U2 at Glastonbuty 2011 - Pictures of Neda and Post Election Protests in Iran

U2 at Glastonbury 2011 performing Sunday, Bloody Sunday with pictures of post-'election' protests in Iran and Neda's pictures displayed on the stage

Fears for Missing Iranian Woman Photographer, Maryam Majd

I remember how seeing this picture on the left shook me and how angry I felt. Nothing distresses me more than seeing children frightened, humiliated and unhappy. Today I found out the picture was taken by Maryam Majd, Iranian woman photographer, who is feared to have been held by Islamic Republic security thugs, before boarding a flight from Tehran to Düsseldorf, where she was supposed to cover the Fifa Women's World Cup.

Galloway Loses Another Wager

Once again Galloway denied he ever said, he backed Ahmadinejad’s election campaign and once again he challenged someone for a £1000 wager. Of course losing a £1000 here and there is small potatoes for someone who is paid £25k/month for his programs on Press TV alone, but the point is he loses every time and he still doesn’t pay up.

Watch Galloway on Andrew Neil’s show

And a reminder of what Galloway actually said in his interview

The General Madhi Fiasco

Jahanchahi showing off with his Russian bodyguard at a
Press Conference in London

For the self-centred ego-maniac Iranian billionaire Amir Jahanchahi, the defected revolutionary guard, General Madhi was his biggest star prize. For Jahanchahi, General Madhi was the living proof that he was buying the regime officials and causing them to defect. Yet General Madhi recently appeared on a state TV program, the Diamond Deception and claimed he had been a regime operative on a mission to infiltrate the Iranian opposition in exile. The egg on Jahanchahi's face that made him look even more foolish was laughable but the seriousness of the farce was the ammunition it has unjustly provided against the incarcerated leaders of the Green Movement, Moussavi and Karroubi.

So what was it all about? Some of the information I have below is solid and where there are question marks, I will point them out. It seems Madhi was a senior revolutionary guards figure who was injured in the Iran-Iraq war as a result of exposure to Saddam's chemical warfare on Iran, as a result of which Madhi was in need of costly treatment. A rift develops between Madhi and his superiors, although we don't know exactly why, it may have been financial or it may have been a gripe over the lack of adequate treatment he was receiving or another reason. In any case Madhi manages to leave Iran for Bangkok with some money, but the cost of his treatment continues to mount. With the start of the protests across Iran, Madhi decides to back the protests against the regime and switch sides. Like most Iranians inside Iran, he considers the Iranian opposition, the usual familiar faces that are constantly paraded on BBC Persian and VOA and thus he contacts Jahanchahi, whose two man outfit, the so-called Green Wave Campaign, is more than jubilant to hold press conferences and arrange interviews with him and announce their alliance with Madhi's claims of heading a group of dissident revolutionary guards, "Association of Fellows". In return Madhi may have expected his medical costs to have been paid, or at least his immigration issues to be sorted, yet as we know Jahanchahi is all mouth and no trousers. The Iranian diplomats who defected had also denounced Jahanchahi's lies in this statement.

As I have seen on so many previous occasions, Madhi must have been disappointed with what he learned about the familiar faces of the Iranian opposition in exile and simply had enough. Whether he did a deal with the regime to go back or he was put under pressure, we don't know, but once again the familiar faces of the Iranian opposition in exile have inflicted a huge damage on Iran's pro-democracy movement. It is not the first time we see an Iranian expat millionaire whose narcissism prompts him to also have a dabble in politics and gloat in the resultant media publicity. Expat millionaires who think because they have made money they can also "save" Iran and be the next leader. Credulous egomaniacs who do not realise the importance of tedious grass root work but think they will become the next leader of Iran simply by holding press conferences and achieving media publicity with their outrageous  aggrandizements or as we say in Persian "Gondeh Goozi" - whopper farts!

Far from starting a mass defection from the body of the Iranian regime, Jahanchahi's two man team, if anything, have put off any other Iranian officials who may have contemplated defecting and the regime's propaganda machines have been hard at work trying to parade zeros like Jahanchahi & co. as the Iranian opposition.

Bashar Assad's Sick Regime

Words can not describe this sick regime of Bashar Assad and its backers

Name a Street After Hoda Saber

Hoda Saber, dissident Iranian journalist, died yesterday in Evin prison, ten days after starting his hunger strike in protest at the killing of Haleh Sahabi during her father's funeral.

Dissident journalist, Hoda Saber has been jailed numerous times, his current sentence started in August last year. Hoda staged a hunger strike 10 days ago in section 350 of the Evin prison, accepting only water, sugar and salt. His inmate Amir Khosro Delresani, who also joined him on hunger strike, is still continuing with his protest.

In 1981, when IRA's Bobby Sands died in the Maze prison after staging a 66 day hunger strike, the Islamic Republic wasted no time to rename a street near the British Embassy to Bobby Sands street. Now it will only be appropriate to rename streets near Islamic Republic embassies as Hoda Saber street. There is of course one difference. Bobby Sands was a member of an armed group which carried out bombings, Hoda was just a journalist.

The Second Anniversary of the Fraudulent Elections in Iran

Lets not forget the Green Movement protests which sparked the new awakening in the region. Iran still remains at the forefront of the yearning for democracy and to get rid of the dictators. Today marks the second anniversary of the fraudulent election which led to these protests. Pictures that tell the story:

Galloway's Denial of Tiananmen Square Massacre

This isn't new but I hadn't come across it before. In this radio program George Galloway, this former stooge of Saddam and now the stooge of the Islamic Republic and £25000 a month Press TV employee, denies there was ever a Tiananmen Square massacre:



There are almost 57000 useful idiots on Galloway's fan page on Facebook, which include the likes of Salma Yaqoob, Muslim Defence League, John Pilger, Stop the War Coalition and some Iranian women like US resident Azita Shafazand on the left here, who boastfully put this picture on her own Facebook page after going to the Conference of Iranians Abroad in Tehran, to pledge support for the Islamic Republic.

Amongst the complimentary comments posted under this picture is one by California resident Taxi driver, Hamed Taghavi who says"Wow! You met this great guy"

Help the Noble People of Syria

Bashar Assad's murderous dictatorship stooped to a new low after what they did to the 13 year old Hamza al-Khatib. Unspeakable crimes were carried out against this fun loving cheeky looking 13 year old Syrian boy, a diligent student who enjoyed football and raised homing pigeons. Hamza and his family had gone to break the siege against the heroes of Deraa, when Hamza was arrested and taken in by Bashar Assad's thugs. Scars on his face shows he was whipped in the face, he had cigarette burns all over his body and his genitals were severed. Hamza is not the only child to have been murdered by Bashar's regime, since the protests in Syria erupted.





