Eldercato's Blog

There are reports coming from Iran that two Helicopters are flying over Tehran and pouring boiling water over the protesters.

The Huffington Post Reports:

8:09 AM ET — Heavy presence of security forces reported. Information is hard to come by right now but multiple reports suggest that security forces are out in droves. From Reuters: “Witnesses said they had seen Basij Islamic militia deploying across Tehran and one resident saw at least three buses full of Basij heading for the capital from the nearby city of Karaj on Saturday, as well as four trucks full of the motorcycles used by Basij militiamen during previous demonstrations.”

Also, from 15 minutes ago: “Iranian riot police were deployed in Tehran blocking off the area where supporters of defeated candidates had planned the rally.”

AP: “Firetrucks took up positions in Revolution Square, the site of the planned gathering, and riot police surrounded Tehran University, the site of recent clashes between protesters and security forces, one witness said.”

he New York Times reports that the Basij say (through the Publican Relations of Ansar Hezbollah) that the number of their attacks will increase and begin occuring during the day as well. This  could be the start of a more brutal crackdown.

The world can only hope is not the case.  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/world/middleeast/19basij.html?_r=2&hp

The link below has pictures from Thurday, including pictures of the ‘Ceremony of Mourning.

http://carpediem.atnima.com

The following video is self labeled ‘a chonicle of the protests and violence’ in Iran election fallout:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm31kpjBiFQ

There have been reports since Saturday that non-Iranian, non-Persian speakers were brought into Tehran by the truckload to patrol the streets and fight against Mousavi supporters and protesters. It was later confirmed by Der Spiegel that these were 5000 Lebanese Hezbollah. This begs the question, how did they get into Iran so fast? They would have to go through both Syria and Iraq to get to Iran. It has been suggested by some that the whole Election sham was premeditated because Ahmadinejad knew he would lose. This would explain how the votes were ‘counted’ so quickly. However, such a theory begs the question, ‘if the election sham was premeditated then why was it blatantly obvious that the results were made up? Why did they ‘count’ the votes so fast; why did they have Ahmadinejad win by such large margins in his challengers home provinces? It is also notable that both the aggregate totals and provincial totals were certified, approved, and released before the three day deadline to contest the vote was over. These are things the world may never know the answer to, but it seems almost certain that the whole process was premeditated.

There are reports from ABC in an article written by Robert Fisk that 500 Iranian Special Forces broke up clashes between pro-Ahmadinejad forces and pro-Mousavi demonstrators. The special forces usually take the side of Ahmadinejad’s Basij militia, but today were seen keeping the Basij militia away from Mousavi supporters. Whether this is representative of all Iranian military from now or the actions of an individual group remain to be seen, though the ABC article goes on to say, ‘quite a lot of policeman are beginning to smile towards the demonstrators of Mr Mousavi’.

While many Mousavi supporters have expressed that this is expected, many are still hesitant to take the account offered in the ABC article at face value without further verification. There has been much deception by the Iranian government and heavy infilitration by the Ministry of Defense. Some are wary of false reports that will lure Mousavi reporters into a false sense of security.

Link to news article by ABC’s Robert Fisk

Text of Obama Comments on Iran During Interview with John Harwood:

Well, I think first of all, it’s important to understand that although there is amazing ferment taking place in Iran, that the difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi in terms of their actual policies may not be as great as has been advertised. Either way, we were going to be dealing with an Iranian regime that has historically been hostile to the United States, that has caused some problems in the neighborhood and is pursuing nuclear weapons. And so we’ve got long-term interests in having them not weaponize nuclear power and stop funding organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas. And that would be true whoever came out on top in this election.

The second thing that I think’s important to recognize is that the easiest way for reactionary forces inside Iran to crush reformers is to say it’s the US that is encouraging those reformers. So what I’ve said is, `Look, it’s up to the Iranian people to make a decision. We are not meddling.’ And, you know, ultimately the question that the leadership in Iran has to answer is their own credibility in the eyes of the Iranian people. And when you’ve got 100,000 people who are out on the streets peacefully protesting, and they’re having to be scattered through violence and gunshots, what that tells me is the Iranian people are not convinced of the legitimacy of the election. And my hope is that the regime responds not with violence, but with a recognition that the universal principles of peaceful expression and democracy are ones that should be affirmed. Am I optimistic that that will happen? You know, I take a wait-and-see approach. Either way, it’s important for the United States to engage in the tough diplomacy around those permanent security concerns that we have–nuclear weapons, funding of terrorism. That’s not going to go away, and I think it’s important for us to make sure that we’ve reached out.

There are incoming reports that hundreds of Mousavi supporters in Ahwaz have been arrested and even more beaten in the past 48 hours.

Reports indicate that support for Mousavi in Tabriz is very high and that there have been many protests throughout the past 48 hours.

There are reports that only the ‘Basij militia and Etellaat following orders’. There is optimism that the government cannot contain opposition without the Army.

There are confirmed reports that the Iranian military says it will not shoot Iranians (part of the reason 5000 Lebanese Hezbollah were brought in by the government)

Hundreds of people have been arrested in Tehran and taken to Evin, a high-securty prison infamous for its political prisoner’s wing after the 1979 Revolution. Since the protests were largely peaceful, it is unclear whether the arrested are protestors or activists responding to the media shut-down.