 Click here for my latest article on FrontPage. Iraq is going through its greatest crisis since the pre-surge days of unimaginable violence and chaos, and it deserves much more attention than is being received. The March 7 parliamentary elections will have a profound impact on the region and the U.S. plan to withdraw from the country. With stakes so high, it’s remarkable that this isn’t making the headlines.
 After the fraudulent June 12, 2009 presidential elections in Iran, Iranians poured into the streets by the millions, chanting, "Where is my vote?"
The thunderous protests were the birth pangs of the Green Movement.
That was six months ago, and the movement has rapidly evolved into a massive force aiming to sweep aside the current regime.
Street slogans have changed from "where is my vote?" to "death to the dictator," in direct reference to Ahmadinejad and the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Longstanding slogans vilifying the U.S. and Israel have been drowned out by slogans against the supporters of the Islamic regime, such as Russia and China.
The brutal Ahmadinejad-Khamenei gang has its back against the wall. Every major Iranian city, its universities, and many workplaces are festooned with graffiti against the leaders of the regime.
The supreme leader, previously presumed above the law of the land, is now loudly proclaimed by the masses as a murderer who has lost the legitimacy of his office. In fact, the very office of the Supreme Guide and the Islamic Republic is soundly rejected by the masses clamoring for an Iranian Republic to replace the Islamic one. All signs point to an early demise of the Islamic Republic -- and the establishment of a secular democracy completely divorced from Islam. On December 27, 2009, the day of Ashoura, the world watched in amazement as the masses of brave, fed up people confronted the security forces and hired Basij members of the Islamic Republic and shook its very foundation -- an early indication of the people's determination to bring the mullahcracy to its knees. It was a day of victory for the people of Iran over the fundamentalists who have had a stranglehold on them for more than three decades. The peaceful protest against the regime by millions throughout the land is a clear signal that the Islamic theocracy is in the midst of an irreversible downfall.
The overwhelming majority of the people are no longer willing to settle for a vote recount or a less repressive Islamic rule. They are determined to establish a fully secular democracy with complete separation of mosque and state. The Islamic Republic's response to the legitimate, peaceful demands of the people has been to implement an iron fist: beatings of the demonstrators (both men and women), arrests, torture and rape in secret compounds, and even shooting in the streets -- the standard stock of dictatorships, but also the surest way of swelling and solidifying the dissenters' ranks. The recent uprisings of the people are reminiscent of the 1979 revolution that ended the monarchy in Iran.
A fragmented state led by brutal yet indecisive men is suddenly faced by a fed up and determined opposition. To be sure, the regime still has all the guns and resources, along with unlimited ruthlessness, to prolong its life.
Yet there is no question that the Islamic Republic's demise is a foregone conclusion. It is crumbling from within as well. The previously solid oppressive rule is solid no longer. Deep cracks are popping up in the system and among the contending factions. Realistically speaking, there is perhaps 10-15 percent of the population that still supports the clerical system to various degrees. Many in this group are government employees, mullahs, and hired elements such as Basiji.
Also, the regime has some backers among the poor, the less educated, and the deeply religious. Yet the alienation from the regime spans the entire spectrum of the Iranian society, with the intelligentsia and the university students leading the determined opposition. Ahmadinejad and Ali Khamenei are greatly despised by the overwhelming majority of Iranians. The two and their functionaries are in deep trouble with the masses, who are going to take them to task before very long. It is noteworthy that the government exercises maximum brutality on the one hand and is forced to retreat in some respects in other areas. For instance, in response to the unrelenting pressure exerted by the people demanding accountability for the post-election atrocities, the government recently admitted to some of the crimes committed in various prisons by charging twelve jailers with torture and the death of prisoners. This admission is hugely significant. The mullahs are retreating by punishing their own followers in the hope of placating the populace.
It is not going to work. Unbeknownst to them, the admission reinforces the determination of the protesters and fuels their fire. It also serves to discourage their own followers from carrying out orders of torture and killing in the future. The perpetrators feel that they may be the next sacrificial lambs for the top echelons. More at Islam Watch 
 The car of one of Iran's opposition leaders has been hit by gunfire in the northern town of Qazvin, according to his party's website.
Mehdi Karroubi, a reformist candidate in last June's disputed presidential election, was visiting Qazvin to attend a mourning ceremony for opposition protesters when he was attacked, the website said.
Karroubi was apparently uninjured in the attack.
"Around 500 basiji [pro-government militia] and residents of nearby villages surrounded the place where he was and attacked the building with stones, breaking windows," Sahamnews.org said on Friday.
After four hours, anti-riot police reportedly intervened and got Karroubi to his car but it was shot at as it left the venue. "As his car was pulling away, it was attacked and hit by gunfire. But, as it is an armoured car, only the windows were damaged."
The attackers chanted slogans in support of the government and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, the website said.
"Our town is not a place for hypocrites," they were report as saying. The Rajanews.com website, which is close to the government, confirmed that Karroubi's motorcade had come under attack by a stone-throwing crowd, but it made no mention of gunfire or basij militia being involved. "Several thousand angry people surrounded the house where Mehdi Karroubi was," it said. "Anti-riot police tried several times to clear a way through the crowd to extricate Karroubi's vehicle which finally left under a hail of stones, eggs and tomatoes."
Foad Izadi, a professor of political communication at Tehran University, told Al Jazeera: "The political situation in Iran is not very calm. "When you have one of the leading opposition members visiting a town that is somewhat more religious, it is understandable some people are not going to like it."
Along with Mir Hossein Mousavi, another reformist leader, Karroubi complained that the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president, was marred by vote rigging and fraud.
The accusation sparked a series of protests in the capital Tehran and elsewhere, which later spilled over into violent clashes between opposition supporters and security forces.