Some of Bashar's savage thugs, the Shabiha militia or Bashar's equivalent of Baseej, who carry out these unspeakable crimes against the people of Syria

Iran's Green Revolution and the Arab Spring

I think last time I wrote about a debate at the Frontline Club, was five years ago. This time, it was different, I was one of the panel members :)

Watch live streaming video from frontlineclub at livestream.com

IRI Thugs Kill Dissident's Daughter at His Funeral

Haleh Sahabi was killed today by the Islamic Republic security thugs at her father's funeral.

This morning was the funeral of the 81 year old Ezzatollah Sahabi, the reformist Iranian dissident. Haleh Sahabi was walking ahead of the funeral holding a wreath, when security forces tried to break up the funeral procession and steal Sahabi's coffin.

Haleh resisted the thugs and insisted that the funeral procession should proceed as planned. Islamic Republic security thugs attacked her, kicking her repeatedly and punching her with a knuckle duster. Haleh collapsed at her father's funeral and later died as a result of her injuries.

Haleh Sahabi was 55 years old and a Koranic expert. She was also a member of Mother's for Peace and was arrested, two years ago, during the protests outside the Iranian parliament when Ahmadinejad was taking the oath of office. She was sentenced to two years imprisonment by the revolutionary court. She was given leave from Evin prison to attend her father's funeral.

This is the Islamic Republic! so scared of the smalles gathering. Even the funeral of an 81 year old man is intolerable for these insecure savages. The thugs even kill a man's daughter during his funeral.
Once again the Islamic Republic has brought eternal shame on itself.

Justice itself is Handcuffed in iran

Nasrin Sotoudeh managed to embrace her husband for a few seconds and for the first time since she was arrested in September last year. Nasrin has been sentenced to 11 years imprisonment but now she faces a life time ban from working as a lawyer.

Sotoudeh was brought from Evin prison before the Iranian Bar Association, handcuffed throughout, to defend her right to continue work as a lawyer.

Sotoudeh represents justice and those who have the courage to stand up for justice. This picture is symbolic of what has happened in Iran, justice itself has been handcuffed in Iran.

Today, A Nation Mourns One its Favourite Sons

"They tell me not to get angry. Do they think I have no pride and expect me to be indifferent to the pains and sufferings of my people? They are imposing subsidy payments and people's living conditions are getting worse, not better, serving people means bringing about their welfare and comfort, but sadly we are witnessing the hardship and poverty of our people. The government says we hand out $40 a month to everyone, do they think the people of Iran are beggars? People of Iran are sitting on top of oil and gas treasures"

These were some of Nasser Hejazi's last words before he passed away on Monday after his final battle with lung cancer. Nasser Hejazi was Iran's legendary goal keeper in the 70s and Iran's first goal keeper to play in a World Cup. Twice, he was part of Iran's national team which won the Asian cup in 1972 and 1976. He has a total of 63 caps to his name playing for Iran's national soccer team. His last game was in 1981, when the Islamic Republic came up with a ludicrous plan to retire the football players who played in the national team before the 1979 revolution. According to this plan that became known as the '27 year olds plan', players over the age of 27 could no longer play for the national team. Hence Hejazi had to retire at the age of 33, a goal keeper's prime.

Hejazi was also a successful coach and won the best Asian football coach award in 1998. In 2005, he tried to run for president but was disqualified by the Guardian Council. Most of all however he will be remembered because of his goal keeping and that he stood by the people of Iran against the injustices of this regime. He was a proud man, when he was first hospitalised, the regime made out to have helped Hejazi with his medical bills but he denied this and said I will not take a penny from them, I will sell the carpets in my house if I have to and recited this poetry verse:
"I am that proud petal who will go without water
 But I will not lower myself to beg for a drop of dew"

In his very last interview, he quoted Gandhi and said "My pain is not loneliness but it’s the death of a nation who considers poverty as contentment, incompetency as patience, and with a smile on lips, consider this naivety as destiny.”

Today, thousands will take part in his funeral and millions of Iranians will mourn the nation's legendary goal keeper who never abandoned them.

Read Alex Ferguson's letter to Hejazi here:http://goalkeepermagazine.com/tag/alex-ferguson/

The Insanity of Islamic Republic Judges

When you are primarily monitoring Iran's political developments, it is easy sometimes to forget the non-political activist victims of this evil regime. Iranian websites reported on Thursday the 4 year old Nima, severely abused physically by his brutal parents, was handed back to his father by an Iranian judge.

The report said: "Nima is a four-year-old boy in Tehran and the second victim of child abuse [who received media attention] in the past month. Yesterday, and only ten days after he was taken to the Mofid Children’s hospital, he was released and delivered to his abusive father."

"Nima suffered injuries from severe beatings from his parents who burned various parts of his body including his genitals and caused deep bruising around his eyes. He was transfered to the hospital on May 8th. Upon arrival at the hospital, Nima told the staff that his father had burned his body," said the report.

Of course, sadly, the despicable physical abusive of children happens everywhere but where do you find a judge who hands over a victim of such savage abuse back to his abusers and yet a devoted mother like Nasrin Sotoudeh is taken away from her children and jailed for 11 years? Where in the world would you find a penal code like this:

"According to paragraph 220 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, if the father or father’s father kills his child or grandchild, he will not be punished for murder. Physical punishment by a parent is permitted in Iranian law."

My heart goes out to this little boy who has to suffer the consequences of a mad generation who brought about the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.

New Revelations About Ahmadinejad's Exorcist

The website Javan Online, affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards has made more revelations about Ahmadinejad's exorcist, Abbas Ghaffari, who was arrested 10 days ago.

Despite Ghaffari's initial good fortunes after his arrest, when his interrogator was said to have died of a heart attack, the charges against him are piling up like there is no judgement day tomorrow.
According to Javan Online's new revelations:

- Ghaffari obtained his supernatural demonic powers after rubbing the holy Koran on excrements
- By now 360 women, including married women, have claimed they have been raped by him
- Ghaffari would eat his own dried up excrement on a daily basis
- He possesses two main spells which by mixing with two minor spells can paralyse people's heart, mind and eyes or in every day terms make them deaf and dumb.
- Ghaffari is completely competent in numbers sorcery as well as in the art of energy healing. It is said that he spent some time in King Fahad's palace trying to heal him too.

Javan Online asks is readers who either knew Ghaffari or were his victims to contact this number +9821-88498443 and give further information on him.

