 RFE/RL Iran Report 19.06.2009 A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Iran.For more stories on Iran, please visit and bookmark our Iran page . |
 Basij Fight Against A 'Velvet Revolution' The Iranian supreme leader's order for street protests to stop gives a green light to security forces to quash any further rallies. At the forefront are the armed ideological wings of the Islamic Revolution -- the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij militia, both of which warned even before the presidential election that they would not tolerate a "Velvet Revolution" in Iran. More  Will Musavi Back Down? Iran's supreme leader appears to have thrown down the gauntlet, calling for an end to mass street demonstrations. All eyes are now on Mir Hossein Musavi and his supporters to see what happens next. More  Listeners React To Khamenei's Speech RFE/RL's Radio Farda listeners, most of whom wished to remain anonymous, give their voice-mail reactions to Khamenei's speech today: More  Citizen Reports Of Ballot Box Irregularities Emails to RFE/RL's Radio Farda today: More  'What Is A Fundamentalist-Reformer Anyway?' "The fear that all of this will be gone by next week and confusion about the fact that I may lose my job, go to jail, and then get prosecuted while still trying to figure out what is going on sends a shiver down my spine." More  Universal Values Make A Comeback Less than a week after a pro-Kremlin think tank declared that democracy had exhausted itself worldwide, Iranians took to the streets -- in the name of democracy. Why are Russian citizens, unlike Iranians, willing to play by the rules their leaders establish for them? More  UN Human Rights Chief Urges Iran To Rein In Basij The UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, said today she is concerned about reports of an increasing number of arrests, which may not be in conformity with the law, and the possible illegal use of excessive force and acts of violence by some militia members in the aftermath of Iran's recent presidential election. More  Khamenei Defends Iran Election In his first nationwide address following days of opposition protests, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ruled out any vote-rigging in the country's disputed presidential election. More  Dilemmas In The Midst Of A 'Coup' In the recent election, former and current IRGC leaders who have benefited enormously during Ahmadinejad's rule, together with the supreme leader, foresaw the possible return of a reformist agenda and undertook brazen measures to "nip it in the bud." More Reports from outside Iran's capital from RFE/RL's Radio Farda. More  What Iranian Media Are Saying From ultraconservative Tehran-based newspaper "Kayhan" owned by Supreme Leader Khamenei and run by hard-liner Hossein Shariatmadari. More  Whose Side Is The Supreme Leader On? Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is delivering Friday Prayers in Tehran that come after six days of protest against Iran's election results. While it might not happen in this address, ultimately he will have to take a clear position on the crisis. More Iran for Newbies! More  Relying On Citizen Journalists Since Iran is prohibiting foreign journalists from leaving their offices to write, film, or take photographs, media outlets are relying heavily on the work of citizen journalists to send images of the protests out of the country and to the rest of the world. These powerful photographs of the June 17 opposition protests on or near Tehran's Haft-e-tir Square were sent to us today by a photographer who wishes to remain anonymous for security reasons. More Cartoon from news.gooya.com. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to President Mahmud Ahmadinejad: "I charged your halo for four more years." More A collection of some of the best from the past few days. More Award-winning Iranian-French cartoonist Marjane Satrapi and prominent film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf spoke at the European Parliament about what they described as "a coup d'etat" in Iran. More  An Extraordinary Day In The Life Of A Tehrani "I woke up with a splitting headache as the sounds of honking cars, loud explosions, and screams and chants from the previous night echoed in my head. After sipping a dark coffee, I headed out..." More A poster for the opposition rally planned for June 19, sent to us by a reader in Iran. More  U.S. Senator Urges Iranians To 'Persist' Influential U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman warns the world against "biting our tongues at this critical hour" as Iranians take their electoral grievances to the street. But he also says "engagement should go on...with open eyes by the United States." More  The End Of Iran's 'Moral Government' The 2009 election became the most democratic elections ever held in the country. Whether the elections were fraudulent is immaterial: the fact remains that they did not correspond to the desire of the majority of the urban voters for meaningful change. More  Cyberwarriors Stay Ahead Of Censors Iranian demonstrators who allege vote-count fraud in the reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad are using Internet media to stay ahead of government censors. And some young Iranians are taking the battle further, launching their own cyberattacks against government websites. More  Iranian Footballers Don Green For World Cup Qualifier AFP says that "midfield star Ali Karimi, once dubbed Asia's Maradona, Masoud Shohjai of Spain's Osasuna, and Mehdi Mahdavi Kia of Eintracht Frankfurt are among those wearing the green wrist bands." More  In Iran, It’s Modernists Against Traditionalists As reformists protest what they say is a rigged second-term for hard-liner President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, they are not just expressing dissatisfaction with the election’s outcome. They are exposing deep divides within Iran’s political establishment over the shape of the Islamic republic’s future. The central question is whether Iran should become a more modern, industrial society that is also more open to the world, or whether it should remain as it is now: conservative, closed, and with a stagna More  Nobel Laureate Ebadi Calls For New Elections In an interview with RFE/RL, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi calls for fresh balloting in Iran, with international observers monitoring the vote. Ebadi also urged authorities to release all those arrested. More  McCain: 'We Must Be Symbol Of Hope For Iranian People' The events surrounding the contested election in Iran have drawn strong reactions from political leaders around the world. Among them is U.S. Senator John McCain, the Republican candidate for U.S. president in 2008 and a man known for his expertise in foreign and military affairs. McCain spoke to RFE/RL correspondent Andrew F. Tully in Washington. More  Change For Iran A Long Way Off Despite the minor earthquake that has jolted theocratic rule in Iran, those hoping for a popular revolution are likely to be disappointed. The likely scenario is a fierce internal power struggle with no tangible benefits for the Iranian people. More  Eyewitness: Under Slate Skies, They Came The 2009 election, featuring a controversial incumbent and -- for the first time ever -- televised debates, became the most democratic elections ever held in the country. Whether the elections were fraudulent is immaterial: the fact remains that they did not correspond to the desire of the majority of the urban voters for a meaningful change. More  In Pictures: June 15 Protests Turn Deadly Hundreds of thousands of people protested in Tehran on June 15 against what many are calling a stolen election. The protests turned violent as demonstrators clashed with members of the Basij militia. At least seven people were reported killed and many others wounded. More  The Aftermath Of Iran's Election Radio Farda correspondent Mehrdad Mirdamadi talks about warning signs soon after voting in Iran concluded, the reformists' lack of a unifying figure, and Supreme Leader Khamenei's extraordinary role in anointing a winner. More |