Hundreds of opposition leaders, activists and protesters have been arrested since a crackdown on the protests shortly after the election. Al Jazeera
 THE young woman killed during the June election protests in Tehran was an agent for the United States and Britain who faked her own death, says a documentary made by Iran state television. Neda Agha Soltan, 27, became a symbol of Iranian democratic resistance when her death was filmed on a mobile phone and then posted on YouTube, where it was watched by millions of people. It was then broadcast around the world by news organisations. Yet a documentary shown on Iranian state TV claims she wasn’t dying, but had simply poured blood on her face from a hidden bottle, reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a group of journalists who cover 20 countries where a free press is banned or not established. "While Neda is (pretending) she is injured and is lying on the back seat of the car on their lap, they bring out a handgun from their pockets," the documentary's narrator says. "A handgun that they obtained from their Western and Iranian friends to water the tree of reforms and kill people and create divisions within society. "Neda, for a moment, realises their wicked plan and struggles to escape, but they quickly shoot her from behind." RFE/RL reports Iranian officials have repeatedly described her death as "suspicious" and a "premeditated scenario" to defame Iran. Dr Hejazi has denied being in the car, and told RFE/RD: “A young innocent woman was shot dead while protesting. Since her killing, until today, the Iranian government has been doing all it can to distance itself from it and throw the responsibility on others, instead of acting responsibly and dealing with those who are guilty." Dr Hejazi said Tehran kept changing its story about Neda's death. "Their first reaction was that she was alive," he said. "Then they said the footage was fake. "One day they said a BBC reporter killed her. Then they said it was the CIA. Then they said the (Mujahedin) Khalq Organisation was behind it. "The latest is this documentary." In June, tens of thousands of Opposition supporters rallied in Tehran in defiance of an official ban on protests over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidential election win. At least 10 people were killed and more an 100 wounded when security forces cracked down on the protesters. Read more about this story of Neda's faked death at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The Australian
 These events have been reported to World Threats. These 17 people have been detained by the regime during the Ashura and Tasua uprisings. These detainees are:
1-Bahram Moosivand, 27years old, air force seargent,
2-Mahsa Yadollahi Razavi, 24years old, arrested under Hafez bridge,
3-Roojan Noorian, 31 years old, arrested in Vali-e-Asr Sq.
4-Ashkan Saeedi, 24 years old, arrested in Vali-e-Asr Sq.
5-Majid Poor Abed, 29years old, arrested in Imam Hossein Sq in Tasua,
6-Seyyed Aliraza Hosseini, 25years old, arrested in Enghelab. He was attacked by plainclothes and while two Plainclothes dragged him they threw him in SSF’s van and transferred him.
7-Amir Amir Entezami, 30 years old, arrested in Hafez St.,
8-Hamed Asgharpoor, 22years old, arrested in Imam Hossein,
9-Mohsen Hakimi, 30 years old,
10-Arin Nezam Abadi, 23 years old, arrested in Tohid,
11-Ahmadreza Ghasempoor Najafabadi, 28years old, arrested in Vali-e-Asr intersection,
12-Aref Naseri, 21years old, arrested in Keshavarz Blvd.,
13-Ali Zolanvar, 36 years old, arrested in Azadi,
14-Farshid Karimi, 27years old, arrested in Azerbaijan St.,
15-Mehdi Vaezi , 24years old,
16-Mostafa Arab, 32years old, arrested in Vali-e-Asr Sq.,
17-Kamal Heydardost, arrested in Ferdosi.
Jan. 5 - Thirty six members of the Majlis (Parliament) who are also former torturers and RGC commanders have demanded that the detainees of the uprising be executed as soon as possible.
They are characterizing the detainees as Mohareb (presuming this is some kind of negative religious term). Jan. 5 - The deputy head of the Parliament has demanded the suppression of members of the opposition who are out of the country. Jan. 5 - To spread an atmosphere of terror, the regime is hanging people in different cities on a daily basis. Analysis. The mullocracy is not doing well. Considering the size of the demonstrations during the ten days of Ashura, it is highly doubtful that even mass hangings will cause any diminution of the hatred for the regime.
Attempts to get at the PMOI in Iraq will not go over well with the Iraqis. Attempts to get at the PMOI in France and other parts of Europe will go over even less well. The Europeans are already unhappy with Iran over their nuclear programs. Should expatriate Iranians start turning up dead the Europeans will consider taking a lot more serious action against Iran. World Threats
 These events have been reported to World Threats. 1 Jan 10 - All students at the Mashad School of architecture had to present their student ID to enter the school.
Thirty-three students were considered suspicious and arrested. This lead to a protest of about 500 students in front of the self service (food dispensers?) against the detention of 33 students. The Special Security forces then arrested 20 students. 2 Jan 10 - Mullah Raeesi, the first deputy of Judiciary appointed by Khamenei, claimed that those who fight the government such and the People’s Mujahadeen of Iran are counted as fighting against God and their punishment is execution. Mullah Eje-ee, the General Prosecutor of Iran announced that three Ashura protesters will be executed. They have been labeled Mohareb (one who fights against God). Pasdar (Revolutionary Guard) Moshen Rezaee the former head of the RGC and the Secretary of the Expediency Council has called the regime’s status “unpleasant and critical”. Mullah Janati, Secretary of the Guidance Council, admitted that the principal of Supreme Leadership was the target of the revolution and not the election of Ahmadinejad. He warned the nation’s judiciary that it must intensify its suppressive measures. 31 Dec. 09 - in Isfehan the people demonstrated in Ahmadabad Square, Hossein Abad and Imam Hossein area chanting “Death to Khamenei”. The RGC is now guarding Farahabad Base in Isfehan to prevent soldiers from joining the protests. 2 Jan. 10 - The people of Tehran continue the nightly chants of “Allah O Akbar”, “this is the month of blood and Yazid (meaning Khamenei) is overthrown”. Analysis. The revolution isn’t over by a long shot. As I have said before, almost everything in the Middle East must be filtered through the lens of Islam.
