Iran's Latest Propaganda Strategy and the Planned Rally to Mourn the Election and the Dead

Here are some of the latest developments that are coming out of Iran.

It is becoming more apparent that the Iranian government is trying to convince the citizens that the opposition protesters are actually rioting and creating destruction. This strategy is probably being used in order to try and fragment the public opinion of the protesters and get those who are not involved in the protests, to turn on those who are. This strategy also has the goal of deterring those Iranians who are "on the fence" about joining the green revolution from not wanting to be a part of a group who is vandalizing Iran. The kicker in this situation of course, is that it is the government and the security forces who are creating a lot of the destruction.

I posted some video a couple of days ago of the aftermath of an attack on Tehran University and here is some fresh video of the aftermath of an attack on a parking garage. Here is some helpful context from a reader of the Huffington Post:

this is a video that show the aftermath of security forces breaking into a residential parking. the camera man keeps asking the women who did this, and she explains that it was the special security forces. he asks "so it wasn't the protesters?" she explains why would our kids break our cars? she says at least 3 or 4 times that it was the security force that broke in and smashed all the windows.

An image that also speaks to this strategy by the security forces is below. Check out the lower left-hand corner:



The Wall Street Journal also has some reporting on the attack on Tehran University:

At the same time, Iran's Interior Ministry ordered a probe into an attack late Sunday night on Tehran University students in a dormitory reported to have left several students dead and many more injured or arrested. Students say it was carried out by Islamic militia and police. Iran's English-language Press TV said the ministry urged Tehran's governor's office to identify those involved. Iran's influential speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, condemned the attack.

Students' Web sites reported mass resignations by Tehran University professors outraged over the incident. One medical student said he and his roommate blocked their door with furniture and hid in the closet when they heard the militia's motorcycles approaching. He heard the militia breaking down doors, and then screams of anguish as students were dragged from their beds and beaten violently.

When he came out after the militia had left, friends and classmates lay unconscious in dorm rooms and hallways, many with chest wounds from being stabbed or bloody faces from blows to their heads, he said. The staff of the hospital where the wounded students were taken, Hazrat Rasoul Hospital, was so shocked that they went on strike for two hours, standing silently outside the gate in their white medical uniforms.

That same article in the Wall Street Journal also speaks about how prominent leaders who are supportive of Mousavi, have been arrested:

At the same time, security agents rounded up three more prominent figures affiliated with Mr. Mousavi. The country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has told Mr. Mousavi to pursue his demands through the electoral system and urged Iranians to unite behind their Islamic government.

There is another huge rally scheduled for today by supporters of Mousavi in order to mourn the deaths of citizens killed during the protests and also to mourn the election. Demonstrators are encouraged to wear black and I will post some video that manages to trickle out of Iran from these protests. Reza Aslan appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show last night to discuss the significance of this movement:

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YouTube also understands the significance of these events and how important it is for images and videos to get out of Iran so that the world can see what is happening. They have relaxed their restrictions on uploading violent content so that these images can reach the rest of the world. From the company:

“In general, we do not allow graphic or gratuitous violence on YouTube,” the company said in a statement. “However, we make exceptions for videos that have educational, documentary, or scientific value. The limitations being placed on mainstream media reporting from within Iran make it even more important that citizens in Iran be able to use YouTube to capture their experiences for the world to see.”

The Silent Protest and the Haunting Rooftop Chants

Here is video of a massive silent protest that was staged by the opposition in Iran today. It is striking how silent this scene is despite the enormous amount of people:



The protests even continue into the night with the rooftop chants. Every hour at 10PM, 11PM, and midnight protesters shout "Allaho Akbar" from their rooftops. Video of last night is below. There is also a female voice speaking over the video in what I believe is Farsi. A reader over at the Huffington Post helped to translate what she is saying:

The woman in this video is saying something that really touched me. She is saying that they can take our phones, our internet, all our communication away, but we are showing that by saying "allaho akbar" we can find each other. She ends it my saying that tonight they are crying out to god for help.

The New York Times is reporting that the so-called recount is underway in Iran and has thusfar shown no irregularities:

The Fars news agency also reported that the partial recount of votes ordered Tuesday by the Guardian Council, the 12-member body of jurists which supervises elections and holds veto power over legislation in Iran, had begun. A recount of votes in Kermanshah, a Kurdish province, showed that “there has been no irregularity,” the news agency reported.

The recount, intended as a effort to meet the opposition’s concerns, has failed to halt the unrest. On Tuesday, a large protest by thousands of supporters of Mr. Moussavi stretched for miles along a major thoroughfare in Tehran. The marchers, dressed largely in black and green, marched mostly in silence, some carrying signs in English asking, “Where is my vote?”

