Eye On Iran

[Dokhtar Bandari]

The Folly of Attacking Iran: Lessons from History

http://www****antube.com/viral/watch...eo=AJRcOF7rEfQ

[Rasputin]

يک گروه اجتماعی در جامعه ما تا زمانی که قدرت اعتراض قوی نداشته باشد و نتواند تخم وحشت از عواقب ادامه بی اعتنايی نسبت به خواست ها و مطالبات ش را در دل دلتمردان و کارگزاران رژيم بنشاند, چشم اندازی برای احقاق حقوق خود ندارد و عليرغم هر ميزان محروميت و مظلوميت, قربانی سکوت رژيم خواهد شد. از مصاديق اصلی اين سرکوب سفيد, فرهنگيان بازنشسته کشورند که بازنشستگی و نبود يک سازمان صنفی مستقل سراسری قدرتمند که به طرز ويژه مطالبات آنان را پيگيری کند, عامل مهم ادامه حق کشی رژيم در قبال آنان شده و صدای اين قشر زحمتکش که زندگی خود را به پای پرورش و آموزش نسل جديد قربانی کرده, در ميان مسوولان بيرحم و سرکوبگر رژيم پژواکی ندارد. کارمندان بازنشسته آموزش و پرورش در روزهای اخير در چندين شهر از جمله در شش نوبت در ماه جاری در کرمانشاه و نيز با امضای طومار بلند در استان زنجان در 18 ارديبهشت, همچنين تجمع در خراسان جنوبی, به عدم پرداخت پاداش پايان خدمت اعتراض کردند, اما رژيم بی اعتنايی به اين بازنشستگان را ادامه داده است. تازه ترين مورد از اين اعتراضات مربوط به روز جاری 28 ارديبهشت در مازندران است که خبر آن در ايسنا انتشار يافته است. مشروح خبر به نقل از ايسنا:


نمايندگان فرهنگيان بازنشسته مازندرانى با تجمع مقابل آموزش و پرورش استان، پرداخت مطالبات و پاداش خود را خواستار شدند.

فاطمه عماديان که خود را نماينده فرهنگيان بازنشسته قائمشهر معرفى کرد، در خصوص علت اين تجمع گفت: سه هزار و 450 فرهنگى بازنشسته استان خواهان دريافت مطالبات و پاداش خود هستند.

وى با بيان اين که 30 سال تدريس در پايه اول ابتدايى منجر شده تا به بيمارى آرتروز دست دچار شوم، به مشکلات اقتصادى خانواده خود اشاره کرد و افزود: خرج دو دانشجويى را که از نعمت پدر در خانواده محروم هستند، چگونه مي*توان با 300 هزار تومان با توجه به تورم موجود تامين کرد.

اين معلم بازنشسته افزود: بي*توجهى مسوولان به جايى رسيده که قانون نظام هماهنگ حقوق را فقط بر سر فرهنگيان اجرا مي*کنند.

عماديان با مقايسه سختى کار معلم پايه ابتدايى با وزيرى که به اعتقاد وى علاوه بر حقوق ميليونى خود، سه يا چهار حکم استخدامى نيز دارد؟ گفت: اين در حالي*است كه مقايسه دريافتى يک فرهنگى که تازه وارد آموزش و پرورش شده با معلمى که 25 سال از مدت خدمت او مي*گذرد هم دور از عدالت است.

وى با اشاره به اين که طرح هماهنگ حقوق به يک طرح "هر آهنگ" تبديل شده است، گفت: مسوولان بدانند که اين از شأن يک معلم بازنشسته به دور است که بدليل عدم پرداخت پاداش و مطالبات توسط دولت در خيابان*ها گدايى کند.

محمدحسن گلچين نيز در گفت*وگو با خبرنگار ايسنا، خود را نماينده فرهنگيان بازنشسته در سارى معرفى کرد و مدعى شد: وعده*هايى که بابت پرداخت پاداش فرهنگيان از مهرماه 86 داده بودند تاکنون محقق نشده است.

