December 2009
Selected Headlines
Regime Wages a Quiet War on 'Star Students' of Iran WSJ | Dec. 31, 2009 Behind the drama unfolding in the streets of Iran, the regime is quietly clamping down...
Technology and U.S. Foreign Policy
[ opinion ] Last week, the Obama administration took a positive step in addressing what had been an embarrassing incongruity in U.S. policy towards Iran. While publicly espousing democratic ideals,...
Selected Headlines
Photo: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at a mourning ceremony earlier this week. Iran Urges Pro-Government Rallies in Tehran; Free Metro Tickets WSJ | Dec. 30, 2009 Tens of thousands of...
Selected Headlines
Qoba mosque in Shiraz under Basiji attack Raheh Sabz | Dec. 29, 2009 Militia forces that had been surrounding the Qoba Mosque in Shiraz since early Tuesday morning mounted attacks...
A second coup?
Or a second coup? [ comment ] Former president Mohammad Khatami called the June 12 election a "velvet coup" against the people of Iran. Now as the Green Movement gains...
Selected Headlines
Body of Mousavi's nephew taken from the morgue Gooya | Dec. 28, 2009 Security and civil forces took the body of Seyyed Ali Mousavi from the Avicenna Hospital morgue...
A Tale of Two Cities
[ feature ] For two months, life in a religious family or for those in a small town in Iran seems to have come to a standstill. No weddings, no...
Religious holiday turns bloody
[ dispatch ]Iranian security forces opened fire on protesters during anti-government demonstrations on Sunday, killing at least nine people and arresting more than 300 demonstrators in what marked the largest...
The start of an Iranian intifada
[ analysis ]An Iranian-style intifada seems to be in the making. At the beginning of the current period of opposition, which started soon after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial reelection, quiet periods...
![Ashura videos [Graphic]](/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/assets_c/2009/12/ashuravictim-thumb-160xauto-1270.jpg)
Ashura videos [Graphic]
Iran Tehran 27 dec 6 dey ashora زخمی شدن یک جوان توسط بسیجی های مزدور 27-12-2009-IRAN-TEHRAN-510 Iran 27 Dec 09 Tehran Ashura Protest Iran 27 Dec 09 a Protestor...
Ashura updates
Dec. 27, 2009 Reported deaths: 9 Videos posted here. Ashura Updates Source: Tehran Bureau Nurse: They brought a few of the injured today to the Al Zahra hospital in Isfahan....
Tasua Videos & Headlines
Press Roundup provides a selected summary of news from the Iranian press, and excerpts where the source is in English. The link to the news organization or blog is provided...
Selected Headlines
Biggest student gathering of recent months in Tehran Asr Iran | Dec. 25, 2009 Students staged a protest Friday in Tehran upon the return of Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani...
Thursday at Toopkhaneh
An eyewitness account. [ dispatch ] I was early for the appointed time of 3 p.m. but already police stood in fours and fives, elsewhere in groups of a dozen...
Letter from Tehran
[ comment ] Tehran is still Tehran. It's as if I never left, but merely stood aside to blink or rub from my eyes the smoke that sits heavy on...
Ashura 101
[ overview ] December 18 marked the beginning of the month of Moharram. Shiites, and in particular Iranians, have been mourning the killing of their third Imam, Hossein, the quintessential...
Selected Headlines
Police clash with mourners in Zanjan Rahe Sabz | Dec. 24, 2009 The memorial service for Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri that was to be held in the Grand Mosque of...
Selected Headlines
50 arrested in Isfahan unrest Rahe Sabz | Dec. 23, 2009 More than 50 people were arrested during protests in the city of Isfahan Wednesday, including four members of the...
Iran After Montazeri
A legacy that will haunt the regime. [ analysis ] The demise of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri brought an important chapter in the history of the Islamic Republic to a...
The Zand Trail
[ passport ] I wondered what of my trip to Iran I'd remember; of course, I'd recorded much in my journal. But only so much can be recounted or recorded,...
Selected Headlines
Qom eyewitness account Tehran Bureau | Dec. 21, 2009 Female, 30, sociologist: "We started out from Tehran for Qom at 2:00 am. We arrived in the early dawn hours at...
Videos: Ayatollah Montazeri's funeral
Photos of funeral here and here (including one of Mir Hossein Mousavi). In this video, as a message from the Supreme Leader is read over loudspeakers, the crowd begins booing...
Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri: 1922-2009
He was not willing to sell his soul to stay in power. [ obit ] Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the spiritual leader of Iran's democratic movement and one of...