If you fail to do this you will misunderstand the entire region. Look at the slogans of the revolutionaries (They have long since gone beyond mere protesters.).
They are all based in Shiite religious history and doctrine. The Ashura celebration is all about the murder of Hossein and his companions by Yazid, the Umyyad governor of Damascus who was supposedly inferior to Hossein as the leader of Islam. Allah O Akbar - God is Greatest - the pretty much universal Islamic chant. Right now the Government of Iran is being run by the Yadzi faction - those who wish to expedite the return of the Hidden Imam.
The recent counter proposal to the 5+1 proposal to take 1350 tons of 5% enriched Iranian uranium out of the country and return it in about two years as reactor fuel rods of either an even trade or the sale of the reactor fuel is telling. The Iranians will not let that enriched uranium out of the country. That is their feed stock for further enrichment. Nor do they trust the West. As long as the Yazdi faction is running Iran there will be nothing but chaos. It is in our best interests to put as much external pressure on the regime as possible. We must also support the Iranian people in their revolution against the mullahs. To do less is to invite continued trouble in the region. World Threats
 TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's opposition leader on Friday pledged to remain defiant in the face of new threats — including calls by hard-liners for his execution — and said he was ready to sacrifice his life in defense of the people's right to hold peaceful protests against the government. Mir Hossein Mousavi's remarks come after the worst unrest since the immediate aftermath of disputed June presidential election.
At least eight people died during anti-government protests Sunday, including Mousavi's nephew. Iran's state prosecutor on Thursday warned opposition leaders could be put on trial if they don't denounce this week's anti-government protests. Iranian hard-liners have called for the execution of Mousavi and other opposition figures, while a previously unknown group claimed in an online posting that suicide squads were ready to assassinate opposition leaders should the judiciary fail to punish them within a week. In one of his strongest statements to date, Mousavi on Friday said he was "ready for martyrdom" — the sacrifice of one's life for a higher cause — and lashed out at the bloody crackdown the authorities are waging against the opposition. He said the government was making more mistakes by resorting to violence and killings, and that it must accept the people's rights to hold peaceful demonstrations. "I explicitly and clearly state that an order to execute, murder and imprison (opposition leaders) ... won't resolve the problem," Mousavi said in a statement on his Web site, Kaleme. "I'm not afraid to be one of the martyrs people have offered in the struggle for their just demands." Iran's internal turmoil has grown increasingly bitter. The confrontation between clerical rulers and their opponents returned to the streets in recent weeks, after a harsh crackdown immediately following the June 12 balloting all but crushed the opposition movement. One of those killed in clashes between security forces and opposition protesters on Sunday, when Shiite Muslims marked the sacred day of Ashoura, was Mousavi's nephew, Ali Mousavi. He was buried Wednesday in a hastily organized ceremony that was attended by the opposition leader and other family members. Authorities had taken the body from the hospital earlier in the week in what was seen as an attempt to prevent the funeral from turning into another pro-opposition protest. Sunday's unrest was followed by two days of pro-government protests Wednesday and Thursday in which crowds chanted calls for the execution of Mousavi, and another opposition figure, Mahdi Karroubi. Both Mousavi and Karroubi were losing candidates in the June election, in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner. The opposition argues the election was rigged and that Ahmadinejad won by fraud. Some government supporters at the two days of rallies wore white funeral shrouds to symbolize a willingness to die in defense of Iran's clerical rulers. Several hundred turned out for demonstration Thursday in southern Tehran outside the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, state radio reported. In his statement Friday, Mousavi also denounced hard-liners who he said preached violence from state-funded podiums in the name of Islam. "Encouraging the killing of people ... is a tragedy carried out by specific individuals and the state TV," he said, adding that efforts to silence the opposition "through arrests, violence and threats," would not succeed. FoxNews
 Introduction: Since the fraudulent June 12th Presidential elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), an increasingly emboldened opposition, the green movement, has arisen to demand the overthrow of the IRI. The green movement refuses to desist from launching massive street protests in Tehran, Qom, Isfahan and other major Iranian cities. All this is occurring despite violence wreaked upon thousands of valiant regime opponents by the ruling Mullahs and President Ahmadinejad.
As of this writing more than 15 have been killed in clashes with Iranian security services including the nephew of reformist Presidential candidate Mir Mohammad Mousavi, former IRI Prime Minister. Moreover several dissident leaders have been jailed. Something major is brewing in Iran - possibly revolution. As the year was closing, first a crescendo of massive protests occurred at Students Day events. Then tens of thousands used the occasion of the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri to demonstrate their determination to end the rule of the Supreme Ruling Council head, Ayatollah Khamanei, and his puppet President Ahmadinejad. The final bloody weekend of 2009 witnessed the faltering IRI regime undertaking unprecedented security measures to pre-empt public mourning and observances of the Shi’a Ashura holy day. Police, revolutionary guard and the Basiji para-military forces blanketed Tehran in a vain attempt to stifle public gatherings. They failed. Massive throngs of people from all classes in Tehran and other major cities defied bans in spite of warnings that violators would be dealt with mercilessly.
