Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iranians hit the streets in restive southeast as protests enter 4th month

2022-12-17

[IsraelTimes] Demonstrators chant ’death to the dictator’ in Zahedan, where weekly rallies have been held since security forces killed over 90 on ’Bloody Friday’. Hundreds erupted into the streets Friday in Iran’s restive southeast, footage shared by human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... groups showed, beginning a fourth month of protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death. The Islamic Theocratic Republic has seen waves of demonstrations since the September 16 death in jug of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women. Protesters in Zahedan, the Sistan-Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... lovely provincial capital, chanted "Death to the dictator," taking aim at supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini... , according to a video shared by Oslo-based Iran ...Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979... Human Rights (IHR) and verified by AFP. Other images from Zahedan showed crowds of men, some raising posters with anti-regime slogans, and a group of black-clad women marching down what appeared to be a nearby street, also chanting slogans. Sistan-Balochistan, on Iran’s southeastern border with Afghanistan and Pakistain, had been the site of often deadly violence even before nationwide protests erupted. The province’s Baluchi minority, who adhere to Sunni Islam rather than the Shiite branch predominant in Iran, have long complained of discrimination. US-based rights group HRANA said hundreds rallied after Friday prayers in Zahedan, which has seen weekly protests since the security forces killed more than 90 people in the city on September 30, in what has been dubbed "Bloody Friday." HUNDREDS KILLED The trigger for that violence was the alleged rape in jug of a 15-year-old girl by a police commander in the province’s port city of Chabahar. But analysts say Baluchis were inspired by the protests that flared over Amini’s death, which were initially driven by women’s rights but have expanded to include other grievances. Last week, a holy man was killed after being kidnapped from his mosque in Khash, a town in Sistan-Balochistan. Zahedan’s chief prosecutor said Tuesday that the killers of holy man Abdulwahed Rigi had been arrested, and accused them of seeking to stir trouble between Sunnis and Shiites. The largely peaceful demonstrations sparked by Amini’s death have been met with a crackdown by the Iranian security forces that has killed at least 458 protesters, according to a toll issued on December 7 by the Norway-based IHR. Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, said on December 3 that more than 200 people had been killed in the unrest, including security personnel. The United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... says Iran’s security forces have arrested at least 14,000 people. Iran’s judiciary said it has handed down 11 death sentence ...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead... s in connection with the protests. EU SANCTIONS Iran executed Mohsen Shekari on December 8 and Majidreza Rahnavard on Monday. Both were 23 years old. Rahnavard was hanged in public rather than in prison as has been usual in the Islamic republic in recent years. Amnesia Amnesty International said on Friday that at least 26 people were at risk of execution in connection with the protests in Iran, which according to the London-based rights group is already the world’s most prolific user of the death penalty after China. The crackdown on the demonstrations has led to international condemnation, sanctions and Iran’s removal Wednesday from a UN women’s rights body. Solidarity protests have also erupted worldwide, and a group of Iranians in Germany on Friday reached the final day of a hunger strike while camped outside their country’s consulate in the city of Frankfurt. Ultraconservative holy man Ahmad Khatami meanwhile lashed out at the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... after the bloc slapped him with sanctions over what it called "repression against protesters." Khatami was sanctioned for allegedly inciting violence against protesters, including demanding the death penalty. During a Friday sermon in Tehran, the holy man said the EU had a "black" human rights record, state news agency IRNA reported. The EU "is on the top of the list of human rights violators," Khatami charged. Iran’s foreign ministry on Thursday condemned the EU measures, branding them "unacceptable and groundless."

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Top Iranian cleric threatens Tehran will target Israel if US attacks

2018-08-23

[IsraelTimes] 'Any aggression against Iran will inflict costs not only on America, but also on Zionist regime,' Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami warns. Ooooooohhh, scary.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran will ‘level Tel Aviv and Haifa if Israel acts foolishly’ -- minister

