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The UK is to expel all Iranian diplomats following the storming of its embassy in Tehran, Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced. He said he had ordered the immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in London. Tuesday's attack by hundreds of protesters followed Britain's decision to impose further sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme. Iran's parliament had previously voted to reduce diplomatic ties with the UK. Mr Hague said there had been "some degree of regime consent" in the attacks. He said all UK diplomatic staff in Tehran had been evacuated and the embassy closed.

One of the news stories I remember most vividly as a teenager was President Carter's botched rescue attempt of the hostages taken by Iran's Revolutionary Guard from the Tehran embassy. What stuck in my mind were the photographs of the charred corpses of the rescue crews in their burned-out helicopters. These photographs had, of course, been eagerly sanctioned by the Iranian regime as part of its gloating propaganda message to the US and its allies: "Suck on this, Great Satan!" Those were not happy times for those us who believed, in proper Andrew Roberts fashion, that the world has never...

Dozens of Iranian students have stormed the UK embassy in Tehran, chanting “death to England.” Before police intervened, protesters pelted the embassy with stones and petrol bombs, brought down the flag, and destroyed a pile of classified documents. Reports by the Mehr news agency that six UK staff had been taken hostage when students raided a north Tehran diplomatic compound were withdrawn shortly after they were posted. No explanation was given for the report, nor its removal.

Iran-inspired Shiite Muslim men beating themselves to pulp in a sick religious display. Coming soon to a shopping mall parking lot close to you in the USA. OUR HERO Translation to English Synposis Provided by Freeper "AmericanInTokyo":(Original Iranian Article: "時期米大統領候補�イスラム教徒�侮辱的�発言" (Next Presidential Candidate, Makes (Insulting Comments to Islamists")(MY SYNOPSIS): "Herman Cain is the Republican candidate for the next U.S. presidential election, and much was made by him of the so-called Muslim extremist presence in the United States. According to Mefuru press reports on communications coming from Candidate Cain, he claimed "(and) what with special attention to trends regarding extremist...

TEHRAN: A massive explosion at a military arms depot near the Iranian capital Tehran killed 27 elite Revolutionary Guards on Saturday and wounded 16 others, state broadcaster IRIB said. Officials said it was an accident which happened as troops were moving ammunition at a base in Bidganeh, near the town of Shahriar, some 45 km (28 miles) west of Tehran. While there was no indication of any attack, the explosion shook homes and rattled windows for miles around at a time of mounting tensions with Israel over Iran's nuclear programme. "So far, 27 personnel of Revolutionary Guards have been martyred...

A Hizbullah delegation was welcomed by officials in Moscow on Wednesday for the terror group’s first official visit to the Kremlin. The three-man delegation, headed by Hizbollah MP Mohammad Raad, is scheduled to meet Russian officials for talks on developments in Lebanon and the region, a Hizbollah source told Lebanon's The Daily Star. The source said discussions will also touch on bilateral ties and issues of common interest. Russia has opposed Western intervention in Syria as the uprising there enters its seventh month, as has Hizbullah, which has close ties to the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in Damascus....

U.S. actor Sean Penn engaged in attempts to secure the release of two Americans freed by Iran this week, flying to Venezuela to ask President Hugo Chavez to intervene with Iran's leader, a source close to the release process said on Friday. Since Tehran freed Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer on Wednesday details have emerged about the efforts to win their freedom, which involved the United Nations, Iraq and Oman - as well as Chavez, who is a fiery critic of the United States. Venezuela's deputy foreign minister said on Thursday that Chavez brought up the case with his Iranian...

After American forces leave Iraq at the end of 2011, Tehran will try to turn its neighbor into a satrapy (i.e., a province, a satellite state), to the great detriment of Western, moderate-Arab, and Israeli interests. Intense Iranian efforts are already underway, with Tehran sponsoring militias in Iraq and sending its own forces into Iraqi border areas. Baghdad responds with weakness — with its chief of staff proposing a regional pact with Iran and top politicians ordering attacks on the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian dissident organization with 3,400 members resident in Camp Ashraf, 60 miles northeast of Baghdad. The MEK...

Holy crap Batman, what’s up with Superman? It sounds like truth, justice, and the American way just don’t get it for your Kryptonian pal anymore. What happened? Yes citizens of Metropolis, it’s a dark day indeed. As unthinkable as it sounds, your super- hero is fed up with America and has renounced his U.S. citizenship. How can this be, you ask? It seems that Superman dropped in on a Tehran demonstration to stand with non-violent protestors against the Iranian regime. This not only ticked off the President’s national security advisor; the mullahs weren’t too happy either. Following a dress-down from...