As a Der Spiegel article reported these protesters were shouting: “We will fight, we will die, we will reconquer our country.” There were graphic video images sent via the internet of protesters engaged in street battles with Basiji forces. Now there are reports that elements of the Iranian Military may have sided with the opposition in support of a secular republic. Jane Jamison in the American Thinker noted in a report, “Iranian Military moves in support the people’s revolution”: It is difficult to verify, but factions in the Iranian military may be breaking rank to join the people’s cause. A group calling itself the National Iranian Armed Resistance Forces (NIRU) posted a news release on an Iranian protest website at the end of the day’s violence. We, a number of Officers, Soldiers and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, hereby declare our readiness for rise to the armed defense of our nation against the forces of the criminal, illegitimate transgressing and occupying current Government of Iran, and hereby inform our brothers and sisters serving with the armed security forces of Iran, invite them to join us, request their support and ask them to provide cover for us in this moral & national act. A special request for support & cooperation goes to our brothers of the Military Police. The NIRU says it intends to secure Iranian radio and television stations, the Parliament, and the courts, will hold local elections and referendums within 3 months and new presidential elections within 9 months and will dissolve the murderous “Basij” plainclothes police and establish a new national police force. Protection and firepower from even a few factions of the military could signal a critical momentum change for the Iranian people, who by law cannot own weapons. All this occurred despite the visible tyranny imposed by Basij para-military, Revolutionary Guards, and regime secret police arresting, beating and torturing opposition student and opposition political leaders. All this amidst vain attempts to prevent the news of this emerging Iranian revolution reaching the world by cell phone and the internet. Some observers have even suggested that the apocalyptic version of Shia Islam espoused by the ruling Mullahs, might ultimately be consigned to the dustbin of history if such a revolution occurred. Amir Taheri, expatriate Iranian journalist, in a Wall Street Journal column, “Iran’s Democracy Moment,” has pronounced the democracy movement a possible “hinge moment” in Iranian history reflecting the increasing demand by opposition protesters for replacement of the oppressive theocracy with a democratic secular republic.
This development comes at a time when the ruling Mullahs are desperate to retain control in a truculent nation where many clearly despise Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamanei and President Ahmadinejad. These unexpected developments throw into confusion the responses of the Obama Administration in Washington and that of other international players regarding how to deter the Mullahs from their inexorable quest for the ultimate apocalyptic weapon of choice- a nuclear bomb and the missiles for delivering it. In the face of evident rebellion by Iranians against the Mullahs, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Sen. John Kerry, was seeking clearance from the White House to travel as an emissary to Tehran to confer with the IRI regime that could be in the throes of dissolution. This was an incredible affront to the opposition movement leaders in Iran and supporters of Iranian regime change in America, Europe and Israel. Ehud Barak, Israel’s Minister of Defense in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government announced daunting prospects of a possible unilateral military option against the IRI’s nuclear facilities. In a Jerusalem Post report when he said: . . . that the recently revealed nuclear facility at Qom was “built over a number of years, located in a reinforced underground bunker and immune to standard bombs.” Barak further noted the indifference of the West in assisting Iran’s beleaguered people, when he went on to say: “It is not pleasant to see the response of the free world to the activities there, to the trampling of citizens by the regime.” More at CFP
 Iran's regime has struck back at the resurgent opposition, arresting more than 1500 people and confiscating the corpse of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi's nephew after violent protests rocked cities across the Islamic republic. The government moved to shore up its position a day after its security forces killed at least 15 protesters and wounded scores more in the worst clashes since the disputed presidential election in June.
The opposition said 1500 people had been arrested nationwide since the violence flared, including 1110 in Tehran and 400 in the central city of Isfahan. The brutality on the Shia holiday of Ashura was condemned around the world. The US administration cast aside its reticence and denounced the crackdown. US President Barack Obama condemned the Tehran regime's "iron fist of brutality" and the "violent and unjust suppression of innocent Iranian citizens". During the turmoil after Iran's controversial presidential elections in June, Mr Obama - then in the midst of a diplomatic outreach to Iran - was criticised for his relative silence on the protests. France deplored the "arbitrary arrests and violence carried out against ordinary protester". Germany, Italy, Austria, Britain, Canada and Norway issued similar statements. Even Russia, one of Iran's main trading partners, called for restraint. Those killed included the opposition leader's nephew, Seyed Ali Mousavi, who was shot in the chest. Tehran was rife with speculation that he had been assassinated to send a message to his uncle, and the government moved rapidly to prevent his death becoming another rallying point for the opposition. Security forces ringed the hospital where his body was taken and used teargas to disperse protesters outside. It later emerged they had removed his body and taken it to an undisclosed location. "My brother's body was taken away from the hospital and we cannot find it," Seyed Reza Mousavi, his brother, told the reformist website Parlemannews. "Nobody accepts responsibility for taking away the body . . . We cannot have a funeral before we find the body." Iranian authorities said they were holding the bodies of five slain anti-government protesters, including the nephew of the opposition leader, in what appeared to be an attempt to prevent activists from using their funerals as a platform for more demonstrations. The violence came just days before a year-end deadline imposed by the Obama administration for Tehran to show good faith in its negotiations with the West over its nuclear program, or face new sanctions. Senior US officials said the Obama administration recogniseds that it was now at a "pivot point" in its strategy on Iran. Tehran's crackdown on protests may be fanning fresh anger at the regime in Iran. But a significant weakening of public support for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could be a mixed blessing for US and Western officials now trying to determine how the domestic unrest could affect negotiations with Iran. A weakened regime could be less inclined to make concessions over its nuclear program, a source of pride for many Iranians, they say.
Sanctions, meanwhile, could help shore up Mr Ahmadinejad's support by whipping up nationalistic anger at foreign meddling. The Australian
 On December 19, one of the Iranian government’s most prominent critics, Grand Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, passed away. His demise may yet portend the beginning of the end for Iran’s oppressive regime. The regime may have been relieved that this independent source of religious authority and popularity among the people would no longer be around, but the Shiite holiday of Ashura fell on the seventh day following his death.
The rallies mourning Montazeri combined with the Ashura celebration, creating a storm of anti-regime activity that only brutal suppression can contain. Ayatollah Montazeri was a ferocious critic of the regime and advocate of ending clerical rule in government. Clerics, Montazeri believed, should serve as advisors to elected rulers. He wanted freedom of speech and assembly, and became particularly incensed in recent months over the fraudulent re-election of Ahmadinejad and widespread human rights abuses. His ardent opposition to the regime made him a hero among the people, despite his original role in bringing Ayatollah Khomeini to power and founding the Islamic Republic. This year, he even issued a fatwa declaring the regime illegitimate and listed various transgressions committed by Khamenei and Ahmadinejad and their underlings, including hurting Shiite Islam by misrepresenting it.
