supreme leader

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Hackers Post Phone Number of Iran's Supreme Leader

They also disrupt rail service in the country

(Newser) - Hackers were blamed for disruptions in Iran's rail service on Friday, with a state broadcaster reporting "unprecedented chaos at railway stations across the country." The national railway website, ticket offices, and cargo services were affected, per Reuters , causing trips to be delayed and canceled. Boards in stations...

5 Evil Figures Who Had Surprising Pasts

Pol Pot, Ayatollah Khomeini, and Timothy McVeigh are among them

(Newser) - Adolf Hitler's early life as an aspiring artist is well-documented, but who knew that other mass murderers and despots had hopeful beginnings? A rundown, per Ozy :
  1. Pol Pot: The soon-to-be Cambodian despot lived it up in Paris as a foreign student of radio electronics in the late 1940s and
...

Top Iranian Dissident Montazeri Dies
 Top Iranian 
 Dissident 
 Montazeri Dies 
OBITUARY

Top Iranian Dissident Montazeri Dies

Cleric had been in line to succeed supreme leader, fell from favor

(Newser) - Iran's most senior dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who emerged as the spiritual father of its reform movement, died in his sleep overnight. He was 87. Once slated to succeed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Montazeri instead led the charge in accusing the country's ruling Islamic establishment of imposing dictatorship...

Silver: How Do You Rig 11M Votes? Easily
Silver: How Do You Rig
11M Votes? Easily
 
ANALYSIS

Silver: How Do You Rig 11M Votes? Easily

Ayatollah's argument against the possibility of vote fraud doesn't hold water

(Newser) - Nate Silver has a bone to pick with the ayatollah. In his attempt yesterday to quash claims of voter fraud, Ali Khamenei asserted that President Ahmadinejad had won by 11 million votes. "How can one rig 11 million votes?" he asked. That's faulty logic, cries Silver on FiveThirtyEight.com....

Ayatollah Calls for Calm, Denies Ballot Fraud

'Zionists' and BBC are exploiting protests, Khamenei says

(Newser) - The supreme leader of Iran called for "peace and tranquility" in his first public speech since the contested presidential election, Al Jazeera reports. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defended the legitimacy of the vote and told protesters to stop, notes the New York Times. "Street challenge is not acceptable,"...

4 Possible Outcomes for Iran
 4 Possible Outcomes for Iran 
analysis

4 Possible Outcomes for Iran

Could we see a new revolution—or the next Tiananmen?

(Newser) - Iran’s election aftermath seems to have come as a surprise to its key figures. With protesters showing no sign of relenting, Tony Karon of Time offers four possible conclusions:
  • A repeat of the 1979 revolution. But that’s unlikely, because “an unarmed popular movement can only topple an
...

Disputed Letter Reports Victory by Mousavi

Possible forgery showing 'actual results' inflames protesters

(Newser) - Among the propaganda coming from all sides in the Iranian election dispute, one letter stands out: a note from the interior minister to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, giving the "true" result of last Friday's vote. The letter acknowledges the Supreme Leader's "order" for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to win but shows...

Ayatollah Won't Overturn Ahmadinejad's Victory

(Newser) - This might seal it: Iran supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denied challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi’s request to overturn the results of the presidential election, the Guardian reports. Khamenei, perhaps dashing Mousavi's only chance to upend an outcome the challenger claims was rigged, called Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s win a “...

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