past, the regime has manipulated elections by preventing reformers from standing – a method used to particular effect in the parliamentary polls of 2004, when thousands of candidates were disqualified en masse.

But allowing a contender to stand, only to announce an utterly incredible result, is without precedent in a presidential election.
The central question is how Mr Mousavi might respond. He has already signalled that he will not quietly accept the outcome, but he has only two options, both fraught with risk. >>> By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor | Saturday, June 13, 2009

Iran: confusion autour du vainqueur
LE FIGARO: Imbroglio vendredi soir autour des résultats à l'élection présidentielle. Le président sortant, l'ultraconservateur Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a remporté la présidentielle de vendredi en Iran, a annoncé l'agence officielle Irna, quelques minutes après que son principal rival, Mir Hossein Moussavi, eut revendiqué la victoire.



"Sur la base des informations réunies par Irna, le Dr Ahmadinejad a obtenu la majorité des voix et il devance de loin Mir Hossein Moussavi," a dit l'agence.
Quelques minutes auparavant, M. Moussavi, un conservateur modéré présenté comme le principal adversaire de M. Ahmadinejad, avait revendiqué une large victoire, dans un communiqué lu à la presse.



"Conformément aux informations que nous avons obtenues, je suis le vainqueur de cette élection avec une marge importante", avait déclaré M. Moussavi.
"Mir Hossein Moussavi a obtenu 65% des voix", avait clamé peu auparavant auprès de l'AFP un de ses proches collaborateurs, Ali Akbar Mohatshemi-Pour. [Source: LeFigaro.fr] AFP | Vendredi 12 Juin 2009

Iran Demonstrators Aim to See Off Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 'Empire of Lies'
Young female voters are hoping for an end to the repressive presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: It was open insurrection, a rebellion of a sort seldom seen in the 30-year history of the Islamic Republic, an eruption of pent-up rage against the repressive Government of President Ahmadinejad.

“Death to the Government,” chanted the several thousand Iranians packed into a football stadium in Tehran. “Death to dictators,” roared the young men and women, draped in green shirts, ribbons, bandanas and headscarves to signal their support for Mir Hossein Mousavi. “Bye-bye Ahmadi,” they sang as they waved a sea of banners for the man who hopes to topple Mr Ahmadinejad in the presidential election on Friday. “Don’t rig the election,” they added for good measure.

Women have suffered particularly badly under Mr Ahmadinejad, and twentysomethings sporting sunglasses, make-up and dyed hair beneath their mandatory headscarves shouted themselves hoarse as speaker after speaker promised an end to repression, despair and the “empire of lies”.

“I feel danger every second I’m on the street because of the morality police,” an arts student called Nina said. As she was speaking another young woman way back in the mêlée scribbled a note and passed it forward. “We need freedom. We want big change. We don’t want liar government,” it declared.

Men and women scaled the floodlight pylons for a better view. Hundreds more crammed on to a nearby overpass. Astonishingly there was not a policeman or basij (Islamic vigilante) in sight, further evidence of how the regime seems to have relaxed — or lost — its grip in the final days of an election far more competitive than anyone had expected.

The biggest roar of the afternoon was reserved for the main speaker, Zahra Rahnavard, Mr Mousavi’s wife. “You’re here because you don’t want any more dictatorship,” she declared. “You’re here because you hate fanaticism, because you dream of a free Iran, because you dream of a peaceful relationship with the rest of the world.” The candidate himself was nowhere to be seen, but that hardly mattered because the crowd was inspired by a hatred of Mr Ahmadinejad rather than a love for Mr Mousavi.

To anyone arriving in Tehran this week it would be easy to assume that Mr Mousavi was an Iranian Barack Obama. The capital appears convulsed by Mousavimania. It is festooned with posters of his bearded face. Fanatical supporters career around the city in their cars, honking their horns and shouting slogans. >>> Martin Fletcher in Tehran | Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Zahra Rahnavard Demands Apology from Iran’s President Ahmadinejad
Zahra Rahnavard. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMES ONLINE: A diminutive 64-year-old grandmother who refuses to be bound by the rigid constraints imposed on women in Iran proved more than a match for the President of the Islamic Republic yesterday.

Zahra Rahnavard had already broken all precedent by actively campaigning for her husband, Mir Hossein Mousavi, a relative moderate who is President Ahmadinejad’s strongest challenger in Friday’s presidential election. Yesterday she went a step further by summoning the domestic and international media to a press conference at which she tore into the President for lying, humiliating women, debasing his office and betraying the principles of the revolution.

What sparked her fury was Mr Ahmadinejad’s televised debate with her husband last week in which he challenged Dr Rahnavard’s considerable academic qualifications, suggesting that they were earned not on merit, but through the patronage of a corrupt political elite.