The fatwa even said that by breaking the “contract” with the people, “the people may remove the position holder from his post,” a not-so-subtle endorsement of overthrowing the government. He followed that up with an even bolder challenge to the regime: a declaration that Khamenei lacked the religious credentials to be a source of canon law and did not have the authority to issue fatwas. Montazeri’s religious credentials as a Grand Ayatollah made such statements deeply unsettling for the regime.
Originally, he was so adored by Khomeini that he was appointed as his successor. However, moral and religious conviction led Montazeri to disqualify himself from this post by speaking out against Khomeini’s massacres and human rights abuses. He even called on Khomeini to stop trying to export the Islamic Revolution by supporting terrorists and militias, and urged him to lead by example instead of force. In 1989, Montazeri was placed on house arrest and the regime began trying to marginalize him. The current Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was chosen to succeed Khomeini, even though he lacked the religious qualifications and Montazeri’s education dwarfed his. Montazeri has thus been able to speak with greater authority than Khamenei, especially as Iran’s economy and human rights situation spiraled downhill. Following the June “election,” a Seven-Point Manifesto was spread about Iran listing the demands of the opposition for democratic reform called for Montazeri to replace Khamenei as Supreme Leader until the constitution is changed to reconfigure the government. The death of Montazeri couldn’t have come at a worse time for the regime. The opposition had already been gearing up for massive demonstrations during the Ashura holiday, knowing that the regime could not ban gatherings on that day.
The mourning that followed his death led to growing expressions of discontent that extended into Ashura, creating momentum that only gunfire and violence could stop from spreading to every street. More at FPM
 Yesterday, Shias all over the world commemorated the 7th-century martyrdom of Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein’s martyrdom is to Shias what the crucifixion of Jesus is to Christians: The iconic event of the faith, the story of a man embracing martyrdom for a just cause. “Blood” after all, proves victorious “over the sword,” the Shia saying goes, and immortal is the one who chooses an honorable death rather than live in dishonor. Millions of men and women, young and old, religious and secular, rich and poor, went into the streets all over Iran yesterday to commemorate Hussein and to protest an unjust regime. Iranian police have confirmed the deaths of eight protesters, including the nephew of opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi. They are the latest martyrs of the Iranian nation in its fight against the so-called Islamic Republic.
Thirty years after the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the regime in Tehran is neither Islamic nor republican; instead, it is fast degenerating into a brutal military dictatorship headed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Basij militia. Militarization of the Islamic Republic was accelerated after the fraudulent June 12 presidential election that secured Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term in office. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Iranians assembled to protest the rigged electoral process — corrupt even by the Islamic Republic’s low standards — shouting, “Give us our vote back!”
Rather than attend to the grievances of the public, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei arrogantly endorsed Ahmadinejad’s presidency and has since indirectly authorized the IRGC and the Basij to terrorize the Iranian public into submission, though he tries not to take direct responsibility. For a time repression seemed to work, and the protest movement was losing momentum. Wave after wave of crackdowns on protesters — along with the imprisonment, rape, and murder of political activists — reduced public participation in street protests, while the activists’ “confessions” of collaboration with foreign powers created an atmosphere of Stalinist terror all over Iran.
But Khamenei’s efforts may prove vain.
The older generation, which led the revolution of 1979, along with the sons and daughters of the revolution, chose the commemoration of Hussein’s revolt against injustice to protest the unjust regime.
Facing riot police and special forces, the protesters were armed with green banners and the greatest weapon available to them: the sense of moral superiority derived from a just cause. Superior in numbers, they seized police cars and freed demonstrators held captive. They confronted the riot police, asking them why they were shooting at members of their own families. Weeping youths in anti-riot gear begged for mercy.
Those eight people who sacrificed their lives for the sake of freedom have not died in vain: A week from now, a new wave of protesters will go to the streets to mourn them, no doubt igniting another round of demonstrations against the regime.
Should the regime choose to kill more of its people, the cycle will continue, and members of the armed forces will eventually recognize that they are not taking aim at foreign enemies but are killing their own people. And indeed, there are already reports of policemen refusing to obey their commanding officers’ orders to shoot the protesters.
But the victory of blood over the sword may not be close at hand. Members of the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij have significantly greater political and economic stakes in the regime’s survival than do the police and the regular army.
We may yet witness another phase of the Islamic Republic as it degenerates into a naked military dictatorship, purporting to do God’s work on earth and to pave the way for the Shia messiah.
Revolutionary victory won’t be easily attained without a long struggle. The revolution of 1979 was the result of several decades of revolutionary activity, beginning in the 1950s and accelerating through the 1960s and 1970s. Similarly, 2009 is not the beginning of the end for the Islamic tyranny in Tehran. But it could be the end of the beginning of the necessary revolution.
