Kayhan, Islamic Republic of Iran

'Seditionist' Iranian Rioters are Backed By the United States

 

So how is Tehran explaining its ruthless crackdown on peaceful protesters, even as it applauds Egyptians and Tunisians for standing up against their own governments? According to this news item from Iran's state-run Kayhan, Iranians rallying for freedom are 'terrorists' or 'seditionists' connected to 'defeated presidential candidates' who are supported by the United States.

 

February 15, 2011

 

Iran - Kayhan International - Home Page (English)

TEHRAN: Seditionists and members of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) staged riots in Tehran and martyred two people on Monday. The rioters opened fire on bystanders, leaving several injured, the Fars News Agency reported.

 

On Tuesday, Iran's deputy police chief, Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Radan, told reporters that nine members of the security forces were among the injured. He went on to say that several people were arrested in the riots.

 

At the same time, small groups of supporters of defeated presidential candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi gathered in different areas of the Iranian capital. The seditionists had sought permission to hold a public rally "in support of the people of Tunisia and Egypt,” but the Iranian government refused to give permission, declaring all such rallies illegal.

 

The Iranian government issued a statement saying that no further rallies were needed because on February 11, on the sidelines of rallies marking the 32nd anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Iranians had already expressed their solidarity with Egyptians and Tunisians.

 

Meanwhile, counter-demonstrations were held to denounce the seditionist attempt to disrupt public order and condemn rioting by supporters of the defeated candidates.

 

Meanwhile, the U.S. government has once again voiced its support for anti-government moves in Iran. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday that Washington stands with Iran's opposition supporters.

 

"Let me, clearly and directly, support the aspirations of the people who are in the streets in Iran today," Clinton told reporters after meeting with Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner. "We think that there needs to be a commitment to open up the political system in Iran, to hear the voices of the opposition and civil society," she added.

 

Iran has repeatedly condemned Western countries, in particular the U.S. and Britain, for supporting the riots that erupted following the June 2009 presidential election, which resulted in a resounding victory for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

 

 

Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday condemned the riots and called for the prosecution of seditionist leaders, demanding the "the most severe punishment." Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani condemned the riots, saying that the United States and the occupying regime of Israel were behind them.

 

"The main goal of Americans was to simulate recent Middle East events in Iran in order to divert attention from those countries," Larijani said. "The Majlis condemns the Zionists, Americans, anti-revolutionaries and anti-nationalist actions of these misled seditionists," a visibly angry Larijani told the Majlis.

 

"How did the gentlemen (Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi) ... fall into America's orchestrated trap?" he asked. "Shouldn't they have been more cautious, given the support, pleasure and joy this gives America, Israel, the monarchists and the Monafeghs?" Larijani asked, referring to the terrorist MKO.

 

He also urged that a committee be formed to probe and "confront" the seditionist movement.

 

 

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, who led Friday prayers in Tehran, applauded the Majlis members and called the two seditionist leaders mohareb - or enemies of God - and said they deserved the harshest of punishments.

 

"The leaders of this sedition have reached the end of the road and it is time for the authorities to do their duty, judge and punish the seditionist chiefs," he said, in a statement carried by Fars.

 

Meanwhile, Gholamhussein Mohseni-Ejei, prosecutor general and spokesman for the judiciary, said that the legal system would “firmly and swiftly” deal with those behind the riots. He also pointed out that the anti-government protests were sponsored by the United States and other anti-revolutionary forces.  

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

The official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted members of the Majlis as saying in a statement signed by 222 out of 290 lawmakers, "(Sedition leaders) Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hussein Mousavi are corrupts on earth and should be tried."

 

One member of the Majlis, Kazem Jalali, was quoted by the Iranian Students' News Agency as saying that two people were killed in Monday's events, one of whom was shot dead.

 

The semi-official Fars News Agency reported that a group of students and clerics planned a sit-in outside a Tehran court building on Tuesday, demanding the "immediate trial of Karroubi and Mousavi." It also said that in various universities in Tehran, students protested against Mousavi and Karroubi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US February 16, 6:49pm]