“He wanted to destroy his rival through lies,” she declared in a 90-minute finger-wagging tour de force, and she vowed to sue the President if he did not issue a public apology within 24 hours.

It was a more forceful attack than any of Mr Ahmadinejad’s three male challengers have managed, and would have been remarkable in any election, let alone in male-dominated Iran. It also injected more uncertainty into a race that already has an outcome impossible to call. Dr Rahnavard’s boldness is likely to enrage conservatives, but should delight the women and young urban Iranians who must vote in great numbers if Mr Mousavi is to unseat the incumbent.

Dr Rahnavard offered further inducements. She promised that her husband, if elected, would appoint women to Cabinet posts for the first time, and name many female deputy ministers and ambassadors. He would end discrimination and ensure that women were no longer treated as second-class citizens. He would release women’s rights activists from prison and abolish the “morality police” who, during Mr Ahmadinejad’s first term, cracked down on women deemed to be dressed inappropriately. She even suggested that women should not be forced to cover their heads. >>> Martin Fletcher in Tehran | Monday, June 08, 2009

Iran's Presidential Candidate Seeks Votes by Campaigning with Wife
THE TELEGRAPH: If his performance in the television studios is anything to go by, Mir-Hossein Mousavi is scarcely the obvious choice to oust President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and bring Iran back in from the cold.

Iranian presidential candidate Mir-Hussein Mousavi and his wife Zaghra Rahnavard on a campaign rally in the north western Iranian city of Tabriz. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
A former hardliner, whose plodding style evokes comparisons from John Major to Leonid Brezhnev, he is as much a blast from Iran's revolutionary past as a breath of fresh reformist air.

Yet the bespectacled 67-year-old, who was Iran's prime minister during its revolutionary heyday in the 1980s, has come out of retirement in an attempt to end what he describes as Mr Ahmadinejad's "disgraceful" presidency.

And in his bid to convince voters that he himself is now an agent of change, he has deployed a weapon no Iranian politician has dared use before. He is the first Iranian politician in 30 years to campaign with his wife alongside him - a bold nod to equality that has given credibility to his pledges to take Iran down the liberal, pro-Western route that Mr Ahmadinejad rejects.

True, Mr Mousavi's partner, Zahra Rahnavard, a grandmother, painter and ex-university chancellor, is no Michelle Obama. While the US president's wife raises eyebrows with dresses that show her bare arms, Ms Rahnavard, 61, sticks to the chador, the all-encompassing charcoal cloak that has long symbolised Islamc [sic] conservatism.

But that has not stopped supporters hailing her as Iran's first-ever "First Lady", and on the campaign trail, her speeches in favour of greater women's rights have stolen the show for her quietly-spoken husband.

"Why are there no women presidential candidates or cabinet ministers?" she asked her audience last week in the city of Tabriz, referring to a political scene still dominated largely by bearded clerics.

"Getting rid of discrimination and demanding equal rights with men is the number one priority for women in Iran."

Thanks to the "Zahra factor", Mr Mousavi is now the strongest of the three challengers to Mr Ahmadinejad in this Friday's poll, which is proving one of the liveliest presidential contests in Iran's post-revolutionary history. Mr Ahmadinejad's bellicosity on the nuclear issue, threats to Israel and quasi-Soviet economic policies has both alienated many of his own hardline followers and galvanised the reformist camp, which suffered in the 2005 elections from disillusionment and apathy.

"In your foreign policy, you have brought shame upon Iran," Mr Mousavi told Mr Ahmadinejad during a televised election head-to-head on Wednesday. "You have created tension with other countries, and heavy costs have been brought on the nation in these four years." >>> By Colin Freeman in Tehran | Saturday, June 06, 2009

THE SUNDAY TIMES: Can Iran’s Young Ring the Changes?

As a crucial election looms, young Iranians are once again standing up against a repressive and brutal regime

Four layers of curtains prevented Havva from ever seeing out of the window of the small apartment in an affluent neighbourhood of central Tehran that she once shared with her husband and young daughter. More importantly, as far as her husband was concerned, the thick folds of material ensured nobody could ever see in to catch sight of her — even though their apartment was on the second floor and overlooked only by a tall willow tree.

Not once in nine years of marriage was Havva allowed to pull those curtains back.

When I ask Havva gently what drove her to finally try to take her own life, she wrings her hands, revealing scars on her wrists. Over a period of four months she made numerous suicide attempts. The first were undoubtedly cries for help. The final time she thought she had ensured success by swallowing 140 tranquillisers and barricading herself in her home. But a last-minute call to a relative to say goodbye raised the alarm. Emergency services broke in, and she was rushed to hospital, where she remained on life support in a coma for several days. “There was no one incident that pushed me to do this, just very heavy pressure for a long time until I understood I couldn’t take it any longer,” says Havva, a strikingly beautiful 31-year-old who asks to be identified only by this pseudonym (meaning “Eve” in Farsi), since she comes from a rich and prominent Iranian family. “All my dreams were destroyed when I married at 17. There was no light, no hope in the way I was forced to live,” she says. She talks in a low voice of how she could never leave the house without her husband’s permission, nor make friends, work or resist him forcing himself on her several times a day. “But it is the traditional way. I thought that was all there was.”

