Free Republic

The mayhem that has swept over Iran in the past few days is once more calling into question the Islamic Republic's longevity. Recent events are eerily reminiscent of the revolution that displaced the monarchy in 1979... In the aftermath of recent disturbances, however, it is obvious that the lifespan of the Islamic Republic has been considerably shortened.

It's showtime, folks! Today's the deadline President Obama imposed on Iran's leaders to give up their nuclear ambitions and be nice. Not sure if the deadline expires at midnight in Tehran or on Washington time, but the mullahs and President Mahmoud "Mighty Mouse" Ahmadinejad aren't scrambling to give Obama a New Year's Eve smooch. Rather than cave in to our president's mighty rhetoric, the Tehran tyrants took a break from killing protesters in the streets to attempt to import more than 1,300 tons of make-a-nuke uranium ore from Kazakhstan. They've also increased their nuke-cooker centrifuge count, tested new long-range missiles...

Editor's Note: Originally posted yesterday at Gaze of a Nation, I share it with readers today, unedited, due to the time-sensitive nature of its content.

An Iranian opposition website today said the government was moving troops and armoured military vehicles to the capital on the day supporters of opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi planned to hold a rally.

It's showtime, folks! Today's the deadline President Obama imposed on Iran's leaders to give up their nuclear ambitions and be nice. Not sure if the deadline expires at midnight in Tehran or on Washington time, but the mullahs and President Mahmoud "Mighty Mouse" Ahmadinejad aren't scrambling to give Obama a New Year's Eve smooch. Rather than cave in to our president's mighty rhetoric, the Tehran tyrants took a break from killing protesters in the streets to attempt to import more than 1,300 tons of make-a-nuke uranium ore from Kazakhstan.

Venezuela blames U.S. for destabilizing Iran www.chinaview.cn 2009-12-31 09:02:33 CARACAS, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela on Wednesday blamed the United States for destabilizing Iran by instigating violent protests in the Asian country. The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Venezuela rejects the destabilization attempts "promoted by the government of the United States against the government and people of Iran." "Venezuela is surprised that a group of countries led by the North American Empire are echoing a campaign to divide and spread violence among Iranians, in contravention of the fundamental norms of peace, non-interference and respect for sovereignty," the...

A letter published on the Iranian websites claims that Ayatollah Khamenei is planning a possible escape to Russia.There were rumors floating around yesterday that Ayatollah Khamenei was preparing to flee Iran. Today Planet Iran posted a letter written on the official Islamic Regime letterhead that discusses Khamenei’s possible to escape to Russia. Iran Global website has exposed a document that discloses information on Khamenei and various authorities of the regime’s possible escape to Russia. The document is on the National Security Agency of the Islamic regime’s letterhead addressed from the office of the High Assembly of the Islamic Republic’s National...

AFP - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad branded Sunday's anti-government protests as a "nauseating play" staged by the United States and Israel, state news agency IRNA reported. "Iranians have seen lots of these games. Americans and Zionists are the sole audience of a play they have commissioned and sold out," he said on Tuesday in reaction to the protests, in which eight people were killed. "A nauseating play is performed," he said.

Mideast: As the death of a dissident cleric spawns renewed protests, Sen. John Kerry seeks to make nice with the oppressors of those who truly deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. How about regime change, Senator? The death toll from the brutal suppression of the latest round of Iranian protests against their government has reached double digits. We wonder if the senator still wants to be the highest U.S. official to visit Tehran since U.S. hostages were held for 444 days by the very same regime. To Kerry and this administration, the problem is one of mistrust and misunderstanding. Come, let...

TEHRAN - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned the West that it must not assume that Iran is a divided society as the country faced some demonstrations following the June presidential election. "The Western politicians think something happening in Iran and Iran has become weakened. That is a mistake. They do not know Iran. The people of Iran are united and they would certainly defend rights and interests," Ahmadinejad explained. The president also added the West must not think that Iran's position has been weakened in defending its legal rights as it faces some opposition at home by some groups. "There...

Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) is reporting for duty again and again it is a task for which he is woefully unqualified. The former presidential candidate has suggested becoming the first high-level US emissary to make a public visit to Tehran, Iran since that country's 1979 Islamic revolution. While the Obama administration seems to be in favor of such a trip, the people of Iran who are risking their lives to protest the regime Senator Kerry wants to meet with have a very different opinion. continued

Here is video of the nephew of Iranian opposition leader Ali Mousavi, reportedly laying on the ground shot in the back on Azadi Street, or Freedom Street, during clashes in which security forces reportedly fired on demonstrators. There were protests all across Tehran today against the thug Ahmadinejad's regime. A crowd in the Southern city of Sajin also fought police today to try and rescue two prisoners who were being hanged. . . . (VIDEO)

Another month, another fissure within the Islamic Republic. In the six months since Iran's fraudulent presidential elections brought protesters out into the streets en masse, the Iranian regime has weathered a profound and sustained domestic crisis of confidence. The latest sign of this discontent began on Dec. 7, when tens of thousands of students clashed with regime security forces on university campuses throughout Tehran in days of unrest. This protest and numerous others like it serve as a telling reminder that the rift between the Iranian people and the thuggish theocracy that rules them remains as deep as ever. Still,...

Tens of thousands of anti-regime protesters took to the streets throughout Iran last week to mark the death of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a leader of the 1979 revolution who later became one of the mullahs’ chief critics. Such protests, which are reportedly growing ever more strident in their rejection of the Islamic regime, have been a persistent fixture of Iranian life ever since the stolen presidential elections in June. “Death to the dictator” — a reference to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (and, increasingly, to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei) — is seemingly as popular a chant as “Death to America”...

Last 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...

One of Iran's most prominent dissident clerics, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, has died aged 87. Hossein Ali Montazeri was a moving spirit in the 1979 revolution which created Iran's Islamic state, and was at one stage set to become its leader. His fierce criticism of the slaughter by Khomeini in his prisons - ended in his being "banned" and theoretically "demoted". Announcing his death, the Mullah regime refused to even give him an Ayatollah title let alone his true Grand Ayatollah one, mentioning him only by his name. One of Shia Islam's most respected figures, he was also a...

At the end of an hour-long meeting Sunday evening with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated that "Egypt has more to fear from Iran than we do." The foreign minister went on to stress that "The greatest danger in the Middle East today is Iran, which is a greater threat to moderate Arab nations than to Israel." Teheran, according to Lieberman, is "attempting to duplicate the model of Hizbullah in Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen." Earlier on Sunday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak welcomed Suleiman to Jerusalem, saying that Egypt is a "central player" in the Middle East....

Tehran denies Iraqi claim to borderline oil field, says troops are 'on Iranian soil, as defined by known international borders'. Iran confirmed Saturday that its forces had taken over East Maysan oil field, located on the Iran-Iraq border. The move caused a 2.4% spike in oil prices. "The Iranian forces are on Iranian soil, as defined by known international borders. This oil field is Iran's" said an Iranian armed forces statement quoted by the Islamic Republic Arab-language television station, al-Alam.

Iran's president says he will soon write to the UN Secretary-General asking for his country to be compensated for World War II damages. "We will seek compensation for World War II damages. I have assigned a team to calculate the costs," Ahmadinejad said. "I will write a letter to the UN Secretary-General [Ban Ki-moon] asking for Iran to be compensated for the damages," he added, pointing out that such a move was necessary to ensure that justice was served. "During this period, the Iranian people were subjected to a great deal of pressure and the country suffered a great deal...

When massive numbers of Iranians took to the streets following the sham election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June, the regime hoped to quash the protests with intimidation and force. It has failed. The latest evidence of the democratic movement's force? Student Day earlier this month. The roots of Student Day go back to Dec. 7, 1953, when Iranian students protested the coup that ousted Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. The Shah's regime responded by attacking Tehran's Polytechnic University, murdering three students. Every year since, Iranian students have observed "16 Azar" (Dec. 7) to commemorate the three students killed by the Shah....

Here's one from the Department of We Are The World: Hugo Chávez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will address the U.N.'s climate summit in Copenhagen. Say what you will about these two gentlemen—the support for terrorists, the Holocaust denial, the suppression of civil liberties—at least nobody can accuse them of being global warming "deniers." On the contrary, the two leaders, who met in Caracas last month for at least the 11th time, have been nothing if not cooperative when it comes to environmentally friendly and carbon-neutral technologies. Bicycles, for instance: In 2005, Chávez directed his government to "follow seriously the project of...

