On February 11, Iran’s unpopular regime celebrated the 32nd anniversary of its 1979 revolution as well as the ouster of Egypt’s President Mubarak. The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, claimed that Iran’s Islamist revolution had inspired Egyptians and charged that the United States was trying to “derail” Egypt’s revolution. Although the regime did its cynical best to conflate the two events and trumpet the Egyptian revolt as an echo of Iran’s Islamist revolution, few Iranians bought the propaganda line spread by the regime. Iran’s opposition Green Movement is both a forerunner …
Iran’s mullahs may be hoping to capitalize on Facebook, the movie, which opens in theaters here in the U.S. this weekend, a film also known by its official title The Social Network. Certainly, no one could accuse the leadership in Tehran of not having a taste for drama. Not to be outdone by the Hollywood portrayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Iran’s state-controlled television has launched its own attack on Facebook and Twitter, whom it calls “hidden enemies,” and no less than recruiting tools for Western Intelligence agencies. Nothing better …
Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 produced the current Islamic republic, university students in the country have been on the frontlines of speaking out against the repressive measures of the Ayatollahs’ government. This week an exhibit at Georgetown University’s Law Center is showcasing portraits of Iranian students who have taken action and suffered for the cause of justice and human rights. The last 30 years of Iranian history are marked with injustices, especially against the liberties of speech and education, including, for example, the Cultural Revolution of 1980–82 that shut …
On Sunday, The New York Times reported that Defense Secretary Robert Gates had sent a secret memo to the White House that warned that the administration does not have an effective policy to deal with the threat of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. Gates responded by asserting that his memo intended “to contribute to an orderly and timely decision-making process.” Supporters of President Obama’s engagement policy argued that if Tehran rejected U.S. diplomacy, Iran’s belligerence would become obvious to the international community, justifying a more aggressive policy that would have …
Iran’s firebrand president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been unusually active this week in the run-up to the February 11th anniversary of Iran’s 1979 revolution. On Sunday he proclaimed that Iran will deliver a harsh blow to “Global Arrogance” (the United States) on the anniversary, a remark that has spurred speculation as to what he intends to do then. In Ahmadinejad’s twisted mind, Iran is a world power that leads a global alliance against a United States that seeks to dominate the world. Any action that signifies Iranian independence and progress on …
Iran’s Green Movement opposition has proven to be a stronger and more persistent political force than many advocates of diplomatic engagement with Iran’s dictatorship had expected. This development, as well as the regime’s continued duplicity and foot-dragging on the nuclear issue, has led some to revise their thinking about supporting regime change in Iran. For example, Richard Haass, a self-professed “card-carrying realist” who formerly opposed the Bush Administration’s support for regime change, now has changed his mind. He has written an essay in the current issue of Newsweek that assesses …