2018-05-12

[ALMASDARNEWS] A member of the Iranian Council of Experts, Ahmad Khatami, stated following Friday prayer in Tehran hat if Israel acts ’foolishly’, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be destroyed. Iran: A force for peace in the Muddle East... "We do not deal with a nuclear bomb, but on the contrary, our policy is a deterrent policy, in this direction, every day Iran’s missile power is growing so that Israel can not fall asleep from this force," Khatami stated as quoted by IRIB radio. "If he (Israel) acts foolishly, then we level with the ground of Tel Aviv and Haifa, "Khatami added. Prior to Khatami’s statement, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman called on the Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... to ’kick’ the Iranian forces out of Syria.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Tehran's Friday prayers leader condemns Saudi regime for massacre of Yemeni civilians

2016-10-15

Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ahmad Khatami condemned the Saudi regime for its continued slaughtering of the civilians in Yemen. Addressing a large and fervent congregation of the people on Tehran University campus on Friday, Ayatollah Khatami said, "The most recent Saudi crime in Yemen was horrendous; the Saudi fighter jets pounded a hall where a funeral ceremony was being held in four airstrikes with 800-kilogram bombs and killed over 400 civilians." He reiterated that the US is helping the Riyadh government in its aggression against Yemen, and said, "The US drones are helping the Saudi regime round-the-clock." He wished that the world of Islam would soon see the collapse of the Saudi regime.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iranians Urged to Unite to Face Down Sanctions

2012-10-06

[An Nahar] A top holy man on Friday urged Iranians to confront the "economic war" posed by Western sanctions and for authorities to cease internal bickering, days after protests erupted in Tehran over a collapse in Iran's currency. "The pressure today imposed on us by the world arrogance (the United States) is full-fledged economic war," Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said at the weekly Moslem prayers in Tehran broadcast by state media. "This pressure will not last. Our people have been tested and they will not be worn down. Our people will ensure they (the enemies) are the ones worn down," said the Shiite holy man, a ranking member of the Assembly of Experts that supervises the activities of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On Wednesday, police and stone-throwing protesters scuffled in central Tehran after security forces closed down money exchange bureau and tossed in the calaboose ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... 16 people accused of being "disruptors" in the market. Shop owners in the Grand Bazaar -- a commercial maze in the heart of Tehran that has historically held political influence -- closed for security reasons and because they said the currency crash made business unviable. It was the first sign of public unrest after Iran's currency, the rial, abruptly lost 40 percent of its value this week, resulting in sharply higher prices for imported goods and food as well as uncertainty for businesses. Although calm returned on Thursday, a shopkeepers guild said the bazaar would not fully open until Saturday. Blame for the sudden slide in Iran's currency, the rial, has been put on both the Western sanctions and on economic mismanagement by President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad's government.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Tehran NAM Summit proved Iran not isolated; US, Israel are: Cleric

2012-09-08

[Iran Press TV] A senior Iranian holy man says the 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Tehran proved that it is the US and Israel, and not the Islamic Theocratic Republic, which are isolated in the world. "A blessing of this summit was that it showed to the world that the great Iran is not isolated, since the NAM summit comprises two-thirds of the UN, and it is the US and the Zionist regime [of Israel] which are isolated," Tehran's interim Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami said. He described the presence of 120 NAM states in the summit as "unique," especially as Washington and Tel Aviv had gone to great pains since several months ago to dissuade the NAM heads of state from participating in the summit or encourage them to dispatch low-ranking delegations to Tehran. "If anyone wants to appreciate the significance of the [NAM] summit in Tehran, they should behold the extraordinary disappointment of the US and the Zionist regime [of Israel]." Ayatollah Khatami said the global arrogance That'd be us. They get tired of bitching about the Great Satan™ sometimes. "threatened, begged and made diplomatic efforts," but failed to achieve its goal of undermining the Tehran Summit. The 16th NAM Summit was wrapped up in the Iranian capital on August 31, with the member states passing a final resolution, which included over 700 clauses.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

No Compromise on 20-Percent Enrichment -- Friday Prayers Imam

2012-05-26

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a Tehran's Friday Prayers Imam, said in his sermons today that Iran will keep its 20-percent uranium enrichment program intact That's not what the problem is, catamite. It's inspection. If you don't agree to that expect to see your country back in the stone age. Who knows, the 12th Imam might come out of the well and help you. Won't that be fun! "I speak on behalf of the Iranian nation that they will not be held to ransom," the influential senior cleric added. Khatami was referring to a demand by six major powers during the unsuccessful Baghdad Talks that Iran ends its production of the 20-percent nuclear fuel. The subject will be one of the key discussion points in Moscow during the talks in mid-June. Iran enriches uranium to the 20 percent purity to provide fuel for Tehran's Research Reactor, which produces medical isotopes for cancer patients. The country already has a stockpile of the higher level fuel to feed the reactor for the next decade.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Syria will not fall with Iranian alliance: Cleric

