There's an insurrection in Iran
Things are apparently heating up again in Iran, although the Obama administration is once again choosing to ignore it.
Michael Ledeen has details.
–Iranian Arabs in the Ahwaz oil region have risen up, first on Friday’s “Day of Rage” in which at least nine protesters were killed by the regime’s security forces, and then again on Saturday, about which there are only very early reports as I write on Saturday afternoon. The regime doesn’t want the world to know about these protests, both because it suggests the vulnerability of the country’s major source of income, and because it shows once again that Khamenei and Ahmadinejad have failed to impose their will on a population that wants an end to the regime itself. Thus foreign “observers” have been forbidden to travel to Ahwaz, and the disinformation mavens in Tehran staged their own “demonstrations,” claiming that the population was protesting the treatment of Shi’ites in Bahrain. Nobody was fooled, least of all the (mostly Sunni) Ahwaz Arabs.
–The systematic sabotage of the petrochemical industry and the nation’s vital pipelines — to which I have so often referred — continues apace. On March 15th, the Azerbaijan Movement for Democracy and Integrity in Iran claimed credit for the fiery conflagration of the big Tabriz refinery. The facility was totally shut down for three days, and more than 100 fire-fighting vehicles took 11 hours to get the blaze under control. The government declared a state of emergency and the security forces sealed off the area in a massive manhunt. But no arrests were made.
–Strikes, of varying duration, in the oil sector, ranging from the big petrochemical plant at Bandar Imam to the Abadan refinery and oil fields.
–The relentless destruction of the country’s gas pipelines, which run from the southern refineries to the Turkish border. Three major pipelines come together south of Tehran, just outside the holy city of Qom, and they were all blown up on February 11th. After they were patched up, there was another blast on April 8th, which was branded a “terrorist attack” (nobody was prepared to believe the fairy tale about yet another accidental explosion, even though the regime’s capacity for failure and self-destruction is incomparable in the modern world).
A few humorists in the Parliament suggested that the regime might devote some attention to security.
–In case you were wondering, not everyone in the opposition subscribes to Ghandian non-violence, even though the two main figures in the Greeen Movement — Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi — have always insisted on it. Some Kurdish groups seem unconvinced, and in recent weeks more than a dozen Revolutionary Guards have been killed by gunfire in Kurdistan. Kurdish casualties are less than half; the Ahwazis have been shooting back as well, but it’s hard to get casualty figures. Just today, a big bomb went off in a central square in Sanandaz, apparently aimed at the Guards.
There's an insurrection in Iran alright. But the Obama administration has chosen to ignore it.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Ayatollah Ali Khameni, Barack Obama, Iranian revolution, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi
Iran opposition leaders arrested and imprisoned
Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, the leaders of Iran's Green revolution, and their wives, have been
arrested and transferred to the Heshmatiyeh prison in Tehran.
The government of the Islamic of Iran had remained absolutely silent with regards to the recent restrictions and house arrest of the companions of the Green Movement, leading to much speculation and uncertainty regarding their whereabouts and well being. Mir Hossein Mousavi's daughters had also repeatedly tried to visit with their parents by going to Akhtar street [location of their parents' residence], only to face more ambiguity and contradictions and denied all contact with their parents. The lights to the residences of Mousavi and Karroubi were also off over the past few days. It looks as though the families of the Green opposition leaders Mousavi and Karroubi were denied contact with them in order to ensure secrecy regarding the location to which they had been transferred. The lack of news and refusal by government authorities to take responsibility for the events also sparked numerous media outlets to report on and question the whereabouts of the Green opposition leaders.
It is worth mentioning that Saham News, the website for Mehdi Karroubi reported that one of Karroubi's neighbors had witnessed their transfer from their residence at around midnight on Thursday. The eye witness reported the arrival of 8 security vans in front of Karroubi's residence and the entrance to the parking lot, stating that after a few minutes they all left the area in a car that left the parking structure.
In other news, after the contradictory and ambiguous reports regarding the recent illegal house arrest and restrictions on Mousavi, Karroubi and their spouses Iran's Attorney General stated today: "The Prime Minister during the 8 year holy war with Iraq [Mousavi], the two times former Head of the Parliament of the Islamic Republic [Karroubi] and their spouses have been arrested and transferred to Heshmatiyeh prison on orders of high ranking Iranian officials.
