Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Crown-Prince Reza Pahlavi to the U.S.: Stop the sweet talking, ACT!

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi of Iran has urged the U.S. to stop the sweet talking of supporting the Iranian people and instead ACT on their supportive statements. The Iranian people are ready, he says, and they need the world community's support to overthrow this Islamic Republic that has oppressed, killed, and tortured for 27 years.


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Shah's Son Urges Action on Iran

May 30, 2006
Reuters
today.reuters.co.uk




POTOMAC, Maryland -- The exiled son of Iran's late shah on Monday called on the Bush administration to put action before rhetoric in ousting Tehran's Islamic regime, which he said has long been the source of global instability.

Reza Pahlavi, 45, the eldest son of the late Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, said Iranians are ready to actively oppose the Islamic regime of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but need more than pro-democratic utterances from world leaders like U.S. President George W. Bush.

"Fantastic, we love to hear that, motherhood and apple pie," Pahlavi said of Bush's statements that the United States supports a free, democratic Iran.

"What remains to be seen again is in what concrete way the U.S. administration will take the necessary steps," Pahlavi told Reuters in an interview at his home in a suburb of Washington, flanked by the Iranian flag and portraits of his mother and father, the U.S.-backed monarch who was deposed in the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The United States and other nations should actively support Iran's dissident groups and give them the technical gear and expertise to get their message out, Pahlavi said.

Pahlavi said regime change in Iran will leave the Middle East a safer place, and said that Iran's clerics have long been a prime mover behind violence in Iraq, Lebanon and Sudan.

"For 27 years we have seen the world sending their firetrucks to try to extinguish fires all over the planet," he said. "But nobody has asked the question 'Who is the main culprit?' ... When you come to think of it, it has been Tehran all along."

The United States and Iran are at odds over Western accusations that Iran's nuclear program is a cover for making weapons. Iran says it wants to use the enriched uranium for electricity generation.

Pahlavi, who trained in the United States as a jet fighter pilot, said Iran has the right to nuclear technology, but not to threaten other nations with it.

"It was never a question of Iran having the right -- the problem is the finger on the trigger," he said, referring to Ahmadinejad's public calls for Israel's destruction.

However, Pahlavi said the United States should not pursue military means to take away Iran's uranium-enrichment capability. Bush has said military options are on the table but has stressed the need for diplomatic talks.

Instead of a military strike, Pahlavi said global leaders should help Iran dissident groups' overthrow the current regime from within.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Where IS the main stream media?!?!?! Anti-regime unrest in Iran! No foreign media coverage!

UPDATE: Click HERE for more pictures of unrest in Tabriz.
UPDATE II:
BBC has been forced to report on the recent unrest by releasing a short online article: Iran Azeris Protest Over Cartoon (they forgot to put -ian after Iran!) The report states that 5 Iranians have been killed by the Islamic Republic.
UPDATE III: An Iranian Kurdish freedom activist Roya Tolouee has escaped the Islamic Republic and has told "The Telegraph" of her ordeal:
Dissident Tells of Assaults and Threats Against Children During 66 Days in Jail Run by Iran's Cleric


Slideshow of pictures from the recent +100,000 strong anti-regime demonstration in Azerbaijan province of Iran! More can be seen by clicking HERE






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Clip of Union Leader Mr Osanloo condemning the Islamic Republic occupying Iran!



END POST

Update on the tense situation across Iran - 26/05/06

UPDATE on the tense situation in across Iran:

Riots in Tehran Universities: 'We Don't Want Nuclear Energy'

May 26, 2006
The Middle East Media Research Institute
MEMRI

Several media outlets in Iran reported, albeit in a restricted and censured fashion, that there has been rioting on several university campuses in Tehran for the past four days. The reformist Internet daily Rooz reported that over 500 members of riot-control units have besieged the Tehran University campus, and that there have been clashes between rioting students and Basij and police forces.

The eyewitnesses also reported that Iranian security forces fired live bullets, and that shots were fired at homes outside the university. One of the students told Rooz: "The university campus is on fire, raids are being conducted throughout the campus, and the students are in fear and anxiety... Gunfire is heard from all directions... There is blood everywhere." [2] The university's telephone lines were reported to have been cut.

According to other eyewitnesses, "police riot-control units entered the campus with helmets, shields, and clubs, and beat students so severely that many can't even walk." A campus security guard told a Rooz reporter: "We were told that we were permitted to use violence against the students, but not to hit them on their heads or their faces, in order to avoid leaving marks. We were told not to be respectful towards any student, unless he is a member of the Basij student union."

One of the students said: "They are sending more riot-control forces [into the campus]. I estimate that they are about 3,000 strong... There is also an intensive presence of Ansar-e Hizbullah forces in vehicles or on motorcycles. They have also brought in several fire trucks [to disperse the students]..." [3] One of the reporters said: "Reporters who came to cover the events were stopped by university security guards, and none were permitted to enter [the campus]." [4]

Local police claim that only 100 students were involved in the riots, but according to eyewitnesses quoted by Rooz, the riots involved some 3,000 of the 4,000 students attending the main campus, and another 2,000 from the law and political science campus. [5]

Growing Unrest in Azerbaijan

May 25, 2006
Rooz Online
Navid Ahmadi


On the first day, the demonstrators and the police clashed, causing the large Tabriz bazaar (market) and the shops around it to close for the day. The demonstrators marched to the Tabriz governor general’s headquarters and the East Azerbaijan governor’s office. By the time they got there, thousands had joined in. And all the while the demonstrators demanded attention to their province. Things got so out of hand that the Friday prayer of Zanjan publicly called for the execution of those responsible for the insulting caricatures.

When the demonstrators came to Tabriz University, clashes broke out between the Baseej para-military and the demonstrators. Then the special guard came into action and using batons and tear gas attacked people. The result of all this was still more injuries.

Anti-regime slogans in the protest gathering of students in Tehran University campus - IranPressNews


The angry students chanted:

Freedom, freedom, our inalienable right, nuclear energy is the regime’s “craft”.

System of supremacy must be abolished, Khamenei the supreme leader should be executed.

Kabul yesterday, today Baghdad, Tehran tomorrow

We want neither Sheikh nor mullah, we curse the Spirit of Ruhollah [Khomeini]

“What, what are the use of your slogans, we want justice, water and bread

Death to dictators

Death on the Islamic Republic

Student dies, does not accept disgrace

Students also referred to recent demonstration of their fellow students in cities around the Azerbaijan province and chanted: "Tabrizi, Tabrizi, we stand behind you..."


100,000-strong anti-government demo in Iran city - photos
Thu. 25 May 2006
Iran Focus





END POST

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Thoughts on Islam... 26/05/06


Muslims Pledge to Become Homicide Bombers - however the Associated Press ran the title as: Iranians Pledge to Become Homicide Bombers.

The Associated Press should know that in the arabic religion of Islam there is no sense of nationhood; rather they embrace the idea of a unified "Islamic community" or as it is called in arabic "Ummah". So it is completely baseless and wrong for AP to use the term Iranians when these people are in fact MUSLIMS.

TRUE
muslims want to be referred to as muslims and not as anything else. When a person embraces Islam he/she gives up any sense of nationhood and surrenders his soul to the "Islamic Community". Islam literally means submission, therefore you give up your life/nationhood and devote yourself for the cause of Islam. We can all spot TRUE and mention who the true muslims are from the "brainwashed muslims".

Let me divert this discussion from muslim suicide bombers to another kind of muslim...