2012-04-27

[Iran Press TV] A senior Iranian holy man has underscored Tehran's support for Damascus ...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations... , saying Syria will not fall as long as the Islamic Theocratic Republic is allied with it. "As long as the Islamic Theocratic Republic is standing by Syria, the government of this country will not collapse," member of the presiding board of Iran's Assembly of Experts Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami said on Thursday. The senior Iranian holy man added, however, that Iran's support for the Syrian regime does not denote the Islamic Theocratic Republic's approval of every measure taken by Damascus. "Iran seriously demands reforms in Syria, such that the recent elections and other reformist measures in Syria have all been [taken] under the Islamic Theocratic Republic's encouragement," he added. Ayatollah Khatami said the reason why Iran supports Syria is that the West is taking Dire Revenge™ on the country for the Islamic Awakenings, the Islamic Revolution of Iran, and Leb's resistance movement of Hezbullies. "Western imperialism is dispatching weaponry to the Syrian opposition, which is disgraceful, and of course the Islamic Theocratic Republic will not allow their agendas to bear fruit," he added. Syria has been the scene of unrest since mid-March 2011. Many people, including security forces, have been killed in the turmoil. The West and the Syrian opposition blame Damascus for the year-long turmoil, but the government says the "terrorists" are responsible for the unrest, which it says is being orchestrated from abroad.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iranian cleric warns of multiple enemies

2011-08-06

[Iran Press TV] A senior Iranian holy man says the Islamic Theocratic Republic faces enemies in three fronts but expresses optimism about the future of the country, saying all enemy plots They're everywhere! They're everywhere! will fail. Speaking at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran on Thursday, Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami said Iran's Islamic establishment is beset by enemies from both inside and outside the country as well as undercover agents. Ayatollah Khatami noted the pressure mounted on the Islamic Theocratic Republic by the United States and its allies since the creation of the Islamic establishment in Iran after the 1979 revolution in the country. "This war which exists in Europe and the US against the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran indicates that the arrogant [powers] want to prevent the growth of the revolution through their sanctions and schemes," he said, downplaying the efforts as futile. "The royalists and those smitten before the Revolution, who were also part of the ruling system and agreed to the hijab ban in return for [promises of being rewarded with] a house, are standing against Islam with the [incitement of the] US, UK and Zionist regime [of Israel]," the holy man added. Ayatollah Khatami pointed out the destructive role of hypocritical elements that pretend to zealously believe in the establishment but spare no chance to inflict blows on the body of the Mohammedan community. He called the third group of enemies as infiltrators who managed to secure positions in the ranks of power in order to harm the establishment. The senior holy man, however, emphasized that the prospects of the Islamic Revolution in Iran were bright due to the leadership of the Just Jurisprudence in the country, and thus all its enemies were doomed to fail. "Since the very beginning of the revolution with every step we have witnessed God's blessings...six major coups were orchestrated against the Islamic Revolution, and some of them were had even been coordinated with arrogant powers, but thanks to God they all crashed," he noted. Ayatollah Khatami condemned some articles and editorials which attacked senior Iranian holy mans for criticizing the deviatory movements in the country, and warned the holy manal society would strongly respond to such attacks. "Presently the greater good lies in having the society remain calm," he noted.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

'Enemy attempts to sow discord in Iran'

2011-04-30

[Iran Press TV] Senior Iranian holy man Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami warns of enemy plots to disturb the country's calm by spreading rumors about discord in the country. "The foreign-based and isolated enemies of the nation, in their interviews constantly seek to suggest there is a rift in the country," Ayatollah Khatami told crowds of worshipers in Tehran on Friday, IRNA reported. The holy man cautioned against an enemy plot to show the atmosphere in Iran as tensional, calling on Iranian officials "not to play in their court" and "not to fill their puzzle squares." Ayatollah Khatami ruled out a "dual government" in Iran, and emphasized that the only rule in the country is that of the constitution which above all contains Islamic Jurisprudence. The capital's interim Friday Prayers leader noted that the Medes and the Persians has learned to assess the righteousness of parties and politicians based on the enemy's response. "I tell the foreigners that whatever figure or movement you support will be recognized as deviatory by the people [of Iran], and this will be to that [figure or movement's] disadvantage," he added. Addressing the developments in the region, the holy man blamed the United States for the unrelenting violence in Arab countries where people are demanding the end of the rule of their dictators. He accused NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... forces of engaging in "a war of attrition" in Libya in a bid to win control of the oil-rich country in the long run. Ayatollah Khatami pointed to the US intervention in Yemen, and blamed the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council for siding with "dictators and executioners" and functioning as "the arm of the US" in the region. He lashed out at the "deadly silence" from the international community. "You the United Nations ...an organization whose definition of human rights is interesting, to say the least... , are you not an organization of nations? ... Why are you as silent as death? You the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... , are these not Arabs? Why aren't you supporting them? You the Organization of Islamic Conference, why have you been hit by this plague of indifference? Why aren't Mohammedan scholars crying out [in protest]?" he questioned. Ayatollah Khatami warned the ruling royal families in Soddy Arabia and Bahrain to stop their violent crackdowns on popular demonstrations and anti-regime protesters. "I warn Al Khalifa and Al Saud that every crime you commit takes you a step closer to elimination," he said "People in the future will remember the Al Khalifa [regime] as war criminals and the Al Saud regime as traitors standing by Israel in the 22- and 33-day wars," he added, referring to the wars Israel waged respectively on Leb in 2006 and the Gazoo Strip in Dcember2008-January 2009.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Clashes at Funeral of Iranian Student Killed in Anti-government Protests

2011-02-17

[An Nahar] Clashes erupted Wednesday between regime backers and "apparent" supporters of Iran's opposition at a funeral in Tehran of a student killed in anti-government protests, state television reported. ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe? "Students and people participating in the funeral of martyr Sane'e Zhale in Tehran Fine Arts University are clashing with a few apparently from the sedition movement," the television website said. It said that regime backers by "chanting slogans of 'Death to Monafeghin'(rebels) forced them (opposition supporters) out of the scene." The festivities erupted when pro-regime backers, including members of parliament and Revolutionary Guards, held a demonstration during the funeral of Zhale chanting "Death to America™! Death to Israel! Death to Britain! Death to Monafeghin! Death to Mousavi and Karroubi!", state media reported. Zhale, a Sunni Kurd, was slain during Monday's anti-government protests staged by supporters of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. But he became the centre of a dispute Wednesday, with regime-backers insisting he was member of the volunteer Islamist Basij militia, while the opposition said he came from their ranks. "This university student (Zhale) was shot around Enghelab Square by small arms fire. He was a student of fine arts and defender of the regime," said state news agency IRNA. Opposition website Rahesabz.net said Zhale was "pro-Mousavi and a member of the Green Movement," referring to the opposition movement spearheaded by Mousavi which refuses to acknowledge the presidency of Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad. "His family was under pressure to say he is Basiji and pro-government," the website said. Zhale was one of the two people killed on Monday when riot-police and opposition backers clashed in Tehran during an anti-government demonstration. In the holy city of Qom, regime backers gathered at the main seminary school where they were addressed by hardline holy man Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, state television reported. ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe? Iran's prosecutor general Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie meanwhile warned that action would be taken against Mousavi and Karroubi. "The heads of seditions are the people who should be punished for their criminal acts and God Willing actions in this regard are being taken," Mohseni Ejeie said, according to Fars news agency. "People have given them their punishment, but people also have a legitimate right to demand (punishment) from the judiciary which we hope we would be able to fulfill." Mohseni Ejeie said several people were nabbed during Monday's protests but some were immediately released, adding that some more arrests are expected later. "In general the anti-revolution current is behind these events. Unfortunately, some have fallen in traps of America." Thousands of anti-government protests took to streets of Tehran Monday and clashed with riot-police in which two were slain and several maimed, including nine members of security forces, officials and opposition websites say. The two opposition leaders came out fighting on Wednesday after MPs the previous day demanded they be executed for their role in Monday's protests, issuing statements slamming the authorities and praising demonstrators. Karroubi, once a pillar of the regime, said in a statement posted on his website Sahamnews.org, he was ready to "pay any price." "I declare that I am not afraid of any kind of threat and as a soldier of this great nation for the past almost 50 years, I am ready to pay any price," he said. "I am warning that before it is too late, take out the buds from your ears and listen to the voice of the people. Forcing violence and opposing peoples' wishes will last only for a certain time," the holy man said. In a separate statement on his own website Kaleme.com, Mousavi criticized the authorities and praised the protesters for turning out in Monday's rally. "The glorious rally on 25th Bahman (February 14) is a great achievement for the great people of a great nation and for the Green Movement," Mousavi said, referring to the opposition movement and its supporters who took to streets on Monday.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran MPs Rage against Opposition as Obama Encourages Protesters

