Free Republic

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran said on Monday several foreign citizens were arrested during clashes between opposition supporters and security forces last month, state television reported.

A letter published on the Iranian websites claims that Ayatollah Khamenei is planning a possible escape to Russia.There were rumors floating around yesterday that Ayatollah Khamenei was preparing to flee Iran. Today Planet Iran posted a letter written on the official Islamic Regime letterhead that discusses Khamenei’s possible to escape to Russia. Iran Global website has exposed a document that discloses information on Khamenei and various authorities of the regime’s possible escape to Russia. The document is on the National Security Agency of the Islamic regime’s letterhead addressed from the office of the High Assembly of the Islamic Republic’s National...

Headline only.

The US administration is heading towards placing "paralyzing" sanctions on Iran, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Michael Oren said Tuesday. Speaking to Army Radio, Oren added that although it was "too early," the US had also not yet abandoned the military option. "The Americans attribute the highest importance to the Iranian issue," he said during the interview. "The US, along with other countries, is preparing to impose paralyzing sanctions on [Iran], and preparations are happening even now." Oren went on to reject claims that US President Barack Obama was trying to downgrade relations between Washington and Jerusalem, saying, "The man is...

"The coordination center for National Iranian Armed Resistance Forces (NIRU) hereby declares its existence & accuses the current government and the leader of the Islamic Revolution, Mr. Sayyed Ali Khamenei of legal transgressions and high treason of nation and homeland. We, a number of Officers, Soldiers and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, hereby declare our readiness for rise to the armed defense of our nation against the forces of the criminal, illegitimate, transgressing and occupying current Government of Iran, and hereby inform our brothers and sisters serving with the armed security forces of Iran,...

Iranian opposition Web sites reported Monday the arrest of several prominent reformists, including aides to opposition leaders and a former foreign minister, a day after clashes killed at least eight, the deadliest day of protests since the summer.

Mideast: As the death of a dissident cleric spawns renewed protests, Sen. John Kerry seeks to make nice with the oppressors of those who truly deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. How about regime change, Senator? The death toll from the brutal suppression of the latest round of Iranian protests against their government has reached double digits. We wonder if the senator still wants to be the highest U.S. official to visit Tehran since U.S. hostages were held for 444 days by the very same regime. To Kerry and this administration, the problem is one of mistrust and misunderstanding. Come, let...

Debka has an exclusive report on the Iranian uprising http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1416 covering the key players of the insurgency, the death tolls and the various sides. One question that comes to mind reading all of the information on the resistance movement (not Debka) is whether extremists are trying to hijack the resistance movement. After all, Mousavi was a Revolutionary leader of the last Ayatollah. From the Debka Report: "The current upsurge of violence across Iran is the most dangerous yet because for the first time demonstrators are turning round to attack security forces, the Revolutionary Guardsmen and Basijj paramilitaries.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in the capital Sunday, killing at least four people in the fiercest clashes in months, opposition Web sites and witnesses said.

On Saturday night in Tehran, members of a pro-government militia broke into a mosque where former President Mohammad Khatami, a reformist leader, was speaking, forcing him to break off before concluding his remarks. As my colleague Nazila Fathi reports, “about 50 vigilantes armed with chains, batons and pepper spray disrupted a speech by Mr. Khatami at Jamaran Mosque in Tehran, the home mosque of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.”

After two days of anti-government demonstrations in Tehran, there are reports that up to four protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces.

Here's my latest post for NewsReal. When Iranian lovers of liberty and democracy decided that the mad Mullahs had persecuted, tortured and killed them long enough, and organized protest after protest against their rule, you expected America to come out in support of them. After all, the “land of the free and the home of the brave” has always been an example and inspiration to all those who love freedom. Sadly, no word of support came from the White House. Instead of praising the brave Iranians protesting against the Islamo-fascist thugs who have oppressed them for three decades already, President...

(No. 397 – December 27, 2009 – 4:35 p.m. EST) The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement regarding Iran’s crackdown on protesters in Tehran: “Canada is deeply concerned by the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown today, December 27, against Iranian citizens who were exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly on the occasion of Ashura. “Iranian security forces once again used intimidation and violence against citizens of Iran. The Iranian regime’s continued effort to restrict freedom of expression and assembly, thereby depriving its citizens of their rights, is deplorable, especially on the holy...

Large video collection of today's pro-Democracy protests in Iran. Video collection here

These people are standing up to their evil government and fighting back. They are in the right. The U.S. should be standing behind them.

TEHRAN - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned the West that it must not assume that Iran is a divided society as the country faced some demonstrations following the June presidential election. "The Western politicians think something happening in Iran and Iran has become weakened. That is a mistake. They do not know Iran. The people of Iran are united and they would certainly defend rights and interests," Ahmadinejad explained. The president also added the West must not think that Iran's position has been weakened in defending its legal rights as it faces some opposition at home by some groups. "There...

Washington, 28 December (WashingtonTV)-Iranian authorities have declared martial law in the city of Najafabad, the hometown of the dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who died last week, a pro-reform website reported on Sunday. The Rahesabz website said that at 9 pm local time [17:30 GMT], security forces used loudspeakers to announce martial law and asked citizens not to leave their homes. The declaration was the first since the 1978-79 Islamic revolution overturned the former Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The declaration came as security forces clashed with protesters across Iran, who were making use of the Shiite holy day...

There are signs that the opposition leaders are no longer in control of the anti-government elements. Protesters used the opportunity of the presence of large crowds gathered to celebrate Ashura and unleashed a wave of violent clashes with security forces Sunday resulting in at least eight deaths. According to eyewitness reports, banks, bus stops, cabbage containers, and cars were set on fire during the protests. Chants of slogans against government officials and some religious leaders were heard in Tehran. Police say deadly force was not used to disperse the protesters, adding that the deaths are under investigation. Confirming the violent...

In a SPIEGEL interview, Iranian Ayatollah Mohsen Kadivar, currently a visiting research professor at America's Duke University, discusses the recent death of opposition leader Hossein Ali Montazeri, the frustrations Iranians have with their regime, the future of the green movement and the prospect of an escalation. 'I Am Convinced that the Regime Will Collapse' Iranian reformist clergyman Mohsen Kadivar delivers a speech during a protest in support of... Expand Iranian reformist clergyman Mohsen Kadivar delivers a speech during a protest in support of disqualified reformist MPs at "Islamic Iran Participation Front" (IIPF) headquarters in Tehran, in this file photo. In...

Today, the Islamic regime in Iran faces what could be a perfect storm. A respected opposition leader is being mourned, it is the most holy day of the year for Shiites, and the pro-democracy Green Movement is more energized and radicalized than ever. The spirit of liberation is alive and well. ...One of our New Year's wishes is that peaceful change comes to Iran, but the regime will do everything in its power to prevent that from happening. Hopefully the reform movement will reach critical mass before the Islamic regime's nuclear program does.