The non-existance of nationhood in Islam is why Shirin Ebadi, the muslim woman, who won the Noble Piss Prize...sorry Noble Peace Prize...referred to herself as a Muslim woman. In her speech (full speech) she did not address the issue of human rights in Iran but in a few words in the line of "me receiving this prize will help women in Iran"! That's it! After quickly having mentioned this she begins the core of her message which was condemning the United States for its imperialistic behaviour, condemning the abuse of Guantanamo Bay prisoners, and last but not least exhalting her beloved Islam and trying to convince the world audience that it in fact is compatible with democracy! Islam took over! She did not use this excellent opportunity to raise awareness of the plight of the Iranian people, she did not mention Zahra Kazemi who was beaten to death because she was trying to report the truth, she did not mention the political prisoners who are being tortured in jails across Iran, she did not mention the young girls who are being sold to arabic sheikhdoms in order to earn a livelihood! This woman is a DISGRACE! This woman is NOT an Iranian! An Iranian cannot be a muslim, because Islam is against nationhood or for that matter is against everything that "Iranianhood" or Iranian culture stands for. At worst she is a TRUE muslim and at best she is a lost soul. This woman has relinquished her nationhood so stop referring to her as an Iranian, because she would rather have you refer to her as a Muslim woman above anything else, even though she might say she is Iranian. I know of no other religion where you have to give up your nationhood in order to accept some kind of faith/ideology only in Islam does this phenomenon appear it seems (perhaps also in Judaism but this is not my concern).

Iranians have suffered greatly under the influence of Islam for 1400 years now. We were disgraced and brainwashed into labeling ourselves muslims under arab occupation. Once we were able to defeat the arabs out of our country, those who took to power created a new branch of Islam (Shiite Islam) to unify the nation - this was a grave mistake on part of the Safavids. However today thanks to the wisdom of personalities like Dr Moshiri, Ahmad Kasravi, Koroush Aryamanesh, Forood Fouladvand etc we are beginning to remove the veil of Islam and see what this arab ideology is all about. Brainwashed women like Shirin Ebadi (I say brainwashed because she like the rest of the Iranian nation except for those in power is not really a TRUE muslim either!) will have a hard time coming to sense with the truth; but with time it will happen.

The oppressive rule of the Islamic Republic for the past 27 years has led us Iranians to seek out our past, our roots, our identity and we have embarked on a mission that will once and for all remove this malignancy from the minds of our people. Shirin Ebadi and here likes are just obstacles on that road which will not be able to stop this great force which is trying to awaken the Iranian Nation.

Islam which comes from an Arab culture/ideology that lowers woman to the worth of a "tool of breeding" is in total opposite to Iranian culture where women are exhalted to being Empress', Commanders and such! Iranian culture which advocates tolerance, compassion, and love is not reconciable with Islamic culture which advocates hate, war, and misery no matter howhard a muslim might try to distort the truth.

The Iranian cultural revival is taking place. I hope I will be able to see the fruits of this cultural revival in my lifetime, and to be able to see an Iran, in peace with itself, with its culture, with its history, and with its rich heritage. We were lucky not to have become "arabized" (like Egypt, Lebanon, Syria...) during the Arab occupation however we were unlucky to have been imposed another form of arabic domination in the shape of Islam. We might have lost a historical battle 1400 years ago when this foreign ideology was imposed on us but in the end we will come out victorious. History is already in making.

BAAZGASHT BE IRANIAT! (return to our roots)

UPDATES on the tense situation in Iran 25/05/06


The secularcaniranik blog is following the recent unrest and has this interesting entry regarding how students in Tehran have "effectively shut down" two of the most important universities in the capital and are continuing their protests despite the presence of hundreds of Islamic vigilantees sent on order of the Islamic Republic:

Brave Iranian Student Movement Rattling the Hardline Islamofascists and the Islamic Republic

Another blogger Joseph Salomonsen tells of his cousin being arrested by the Islamic Republic in Tehran and the present situation:

Tehran students detained


END POST

Islamic Republic Military Operation Undergoing against the oppressed Balooch people of Iran!



The Islamic Republic has intensified its military campaign in Sistan and Baloochistan Province of Iran agains the oppressed Balooch people of this region, who in recent weeks have increased their resistance against the Islamic Republic (Note: they are not seperatist).

Military jets and helicopter gunships have been put into operation and several deaths have been reported. The Islamic Republic says the military campaign is to roots out drug-traffickers which is a common cover the Islamic Regime uses to oppress freedom fighting people. Below are some pictures from the region of the Islamic Republic's loyal Islamist Basij and Revulutionary Guards forces. These Islamist forces first of all do not look Iranian and are most likely foreign merceneries that the Islamic Republic is known to use when suppressing Iranians. In the past Iranian soldiers have disobeyed orders to harm their own brethren and sisters, especially in demonstrations. The Regime has therefore imported arab and other foreign merceneries to do the dirty job for them.

Military operation by the Islamic Republic occupying Iran against the oppressed Balooch people in south-eastern Iran; this operation started last week and is still ongoing:





Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Reports on the unrest in Tehran






There has been two articles that i've found in the western press that address the current undrest in Tehran:

Demonstrations Rock Tehran Universities
Agence France-Presse

And:

Iran Students Protest Over Increased Restrictions
Reuters


Conflicting and false statements are present in both reports. General Talaie, the Islamic Republic's appointed brutal Tehran Police Chief has claimed in the AFP report that 40 police where injured during the demonstration, while his subordinate Police spokesman Mohammad Tourang (in the Reuters report) has said only 5 police officers where injured.

In the AFP report Gen. Talaie of the Islamic Republic says that no students were detained while again his subordinate Police Spokesman Mohammad Tourang (Reuters report) says that
unspecified number of arrests have taken place.

This clearly attests to the state of confusion the Islamic Republic is finding itself when they cannot even coordinate between their own forces!!!

We all have to take everything the Islamic Republic says with a grain of salt and conclude that the number of police injured by the Iranian students is much higher and the same with the number of students that have been arrested!
We know that the Islamic Republic has NOT EXERCISED RESTRAINT as claimed in the report.
One slogan that was chanted by students were:

"Na sheikh mikhaeem na mollah, lanaat bar to ruhollah!" which translates into: "We don't want no sheikh nor no mollah, curses on you ruhollah"! "Ruhollah" is a reference to the leader of the Islamic takeover of Iran in 1979 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

"Ahmadinejad divooneh Iranro kardi virooneh!" roughly translates into: AhmadiNejad you crazy man you've destroyed Iran!

Other slogans were "Down With Dictatorship","Let go of nuclear energy and think of us" and "Khameini [The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic] has to be EXECUTED!".

More UPDATES will follow! As for now please do your best in raising awareness of the Iranian peoples' plight! They have risen and they need OUR support!

CALLS FOR A NATIONWIDE STRIKE HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED!

People of Iran are urged to increase their civil disobedience against the Islamic Republic across the country!

KRSI are giving direct reports on activities that are happening in Iran. People are urged to come out tonight to face the Islamic Republic!

Student Communiques are calling for the SUPPORT of Iranians across Iran. In Tehran there will be demonstrations tonight at Tehran University. Students are urging all sectors of society to JOIN THEM UNTIL VICTORY!

PLEASE listen to our students! Join them! Even if you don't go to the designated demonstrations don't stay in your homes! Go out of your homes! Be in your cars and honk your horns in support of the students. GET OUT OF YOUR HOMES! The more places we have demonstrations and slogans against the Islamic Republic the less chance there is of the Islamic Republic suppressing us because it will be occuring at too many places for them to send their thugs!

IN AWAITANCE OF THE IRANIAN LION AND SUN FLAG BEING RAISED ATOP EVERY ROOFTOP IN IRAN!

UPDATE 1:
Sporadic clashes continue in several Iranian universities

SMCCDI (Information Service)



END POST

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

UPDATE: Anti-Regime Demonstration in Tehran's Universities







Anti-Regime Demonstrations have taken place in Tehran's Amir Kabir University (Polytechnic University) and Tehran Unviersity since Monday of this week. Winston has more links with picture regarding these demonstrations.

NO SUPPORT has been shown by the INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY so far. Was President Bush's words "we stand behind the Iranian freedom in their quest for democracy" empty words? Where is the International Community's support for the people of Iran when they are brave to rise up like this despite the risk that they will be killed, tortured, imprisoned by the Islamic Republic?!?! In the past weeks we have seen the people in these provinces of Iran: Baloochistan, Azerbaijan, and since monday the capital city of Tehran have risen up! Where is your support!?