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Iran is taking advantage of chaos in post-Mubarak Egypt to bolster its weapons-smuggling capabilities in the Sinai Peninsula, Israeli defense officials say. Tehran's goal is to build a new infrastructure there to enable it to smuggle advanced weaponry into Gaza. "Iran wants to take advantage of the current anarchy in Egypt and establish a stronger foothold in Gaza," a senior Israeli defense official told the Jerusalem Post. "They are building new capabilities, upgrading smuggling mechanisms and studying the new military presence there to see how it will affect them."

Today, President Obama's honored Sarah Palin's short and tweet advice following the overthrow of Mubarak in Egypt. That's another a testament to her fans belief that Palin has a keen presidential mastery of common sense policy directives. In a mere 140 word Tweet, Sarah Palin challenged both the sitting American president, Barack Hussein Obama and the national media. Certainly, Palin has demonstrated the executive power of the value of just a very few words, well placed - from her tweet to the president's ear. A transcript of events follows. From Sarah, short and tweet to Obama: SarahPalinUSA Sarah Palin Media:...

As it happens, yesterday was also the 32nd anniversary of the Shah's downfall in Iran. The hard men of Tehran are now seeking to tap into Egypt's revolutionary fervor, hailing Hosni Mubarak's downfall as "a great victory." Earlier on this Islamic Revolution's Victory Day, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Arabs to "free" themselves from the "arrogant powers" (i.e., the U.S. and Israel) in the spirit of Ayatollah Khomeini. The regime's words were all about 1979, but its actions suggested their minds are far more focused on 2009. Recall the Cairo-like scenes from Tehran two summers ago, when hundreds of thousands...

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Tehran will refuse permission for a reformist opposition rally in support of the uprising that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a government official was quoted as saying Saturday. "These people are fully aware of the illegality of their demand and they know they will not receive a permit for staging a riot," Mehdi Alikhani-Sadr, deputy director of the Interior Ministry's political bureau, was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency as saying. It had always been highly unlikely the government would permit the rally organized by groups it considers seditious. Mehdi Karoubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, who...

Obama cautious as violent protests sweep TehranBy Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers Posted on Monday, June 15, 2009 TEHRAN, Iran — Violence flared across Iran on Monday with the first reported death from anti-government riots, as hundreds of thousands of defiant Tehranis took to the streets demanding "Where is my vote?" after Friday's disputed presidential election. The unrest, possibly Iran's worst political crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution, confounded predictions that the regime would be able to contain the fallout from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's unexpected claim of a landslide victory. President Barack Obama spoke cautiously in his first comments...

As the cliche goes, there are no coincidences in politics. Obama fundraiser group Code Pink just happened to have arrived in Cairo last week for the group’s ninth visit there in two years as part of its campaign to undermine the Mubarak government and help Hamas, the terrorist group that controls Gaza. Code Pink and the media are trying to portray the leftist group's 'sudden' appearance in Cairo Wednesday as an act of courageous support for a democratic revolution. Nothing could be further from the truth.Code Pink protests the Mubarak government in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt. February 2, 2011. Code...

The North Korean military parade last weekend does more than give world exposure to the heir apparent to Pyongyang’s leadership. It also revealed a new road-mobile ballistic missile — a variant of the BM-25 Musudan with a projected range of 3,000-4,000 km. (1,900-2,500 mi.). Even more intriguing, North Korea’s weaponry is showing design characteristics associated with the Shahab 3, Iran’s most advanced missile. Such evidence is leading some international analysts to the conclusion that the ballistic missile development ties between the two countries are active and producing improvements in the arsenals of both. While it would seem doubtful that complete...

TEHRAN — Having successfully suppressed the opposition uprising that followed last summer’s disputed presidential election, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his supporters are now renewing their efforts to marginalize another rival group — Iran’s traditional conservatives. Conservative rivals of Mr. Ahmadinejad are fighting back, publicly accusing him of sidelining clerics and the Parliament, pursuing an “extremist” ideology, and scheming to consolidate control over all branches of Iran’s political system. “Now that they think they have ejected the reformists, maybe they think it is time to remove their principalist opponents,” said Morteza Nabavi, the editor of a mainstream conservative newspaper, in an...

Fresh from declaring NASA's mission to be outreach towards and glorification of Islam, comes news that the Voice of America-long a beacon of hope to oppressed people around the world-has become a big mouthpiece for the mullahs via with the administration's "help." From the superb Investors Business Daily editorial page: Voice of America's mission is to promote U.S. interests abroad, which includes freedom in Iran. But VOA's Persian newscast has been hijacked by pro-Tehran broadcasters. The Obama administration's sole strategy for defanging the Ahmadinejad regime is talk and more talk. Only, the propaganda that VOA is piping into Iran is...