Havva’s experience is far from unusual in modern-day Iran. Despite some advances in women’s rights over the past decade, and the fact that 60% of the country’s university graduates are now female, legally and socially women are still considered far inferior to men. In the words of the lawyer Shirin Ebadi, winner of the Nobel peace prize, “criminal laws adopted after the revolution took away a woman’s human identity and turned her into an incapable and mentally deranged second-class being”.

When Havva refers again to the curtains that she felt symbolised the crushing restrictions imposed on her by her marriage, the apartment feels claustrophobic and suffocating. It’s an all-too-common feeling in Iran today. As the country sits on the cusp of what many regard as the most significant presidential election since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini deposed Reza Shah Pahlavi from his Peacock throne at the start of the Islamic revolution 30 years ago, denouncing westernisation and ordering every woman to cover herself with the chador, there is wide acknowledgment that Iran is sitting on a powder keg of barely suppressed fury at the stifling political, economic and social constraints its citizens have had to endure under the leadership of the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. >>> Christine Toomey | Sunday, June 07, 2009

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Calls Holocaust a "Great Deception"
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the Holocaust a "great deception" on Wednesday, reiterating a view that has been denounced by moderate rivals in this month's election.

The conservative president, quoted by state broadcaster IRIB, made the remark during a speech containing his latest verbal assault on Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognise.

Describing Israel as "the most criminal regime in human history" he went on to refer to the "great deception of the Holocaust".

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday condemned the words as "unacceptable and profoundly shocking". >>> | Wednesday, June 03, 2009

BBC: Iranian Poll Rivals Clash on Live TV

Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been accused of undermining Iran's dignity, in a live TV debate with his main rival 10 days ahead of elections.

Former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi said Mr Ahmadinejad's firebrand style had caused problems for Iran.
It is the first time an Iranian president has taken part in a televised election debate.

The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Tehran, said it was a remarkable, no-holds-barred fight which will have amazed Iranians.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, began by accusing opponents of spreading lies about his government.

Mr Mousavi responded by mocking Mr Ahmadinejad's foreign policy, which he said had undermined the dignity of Iran. He said Iran had been "downgraded" in the eyes of world by President Ahmadinejad's firebrand style and statements.

He also criticised the government for repressing student protests.

Mr Ahmadinejad countered by criticising Mr Mousavi's wife for campaigning on his behalf, and he accused her of not having the right qualifications for her post as a university professor.

Our correspondent says it is hard to say which candidate won the debate, but it has brought the election alive. >>> | Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Iran's Ahmadinejad Reaches Out to Obama
BBC: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says if he is re-elected next month he wants to have a face-to-face meeting with US President Barack Obama.

Ahmadinejad says he wants to discuss global issues with world leaders. Photo courtesy of the BBC
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he wanted to debate global issues with Barack Obama at the new UN session in September.

But he added that Iran would not discuss its nuclear programme outside the framework of the UN nuclear agency's regulations.

In March, Mr Obama said he was seeking engagement with Iran.

Global issues

Speaking to foreign journalists, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran would never abandon its advances in uranium enrichment in exchange for western offers to ease sanctions or other economic incentives.

The nuclear issue "is closed", he told a press conference in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

So Mr Obama's hopes for a new and constructive dialogue with Iran on the nuclear issue look as far away as ever, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran. >>> | Monday, May 25, 2009

Ahmadinejad ist für die Araber kein Held: Viele trennen zwischen Rassismus und Antisemitismus
NZZ Online: Die arabischen Reaktionen auf die Rede von Ahmadinejad in Genf sind verhalten. Den Zwiespalt zwischen der Abneigung gegen den iranischen Präsidenten und der Sympathie für die Palästinenser wollen die Araber schweigend aussitzen.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Bild dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
ber. Kairo, 21. April

Die arabische Presse hat kaum auf die israelfeindliche Rede des iranischen Präsidenten Ahmadinejad bei der Uno-Konferenz gegen Rassismus in Genf reagiert. Ahmadinejad ist praktisch das einzige hohe Regierungsmitglied aus den Staaten des Nahen Ostens an der Uno-Konferenz. Die meisten übrigen schickten zweitrangige Delegationen. Zwar verliessen diese den Saal bei Ahmadinejads Rede nicht, doch echte Begeisterung zeigten nur die Iraner. In Iran selbst bewies die Presse am Dienstag, dass sich an Ahmadinejads Rede die Geister scheiden. Konservative Blätter nannten den Präsidenten mutig, doch Reformisten kritisierten ihn. >>> NZZ | Dienstag, 22. April 2009

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Iran Is 'Guarantor' of Mid East Security
THE TELEGRAPH: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that Iran is the 'guarantor' of security in the Middle East as his armed forces paraded in Tehran.

Iranian snipers in full camouflage take part in the Army Day parade in Tehran. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Speaking on Iran's Army Day, which featured a parade in the capital including the arresting sight of snipers turned out in full camouflage, Mr Ahmadinejad claimed: "Iran's armed forces are the guarantor of security in the region.

"Today the Iranian nation, with its religious armed forces, is ready to have a wide role in world management and to establish security based on justice across the world.

"The world should know that Iran is a nation of ideals and supports peace and security based on justice for all nations." >>> By The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff and Agencies in Tehran | Saturday, April 18, 2009

L'Iran se dit prêt au dialogue
 avec Washington
Le président iranien Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a affirmé que l'Iran est prêt au dialogue avec les Etats-Unis mais dans «l'égalité» et «le respect mutuel».

«Le peuple iranien est prêt au dialogue mais dans un climat d'égalité et de respect mutuel.» Après la Russie ce week-end, c'est au tour de l'Iran de faire un geste d'apaisement dans les relations diplomatiques avec les Etats-Unis. Devant des dizaines de milliers de personnes rassemblées mardi pour le 30e anniversaire de la révolution islamique, le président iranien Mahmoud Ahmadinejad s'est dit favorable à une détente diplomatique entre les deux pays.

«Le nouveau gouvernement américain a déclaré qu'il voulait le changement et entamer le chemin du dialogue mais le changement réel doit être fondamental et non tactique», a-t-il prévenu. Le monde ne désire pas la répétition de la période noire de Bush (...) Si certains cherchent à répéter son expérience même avec des méthodes nouvelles, ils doivent savoir que leur destin sera encore pire que celui de Bush.»

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad répond ainsi au président américain Barack Obama, lequel avait émis l'espoir lundi de créer «dans les prochains mois» des «ouvertures» entre les Etats-Unis et l'Iran qui permettront «de s'asseoir à une table, face à face». «Je pense qu'il y a la possibilité, au moins, d'une relation de respect mutuel», avait-il estimé, même si «cela ne va pas se faire du jour au lendemain». « L'Iran est devenu une grande puissance», clame Ahmadinejad >>> | Mardi 10 Février 2009

WELT ONLINE:
Ahmadinedschad ist bereit für Dialog mit den USA: Irans Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad hat sich zu Gesprächen mit der neuen US-Regierung bereit erklärt. Dafür müsse es allerdings grundsätzliche Veränderungen geben, sagte der Präsident bei den Feiern zum 30-jährigen Bestehen der Islamischen Republik. Bush gehöre vor Gericht gestellt. >>>

TIMES ONLINE: Bullying Era of George W. Bush Is Over, Let the Age of Dialogue Begin, Says Iran

Thirty years after the Islamic Revolution that brought an end to its cosy relationship with the West and began an era of ideological confrontation, Iran's hardline President unclenched his nation's fist yesterday and opened the door for dialogue.

Speaking in front of crowds baying “Death to America” and banners denouncing “The Great Satan”, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told America that Iran was “ready for a dialogue in a climate of equality and mutual respect”.

“The Iranian nation will welcome true changes,” he told crowds of more than a million at Azadi Square in Tehran. “It is clear that the change must be fundamental and not tactical. The era of bullying is over and the era of dialogue has started.”

The remarks were the most positive yet from the Iranian President since Barack Obama stated after his inauguration that “if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us”. >>> Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent | Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Relié) >>>

‘Jimmy Carter’ Tag Has Obama Wincing
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Republicans are fighting back by branding the president as naive abroad and wasteful at home, like one of his party’s predecessors

LESS than two weeks into his administration, President Barack Obama is being portrayed by opponents as a new Jimmy Carter - weak at home and naive abroad - in an attempt to dim his post-election glow and ensure that he serves only one term.

The charge has stung because it was made privately by Hillary Clinton supporters during a hard-fought primary campaign and plays to fears about Obama’s inexperience.

He is engaged in early trials of strength with Republicans in Washington and critics of the United States around the world – not least Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president. Obama faces battles to talk Wall Street into giving up its addiction to large bonuses and US banks to start lending again.

“Barack Obama thinks he can charm his adversaries into changing their ways but his personality can’t change the dynamics,” said Tom Edmonds, a Republican consultant. >>> Sarah Baxter, Washington | Sunday, February 1, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>