Recent Developments:

-The Islamic Republic's henchmen and security forces have surrounded these two universities.

-The demonstrations in Azerbaijan continue despite street battles with the Islamic Regime's force.

-In Baloochistan there was a military campaign just last week which killed over 10 villagers!

Where is the media?! Where is the outcry!? Where is the support for the people of Iran!?

UPDATE: There are now reports of demonstrations in Kermanshah which hosts a large Kurdish population.


END POST

Unrest in Rezaiyeh - 23/05/06


Following yesterday's uprising in Tabriz and the opening of fire upon demonstrators by the Islamic Republic's militiamen today i've been reading reports by some compatriots that are telling of unrest taking place in Rezaiyeh! Some say that this unrest is much larger than the one in Tabriz.

Just a brief note on the location from Wikipedia (click for more info):

Rezaiyeh is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of the West Azerbaijan province, situated on the western side of Lake Urmia near the Turkish border. Its population in 2005 is estimated at 602,403.
God be with all freedom seeking Iranians who have risen up to trash this savage dictatorship - the Islamic Republic. May we see a coordinated uprising occuring by all Iranians across all of Iran which will put an end to 27 years of death, oppression, poverty, and misery!

Payandeh Iran va Irani!

END POST

Subscribe to Aryamehr's blog and receive updates straight into your inbox

Thanks to Ardavan's idea, I was able to find a subscribe code (Feedblitz).
So if you are interested in receiving updates from this blog straight into your inbox's just fill in your email address in the form that appears after the "Archives" section in the sidebar; this is how it looks like (you can use this as well):

Enter your Email





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END POST

Monday, May 22, 2006

Revolutionary Guards open fire on Tabriz demonstration


UPDATE 1: Above pictures are from Monday's unrest in Tabriz, Iran. So far I have not heard of any casualties, only that Revolutionary Guards of the Islamic Republic opened fire on the demonstrations.

UPDATE 2: Tens of people have been arrested by the Islamic Republic Militias. I'm still worried that there might have been casualties but don't have any reports on that.

Other bloggers following the story: Azarmehr & Winston


UNCONFIRMED REPORTS OF AN UPRISING IN TABRIZ

All the information I have as of now is that Revolutionary Guards have opened fire on demonstrators. I have no further information as of now. Radio Sedaye Iran (KRSI) has had reports on it earlier today but I just happened to listen in when they announced it shortly a few minutes ago. Anyone with more info. please inform me.

People are calling in to radio/tv stations pleading for people to take care of Iranians who have been shot and injured in Tabriz at the hands of the Revolutionary Guards. It seems the Islamic Republic with its Revolutionary Guards has once again created a bloodbath creating rivers of Iranian blood. Where are you Tehrani, Esfehani, Shirazi, Mashadi, Sanandaji, Marivani.... END THIS MISERY! END THIS BLOODSHED!

And as for the western media, there is not a word about this as usual! SHAME!


END POST

Iranian Overthrow Committee / Unity Congress; 19-20th June, 2006

UNITY AGAINST THE ISLAMIC DICTATORSHIP TERRORIZING IRAN!


In light of Prince Reza Pahlavi announcing in a recent interview that an Iranian Overthrow Commite / Unity Congress will soon be formed there has been an announcement that the date for this gathering will be 19-20th June (2006) and shall take place in Washington D.C.

A compatriot of ours ("Toofan") has posted these two links for those who wish to participate and know more about this historic event:

http://www.activistchat.com/Manifest.pdf

http://www.activistchat.com/Registration_Form_New2.pdf

I plead to all personalities, political and cultural groups to once and for all gather under one roof for the sake of IRAN. Many Iranian military and civilian personalities from different political organizations have endorsed this gathering. This might very well be the LAST chance in a good while for us to FREE our motherland. Would you like to proudly tell your children that you were part of this movement that liberated your homeland or would you rather want to tell them of Israeli/U.S. military attack/invasion who God what it would lead to...? Or would you like to tell them that you sat idle and that is why they (your children) today are suffering under the Islamic Republic? Can you put aside your ideologies and for once think of Iran? Think of future generations to come? To think of preserving Iranian culture? Is this really too difficult? I don't think so.

I once again plead to all groups to make this gathering a success and to once unite for the sake of IRAN!

I shall update you on any news that I receive on this gathering and ask of you to provide any information you might have so that it can be published here.

Contact info:
E-mail: congress@iraniansolidarity.com
FAX: 650-342-9293

Payandeh Iran va Irani!


END POST

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Iranian Kiani Flag - (High Resolution)


High resolution picture of the Iranian Kiani Flag.
You can find this and many other pictures in my photobucket.


END POST

Amir-Abbas Fakhravar has successfully escaped Iran as is now in the U.S.

Amir-Abbas Fakhravar has successfully arrived to the United States of America. His secret location where he had first escaped to from Iran, as mentioned in the previous entry on this brave Iranian freedom fighter, was Dubai - where he met with Richard Perle. He has already met with influential policymakers in Washington to spread the ONLY message he came to spread which is "REGIME CHANGE".

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Fugitive Pleads with US to 'Liberate' Iran

May 21, 2006
Times Online
Sarah Baxter, Washington


For almost eight months, Amir Abbas Fakhravar was held in solitary confinement in a soundproof cell in Iran. His bare, constantly lit surroundings were all a creamy white — the walls, the floor, his clothes and the door, with a slit through which white rice would be delivered in a white bowl by guards wearing slippers to muffle their footfall.

Amnesty International calls his case the first known example of “white torture” in Iran and it nearly drove Fakhravar mad. He was stuck in a terrifying, real-life version of the George Lucas film, THX 1138, about a dystopia where dissidents are imprisoned in a white room.

“I was living with my childhood memories, but I couldn’t remember my mother’s face,” Fakhravar said. “I’d see the deformed faces of my family in my nightmares.”

Fakhravar, a 30-year-old writer and leader of the dissident Iranian student movement, who has been repeatedly jailed, emerged in Washington last week after spending 10 months on the run inside Iran. His sister was told by Revolutionary Guards that there were orders to shoot him on sight.

He surfaced at the end of last month in Dubai, where 24 hours later he was met by the leading American neoconservative, Richard Perle. Fakhravar was whisked to America last weekend and has already met congressmen and Bush officials. He said he was in Washington to spread one message only: “Regime change,” he said, breaking from Farsi into English to deliver it.

In Iran, Bush is regarded as a liberator, Fakhravar said. “People are afraid to express what is in their hearts, but in small, private gatherings, they see him as a saviour.”

Fakhravar believes dialogue with Iran is useless. “The regime wants to have a nuclear bomb so it can wipe out a country it doesn’t like,” he said. “We don’t understand why the rest of the world doesn’t understand this.”

He hopes to warn President George Bush and Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, in person not to be lured into talks with the regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which he says is lying about its plans for peaceful nuclear energy.

“If it is a matter of national pride to have it, why did they keep the programme secret for 18 years?” Fakhravar asked.

The dissident’s plain-speaking comes as the Washington establishment is divided over whether to negotiate directly with Iran.

Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state, called last week for new channels to be opened with Iran. “Focusing on regime change as the road to de-nuclearisation confuses the issue,” he wrote in The Washington Post. President Ronald Reagan invited his Soviet counterpart, Leonid Brezhnev, to a “dialogue” after denouncing the USSR as an evil empire, the architect of realpolitik noted.

Some neoconservatives, including William Kristol of the Weekly Standard magazine, are rethinking their blanket hostility to talks and wondering if there is a hawkish way to speak directly to Tehran. They fear that relying on Europe is merely allowing Iran more time to develop the bomb.

Ehud Olmert, the new Israeli prime minister, arrives in Washington tomorrow for his first summit with Bush. “Olmert will try to get Bush’s approval for an Israeli military strike on Iran in the event that the West backs down,” a well-informed Israeli source said. If diplomacy fails, however, the view inside the Pentagon is that American airstrikes would be quicker and more effective than anything the Israelis could muster.

