Third March Planned in Iran as Reformists Are Arrested
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran's opposition movement has called for a third major public rally in Tehran as pressure builds on the Islamic regime over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's fiercely-contested re-election.

Mobile phone footage of Iran protests
Grappling with the biggest wave of public anger since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has lashed out at enemy "plots," hauling in foreign ambassadors, rounding up scores of reformists and clamping down on the media.

World governments voiced increasing alarm about the situation in Iran, but US President Barack Obama, while raising "deep concerns" over the election, said Washington would not interfere in the affairs of the country.

Supporters of defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has accused the regime of vote-rigging, said they have called another rally in Tehran this afternoon, despite a ban on such gatherings.

Reformists also reported that another two prominent academics and journalists had been arrested by the authorities. Hamid Reza Jalaipour, a sociologist and Mousavi campaigner, and Saeed Laylaz, a political and economist analyst, were both arrested at home[d].

Iran's most powerful military force has also warned online media of a crackdown over their coverage of the country's election crisis.

The Revolutionary Guards, an elite body answering to the supreme leader, says Iranian websites and bloggers must remove any materials that "create tension" or face legal action. >>> | Wednesday, June 17, 2009

TIMES ONLINE: Mousavi Issues Direct Challenge with Rally Call over 'Shameful Fraud' in Iran

Iran's defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi issued a direct challenge to the country’s clerical regime today, calling for a mass rally to protest against the "shameful fraud" that saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected by a landslide.

Mr Mousavi's appeal to supporters, issued via his website, flew in the face of a declaration last night by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, that the former prime minister should pursue his objectives through the electoral system and not on the streets.

It also came despite a demand from the powerful Revolutionary Guard that websites and bloggers should remove any materials that "create tension". >>> Phillipe Naughton | Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Mir Hossein Mousavi’s Website (میرحسین موسوی خامنه) >>>

YOUTUBE: Protest Against ‘Fake’ Elections (June 13, 2009)

Iranians in France Protest Vote in Iran
Protest in France >>> | June 14, 2009

Shah's Son Sees Iran Protests as Threat to Regime
REZA PAHLAVI (رضا پهلوی): WASHINGTON - The growing street protests over Iran's disputed presidential election mark the biggest threat to its ruling clerics since they took power in 1979 with the U.S.-backed shah's fall, the shah's son said on Tuesday.

Reza Pahlavi, the former crown prince of Iran who now lives in the United States, said the protests almost have reached the level of a revolution that could usher in major reforms.

"It is clear that the genie is out of the bottle," Pahlavi, 48, said in an interview with Reuters Television.

But he declined to predict whether the end result would be the toppling of the political leadership of Shi'ite Muslim clerics installed after his father lost power.

"Today, the people are, in reality, challenging the whole system," added Pahlavi, who describes himself as an advocate for democracy and human rights in Iran.

He said he does not believe the protests are only over the disputed election, but reflect a widespread desire for reform and more freedoms three decades after the revolution.

Supporters of Iran's defeated presidential candidate, Mirhossein Mousavi, have taken to the streets to dispute the outcome of last week's election in which hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the runaway winner. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei favored Ahmadinejad.

"Today, especially the younger generation has had it. They are risking their lives in the streets of Iran to demonstrate to the regime that they are not going to take it any more. But (they are) also telling the whole world, 'Hey, what are you going to do? Are you going to finally side with us, or are you continuing to focus only on the regime?'" he added. >>> By Will Dunham, Reuters | Tuesday, June 16, 2009

New Media Empowers Iran Opposition
YNET NEWS: On Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and via text messages: An inside look on how the Iranian political struggle is really being fought

The name Ahmed Maher may not mean much to the average Iranian, but there is a direct link between the 25-year-old Egyptian engineer and the events of the last 48 hours in Iran. Maher was one of the organizers of the 80,000 people-strong rally in Cairo last April that also became know as "the bread riots." This protest was organized mainly through Facebook.

In Iran, where Facebook has been blocked for two weeks, it was Twitter. Anyone following the recent elections in Iran and the clashes that ensued could not overlook the central role the internet and the new media played in the events, especially at the hands of the opposition.

In an interview to al-Jazeera, Saeed Shariati, one of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's reformist opponents, said: "For us the internet is like the air force in a military operation. It bombards the enemy's outposts and lays the ground for the invasion of the infantries – our activists, to win the battle."

