tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12444904791462629142012-02-16T18:00:01.036-08:00Arash sigarchi , Iranian Journalist from Washington D.C.Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.comBlogger871100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-20181712583305635882008-12-17T18:45:00.000-08:002008-12-20T20:10:38.358-08:00

Ayatollah Khamenei Comments at the Elm-va-San’at University Ayatollah Khamenei’s presence at the Elm va San’at (Science and Industry) University, ‎was announced earlier, was so unexpected that some conservative media outlets received ‎news of the visit after the event. Iran’s supreme leader, who had cancelled his Saturday’s ‎visit to the University, came to the school after an eight-day delay

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-28651025470246427192008-12-15T18:49:00.001-08:002008-12-17T18:48:08.566-08:00

Armed Forces Joint Staff Chief Threatens “Colluders” The armed forces Joint Chief of Staff criticized the “faction in Majlis and administration colluding with America” and accused those who support relations with America of being enemy “infiltrators.” Major General Seyyed Hasan Firouzabadi, who was speaking to the Joint Staff Chief generals, reacted to recent remarks by Ali Larijani

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Ahmadinejad Supporters Criticize Student Basij Seminar Influential criticisms by Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohsen Rezaei, Danesh-Jafari and Pour-Mohammadi of the Ahmadinejad administration’s economic policies during the seminar, “Privatization: Obstacles and Opportunities,” which was held by the Student Basij organization, has enraged the administration’s supporters. Hashemi Rafsanjani said during

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-15315070281673385252008-12-10T08:38:00.000-08:002008-12-11T22:06:09.958-08:00

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Hashemi: My Love is Khamenei!‎ Speaking to a group of Sharif University students, Akbar Hashemi, while criticizing the ‎ninth administration’s performance, criticized taking over the American embassy in 1980 ‎and referred to ayatollah Khamenei as his “love.”‎ After delivering a speech on Saturday evening at the Sharif University Akbar Hashemi ‎Rafsanjani responded to written questions from

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Kayhan Supports New Corrupt Interior Minister With the obligation to introduce an interim Interior Minister following the impeached ‎removal of Interior Minister Ali Kordan last week, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad introduced ‎Sadegh Mahsouli to the Majlis Speaker last week as his minister for the Interior Ministry.‎ Sadeq Mahsouli is not an unfamiliar name for the administration and Majlis. When four ‎

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Reactions to Obama’s Election With the finality in US presidential elections, some Iranian officials have ‎expressed their hope that President elect Barack Obama will now implement ‎the “policy of change” that he has promised. Contrary to the prediction of Iran’s president three months ago that “I do not ‎think the will let Obama become the next US President,” on Wednesday ‎morning (Iranian

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Deputy Army Commander Announced ‎Iran’s deputy army commander announced that the Islamic Republic supreme leader has ‎ordered the development of “new” and “innovative” weapons. ‎ Announcing the order by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Islamic Republic supreme leader, to ‎build new weaponry to meet the country’s needs, Iran's deputy army commander added, ‎‎“In his order, while praising the success in

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Results of New Surveys - 2008.10.21 While media outlets close to the administration have been attempting in recent weeks to ‎exaggerate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s popularity to be greater than ever before, the latest ‎survey conducted by the Islamic Republic Majlis Strategic Research Center demonstrates ‎that Iran’s president is not only suffering from very low popularity and approval ratings

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Radan Replaces Ahmadi-Moghaddam An informed official in Iran’s policeforce revealed the promotion of Tehran Police Chief ‎Ahmad Reza Radan. According to this source, Radan is now promoted to be the deputy ‎chief of the National Security Forces.‎ Although several news sources including the news website "Asr-e Iran" in recent days ‎had predicted that Tehran’s Police Chief would be replaced,

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Following Public Criticism ‎Less than two weeks after grand ayatollah Montazeri spoke to a group of his followers on ‎the occasion of Eid-al-Fitr, celebrated at the end of the fasting month of Ramazan, in ‎which he criticized Iran’s rulers and the administration, pressures on him, his office and ‎his home have been growing. Soon after a member of his office, Mojtaba Lotfi was ‎arrested, the

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Announced at Press Conference Although the reformists have not yet agreed on a single candidate to represent them in the ‎upcoming presidential election, yesterday former Majlis Speaker Mehdi Karoubi officially ‎announced his candidacy, only a few days after meeting with high-ranking clerics in the holy city ‎of Qom. ‎ Karoubi's press conference was held yesterday against the backdrop of

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Hezbollah of Iran: ‎ After eliminating Ahmadinejad's name and adding names such as Mohammad Bagher Kharrazi, ‎Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, Hassan Rohani, Qalibaf, Mohsen Rezaei and Hossein Kanani-‎Moghaddam to its list of presidential candidates, the organization known as "Hezbollah Iran," ‎published a new list suggesting ministers for the tenth administration, ranking Ahmadinejad as ‎the third