Additional reporting: Uzi Mahnaimi, Tel Aviv

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Bozorg Bazgasht



Blog Update:

New link added under Cultural Links:

Bozorg Bazgasht (The Great Return)

BOZORG BAZGASHT is an organizations accepting Iranians who want to return to their roots (Zoroastrianism) and shed the misery that Arabo-Muslims and their Islam has caused our great land and people. It's about time Iranians liberated THEMSELVES and returned to their roots! The organization also accepts foreigners to be inducted and have had an induction ceremony in Moscow for Russians. They've also recently held ceremonies in Oslo and Dubai. In the Dubai ceremony 3 Iranians had flown from Iran to attend it - God bless these two MIHANPARAST compatriots who are returning to their roots and all others like them.

More power to this organization.

Baazgasht Be Iraniat!
Payandeh Iran va Irani!


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On another note, here's a picture of Muslim thugs harassing an Iranian woman. As can be seen her imposed scarf has fallen off and her hair is exposed to the Muslim thugs who cannot stand it. Please take notice of the club-wielding Islamic security officer of the Occupying Islamic Republic. There's a text in persian for this photo here.

LEAVE IRAN AND IRANIANS ALONE YOU FILHY THUGS! YOUR DOOMSDAY IS FASTLY APPROACHING!



END POST

Friday, May 19, 2006

Differences

As Turks proudly defend the achievements of modern Turkey's founder - Kamal Attaturk - what do the Iranian Nation do to honor the memory their own founder of modern Iran - Reza Shah the Great?

In 1980 after the Iranian Nation stood idle as the Islamic Republic Hijacked the country, the Islamists who came to power shamelessly bulldozered the maosuleum built in memory of Reza Shah the Great.

In Turkey today people kiss the marble walls of Kamal Attaturk's maosuleum. In Iran the Islamic Republic has built a public lavatory at the same site where Reza Shah's maosuleum once stood. Reza Shah's maosuleum represented the pride of the nation and a portion of the Iranian nation has let their HUMANITY sink so low that they kiss the golden decorations in maosleums erected for savage Arabo-Muslims who slaughtered THEIR ancestors. This is the situation which our nation finds itself at. This is what we have to deal with. And this is what we are waging war against. A war whose outcome can and must be our total victory.


SHARM BAR EEN MELLATE KHAMOOSH!



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Tens of thousands of Turks have turned funeral ceremonies for a judge shot by a suspected Islamist gunman, into a mass show of support for secularism.

They waved Turkish flags and chanted for the country to remain secular on marches through the capital Ankara.

A man calling himself "a soldier of Allah" shot dead Judge Mustafa Yucel Ozbilgin and wounded four others at a top administrative court on Wednesday.

He was immediately arrested. At least three others have since been detained.

The attack is believed to have been linked to the court's record of strictly upholding the ban on Muslim headscarves in universities and government offices.

The government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which has Islamist roots, has been campaigning for the regulations to be relaxed or removed.

However, at the judge's funeral at Ankara's main mosque, many protesters chanted slogans calling for the government to resign, calling cabinet members a threat to the secular republic.

Ministers who attended the service were booed

Earlier, at least 15,000 protesters, from students to judges dressed in their robes, marched to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern, secular Turkey.

"Turkey is secular and will remain secular," many chanted, in a procession broadcast live on national television.

A wreath of red and white carnations, the colours of the Turkish flag, was laid at the mausoleum. Some protesters were tearful as they kissed the building's marble stones.

'Martyr'

Thousands also went to pay their respects to Judge Ozbilgin, whose coffin was taken to the courthouse where the attack took place.

Key members of Turkey's secular establishment - including the Turkish chief of staff and top judges - stood around the coffin, which was draped in the Turkish flag and covered in flowers.

"Today we're sending a martyr to eternal life," Sumru Cortoglu, President of the Council of State, Turkey's chief administrative court, told the crowds.

"The bullet that was fired into his brain was fired against the Turkish republic. But the life of people like him will help us keep the republic alive for ever."

The gunman reportedly burst into a committee meeting of the Council of State, shouting "Allahu akbar!" (God is great) as he fired his weapon.

The suspect has been identified as Aslan Alpaslan, 29. He was apparently carrying papers that identified him as a lawyer - although it is not known if these were genuine - and made it past security guards undetected.

Mr Erdogan was quick to condemn the attack, and said the culprit would be severely punished.

The semi-official news agency Anatolia says the four other judges injured in the attack are now in a stable condition.

The secular President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who was applauded as he attended the funeral, warned that "no-one will be able to overthrow the [secular] regime".

Friday May 19, 2006

UPDATE:

New section on Radio/TV added:


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News of the Day:

The Occupational Islamic Republic's Parliament to impose identifiable badges for non-muslims to be worn! (Zoroastrians, Christians, Jews)

Shame on this nation for having allowed this savage and anti-Iranian regime to abuse our country for 27 years!


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Clip of the Day:

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Grand Shiite Ayatollah: Chemical, biological, & nuclear weapons to be used in Arabizing/Islamizing world!



What will the muslim apologists say to this one wonders? Can't these Arabs take their religion and live in their own lands leaving the rest of us at peace!? The answer to that is NO! Islam requires BLOOD to survive. Islam has to KILL to survive! Islam has to BRAINWASH people to thrive! Islam has to POLLUTE minds of people to thrive! Islam needs all of these for its ULTIMATE GOAL of conquering the world!

"There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is his Prophet".
"The infidels will face a painful death".

Shameful and ignorant Iranians who call yourselves muslims, you have a chance to liberate yourselves from the slavery you've chosen to live in by bowing to Arab Imperialism and return to your Iranian roots or YOU shall be stripped of your Iranianhood forever and be considered an ARABO-MUSLIM since this is exactly what you are asking for when labeling yourself "muslim".

The CIVILIZED WORLD is at war, it has always been - the question is are you with the forces of "good" or have you lost all honor, dignity, pride, common sense, and nationhood that you are willing to side with "Ahreeman" (the devil)!?

Heroes like Babak Khorramdin died to keep your nation from being overtaken by Arabs and for Iran to be Arabized/Islamized. Yaqoob leis Saffarid fought for your independence. Kaveh Ahangar stood up against oppression by the arabo-muslims. If you have any honor left in you come to your senses and defend your country and people from this cancer that has overtaken them!


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Wednesday, May 17, 2006

BULLDOZERED Palace of Darius the Great discovered by archeologists!

Bulldozered Palace of Darius the Great discovered by archeologists! Yes BULLDOZERED Palace! Remember how the Arabo-Muslims wanted to bulldozer Persepolis to the ground after their takeover of Iran in 1979! Well it seems they found a less known site to carry out their evil deeds! These bastards are bulldozering Iranian cultural heritage sites! The Sivand Dam that the Occupational Islamic Republic will soon make operational will FLOOD a vast land of Iran's MOST VALUABLE cultural heritage sites! And as reported in the below article the humidity caused by the dam will also DESTROY the newly discovered Palace of Darius!

Where are the protests?! Where is the outrage!? Where is this nation!? Where are the descendants of Darius?! Where are the children of Cyrus!? Where are the brothers and sisters of Babak Khorramdin!? Have you become slaves to the Arabo-Muslims!? Have you lost any sense of nationhood?! Are you a "LIVING DEAD" NATION!?

Silence in face of these atrocities that are meant to destroy our culture and impose the misery of Islamic culture upon us is at work in every sector of society! Can you not see it!? If you have one shred of decency, dignity, honor, patriotism then voice your opposition to what you see is happening to our motherland!


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Palace of Darius the Great Discovered in Bolaghi Gorge


Discovery of remains of a gigantic palace in Bolaghi Gorge and its similarity to the constructions of the time of Darius I, Achaemenid King, in Persepolis show that it was built during the same period of time.




Tehran, 15 May 2006 (CHN) -- Iran-French joint archeology team at Bolaghi Gorge succeeded in discovering and identifying the remains of a gigantic palace, believed to be from the Achaemenid era (648 BC–330 BC), during their second season of excavations in the area.

"Before the start of this season of excavations, our geophysical tests in area number 33 of Bolaghi Gorge had revealed to us the possible existence of a huge building near the Sivand Dam. Clay artifacts found in this area showed that this building used to be the residential palace of the Achaemenid kings. With the start of the new excavation season, we resumed our excavations in area number 33 with this attitude," said Mohammad Taghi Ataee, head of the Iran-French joint archeology team at Bolaghi Gorge.

"After we started our excavations in the historic hill where this monument is located, we realized that it consisted of one historic layer only. Since no other layers were constructed on top of this layer, archeologists were hoping to unearth the entire palace intact. However, after they made their trenches they got to a number of wells which had been dug by illegal smugglers and also traces of bulldozers which had caused serious damage to this ancient Achaemenid palace," said Ataee.

Plundering of archeological sites by the smugglers has become a common issue in archeology. However, according to Ataee, archeologists believe that illegal diggers cannot be held responsible for destroying of this palace by bulldozers, and it was a deliberate act by an unknown person or group of people who intended to devastate this place for a reason that is not clear for archeologists.

"The archeology team kept removing the debris caused by the bulldozers until they got to the base of a pillar similar to those used in the construction of the palace of Persepolis in Fars province, although smaller in size.
The base of this pillar which looks like an inverted bell is built by the same stones used in the construction of Persepolis. The stone is so carefully varnished that one may clearly see the reflection of oneself in it," added Ataee.

The height of this discovered base is 35 centimeters and it has a diameter of 50 centimeters. There are signs on this base which were meant to level it off, a method commonly practiced during the Achaemenid era.

"Based on the evidence, this palace must have belonged to either Darius the Great, the Achaemenid King who ruled between 521 and 486 BC and built the famous Palace of Persepolis, or the kings who preceded him. However, it is more likely that the palace belonged to Darius," said Ataee.

In addition to this pillar base, the royal seat of this palace, built using soil and condensed sand, several pieces of clay bricks, and three clay walls constructed in a row were discovered by the archeologists. The top of the walls has been destroyed by bulldozers; however, archeologists are hoping to find the construction plan of this palace by studying these walls more carefully.

Regarding the size of these clay bricks, Ataee said, "These clay bricks are in different size, some are 35 by 33 cm, some 17 by 33, and some others are 33 by 33 centimeters. They were probably used to cover the floor."

Bolaghi Gorge is an endangered historical site in Fars province, near the ancient site of Pasargade, threatened by the Sivand Dam built in its vicinity. Although the dam is not flooded yet, it is clear that with its inauguration Iran will say farewell to one of its most valuable cultural heritage sites.

Although Ataee announced that inauguration of the Sivand Dam will not directly affect this Achaemenid Palace since it is located in an area which is relatively far from the Sivand Dam, the humidity caused by the dam will certainly destroy this palace in a long run.

The Iran-French archeology team will continue its excavations in Bolaghi Gorge until June 5 to save this ancient site as much as possible before the inauguration of the dam, the date of which has not been announced yet.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Caliph AhmadiNejad


On a recent visit to Indonesia, Islamic students held up the above banner which reads: "Mr AhmadiNejad, You must be The Khalifah".

"Khalifah" is the title given to the leader of the Islamic community/world here upon earth. With this savage as their leader muslims will be able to do WONDERS to the world we live in. Just imagine. Next stop America .

This cancerous disease has to be cured or cut off from the rest of the body before it's too late. It has polluted far too many minds, destroyed far too many nations and stripped far too many people of their dignity and nationhood. It has to come to an end AT THE VERY LEAST IN MY MOTHERLAND IRAN!


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Monday, May 15, 2006

Shahanshah Aryamehr - Nuclear Energy Plans Pre-'79


There was a time when we used to set examples for the world.
There was a time when Iranian women were respected individuals with as many opportunities in society as men.
There was a time when Iran was progressing and modernizing.
There was a time when nobody would dare attack our country.
There was a time when the world community would encourage and assist us with our nuclear energy programme.

Do you know when that time was or are you still disconnected from reality?

Do you ANgolabiyoun who sent our country to hell have any idea how many nuclear plants we would have had today if you hadn't turned our country over to the devil?! Lets leave it there because the DAMAGE has already been DONE! and now we need to REBUILD! And if you don't have the decency to say that you were wrong you deserve the same faith that these anti-Iranian arabo-muslim mullah's who you brought to power will face.


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Sunday, May 14, 2006

Has the US handed over Iranian activist to the Islamic Regime!?


US gives up asylum seeker to Islamic regime
SMCCDI (Information Service)

May 14, 2006


http://daneshjoo.org/publishers/currentnews/article_5789.shtml


Un-confirmed reports are stating about the role of the US Government in the forced return of an Iranian asylum seeker to the Islamic regime. Majid Kavoosi, was handed by the US Embassy, in UAE, to the Interpol which handed him, in its turn, to the Islamic republic regime.

According to the same sources, Kavoosi had handed several secret files to the US Embassy based on promises of granting him asylum.

The latter risks the death sentence for his role in the murder of a notorious repressive Islamist judge who was known for having ordered the executions of tens of freedom fighters. In addition, Kavoosi was part of a guerilla group which was seeking the overthrow of the Islamic regime and which was involved in several attacks against the regime's symbols of political and financial power.

An increasing number of exasperated Iranians are resorting to the use of violent actions in response to the Islamic regime use of bullets or issuance of harsh sentences against any kind of real democratic movement or genuine peaceful uprising,

It seems that Kavoosi, as like as many opponents to the Islamic regime, had literally trusted this message of President Bush stating that "the day that the Iranian People chose to stand up, they won't have a better ally than the US!"

The hand over of Kavoosi coincides with rumors stating about some 'non-official' visits, of Iran, made by Americans close to the Pentagon and the State Department. If confirmed, such news would be an additional blow to the trust that many Iranians have placed in the American Administration and its claim of intending to promote Human Rights and Democracy in the region.

Already, other rumors are circulating among the Iranian opposition on the existence of a kind of "Iran Opposition Black List" and the influence exerted by some WDC based think tank circles, on part of the American media, US legislators and the State Department, in order to boycott genuine Iranian secularist opposition groups or to avoid granting them of any kind of financial support. Concerted efforts have been undertaken, in that line, in order to promote and finance docile Iranian individuals or groups which are ready to follow any kind of instruction.

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Saturday, May 13, 2006

Grand Declaration of War


1400 years ago a bedouin Arab called Mohammed delivered an ultimatum to the Sassanid Emperor of Persia - to convert to Islam or face death. The Sassanid Emperor could not believe that an Arab bedouin was issuing this kind of ultimatum to his grand Empire and didn't believe that the threat was imminent. The Arabo-Muslim army attacked the weakened Persian Empire and were able to defeat Persia's last defences through a series of hit and run campaigns that took place under the course of several years. The Arabo-Muslim occupational army of Mohammed the Arab bedouin then imposed his twisted ideology of Islam upon the people of Persia through various means including death, intimidation, and brainwashing that took place during a long period of time. The people of Persia were able to end the Arabo-Muslim occupation of their country but the foreign imposed ideology was not defeated and has for 1400 years contributed to death, destruction and misery in my motherland.

It seems that a descendant of these Arabo-Muslims who savagely invaded my homeland 1400 years has today issued the same kind of ultimatum against the United States of America : "Embrace Islam or face death". This is a grand declaration of war. Mahmood AhmadiNejad - the President of the second Arabo-Muslim occupation of Iran (Persia) - in the form of the Islamic Republic - is today following in footsteps that Mohammed and his "butchers" took 1400 years ago. Humanity as a whole could be at stake today IF the Islamic Republic, which has occupied my motherland for 27 years, is allowed to manufacture or get it's hand on a NUCLEAR WEAPON.

The people of the world need to have it clear in their minds that the savages occupying Iran are first and foremost not Iranians and secondly they do not work in the interests of the Iranian Nation and will not hesitate to carry out acts that work against the interest of our nation - which all those who have been witness to this brutal regime's 27 year long history of death and destruction can attest. The international community needs to assist the Iranian Nation to remove this malignant cancer that for the past 27 years has thrived upon the natural resources of my motherland - creating/funding/sheltering terrorist Islamic organizations - this being one of their many accomplishments.

This ultimatum that I talk about is in reference to Mahmood AhmadiNejad's conclusion in his 18 page long letter, which is written in arabic (the language of Islam), to President Bush which goes: "Vasalam Ala Man Ataba'al hoda." Which translates into: "Peace only unto those who follow the true path."
The true path in the mind of this delusional and criminal person is Islam.

For more on this I bring to your attention the information/links that the blog "Regime Change Iran" has posted:


  • Amir Taheri, The New York Post examined the ancient and recent history behind the letter Ahmadinejad wrote to President Bush and warned the letter contains a crucial message: The present regime in Iran is the enemy of the current international system and is determined to undermine and, if possible, destroy it.
  • WorldNetDaily reported that some Middle East observers believe Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to President Bush could be a precursor to war, based on a traditional Muslim pattern of offering acceptance of Islam before establishing it by force.
  • The New York Sun reported that President Ahmadinejad's letter to President Bush is in fact a declaration of war. The key sentence in the letter is the closing salutation. It is left untranslated and rendered as "Vasalam Ala Man Ataba'al hoda." What this means is "Peace only unto those who follow the true path." It is a phrase with historical significance in Islam.


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Thursday, May 11, 2006

AZADI NAZDIK HAST!



END POST

Thursday May 11, 2006 - NEWS



Noteworthy news concerning Iran today:

Tehran University students clash with Islamic regime's disciplinary guards

Student protests at Tehran University faculty of social sciences continues


Protest action by Iranian workers continues across the nation however until these protests take on a more organized structure and communication between workers is better coordinated they will not result in anything major:

Protesting workers of the Anzali Shipyards are in prison

Workers protest in front of the Gilan department of industries


Also I'd like to share this video of a courageous Iranian woman who has freed herself from the chains of this arab religion of Islam. She has come out and said what 70 million Iranians SHOULD be saying today after 1400 years of enduring this foreign imposed misery: "allah is not God!".
I do not care for the "christian" message in the clip as I do not need a man-made religion to believe in God - the God of love and kindness - however I do deem it important for my fellow Iranians to HEAR these words "allah is not God!" come from this courageous Iranian woman.

See the video here: "allah is not God!"


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Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Wednesday May 10, 2006 - News



Few interesting pieaces that i'd like the readers to take notice of today:

One of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guard Deputy Commanders shot and killed by unknown assailants

"In recent months deadly attacks on the regimes officials by civilians has skyrocketed."

Hopefully these latest attacks will serve as strong messages against the Islamic Republic and its supporters.

1,000 students protest in Iran capital on decision to ban seminar on democracy

Short-sleeve shirts banned in Iran universities

It's going to be a long and hot summer in Iran, I can assure you of that! We are once again heading for historic times. May the Iranian people be victorious against these anti-Iranian mullah's who have occupied our country for 27 years!! What we need TODAY is a UNITED FRONT to be formed and I hope that individulas like Amir-Abbas Fakhravar, Crown-Prince Reza Pahlavi and other Iranian freedom activists can form such a front in the limited time that we have before us.

Iranian Nation: Only you can rise up and free Iran!


END POST

Political prisoner facing imminent execution


Political prisoner "Valiollah Feiz Mahdavi" who is facing imminent execution has written a plea for his fellow freedom loving compatriots and activists to stay strong and determined. Mr Mahdavi has been charged with undermining national security and attempting to join the armed MKO (Mojahedin) who are based in Iraq (whether this last statement is true or not is not confirmed in the letter). For more on this issue, and to view the full letter, go to Cyrusnews.com or visit Azarmehr's post on the imminent execution of this political prisoner.


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Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Amir-Abbas Fakhravar has successfully escaped from Iran and is heading for Washington

Amir-Abbas Fakhravar has successfully escaped Iran. He has been able to hold a meeting with Richard Pearl (advisor on U.S. national security issues) in an unknown country. Amir-Abbas believes that the neo-cons in America can assist the Iranian freedom movement but is an opponent to war. He is planning on coming to Washington next week to gather support for the Iranian people. Read the whole article HERE or continue reading it below.

God bless him and more power to all Iranian freedom fighters.


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Less than 24 hours after one of Iran's leading dissidents and authors escaped to a neighboring state, the former chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, Richard Perle, interrupted his trip to central Asia to meet with him in a cramped hotel room.

The meeting between Mr. Perle and Amir Abbas Fakhravar on April 29, in a location both men have asked not appear in print, may end up being as important as the first contacts between Mr. Perle and the ex-Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky in the 1980s.

Like Mr. Sharansky with the Soviet Union, Mr. Fakhravar is making an appeal to the world to support the cause of Iranian freedom.

Mr. Perle first made contact with Mr. Fakhravar while he was first in prison and the two have kept in touch since the Iranian student leader went into hiding. They have spoken regularly for three years and Mr. Fakhravar is hoping to use Mr. Perle's contacts in America to build solidarity for his country's democratic movement.

The 27-year-old Mr. Fakhravar, who was first sentenced in November 2002 for publishing a book, "This Place Is Not a Ditch," has emerged as a leader of a secular student opposition organization that he estimated in an interview to be 3,000 strong.

While in detention, Mr. Fakhravar was placed in solitary confinement and subjected to a technique Amnesty International described as "white torture," in which he was confined to a sound proof cell where everything was painted in a cream color and he was forced to eat white rice from white paper plates.

Next week, he is planning to visit Washington, where he says he will make the case for America to support a unified Iranian opposition. His arrival in Washington comes as President Ahmadinejad offered what he said yesterday was a "diplomatic opening" for direct talks with America.

Mr. Fakhravar said it would be a mistake to take this offer seriously."This is the same method as the North Koreans used. This is to stretch the time for them," he said. But Mr. Fakhravar also said the purpose of his trip to Washington - he intends to return to Iran - was not to encourage military action against the Islamic republic.

"We are not pro-war. But we do believe in getting rid of this rotten government and to keep the costs to the people as low as possible. This is to keep the casualties and cost controls," he said. But he also cautioned, "The Islamic Republic of Iran is going in the direction that heads straight on to war with America."

Mr.Fakhravar yesterday was effusive in his praise of Mr. Perle, who has been a target of anti-war critics who have dubbed him the "prince of darkness" for his part in conceiving the intellectual foundations of the Iraq war.

The Iranian author does not share this view. "In my eyes I saw the prince of light, not the prince of darkness," Mr. Fakhravar said. "I could see in his eyes he is worried for our people as well as the American people and this is very important and this is very special. Of course, Mr. Perle has the interest of the American people at heart. And I have the interest of the Iranian people at heart. But there is a common goal and interest."

The admiration is mutual. Of Mr. Fakhravar, Mr. Perle said, "He is very impressive. I formed that opinion by talking to him on the telephone. It is even more evident in person. He is obviously a man of great courage and conviction. He has been enormously frustrated at the lack of outside support, not just from the United States but the free world generally."

Mr. Perle first got in contact with Mr. Fakhravar in 2003 through a contact in Los Angeles who asked that she only be referred to her by her first name, Manda. Manda, who emigrated to America from Iran in 2000, sought out Mr. Perle through contacts of her father, who served as a high official in the Shah's government toppled in the 1979 revolution.

"Richard I knew of from a long time ago. I knew how much he wanted the regime to change. Even before the Iraq war, he knew about what is going on in Iran. He knew so much about Iran, almost more than Michael Ledeen," she said, referring to the scholar who holds the Freedom Chair at the American Enterprise Institute.

Manda says that Mr. Fakhravar asked her to reach out to Mr. Perle and she arranged conference calls between the two, even when the dissident author at one point was in a lower security Iranian prison.