By this time Shariati has most likely been locked up and silenced.

But nevertheless, it is impossible to keep everyone quiet, especially given the fact that about half of the 46 million voters in the Iranian elections were under the age of 30, the age group that comprises the majority of internet users in a country where the technology's penetration rate has already reached, by some estimates, to 34%.

110 million text messages a day

The Iranian authorities didn't take any chances: Ahead of the elections any website that was deemed likely to jeopardize the regime – from Facebook to Ynetnews – has been blocked. The opponents then turned to another effective mass media tool: The text message, which allowed them to organize rallies supporting the opposition and to update their Twitter accounts, in which they told the world of the developments taking place behind the Persian iron curtain.

However, the government quickly blocked this channel of communication as well, after more than 110 million text messages had been sent on a daily basis in the days preceding the vote.

This was when Twitter, the hottest update service in the Western hemisphere, was recruited for a more noble purpose: Protecting freedom of speech and freedom of choice.

Iranians who own smartphones (like Israelis, the Iranians are big technology buffs), or surfers using services that bypass the blocking imposed on internet providers, continued to use Twitter to organize mass protests against what was later perceived as election fraud by the regime.

Iranian web activists have also managed to develop Twitter navigation tools like the twazzup website, which concentrates all Iran-relevant updates according to categories. >>> Niv Lilien, Nir Boms | Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Niv Lilien, editor-in-chief of Ynet's Computers and Internet channel

Nir Boms, vice president of the Center for Freedom in the Middle East


Tehran live >>>

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Warns Online Media
YNET NEWS: As opposition protest continues in post-election Iran, Revolutionary Guard announces websites and bloggers must remove any materials that 'create tension' or face legal action

Iran's opposition announced a third day of street demonstrations Wednesday as the country's most powerful military force warned of a crackdown against online media in its first pronouncement on the deepening election crisis.

Blogs and websites such as Facebook and Twitter have been vital conduits for Iranians to inform the world about protests over Friday's disputed election.

The web became more essential after the government barred foreign media Tuesday from leaving their offices to report on demonstrations on the streets of Tehran.

The Revolutionary Guard, an elite military force answering to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said through the state news service that Iranian websites and bloggers must remove any materials that "create tension" or face legal action.

The Guards are a separate military with enormous domestic influence and control of Iran's most important defense programs. They are one of the key sources of power for a cleric-led establishment that has been pushed by the crisis into an extraordinary public defense of the Islamic ruling system. >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Stomach Butterflies, Cold Feet, and Chicken
This would be America’s chance of helping the youth of Iran to break their corrupt, stifling régime. The young of Iran are crying out for freedom; and they are crying out for help, too. Obama could help them find their freedom; and he could also respond to their cries for help. The weaknesses of the Iranian political system, weaknesses in the régime which are so self-evident, could be exploited. After all, it would be better to be rid of the mullocracy than have to go to war with a nuclearized regional power at a later date. But what does Obama do? He chickens out. How are his feet? Cold. What’s the state of his stomach? Fluttery.

Is this the kind of change we were supposed to believe in? – ©Mark

Obama does not want to ‘meddle’ in Iran’s election

Kommentar: Gegen Twitter & Co. kommen die Mullahs nicht an
WELT ONLINE: Das Regime im Iran tut sein Möglichstes, um die Welt vom Geschehen im Land auszuschließen. Doch das Internet können die Mullahs nicht aussperren. Über Twitter und andere Plattformen verbreitet sich die Aufruf zum Widerstand im Land und jenseits der Grenzen. Das weckt Erinnerungen an die Revolution von 1979.

Auch wenn sie durch Wahlen leidlich legitimiert sind: Diktaturen haben stets den Hang, den freien Fluss der Meinungen zu unterbinden. Spätestens dann, wenn es für sie gefährlich wird. Einiges weist darauf hin, dass das komplexe Regime des Iran diesen Punkt erreicht haben könnte.

So rätselhaft das triumphale Abschneiden von Präsident Ahmadinedschad schon im ersten Wahlgang war, so überraschend war die Wucht des Protestes, der auf den Straßen Teherans losbrach.

Dass nun der Wächterrat eine teilweise Nachzählung der Wahlergebnisse angeordnet hat, ist ebenso ein Beweis für die Not der Machthaber wie der Umstand, dass die ausländischen Medien fortan nicht mehr über die anhaltenden Proteste berichten dürfen.