Thanking Wael Ghonim in Person

When the uprising in Egypt erupted, the Islamic Republic was full of it. All their media outlets were directed to broadcast the uprising as an Islamic revolution following the footprints of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. According to the Islamic Republic's propaganda machine, Egypt's revolutionaries looked up to the leaders of the Islamic Republic and wanted to establish an Islamic Republic in Egypt.

When Iran's state TV and its English speaking channel, Press TV pined at the brutality of Mubarak's regime, it was rank hypocrisy at its best which was rubbing salt on our wounds.

So when a photograph of Wael Ghonim, the Google employee and one of the pioneers of Egypt's pro-democracy protests, showed him wearing a green wrist band, we were all hoping that he was wearing it in support of the Green Movement in Iran. We were then told Wael's wrist band was to raise awareness about the victims of the flood in Pakistan and so our hopes were once again dashed. The wrist band he wore was neither to do with Iran's Green Movement nor with Pakistan's flood, it was coincidental, but Wael Ghonim did make the following statement:

“I would tell Iranians to learn from the Egyptians, and we have learned from you guys that at the end of the day with the power of people, we can do  whatever we want to do.  If we unite our goals, if we believe, then all our dreams can come true”

As I wrote back in February, with this one message of solidarity, Wael Ghonim, destroyed all the efforts made by the Supreme Leader's regime in Iran to hijack the Egyptian uprising. It was a huge moral boost to the Green Movement in Iran and energised the protests which then took place in Iran on 14th Feb, where people's main slogan was "Mubarak, Ben Ali, its your turn next Seyyd Ali (Supreme Leader)"

Today, I had an opportunity to meet Wael Ghonim at Google's Bigtent event in person, to thank him for his support of Iran's Green Movement and make him aware how important his message of solidarity was.

Iran's Attorney General and the Exorcist

I have been wanting to find this video for a long time. I had seen it many years ago with disbelief shown on some trash Persian speaking LA TV channel which promoted this exorcist trickster called Ali Akbari.

The video shows Iran's current Attorney General and former Minister of Intelligence, Mohsnei Ejei, writing a protection letter for the trickster, Ali Akbari. Towards the end of the video, Ali Akbari can be seen expelling bad spirits from Ejei.

The video is a clear evidence that both sides are using exorcists and sorcerers.

"Ahmadinejad is Bewitched" - Messbah Yazdi

When I first started my blog, this article
http://azarmehr.blogspot.com/2005/08/watch-out-for-mad-ayatollah-mesbah.html
I wrote about  Messbah Yazdi, was probably my first blogpost that caught a lot of attention. Messbah Yazdi is the very definition of an opportunistic snake. He is a man with no principles other than looking out for himself. It is no wonder now that despite all his previous backing for Ahmadinejad and all his efforts to promote him, now that his protegee is in hot waters with the Supreme Leader, Messbah is amongst the first to abandon ship.

On Sunday, Messbah Yazdi, a member of the Assembly of Experts and Head of the well funded Institute of Teaching Imam Khomeini's Thoughts, in a meeting with the Islamic Coalition group said:
"We became sensitive with regards to the statements and actions of this controversial person (Mashaei), we realised his words are not plain at all and there is a lot more into them. One day, I realised there is a huge danger within this trend and a lot of effort has been made, my brain couldn't tell whether it was just simple hypnotism, sorcery, contact with some cults or what? Personally I know nothing about these things, but I knew there was some supernatural behind all this. We saw that this person (Mashaei) bewitched him (Ahmadinejad) and has him trapped in his fist. There is a lot evidence and you know better than me  that there is the look and encounters and the effect of spells and these things in place"

But just to leave an opening for himself, in case fortunes change again, Messbah finished by saying
"Of course these are all things we have heard and been told and I have not seen them with my own eyes"

What a piece of shit this snake or as they call him this crocodile, Messbah Yazdi is.

Sheikh Mohamad Haj Hassan Calls for the Release of Moussavi and Karroubi

Sheikh Mohammad Haj Hassan, leader of the Free Shiites movement in Lebanon issued the statement translated below yesterday. I think you will agree that Sheikh Hassan is more consistent than Stop the War fraudsters. Perhaps the Western useful idiots posing as intellectuals could learn from the brave Sheikh Hassan.

"
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

People are the source of power and it is time that people be able to choose their own destiny. For this reason, continuing with the repressive savage policies should not be allowed. Hence if a people are pursuing change, it is the duty of governments to respect their wishes. Sadly the most dangerous phenomenon we face today is the religious dictatorship which has donned the clothes of holiness and got involved in politics in order to pursue its own unhealthy interests.

It must be known that it is in no way permissible for innocent blood to be shed and hanging gallows to be raised and innocent men and women to be thrown in jail, just because they want to change their destiny or deny a certain ideology, and this is precisely the story of the Iranian regime, which tries to imply this idea that it is exercising the religious laws and yet it acts completely opposite to them. In fact it must be said that this regime is an unpopular regime ruled by a turbaned clad. This is a state run by those who will do anything in the name of religion, if its in their interests, even if contradictory to the religious laws. An example being the Baseej who shoot, kill, arrest and repress innocent people in the streets. Worse still they use the most brutal methods against their own former statesmen if they ever disagree with the establishment.

We ask the sick regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran, here and now, to release Mr. Mir Hussein Moussavi and the religious scholar, Mehdi Karroubi and all other political prisoners and end all the harassment of their families. The Iranian regime is duty bound, instead of making recommendations to other states to respect the wishes of the people to choose their own government, to give these rights to the people and nation of Iran first and foremost.

Nations seek peace and stability and reject all forms of violence and rule by force. The fall of dictatorships by pro-democracy movements seeking change in the region, is the best testimony for this claim. We, who have chosen the Koran as our guiding light and Islam as our religion, are obliged to respect Islam's teachings based on refraining from violence, murder and destruction.

Now that the people of Iran are subjected to repression and tyranny, we feel obliged to defend all nations under repression, for we want democracy to succeed, the very democracy which was the way of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Tolerance and kindness were the honourable traits of those great men which were taught to us. Hence if someone wants to pretend to be in their place and refer to themselves as the 'leader of the Muslims', they should behave as our holy figures did and understand that no one has a mandate on God's behalf simply because they hold the reigns of power.

It is time for the wheel of change for building a free and democratic world without murder, terror and war to be put in motion. It is our duty to make all endeavours to stop the Fascist savage repressions in Iran, Syria, Bahrain, Libya and Yemen.

We also ask all world governments and seek their help to support the people who want freedom and not to compromise on the people's rights to achieve a free future and stop the dictatorship governments in repressing and committing crimes against their people."