Farideh Farhi is from the University of Hawaii and has years of experience studying voting in Iran and in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor, he says that the election results were "pulled out of a hat":

My personal feeling is that Ahmadinejad could not have gotten anything more than 10 million. And I really do have the data from previous elections, each district, how they voted, each province, to make comparisons with these numbers that the Ministry of Interior have come out.

I am convinced that they just pulled it out of their hats. They certainly didn't pull it out of ballot [boxes] or even stuffed ballots, they just made up numbers and are putting it out. It just doesn't make sense.

I do take the numbers of the Interior Ministry very seriously. I pore over them every election. I did it last time in the parliamentary election, to determine the orientations and what they mean. I always do that.

In this election, I am not even going to spend time on this, because of all the [problems].

[...]

They simply are not interested in these people continuing to be interested in politics in Iran. The want them to become demoralized and cynical, because their participation in the Iranian electoral process is extremely destructive for the [Islamic] system ...

What they have not counted on, of course, is a group of people that they essentially think of, for lack of a better word, Westernized wishy-washy liberals, who never stand for anything, would actually be upset that this election was stolen in such a brazen way.

They assumed: 'Ah, you know, we go into the streets, we yell at them, and a couple of shots and they go home and close their doors.'

They knew that they were a minority, and that's why they tried to pull this off. They thought they could bully people, through violence. And they may ultimately be correct. But it seems they have underestimated, not only the crowds, but Mr. Mousavi.

and some recent tweets out of Iran:

IranRiggedElect:

Basij requested Faezeh & Mehdi Hashemi be arrested for helping the riots http://www.entekhabnews.us/... #iranelection

Change_for_Iran:

according to the unofficial reports the sum of arrested people in whole Iran is reaching 750 person

TwitPersia:

in Tehran placards reading Annulment of the election is our right - a play on Ahmadinejad's slogan Nuclear power is our right #iranelection

The Latest from Iran

It has been a little while since I have been able to post some updates on the situation in Iran, so here is some of the latest.

It appears that photos of yesterday's pro-government rally in support of Ahmadinejad were photoshopped to make the crowds appear bigger than they really were. You can view some of the analysis on the photos by clicking here. Is this any surprise considering the outcome of the election?

According to the BBC, there were more raids on dorms:

Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi are planning a new demonstration in Tehran against what they see as a fraudulent presidential poll in Iran.

The planned rally follows overnight raids on university dormitories in several Iranian cities and as two pro-reform figures were arrested.

Heavy restrictions have now been placed on the BBC and other foreign news organisations. Reporters are not allowed to cover unauthorised gatherings or move around freely in Tehran - but there are no controls over what they can say. Jon Leyne reports from Tehran.

Iran's soccer team played in South Korea last night. Here is a photo of players who had the courage to sport green wristbands:



Here is some video of yesterday's silent protest in Iran. I think that this is just as powerful as the vocal protests and in some ways, even more so:



Meanwhile civilians are being targeted:



This is apparently Mousavi's latest message that was posted on Facebook:

Like you know, in the past few days, there have been clashes - legally and illegally - that have been violent between protesters of the election and their critics.

A number of you have been injured and several have been martyred.

I would first like to convey my condolences to you.

At the same time, I would like you all to go to mosques and to places of worship in order to remember them and to pray for them.

We will also commemorate them by our peaceful protests.

I would like you to know that I will also be taking part in these protests and commemorations.

Mir Hossein Mousavi

End of letter.

and after calling for protesters to mourn the dead, there is reportedly a huge rally currently underway. From the Guardian:

More than 500,000 Iranians are silently marching from from Haft-e-Tir Squre to Vali Asr Square, reports Saeed Kamali Dehghan in Tehran.

Many are wearing black in mourning for those killed in earlier protests. Protesters want to go to Tehran University later to mourn the killing on Sunday of students in a dormitory.

Reuters says that "tens of thousands" of people are protesting.
One street leading to the square was packed for several kilometres, witnesses said.

Most of the protesters were silent and making victory signs. Some are holding pictures of those killed.

The authorities say the rally is banned.

Here is a picture of this march:



Robert Fisk gives an interesting account of street protests and a possible softening of the police force:

I've just been witnessing a confrontation, in dusk and into the night, between about 15,000 supporters of Ahmadinejad - supposedly the president of Iran - who are desperate to down the supporters of Mr Mousavi, who thinks he should be the president of Iran.

There were about 10,000 Mousavi men and women on the streets, with approximately 500 Iranian special forces, trying to keep them apart.

It was interesting that the special forces - who normally take the side of Ahmadinejad's Basij militia - were there with clubs and sticks in their camouflage trousers and their purity white shirts and on this occasion the Iranian military kept them away from Mousavi's men and women.