— Ali Alfoneh is a visiting research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. NRO
 Analysis: There is a full fledged revolution going on In Iran. Either the “mainstream media” doesn’t recognize this or they are willfully ignoring it. There is no better way to end a major part of the unrest in the Middle East than to support this popular revolution in Iran. Yet we in the West choose to ignore what may be the solution to many of our biggest problems. What a waste. These events have been reported to World Threats. All events occurred in Tehran unless otherwise noted. All times are Tehran local time 24 hour clock. Shiraz 1600 - Eyewitness report: from about 1100 on Ashura a large number of people came to eh Namazi Intersection with a number of red flags with the words “Heyhat Menazela” written on them which means “we will not bow down to tyranny” in Arabic. About 300 people were standing in groups of 20 from Shahcheragh Road to Namazi Square holding pictures of those killed in the post election events. Security forces and plainclothes agents violently attacked these people and several clashes broke out. Protesters chanted “Heyhat Menazela” and “Ya Hojay Bin Hassan (referring to the last Imam of shiite Islam) uproot the tyranny”. Plainclothes agents arrested a large number of protesters. Qazvin 1730 - In a ceremony held for Ashura in Qazvin, protesters chanted “death to the dictator”. Riot police attacked them and tried to disperse them. A famous religious singer named M. Q. protested this act and shouted at the riot police through his microphone. The commander of the SSF ordered tear gas fired into the crowds. A commander of the plainclothes agents named Hassan Bashi fell into the hands of the protesters. 1820 - There were severe clashes at the Dolat Gateway and security forces beat protesters with poniards. The protesters chanted “death to Khamenei”, “idiot Khamenei death to you” and “death to the dictator”. Protesters set fire to a Land Cruiser and about 15 motorcycles on the way to the College Intersection. Security forces threw tear gas in all the alleys and side streets leading to Engelab Square. The protesters set all the trash cans in the area on fire to fight the tear gas. In the Valiasr Intersection there is a group of first aid personnel who bandage injured protesters and then arrest them and take them away. Protesters pulled out all the railings on the way from Azadi street to Yadegar Street and threw them on the streets. Security forces opened direct fire on the protesters. Crowds are huge all over Tehran. About 1600 people broke the stones on balconies and threw them at the heads of the Bassiji. the Bassiji became terrified and took cover behind the State Security Forces and the Special Guards Forces. Isfehan, 2130 - There were clashes between security forces and protesters in the Bagh Meli. The protesters were attacked with stones and knives. There is a de facto curfew in Isfehan. Babol , 1530 - About 800 people were protesting next to the Imam Zadeh building. Plainclothes arrested five or six people and the security forces dispersed the rest. Kermanshah, 1900 - At about noon one of the mourning groups for Ashura suddenly started chanting, “this is the month of blood, Yazid (referring to Khamenei) will be uprooted” and the atmosphere became volatile after that. The Internet was cut off until 1900. Tabriz, 2030 - There were clashes from about noon and there were also mourning ceremonies for Ayatollah Montazeri. About 300 people to 400 people were protesting around Valiasr Square chanting “victory is near”. World Threats
 By Charles Krauthammer WASHINGTON -- On Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not just reject President Obama's latest feckless floating nuclear deadline. He spat on it, declaring that Iran "will continue resisting" until the U.S. has gotten rid of its 8,000 nuclear warheads.
So ends 2009, the year of "engagement," of the extended hand, of the gratuitous apology -- and of spinning centrifuges, two-stage rockets and a secret enrichment facility that brought Iran materially closer to becoming a nuclear power.
We lost a year. But it was not just any year. It was a year of spectacularly squandered opportunity. In Iran, it was a year of revolution, beginning with a contested election and culminating this week in huge demonstrations mourning the death of the dissident Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri -- and demanding no longer a recount of the stolen election but the overthrow of the clerical dictatorship.
Obama responded by distancing himself from this new birth of freedom. First, scandalous silence. Then, a few grudging words. Then relentless engagement with the murderous regime. With offer after offer, gesture after gesture -- to not Iran, but the "Islamic Republic of Iran," as Obama ever so respectfully called these clerical fascists -- the U.S. conferred legitimacy on a regime desperate to regain it.
Why is this so important? Because revolutions succeed at that singular moment, that imperceptible historical inflection, when the people, and particularly those in power, realize that the regime has lost the mandate of heaven. With this weakening dictatorship desperate for affirmation, why is the U.S. repeatedly offering just such affirmation?
Apart from ostracizing and delegitimizing these gangsters, we should be encouraging and reinforcing the demonstrators. This is no trivial matter. When pursued, beaten, arrested and imprisoned, dissidents can easily succumb to feelings of despair and isolation.
Natan Sharansky testifies to the electric effect Ronald Reagan's Evil Empire speech had on lifting spirits in the Gulag. The news was spread cell to cell in code tapped on the walls. They knew they weren't alone, that America was committed to their cause.
Yet so aloof has Obama been that on Hate America Day (Nov. 4, the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran), pro-American counter-demonstrators chanted "Obama, Obama, you are either with us or with them," i.e., their oppressors. Such cool indifference is more than a betrayal of our values. It's a strategic blunder of the first order. Forget about human rights. Assume you care only about the nuclear issue. How to defuse it? Negotiations are going nowhere, and whatever U.N. sanctions we might get will be weak, partial, grudging and late. The only real hope is regime change. The revered and widely supported Montazeri had actually issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons.
And even if a successor government were to act otherwise, the nuclear threat would be highly attenuated because it's not the weapon but the regime that creates the danger. (Think India or Britain, for example.) Any proliferation is troubling, but a nonaggressive pro-Western Tehran would completely change the strategic equation and make the threat minimal and manageable. What should we do? Pressure from without -- cutting off gasoline supplies, for example -- to complement and reinforce pressure from within. The pressure should be aimed not at changing the current regime's nuclear policy -- that will never happen -- but at helping change the regime itself.
Give the kind of covert support to assist dissident communication and circumvent censorship that, for example, we gave Solidarity in Poland during the 1980s. (In those days that meant broadcasting equipment and copying machines.) But of equal importance is robust rhetorical and diplomatic support from the very highest level: full-throated denunciation of the regime's savagery and persecution. In detail -- highlighting cases, the way Western leaders adopted the causes of Sharansky and Andrei Sakharov during the rise of the dissident movement that helped bring down the Soviet empire. Will this revolution succeed? The odds are long but the reward immense. Its ripple effects would extend from Afghanistan to Iraq (in both conflicts, Iran actively supports insurgents who have long been killing Americans and their allies) to Lebanon and Gaza where Iran's proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, are arming for war. One way or the other, Iran will dominate 2010. Either there will be an Israeli attack or Iran will arrive at -- or cross -- the nuclear threshold. Unless revolution intervenes. Which is why to fail to do everything in our power to support this popular revolt is unforgivable.
 Jim Hoft The nephew of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi was reportedly among eight people killed in clashes between police and protesters in Tehran.