"Whenever Amir Abbas wanted to talk to Richard, at 11 at night, at five in the morning, Richard was available every time," she said. Mr. Perle says he remembers these conversations with Mr. Fakhravar and one of the leaders of the 1999 Tehran University uprising, Ahmad Batebi. "I was reluctant to stay on the phone so long because I know about the technology," he said.

Mr. Fakhravar yesterday said that his conversations with Mr. Perle were important for his morale when he was on the run from the Iranian authorities. But he also said he sought out him out in part because he believed that neoconservatives in America could help "lower the cost" of Iranian freedom.

"There have been some contacts with some Democratic senators. There are people in our organization that are talking to them to organize," Mr. Fakhravar said. "But most of the support is coming from the Republicans, Mr. Perle, and his friends. We have the interest of the Iranian people. We want to achieve freedom at any costs. We will take help from wherever we can get it to reduce the costs of obtaining our freedom."

While some critics have accused Mr. Perle of endorsing another Iraq-style invasion for Iran, Mr. Perle says this is a gross mischaracterization. "I'm doing the sort of thing I have been doing my whole life, with Iraqi dissidents and Soviet dissidents. I think they deserve support," he said.

"Along with a lot of others I am vilified for the war in Iraq. If people look at my writing it was always to support the opposition. It was the failure to do that before 9/11 that left us with no choice but to use force."

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Reza Pahlavi's interview with Adel Darvish 2002

Since I only recently started blogging i'd like to catch up in here and post some interesting articles from previous years.

Old but still relevant interview with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi by Adel Darvish (MidEastNews), 2002.

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Reza Pahlavi, his mother Empress Farah (right) and his wife Yasmin Pahlavi.

The Islamic Government fears him. His recent statments have evoked apoplectic responses from the ayatollahs, especially when he said " the first aim should be for the wishes of the Iranian people to be recorded in a free and fair election."



My vision By Reza Pahlavi
Adel Darwish in London

When American bombs were raining down on what is left of Afghanistan last November, fellow Muslims in the neighbouring Islamic republic of Iran took out to the Streets. Contrary to our expectations in the West, they did not rally to denounce the 'Great Satan' - the name given to America by the late Ayatollah Khomeini. Instead, ordinary Iranians, in one of the most extraordinary shifts in the geopolitical landscape since September 11, challenged their own hard-line Islamic clerics who swept Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi from power in 1979.

Tens of thousands of men and women also demonstrated, in several cities, after World Cup-qualifying soccer matches. Instead of the expected support for the national team, the protesters could be heard chanting, "We love you, America!" After smashing banks, public telephones, street lighting and bus stops, hundreds were arrested.

The man emerging as an important figurehead of the nascent rebellion is none other than the late shah's son, the 41-year-old former fighter pilot Reza Pahlavi, who has spent the last two-decades in exile.

When he was 14 years old, his father, was diagnosed with lymphoma. As a result the teenage prince had to over-mature prematurely. He was snatched away from the culture in which his peers would normally immerse and thrust into a monarchical apprenticeship, which included state missions to Egypt and England.

A mere four years later his father died in Egypt. Reza Pahlavi struggled to fight back tears, as tearful distressed Iranian nationalists gathered around him in Cairo to wtiness him taking the oath of responsibility as legal claimant of the Iranian throne.

In 1980, when the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein tore up the treaty he signed with his father five years earlier, Prince Reza sent a telegram to General Velayatollah Felahie, the Chief Commander of the Iranian armed forces, offering to serve in the Iranian airforce as a fighter pilot to defend his nation. The Ayatollahs turned down his offer, as his presence would have contradicted their Orwellian re-writing of Iran's history.

Twenty two years later, Prince Reza Pahlavi, looking more and more like his father, still offers his service to his nation. He looked, a little more tired, than the last time I met him, early last year, in the same modest central London hotel. The staff clearly adore him and welcome the growing number of supporters, from among London Iranian community.

Despite his cold-generated cough, the prince spoke enthusiastically for almost two hours, about his vision of Iran and the progress of his campaign for democracy in Iran, whicj he discussed in an interview with the Middle East last year.

Commenting on what his mother Empress Farah Pahlavi, told London Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat two days earlier - that her son wants to return and serve his country like any ordinary citizen- the Shah in exile sys the important thing is that the people of Iran are given the right to chose how they wish to be governed. Whether the future for Iran involves a republic or constitutional monarchy, is not the issue at this time, he says. The first aim shold be for the wishes of the Iranian people to be recorded in a free and fair election.

"My mission in life, from the day I started 21 years ago, remains the same, " said the man who most Iranian liberals in exile, as well as an increasing number of Iranians at home, consider him to be the hope of salvation from what many describe as its current nightmare.

He outlines his vision for a comprehensive strategy to give Iranian people freedom of choice and real democracy, in his book, " Winds of Change: the Future of Democracy in Iran" published feb 2002 in Washington by Regency Publishing Inc., which he dedicated to the memory of all Iran's fallen heroes and patriots.

" My goal is to reach a stage when the Iranian people can go to a national referendum and vote their conscience and vote for their future. That day, the day the Iranians go to the polls, is the end of my mission in life. What they want to do afterwards is entirely up to them and I stand ready to serve them in whatever capacity that they see fit. "

"It is simply important that believers in secular democracy come together to achieve that goal."

Prince Reza's opinions are shared by growing numbers of people inside the Islamic Republic, where, increasingly,the rallying cry is for secular democracy.

In 1997, when the voters elected philosopher Mohammed Khatami, thought by the West to be the most liberal candidate the ayatollahs could stomach, the idea of an Islamic democracy - although unworkable in practice - held great promise. With his talk of a 'dialogue of civilizations' Khatami caught the imagination of the Iranian public and Western journalists. John Lancaster of The Washington Post called him 'yatollah Gorbachev', prompting debate as to whether he would usher-in Iranian Perestroika, or he was just a reformer, not a revolutionary. Many Middle East specialist now say he is neither; Khatami was, after all, trained in the conservative seminaries of Qum and is part of the regime, a point Reza Pahlavi capitalises on to , warn us - western, journalists and governments- against a trap that we might fall into and " betray the Iranian people, who deserve better as they themselves have scratched the surface of Khatami's reforms and uncovered the truth."

" This good cop, bad cop game was a carefully designed tactic by the Islamic regime to confuse the outside world into some kind of an appeasement," he said.

He dismisses the idea of a moderate Khatami intent upon bringing about real change. Any change, syas Reza pahlavi, would be superficial to help lift US sanctions or improving trade to serve the interest of the ruling elite, and not for the benefit of millions of impoverished Iranians.

"There is no such thing as a moderate in this [theological Islamic Republic] system." He takes a leaf from Europe's own painful history book: " we saw it with Nazis, some people were arguing that Ribbentrop was more moderate than Himmler but they were [both] Nazis at the end."

In that sense, Says Prince Reza, Mr. Khatami loyalty is to the regime, his allegiance is to the constitution, the only written constitution in the world that rejects popular sovereignty. "We see, under this so-called moderate system and reformist president, parliamentary members being incarcerated; most of the Iranian newspapers shut down, and political prisoners. The popular rhetoric is really aimed at confusing the outside world. The struggle in Iran today is not about the moderate camp versus the radical camp," he went on, "rather it pits the forces of state despotism and religious fundamentalism against a nation that demands democracy, rejects militant fundamentalism and relgious domination and repudiate the concept of a supreme leader who rules over the others by a divine law."

In evaluating the progress of his year campaigning and calling upon his people to use " non violent means and general civil disobedience to force change," Reza Pahlavi cited few examples from inside Iran, in addition to Last November demonstrations.

The candle-lit vigil held by many Iranians, men and women of all ages and all walks of life, on the night of September 11 for the American victims, was a liberal phenomenon using western Christian symbols, like candles, in defiance of the regime and risking arrest by the revolutionary guard.

"Iran," commented the prince," is the only country in the area where the majority of the people show sympathy to the West but the regime is hostile to it." It is important for the world, he said, to separate the Iranian people from their unpopular ruling regime.