Weekend Headlines
Five dailies scolded for 'censoring' govt rally Ayandeh | Dec. 19, 2009 The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance reprimanded five Iranian dailies -- Abrar, Andish-e No, Jahan-e Eghtesad, Etemad...
Press Reports on Montazeri
Mousavi, Karroubi announce Monday national day of mourning Norooz | Dec. 20, 2009 Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi issued a joint statement in which they pronounced...
Selected Headlines
Pro Iranian hackers hit Twitter and Opposition websites BBC │Dec. 18, 2009 A group calling itself the Iranian Cyber Army has hacked Twitter and an Iranian opposition website, replacing it...
Téhéran sans autorisation
More about Sepideh Farsi's film "Tehran without permission" (or accreditation) can be found on the The New York Time's Lede blog. An English translation of the lyrics to Hich-Kas's...
Selected Headlines
Mashai buys actress' artwork Khabar Online │ Dec. 16, 2009 Esfandiar Mashai, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's gaffe-prone chief of staff, reportedly bought the most expensive artwork at popular actress Hedieh Tehrani's photography...
United Students of Iran
[ feature ] The large campus protests in more than 15 cities across Iran on Dec. 7 in celebration of Student Day, which coincided with the six-month milestone in the...
Ahmadinejad in Copenhagen
And Iran's right to nuclear energy. Today, at the Climate Summit in Copenhagen, the world's cameras will be watching and listening to the words of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Many will want...
Going Underground
[ film ] Kurdish-Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi, known for making slow-moving, heart-rendering films along the western border of Kurdistan (A Time For Drunken Horses, Turtles Can Fly, Half Moon),...
Selected Headlines
Police will not stop carriers of green symbols on Ashura Farda | Dec. 16, 2009 Police commander Azizollah Rajabzadeh said Ashura mourners carrying green banners or other symbols would not...
Khamenei lashes out at Opposition
In an angry speech to young conservative clerics on Sunday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out at the opposition, accusing them of being behind tearing and burning posters...
Another Iranian Nuclear Negotiator Resigns
On Tuesday December 15th, Dr Mohammad Saeedi, the deputy head of planning for the Atomic Energy Agency of Iran (AEOI) and a member of Iran's nuclear negotiation team for the...
The Regime's Mousavi Problem
[ analysis ] Six months into a deep political crisis, a growing set of indicators is emerging that show the Islamic Republic of Iran is so fed up with post-election...
Selected Headlines
Iran prosecutor general reportedly confirms rape in prisons Rahe Sabz | Dec. 15, 2009 Iran's Prosecutor General attended a private meeting with the members of the Assembly of Experts, where...
Selected Headlines
Pro-Leader students give opposition ultimatum Fararu | Dec. 13, 2009 Students gathered in the Imam Khomeini Mausoleum in Tehran to protest the desecration of one of the late leader's posters...
Opinion: The Wrecking Ball
[ comment ] Back in the summer of 1979, months before the Iranian mob -- egged on by Ayatollah Khomeini -- seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, U.S. diplomats in...
The Chain Murders
[ feature ] This feature has been updated here. The history of political assassinations in Iran is almost as old as the nation itself: Xerxes (519-465 BC) was killed by...
Tehran University: A glimpse inside the protests
[ dispatch ] The University of Tehran has been in turmoil for nearly a week now. And this is saying a lot about a school that has been plagued by...
Seeing Green
[ comment ] It's been a busy day of driving through Tehran in hired cabs. Heavy traffic afforded me time to ponder, an exercise I practiced almost Zen-like in order...
Selected Headlines
IRNA strikes 'Ayatollah' from Rafsanjani title Tabnak | Dec. 13, 2009 In a directive issued to IRNA employees, writers have been advised to use only the titles "Hojjatoleslam" or "Head...
Staging Mousavi's Arrest?
[ overview ] Over the past week, there has been increased speculation that Mir Hossein Mousavi may be arrested. This began after state television broadcast a clip from student demonstrations...
The Force Strikes Back
[ snapshot ] A stunt pulled by Iran's state media to humiliate student leader Majid Tavakoli backfired -- big time. Tavakoli was arrested on Monday in Tehran after addressing...
Selected Headlines
Press Roundup provides a selected summary of news from the Iranian press, and excerpts where the source is in English. The link to the news organization or blog is provided...
Intel chief warns of extent of opposition
Iran intel chief warns of extent of opposition AP | Dec. 10, 2009 Iran's top intelligence official denounced senior clerics who he said support the country's opposition, an acknowledgment of...
Iran Media Guide
Television IRIB or the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (Farsi: Seda va Sima, or 'Voice and Vision'), is the state monopoly broadcaster (radio and television) directly overseen by the office...