وى با اشاره به اين که نمايندگان مجلس که امروز داعيه دفاع از حقوق مردم را دارند هم روزى زير دست همين معلمان بازنشسته تربيت شده*اند، افزود: تاکنون تقدير و تجليل از مقام معلم جنبه عملى چندانى نداشته است.

گلچين با بيان اين که بدليل وعده*هايى که مسوولان بابت پرداخت مطالبات و پاداش به بازنشستگان دادند، فرزند خود را در دانشکده فنى چالوس ثبت* نام کرده*ام، گفت: من و همسرم در مجموع 600 هزار تومان حقوق دريافت مي*کنيم، ولى متأسفانه به قدرى تورم در جامعه افزايش پيدا کرده که 550 هزار تومان از اين حقوق تنها به اقساط بانکى اختصاص يافته است.

اين معلم بازنشسته ادامه داد: ثبت *نام فرزند من در دانشکده فنى چالوس ترمى يک ميليون و 400 هزار تومان هزينه دربر دارد؛ هر چند دو فرزند ديگرم، فارغ*التحصيل مهندسى برق بوده و بيکار هستند. حال قضاوت کنيد با چه درآمدى مي*توانم خرج سه فرزند بيکار خود را تأمين کنم.

گلچين گفت: "30 سال براى تربيت فرزندان اين مرز و بوم كه برخى از همين مسوولان هم جزوشان بودند، زحمت کشيده*ايم، ولى متأسفانه نه تنها از ما تقدير و تشکر نکردند، بلکه امروز قصد برخورد با ما را نيز دارند."

مجيد خان*قلي، از معلمان بازنشسته و جانباز 25 درصد نيز در گفت*وگو با خبرنگار ايسنا مدعى شد: 30 سال است که روزنامه*ها و مجلات را پيگيرى مي*کنم، ولى تاکنون رعايت صحت و واقعيت برخى خبرها در خصوص بعضى مشکلات را از سوى آنان مشاهده نكرده*ام.


وى با ادعاى اين که مشکلات و حرف*هاى فرهنگيان که حتى در برخى رسانه*ها انعکاس مي*يابد، توسط مسوولان بطور كامل خوانده و بررسى نمي*شود، گفت: "وقتى مستقيماً به مديرکل آموزش و پرورش اعتراض مي*کنيم، جوابى نمي*گيريم، ديگر اميدى به انعکاس مشکلات هم نداريم."

خان*قلى با تأکيد بر اين که تجمع ما در اينجا جز گرفتن حق و حقوقمان دليل ديگرى ندارد، افزود: تا گرفتن مطالبات خود همچنان اين تجمع را ادامه مي*دهيم.

به گزارش خبرنگار ايسنا، ساير معلمان حاضر در اين تجمع نيز، مشکلات خود را عدم پرداخت معوقه سال 75، بدهکارى به بانک، عدم پرداخت پاداش و... اعلام کردند.

به گفته فرهنگيان بازنشسته، تاکنون جوابى از سوى مسوولان و مديران ارشد استان دريافت نكرده*اند.

گفتنى است، پيگيري*هاى خبرنگار ايسنا براى انعكاس نظر مسوولان مربوط در سازمان آموزش و پرورش مازندران همچنان ادامه دارد.

[Rasputin]

One of the very huge problems confronting progress in the Middle East is the problem of confusing administration with the purpose of life, society, or humanity. This is not necessarily a result of administrative Islam for more than a thousand years, but Islam has definitely had a significant impact too. We shall not forget that Islam was a positive administrative tool until recently, about some 300-500 years ago, when it started to show its inability to challenge the West!