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MPs Warn the Administration ‎ While the differences between Iran’s ex-Central Bank governor and the President were so ‎deep that Ahmadinejad could not even wait to return to Tehran to issue his dismissal of ‎governor Tahmaseb Mazaheri and replace him with Mahmoud Bahmani, which he did ‎from New York, there already are reports of differences in views between the President ‎and his newly

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Activation of “Passive Defense” in Sensitive Areas ‎ Gholamreza Jalali, the head of Islamic Republic’s Passive Defense Council said, “By the ‎end of the year, passive defense mechanism would be activated in all provinces and ‎sensitive areas in the country.” ‎ Following this news and Jalali’s remarks, the National Passive Defense Council’s news ‎office added, “The Majlis tasked the government

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Rumors of Deputy Interior Minister's Dismissal ‎ Rumors of the imminent dismissal of Deputy Interior Minister commander Afshar are heard at a ‎time when the ninth administration seems to be close to setting a new record, according to which, ‎in the three years since the administration came to power, each year a new deputy has found his ‎way to the tall skyscraper on Fatemi Street. Thus far,

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Nateq-Nouri’s Criticism against the Administration: ‎‎ By:Alborz Mahmoudi Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, head of Supreme Leader’s Audit Office, blasted on Saturday ‎those who purport to communicate with or know of the time of return of Imam Zaman, ‎the twelfth Shia Imam currently in occultation, calling them liars. The remarks were ‎made despite Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s repeated claims in various

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Ahmad Tavakoli: Accusations of Espionage Were Lies While the recent apology offered by Tehran Majlis representative Ahmad Tavakoli to ‎Hossein Mousavian, Iran’s former nuclear negotiator has been received warmly, the ‎president’s office asked Tavakoli to announce his repentance for his second gaff, a ‎reference to the latter’s apology. ‎ Tavakoli is a member of Iran’s parliament and the head

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Military Formation More Pronounced ‎ Rasa Ghazinejad:While a month ago, in response to the growing military threats against Iran, an Islamic Republic ‎official announced the possibility of "closing the Strait of Hormuz" for an "unidentified" period ‎of time, the Islamic Republic News Agency yesterday published an exclusive interview with ‎Seyyed Yahya Safavi, former Passdaran

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Majlis Drafts Law to “Protect Image of Regime”Only 10 months are left for Iran’s next presidential elections and the country’s ‎parliamentarians have already launched their measures to vet out the candidates and ‎muscle their own favorites into the race. Some Majlis deputies this week declared that the ‎large number of candidates who have signed up for next year’s presidential elections, ‎which

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Head of Presidential Inspections Office: While, following the resignation of Davoud Ahmadinejad, the president’s older brother, ‎from the President’s Inspections Office, media networks announced “physical ailments ‎and doctors’ recommendations” for the resignation, Davoud Ahmadinejad flatly denied ‎such remarks and, as he has noted in several private gatherings, he was removed for his ‎

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Zarghani’s Response to Elham: A day after the spokesperson for the Iranian government, who is also the country’s ‎minister of justice publicly criticized the work of Iran’s state-run national radio and ‎television network, Zarghami, the head of the network responded by reminding the ‎spokesperson that the president had repeatedly called on the members of the cabinet not ‎to engage in public

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-40824484361372580752008-09-03T19:02:00.000-07:002008-09-03T19:03:39.181-07:00

Supreme Leader’s Representative in the Passdaran: ‎ A week after Iran’s ayatollah Khamenei publicly proclaimed his total support for ‎president Ahmadinejad and insisted that the “administration had to plan things as if it was ‎going to work for another five years.” The representative of the supreme leader at the ‎Passdaran Revolutionary Guards yesterday announced that the country’s “best

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-78438961065320864972008-08-31T20:13:00.000-07:002008-08-31T20:14:37.147-07:00

To Prevent War ‎ Just two months after 72 Iranian pro-peace personalities signed a peace drive, the ‎founders of the National Peace Council held their second meeting. At the meeting, the ‎activists ratified the charter; the general assembly voted its executive operatives and ‎inspectors, thus officially launching the group.‎ Fifteen individuals were elected from the members of the general

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The President’s New Fable Iranian president Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who normally makes fantastic pronouncements ‎in the absence of the media and journalists, once again narrated a story from his recent ‎trip to Turkey during a speech that he delivered at a scientific seminar held in Iran.‎ Raja News website quoted some of the excerpts of Ahmadinejad’s talk at the gathering. ‎‎“Great pressures

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-17219156885217801702008-08-25T18:08:00.001-07:002008-08-25T18:09:58.278-07:00