More Details on Ahmadinejad's Exorcist Revealed

The pro-Khamenei website, Shafaf [means Clear!] claims to have further information on Abbas Ghaffari, the man claimed to be Ahmadinejad's exorcist who was arrested last week. The article includes a photo of him and a handwritten letter to his friends which Shafaf article suggests is Ghaffari's own handwriting.

So here is a summary of what Shafaf article has revealed about Ghaffari, extracted from this alleged handwritten letter:

- He was born in 1953 in Rostam Abad

- His father was a debt/ransom collector who did not know the identity of his real parents

- His father became a police constable and married his mother who was a prostitute

- His mother had several illegitimate children from other local men and his sisters became prostitutes too

- His bastard brothers became thieves and conmen

- After the 1979 Islamic revolution, his sisters had to give up prostitution, wear a veil and stay home

- After the 1979 Islamic revolution, he and his family pretended to be pious and religious

The article then continues by quoting the unknown recipient of the alleged letter, that Ghaffari became a Satanist in the city of Ahvaz, doesn't say when, and learned his witchcraft from another satanist in six months.

Mashaei's circle, now referred to by Khamenei supporters, as the "deviant current" within the government, are supposed to have consulted Ghaffari on a range of issues which included fortune telling and government policy advise. If being a satanist, child of a prostitute and a ransom collector parents whose brothers and sisters were thieves and prostitutes was not enough ammunition for character assassination however, the article throws in just one more accusation by the unknown friend, just for good measure. Abbas Ghaffari, the sorcerer pretends to be a Muslim, claims to know the Koran and other holy Islamic texts by heart but he is Jewish and wears a star of David.

How loyalties quickly change in the Islamic Republic! which begs the question, the Green Movement leaders - called Seditionists by Supreme Leader's camp - have been accused of not having the adequate "insight" by the Supreme Leader, what insight does the Supreme Leader then have, when he has backed these satanists and sorcerers to run Iran for the past six years?

Parading a 70 Year old Bahaii Man, feet chained, in Iran

This recent shameful report has sickened many Iranians, including myself, who are sick of their compatriots being humiliated and abused in such ways, just because they have a different spiritual belief. The extract below was taken from Iranian.com written by Shifteh Ansari.

"Vajihollah Mirza Golpour, a 71-year old resident of Safar Abad Village outside Sari in the province of Mazandaran.

He was arrested after he appeared at the Sari Intelligence Office, following summons. His relatives said that he was transferred from Sari to Tonekabon, where he was interrogated. Mirza Golpur's relatives say he has heart disease and only one week prior to his arrest, he had been hospitalized for treatment. His family say they still don't know exactly on what charges he was arrested. All they know is that he is a Bahai, and he is just one in a large group of Bahai's who have been rounded up and arrested over the past couple of years in Mazandaran, some with their homes and farms destroyed.

Friends and relatives of Vajihollah Mirza Golpour said that in order "to put him under more pressure," last Tuesday he was made to walk ankle-cuffed all around the town of Tonekabon. A source said that earlier, during his interrogation, "in order to extract confessions of him, his head was hit against the wall, and he has been kicked in his side."

I have never understood why the Bahaii religion stipulates their followers must refrain from getting involved in politics, but to parade a 71 year old man, ankles chained together, in order to humiliate him is reason enough not to stay silent and let evil prevail.

Khomeini Fan Beaten up at Football Ground

It has not been a good week for sycophants in Iran. The ongoing rift between Ahmadinejad, who wishes to choose all his ministers himself and the Supreme Leader who is determined that he alone has the authority to appoint key cabinet posts has caused major confusion amongst those who usually choose their masters based on which one offers better cheese and wine.

Below is a picture of one such sycophant published in the Iranian daily, Alef, wearing a T-shirt with Khomeini's picture:

Same fan after he was hit over the head with a truncheon by law enforcement forces:

The pro-Khamenei camp have also arrested 25 people close to Ahmadinejad's favourite cabinet member, Rahim Mashaei. Those arrested include Parivash Fatemi, who was so full of praise for the Supreme Leader in the conference attended by Islamic Republic's stooges in London, at the Millenium hotel last year.

Ahmadinejad's Exorcist Arrested

The recent rift between the Supreme Leader and Ahamdinejad which led to the later's 10 day absent from cabinet meetings seems to be over for now, after Ahmadinejad returned to office and thanked the supreme leader for supporting his administration and in return affirmed the tenth administration’s unquestioned adherence to the principle of Velayat-e Faghih [rule of jurisprudence]. The rift has left several casualties on both sides however. Two of the casualties on Ahmadinejad's side are the presidential prayer leader, Abbas Amirifar and Ahmadinejad's personal exorcist, Abbas Ghaffari.

Abbas Amirifar is accused of being the man behind the controversial CD which was circulated in Iran depicting Ahmadinejad as the prophesied, Shoaib-ibn-Saleh. the right hand man of Imam Mahdi, who will liberate the world according to the Shiite theology, from corruption and repression. According to the CD, Ahmadinejad manifests all the prophesied characteristics which include a small beard, thin body frame, dark skin, leader of armies, sharp insight with strong determination and from the city of Ray, current day Tehran. Amirifar has also showed unequivocal support for Ahmadinejad's right hand man, Rahim Mashaei.

The other interesting casualty which is said to be the most important reason for Ahmadinejad's 10 day absence, is the arrest of his mysterious exorcist, Abbas Ghaffari. The website which first reported the arrest of the exorcist, 1Shanbeh, claims metaphysical capabilities that Abbas Ghaffari is supposed to have and hints that the sudden heart attack of Ghaffari's interrogator could also have something to do with Ghaffari's skills in the black art.

Meanwhile the most conscious and educated people in the region continue to live under the spell and the rule of the most superstitious and deluded gang of thugs who run the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Massacre in Syria

The brutality of the Syrian regime, the courage of the Syrian people!

1979 Islamic Revolution, A Huge Failure

It was supposed to be a revolution by the poor and to help the poor. A new Arabic word even entered the Persian vocabulary, Mostazafeen, a kind of Islamic equivalent of Marxist reference to proletariat. All sorts of claims were made that all Iranians will have a roof over their head, the oil revenue will be divided equally and gas, electricity, water and buses will be free. Three decades on, the claims are still uttered, in the footage below, Ahmadinejad in a press conference in Copenhagen tells the foreign media, "95% of the Iranian population were below the poverty line before the 1979 revolution and now We have no one in Iran who is in need of their daily bread"



Revolutions in the name of the poor are always full of rhetorics, regurgitated by an army of useful idiots around the world who idolize and justify populist dictators. The reality however is very different. Three decades after the 1979 revolution in Iran and after a decade of incredible oil revenue, patients who can not pay their hospital bills in Iran are thrown out of the hospital and left by the roadside to die:

These pictures were taken by Iranian daily Jahan News. One of the patients suffered a broken leg and was unable to pay a $200 bill, the other was an elderly woman who had suffered burns to her body.