Islamic administration, with its central and unifying elements, created empires that not only conquered land but also gave the world the most advanced scientific, architectural, and cultural movements of the time, by far exceeding whatever could at time emerge in the Christian world. These advancements partly forced the Christian world to ponder its situation, and somehow, for some reasons, the West, at some point, stood up, looked around, took off, roared, and never looked back! Muslims watched in amazement, and they are still watching, never really understanding what happened, and they still largely do not understand what happened.

More than three centuries passed by and Muslims are still watching the West with amazement. Conspiracy theories have appeared all over the place, they have re-appeared, re-appeared, re-formulated, re-shaped, re-thought, and are still in process, somehow trying to justify something, the shame, the amazement, the incompetence, and the impotence, and the belittling that is going on and on and on, never seeming to show any sign of ending.

The start of the Western modern progressive movement, what is known as the Renaissance, took place when the West was in its worst shape in more than a millennium, in terrible turmoil, with the Ottoman Turks threatening to delve much deeper into some of the most prised Christian territories. Here is what I find as a striking resemblance with where the Muslim world is standing today, compared to where the Christian world stood almost 5 centuries ago. Let's not exaggerate this, and let's not generalise! The comparison can be a limited one, more from a social point of view rather than any other. But the social side is what drives the rest, in a more global and long-term perspective. Today the Muslim world is indeed in a very bad shape, humiliated and poor, unable to do almost anything in the face of an extremely powerful Western civilisation.

While some of the most important topics of debate among the Iranian net addicts, and the blogsphere, seem to be about democracy (where it is not about treason and conspiracy) the real changes are taking place not among the Iranians, or in Iran, but in Turkey and in parts of the Arab world. Unfortunately, we as Iranians, did our bit a while ago, and Khomeini was just ready enough to decapitate whatever intelligentsia was truly, excitingly, capable of having any seriously positive effect on the Iranian community probably for more than a couple of generations. And Khomeini's acts are still shadowing the opportunities that the Iranian community can take.

Where is this glimmer of hope for the Islamic world, especially for the Middle East? Turkey is quite understandably a clear-cut country with boundaries and everything else that can be defined, but the more confusing, but also much more interesting, side of this Islamic Renaissance is not Turkey (with its steadily stabilising and strengthening democracy) but the Persian Gulf Arab states, the UAE, Qatar, and what is more recently emerging as the new Iraq. Oil-rich Arab states are finding the path to worldly affairs out of pure luck, just like England, and some other Western European countries, did with their opportunities in commerce, especially through their newly discovered maritime strengths.

While the rest of the Muslim world, like Lebanon, Palestine, Iran and Afghanistan, or Sudan have serious difficulties in everything that can define their economies, politics, or social affairs, whether among each other, or with the neighbours, enemies or friends, some Arab countries are moving very quickly toward a very different world, a distantly more civilised and modern one from all points of view, starting to believe in their strengths and also showing to other Muslims that they are not only lucky (because of oil), but also smart (in using their oil money for investments in infrastructure and education), without compromising anything that defines them, while staying Muslims. Such signs of economic and social hope are also arising from Egypt, Jordan and Morocco, and steadily finding foothold in other Islamic countries.

People don't seem to pay enough attention to these positive issues but soon we shall not be surprised to see more and more Arab nations joining the smart club, and actually succeeding in it. And the best hope remains Iraq (because of its vast oil reserves), not just to other Arab countries, but also for Iran and Iranians. Unfortunately Iran has some of the worse political and social conditions among Muslim countries, probably along Sudan, where confrontational attitudes, and the neglect of progressive policies are still the favourite of the ruling classes, especially with the oil that is proving to be a curse, when in the hands of ruthless individuals and cliques.

[Rasputin]

The recent nuclear talks in Geneva unambiguously exposed who has the upper hand in recent diplomacy efforts. Ever since 2002, when an Iranian dissident revealed the existence of the regime's nuclear program, Iranian diplomats have evaded every opportunity to modify its program or to fulfill its international responsibility as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.