Counter Punches by Allies of Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad With the express public criticism of the administration by the head of the State ‎Expediency Council and also Experts Assembly on Leadership Hashemi Rafsanjani, and ‎follow-ups by his allies - which are now expressed without any “consideration” - the ‎state-run media have launched an intense counter attack against the two time president. ‎

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Winds of Change Hit Home‎As three new ministers joined Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s cabinet, and the Majlis chatters ‎about summoning five other ministers, President Ahmadinejad’s brother Haj Davood ‎Ahmadinejad who hold various administrative positions including being the head of the ‎powerful the presidential inspectorate was removed from office last week.‎Jame Jam newspaper quoted “a source inside the

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More Reactions to Mashaei’s Remarks As the Majlis goes into its second summer recess, 200 representatives signed a statement ‎calling for the dismissal of president Ahmadinejad’s aide, Rahim Mashaei over his ‎remarks about friendship with the people of Israel.‎The statement, which began with a quote by Mashaei, “We are friends with Israeli ‎people”, wrote “When these strange and unacceptable

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-38955980654160409642008-07-28T18:50:00.001-07:002008-08-10T19:07:30.052-07:00

Minister of Education Announcement: A year after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that the general atmosphere of ‎Iranian universities is “governed by secularism,” the ninth administration’s education ‎minister and several other figures close to the cabinet announced progress in the plan to ‎‎“Islamicize” universities under the guidance of ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi and institutions ‎affiliated

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‎200 % Increase in Basij Budget for Bases Photo be :here As the commander of the Basij resistance force (affiliated to the Passdaran Revolutionary ‎Guards of Iran) announced a sharp increase in the budget of this military force, the ‎representative of Iran’s supreme leader ayatollah Khamenei in the Passdaran spoke of ‎‎“strengthening the Basij” and “speeding up” the development and expansion of

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Ahmadinejad Makes another Claim photo by hereIranian president Mahmud Ahmadinejad told a group of clerics from the province of ‎Kahgiloie va Bovir, “The World is With Us”. Referencing his trip last year to New York, ‎he said that one of the presidential candidates in the US presidential elections had told ‎him, “Your words make resonance here.” And in a following speech in the city of ‎Mashhad,

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Supreme Leader’s Warning to Bush:In his latest remarks yesterday, the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah ‎Khamenei, backed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the person “in charge” of the nuclear case ‎and issued a direct warning to George W. Bush that “[i]f George Bush orders a military ‎strike against Iran, even if he leaves it up to the next Administration, the Iranian nation ‎will sue and

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Testing Shahab-3 with a 2,000-Kilometer Range On Wednesday morning, news agencies affiliated to the Islamic Republic simultaneously ‎reported that nine updated Shahab-3 missiles with ranges of 2,000 kilometers and capable of ‎carrying payloads of one ton were successfully tested during the Revolutionary Guards' military ‎maneuvers in the Persian Gulf. ‎Minutes after the report, Fars news agency

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Shahbazi: They Tried to Kill Me By:‎Rasa GhazinejadAbdollah Shahbazi, who is now labeled as the ‘second exposer’ after a former Majlis ‎member Palizdar made public revelations about flagrant corruption among senior Iranian ‎clerics and politicians, is reported to have escaped an assassination attempt, according to ‎news reports in Iran. He is said to have written a letter to President

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Revolutionary Guards Chief: Photo : hereby:Rasa GhazinejadIn an interview with Jam-e Jam daily, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards ‎Corps (IRGC) announced that the U.S. military threat has become "more serious." ‎According to General Jafari, "With actions that our enemies have conducted in the past few years ‎and with their psychological warfare, accusations and lies, they are

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-6174264196625739042008-06-25T18:28:00.000-07:002008-06-25T18:30:59.759-07:00

Badrossadat Mofidi in Interview with RoozThe Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs ignored six letters from the Association of Iranian ‎Journalists (Anjoman-e Senfi-ye Ruzname Negaran) to hold a general meeting and abruptly ‎deemed the association eligible for dissolution. In an interview with Rooz, Badrossadat Mofidi, ‎Secretary of the Association of Iranian Journalists, discusses the details of

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Ahmadinejad's New Claim:‎‎ Even though a number of days have already passed since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ‎claimed at a gathering of clerics in Qom that he had been the victim of a "failed kidnap and ‎assassination plot" during a trip to Iraq, no source has come forward to authenticate the ‎president's story. ‎In its initial reaction, E'temad daily sought to verify Ahmadinejad's claim by

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A former minister in Ahmadinejad’s administration – that of the ministry of the interior - broke ‎his silence to show that the administration's critics are not confined just to those outside the ‎administration. ‎The recent interview of the ex-interior minister who was in charge of the ministry until 29 days ‎ago, has fueled the rise of what some call "a new front of administration critics from

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-90391788627716160902008-06-12T10:56:00.000-07:002008-06-12T10:58:51.646-07:00

Etemad Newspaper Forced to Retract its Headline After Etemad newspaper published a report on the “failed” trip of President Mahmoud ‎Ahmadinejad to Rome to attend an international meeting of the Food and Agricultural ‎Organization, the President’s office officially asked the newspaper to announce ‎Ahmadinejad’s trip to FAO as “successful” in its headline the next morning, while also ‎publishing

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-16069402145549742752008-05-31T17:58:00.000-07:002008-05-31T17:59:56.876-07:00

Following Calls for ‘Revolutionary Execution’ of Detainees As some religious leaders in Iran have called for “the utmost punishment” for detained ‎Bahais using state media resources, the confrontation with the followers of this belief has ‎intensified and yesterday such calls went deep into the country. Bahai leaders in ‎Vilashahr in the province of Isfahan were reported to have been arrested. ‎

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-10793170455698612012008-05-27T19:17:00.000-07:002008-05-30T17:12:43.574-07:00

Conservatists Agreed on Eight Majlis Leadership Alborz MahmudiWith the first official meeting of the Majlis (Iranian parliament) elected conservatists, ‎PM Ali Larijani succeeded to win the race to lead the next Majlis over his rival, the ‎incumbent Haddad-Adel, almost ensuring his official confirmation when the Majlis ‎officially holds its first session. The next Majlis, the eight since the

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-80798289881036064672008-05-27T19:16:00.001-07:002008-05-31T17:58:35.417-07:00

Hejazi to Succeed Rezai Arash SigarchiLess than two years since the changes that were made by ayatollah Khamenei in the ‎leadership of the Passdaran Revolutionary Guards Corps, that involved deputy Passdaran ‎Commander Morteza Rezai, the vast changes that were launched by the Leader of Iran in ‎the Passdaran force that began in the middle of last year continue. In the most recent ‎change,

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-52792659891877979022008-05-25T18:42:00.000-07:002008-05-28T17:54:54.184-07:00

Judiciary’s Response to Majlis’ Report: Two days ago as a Majlis’ investigative report over the work of the judiciary was read out objections were raised over its reading by members of Iran’s parliament and those of the judiciary. On the other hand, this event resulted in the judiciary’s decision to confront corruption starting with the Majlis itself. As a result, one of the MPs who had an ethics

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-31572022279178388672008-05-25T18:34:00.000-07:002008-05-27T19:13:31.649-07:00

Increasing Crackdown on Bahai CommunityA week into the arrest of six Bahai leaders in Iran, an interview published by hardliner ‎Fars news agency called for the “creation of a popular movement” to “confront and fight ‎Bahaism” so that the “government is not left alone in its confrontation against the Bahai ‎community.” ‎ The interview was held with Seyed Kazem Mousavi who is introduced as an

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-6052377321732656232008-05-21T18:34:00.000-07:002008-05-21T18:36:37.724-07:00

More Protests ‎ ‎ While former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami warned that irregularities in the ‎eight Majlis elections may become a “trend,” in its latest statement following the second ‎round of elections in several cities across Iran, the Committee for Defense of Free, ‎Healthy and Fair Elections characterized the eight Majlis elections as “not free, unfair, ‎and corrupt." ‎Seyyed

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-8201489967128155672008-05-20T18:20:00.000-07:002008-05-20T18:28:19.492-07:00

But it will not grow in the same way as U.S. democracy, says Arash Sigarchi By Jane MorseStaff WriterWashington -- It is possible for democracy to take root in Iran, but it will not grow in the same way as democracy did in America, says Arash Sigarchi, an Iranian journalist who has been imprisoned for his outspokenness.“Iran must gain democracy through ways other than the ways used in America,”

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-59472255156057480192008-05-18T18:34:00.000-07:002008-05-18T18:36:10.031-07:00

Ahmadinejad Tells Media: ‎In his most recent interview Iran’s President Mahmud Ahmadinejad not only denied the ‎existence of rising costs and hardships that ordinary Iranians face every day but even said ‎he had solutions for the world’s food crises problem.‎‎“I think the living conditions of Iranians are better than in the past and say this based on ‎per capita consumption figures, just as the

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-77690499680823469372008-05-11T16:55:00.000-07:002008-05-11T16:58:18.676-07:00

News of Arrest of Shiraz Bombing Perpetrators Published, with Delay After repeated statements by security officials last month that the April 13th Shiraz ‎bombing was not terrorist related, now suddenly through separate interviews, security ‎officials are claiming they in fact are.‎In this regard, Entekhab news website wrote, “In a meeting with the senior members of ‎Rahpooyan Vesal group and

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-64180785643687577942008-05-05T20:20:00.000-07:002008-05-05T20:24:16.118-07:00

‎“Inflation Prevalent All Over the World” While many of the country’s officials blame the Ahmadinejad Administration’s “weak ‎management” for current “economic problems,” Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader ‎of the Islamic Republic, defended Ahmadinejad in a speech in Shiraz, claiming that ‎inflation is “prevalent all over the world” and dismissing economic problems as ‎‎“enemy’s”

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-67357828596614508842008-05-01T14:38:00.000-07:002008-05-20T18:19:38.521-07:00

But it will not grow in the same way as U.S. democracy, says Arash Sigarchi By Jane MorseStaff WriterWashington -- It is possible for democracy to take root in Iran, but it will not grow in the same way as democracy did in America, says Arash Sigarchi, an Iranian journalist who has been imprisoned for his outspokenness.“Iran must gain democracy through ways other than the ways used in America,”

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-74706649826312111352008-04-28T22:01:00.000-07:002008-05-18T18:36:49.618-07:00

Iran’s Majlis Elections Finalized With the run off elections held last Friday, the dossier of the run off elections for the ‎eight Majlis (Iran’s Parliament) is closed. According to the final results, Elias Naderan, ‎Laleh Eftekhari, Mehdi Kutchakzadeh, ALireza Zakani, Ali Asghar Zarei, Tabibeh ‎Safayi, Parviz Sarvari, Hamid Rasayi, Hossein Fadayi Ashtiani, Zohreh Elahian were ‎among the

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-30369506097892633492008-04-20T19:26:00.001-07:002008-04-21T17:33:12.652-07:00

Universities under Fire by Ay Mesbah Yazdi As the government’s pressure on university students takes new forms every day, ‎ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi who is considered by some to be the spiritual force behind the ‎current administration of president Ahmadinejad, in his most recent remarks said students ‎‎“are learning nothing other than how to bash the regime and at times Islam.”‎In its report on the

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-59845686992362083022008-04-17T17:09:00.000-07:002008-04-21T17:28:05.869-07:00

Iran's Deputy Army ChiefOn the eve of the Islamic Republic's Army Day, Iran's deputy army chief said that an ‎Israeli assault on Iran would bring about the annihilation of Israel. Speaking to a group ‎of reporters, General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani boasted the army's high morale and ‎determination to carry out its missions in accordance with the policies of Ahmadinejad. ‎General Mohammad Reza

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-46966820236099825242008-04-15T18:11:00.001-07:002008-04-21T17:27:06.769-07:00

Ahmadinejad Takes Charge of Shiraz Explosion CaseThough official and state-owned news agencies in Iran insist that Saturday night's explosion in ‎shiraz was "not a terrorist attack," an "informed official" said that a bomb was responsible for the ‎explosion and that the president was unhappy that his the mosque's officials (which are affiliated ‎with him) are blamed for the explosion. ‎Yesterday,

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-36200741633385962272008-04-15T18:09:00.000-07:002008-04-17T17:11:58.169-07:00

Khamenei Opposed to Replacing Interior Minister‎Several conservative websites have reported that Ayatollah Khamenei does not favor ‎Ahmadinejad’s decision to replace the Interior Minister. ‎In this connection the website “Fararoo” announced yesterday, “The supreme leader has ‎not yet approved of the president’s decision to remove the Interior Minister.” The ‎website, while noting that the

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-14104524093800006452008-04-13T18:34:00.001-07:002008-04-15T18:14:51.903-07:00

Government Spokesperson Was Unaware! A rumor that was denied by the government spokesperson last week and dismissed as the ‎physiological warfare of the “enemy” came true and two more prominent cabinet ministers, ‎Finance Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari and Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi were ‎removed from their cabinet posts. ‎Although it has been reported that the two ex-ministers will

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-72345194150796312462008-04-13T18:29:00.000-07:002008-04-15T18:13:11.022-07:00

A Judgment Calculated to be Implemented after Elections Without any prior warning, Hadi Ghabel, a cleric member of the Central Council of Jebhe ‎Mosharekat reformist front (Participation Front) was arrested on Monday and sent to ‎Langarood prison in Qom.‎This news was broken by Ghabel’s son, Ruhollah who said, “My father had been ‎summoned by Qom’s special Clerics Court on March 26th, 2008. He

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-79019341898568300172008-04-09T18:15:00.000-07:002008-04-09T18:38:19.154-07:00

Protests against Movie “Fitnah” in Tehran ‎ ‎The gathering in front of the Dutch embassy in Tehran that was supposed to convey ‎protests to the Dutch film Fitnah turned up a mere 70 Basiji para-military personnel, ‎while the pro and semi government media gave it its full coverage. ‎On Saturday prior to this, Salam Hamvatan daily appeared on newspaper kiosks in the ‎morning with this headline:

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-78577340603111637292008-04-06T20:14:00.000-07:002008-04-09T18:37:32.873-07:00

Ahmadinejad’s “Great Economic Leap” ‎President Ahmadinejad who had announced his new “Great Economic Leap” agenda ‎during the Iranian new year message on March 20th, 2008, issued a series of executive ‎orders and met a number of provincial Governors in which he called for wider efforts to ‎control the rising national inflation. These efforts came at a time when the Minister of ‎Economy Dawood

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-51010918460560609172008-04-06T20:11:00.000-07:002008-04-09T18:37:10.521-07:00

April Fools' Day Hoaxes in Iran April 1, which is accompanied in the foreign media with entertaining hoaxes, corresponds with ‎the 13th day of Nowruz [the Persian calendar year that began on March 20th, 2008] celebrations, ‎the time for "Nowruz lies." ‎To commemorate this day, Farda website dedicated an entire page to April Fools' day jokes, for ‎instance, reporting "Ahmadinejad's special

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-69216075169431526682008-04-05T17:57:00.000-07:002008-04-09T18:36:19.483-07:00

High Number of Road Accidents in IranA bus carrying teachers from Shahr-e Kord to Ahwaz was overturned in an accident which ‎claimed the lives of twenty-seven people. This is the second accident in the past two weeks ‎affecting large numbers of travelers. Previously, on March 15, a bus carrying university students ‎from Mashhad's Khayyam University collided with a vehicle transporting fuel on

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-860236988882484192008-04-05T17:53:00.000-07:002008-04-09T18:35:46.726-07:00

\A New Sentence from the Revolutionary Court The Revolutionary Court of the city of Marivan, in western Iran, sentenced Kurdish activist Hiva ‎‎(Abdolvahed) Boutimar to death for the second time. Although the written judgment has not yet ‎been served on Boutimar due to the Iranian New Year holidays that began on March 20th and ‎usually continue for about 2 weeks, a judge verbally notified

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-81352927906828094232008-04-03T18:40:00.000-07:002008-04-03T19:01:25.853-07:00

Khoramshahr Friday Prayer Leader Protests: ‎A week after the Majlis elections in the South-Western town of Khoramshahr, the ‎representative of ayatollah Khamenei in the town annulled the elections and announced ‎that “the elections involved all kinds of violations.”‎As reported by Tabnak website, “Seyed Abolhassan Nouri, the Friday congregational ‎prayer leader of Khoramshahr mentioned 'Election

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-50905310930153279202008-03-31T15:41:00.000-07:002008-03-31T15:43:24.160-07:00

Qom Friday Prayer Leader While less than two months have passed since the head of Iran’s judiciary issued orders ‎for the suspension of “public executions”, the Friday prayer leader of religious town of ‎Qom, ayatollah Amini, said at a public prayer on Friday, “Stoning must take place in ‎public.”‎In Iran stoning is used as a method of execution on singles who engage in sex with ‎another person

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-80724976981019156782008-03-28T21:01:00.000-07:002008-03-28T21:13:37.721-07:00

New Groupings in the Eighth Majlis ‎With the completion of the elections for the eight Majlis (Iranian Parliament), and with ‎the results of many precincts yet to be determined in run-off races, the groups affiliated ‎with the Principalist camp, who have achieved a numerical majority in the Majlis, are ‎reportedly divided over various issues. ‎The Broad Principalist Coalition, in Persian known as

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-25590703162440234432008-03-27T08:04:00.000-07:002008-03-27T08:06:13.938-07:00

Another Warning from Ayatollah Montazeri Ayatollah Montazeri, a dissident grand ayatollah residing in holy Shia city of Qom, has ‎once again warned that the clergy must not accept posts in the government and not ‎become involved in the day to day affairs of governance if they want to preserve their ‎privileged role as the public’s spiritual guides. ‎Ahmad Rafat from the Italian AKI news agency

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-1454025261442017342008-03-25T11:49:00.001-07:002008-03-25T11:52:36.569-07:00

Students Remain Behind Bars As the Islamic Republic of Iran refrained from releasing several political prisoners to ‎spend time with their families for Norooz [the annual Persian New Year that falls on the ‎fist day of Spring], the families of detained students spent their new year near the walls of ‎the Evin prison, and began the new year “at the place closest to their children.” ‎Several

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-47468784537762867442008-03-20T15:56:00.000-07:002008-03-22T20:11:37.432-07:00

Contradictory Numbers In the process of counting ballots from last Friday's parliamentary elections and while ‎results of many pecincts are still not determined, the Interior Ministry, in an ‎unprecedented move, announced, “More than seventy percent of candidates elected to the ‎eight Majlis of the Islamic Republic belong to the Principalist camp.” [Principalists or ‎Osoolagarans are the

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-74068378785334834892008-03-17T18:33:00.000-07:002008-03-21T12:10:04.039-07:00

Unprecedented Elections ‎Last Friday’s Majlis elections were, according to unofficial sources, the most ‎controversial and rigged elections in the Islamic Republic’s history. ‎Prior to Friday’s elections, some political figures had warned about the election’s ‎integrity due to ideological affiliations between election administrators and oversight ‎committees. The earliest news reports on Friday

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-232225852988352192008-03-17T18:30:00.000-07:002008-03-20T15:58:14.952-07:00

Muslims Must Fulfill Their Duty ‎ ‎Following the recent remarks of reformist intellectual Abdolkarim Soroush on the effects ‎of the prophet’s personal characteristics on development of the Koran, Ayatollah Hossein ‎Nouri Hamedani, a grand ayatollah residing in Ghom, said that “Soroush’s writings are ‎worse than Salman Rushdie’s.” Ayatollah Hamedani added, “Abdolkarim Soroush’s ‎religious theories

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-71676975604826474522008-03-17T18:29:00.000-07:002008-03-17T18:30:34.946-07:00

Officials Slam Reformist Leaders After a recent session of the cabinet, a number of senior government officials accused ‎Mohammad Reza Khatami, deputy secretary general of the Mosharekat Party, and ‎Nouradin Pirmoazen, spokesperson for the minority reformist faction in the Majlis, of ‎treason for speaking with foreign diplomats and media. Khatami had met and spoken ‎with the German ambassador in

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-89978116738105257252008-03-15T17:38:00.000-07:002008-03-15T17:39:16.804-07:00

Cabinet SecretaryIn his most recent statement, cabinet secretary Majid Doostali said, “Ahmadinejad’s era ‎is the prelude to Imam Zaman’s return” [Imam Zaman is the 12th Shiite Imam who is ‎viewed to be in occultation but who will return one day].‎Kargozaran newspaper yesterday published new comments by Doostali in which he is ‎quoted to have said, “The Cabinet Secretary pointed out that just as

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-65629521828961027812008-03-14T10:14:00.000-07:002008-03-14T10:15:52.553-07:00

Following Opposition to the Leader’s FatwaNews reports from the holy city of Qom indicate that the accounts of ayatollah Behjat, a ‎leading ayatollah with a following, have been frozen and the reasons for this are said to ‎be the ayatollah’s implicit opposition to the views of the leader of the Islamic regime ‎regarding violent self-flogging [traditionally carried out during the commemoration of

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-81390435580347821032008-03-11T19:40:00.000-07:002008-03-11T19:42:28.849-07:00

Gilan Province Judiciary Passes Judgment ‎ Four journalists from the Iranian northern province of Gilan were sentenced to prison and ‎other fines by the provincial judiciary. Their names have reported as, Arash Bahmani, ‎Babak Mehdizadeh, Koohzad Esmaili and Ali Anjamrooz. Bahmani received 16 months, ‎Mehdizadeh and Esmaili received 4 months each plus a fine.‎The 11th branch of the Gilan

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-25328586021738180282008-03-10T20:59:00.000-07:002008-03-10T21:01:31.801-07:00

The Right is Split over Elections Jebhe Motahed Osoolgaran (The United Front of Idealogues) which has viewed itself as ‎the winner of the massive disqualification of reformist candidates prior to the March 14 ‎elections, is now busy preventing the publication of multiple lists within its ranks using ‎any method it can. So it is employing heavy tactics to prevent some ideologue candidates ‎so

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-35910428004428321862008-03-07T17:36:00.000-08:002008-03-07T17:45:14.637-08:00

Spokesman for Reformist Coalition: ‎“Mr. Khatami has till this moment not asked any senior state official to confirm the ‎qualifications of any individual,” according to the spokesman for the pro-reform ‎coalition. Abdullah Nasseri’s use of the term “senior state official” is in Iran’s political ‎nomenclature a reference to the leader of the Islamic Republic. It is interpreted to mean ‎that

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-61885445088273025382008-03-05T15:55:00.000-08:002008-03-05T15:56:54.859-08:00

Internet to be Blocked on Elections Day?The rumor in Tehran these days is that on March 14, 2008 when Iranians go to polling ‎stations to cast their vote for the eight Majlis (Parliament), the Internet will be blocked ‎and thus not accessible in Tehran and other major cities across the country. But even ‎though this possibility still remains at the level of a rumor, the recent comments by the ‎

