Juan Cole

The USG Open Source Center puts into English the gist of an interview in the official Iranian press with Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani in which he admits that a majority of Iranians doubts the officially announced election results, and says that their views should be respected. However, he does not himself bring the […]

The below is not my translation but was sent by a kind friend.- JRIC Mir Hossein Mousavi has published on his Web site “Kalemeh” (The Word) a letter addressing the people. Below is a full translation, with annotations. The original Persian text is here UrgentPress Release No. 520 June 2009 From: Mir Hossein MousaviTo: The […]

A truck bombing at a Shiite mosque in Taza, Iraq, near the northern oil city of Kirkuk killed 70 and wounded 170 just after noon as they were leaving after `asr prayers. The press is saying that the bombing came only a day before US troops were to cease patrolling major cities, but this sort […]

Mir Hosain Mousavi issued a powerful implicit denunciation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday, and insisting again that the results of the presidential election be annulled in favor of wholly new elections. ABC reports: ‘ Mr Mousavi hit back at a speech by the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in which the Ayatollah […]

AP reports that Iranian riot police have deployed tear gas and water cannons against protesters who were gathering for another big demonstration in Tehran. Aljazeera is reporting that a suicide bomber blew himself up near the shrine of Imam Khomeini. Hard to interpret, since I don’t take the reformist camp for seedy terrorist types. My […]

Reformist presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi said Saturday morning that the 4 pm GMT rally on Saturday against the alleged stealing of the presidential election in Iran would go ahead. This despite the threats made by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in his Friday prayer sermon to crack down on “chaos.” Karroubi, a cleric, is not a […]

A correspondent in Iran sent along these thoughts, written as Khamenei was speaking on Friday: “Rough notes…The event is like the old Red Square May Day parades. We look to see who is there, and who is not. Dr. A, Larajani, Haddad Adel, the top leadership is all there. Karrobi and Mousavi are not…but Rezaei […]

The owner of this site is tidying affairs in preparation for dying Saturday at the hands of the Iranian security forces. Mousavi supporters are planning another big afternoon demonstration despite the threats issued today by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei against such protesters. NIAC translates: “I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn […]

Jonathan Lyons writes in a guest op-ed for IC: As the latest political drama unfolds in Iran, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei may yet come to rue the day, in 1999, that he sought to muzzle one of the nation’s most important constituencies – the handful of most senior clerics who provide spiritual and personal guidance […]