American Footprints

Juan Cole lays out just how extensive Iran’s protests have become:

“Another remarkable dimension of Sunday’s events was the sheer number of cities where significant rallies and clashes occurred. Some of those allegedly killed are said to have fallen in Tabriz, a northwestern metropolis near Turkey. Even conservative cities such as Isfahan and Mashhad joined in. [...]

Top-notch Iran expert Ali Ansari has a new article on how the IRGC’s history set the stage for its crucial role in Ahmadinejad’s electoral coup. I was struck by this part, among others:

“In fact, to cut costs, the Basij, who were themselves incorporated into the IRGC command structure, were instructed to make their money [...]

Protests and clashes involving Iranian reformists are taking place throughout much of the country:

“Witnesses told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that police and Basij militia were out in force in Tehran and other cities, including Mashhad, Qom, Hamedan, and Najafabad and preventing protesters from congregating in large numbers. Other reports quoted witnesses as saying police fired tear [...]

Grand Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri has died:

“Crowds of mourners are gathering in the Iranian city of Qom following the death of leading reformist cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri at 87.

“Some pro-reform websites say thousands of people are travelling to the city ahead of Monday’s funeral.

“Other unverified reports say opposition supporters are also gathering in [...]

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, here’s what prompted Moslehi’s criticism of Rafsanjani:

“Last week in Mashhad, Rafsanjani said that the government’s existence depends upon the people’s support, and if the people in the future no longer support Iran’s leaders, they will no longer be in power. Moslehi attacked these remarks, suggesting that the rule of [...]

Although the most recent comments I’ve seen from Rafsanjani have not been supportive of the opposition, Iran’s intelligence minister Heydar Moslehi has attacked him as part of it:

“Moslehi, quoted by the official IRNA news agency, said Rafsanjani recently had stated that his views about postelection events had not changed.

“‘It is shocking to see that he [...]

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamene’i has upped his rhetoric a tad about the dispute over June’s election:

“Iran’ s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has described questioning the country’s disputed June 12 presidential vote as the ‘biggest crime.’

“Khamenei’s comments, reported in Iranian media, appear to be his strongest warning yet to opposition leaders such as Mir [...]