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-16729539808319589512008-03-04T17:38:00.000-08:002008-03-04T17:41:35.582-08:00

Ahmadinejad's Reaction to Passage of Third Resolution: Despite massive propaganda by the Islamic Republic of Iran's officials to mark the "end of Iran's ‎nuclear case" and in lieu of holding nuclear victory parades in mosques by Basijis, the United ‎Nations Security Council passed a third resolution against Iran with an absolute majority of ‎votes.‎‏In reaction to the news, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-37159934587694086492008-03-03T22:02:00.000-08:002008-03-03T22:05:19.465-08:00

Leader of ‎‏"‏Iran's Hezbollah‏"‎‎ Seyyed Mohammad Bagher Kharrazi, the secretary general of Iran’s Hezbollah group, ‎announced in his latest remarks that his organization is pursuing "national unity," reminding that ‎‎"the goal of every Hezbollahi Iranian must be to unite Muslim nations to conquer the whole ‎world, because God has created Iranians to conquer the whole world." ‎In another part

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-53143564320109745202008-02-18T18:17:00.000-08:002008-02-18T18:19:14.985-08:00

Ayatollah Khamenei Brings God into Nuclear DebateWhile the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaradei is ‎scheduled to present his next report on Iran’s nuclear program to the Governing Board of ‎the IAEA in three weeks, Iran’s supreme leader ayatollah Khamenei announced in a ‎speech that “the Iranian people publicly declared that they would stand up for their rights ‎and

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-28240582811170496982008-02-14T13:26:00.000-08:002008-02-14T13:32:15.147-08:00

Only 22 Reformist Disqualifications Reversedby: Arash Sigarchi-- 2008.02.14 The spokesperson for the powerful Guardian Council, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, announced ‎yesterday the Council's decision to reverse the disqualification of 282 candidates who had ‎previously been barred by the administrative and oversight committees from running in ‎upcoming parliamentary elections in March. ‎The wide scope

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-63225437299469510792008-02-12T18:31:00.000-08:002008-02-14T13:33:11.596-08:00

While Ahmad Jannati, head of the powerful Guardian Council, insists that the upcoming ‎parliamentary elections are "fully competitive," a number of high-ranking clerics have protested ‎the Council's decision to bar thousands of reformist and independent candidates from running. ‎Ayatollahs Montazeri, Makarem Shirazi, Ebrahim Amini, Noormofidi, Haeri Shirazi, and Bayat ‎Zanjani have all released

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-46005343439111833292008-02-11T15:07:00.000-08:002008-02-11T15:12:26.668-08:00

Arash Sigarchi - The massive disqualification of reformist candidates for the March 14 Majlis elections ‎that took place over the last few weeks in Iran overshadowed the strong military presence ‎in the politics of the country. The presence of the Passdaran Revolutionary Guards in the ‎upcoming elections is so prominent that in addition to the presence of its members in the ‎executive and

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-35385198984167033312008-02-06T17:58:00.000-08:002008-02-06T18:05:25.018-08:00

Only 31 Seats Are Available for Reformist CandidatesFollowing the patchy news about the review of the candidates for the March 14 Majlis ‎‎(parliamentary) elections by the Guardians Council (the highest body that vets the ‎candidates for the elections), it is now clear that reformers have no prominent candidates ‎permitted to participate in the forthcoming Majlis elections. The elections process

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-48650397503684998252008-02-04T14:24:00.000-08:002008-02-04T14:29:09.661-08:00

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who promised to bring oil revenues to people's tables in his 2005 ‎presidential campaign, has arranged to bring oil revenues to mosques' tables by authorizing a 600 ‎percent increase in the "budget for religious activities" in next year's fiscal package. ‎Last year, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance had a budget equivalent to 20.111 ‎billion rials for religious

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-36904501435665335942008-02-04T14:16:00.000-08:002008-02-04T14:24:38.998-08:00

Iranian Bloggers Unite in Solidarity with Imprisoned Students - 2008.01.23 By Arash Sigarchi:On the eve of the second month of incarceration of several prominent student activists across the ‎country, Iranian bloggers have decided to celebrate 10 Bahman [January 30, 2008] as a day of ‎solidarity with imprisoned students. ‎A statement published on the websites of united bloggers referred to

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244490479146262914.post-20009224973634501082008-02-04T13:37:00.000-08:002008-02-04T13:46:00.429-08:00

Authorities are Silent on Violent Students Mistreatment - 2008.02.01 While the Sunday police attack on students at Tehran University resulted in injuries to ten ‎of them and the arrest of more than five, University officials either remained silent about ‎the incident or complete denied it.‎After the bloody police attack on students on July 9, 1999, Iran’s Supreme National ‎Security Council under

Arash Sigarchihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09293855501033507577noreply@blogger.com0