Iran is increasingly aware of the hesitation and weakness within Western institutions; it has sewn and exploited misunderstandings and divergent opinions about its true ambitions and increased internal divisions within democratic countries. Time is running out, and while the West keeps talking, Iran keeps building. Through its defiant rhetoric, the theocratic Shiite regime is challenging the free world to make a tough and ugly choice: impose additional economic sanctions or take military action. But as long as the international community refuses to make a choice, we are allowing the Iranians to define the parameters of the game.



One of the chief obstacles to reaching a coherent and united foreign policy against Iran's nuclear ambitions is a lack of understanding about the real danger the Islamic Republic poses to Europe, the US and Israel. Another is the role of China and Russia, non-democratic countries that continue to do business with Iran and thus undermine sanctions intended to convince Iran to curb its nuclear program.



In addition to presenting an undeniable existential threat to Israel, a nuclear Iran would have repercussions whose significance eludes many Western strategists. Such strategists prefer to assume that dialogue is still possible with a regime that every single day expresses its dedication to annihilate a legitimate member-state of the United Nations and persecutes its own citizens for the "crimes" of being gay or being a female rape victim. Other innocent civilians, such as labor leaders, women's rights activists, religious and ethnic minorities and critics of the regime also suffer under the repression of the Iranian regime.



Ever since its theocratic fundamentalist revolution in 1979, the anti-Western foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been coherent and consistent. It intends to act as a regional - if not world- power, and it intends to acquire the means to achieve that goal. The Iranian regime has proven very predictable, but Western politicians, foreign policy theorists and the intelligentsia – who believe anything can be resolved with the right intent and effort - refuse to accept Iran's crystal-clear foreign policy goals.



Instead, those who should know better argue about the uncertainty of Iran's true intentions; the possibilities of applying additional sanctions; and permitting Iran greater flexibility and more incentives. If we assume, for a moment, that such experts misconstrue the danger Iran poses, what then? Is this a fatal bet the West should take?



At the Geneva talks on July 19, many critical questions were not asked, though the lives of hundreds of thousands of people may depend on the answers. For example, if Iran is not developing nuclear weapons, then why is it building long-range missiles? Why is Iran embracing genocidal incitements against Israel and why does it need to produce nuclear power at all given that it possesses the world's second-largest natural gas reserves and the world's fifth-largest crude oil reserves? Why has Iran deliberately constructed its nuclear installations underground and refused to allow access to International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors? And why has Iran consistently rejected incentives that would help it prove what it already claims – that it is not, in fact, creating nuclear weapons?



Sentimental hope
Some misinformed analysts consider it plausible to live with a nuclear Iran, arguing that the acquisition of such a powerful weapon of mass destruction would automatically imbue responsibility and rational thinking. Such assumptions are faulty – a lethal leap into the known. Imagine Iran advancing its doctrine of supremacy, imposing its radical way of life throughout the region, plotting a coup in Bahrain, as it did in 1981, or, say, closing the Straits of Hormuz? What if it were to seize Iraq's oil or annex Lebanon and Kuwait? With a nuclear-armed Iran, the international community would have no means of deterrence.



Allowing Iran to procure a nuclear weapon would speed nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, a notably sensitive part of the world. What's more, the Iranians - who have already promised to share their technology with like-minded countries - could provide such a weapon to terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hizbullah. Iran is, in fact, already sending hundreds of millions of dollars and weaponry to insurgent groups in Iraq that are killing Americans; they are doing the same in Lebanon and Gaza, providing their proxies the means to kill Lebanese and Israeli civilians. Despite what analysts may say, they have yet to produce evidence that it is possible to live with a nuclear Iran. What remains, instead, is sentimental hope.



