Iranian politics

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Iran's Rouhani Sworn in, Vows 'Peace, Stability'

But calls for 'respect' instead of sanctions

(Newser) - Hasan Rouhani was sworn in today as Iran's president, reports the BBC , vowing a government that would serve voters' call for moderation and hope. "All of those who voted, whether they voted for me, someone else, or even if they didn't vote, all of them are Iranian...

Iran Vetoes Every Woman Running for President

There were 30 among the field of 686 hopefuls

(Newser) - A whole heck of a lot of people are running for president of Iran—and after today, they'll all be dudes. In a single pronouncement, Iran's ruling clerics struck all 30 women who had registered for the race from contention, with one telling a semi-official news agency that...

Iranians Head to the Polls
 Iranians Head to the Polls 
Mar 2, 2012 6:31 AM CST

Iranians Head to the Polls

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urges high turnout

(Newser) - Iran's supreme leader urged Iranians to vote in large numbers as the country holds parliamentary elections today, saying a high turnout would send a strong message to the enemies of the nation amid the nuclear standoff with the West. The balloting for the 290-member parliament is the first major...

Iran Disrupts Internet as Elections Loom

Authorities take early steps to prevent protests, say experts

(Newser) - With parliamentary elections looming in Iran next month, authorities are ramping up censorship of the opposition, disrupting much of the country's Internet in the process, reports Reuters . Millions are having trouble accessing their email and social networking sites, which played an important role in the protests that followed the...

Jailed Iran Activists: Guards Help Criminals Rape Us

They provide condoms to encourage it, smuggled letters say

(Newser) - Iranian prison guards are systematically encouraging other prisoners to rape young opposition activists, even giving them condoms to do so with, according to letters smuggled out from jailed activists. “In various cells inside the prison, rape has become a common act and acceptable,” writes one Participation Front member...

Ahmadinejad Cuts Subsidies, Price of Gas Quadruples

Riot police deployed in case of chaos

(Newser) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the dramatic step of eliminating state subsidies on fuel, food, and other essential items this weekend, sending their prices skyrocketing for ordinary Iranians. Gas prices quadrupled overnight, and the price of diesel jumped 900%, the New York Times reports. Ahmadinejad said the step was necessary given Iran’...

Iranian Lawmakers Move to Oust Ahmadinejad

Assembly seeks to impeach president

(Newser) - It looks like Western governments aren't the only ones fed up with the antics of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran's parliament planned to impeach the leader, but was prevented from doing so by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing reports in Iranian media. Lawmakers accused the president...

US Begins to Think Iran Protesters Have a Chance

Turns its focus to Revolutionary Guard

(Newser) - The US appears to be coming around to the notion that Iran's protesters pose a genuine threat to the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and are looking for new ways to support the opposition. This latest round of unrest in particular has Obama officials reaching out to Iran scholars to gauge...

Gunmen Fire on Iranian Opposition Cleric's Car

Mahdi Karroubi unharmed in attack

(Newser) - Armed pro-government demonstrators opened fire on the car of an Iranian opposition leader, shattering its windows but leaving him unharmed, his website reported today. The shooting happened late yesterday while former presidential candidate Mahdi Karroubi was leaving a building in Qazvin where he'd been staying. Some 500 people were demonstrating...

Iranian Forces Clash With Protesters

More rallies are expected tomorrow during mourning ritual

(Newser) - Iranian security forces beat protesters in central Tehran today while hardline activists disrupted a speech by the country's moderate former president, said reformist websites. Several injuries were reported in the unrest, which came a day before the Shiite Muslim mourning ceremony of Ashoura. Opposition activists have held a series of...

Iran Tells US: Give Us Our Scientist Back

Nuclear researcher is missing, and Tehran says he was abducted

(Newser) - Iran today accused the US and Saudi Arabia of kidnapping a prominent nuclear scientist. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Shahram Amir disappeared while visiting Saudi Arabia on a religious pilgrimage in June. "The Americans did abduct him," he said. "Therefore we expect the American government to return...

Iran Students Hope to Reignite Smoldering Unrest

Green movement plans major protest tomorrow

(Newser) - Iranian students are planning a major protest tomorrow, their first in six weeks, hoping to turn an annual parade commemorating the taking of the US embassy in 1979 into an anti-government rally. Though largely forgotten by the media and discounted by Western policy makers, the so-called “green movement” that...

Ahmadinejad Names 3 Women to Cabinet

But female ministers are hardliners, unlikely to please reformers

(Newser) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today he would nominate three women to join his cabinet, reports the Guardian, attempting to soften his image after the brutal crackdowns following his disputed re-election. The decision is significant in a country where just eight of 290 MPs are female. But the two women whose names...

Mousavi's Options Dwindle as Time Ticks Away

Beaten on the streets, reformer takes uphill battle to the elite

(Newser) - The Iranian protest movement is running out of time and options as the regime continues its brutal crackdown, Time reports. Government forces have full control of the streets of Tehran, hundreds of political opponents are in jail, and Western journalists have been packed off. Mir Hossein Mousavi now has no...

Mousavi's Options Shrink as Crackdown Hardens

Battle for Iran moves from the streets to corridors of power

(Newser) - Two weeks after Iran's allegedly rigged presidential election, the regime's clampdown has hardened and left opponents of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with few avenues for protest. The New York Times reports that shouts of "God is great" and "Death to the dictator" continue to echo at...

Iranian Press Pushes for Mousavi's Arrest

Pro-regime papers may be laying ground for new crackdown

(Newser) - Several Iranian newspapers sympathetic to the regime have published articles blaming Mir Hossein Mousavi for recent violence, reports the Telegraph. The papers demand that the opposition leader be arrested for treason, a strategy that may be part of an effort to strengthen the position of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Meanwhile, the...

Iran Finds Fraud But Calls Election Clean Enough

(Newser) - An eerie silence descended on Tehran early today as Iranian officials admitted to discrepancies in the controversial presidential election, but still declared it legal. More votes were cast in 50 cities than the number of registered voters, officials concluded. But authorities said the discrepancy, which affects some 3 million votes,...

Obama's Wrong: He Must Take Sides in Iran
Obama's Wrong:
He Must Take Sides in Iran
OPINION
Jun 19, 2009 7:12 AM CDT

Obama's Wrong: He Must Take Sides in Iran

He's deserting the brave revolutionaries: Krauthammer

(Newser) - Electoral fraud fueled the protests in Iran, but now there is a full-fledged revolution brewing—and according to Charles Krauthammer, the demonstrators are desperate for just one signal that the US supports them. Instead, President Obama has pledged "dialogue" with a "clerical dictator" and left the green revolutionaries...

Iran Blocks Foreign Press as Thousands Protest

Government cracks down on communications, arrests reformists

(Newser) - Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are planning more rallies today, despite an appeal for calm by the country's supreme religious leader. Iran has banned international journalists from the protests after Monday's violence at a Mousavi demonstration, where seven people died. But state television, which showed rallies in...

Ayatollah Authority Undercut by Flip-Flop
Ayatollah Authority 
 Undercut by Flip-Flop 
ANALYSIS
Jun 16, 2009 6:28 AM CDT

Ayatollah Authority Undercut by Flip-Flop

Protests are weakening Khamenei's grip on Iranian regime

(Newser) - The about-face done by Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—first blessing the victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Friday's election then opening an inquiry into vote fraud yesterday—was a rare misstep for the shadowy, usually cautious ayatollah, the New York Times reports, and may have done substantial damage to his reputation,...

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