He cited several examples, such as Iraq and Afghanistan: " when the Taliban left Kabul, we immediately saw women taking off their Buqas, the radio began broadcasting music and songs. Similarly, when the East German government fell and the Soviet system fell, there was great rejoicing. "what was the true sentiment of those nations before the change ?` he asked, " this is exactly what you would see in Iran... as a matter of fact we see it today."

He says September 11 was, and should be an eye-opener for the west and particularly for America. " The tragedy caused the decision making circles in the west to evaluate its short-termism and began consider its long term interests."

" Who in the west, before September 11 , gave any thought to the suffering of the Afghani people? Afghanistan was not on any list of western priority, let alone Western public opinion"

The 11 September events were a painful lesson to be digested by the west, he sai. " Eradicating terrorism needs detailed long term strategy and continues efforts."

He warns that terrorism will not disappear by jailing people like Carols the Jackal, killing bin Laden and destroying the bases of Al-Qaedah and Hizbullah. " It is essential to deal with the root- causes, confronting regimes that supports terrorism, and addressing the factors that create the culture, exploited by twisted-mind clergy and the likes of bin Laden to brainwash the young into becoming suicide bombers."

Interestingly, he reminded historians how the Islamic suicide-bomber phenomenon, only emerged with Ayatollah Khomeini's revolutionary doctrine.

Prince Reza believes thatthe painful lessons of history show that true democracy is the only basis for any lasting political solution." By spreading democracy and ending social, political, and economic injustice, by encouraging religious tolerance, social justice and fighting poverty in our Muslim countries, we can secure our societies and protect them against the tied of fundamentalism and terrorism recruitment movements," he explained, while listing the ingredients of his long term recipe for eradicating terrorism from the Islamic world.

The Iranian regime responded to September 11 events with typical ambivalence; condemning the terrorists, after the vigils were held by the people but saying that the United Nations, not the United States, should lead any war on terrorism.

Yet the truth, which is recognised by Reza Pahlavi, is that ordinary Iranians aren't much bothered by events in Afghanistan, even though Iran's hard-line media plays up reports of civilian casualties.

His contacts inside Iran, which he claims continued since the family left the country in 1978, are growing in size, providing him with news of what is going on there. His website, Prince Reza confirmed, had scored several million hits, mainly from inside Iran, during the 10 months since we last met, and he has also recieved hundreds of thousands of personal e-mails from inside the coutry.

"The people of Iran can use a much-needed boost of support from the free world," Reza Pahlavi said in a speech at Yale University, Just five days before the demonstrations in which participants chanted his name in Iran last November. "They especially look to America as a beacon of hope, expecting her not to let them down by cutting a deal with the rulers of Iran for short-term gains."

A report in The Wall Street Journal last November indicated that the young Iranians, who form majority of the population today, were curious and somewhat intrigued by the man whose father died in exile years before they were born, and of whome the have only recently learned details.

"He [Reza Pahlavi] says we need freedom. He says we'll be like Europe," as 17-year-old Afshin Sadeqi, one of the teenage multitudes in Teheran's streets last November told Hugh Pope and Peter Waldman of The Wall Street Journal. The young student had never heard of Reza Pahlavi until last October, when he saw him speaking on videotape. "We didn't know who he was," Mr. Sadeqi says. "But as soon as we heard him, we felt it was our own words that we couldn't say. He said them beautifully."

The protesters' taunts directed at Iran's clerical leadership were astonishing, the WSJ report continues, particularly these: "We love you, America," and "We love you, Reza Pahlavi."

"Until a month ago, nobody knew who Reza Pahlavi was," says Mr. Havaji, a 38-year-old civil engineer. "We Iranians want to be players in the global village, and his [Westernised] character fits this picture very well. When he says we just want to be normal again, this touches everybody. Our society has decided to become a secular democracy."

Reza Pahlavi described to me how the Clergy regime, after such reports were published, sent their police around the houses confiscating satellite dishes.

His advice to his fellow Iranians, on his website and via his broadcast is to smash their dishes to stop the corrupt elements of the regime reselling them their very own ' confiscated' dishes back a few months from now at inflated prices. Such advice rang true with th local people and revealed Prince Reza not only as a man who cares, but one who knows exactly what goes on Iran, despite living in exile.

Taking a few sheets of paper out of the inside pocket of his smart suite, where he scribbled many notes in Farsi, Prince Reza's eyes lit up; he grinned from ear to ear as he translated a selection of the slogans used by demonstrators against the regime in several demonstrations held in late January - one of which coincided with a visit by UN Secretary General Kofi Anan - and others chanted by students demonstrating in support of their teachers, who also demonstrated for better conditions a day earlier.

" The Taliban faces has to be extinguished " was one of the slogans comparing the clergy to the Taliban, " Leave Palestine alone and attend to our needs," said another; " your media is not saying enough about us," critocised another. Yet more, including " You incompetent must resign" and, " enough we are tired of 20 years of betrayal," could hardly have been more direct in their criticism.

Prince Reza will be looking to a variety of Iranian groups for support to bring about democratic change; they include the intelligentsia, the professional class, an increasingly alienated large sections of the clergy including many Islamic scholars, weary of the theological autocratic elite who, they belive, have isolated them from the people. Last but not least, he will be looking for the support of the bazaaris or merchant- class, whose desertion of his father dealt a fatal blow to his ruling regime.

Mr. Pahlavi, says Franklin Foer in The New Republic, has carefully crafted his appeal to Iranian youth, by far the country's most dynamic political force. His comments are laced with references to their frustration, which he seems to have adroitly adopted as his own.

Reza Pahlavi said that "the message from [Iran's] 50 million young is that an investment in the people of Iran and their rightful struggle for secularism and popular sovereignty is the best guarantee against continued regional instability and radicalism emanating from Teheran."

He also championed women's rights, regarded as the Islamic regime's Achilles' heel. When asked about women's rights by a caller from Iran in a recent two-hour interview on satellite TV, he said, "Women's rights are human rights ... Under the clerics, however, the Iranian women have suffered the most by having been subject to the most humiliating social restrictions and laws."

Several reporters who have visited Teheran in recent months cited another sign of Reza Pahlavi's sresurgence: The Islamic government fears him. His recent statements condemning the regime's human rights record have evoked apoplectic responces from ayatollahs in the government-run newspapers. The mullahs have even vigorously protested former King Zahir Shah's return to Afghanistan because, Iran watchers argue, they worry it might set a precedent for Pahlavi. While there are several other opposition figures, according to analysts, those reporters come back saying many people started perceiving Reza Pahlavi as the only credible alternative to the ruling regime.

Cyrus Kadviar, a London based Iranian businessman says that the young today hear their parents talk about the days of the late Shah, about the prosperity and the choices they had, choices of which todays youth are deprived. " They simply tell their children that the older generation, made a terrible mistake, by getting rid of the Shah, which they now regret."

Mr Kadivar too heard from his father how in 1960 the Shah was very close to his people, as his 'white revolution' gave the Iranians hope of fast progress, prosperity and generous welfare, and there was no sign in the horizon, at that point, of the flood that was to drown the nation 17 years later. Distinguished Journalist and historian Dr Ali Nouri zadeh, says the years of Reza's growing up, were associated, in the minds of the Iranians, with the years of prosperity and progress.

He recalls how, in November 1960, thousands of Iranians flooded the streets around the " Mother and Child Maternity hospital, within minutes of Teheran radio announcing that Empress Farah, the third wife of the Shah, has given birth to a healthy male, named Prince Reza.

"The late shah had separated from his first wife, Princess Fawziyah of Egypt, after giving birth to one daughter Shahenaz, then he had to divorce Sorya who couldn't medically have children, the people of Iran have been waiting many years for the birth of a son to succeed his father to the throne to secure the continuity of the monarchy. Prince Reza's birth was greeted by much rejoicing." Dr Nouri zadeh said.

Four decades later, Iranians are again gathering in the streets, calling out the name of Prince Reza. Could the Iranians be waiting for a rebirth of Reza Pahlavi to start another white revolution, this time based on full democracy?