2011-02-16

Furious Iranian politicians on Tuesday demanded the hanging of opposition leaders who called anti-government protests which left two people dead, saying they had been "misled" by Iran's arch-foes. But in one of his most direct reactions to events in Iran, U.S. President Barack B.O. Obama offered encouragement to protesters, saying he hoped they would have the "courage" to keep expressing their "yearning for greater freedoms." MPs singled out Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who had called for protests in Tehran on Monday in support of Arab uprisings that quickly turned into anti-government demonstrations and ended in festivities with police in which several people were also hurt, including nine security force members. Mohammad Khatami, former reformist president, also came under fire from conservatives for openly backing the opposition movement since disputed presidential elections in June 2009. "Mousavi and Karroubi should be executed! Death to Mousavi, Karroubi and Khatami!" the politicians shouted in the house, state news agency IRNA reported. They said the United States, Britain and Israel had orchestrated Monday's protests through the opposition leaders, who, according to parliament speaker Ali Larijani, were being "misled" by Iran's arch-foes. "The parliament condemns the Zionists, American, anti-revolutionary and anti-national action of the misled seditionists," a visibly angry Larijani told the parliament. "How did the gentlemen (Mousavi and Karroubi) ... fall into the orchestrated trap of America?" he asked. "Should they not have been cautious given the support, pleasure and joy of America and Israel as well as monarchists and Monafeghin?" Larijani added, referring to the outlawed People's Mujahedeen of Iran (PMOI). He also urged that a committee be formed to probe and "confront" the opposition movement. But Obama defended the protesters and criticized the Iranian authorities, saying that unlike Egypt, Iran's response to protests has been "to shoot people and beat people and arrest people." "And, you know, my hope and expectation is that we're going to continue to see the people of Iran have the courage to be able to express their yearning for greater freedoms and a more representative government," Obama said. However, The infamous However... Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized the West during a meeting with visiting Turkish President Abdullah Gul, IRNA reported. "The West has always humiliated the world of Islam, and any government that wants to go against this humiliation and show its power will face their (Western) opposition," he told Gul. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a hardline holy man who often leads Friday prayers in Tehran, applauded the MPs and accused Mousavi and Karroubi of being "mohareb," or enemies of God, adding that they deserved the harshest of punishment. "The chiefs of the sedition have reached the end of the road and it is time for (the authorities) to do their duty and judge and punish" them, he said in a statement carried by Fars. Despite a strict ban on the rally, a heavy security presence and Mousavi and Karroubi being placed under de facto house arrest, thousands of opposition supporters took to Tehran's streets on Monday. Riot police fired tear gas and paintballs at them in violent festivities, witnesses and websites said. Kazem Jalali, member of the parliamentary commission of national security and foreign policy, told ISNA news agency two people were killed. "In today's session that the commission held with the interior minister (Mostafa Mohammad Najjar), he told us that a number of popular and revolutionary forces were maimed by gunshot and two persons were martyred," Jalali said. Iran's deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan had earlier said that one person was killed, shot by members of an outlawed group. He also reported "some" people maimed, including nine security force members. The anti-government protests were the first in Tehran since February 11, 2010. Mousavi and Karroubi allege Ahmadinejad's re-election in June 2009 was massively rigged and in the months after the results called for protests which drew tens of thousands onto the streets -- shaking the foundations of the Islamic republic and angering its leaders.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More