Opinion: Help Iranians Harness the Internet
[ comment ] The United States and the international community should support efforts to provide unfiltered Internet access to the Iranian people, and take measures to curb censorship by the...
Selected Headlines
Student protests continue at Tehran and Sharif universities Norooz | Dec. 9, 2009 Despite warnings issued by Tehran University officials banning protests on Wednesday, December 9th, a number of pro-opposition...
Bassidji: Talking to the Other Side
An interview with director Mehran Tamadon. [ film ] A young boy sits on rusted tank tracks in the desert bordering Iran and Iraq. His head is bowed, and he's...
Day 2: Clashes at Tehran universities
Protests Six students arrested at Tehran University AUT | Dec. 8, 2009 Following two days of protests and clashes with security forces at Tehran University, six students have been detained...
Students Day protests sweep campuses across Iran
[ dispatch ] Thousands of student protesters clashed with basij militiamen and riot police at demonstrations staged at and around universities in Tehran and other cities throughout Iran on Monday,...
Every Which Way But Lose
[ analysis ] Iran's controversial presidential election left a thorn in the government's side, and few signs indicate a return to calm in the near future. A running "calendar battle"...
Updates: 16 Azar
New slogans chanted in Student's Day protests: Witnesses told Tehran Bureau that slogans chanted at protests today were notably radicalized and emboldened, targeting the Supreme Leader, the Basij, and...
Videos: 16 Azar
Oil Money spent on Basiji 16th Azar dec.07.09 Sharif University Student gathering behind Sharif's main entrance Amirkabir, پول بالابردن برای بسیج شکستن در دانشگاه، با فریاد مرگ بر دیکتاتور. درب...
16 Azar: Iran's Student Day
[ feature ] Iranians have been struggling for at least the past 150 years to establish a democratic political system in which the rule of law is supreme. Iranian university...
Ahmadinejad has proof US trying to stop Hidden Imam
Ahmadinejad says he has proof US trying to stop Hidden Imam Tabnak | Dec. 4, 2009 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that he has documented evidence that the United States was trying...
Stories from North Tehran
Arrival, July 13 I was worried as my plane descended into Imam Khomeini International Airport around 3:00 am. A month earlier, Iran had erupted in protests following the country's presidential...
Gradual change more likely than revolution, experts say
[ dispatch ] Everyone wants to know what's next for Iran. Since the June 2009 election, and subsequent protests, the mainstream media has asked, "Is this the beginning of another...
SL pardons, reduces jail terms of 793 prisoners; other crackdown begins...
Iranian leader pardons or reduce jail terms for over 793 prisoners BBC Monitoring | Farda News | Dec. 5, 2009 Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has pardoned or reduced...
Rough Cut
In this untitled, uncredited documentary, images of the post-election crisis play out against the official narrative put forth by state television, dictated at Friday prayers and by Iran's Supreme...
Main Kahrizak suspect appointed top presidential inspector
Main Kahrizak suspect appointed top presidential inspector Parleman News│ Dec. 4, 2009 Reports suggest that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has appointed the notorious Judge Saeed Mortazavi as to presidential office's head inspector....
Video: Mousavi+Khamenei+Khomeini
[Then Hojatoleslam Seyyed Ali Khamenei, President of Iran] Our next topic is Mr. Mousavi. The last person I expected to face criticism is Mousavi. I know him extremely well. I...
Selected Headlines
Tehran Prosecutor warns against protests, says his office 'good friend of the media' Tabnak | Dec. 1, 2009 Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi warned that police would crack down on...
28-Mordadism: A Postmortem
[ comment ] This year, Iranians around the world are commemorating the 56th anniversary of the CIA-sponsored coup of 1953, or as we call it indexically on the Persian calendar,...
The Supreme Leader's Slow Purge
[ analysis ] Half a year after Iran's disputed presidential election, the Islamic regime is suffering from partial paralysis. Despite thousands of arrests, scores of killings, widely publicized show...
The View from China
[ dispatch ] The most recent bombast from President Ahmadinejad, who called for an enormous expansion of Iran's nuclear enrichment program, has once again raised alarms in the United States,...
Selected Headlines
Ban on makeup for women, less music on state television Tabnak | Dec. 1, 2009 The newly reinstated head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting said less music and...
Selected Headlines
Yachtsmen and Iran's anger with UK Guardian | Dec. 1, 2009 The UK has one organ that scares Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's regime greatly, and that is BBC's Persian language service....
The Hardliners' Nulcear Dilemma
[ comment ] Iran's rejection of a preliminary agreement it reached on Oct. 1, 2009, in Geneva, has taken its confrontation with the United States and its allies in the...
via RSS