Iran Press News (Farsi) posted video of the killing in Tehran:
Aljazeera reported:
An aide to the leader said on Sunday that Seyyed Ali Mousavi died after being shot by the police, but the claim could not be independently verified as foreign news organisations are barred by the authorities from covering street unrest. Iranian state television, however, confirmed that several people were killed in clashes. Opposition websites said at least four protesters had been killed in the capital Tehran while another four died in a violent crackdown on opposition protests in the northwestern city of Tabriz. Mousavi’s Web site, Kaleme.ir, also reported that Mousavi’s nephew was among the dead today. UPDATE: BBC Video– Mousavi went to the hospital where it was confirmed that his nephew had been shot dead by the regime. With thanks to Gateway Pundit
 Iranian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in the capital Sunday, killing at least four people in the fiercest clashes in months, opposition Web sites and witnesses said. Thousands of opposition supporters chanting "Death to the dictator," a reference to hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, defied official warnings of a harsh crackdown on any protests coinciding with a religious observance on Sunday. Iranians were marking Ashoura, commemorating the seventh-century death in battle of one of Shiite Islam's most beloved saints. Security forces tried but failed to disperse protesters on a central Tehran street with tear gas, charges by baton-wielding officers and warning shots fired into the air. They then opened fire directly at protesters, killing at least three people, said witnesses and the pro-reform Web site Rah-e-Sabz. Witnesses said one of the victims was an elderly man who had a gunshot wound to the forehead. He was seen being carried away by opposition supporters with blood covering his face. The clashes marked the bloodiest confrontation between protesters and security forces since the height of the unrest in the weeks after June's disputed presidential election. The opposition says Ahmadinejad won the June election through massive vote fraud and that its leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, was the true winner. Reporters from foreign media organizations were barred from covering the demonstrations on Tehran's central Engelab Street, or Revolution Street, and the reports of deaths could not be independently confirmed. Ambulance sirens could be heard near the site of the protests. The witnesses and opposition Web site said angry protesters threw stones at security forces and set dozens of their motorbikes on fire. Police helicopters circled overhead as clouds of black smoke billowed into the sky over the capital. Police had blocked streets leading to the center of the capital to try to prevent thousands of people from joining the protest. Still, many opposition supporters managed to break the security wall. Fierce clashes also broke out Sunday between security forces and opposition supporters in the cities of Isfahan and Najafabad in central Iran, the Rah-e-Sabz Web site said. Cell phone services were down and Internet connections were slowed to a crawl, as has happened during most other days of opposition protest in an apparent government attempt to limit attention on the events. Opposition activists have held a series of anti-government protests since the death of a dissident cleric last week. The Dec. 20 death of the 87-year-old Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a sharp critic of Iran's leaders, has given a new push to opposition protests, which have endured despite a heavy security crackdown since the election. His memorials have brought out not only the young, urban activists who filled the ranks of earlier protests, but also older, more religious Iranians who revered Montazeri on grounds of faith as much as politics. Tens of thousands marched in his funeral procession in the holy city of Qom on Monday, many chanting slogans against the government. Iran's police chief, Gen. Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, had threatened tougher action against protesters on Sunday should they hold rallies. Opposition leaders have used holidays and other symbolic days in recent months to stage anti-government rallies. About 50 plainclothes hard-liners disrupted a speech by former reformist President Mohammad Khatami Saturday evening, attacking and injuring several of those who attended the speech, according to the pro-reform Web site www.salaamnews.ir. The attackers chanted slogans in support of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, it said. Khatami was speaking at the former residence of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of Iran's 1979 revolution, in north Tehran on the occasion of the Ashoura holiday. FoxNews
 These events have been reported to World Threats. All events are occurring in Tehran unless otherwise noted. All times are Tehran local time. 1400 - The suppressive forces have blocked all roads to Ferdosi square and are making the crowd move uptown. An eyewitness said that there were clashes in Ferdosi Square and water cannon vehicles and ambulances were moving towards Fatemi Square. 1300 - Khamenei’s mercenaries are viciously beating people with batons and kick them in Enghelab Street. an eyewitness said that a women was so beaten her dress and scarf were torn but she swiftly ran away with her companion. 1450 - In Vali-e-Asr people are resisting. After the police attacked the people, the crowd set fire to a police car and attacked several banks. From the beginning of Azadi Street to Imam Hossein Square the police are flooded throughout the way especially in Ferdosi, Azadi and Imam Hossein Squares metro stations and any other place there might be a crowd. About 200 people have gathered in front of Tehran University. It is important to note that today the women lead the demonstrations and the men followed. 1630 - Beginning at 1600 the mothers of the uprising gathered in Laleh Park. The police are surrounding them and will not let anyone join the mothers. (These are mothers who have lost children in this revolution.) 1640 - A large number of mourning groups are in the streets. They pay no attention to any attempt by the regime to limit them. In some areas they have rebuilt the scenes of Imam Hossein’s Tasoua. Throughout Tehran people have defied the police and are bringing mourning symbols into the streets. Nobody cares about the regime’s orders. 1630 - When security agents tried to prevent people from gathering on the route between Imam Hossein and Azadi Squares, people inside buses chanted “death to the dictator” and “Allah o Akbar” to protest the regime. Security officers warned the bus drivers that they should not stop in the street. The passengers opened the windows so that their voices of protest would reach the anti-riot forces. The heavy traffic in the street gave the people time to chant anti-regime slogans. 1815 - The regime has announced that mourning groups are only allowed in the streets until 2230. Tough dispersed by suppressive forces people continue the defiance of the clerical regime by chanting Allah O Akbar in the sidewalk of Enghelab Sq.- Tehran Dec.26, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSSW1GZP2Ds Tasoua Uprising - Tehran - Enghelab Ave. Gunshots and suppressive teams riding on motorcycles - Dec. 26, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eUTd4fuPQs More film in following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDpVQF45×2U Analysis. I have over time been had access to intelligence reports of events like these. I saw a lot of reports on the 1979 revolution, the taking of the American Embassy in Tehran and a few other such events. Never before have I reported on a revolution in progress that has been so grossly ignored by the media. It is obvious that the blow-by-blow descriptions of this genuine grass roots revolution are available. But 30 seconds of a one hour new review on CNN is simply not acceptable. If this revolution succeeds a lot of bad stuff in the Middle East and other places will stop happening. Hezbollah and Hamas will lose their major source of funding: the Government of Iran. The Houthi rebels in Yemen will be defeated without the continuing supplies from Iran. Israel will be a whole lot safer. Syria will lose its sponsor. The list goes on. Yet here we sit spinning on our thumbs when we should be working to help the Iranian people rid themselves of the mullahocracy. We will be blamed for this revolution anyway so why not earn that blame honestly? Tomorrow is the tenth day of Ashura, the day Imam Hossein was killed. If you thought today was interesting stay tuned. World Threats