With the deadline expired last weekend for Iran to accept or reject the package of economic incentives offered by the Group of six, one question remains: At what point will Iran's interlocutors decide that enough is enough? While this question remains unanswered, those who negotiate with Iran should remember that they are attempting to appease a regime that continues to deny the Holocaust, holds the distinction of being the world's greatest state-sponsor of terrorism, and has even backed a group that has recruited 40,000 people to carry out suicide attacks against the West.

[Rasputin]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ih7ekzGzHleDVPZdrK-i3cqG7sowD960P2G01

[Rasputin]

During the post revolutionary period of 1979-82, after fighting and eliminating most of the internal opposition; ayatollah Khomeini and his allied clergies established their Islamist tyranny over the entire Iranian political, military, financial, judicial, and cultural affairs. Since then, a puzzling Persian theocracy has plagued the Middle Eastern politics and become a prime source of emulation and support for most militant Islamists.



To consolidate their tyranny, lucrative industries, banks and major companies were confiscated and controlled by the Islamist instruments (Bonyads). The Iranian military was purged and then subjugated to the constant oversight and scrutiny of the Revolutionary Guards. All school teachers were investigated and purged based on their active obedience of the Shia Islam and adherence to Khomeini’s edicts. Entire universities were closed for up to three years, in order to purge the secular professors and non-believing students. All the radio and television programs were reorganized and scripted to constantly instil revolutionary slogans, repetitive religious citations and tedious sermons into every hour of every day. In short, a dark veil of fundamentalist Islam descended over Iran, much like the overbearing and inhuman dictatorships of the Soviet Russia and the Maoist era China.

With absolute power in their hands, the Khomeini Hezbollah next set their aim at the messianic goal of defeating the enemies of true-Islam, one after the other, from Iraq to Israel and on to America. Arguably, to prepare the world for the return of the Shia messiah, Mahdi the hidden Imam! For the next six years, the whole country became a helpless source of material and human resource for Hezbollah’s incredibly ambitious and fanatically idealistic world-domination experiment! However, even the ‘first step’ of toppling the Baath regime in Iraq proved an insurmountable task.

In 1982, using the human-wave tactic (reminiscent of the Communist methods during the Korean War) Iran’s militia expelled the Iraqi army from all occupied territories. Then, the war changed from defending the Iranian territory to invading the Iraq proper. Relentless killing continued, despite the fact that as early as in 1983, the rich Arab countries of the Persian Gulf had agreed to provide a $70 billion restitution fund to Iran, if Khomeini were to accept the UN truce resolution! When Khomeini refused, similar funds and more were instead made available to the Iraqi regime to pay for modern jets, tanks and chemical weapons, to stop the tsunami wave of Iranian militia. Five years later, Khomeini was forced by an Arab-American coalition to give up on his maniacal ambitions, and drink the ‘poison of peace’ in 1988. Tragically, he only relented after overseeing the mass annihilation of about one million Iranians and Iraqi’s, and $400 billion damage to the economy of both countries!

Meanwhile, the cruel treatment of civil war and political prisoners, and Hezbollah’s inhuman regime of torture and terror, angered many Shia clergies. But upon protesting Khomeini’s regime of death and destruction, even such high ranking Marjah like ayatollah Shariatmadari were condemned and banished. Astonishingly, even ayatollah Montazeri who for a decade was Khomeini’s heir-apparent, was tormented and placed under house-arrest, when he compared Khomeini’s Savak to that of the Shah and much worse.

Khomeini’s angry retorts to all that criticism about tortures and human rights violations was that, ‘the nameless soldiers of the 12th Imam’ were doing god’s work in the prisons; and besides, those jailed criminals were not human to have any rights! Therefore, after the 1988 humiliating defeat in the hands of the Baath regime of Iraq and before succumbing to cancer, Khomeini ordered the mass execution of the remaining thousands of political prisoners across the country. That demonic action killed about 5,000 dissidents in a single week, which was more than the total number who had perished during the 53 years of Pahlavi dynasty!

With ayatollah Montazeri removed from the successor position and all the other senior clergies either against or unsympathetic towards the Islamic Republic’s policies, Khomeini had no Marjah successor. Hence, it became necessary for the governing clerical establishment to not only change Khomeini’s political will and testament, but also change the whole constitution in a hurry! Essentially, the emphasis on the religious requirements for the lead mullah (Velayat Faghieh) was removed from the constitution, so that a lesser clergy (Khamenei) could occupy the top position. However, to seal the deal with the other strong-man of the state, the office of prime minister was dissolved and most executive power was transferred to president Rafsanjani (1989-97).

The Khamenei-Rafsanjani diumvirate ruled over an exceedingly corrupt government, whose key players began to concentrate on looting and pillaging the country’s wealth and resources. On the foreign policy arena, during the 1980’s and 1990’s the Islamist tyranny actively pursed a doctrine of ‘exporting the revolution’ and hunting their overseas dissidents. That export translated into supporting a number of Islamist and terrorist groups in the Middle East; and that hunt resulted in the brutal murder of many prominent Iranians oversees, most notably the last Shah’s liberal premier (Dr. Bakhtiar).

In their execution of Dr. Bakhtiar and others in Europe, Hezbollah not only used their typical brute-force tactics, but also abused their victims in such a horrific way (multiple stabbings and mutilations) to send a message to all the other opposition. Of course, that method was completely in line with Khomeini’s teachings, who as early as in the 1940’s had advocated the ‘cutting of tongues and heads’ of those who would dare talk or write against Islam or Shiaism! The savagery of those attacks completely isolated Iran, despite desperate efforts by some moderate officials.

The people’s reaction to 20 years of murder and mayhem in Iran was a surprise vote during the presidential elections of 1997, when a moderate and liberal-minded candidate was mistakenly allowed to run. Khatami won the election with 70% of the vote, over a radical mullah who was the Majles speaker and the leader’s choice! In response, the concerned Hezbollah unleashed their death-squads in Iran, and started a massive campaign of vicious assassinations, in order to nullify any opposition attempt at utilizing Khatami’s victory. Their efforts resulted in a ‘chain of murders’ which created a power struggle between Khatami’s protesting supporters and the hardliners, who soon solidified around the ‘supreme leader’.

When the moderate vs. hardliner struggle came to a head, following a vicious Hezbollah attack on students’ dormitory in Tehran, Khatami was forced to back-off, and turned into a powerless figure-head for the rest of his presidency. Sadly, Khatami’s capitulation only strengthened Hezbollah’s resolve to regain all aspects of the ‘elected’ political power in Iran, including the Majles and the presidency, by 2005. All was done through shameless purging of the candidate lists, blatant vote rigging and brutal intimidation. The unelected (assigned) half of the government (judiciary, armed forces and supreme councils) as always, are ruled by the lead mullah’s henchmen.



Consequently in early 2009, all levels of government in Iran are completely dominated by the fanatical Hezbollah, who are preparing for their next battle with the ‘infidel’ world. With the added dimension of nuclear capabilities, the Islamist tyranny in Iran now poses the greatest threat to world peace. Puzzling enough, all that doom-and-gloom is despite the fact that an overwhelming majority (70%) of the Iranian population have consistently shown their allegiance to the democratic and peaceful principles, with utter resentment towards fanaticism.

[Rasputin]

Why is Iran importing 30,000 tons of asbestos a year? Do they not know how toxic this substance is? What is it being used for? Does Iran have any environmental regulations for asbestos? (See asbestos.com)

The mind goes blank wondering what our so called leaders are doing to Iran.

Our forests are being decimated, our rivers poisoned, our air made un-breathable, and the minds of our youth crippled.

I had held off from posting the following because it was maybe too negative. When I read about this asbestos idiocy I changed my mind.

Iran's presidential elections will soon take place and Iranians will be making a choice between Mr. Ahmadinejad and another who may represent a possibly less disastrous tomorrow. Karoubi is only going to split the vote.