Will the West impose a no-fly zone? Will they supply weapons to the Green revolution? Don't hold your breath.
Labels: Barack Obama, Iran, Libya, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi
Iranian opposition leaders kidnapped, West silent
The two leaders of Iran's Green Movement and their wives were
kidnapped on Thursday night, and are being held at an undisclosed location, possibly awaiting a show trial. The West is silent.
Yes it is true, not exactly as any one source has been reporting, but the two top leaders of the Green Movement, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, were kidnapped on Thursday night — when the streets of Tehran were full of armed men. It was a typical Mafia-style snatch. The two men — already under house arrest — were beaten and bloodied, and then were led out of their homes in blindfolds and handcuffs, stuffed in the trunks of the cars of their captors from the Revolutionary Guards and, along with their wives, taken to a location in Tehran, then, on Friday, to another in Parchin, and finally to a third location, a heavily protected private residence.
So far only a few voices, most notably that of Ayatollah Dastgheib (sorry for the link in Persian, but I can’t find a translation online yet), have been raised to denounce the action and call for the release of the hostages. Needless to say, no Western leader has done anything yet, and nobody should expect any tough talk from Western capitals. After all, Mousavi and Karroubi were never contacted by any Western leader after the electoral hoax of June, 2009, although at least some of those Westerners sent intermediaries to negotiate with representatives of the Iranian regime.
Terror works, you see.
I do not know if we will see Mousavi or Karroubi alive. For the moment, I imagine they are being interrogated and tortured in an effort to extract “confessions” of their obedience to foreigners. Indeed, the very evening of the kidnapping, Intelligence Minister Moslehi — whose name is on a list of Iranians under EU consideration for being sanctioned for their role in grave human rights violations — gave a late evening interview on national television in which he spoke extensively of the “foreign hand” behind Iranian protests, and the next day he was quoted in a national news service as identifying yours truly as the inspiration behind at least some of the dissidents (again, it’s in Farsi, but in compensation there’s a flattering picture of me). He claimed that an Iranian arrested as a CIA agent was somehow inspired by my writings to work against the regime.
Actually it’s the other way around. It’s the courage of the Iranian opposition, and the hope that one day this evil regime will be removed, that inspires these blogs. And to judge by Moslehi’s rant, it’s doomed, because he has real trouble with information. For all the attention and vitriol these fanatic buffoons direct at me, their Intel Minister does not even know where I work. He and his vaunted network can’t manage to find out that I have been at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies for two and a half years, which is pretty amazing when you consider that they have obviously been reading Pajamas Media.
One has to wonder what Iran's Greens have to do to get the West to notice. That's not to say that I'm enamored with them because I believe they will stop the nuclear weapons program. You all know that I am not. But at least with them, there might be something about which to negotiate rationally. And maybe they won't have the apocalyptic desire to bring about the coming of the 12th Imam by bombing Israel, like Ahmadinejad has.
Labels: Iran elections, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi
Iran: Pro-government legislators demand death penalty for opposition leaders
Iran had quite a cheering section when there was an uprising in Egypt over the last couple of weeks. But when it comes to demonstrations in their own country, Iran's leaders say "
shoot to kill."
Hardline Iranian lawmakers called on Tuesday for the country's opposition leaders to face trial and be put to death, a day after clashes between opposition protesters and security forces left two people dead and dozens injured.
...
At an open session of parliament Tuesday, pro-government legislators demanded opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mahdi Karroubi and former reformist President Mohammad Khatami face be held responsible for the protests.
Pumping their fists in the air, the lawmakers chanted "death to Mousavi, Karroubi and Khatami."
"We believe the people have lost their patience and demand capital punishment" for the opposition leaders, 221 lawmakers said in a statement.
Hardliners have long sought to put senior opposition figures on trial, but the calls for the death penalty signaled an escalation in their demands.
Parliament formed a special committee to review the case and decide in coming days about how the government should deal with the opposition leaders.
There is weakness in Washington and therefore everyone does what he sees fit.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Iran elections, Iran protests, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Khatami
Things are apparently heating up again in Iran, although the Obama administration is once again choosing to ignore it. Michael Ledeen has details.
