Free Republic

For brevity's sake... just compare the wiki introductions:The Basij (Persian: بسيج) (literally "Mobilization"; also Basij-e Mostaz'afin, literally "Mobilization of the Oppressed"; officially Nirou-ye Moqavemat-e Basij, literally "Mobilisation Resistance Force")[ is a paramilitary volunteer militia founded by the order of the Ayatollah Khomeini in November 1979. The Basij are subordinate to, and receive their orders from, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. The force has been widely used in order to control the widescale protests following the 2009 Iranian presidential election. According to Iranian state-run media reports, eight of the 20 killed during the protests were members...

Another eyewitness account, emailed to us from a very close friend. Made my way down the west side of Laleh Park, large crowd was gathered around a radio listening to Rafi give the sermons, moved down to Keshavarz Blvd, where people had already started to taunt the bassijis who look like teenagers with Darth Vader helmets that was one size too big for them. The main slogans were “Baradar’e basiji chera Baradr Koshi” (”Brother basiji, why do you kill your brother?”, the speaker after Rafi was urging people to shout “death to America” and “death to Israel” people responded in...

The doctor who tried to save an Iranian protester as she bled to death on a street in Tehran has told the BBC of her final moments. Dr Arash Hejazi, who is studying at a university in the south of England, said he ran to Neda Agha-Soltan's aid after seeing she had been shot in the chest. Despite his attempts to stop the bleeding she died in less than a minute, he said. Dr Hejazi says he posted the video of Ms Soltan's death on the internet and images of her have become a rallying point for Iranian opposition supporters...

Baghdad, April 7, IRNA -- Four Iranian pilgrims were killed and three others injured by US forces, the official in charge of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs Organization in Kerbala announced Wednesday. A vehicle carrying 11 Iranian pilgrims enroute from Najaf to the holy city of Kerbala, was targeted by US military forces, Hossein Vaezi said regretting that the four passengers were killed and three others were injured. The Iraqi driver of the vehicle was also killed during the attack, he added. The bodies of those killed and the injured Iranian pilgrims are kept in al-Hussein hospital in Kerbala, the...