Iran

Today a senior Iranian official admitted that about 4,000 people were detained in June’s post-election street protests.  Judiciary spokesman Ali-Reza Jamshidi stated that 3700 detainees arrested during post-election incidents have been released and only 300 people were held for longer than a few days for being “involved in the riots.”  Among those 300 people are […]

There is nothing in Iran and Taliban’s past relationship, which leads one to believe that these two sides can cooperate.  Taliban’s hardcore theology includes anti-Shiite prejudice that often bought it to the brink of war with Iran during its days in power.  On August 8th 1998, Taliban killed eleven Iranian diplomats and carried out a […]

While the second day of the trial of protesters arrested in post-election turmoil in Iran might not have provided the same shock level as the day one of the trial, it still had its share of extremely interesting confessions.  Though in today’s hearing no one accused high-level reformist leaders of conspiring against the Islamic Republic, […]

A newly disclosed document- answers to questions for the record submitted by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to the Senate Intelligence Committee in April 2009 – has revealed that Iran is at least four years away from producing nuclear weapon and Iran has been secretly helping the Afghan insurgents including the Taliban.  The Washington […]

As Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is officially inaugurated as the President, the question on everyone’s mind is what does the future hold for Iran.  The one thing that is confirmed is the election crisis is far from being over.  Ahmadinejad’s reformist opponents, along with the two former presidents and notable members of the family of Ayatollah Khomeini, […]

President Ahmadinejad was sworn in for his second term by the country’s parliament today.  Once again the ceremony had notable absentees.  The New York Times reported that all but 13 of the 70 lawmakers forming a reformist bloc in Parliament were absent from the inauguration, and some of those who did attend walked out as […]

Today the Washington Times reported that the United States is discreetly trying to stop Iraq from closing the Camp Ashraf, home to over 3,000 Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) members.  As discussed in my previous blog, MEK is regarded by both the Iranian and the U.S. government as a terrorist group.  The group had been operating from […]

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei officially endorsed President Ahmadinejad on Monday for his second term in office.  Ahmadinejad was declared the victor of the disputed elections that took place on June 12th in which he allegedly won almost two-thirds of the vote.  In the ceremony marking the official start of his second term in office, Ahmadinejad […]

Here is an update on some of the stories I have previously blogged on: 1) Iran’s Role in the Latin America (July 30) The Iranian lawmakers have questioned the $280 million loan given to Bolivia.  Their disapproval arises due to the Article 80 of the Iranian Constitution, which states that the Parliament must first approve […]

About 100 protesters arrested for their involvement in post-election violence were put on trial today.  The defendants included supporters of reformist opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, and aides of former reformist president Mohammad Khatami.  The Tehran Times reported that according to the indictment, a number of protesters confessed that the post-election unrest […]

Defying the government ban, ten of thousands of Iranians gathered yesterday at Tehran’s main cemetery for the 40-day commemoration of those killed in the aftermath of the election.  Police used tear gas and baton to break up the demonstration.  The Press TV reported that 50 people were arrested in the protest.  Renowned Iranian filmmaker Panahi […]

The recent loan of $280 million given to Bolivia by the Iranian government serves as another example of Iran’s growing influence in Latin America.  This loan is given to Bolivia in addition to 1.1 billion Euros that Iran pledged in August 2007 to invest in Bolivian agriculture, industry, energy and humanitarian affairs.  Many leftists regimes […]