Solche Nervosität war dem Regime bisher fremd. Doch was in China während der Olympischen Spiele im vergangenen Jahr noch mühelos gelang, gelingt dem Mullah-Regime nun nicht mehr. >>> Von Thomas Schmid | Dienstag, 16. Juni 2009

Teheran: Regime-Gegner im Iran wollen weiter demonstrieren
WELT ONLINE: Am dritten Tag in Folge wollen Iranische Oppositionelle das Demonstrationsverbot brechen und ihre Proteste gegen den Ausgang der Präsidentenwahl fortsetzen. Per SMS riefen Anhänger des unterlegenen Kandidaten Mir Hussein Mussawi dazu auf, sich zu einer Kundgebung im Zentrum von Teheran zu versammeln.

Anhänger des iranischen Oppositionsführers Mir Hussein Mussawi wollen ihre Proteste gegen das Ergebnis der Präsidentenwahl auch heute fortsetzen. Erneut kündigten sie Kundgebungen im Zentrum der iranischen Hauptstadt an, um gegen die nach ihrer Meinung manipulierte Wiederwahl von Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad zu demonstrieren. Trotz Polizeigewalt und Unterdrückung einer unabhängigen Berichterstattung waren auch am Dienstag wieder Zehntausende im Norden Teherans friedlich gegen Ahmadinedschad auf die Straße gegangen. >>> dpa/Reuters/AFP/ks | Mittwoch, 17. Juni 2009

Recount Set as Iran Seethes
Protests in Tehran by supporters of defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi turned violent late Tuesday. Photo: The Wall Street Journal
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: TEHRAN -- Pro-government and opposition demonstrators poured into the streets of Iran's capital Tuesday for a fourth day of sometimes-violent rallies, as the country's religious leaders agreed to a partial recount of Friday's disputed presidential vote.

Amid the unrest, and more shooting by government-backed militia, authorities arrested prominent opposition leaders and clamped down on media covering the crisis. The demonstrations came hours after state media reported the top religious oversight council would examine Friday's vote, which saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad trounce opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and two other challengers.

The plan by the Guardian Council for a targeted recount -- aimed at specific voting sites where fraud was alleged -- is the first direct action by authorities to address claims of irregularities by rivals of Mr. Ahmadinejad. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on state matters, said Monday he asked the Guardian Council to look into those allegations.

Such a recount appears to be unprecedented, and it wasn't immediately clear when it would begin, or how many voting sites would be included.

Mr. Mousavi and the other two candidates announced the recount wouldn't be acceptable to them. Representatives of the three candidates had met with the spokesperson of the Guardian Council on Tuesday morning and asked that the results be annulled and new elections be held. Alternatively, they asked that an independent committee, made of up of clerics, lawmakers and experts, review the charges of vote rigging.

"After these elections the public no longer trusts the Interior Ministry or the Guardian Council, therefore they can't trust their vote recounts, either," said cleric Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, a spokesman for Mr. Mousavi's camp.

Mr. Khamenei called for national unity, and was quoted on state television saying, "In the elections, voters had different tendencies, but they equally believe in the ruling system and support the Islamic Republic." >>> By Farnaz Fassihi | Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Iran Bans Rally Coverage
Iran's government has banned foreign journalists from covering election rallies

Robert Fisk: Fear Has Gone in a Land That Has Tasted Freedom
THE INDEPENDENT: In defiance of the ban on foreign reporters, The Independent's Middle East correspondent ventures out to witness an extraordinary stand-off on the streets of Tehran

The fate of Iran rested last night in a grubby north Tehran highway interchange called Vanak Square where – after days of violence – supporters of the official President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at last confronted the screaming, angry Iranians who have decided that Mirhossein Mousavi should be the president of their country. Unbelievably – and I am a witness because I stood beside them – just 400 Iranian special forces police were keeping these two armies apart. There were stones and tear gas but for the first time in this epic crisis the cops promised to protect both sides.

"Please, please, keep the Basiji from us," one middle-aged lady pleaded with a special forces officer in flak jacket and helmet as the Islamic Republic's thug-like militia appeared in their camouflage trousers and purity-white shirts only a few metres away. The cop smiled at her. "With God's help," he said. Two other policemen were lifted shoulder-high. "Tashakor, tashakor," – "thank you, thank you" – the crowd roared at them.