If you listen to U.S. officialdom, Iran is a pariah, cast out by the world community for its sanctions-violating, nuclear-wannabe ways. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just warned Latin American nations that in choosing to "flirt with Iran," they should "think twice." Last month, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told the press that Iran is "choosing to isolate itself." But is Iran really isolated? Fresh from a meeting in Tehran with the head of the terrorist group Hamas, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is free to rub shoulders at the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen with a UN summit...

Credit Obama & Crew for thumbing their nose at Israel, as has no other American presidential administration. This president has done everything but embrace Hamas openly (and that’s been close, since he’s funneled money to Palestinian organizations that are ultimately siphoned off and put to use by Hamas). We’ve seen Iran’s growing tyranny against angry citizens who want a more democratic way of life. We’ve seen its antiquated administration rig elections that left in place toxic leaders who were in turn acknowledged by Obama, even though other major powers steered clear of such affirmations. And how has President Ahmadinejad rewarded...

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad believes in the Second Coming of the Iranian Messiah. The Messiah will appear when the globe is in utter chaos. Spell "chaos" as meaning "nuclear blow up."

Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. During the meeting, Ahmadinejad told Mashaal that "Iran will always stand by the oppressed people of Palestine," Fars reported.

A senior official from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has recently met with Houthi rebels and Hizbullah activists in Yemen to coordinate joint military operations against Saudi positions along the border. Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, quoted on Sunday Arab sources as saying the three-way meeting also aimed at developing a plan to escalate the military situation along the Saudi-Yemeni border.

COPENHAGEN –Iranian Prime Minister Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe plan to address negotiators at international climate talks in Copenhagen next week. The three leaders are listed in a line-up of more than 180 government officials published in a United Nations schedule of speakers. Each head of state will have up to three minutes to address roughly 700 delegates, reporter, observers and civil society groups. The assistant president of Sudan, Nafie Ali Nafie kicks off the speeches at noon on Wednesday. Nafie chairs the G-77 group, a block of developing nations pushing hard for more...

The Iranian nut-job is at it again. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that he has proof that the United States is doing what it can to prevent the coming of the Mahdi (the 12th Imam), the Imam that Muslims believe will be ultimate savior of mankind according to Al Arabiya a newspaper in Dubai. Any mention of the 12th Imam by the Iranian despot should send shivers down your spine because Ahmadinejad believes his purpose in life is to bring about the coming of the Imam through a world-wide conflagration. “We have documented proof that they [U.S.] believe that a descendant...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims the United States is attempting to thwart the return of mankind's savior, according to reports from Al Arabiya, a television news station based in Dubai. Ahmadinejad reportedly claims he has documented evidence that the U.S. is blocking the return of Mahdi, the Imam believed by Muslims to be the savior. “We have documented proof that they believe that a descendant of the prophet of Islam will raise in these parts and he will dry the roots of all injustice in the world,” Ahmadinejad said during a speech on Monday, according to Al Arabiya. "They have...

"President Obama promised last week that America will speak out on behalf of those who live under the “dark cloud of tyranny.” Okay. That’s nice. So, thousands of those people living under the dark Iranian cloud of tyranny are protesting in Iran today. What exactly will Obama do to speak out on their behalf?... OBAMA AT WEST POINT: "” And we must make it clear to every man, woman and child around the world who lives under the dark cloud of tyranny that America will speak out on behalf of their human rights, and tend to the light of freedom,...

<p>Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims the United States is attempting to thwart the return of mankind's savior, according to reports from Al Arabiya, a television news station based in Dubai.</p> <p>Ahmadinejad reportedly claims he has documented evidence that the U.S. is blocking the return of Mahdi, the Imam believed by Muslims to be the savior.</p>

Iranian security forces have clashed violently with opposition supporters in central Tehran, witnesses say. Police used batons and tear gas, according to the witnesses. There were also unconfirmed reports of security forces using live rounds. State media confirmed there had been clashes, though a foreign media ban means details are hard to verify. The violence came on the day that Iran holds an annual commemoration for the killing of three students in 1953. Early on Monday, hundreds of Iranian police were reported to have surrounded Tehran University to try to block protests. Iranian security forces, including the elite Revolutionary Guards,...