Turkey’s decision to veto the latest U.N. Security Council resolution on Iran should be of concern for all those, like me, who desire a peaceful resolution of the international crisis over Iran’s nuclear programme. The Turks are apparently upset that the West has not responded positively to the nuclear deal it recently negotiated with Iran, with Brazil’s assistance, whereby Tehran would ship some of its stockpile of enriched uranium to Ankara in return for fuel rods for its so-called research reactor in Tehran. In fact this deal was nothing more than a watered-down version of the agreement Iran negotiated with...

Iranian groupie 'risks life' for book on bedding famous rockers A self-proclaimed "slut" from Iran may become the target of Muslim extremists after she penned a book about having sex with the world's most famous rockers. Roxana Shirazi, who lived in Tehran until she was 10, claims to have had sexual encounters with members of Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue, Velvet Revolver, Papa Roach and Skid Row. Several editors and agents reportedly refused to work with her on the book, titled The Last Living Slut: Born in Iran, Bred Backstage, for fear of enraging the Muslim community. "I haven't attacked...

Iran to arrest women with suntan By Xien Jana Vencio Better hide those bronzed skin when visiting Tehran, Iran. At least if you are a woman. On Thursday, Tehran police chief Brig. Gen. Hossien Sajedinia has warned that all women sporting a tan will be arrested and imprisoned because this violates the "spirit of Islamic law." Thus, any woman that looked like a "walking mannequin" will be punished. He said that the Iranian public expects the police to act firmly and swiftly to any social misbehavior caused by women, and men, particularly those who defy the Islamic values. He cited...

The Return of Bin Laden’s Daughter 20/03/2010 By Tariq Alhomayed Finally, Iman Bin Laden is back with her mother who accompanied her daughter to Damascus after many difficult years spent in Iran where Iman lived in a residential compound in Tehran under tight security until she was able to escape and seek refuge in the Saudi embassy in Tehran in search of help. A new life has been ordained for Iman.

00:31 Israeli banks urge Americans to close investment accounts in Israel (TheMarker)

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Iran is building a new rocket launch site a short distance from an existing complex in the north of the country, and seems to be working with North Korea, information group IHS Jane's has said. Construction visible from satellite imagery of the new site, near the city of Semnan east of Tehran, seems to suggest that Tehran has been collaborating with Pyongyang, said the London-based defence intelligence group. Iran unveiled the Simorgh space-launch vehicle (SLV) on February 3, but had not yet publicly revealed the location of the rocket's launch complex, it reported on Friday. But Jane's said it had...

The international community is standing by as Iran goes nuclear. STAND by for some bad news. No, I mean really bad news. The world is not going to apply crippling sanctions to Iran. Even if it did, Iran would not be deterred from developing nuclear weapons. The only way that Iran can be significantly delayed in its pursuit of nuclear weapons is through an Israeli air strike on its nuclear facilities. I think the chances of an Israeli attack are somewhat less than 50-50. Even with an air strike, the likelihood is you would delay rather than prevent Iran getting...

A secret intelligence dossier currently being reviewed by US, Israeli, German, and Austrian governments reveals secret Iranian tests and hierarchies of power dedicated to the successful development of a nuclear bomb, and predicts that Iran will have a primitive nuclear bomb by year's end. According to the classified document featured in an exposé by Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, Iran is well on its way toward obtaining its first nuclear bomb. The country's nuclear research program, it turns out, has a military wing answering to the Defense Ministry which the West was not aware of until now. Der Spiegel explained the...

The Jan. 12 assassination of Iranian physicist Masoud Ali-Mohammadi remains shrouded in mystery. The Iranian regime, facing unprecedented political domestic opposition over last June's disputed presidential election, has named Israel's Mossad intelligence service as the most likely culprit, aided by the Americans and British. The Israelis' supposed objective: to sabotage Iran's controversial nuclear program. But in the Middle East, where conspiracy theories are a cultural pursuit, there's now another scenario. The Mossad is still the culprit, but its motivation is far murkier -- derailing the tortuous negotiations between Tehran and the West concerning Iran's nuclear project, and thus to clear...

An Iranian nuclear scientist was killed by a remote-controlled bomb in Tehran today. The victim was identified as Professor Massoud Mohammadi, who worked at Tehran University. He was killed near his home in a northern part of the capital by a booby-trapped motorcycle. A senior Interior Ministry official, Mehdi Mohammadifar, said the motive for the bombing was under investigation. "Apparently this man was a university professor who was killed close to his home this morning in an explosion," Mr Mohammadifar said. The official IRNA news agency said it was not yet clear how many people were killed in the blast,...