This is the Islamic Republic. In the current turbulent period of revolutions in the Middle East, lessons of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the emptiness of rhetorics must not be forgotten.

The Killing Fields of Syria

The footage is hard to watch and not weep, but it must be shown around the world as the testimony of the criminal regime of Bashar Assad. This is a regime which is firing non stop machine gun rounds at its own people, young and old are gunned down and not even children are spared. It is total war against a courageous noble people who are saying 'we do not want Bashar's one party rule any more'.

Yet, you will not see this footage on Press TV. You will not see Stop the War marching in the streets or protesting outside the Syrian embassy like they did with Egypt. The likes of Lindsey German and John Rees are not saying a word, for they are scared they will soon lose another one of their beloved allies. Galloway will no rant about it. They are all bemused as why the Syrian people do not want a lifelong hereditary dictator any more?

VOA Persian's Worst Possible Performance

In years to come this interview with VOA Persian News Networks' new director, Ramin Asgard, will become part of a text book for Western diplomats as how not to appear before tyrannical regimes.

VOA Persian Interview with its New Director, Ramin Asgard

Millions of Iranians on Friday watched Asgard interviewed in VOA Persian's popular political satire show, Parazit, with disbelief, as the new director was resigned to begging the Iranian regime not to jam their satellite channels.

Asgard, who is of Iranian heritage, struggled to conduct the interview in Persian, first making a complete mess of trying to explain why Hilary Clinton did not show up on the station as had been promised. The real comedy however started when Asgard was asked why VOA Persian is no longer on Hotbird, and Asgard again struggling even worse than before to speak in Persian, explained how the Satellite company, EutelSat, had decided to kick out the satellite channels which get jammed by the Iranian government, i.e punish the victims and not the offenders. Then came the most stomach churning part of the interview, VOA Persian's new director begged the Iranian regime, 'Please for God's sake if you want our programs to continue, allow satellites to operate freely, please stop jamming us'!! I can just imagine how delighted the officials of the Islamic Republic became when they watched this bit, just as a bully would get intoxicated with joy when his victim starts pleading and begging for mercy. I can also however imagine how despondent people in Iran became when they watched the new director of the VOA Persian brought down on his knees, unable to do anything against IRI's violation of satellite broadcasting other than beg them for mercy.

The Miracle Birth of the Supreme Leader

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Iranian cleric describes the miracle birth of the Supreme Leader:

"..he [Mr. Zeinoldin], was in hospital and we had gone to visit him. Mr. Zeinoldin told his wife to tell us the story of Supreme Leader's birth. Mrs. Zeinoldin started telling me about it. One or two of my friends were chatting amongst themselves, Mr. Zeinoldin interrupted his wife and told those chatting amongst themselves to listen too. Mrs. Zeinoldin started again and said, 'The Supreme Leader has a half sister who now lives in Qom, her husband, Mr. Shamseldin was a senior cleric and used to throw lots to answer people's prayers in his office, and passed away recently but the Supreme Leader's half sister is still alive and lives in Qom.' Mrs. Zeinoldin then continued that she went to Qom and spoke to the Supreme Leader's step sister. This half sister told this to Mrs. Zeinoldin, 'Supreme Leader's father married again after his first wife passed away. Supreme Leader's father was Ayatollah Seyyed Javad Khamenei, he was the Friday Prayer leader in the Mosque of Turks in Mashad. When the Supreme Leader's mother became pregnant with our beloved leader [and went into labour], they told me[Supreme Leader's half sister] to find a midwife, and so I went and fetched a midwife.' So now the Supreme Leader is about to be born, she carried on 'They threw us out of the room and the midwife was preparing for the birth of this new child, all of a sudden we heard the midwife scream, 'May Imam Ali protect you'. We opened the door and rushed inside and asked what happened? The midwife said when this baby, i.e our Supreme Leader, was about to exit his mother's body shouted 'Hail Ali', and the midwife said she shouted back 'may Imam Ali protect you' as soon as she heard the baby chant this,'

This is what she told us, this ended here, several nights ago, sorry several days ago, Mr. Zeinoldin was having a meeting with several of the Revolutionary Guards commanders who were retired or about to retire and they came to see me in my office, Mr. Zeinoldin was there with that group [RG Commanders], I asked Mr. Zeinoldin to retell the story the Supreme Leader's half sister had said about the Supreme Leader, and he turned to the Revolutionary Guards commanders and said Saeedi is asking me to tell that story. He told the story to the commanders, and the commander of the Ali-ibn-Abi Taleb division, General Mahdavi-Nejad, asked for [Supreme Leader's half sister's address] so that they could record this tale. Oh ye Faithful, your Supreme Leader is someone who chanted Hail Ali the moment he was born and Hail Ali throughout his life, and you the Hezbollahi faithful must chant Hail Ali behind your Supreme Leader until eternity. This is the secret of our success, Oh dear Almighty, make us remain grateful of this gift from God, the Supreme Leader, keep us forever in the trenches of Imam Ali and the Supreme Leader...."

Arrested Iranian Actor, Ramin Parchami, in Court Today

Well known Iranian actor and director, Ramin Parchami, arrested during the 14th Feb protests appeared in court today. 

According to human rights sources reports inside Iran, Ramin Parchami was handcuffed and with a long beard looking thin and poorly surrounded by several security agents during his court appearance today.

Ramin Parchami is a graduate of drama school from Azad university in acting and directing. 

Bravery Medal for a Psycho

While the world is admiring the courage of the likes of Iman Al-Obeidi and the Syrian woman who stood up to Bashar Assad in the middle of his sycophants, a different type of person is being rewarded for a different kind of "courage". Mola Hassani, the Friday Prayer leader of Oroumieh, a psychopath who shopped his own son, Rashid, for being a Marxist. Rashid was subsequently executed, much to the delight of Molla Hassani.

The psychopath Friday Prayer leader of Oroumieh, also refused to attend his daughter's funeral after she committed suicide. This is one heartless evil cleric, but of course he is the ideal type of psycho-path neanderthal, which the Ahmadinejad administration chooses to reward.