Internet shut-down in Iran ahead protests thelastcrusade.org Internet access in Tehran unavailable on Saturday, two days ahead of planned demonstrations in the Iranian capital. Iranian President Ahmadinejad, citing a “crisis” has shut-down internet access in Iran. In a move that echoes the Democrat's bill S.773 (David Rockefeller), private-sector computers in Iran have been disconnected from the Internet. According to AFP: “Sources close to Iran's technical services told AFP the cut was the result of "a decision by the authorities" rather than a technical breakdown. Telecommunications ministry officials were unavailable for comment.” The internet, SMS text messages and at times...

Uh oh. "German intelligence reports that Iranian scientists have successfully simulated the detonation of a nuclear warhead in laboratory conditions, in an effort to sidestep an underground nuclear test like the one that brought the world down on North Korea's head earlier this year," the website Debka reports. From Debka: DEBKAfile's Iranian and intelligence sources report that this development is alarming because detonation is one of the most difficult technological challenges in the development of a nuclear weapon. Mastering it carries Iran past one of the last major obstacles confronting its program for the manufacture of a nuclear warhead. After...

The Argentinean prosecutor who ferreted out Iranian links to Argentina's largest terror attack warned Wednesday of Teheran's growing terror network in Latin America. "The Iranians are moving fast," assessed Alberto Nisman, who has secured Interpol backing for the arrest of several Iranians, including former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, for ordering the July 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community offices in Buenos Aires. "We see a much greater penetration than we did in 1994." He said that Iran, particularly through Lebanese proxy Hizbullah, has a growing presence in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, using techniques it honed in Argentina before the...

This morning while we were going through our email we came across a notification of a comment on one of our old blog postings here on TTB. The posting that prompted the comment was our commentary on Barack Obama’s speech directed toward the leaders and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran back in March: The commenter dubbed himself “Mahdi,” which we think highly presumptuous on his part, but we suppose every man is entitled to his own delusions.

Terror State: A dithering world has for years underestimated the costs of appeasement toward Iran. Tehran's aggressive plans for 10 new nuclear plants show they want dominance, not just a bomb or two. To any informed observer, it's no surprise that Iran is now collecting its 10-to-1 winnings in the high-stakes game Tehran's Islamofascist government has been playing with the free world for years now. There's been a United Nations censure, demands to halt the building of the newly revealed enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom, and multiple rounds of economic sanctions. The U.S., Britain, France and Germany...

During the Iran-Iraq War, the Ayatollah Khomeini imported 500,000 small plastic keys from Taiwan. The trinkets were meant to be inspirational. After Iraq invaded in September 1980, it had quickly become clear that Iran’s forces were no match for Saddam Hussein’s professional, well-armed military. To compensate for their disadvantage, Khomeini sent Iranian children, some as young as twelve years old, to the front lines. There, they marched in formation across minefields toward the enemy, clearing a path with their bodies. Before every mission, one of the Taiwanese keys would be hung around each child’s neck. It was supposed to open...

TotalitaIRANism Sarah Carlsruh, November 30, 2009 Iran has a history of bullying its own people and the international community, an attitude exemplified today under the tight-fisted rule of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “A popular conservative newspaper critical of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been closed down for carrying a photograph of a temple of the banned Baha’i faith,” reported Reuters on November 24th, revealing the stranglehold the Iranian government has on media voice. This grip squeezes even everyday citizens with the fortitude to oppose the government. In June, more than 100 opposition figures were jailed following the election, accused of fomenting...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed while standing next to President Hugo Chavez that Iran and Venezuela would "stand together until the end" in the face of US "imperialism." The Iranian leader's three-day regional tour has been seen as a clear affront to Washington, a fact illustrated by an unusual letter sent by US President Barack Obama. After Ahmadinejad's first stop in Brazil, it emerged that Obama had sent a letter to the regional power urging it to be more critical of the Islamic republic and its suspect nuclear activities. The letter, written to Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva...

