Israel Matzav

JPost reporter who reported from Tehran now out

Sabina Amidi, who wrote for the JPost from Tehran, has now left the Iranian capital. She writes briefly of her experiences here.

I debated whether I should get out of the country right away, even though I had not participated in the "riots." I had actually witnessed a plainclothes official slap down a young woman who was standing a meter in front of me. All I could do was watch; I have never felt so helpless. The woman's screams will stay with me.

After the results came the mayhem. At one point, as I stood on my grandmother's roof, I could see smoke in the distance and people banging desperately on strangers' doors to let them in.

We locked ourselves away. In the distance we could hear "Death to Khameini" and "Death to Ahmadinejad" until the chanting grew so loud that the windows shook. That first night we had no dinner. We did not dare leave the house.

When I did venture out for a few hours, the streets were littered with broken glass and ash. I walked past a group of young men who referred to themselves as the "green children." They used walkie-talkies to communicate with their counterparts.

The riot police and Basiji were standing on every corner.

...

The growing violence and government crackdowns inspired my abrupt departure from Iran in mid-week. My reporting for the Post - as honest and professional as I knew how to make it - nevertheless meant I had a direct connection with Israel that was unheard-of in Teheran, and dangerous. I was putting myself at risk by prolonging my stay.

During my last two days in Teheran, every knock on the door sent me into a panic, as I thought, "This is it. I have been caught."

If I had been captured as an "Israeli spy," Ahmadinejad might have had an excuse to depict the riots into a Zionist plot. I needed to get out.•

Read the whole thing.

Ahmadinejad has already found his 'Zionist plot.'

The Iranian Intelligence Ministry on Thursday claimed to have foiled an Israeli-linked terror plot to plant bombs in mosques and other crowded places in Teheran during last week's presidential election.

State broadcaster IRIB quoted a ministry statement as saying several terrorist groups had been discovered, adding they were "in contact with Iran's foreign enemies, including the Zionist entity."

"Members of one of the uncovered networks were planning to plant bombs on election day at various crowded Teheran spots, including dozens of polling booths the Ershad and Al-Nabi mosques," the statement continued.

State television said there was also a plot to plant bombs in 20 polling stations in Teheran.

The television channel showed four of the suspects whose faces had been blurred by broadcasters.

One said that Americans in Iraq had asked them for information about the situation in Iran and had taught them how to make bombs.

You knew this was coming. Let's hope we can get the Jews out of Iran quickly if necessary.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:20 AM