Mohammad Reza Rahimi, former Rafsanjani crony who switched side to Ahmadinejad and under investigation for massive fraud, and next to him Ahmadinejad's messianic in-law, Rahim Mashaei and finally Hamid Baghaii, another one of Ahmadinejad sycophant, who has referred to Ahmadinejad as the 'Cyrus of our Times', can be seen applauding Molla Hassani for his "courage".

Mir Hussein's Father Passed Away

Mir Hussein Moussavi's father, Mir Ismael,  passed away yesterday while he was still incarcerated along with his wife. Mir Ismael's last words in Azeri were 'Mir Hussein harda di, nia galmir?' - Where is Mir Hussein? Why is he not coming?

During the 1979 revolution, the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, used Mir Ismael's house as a hideout. Thirty two years later, this is how the Supreme Leader repaid his debt, by incarcerating Mir Ismael's son and daughter-in-law and preventing them from being with Mir Ismael during his last hour.

Syria's Iman Al-Obeidi

Dictatorships are dab hands at organising rent a crowd mobs for their state cameras, making out the hired mobs are spontaneous outbursts of popular love and affection for the dictator, but it only takes the courage of one person to show how false they all are. Here a Syrian lioness, shows exceptional courage in the middle of thousands of Bashar Assad's procured supporters on live TV and it takes tens of Bashar's security men to subdue her. Little they realise that they have lost the game already, the courage of one woman has spoiled their party:

A Tribute to Iranian Bazaar Merchant, Mohsen Dogmehchi

Iran's bazaar merchants do not have a good reputation. They are conceived by most Iranians to be wealthy individuals with their own interests as their top priority. A conservative cast who embody resistance to change and modernity, rarely thinking about other fellow human beings.

A typical Iranian bazaar merchant is someone who wears his religious piety on his sleeves, with the sole aim of furthering his own goals. They have been the prime source of funding for the clerics for centuries and they played an important role in the 1979 revolution. Their motives was nothing noble however, by funding the clerics, they thought they were investing in their after life and at the same time fighting back modernisation.

In a typical Iranian bazaar merchant's house, you will be lucky to find any books, instead what money they have not hoarded, they would spend on items which may increase in value and mostly hidden away. For this stratum of the Iranian society, despite their wealth, they are even clueless in how to enjoy their money. As always of course, there are exceptions to the rule. The Iranian bazaar merchant, Mohsen Dogmechi was a huge exception to this rule.

Mohsen Dogmehchi, was a bazaar merchant who helped the families of Iran's political prisoners. A crime intolerable for the revolution savvy Islamic Republic of Iran, hell bent on crushing any sign of resistance or human charity. The evil Judge Salavati sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment in August 2009, purely for helping the families of political prisoners in Iran. He was first incarcerated in the notorious Evin prison and later transferred to the even worse prison near Karaj.

The Courage of Iman Al-Obeidi

So many crimes and atrocities by the despotic regimes around the world go unnoticed. Thanks to technology like mobile phones with cameras, the world today is witnessing some of these human rights abuses in these despotic countries. So much still goes unnoticed and what we are seeing today is still the tip of the iceberg.

Technology on its own is useless however, without the courage of the individuals who apply it. The courage of protesters, citizen journalists and the likes of Iman Al-Obeidi who tell the world about the crimes committed by these tyrannical regimes.

Iman Al-Obeidi must have known what will happen to her once she described her ordeal and the kinds of despicable crimes which go on in Libyan prisons. She must have known the group of journalists with cameras at the Rixos hotel will be no match for the government minders and security thugs with knives and guns and that she would be facing her terrible ordeal all over again. Iman Al-Obeidi however consciously decided that the world must know what the Libyan regime is about. A tyranny of one mad man who is prepared to sanction his security thugs to gang rape a citizen and then urinate and defecate on her.

Syrian Uprising

Our Syrian brothers and sisters, our hearts are with you. Stand firm against the Islamic Republic backed despot. No ruler should rule forever.

Close OFCOM Now! Sack Adam Baxter

OFCOM has once again ruled in favour of Press TV: See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/23/ofcom-iranian-tv-murder-reconstruction

This time, Adam Baxter, OFCOM's standards executive, has decided
"Given the broadcaster's assurances that both Sakineh Ashtiani and her son willingly participated in this programme, we considered that the context was not materially misleading so as to cause harm and offence,"

Have you ever come across a more clueless and stupid executive than Adam Baxter? Who on earth would take Press TV's assurance that Sakineh and her son, Sajjad were willing participants in the program? Did Adam Baxter go to Iran and interview Sakineh and Sajjad himself? If they were so willing, then why were no foreign reporters allowed to interview them?

And how can Adam Baxter accept such assurance, when Maziar Bahari, held and tortured in Iran after last June's protests, has already referred Iran's Press TV to Ofcom after it sent a journalist to cover his interrogation in prison?

OFCOM's Tel: 0300 123 3333 or 020 7981 3040
OFCOM's email: ofcomnews@ofcom.org.uk or contact@ofcom.org.uk

STW, No Enthusiasm for the Syrian Protests?

At the height of Iran's Green Movement protests, Stop the War Coalition scum either remained silent or some members even backed the Ahmadinejad administration openly in their meetings. Those who remained silent justified their silence by saying they are predominantly an anti-war organisation and no war or invasion was taking place in Iran. Now that would have been a fair enough excuse had they been consistent and not been so active in supporting the anti-Mubarak opposition, and I am talking about even before the Egyptian revolution and at the same time they were refusing to back the Iranian anti-regime protests.

During the Egyptian uprising, Stop the War Coalition were full of it, organising rallies and meetings left, right and centre. Had a war taken place in Egypt? Was Egypt invaded? None of that was relevant to the likes of Lindsey German the tape recorder, what mattered was that the Egyptian protests fitted with the agenda of the STW's leadership. They are not against war, they are not against massacres, they are not for liberty and freedom, they are about an agenda pursued by self hating rich Western kids who will support any anti-Western dictator.

And to prove the point, is their further lack of enthusiasm in supporting the recent protests in Syria:

Nowruz in Shiraz: Death to Dictator

People of Shiraz greet the Iranian New Year in their own way:

Death to Dictator
Freedom, Freedom, The Cry of All Iranians
Mubarak, Ben Ali, Its Your Turn Next Seyyed Ali (Supreme Leader)



Happy Nowruz, Our Martyred Brothers

The Most Disgusting Atrocity I Have Ever Watched

Its Nowrooz, the Iranian new year, the first day of the spring and the time when the new replaces the old. Its a time for celebration of life and its continuity. This year, even in London, the weather has been good. Yesterday it was clear blue sky in the morning and one could feel the warmth of the sun. No blossoms as yet but I could feel Nowruz was in the air. As I browsed through my emails yesterday, I tried to answer the Nowruz greetings but there was one email which was not about Nowruz. It was about a horrific act by a group of Neanderthals in Indonesia. The most brutal and savage killing of fellow human beings by other human beings I have ever watched on video. This despicable atrocity took place in February, but I must have been so consumed with the recent Iran and Middle East news that it was only yesterday I came to know about it.

It shows a group of extremist Muslims attacking a residence of another group of Muslims, belonging to the Ahmadiya sect, dragging them out and savagely beating them to death in front of the eyes of the incompetent local police.

How can any human being so mercilessly beat a helpless fellow human being to death? and over what? You belong to a different sect of Muslims than me!! But most importantly where are the Muslim religious leaders? Where are the fatwas they are usually so eager to issue over someone's words or drawings? Which is worse? I hope the Indonesian authorities will punish the perpetrators of this crime, for otherwise Indonesian Muslims will bear the shame of this savagery for a long time to come.

The Joy of People in Benghazi

These scenes must have made Workers Revolutionary Party and Stop the War Coalition leaders pull their hair out. I can just visualise them saying how dare the people in Libya reject Colonel Gadaffi, what do they know about "scientific socialism"? :)))

Another Chaharshanbeh Suri, Another Defiance of Supreme Leader's Fatwa

More than 30 videos of Iranian people celebrating the ancient Iranian fire festival and protesting against the regime throughout Iran. After three decades of mullahs trying to ban Chaharshanbeh Suri, the fire of Zoroaster still burns on and a nation cries Iran Will Never Die.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C49ACDAEB8282729

Why I Back Intervention Against Gadaffi

I have never backed intervention to overthrow the Islamic Republic but there are times when intervention is necessary to get rid of the most evil regimes engaged in genocide. Had it not been because of the military intervention by the Vietnamese, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge, would still be in power now and millions of Cambodians would continue to die or live under the most miserable conditions.

Other examples that come to mind are the overthrow of the Talibans in Afghanistan and the Nazis in Germany and military intervention to save Bosnians. In other words when a regime is so evil that it engages in ethnic cleansing and mass genocide, and does not allow the slightest dissent but uses maximum force to crush protests, there is every justification for a military intervention to save fellow human beings.

If Gadaffi and his clan regain the control of the rest of Libya, there will be a massacre. If the world sits by and allows Gadaffi to bombard its own people in order to survive, it will send a devastating message to other dictatorships, use maximum brutality, do not give any concessions and you will survive.

Gadaffi's survival will embolden the rest of the dictators and will mean long term misery for people living under tyrannies. Military intervention in Libya to stop the madman Gadaffi is well and truly justified.

Never Forget Halabja

Today is the anniversary of the massacre of men, women and children in Halabja by Saddam Hussein. Never forget Saddam's crimes:



and those who saluted his "courage" in murdering children"

Jahanchahi the Pillock Sinks to New Depths

Narcissist Iranian expat millionaire, Amir Hossein Jahanchahi, who has been trying to pose himself as an influential player in the opposition to the Islamic Republic with his two man team known as the "Green Wave" has sunk into new depths by slandering one of the defected diplomats as an IRI infiltrator.

Farzad Farhangian, the Iranian diplomat who defected from his post as the Islamic Republic's embassy press attache in Brussels, left Brussels for Norway, fearing for his safety and that of his family in Belgium. At the time, Jahanchahi obsessed with seeing his name and picture in the media, duped some media outlets that he had been behind the defection and had been funding Farhangian as well as advising him on immigration and security arrangements. One year after Jahanchahi's constant false claims in pretending that he is behind the defections, the defected diplomats issued an explicit statement that denied Jahanchahi's claims and that they have anything to do with the two man team known as the "Green Wave".

Last week, the Norwegian authorities deported Farhangian and his family back to Belgium, as part of the Dublin Convention. Basically the Dublin convention means if Farhangian applied for asylum in Belgium and Belgium is regarded as a safe country, his asylum should be decided by Belgium.

Jahanchahi however, enraged by the diplomats denouncing his claims, has published an article on his site  claiming that Farhangian was deported from Norway because the Norwegian authorities had identified him as an IRI infiltrator! Jahanchahi also writes that all the defected diplomats who issued the statement against him have been expelled from the Green Embassy Campaign!!

The defection of the diplomats was a source of joy for the Iranian public, it was another sign that the Iranian regime was crumbling, but once again a dubious Iranian millionaire, who for the last three decades had not cared about any of the injustices taking place in Iran has tried to smear and tarnish the reputation of these former diplomats for his own obsessions of vanity.

The defected diplomats are men of integrity who gave up their position and all their privileges to stand by the people of Iran, despite all the consequences of hardship they faced as the result of their defection.  Jahanchahi's attempts to tarnish them will get him nowhere other than expose him for what he is, a conceited self loving impostor who does not realise reputation and integrity are more important than money.

Iran's Young Poetess to Face Trial

Islamic Republic's intelligence ministry have filed a case against Hila Sedighi, Iran's young and beautiful poetess whose passionate political poetry recitals have stirred the deepest emotions amongst Iranians.

Hila Sedighi, a pro-Moussavi campaigner in the elections, has been interrogated for up to 10 to 11 hours a day in the last three months, on an almost daily basis.

Security agents have raided her house and took away her personal belongings and she now awaits her trial. Hila has responded by saying she will not accept any charges made against her and she has always acted within the framework of the country's laws.

Hila's video clips of her poetry recitals on youtube and facebook have received hits well above 100,000.

Below is one on youtube with subtitles (not a good translation)


and another one of her masterpieces which I have tried to translate myself



My Homeland,
The Magical Land
The Heart of the Middle East
Your Name, Your History and Your Men are Immortal
I am an Iranian woman, Iranian just like you
I am patient and I am proud too
I am your daughter
I am an Iranian woman like Shirin
Tahmineh's sister and in the same stories from Parvin and Pouran
I am an Iranian woman, a civilised person
I am a Daughter of Persia
and I roar like the sea
I am the Gulf, the Forever Persian Gulf
I am an Iranian woman
I have a spring full of grace
Like the water behind the Sivand Dam
I have as much tears behind my eyes
I am an Iranian woman
I mould you with the blocks of my soul
I raise and hold up your crown
With pillars made of my bones
I am an Iranian woman
Iranian like you
I am patient and I am proud too
I am your daughter 

Liar, Liar! Your Pants Are on Fire

Galloway tries to distance himself from Ahmadinejad in LSE. I think he owes our friend, Amir a thousand pounds. One can't ask for more witnesses than that

Workers Revolutionary Party: Victory to Gaddaffi!!!

