Is Iran’s Mullocracy on Its Last Legs?
TIMES ONLINE: As protesters marched through the thoroughfares of Tehran, much of the city went on an unofficial strike today. Shops opened their shutters only halfway, in defiance of the vote.

Four days after Mr Ahmadinejad claimed re-election, the powerful Guardian Council offered a partial recount of disputed ballot boxes in response to complaints of massive electoral fraud.

The move by the clerics on the country's highest legislative body appeared to be the first concession to the opposition after hundreds of thousands joined anti-government protests in recent days.

But many saw it as a ploy by the mullahs to buy time before their formal endorsement of Mr Ahmadinejad's victory. Mr Mousavi had asked the council of clerics to annul the election and re-run it, but they rejected that demand as impossible.

At least seven civilians were killed when members of the Basiji militia, a force of young Islamic hardliners, started shooting when their post came under attack during yesterday's mass rally.

State radio said that the building came under attack at the end of what it called an "illegal" demonstration.

"Some thugs in an organised and coordinated action attacked and vandalised a number of public and government buildings," it reported. "A military post was attacked with the intention of looting its weapons. Unfortunately, seven of our citizens were killed and a number of them injured."

The death toll may actually have been higher. A nurse at western Tehran’s Rasoul Akram hospital said that 28 people with "bullet wounds" had been brought in last night, of whom eight had died.

Mr Ahmadinejad showed his contempt for the protests by visiting the Russian city of Yekaterinburg for a regional summit, where his re-election was effectively endorsed not just by his hosts but other nations attending, including China, India and Pakistan. Iranians Suspicious of Recount Offer as Tehran Goes on Unofficial Strike >>> Philippe Naughton, and Tony Halpin in Yekaterinburg | Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The Beginning of the End?
YNET NEWS: Young Iranians may topple Ayatollah regime in wake of elections fiasco

Upon the publication of the official results of the Iranian presidential elections in 2009, which showed incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the clear winner, regime rivals including the government of Israel can be satisfied.

Ahmadinejad’s victory, which most people believe was apparently achieved via a well-oiled machine of fraud, threats, the deployment of armed forces, closure of rival headquarters, and disconnected cellular phones, may mark the beginning of the end of the Ayatollah regime. This regime was established by the Ayatollah Khomeini 30 years ago, in 1979, after he led a revolution that toppled the Shah and the Pahlavi dynasty.

During the past 30 years, Islamic regime leaders made sure not to repeat the grave mistakes made by the previous regime. As they took advantage of the Shah’s mistakes in order to topple him, Islamic leaders knew precisely which errors to avoid. However, in the latest presidential elections they revived the well-known dictum that we are doomed to repeat our mistakes.

On several occasions during his rule, the Shah was accused of forging election results; large strata of society believed these charges and this laid the groundwork for the popular revolution against him in 1978-79.

Yet on Friday it was the Islamic regime which so blatantly forged the results of the Iranian presidential elections. >>> Soli Shahvar | Sunday, June 14, 2009