Unfortunately none of the candidates can save Iran from the downward path that it is on.

The problems we face are so entrenched and deep rooted that the entire structure of the economy and government needs to be overhauled and restructured.

Unemployment, inflation, unaffordable housing, incompetent state run companies, urban congestion and pollution are recognized by all Iranians.

But what is most painful is that we have millions of highly educated young men and women that feel disconnected from their own country and government and know that they are outsiders and can not play any significant role in solving the countries problems.

Instead of being motivated to be a participant and contributor to a brighter future their top priority is to find a way to leave Iran.

Instead of voting for the next president they are voting to never to have anything to do with Iran.

The extent of this alienation is so deep that it was not uncommon to hear some Iranians being in favor of Iran being bombed by Bush so as to bring about change.

What does this tell you about the situation in Iran?

It says that given the slightest opening, opportunity, chance, or circumstance, --- even being bombed! --- the Iranian people will remove those in power.

And those in power know this. And it is their greatest fear. And it is this fear that suffocates our youth and our future.

Recently a newspaper was closed down because it ran this headline: "Who is Iran's Obama?"

The answer is that we are all Iran's Obama because we all have the potential to bring about change that this country desperately needs.

Regrettably those holding onto totalitarian theocratic power in Iran have placed a muzzle over the minds of the Iranian people causing a pandemic of self-censorship and an allergy towards revolutionary change.

In place of Orwell's Big Brother they have substituted their version of God.

The greatest achievement of the regime is the successful brainwashing of Iranians so that they obediently herd themselves into voting booths where they unquestioningly participate in rigged elections and mistakenly believe they are taking part in the democratic process.

It seems it's possible to fool most of the people most of the time when religion is used as a stick.

Those that have mistakenly achieved positions of power wallow in superstition and dream of a savior that will swoop down and correct all their shortcomings.

What they don't understand is that the Iranians people are their own savior and superstition is an affliction of the uneducated, especially those that hold or approve of fake degrees from fake universities.

Throwing money at problems is not leadership but evidence of arrogant phoniness and ultimately an act of injustice towards those that are victims of economic cretinism.

While millions bleat like sheep and chant for the death of countries millions more attempt to escape from the madness through opium, crystal meth, and heroin. With the educated in escapist mode, and the addicts slumped into semi-consciousness, all we have left are RoboBasij and money hunters.

Money hunters occupy every office and household. They will lie, cheat, and even steal so as to get hold of money. Contracts are signed so as to know which clause to break. It's not about providing a service or a quality product but about filling ones pockets. If a bribe is not negotiated ahead of time then enough problems are created so that the poor fool is forced to pay a bribe. Civility has been replaced by an anarchic jungle where friends and family have been transformed into an extended network for hunting money. Employees at state run companies grovel to reach a higher position with higher budgets only because this will mean they can fill their pockets with bigger nuggets.

The utopian society that theocracy was supposed to bring about has failed miserably and the national misery index of Iran is its proof.

In order to save Iran there has to be a separation of mosque and state. What has become obvious to all Iranians is that the version of Islam being sold by the clerics in power requires top to bottom reformation if it is to regain its respect and legitimacy. Iran's problems are not economic, political, or social, but religious.

[Rasputin]

Iran remains the "most active state sponsor of terrorism" in the world, a report by the US state department says.

It says Iran's role in the planning and financing of terror-related activities in the Middle East and Afghanistan threatens efforts to promote peace.

Al-Qaeda remains the biggest danger to the US and the West, the annual report states, noting that terror attacks are rising in Pakistan.

Iran rejected the report, saying the US was guilty of double standards.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the US had no right to accuse others in light of its actions at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

'Existential threat'

The BBC's state department correspondent, Kim Ghattas, says the new US administration may be trying to engage Tehran, but, just like last year, Iran is still described as the most active state sponsor of terrorism.