In fact at one point, Mousavi's supporters were shouting 'thank you, thank you' to the soldiers.

One woman went up to the special forces men, who normally are very brutal with Mr Mousavi's supporters, and said 'can you protect us from the Basij?' He said 'with God's help'.

and this interesting development that was reported by Reza Aslan on CNN last night:

"There are very interesting things that are taking place right now. Some of my sources in Iran have told me that Ayatollah Rafsanjani, who is the head of the Assembly of Experts -- the eighty-six member clerical body that decides who will be the next Supreme Leader, and is, by the way, the only group that is empowered to remove the Supreme Leader from power -- that they have issued an emergency meeting in Qom.

Now, Anderson, I have to tell you, there's only one reason for the Assembly of Experts to meet at this point, and that is to actually talk about what to do about Khamenei. So, this is what I'm saying, is that we're talking about the very legitimacy, the very foundation of the Islamic Republic is up in the air right now. It's hard to say what this is going to go."

Doctors and Nurses Join the Protests and the Media Crackdown Intensifies

Doctors and nurses have started to protest in Tehran over the recent murders:



Glenn Greenwald wonders what would have happened if those who had wanted to bomb Iran had had their way:

Much of the same faction now claiming such concern for the welfare of The Iranian People are the same people who have long been advocating a military attack on Iran and the dropping of large numbers of bombs on their country -- actions which would result in the slaughter of many of those very same Iranian People. During the presidential campaign, John McCain infamously sang about Bomb, Bomb, Bomb-ing Iran. The Wall St. Journal published a war screed from Commentary's Norman Podhoretz entitled "The Case for Bombing Iran," and following that, Podhoretz said in an interview that he "hopes and prays" that the U.S. "bombs the Iranians." John Bolton and Joe Lieberman advocated the same bombing campaign, while Bill Kristol -- with typical prescience -- hopefully suggested that Bush might bomb Iran if Obama were elected. Rudy Giuliani actually said he would be open to a first-strike nuclear attack on Iran in order to stop their nuclear program.

Imagine how many of the people protesting this week would be dead if any of these bombing advocates had their way -- just as those who paraded around (and still parade around) under the banner of Liberating the Iraqi People caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of them, at least. Hopefully, one of the principal benefits of the turmoil in Iran is that it humanizes whoever the latest Enemy is.

Meanwhile, the crackdown on foreign media is beginning to intensify. From CBS:

Iran's hard-line regime, starting to show stress under the mounting pressure of massive opposition rallies, has told foreign media that if they're seen on the streets of Tehran today with a camera, they will be arrested.

Jadi tweets:

Mousavi and Karroubi announced that they will only accept the nullification of the elections and nothing else. #iranelection

IranRiggedElect tweets:

a state TV employee: Gun shooting sound is heard near Jaame jam building#iranelection

Overnight Developments in Iran

There were some developments overnight on the situation in Iran.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has landed in Russia to participate in a regional summit. He has made no mention of the unrest in Iran.

There are also reports that Iran's Guardian Council has agreed to a partial recount of some of the votes. From the BBC:

Iran's powerful Guardian Council says it is ready to recount disputed votes from Friday's presidential poll.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election is being contested by rival Mir Hossein Mousavi and other moderate candidates, who are seeking a rerun.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says they may not accept the recount offer.

Several people died in a protest on Monday and Mr Mousavi urged followers not to take part in a rally planned for Tuesday, amid fears of new violence.

Iran's state media is reporting that 7 people were killed yesterday during the protests in Azadi Square:

Seven people were killed when a military post was attacked near a rally held a day ago in Tehran to protest the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, radio Payam announced.

"Several thugs wanted to attack a military post and vandalise public property in the vicinity of Azadi Square," the radio said referring to the site of the rally held on Monday.

"Unfortunately seven people were killed and several others wounded in the incident."

However, a source told AFP that the emergency services department had information that eight people were killed and several wounded in the incident.

Robert Fisk of UK's Independent is hearing more about a massacre of students at Tehran University. I have posted video of what is apparently video of the aftermath. Here is Fisk:

It was difficult to hear over the cries and screaming. But a student began shouting at me in English through those grim black gates. "There was a massacre," he bellowed. "The Basiji and the police came into our student dorms. It all started after the violence last Saturday. The people in the street had been throwing stones, so many of us fled from the campus to our homes. We came back yesterday and it seemed quiet. Then all these armed men burst into the dorms, shooting."

The Wall Street Journal is also hearing accounts of students that were killed in dormitory raids.

The UK times is reporting that there are eyewitness accounts of paramilitary forces on motorcycles that ride through the street and open fire on the youth:

In another incident a witness told The Times how she watched from her car as riot police on six motorbikes opened fire on youths walking under a bridge after the rally. “The riot police started shooting them with big guns,” she said. “It wasn’t like the films where there is just a small hole — the shooting was blowing off hands, limbs. It was terrible, terrible.”