I honestly didn't think the Marxist-Leninist-Trotskyist Workers Revolutionary Party existed any more. I thought it was some UK leftist group funded by the Libyan dictator which existed in the eighties and then disbanded as a result of internal strife. Apart from open admission that they received funding from Libya, WRP had  celebrity members like the Oscar winner British actress, Vanessa Redgrave, one of my earliest introductions to prominent useful idiots in the West.

Vanessa Redgrave's brother Corin Redgrave, also a celebrity actor, let his villa in Derbyshire to be used by the WRP as a venue for "training".

This morning however, as I was following the latest Libya news, I learned two new facts. Firstly, Workers Revolutionary Party still exists and it still vehemently supports Gaddaffi. See their editorial on their website, "Victory to Gaddaffi!!". Victory in what?? In killing his people and continuing his dynasty?

Secondly, Vanessa Redgrave, has been awarded a CBE, Commander of the British Empire. So much for her Left wing principles! Meanwhile as these rich useful idiots play their fantasy revolutionary games, and make up their own scenarios of oppressed people's champions, Gaddaffi's troops continue with their massacre of their own people. Below is a footage of a tank which has overrun a car with passengers inside the car:

Millionaire Expat, Jahanchahi Stains the Defected Diplomat Campaign

I have only met the Iranian billionaire, Jahanchahi once, in a meeting he held in South West London. The meeting was attended by a handful of mainly over seventy year old Iranian expats, who each in turn, having smelled the possibility of a cash handout, tried to flatter the money-man in some way. One praised his strength and courage, one praised his resolute tone in his speech, one praised his good looks and said it was fit for leadership! The adulation was stomach churning and when I asked him what he thought opposition activists outside Iran should do, his answer convinced me that this guy does not have a clue, and just like some of the other super rich Iranian expats, I have been unfortunate enough to bump into every now and then, his motives were also mainly narcissism and self promotion. Just looking at his website and realising how many times he mentions his own name and displays his picture, will confirm my claims of his narcissism.  Here was another rich Iranian expat who thought just because he had been a successful businessman, he could also overthrow the Islamic Republic.

In that meeting, Jahanchahi tried to make a big song and dance about being able to meet Western statesman if he simply clicked his fingers. Others reacted with their exaggerated facial expressions to make sure Jahanchahi saw how impressed they were. I thought so what? I meet lots of politicians and media people, meeting people is not a big deal, its getting them to do something which counts.

It seemed to me, Jahanchahi having sensed that Iran is about to change, wanted to ride the wave and appropriately he called his group, the Green Wave. He declared that his plan to overthrow the Islamic Republic was buying the regime officials. Here was this rich kid who thought he had so much money, he could buy the regime officials one by one.

When the Iranian diplomats started defecting, Jahanchahi claimed he was behind the defections and he was helping the defected diplomats by arranging their immigration issues, security arrangements and also helping them financially.

When I first heard the Iranian diplomat in Japan was facing deportation from Japan, I heard Jahanchahi was helping him and was bringing the diplomat to France. When I contacted the diplomat in Japan and asked if Jahanchahi was helping him? The diplomat's response was, 'who is Jahanchahi? I have never heard of him'

The total cash donated by Jahanchahi ever since the first diplomat defected was 100 Euros towards a press conference costs, which was given back to him afterwards. All security arrangements were made by the defected diplomats themselves and their host authorities and as far as immigration issues, some like Farhangian, who defected from his post in Belgium, face serious difficulties and uncertain future.

The last diplomat who defected from his post in Italy, has more or less been kidnapped by Jahanchahi. No one is able to contact him, including the former senior diplomats who defected and joined the campaign. The defected diplomats have not even been able to convey to the latest defector, Ahmad Maleki, that Jahanchahi is nothing to do with their campaign. Hossein Alizadeh, the senior Iranian diplomat who defected from his post in Helsinki, was turned away from the five star hotel in Paris, where Jahanchahi had arranged the press conference for Maleki.

Finally the Green diplomats have had enough and issued two statements in recent days, where they categorically deny he Green Wave being behind their defections in any way. I hope the campaign will move forward from here on, but inevitably Jahnachahi has managed to stain the campaign and undoubtedly discouraged many more diplomats from defecting.

Kidnapping at the Highest Level

Saham News reports eye witnesses have reported the mysterious aid close to the Supreme Leader, known as Vahid, to have been personally involved and led the kidnap of Karroubi and his wife, Fatemeh.

Vahid Haghanian, more commonly known simply as Vahid, is the deputy executive of the Supreme Leader's office. He has become known as an influential figure whose duties include co-ordination of various military, political and security units as well as delivering the Supreme Leader's messages. He is said to be the Supreme Leader's right hand man and yet very little is known about him. None of the better known people around the Supreme Leader have ever commented or mentioned anything about him in their memoires.

First pictures of Vahid ever seen in public were during Ahmadienjad's inauguration, where he was seen handing the presidency edict to the Supreme Leader, a task normally carried out by either the former president or the head of the Assembly of Experts.

Good Luck Negotiating with this Pinocchio

Tuesday's Protests

Been so busy, I have not been able to write about the protests which took place on Tuesday across several Iranian cities. Here is a summary translation of how a friend on the ground described the events on Tuesday:

The movement in spreading. Government has been able to localize its censorship and can cut Internet, telephone and communication of different parts of the city separately (in Tehran at least). Islam Shahr uprising shows that the movement is spreading everywhere. Ayatollah Dastgheib's showdown with Ayatollah Khamenei shows that a growing (however slow) number of religious leaders are breaking away from the system. The regime is increasing the brutality. I heard gun shots but did not see anyone with gunshot wound. Yesterday evening was extremely cold and rainy and dark so it was hard to keep up with the visual aspect of the events. The guards are becoming extremely ruthless and they are bringing some new forces which look very strange. I mean we already know how a ruthless bastard Islamic radical guard looks and the way their eyes look at you as if there is nothing behind their eyes except an empty black void, but these people were mixed with the rest of the police and normal anti-riot police (that are just doing their job); now there are more of these "psychopath looking weirdos" and some of them don't even speak Persian.

On the negative side, it is inevitable that the peaceful movement will turn violent in the days to come. The regime is leaving no other option for the people.

Footages from Tuesday protests:

Nawab Street Protests:
[Independence, Freedom, an Iranian Republic]



Forsat Street: [Death to the Dictator]



Arrests and tear gas used in Mashad



Anti Riot Guards on Bikes in Shiraz