A nuclear physics professor at Tehran University was killed Tuesday by a bomb-rigged motorcycle parked outside his home in Iran's capital, state media reported.

An Iranian nuclear physics professor has been killed in a bomb attack in the capital Tehran, Iranian media say. They say that Masoud Mohammadi died after a remotely controlled bomb exploded near his home. Iranian media describe him as a "devoted revolutionary professor" killed by "anti-revolutionary" groups. It comes at a time of heightened tension in Iran, following June's disputed presidential election and mass protests against the government. Prof Mohammadi of Tehran University "was killed in a booby-trapped motorbike blast" in the city's northern Qeytariyeh district, Press TV said. It showed pictures from the scene of the blast, saying windows...

Iraq and Iran will begin talks next week to mark their borders, both countries said on Thursday, weeks after Tehran took over a disputed oil well in a move Iraq's prime minister called "unjustified." Nuri al-Maliki's criticism of the Iranian move came during talks between him and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, during the latter's one-day visit to Baghdad. "There will be a meeting within a week between the two countries about the borders," Mottaki said at a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari at the foreign ministry in central Baghdad. He added that in the following...

Despite the lingering demonstrations and disorder in Tehran, Iran’s ruling mullahs are confident anew in their country’s ability to surge to a hegemonic position in the Middle East without a major war. The main reason for the mullahs’ confidence is their interpretation of the appeasement policies of the US Barack Obama Administration. Most significant is the undeclared – yet widely projected – profound change in US policy regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran and all other regional governments are convinced that the US now strives to “contain” a nuclear Iran rather than continue the declared objective to prevent the nuclearization of...

Predicting the end of a regime, especially one led by ruthless and wily survivors, always poses great risks to the prophet of doom. But the Iranian regime meets almost all of my indicators for the end of a government. First, there are persistent reports that some of the security forces are refusing to use lethal force against their compatriots. On top of that, several news accounts have said that members of the security forces have been forced to surrender to crowds. One particularly noteworthy example had security forces “cowering” as angry crowds confronted them in the capital. Then there are...

It is business as usual in relations between the West and the Islamic Republic of Iran. A US official explained this indifference to a US daily by saying that Obama was engaged in a difficult balancing act: "The aim of any sanctions is to force the Tehran government to the negotiating table, rather than to punish it for either its apparent push to develop a nuclear weapon or its treatment of its people." In Tehran, this attitude is taken as a free hand to carry on as before, our Iranian sources report.

30/12/2009) Update: Ashura day protest became a turning point in the uprising and a historic day but also a bloody one. Leaked information from IRG indicates that 80 people lost their lives across Iran, 1.8 million people showed up in Tehran and up to 500 arrested in Tehran alone. The capital became the arena for the fiercest battles between Greens and regime's forces. After 6 months of ill-treatment and violence people decided that enough is enough and fought back with courage and bravery.

Must be heard at a decent volume to be fully appreciated: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E4ud-9dTPo

A planeload of North Korean arms seized in Bangkok was reportedly bound for Iran, which has been buying up large amounts of weaponry in recent months as it braces for a possible onslaught by Israel, and possibly the United States. Mystery has shrouded the destination of the Georgian-registered Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane that was found be to carrying 35 tons of arms, including surface-to-air missiles and rocket launchers, in 12 crates when it was detained during a refueling stop on Dec. 11 following a tip-off from U.S. intelligence. The five-man crew, all former Soviet air force members from Belarus and...

Iran's military has postponed a test firing of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile after a shipment of parts from North Korea was delayed, Japan's Kyodo news service reported Dec. 6. The report quoted a western diplomatic source in South Korea familiar with North Korean issues as saying that Tehran told Pyongyang that it needs electronic components for improving the missile's accuracy that were ordered from North Korea. The delay in delivering the parts is a source of friction between the two countries, the source said. According to the report, North Korea has said it shipped the components in 10 containers...

Taiwan is probing allegations that local companies might have sold specialised equipment to Iran that could be used to make nuclear weapons, a report said Saturday. "We are looking into the matter," Hsu Chun-fang, a spokesperson for Taiwan's Bureau of Foreign Trade was quoted by the Taipei Times as saying without elaborating. Export of sensitive items or to sensitive regions are restricted by the bureau and require permits, officials said. Hsu was responding to a Daily Telegraph report that Iran's defence officials have met Taiwan-based firms to purchase hundreds of pressure transducers that can be used to make weapons-grade uranium....