The report singles out the Quds unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard
The report charges that Iran's involvement in countries like Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and in the Palestinian territories threatens efforts to promote peace, economic stability in the Gulf and democracy.

The report singles out the Quds force, an elite branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard as the channel through which Iran supports terrorist activities and groups abroad.

The report also takes to task Syria, an Iranian ally in the region.

Of equal concern, our correspondent notes, is the advance of al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan where terrorist attacks are sharply on the rise while the rest of the world, including Iraq, has seen terrorist attacks decrease.

The acting coordinator for counter-terrorism for the state department, Ronald Schlicher, told journalists that al-Qaeda was using border areas of Pakistan to regroup.

"Al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda associated networks remain the greatest terrorist threat to the US and its partners," he said.

Mr Schlicher said they were using the Afghan-Pakistan border area "as a safe haven where they can hide, where they can train, where they can communicate with their followers, where they can plot attacks and where they can make plans to send fighters to support the insurgency in Afghanistan".

Washington is worried that the government in Islamabad might collapse, and last week US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Taleban fighters posed an existential threat to Pakistan, which is a nuclear power, our correspondent adds.

[Rasputin]

'The world can see how strong the true Iran is to injustice'

Vahid Gholampour, 24, boutique worker

"We know that our blood today is the ink for writing history. This blood is sacrificed for the freedom of this country in future and that's why it's sacred. I participated today to mourn people who were killed by this government.

"This will continue until our victory. Our victory is not only having Mousavi as our president, but achieving our human rights. This time people are going to gain their rights."


Morteza Amani, 25, motorbike driver

"They can block SMS and emails, but how can they block hearts? Nearly a million have gathered here in Imam Khomeini Square, although they didn't have any source of information except for people distributing the news on streets to each other. That shows how Iranians are united by now.

"This huge mass of population is the true Iran. One of the good consequences of these protests is that the world now sees the true Iran and how strong they are to injustice.

"Ahmadinejad described the protesters earlier in his press conference as just a small amount of 'brushwood and chips'. He is truly a big liar. How can call you a million people present here in Imam Khomeini as brushwood? He simply denies everything, as he simply denied the Holocaust."



Mahin Torkashvand, 54, housewife

"Look at this picture. It's my dead son in the Iran-Iraq war, I'm a religious woman, I believe in the Qur'an and I believe in Islam. Ahmadinejad is a liar, he is brutal, he just wants to cheat us, especially we that are very religious and have lost our children in war. We are not sheep, we are human.

"We are all sad for what happened to innocent people in the past week. We are still unaware of provinces' situation, but we have heard that some have been killed – that's awful.

"This will not be stopped easily. It has just started, it has just spread in the provinces and that will continue until they annul the election and conduct it again, but under Mousavi's representatives' monitoring."



Hashem Riazi, 60, retired

"What we are seeing today in Imam Khomeini Square is amazing. It's in south of Tehran, where Ahmadinejad has repeatedly boasted that he has many supporters. "You see the real Iran today in this square; you see rich, poor, young, old, tight hijab, bad hijab, all kind of people. They are not just a specific class of people in our society, they are from all classes."



Somayeh Bahari, 29, office secretary "For years this regime wanted to hide the real Iran from the world. Today the world is witnessing the real Iran, real Iranians. Ahmadinejad was the worst president we had since the revolution. He ruined Iran's name in the world and brought shame on us. I'll get the votes of my dead compatriots back from this government, I'll not step back. We are all decided to stand this time and continue to get our rights.

"I'm very proud that we have many intellectuals joining us in protests. Mohammad Reza Shajarian who came out yesterday is a very big artist; other artists should follow him."



Borzou Kazemi, 48, shoemaker

"I think the regime might step back from its stance, and now there is a big chance that the supreme leader will annul the election. I don't know how far will it go, but it seems that it's just a start; people now have learned that they should struggle hard to get their legitimate rights."