1. Guardian Council Confirms Ahmadinejad’s Victory: “The secretary of the Guardian Council in a letter to the interior minister announced the final decision of the Council… and declares the approval of the accuracy of the results of… the presidential election,” the state broadcaster said. A partial recount of the election carried out on Monday showed [...]

Tribute to Michael Jackson: Arguably the most famous musician in world history died yesterday and like many, I was shocked and saddened to hear the news. When my brother and I were little, we didn’t have any cassette tapes (this is long before the era of CDs) but we had one tape, and that was [...]

1. The Media Blackout: is working very effectively. With virtually all foreign journalists kicked out of the country, there is minimal information coming out of Iran. (Picture is dated June 15) 2. G8 ‘deplores’ Iran poll violence: “Foreign ministers from the world’s main industrialised countries have issued a statement “deploring” post-election violence in Iran. The [...]

1. Thursday’s Rally: “Thursday: Opposition leaders had called for a day of mourning on Thursday, but some reports say it has been cancelled.” 2. Contrast to the Iranian Revolution – Weak Leadership in Karroubi: “Meanwhile, another opposition leader, Mahdi Karroubi, has put off a march of mourning for at least 17 people killed in post-election [...]

1. Wednesday: “Eyewitness reports say there have been clashes near the parliament building in the capital Tehran, in the streets around Baharestan Square.” Reports suggest that the number of protesters was around 300. 2. Thursday: There is general agreement amongst the media that there are going to be protests tomorrow, maybe the largest we’ve seen [...]

1. Guardian Council rules out vote nullification: “Iran’s Guardian Council rules out the possibility of nullifying the country’s June 12 Presidential election, saying there has been no record of any major irregularity.” 2. Today’s Strike: So there were rumors that a public strike was supposed to go into effect today but I haven’t received any [...]

1. Monday: The crackdown was in full effect on Monday and the demonstrations continue to dwindle, but this may be far from over. Indeed, reports indicate that Mousavi has called for a national strike on Tuesday. We’ll have to wait and see if it this actually plays out. 2. Important Lessons in History – 1963 [...]

1. Saturday’s Crackdown: I’ve been saying that it was bound to happen and now it’s happening. The footage of the crackdown coming out of Iran is massively disturbing, especially the one covering the death of a girl named Neda. I have to warn you, the video is traumatic. See it here but only if you have [...]

1. Saturday: Protestors Defied Khamenei’s Demand to End the Protests: “Some 3,000 protesters, many wearing black, chanted “Death to the dictator!” and “Death to dictatorship!” near Revolution Square in downtown Tehran, setting off fierce clashes with police firing tear gas, water cannons and guns, witnesses said. It was not clear if police were firing live [...]

Khamenei’s Speech: I stayed up late last night watching his speech online and was too tired to comment on it afterward since it ended at around 3:00 am pacific standard time. Anyway, I believe that his speech marks a major escalation in the crisis engulfing Iran today. He sided with Ahmadinejad, who was present at the [...]

1. The Khamenei Sermon: The opposition has called off Friday’s rally to avoid clashes with a pro-government rally. For now, demonstrations are planned to continue on Saturday unless something significant develops at Khamenei’s Friday sermon, which is set to be the first time he publicly addresses the issue. It’s noontime right now in Iran so [...]

1. Today’s Protest: “Hundreds of thousands of protesters wearing black and carrying candles filled the streets of Tehran again Thursday, joining opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi to mourn demonstrators killed in clashes over Iran‘s disputed election.” 2. Friday: The Mousavi camp has called for a day of mourning across Iran and for protestors to either [...]

1. Obama: Right-wing commentators are coming down hard on Obama for not outright supporting the demonstrations in Iran, especially now that Iranian authorities are blaming the US anyway. But Obama’s approach is ingenious and if he remains cautious but continues to voice concern over the deaths, which he has been doing, then the regime will [...]