ahmadinejad – Page 6 – 4VF News

Iran: A Showdown at Friday Prayers?

Friday’s weekly Friday prayer service at Tehran University will do a lot more than honor the onset of the Muslim sabbath. The country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, plans to lead the service himself — and he has publicly requested the attendance of all the main players in the political drama that has roiled Iran since last Friday’s disputed election. Reports on Thursday suggested that opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi encouraged his supporters to attend the event, but overnight word circulated that he and reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi had urged their followers to stay away, although the authenticity of those claims could not be verified.

Analysis: Iran’s conservative leadership divided amid unrest

There are signs that the ongoing protests against last week’s presidential election results may be starting to divide Iran’s conservative leadership. Iran’s influential parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani on Thursday blamed the Interior Ministry for a bloody crackdown on civilians, including students at Tehran University, after Monday’s protests

Iran 101: Understanding the unrest

For almost a week, tens of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in daily protests — handkerchiefs shielding their faces from the pungency of tear gas, fists punching the air, and chants of "Down with the dictator" echoing against buildings. The massive outpouring is a result of a disputed presidential election that the protesters think coronated the incumbent hard-liner, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, over their candidate, Mir Hossain Moussavi

Moussavi calls for day of mourning in Tehran’s streets

Supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi planned to turn Tehran into a sea of black Thursday when thousands of them march, dressed in dark clothes, to mourn comrades killed or wounded while calling for a new presidential election. Demonstrators expected to start their rallies from mosques across the Iranian capital, converging in a city square Thursday afternoon, for what is expected to be one of the largest protests since last Friday’s disputed election

Iranian-Americans protest in D.C.

Iranian-Americans demonstrated on the streets of Washington on Wednesday evening, marching from Iranian diplomatic offices to the Russian embassy, in protest of both governments’ actions.

The End Game in Iran: Four Ways the Crisis May Resolve

Some observers see Iran’s courageous protests against a stolen election as a replay of the 1979 revolution that ended the tyranny of the Shah — or of the “velvet revolutions” that ended communism in Eastern Europe.

Witnesses describe violence in Iran as protesters stand firm

Defying threats of arrest or worse, witnesses to protests in Iran are managing to leak reports of violence after the country’s disputed presidential elections. “Censoring is very bad here and they have reduced Internet speed,” two Iranians said to a friend outside the country. The pair wanted to broadcast images of damage and casualties after a reported attack on a dorm at the University of Tehran

Soccer Protest: Iran Players Show Support for Mousavi

The history of sport is littered with symbolic political gestures, but few have been as brave as the stand taken by some players on Iran’s national soccer team on June 17. In a World Cup qualifying match in South Korea, at least eight Iranian players wore green wristbands in a defiant show of support for opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi, including team captain Mohammed Ali Karimi. Green, the campaign color of Mousavi, has been worn by his supporters during rallies in Tehran both before and after last week’s presidential election.

Thousands rally in Iran; foreign coverage restricted

As thousands took to the streets again on Tuesday, Iran’s government banned international journalists from covering rallies and blocked access to some online communication tools in the wake of last week’s disputed presidential election. Reporters working for international news outlets, including CNN, could talk about the rallies in their live reports but were not allowed to leave their hotel rooms and offices.

Who’s Fighting Who in Iran’s Struggle?

We’re told that a young and restless Facebook generation has arisen in Iran, text-messaging and Twittering away at the fabric of a conservative clerical rule that it is no longer willing to accept. Ranged against it are the dogged defenders of a decrepit regime that has outlived its purpose, surviving only through brute force and its ability to convince the unsophisticated, mostly rural poor folk in their ragged suits and black chadors that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is their champion against corrupt politicians and the treacherous intellectuals and amoral rich kids who support them. Obviously these are stereotypes — and highly misleading ones at that