As Mahmoud Ahmadinejad entered the Caracas airport in Venezuela, they received him by playing the Pahlavi-era "Sorood e Shahanshahi" instead of the Islamic Republic's anthem! (See video at link above)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Wednesday beside firebrand President Hugo Chavez that Iran and Venezuela would "stand together until the end" in the face of US "imperialism." Ending a tour of Latin American allies, Ahmadinejad praised his "brave brother" Chavez, saying: "Today the people of Venezuela and Iran, friends and brothers in the trench warfare against imperialism, are resisting. "We'll stand together until the end," he yelled, raising Chavez's hand in front of the television cameras and shouting in Spanish: "Viva Venezuela! Viva Chavez!" Before arriving in Caracas late Tuesday Ahmadinejad was in Bolivia, where he and President Evo Morales,...

US, Israel lack 'courage' to attack: Iran leader (AFP) – 6 hours ago BRASILIA — Visiting Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said Monday that US and Israeli military threats against Iran were a thing of the past, and that, in any case, "they don't have the courage" to attack Iran. "The age of military attacks is over, now we've reached the time for dialogue and understanding. Weapons and threats are a thing of the past," the Iranian told a joint press conference with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, closing his one-day visit. Ahmadinejad's visit was greeted Sunday in Rio de...

Ahead of Iranian president's arrival in country, protestors from pro-Israel organizations and groups for homosexuals' rights gather in Rio de Janeiro, urge Brazilian president to teach his guests that 'racism is a crime'. Thousands of demonstrators from different religions took part Sunday in a march for peace and against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro. Faced with mounting pressure over his country's atomic ambitions, Ahmadinejad left on a five nation tour Sunday, in a bid to boost ties with Latin America's biggest economy and a rare backer of Tehran's nuclear program.

A Potomac, Md., Islamic center maintains links to Iran despite its claims that it is independent of a foundation that is being sued by the U.S. government on charges of funneling money to the Islamic republic. Ali Mohammadi, the current manager of the Islamic Education Center (IEC) of Maryland, told The Washington Times that the center's only relationship to the Alavi Foundation is that of tenant to landlord. He quoted a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office as saying that forfeiture proceedings initiated earlier this month against the foundation - which also owns property in New York and other states...

Research Agency raised concern about possible further secret nuclear sites, Reuters reported quoting an IAEA report obtained by the news agency on Monday. According to the report, Iran told the IAEA it had begun building the site at Qom in 2007 - but the IAEA, the United Nations' global nuclear proliferation watchdog, had evidence the project had begun in 2002, paused in 2004 and resumed in 2006. The report said Iran had provided full access for IAEA inspectors on their first visit to the Qom site three weeks ago, but had yet to provide full, credible answers to verify that...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the US to choose between Israel and Iran on Tuesday night, Army Radio Reported on Wednesday. Ahmadinejad reportedly said that for a real change in relations to take place, a choice must be made. Speaking in Istanbul, the Iranian president said that it was up to US President Barack Obmaa to illustrate his motto of "Change." "The support of both Israel and Iran can't go hand in hand," he was quoted as saying.

At Istanbul economic forum, Iranian president calls on US counterpart to realize 'Change' motto. Sadly, Obama has already chosen Iran.

Iran to Obama: It's either us or Israel Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday told US President Barack Obama he must choose between supporting Israel and supporting Iran and its allies. America can't have it both ways, Ahmadinejad insisted. In his speech at an Islamic economic summit in Turkey, Ahmadinejad reminded Obama of his campaign promise to bring the US closer to the Muslim world, and reminded the American leader that doing so would be impossible so long as he was also maintain a friendship with the "Zionist regime."

Somewhere in Iran a voice can be heard. It is the Iranian President Ahmadinejad who is saying the same thing over and over, "Hey Barack--Who's Your Daddy?" Iranian President Ahmadinejad OWNS Barack Obama. He understands how badly the American POTUS wants his outreach to work, and the Iranian keeps playing rope-a-dope with the Nuclear negotiations making Obama look foolish. Ever since Obama's outreach began the Iranian despot has been doing his best to delay any agreement. If the President wants to keep his word regarding stopping Iran from getting nukes he better get serious and understand what Ahmadinejad is doing: