Republican Senators Write Iran, 155k Sign Treason Petition
By Jeralyn, Section Other Politics
Posted on Wed Mar 11, 2015 at 09:47:40 PM EST
Tags: Iran, treason, Republicans (all tags)
Here is the letter Republican senators sent to the leadership of Iran.
Iran responded it has no legal value.
Republicans do not speak for Congress or the President who is Commander in Chief. They should be sanctioned for even writing it.
I guess I'm not the only one who thinks this is unacceptable behavior by Republicans. 155,000 people have signed a petition that the ink happy Senators be charged with treason. [More...]
Iran Sends Quds to Help Iraqi Military Fight ISIS
By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Thu Jun 12, 2014 at 08:18:37 PM EST
Tags: ISIS, Iraq, Iran (all tags)
The Wall St. Journal reported earlier today Iran has sent its Quds soldiers to Iraq to battle ISIS:
At least three battalions of the Quds Forces, the elite overseas branch of the Guards, were deployed support the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, an offshoot of al Qaeda that is swiftly conquering territory across Iraq, they said.
One Guards unit that was already in Iraq fought alongside the Iraqi army, offering guerrilla warfare advice and tactics that helped reclaim most of the city of Tikrit on Thursday. Two Guards' units, deployed from Iran's western border provinces on Wednesday, were tasked with protecting Baghdad and the holy Shiite cities of Karbala and Najaf, these security sources said.
The QUDS are the overseas branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. ISIS has reportedly seized a huge cache of U.S. military equipment. The Washington Post reports Iraq is falling apart, splintering into three factions: Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish. The Kurds have taken Kirkuk, ISIS is moving south towards Baghdad, and the Shiite-led government of Nouri al-Maliki is reduced to calling for volunteers and some help from Iran.
Has Obama's position changed? The Post quotes him as saying, "It's fair to say . . . there will be some short-term things that need to be done militarily."
Foreign Policy says ISIS blindsided U.S. intelligence. [More...]
International Accord Reached on Iran's Nuclear Program
By Jeralyn, Section Foreign Affairs
Posted on Sun Nov 24, 2013 at 12:00:51 AM EST
Tags: Iran, nuclear weapons (all tags)
An accord has been reached with Iran about its nuclear weapons program.
Iran has agreed to stop enriching uranium above 5%. The accord is to last six months. (Sounds more like a pause than a cessation.)
In return for the initial agreement, the United States agreed to provide $6 billion to $7 billion in sanctions relief. Of this, roughly $4.2 billion would be oil revenue that has been frozen in foreign banks.
(37 comments) Permalink :: Comments
Jailed Iranian Blogger Died After Torture, Iran to "Investigate"
Posted on Mon Nov 12, 2012 at 11:38:52 AM EST
Tags: Iran, Sattar Behesti (all tags)
Iranian blogger Sattar Beheshti, was arrested on October 30 for cybercrimes and dead a week later. He had been interrogated and according to an Iranian prosecutor, his body showed signs of torture in several places.
Before he died, Behesti wrote this letter to the head of Evin Prison. Yesterday, Iran announced an investigation into Behesti's death. More here.
Three of his interrogators were arrested. [More...]
Barbarism: Photos From Today's Executions in Iran
By Jeralyn, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Wed Oct 12, 2011 at 06:30:44 PM EST
Tags: Iran (all tags)
Warning: Don't look at these photos if you are squeamish about death by hanging.
From earlier today in Iran: The barbarism of the death penalty is brought home in these 25 photos, published today by the Fars News Agency in Iran. Four young men in their 20's were executed by hanging in public. The photos start with the men alive and being led to slaughter. The crowds watching are huge. They end with the men being cut down and put in body bags. There are close-ups of their faces as they are hanged. Photos by a different news agency here. [More...]
US Issues World Wide Terror Alert Linked to Iran
By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Tue Oct 11, 2011 at 11:32:41 PM EST
That didn't take long. On its Twitter account, the State Department posted this alert tonight -- its first tweet in four days.
@TravelGov Travel - State Dept
#Worldwide #Travel alert - potential for anti-U.S. actions due to disruption of terrorist act in U.S. linked to Iran: goo.gl/RKo7B
The gist:
The U.S. government assesses that this Iranian-backed plan to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador may indicate a more aggressive focus by the Iranian Government on terrorist activity against diplomats from certain countries, to include possible attacks in the United States.
Background on the plot is in our earlier post here.
What's this really about?
Iranians Charged With Plot to Kill Saudi Ambassador in U.S.
Attorney General Eric Holder (DOJ press release here) has announced criminal charges against Iranian agents for plotting to kill the Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. The plot was "conceived" in Iran by the Quds force, part of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps." A DEA informant was involved. Here's the Complaint. Via ABC News:
The case, called Operation Red Coalition, began in May when an Iranian-American from Corpus Christi, Texas, approached a US informant seeking the help of a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, according to counter-terrorism officials. The Iranian-American thought he was dealing with a member of a Mexican drug organisation, according to documents.
Iran calls it a propaganda campaign. The FBI press release is here. [More...]
Iran Security Forces Overwhelm Protesters
Posted on Thu Feb 11, 2010 at 11:12:26 AM EST
From the TimesOnline: The Iran security forces won out over the protesters:
Opposition websites said Revolutionary Guards and basiji militiamen were stationed everywhere and that they moved swiftly and violently to break up opposition demonstrations.
They claimed the security forces used live ammunition, knives, teargas and paintballs that would enable them to identify protesters later and that they were beating and arresting women as well as men. They were backed up by water canon, new Chinese anti-riot vehicles and helicopters. Some, wearing plain clothes, infiltrated the protesters. The mobile telephone, internet and text messaging systems were seriously disrupted.
Iranians Protest; Ahmadinejad Touts Uranium Milestone
The best way to follow the Iran protests today, at least for now, is on twitter. Try #iranelection. While many are posting in Farsi, others are retweeting in English. Crowds are growing, and security forces opened fire.
Security forces attacked the crowd of protesters in Arya-Shahr, opening fire on them. Several people have reportedly been injured during the shooting. However, the crowd has not dispersed and keeps chanting slogans. Security forces are firing directly on the masses of protesters. There is a heavy presence of military and intelligence forces in Tehran streets.
Other tweets: "Clashes in Vesal St & Vanak sq right now." "Confirmed: Mobile service disconnected in certain parts of Tehran."
Some video is getting out, the tweeters are posting the links. "Death to Dictators" seems to be the most prevalent protest chant being quoted. [More...]
Iran's Abuse of Post-Election Detainees
Posted on Tue Jul 28, 2009 at 06:52:16 PM EST
Very ugly reports are coming out about the treatment of detainees in Iran after the election.
Some prisoners say they watched fellow detainees being beaten to death by guards, in overcrowded, stinking holding pens. Others said they had their fingernails ripped off, or were forced to lick filthy toilet bowls.
....More bruised corpses have been returned to families in recent days, and some hospital officials told human rights workers they have seen evidence that well over 100 protesters have been killed since the elections.
The article contains links to the sites where you can read the personal stories. The Times says some of the sites have been reliable in the past.
Reports of Brutal Assaults on Protesters by Iran Security
Posted on Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 11:25:28 AM EST
There are reports of brutal assaults on protesters in Tehran. There are eyewitness reports of people being thrown off bridges.
At least two trusted sources described wild and violent conditions at a part of Tehran where protesters had planned to demonstrate. "They were waiting for us," the source said. "They all have guns and riot uniforms. It was like a mouse trap."
"I see many people with broken arms, legs, heads — blood everywhere — pepper gas like war," the source said. Around "500 thugs" with clubs came out of a mosque and attacked people in the square, another source said. The security forces were ""beating women madly" and "killing people like hell," the source said.
Best way to follow the updates live is on Twitter. Try #Tehran, #IranElection. HuffPo is live-blogging information. and CNN is on it as well.
Newsweek Reporter Seized and Detained in Iran
Posted on Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 11:03:08 PM EST
Via Newsweek: One of their reporters in Iran has been taken from his home by security officers.
Among the dozens of people arrested overnight in Tehran was NEWSWEEK reporter Maziar Bahari, who has covered Iran for the magazine for over a decade. Bahari was home asleep at 7 a.m. when several security officers showed up at his Tehran apartment. According to his mother, who lives with the 41-year-old reporter and documentary filmmaker, the men did not identify themselves. They seized Bahari's laptop and several videotapes. Assuring her that he would be their guest, they then left with Bahari. He has not been heard from since.
Reporters Without Borders says more than 20 Iranian journalists and bloggers have been detained since last week's elections.
(4 comments) Permalink :: Comments
Obama Gets It Right, Where Condi Got It Wrong With Iran
By Jacob Freeze, Section Diaries
Posted on Mon Jun 15, 2009 at 05:12:06 PM EST
Tags: Barack Obama, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (all tags)
Way back in May 2005, less than a month before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected President of Iran, the barking idiot Condoleeza Rice was prancing around the Middle East and threatening Iran with the sort of "major changes" which the United States had already inflicted on Afghanistan and Iraq.
"The Iranians should not consider themselves immune from the major changes that are going on in the region, and we would hope that they would begin to engage in more stabilizing behavior," said Rice, speaking after a meeting with Kuwaiti's foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah.
Iranians voters, who were about to choose between the violently anti-American Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the much more conciliatory Mohammad Khatami, and the centrist Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, immediately understood that Condoleeza Rice was sending them a message!
"Elect that hard-liner Ahmadinejad and the biggest bully on the block will open a can of whip-ass on your sorry Islamic butts!"
(392 words in story) There's More :: Permalink :: Comments
Gunfire Kills One at Pro-Mousavi Iran Rally
"War, children, is just a shot away."
A demonstrator has been killed by gunfire at protests in Iran. Huffington Post is live-blogging events. The violence continues. Follow the twitter feeds for the fastest updates. [More...]
(6 comments, 91 words in story) There's More :: Permalink :: Comments
Cell Phone Service Reported Out in Iran After Election
Posted on Sat Jun 13, 2009 at 01:45:36 PM EST
Cell phone service around Tehran is currently down. Clashes have erupted.
According to Peiknet (and a translation I received by e-mail),
Telephone communication between Tehran and the rest of Iran has been completely disconnected. This corresponds with the beginnings of the arrests of the opposition. It is suspected that this is being orchestrated by the son of Mojtaba Khamenei son of The Supreme Leader, Ali.
CliffLyon at Daily Kos is following the breaking developments.
Next 15 >>
Tuesday December 17th
♦ Trump Impeachment Vote Today (16 comments)