This was phenomenal. The armed special forces of the Islamic Republic, hitherto always allies of the Basiji, were prepared for once, it seemed, to protect all Iranians, not just Ahmadinejad's henchmen. The precedent for this sudden neutrality is known to everyone – it was when the Shah's army refused to fire on the millions of demonstrators demanding his overthrow in 1979.

Yet this is not a revolution to overthrow the Islamic Republic. Both sets of demonstrators were shouting "Allahu Akbar" – "God is Great" – at Vanak Square last night. But if the Iranian security forces are now taking the middle ground, then Ahmadinejad is truly in trouble. >>> Robert Fisk | Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Lesbian Albatrosses and Bisexual Bonobos Have Last Laugh on Darwin
A Laysan albatross grooms his mate. Females often form same-sex pairings to raise their chicks co-operatively. Photo: TimesOnline
TIMES ONLINE: Charles Darwin argued that sexual preferences can shape the progress of evolution, creating displays, such as the peacock’s tail, that are inexplicable by natural selection alone.

It’s safe to say, however, that he did not anticipate the lesbian albatrosses of Hawaii. Nor bisexual bonobos. Let alone sadomasochistic bat bugs or the gay penguins of New York.

Homosexuality is so widespread among some animal species that it can reshape their social dynamics and even change their DNA, according to the first peer-reviewed survey of research on the subject.

From mammals to snails, and even nematode worms, homosexual behaviour is almost universal across the animal kingdom, and Californian scientists argue that it should be considered a selective force in its own right.

“The variety and ubiquity of same-sex sexual behaviour in animals is impressive — many thousands of instances of same-sex courtship, pair bonding and copulation have been observed in a wide range of species, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, molluscs and nematodes,” write Nathan Bailey and Marlene Zuk of the University of California, Riverside. >>> Chris Smyth | Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Iran: A Nation of Bloggers

IRAN: A Nation Of Bloggers from ayrakus on Vimeo.

Injuries at Monday's Tehran Rally

BBC: Police on Bikes Charge Protesters

Iran: Behörden reagieren mit voller Härte auf Proteste
WELT ONLINE: Die Gegner des iranischen Regimes geben nicht auf. Erneut gehen zehntausende Menschen auf die Straßen. Die Regierung reagiert mit einem großen Polizeiaufgebot und scharfer Zensur: Ausländische Medien können kaum noch frei berichten. Zudem organisierten die Behörden eine Demonstration von Ahmadinedschad-Anhängern.

Bild: Welt Online
Irans Führung begegnet den ungebrochenen Protesten gegen Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad mit Polizei-Gewalt und Unterdrückung einer unabhängigen Berichterstattung. Auch am Dienstag trafen sich zehntausende Anhänger der Opposition um Mir Hussein Mussawi in der Hauptstadt Teheran und anderen Städten, um gegen die zweifelhafte Wiederwahl Ahmadinedschads zu demonstrieren.

Dabei hatte Mussawis selbst die Menschen aufgefordert, die Proteste zu beenden und nicht ihr Leben zu riskieren. Er und seine Anhänger werden dem amtierenden Präsidenten Mahmud Ahmadinedschad massiven Wahlbetrug vor.

In Teherans Straßen stand ein massives Polizeiaufgebot bereit. Mitarbeitern ausländischer Medien war untersagt, über nicht autorisierte Kundgebungen zu berichten. Mindestens sieben Menschen sollen bereits am Montag bei Protesten getötet worden sein.

Viele Gegner Ahmadinedschads trugen nach Angaben von Augenzeugen schwarz als Zeichen der Trauer. Ziel des zwei Kilometer langen Zuges war offensichtlich das Gebäude des staatlichen Fernsehsenders IRIB. Dieser gilt als wichtiger Propagandakanal Ahmadinedschads. Mussawi forderte von dem Sender Redezeit. >>> AP/dpa/cn | Dienstag, 16. Juni 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

From Iran to the World
Watch Guardian video: Shocking pictures are emerging from inside Iran as people caught up in the violence post images on social networking sites. Warning: disturbing content >>> Source: YouTube & Twitter | Tuesday, June 16, 2009

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

Iran: The Brutal Side of Theocracy
Photo: The Boston Globe

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