Saudi Arabia rebuffed charges that the US kidnapped a Iranian nuclear scientist on a pilgrimage to Mecca, a Saudi newspaper said Wednesday, while a leading Iranian politician branded the act "terrorist behaviour." Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman Osama Nugali told Asharq Alawsat that he was "stunned by the declarations and allegations" from Tehran, which he "deplored." Nugali said that nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri's disappearance earlier this year had sparked an extensive investigation by the Saudi government. "After having been informed of his disappearance by the Iranian delegation (in Mecca), Saudi authorities undertook an intensive search in Medina as well as in...

Hundreds of police surrounded the Tehran University to block planned protests on the annual Students Day Monday. Tehran: Iran has shut down the mobile phone network in central Tehran to block supporters of Mirhossein Mousavi communicating with each other, a reformist website said. "The network in central Tehran and near Tehran university is completely down," according to Rah-e Sabz website, media reports say. There are also reports of Iranian police arresting at least two women supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi in front of Tehran University. Meanwhile, hundreds of police surrounded the Tehran University to block planned protests on the...

Increasingly irate over a delayed arms deal, Iran has threatened to manufacture an advanced missile system itself if Russia does not deliver it to Tehran soon. The warning, sounded by Alaeddin Bouroujerdi, a senior Iranian lawmaker, was the latest in a series of threats by Iranian officials angered at Russia for delaying delivery a much-vaunted missile sales agreement. "Iran is not a country to come to a halt in the face of non-cooperation of other countries," Bouroujerdi was quoted as saying in a local newspaper. "Naturally, and in light of Iran's capabilities, it will be able to produce missile defense...

Saudi Arabian troops and aircraft are now enforcing a ten kilometer deep "kill zone" on the Yemen side of their Yemen border. This is the first combat operation for Saudi forces since 1991 (during the liberation of Kuwait.) This is in support of a four month war between rebel Shia tribesmen and the Yemeni armed forces. Since November 5th, Saudi fighter bombers have flown over a hundred sorties against rebel targets just across the border. Hundreds of smart bombs and missiles have been used. Saudi artillery has fired hundreds of shells at the rebels, and Saudi helicopters and infantry now...

Russia should honor a contract to sell a missile defense system to Iran and not bend to outside pressure, the Islamic Republic's defense minister said in remarks published on Thursday. Russia, which is under Western pressure to distance itself from Iran, has not followed through on proposals to supply high-grade S-300 air defense missiles. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Russia last month for not providing the arms to Iran, which is at odds with the West over its nuclear and missile programs. Israel says the S-300 systems could be used to defend Iranian nuclear facilities against potential air strikes....

ISTANBUL (AFP) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday slammed capitalism for the global financial meltdown as he joined Muslim leaders at a summit in Turkey amid increasing pressure on his country over its nuclear drive. "The present economic crisis is due to the capitalist system. The world needs radical change," Ahmadinejad told a one-day economic summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Describing interest rates as the biggest and most fundamental problem of the capitalist system, the Iranian leader said through a translator: "The world system based on usury has collapsed, proving its failure." "We have to...

Iran is preparing to launch its second indigenous communications satellite aboard a Safir-2 (Ambassador) booster rocket, an event that will test the country's ballistic missile capabilities. And, if it's successful, it could impact significantly on U.S.-led negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear ambitions by demonstrating the Iranians' growing mastery of missile technology. Satellite launch vehicles such as the two-stage Safir-2, believed to be a modified Shehab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile, are generally considered to have a potential application as an intercontinental ballistic missile. Ten months ago Iran successfully launched the Omid 1 (Hope) satellite into orbit atop a 72-foot Safir from...

Obama: “wants to move beyond this past, and seeks a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran” Obama Administration on Anniversary of Embassy and Hostage Seizure in Iran: We're trying to be Friends! By Barry Rubin thelastcrusade.com Will Rogers, the great American comedian of the 1920s and 1930s, famously said, “I never met a man I didn’t like.” The problem with the Obama Administration, at least so far, is that it has never met an enemy that it could identify as such.Of course, the story isn’t over yet. Indeed, one does see signs of change. But we are still...

Yesterday marked the 30th anniver sary of the capture by Khomeinist "stu dents" of the US Embassy in Tehran, triggering the 444-day hostage crisis. The Iranian public seized the chance to reject the regime -- even as the surviving hostage-takers have largely come to regret their actions. For months, Iran's state-controlled media had tried to build up the day as a "turning point" for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's troubled second term. The occasion was supposed to highlight Ahmadinejad's "victory over the American Great Satan" and Washington's implicit acceptance of Iran's nuclear project in recent talks in Geneva and Vienna.