 A BRITISH newspaper has named an Iranian woman shot dead during protests against her country's disputed June elections as its "person of the year". The Times said Neda Agha-Soltan became a "global symbol of opposition to tyranny" after images of her bleeding to death during the protests in Tehran were shown around the world. "Ms Soltan, 26, joined the protest because she was outraged at the way that the regime stole the presidential election," the newspaper said on its front page that included a photograph of protesters holding pictures of her. "She wanted to make a difference, she said. She had no idea quite what an impact she would have. Mobile phone footage of her bleeding to death on a pavement flashed around the world. "It tore the last shreds of legitimacy from the regime, made her a global symbol of opposition to tyranny, and inspired the Green Movement in a region where populations are all too easily cowed." Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters poured into Iranian streets in week-long protests in June over the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying the vote was rigged. The demonstrations were suppressed following a call by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who gave his strong backing to President Ahmadinejad and warned the opposition against continued street protests. The opposition movement has continued however to mount protests, with some members wearing the colour green in support of defeated rival presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Iran last month reportedly denounced Oxford University after one of its colleges set up a scholarship in honour of Ms Soltan, accusing it of joining a "politically motivated" campaign. The Australian
 These events have been reported to World Threats. Dec. 22 - according to reports the government’s agents blanketed the area between Qoba Mosque and Mohseni St. in Tehran. They were there to prevent people from gathering to commemorate the death of Ayatollah Montazeri. On the night of Montazeri’s death the populace chanted slogans including “Moharam is the month of blood and Seyyed Ali (Khamenei) is overthrown”. Dec. 22 - The regime will intensify its suppressive efforts during the days preceding Ashura especially the day before Ashura.
Pasdar Radan, the successor to command of the SSF, said, “everything is arranged and especially security measures are taken to execute order and security on the days of Tasuoa (the day prior to Ashura) and Ashura. In those days in cooperation with the Helpers of Moharam the order and security will be implemented in the mourning ceremonies and in the mourning groups.” The regime is paying special attention to prevent any demonstrations. Dec. 22 - in Sirjan the public hanging of two men was protested. The people attacked the SSF and took the two prisoners away. One of them may have still been alive. Unfortunately the prisoners were recaptured in a few hours. Videos of the December 21 demonstrations are available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPmJI9WiOg8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph7bpKN2dYc World Threats
 Can a deceased ayatollah offer in death what no one alive seems to be able to provide: a single, unifying figure for Iran's opposition? That's the central question that emerges from the weekend death of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a towering figure in the history of Iran's revolutionary government. At the time of his death, he was perhaps the most credible face of the country's persistent opposition movement. The role Ayatollah Montazeri will play in death will come into clearer focus during the next two weeks. His admirers began to vent their sorrow Monday in funeral processions, at the outset of a 10-day religious holiday that figures to produce more public shows of opposition. Ayatollah Montazeri was a religious leader of considerable import -- indeed, he once was designated to become the nation's supreme religious leader -- but in the past six months was most noteworthy as the senior religious leader most openly sympathetic with the opposition movement that sprang up in Tehran's streets after June's disputed presidential election.
Yet at 87 years of age, in poor health, and restricted to the holy city of Qom, he was never likely to become the active leader of a movement opposing the regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Indeed, one of the most serious shortcomings of the opposition movement, despite its resilience in the face of concerted government attempts to squelch it, has been the absence of a catalytic personality to serve as its heart and soul.
The logical leader should be Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the presidential candidate who appeared to be robbed of his chance at victory in that June election. But he is too reserved and cautious by nature, and too vulnerable to pressure from the government, to have really stepped into that role. Mehdi Karroubi, former speaker of the Iranian parliament, and Mohammad Khatami, the former Iranian president, both also have become champions of the reform movement. Yet they also are equally exposed to government pressure. In death, though, Ayatollah Montazeri will be immune from government pressure and intimidation. His withering criticisms of the regime are on the record, and can't be compromised. It isn't unusual for revolutionary and counter-revolutionary figures to provide inspiration from the grave. Indeed, the Iranian opposition already has, to some extent, one such figure, albeit of far less stature: Neda Agha-Soltan, the 26-year-old woman whose death at the hands of government agents trying to suppress a street protest was captured on video and galvanized government foes in and out of Iran. History offers other examples. Newspaper publisher Pedro Chamorro, murdered by enforcers for Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1978, became the rallying figure for the Nicaraguan revolution in following years -- and, ultimately, the galvanizing figure for the counter-revolution that followed. Similarly, both the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro and the counter-revolutionaries that resisted him rallied around a deceased Cuban nationalist, Jos[eacute] Marti. The potential role for Ayatollah Montazeri as an opposition icon lies not just in his vocal dissents in the latter months of his life, but in the outsized role he played in his country's history over the past quarter-century. It's a role that may not be immediately apparent to those who don't follow Iranian politics closely. More at WSJ
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