Gunfire was heard in at least three other districts of the Iranian capital. The Ministry of the Interior was rumoured to have authorised the use of live ammunition as the regime struggled to maintain control. Supporters of the defeated candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, fought running battles with the police and Basiji, who have flooded into Tehran.

The Huffington Post is reporting that Fox News footage is being used by the state run media services in Iran. In a Farsi-language video that was translated for the Huffington Post it apparently says:

This video is about yesterday events when people gathered in front of one of candidates' (Mousavi but no name was mentioned in the report) HQ. In brief: The narrator says that a group of opportunistic people supporting a candidate (without bringing the name) are responsible for breaking and destroying the public/ private property. They are blaming the foreign media for supporting the riots and covering the story. They cited Fox News who has predicted the violence and wants to divide Iranian people. They are interviewing a group of people who are mad because their property has got destroyed.

and a more detailed description, also from a Huffington Post reader:

What a propaganda masterpiece. So the gist of it is that there were some minor rallies that started peacefully but some people took advantage of the situation and began vandalizing. Meanwhile, the foreign press tried to make it sound worst and create disunity among the population. It cuts to a Fox News interview that US should take advantage of this situation and make contact with the people in the street. They then interview shop owners -- "victims" -- saying the government should stop such act of vandalism. 'It's unfair to us (shop owners) to come to work and see our properties and business is damaged.'

and here are some recent Tweets from people inside Iran.

Aboozar:

Internet is almost dead. Gmail, Yahoo, Twitter, VPN, Proxy, ... #iranelection

Change_for_Iran:

state TV is now requesting people (armed forces) to go to valiasr st and protest against the outlaws & criminals! (people) #iranelection

IranRiggedElect:

Eyewitness: Mousavi's supporters are walking on Valiasr towards Mellat Park & Jaame Jam. #iran

State-TV is repeatedly telling people to go to Mousavi's protest in Valiasr Sq. One can only imagine what their plan is. :(( #iran

Late Night Developments

A couple developments being reported:

Andrew Sullivan's blog links to Der Spiegel which is apparently reporting that Iran may bring in 5,000 Hezbollah troops for a "showdown".

Publicus thinks that the success of Twitter in Iran could end up being shut down:

Twitter is obviously one of the big stories to come out of the Iranian election. And it's been a remarkable development -- no argument there. The tweets have been inspiring and courageous. And there's an aesthetic dimension to them that's hard to resist.

But understand... the tweets could be stopped (more on that below). In fact, I worry that Twitter's success in Iran will create a false confidence that the Internet can't be stopped, and that people's digital voices can't be silenced. They can -- and we should understand that keeping an open global Internet requires aggressive effort and activism.

There are even apparently rumors within Iran that certain tags are being blocked on some feeds. Here is a Tweet from IranRiggedElect:

Still not confirmed if the #iranelection hashtag is blocked. KEEP USING IT. Could be a propaganda to disperse everyone.

and an interesting piece just up at the New York Times:

But many analysts say the differences between factions have never been quite so pronounced nor public as in the past few days. Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, once a close Khamenei ally who helped him become supreme leader, sent an open letter to him in the days before the election warning that any fraud would backfire, Mr. Milani noted. If he allowed the military to ignore the public will and to destroy senior revolutionary veterans, the decision would haunt him, Mr. Rafsanjani warned: “Tomorrow it is going to be you.”

Everyone speaking of Ayatollah Khamenei tends to use the word “cautious,” a man who never gambles. But he now faces a nearly impossible choice. If he lets the demonstrations swell, it could well change the system of clerical rule. If he uses violence to stamp them out, the myth of a popular mandate for the Islamic revolution will die.

“The Iranian leadership is caught in a paradox,” said Ms. Nafisi, the author of memoirs about Iran.

Video from Tehran University and a 7 Point Statement

TehranBureau has just tweeted what is described as a "7 point statement distributed among protesters in Tehran today". These seven points are:

1. Dismissal of Khamenei for not being a fair leader
2. Dismissal of Ahmadinejad for his illegal acts
3. Temporary appointment of Ayatollah Montazeri as the Supreme Leader
4. Recognition of Mousavi as the President
5. Forming the Cabinet by Mousavi to prepare for revising the Constitution
6. unconditional and immediate release of all political prisoners
7. Dissolution of all organs of repression, public or secret.

IranRiggedElect tweets: "See it 4 urself, what they did @ Tehran Univ dorm + KILLING students". This video is then linked to:




UPDATE: It appears that the 7 Point Plan that I linked to that was tweeted by TehranBureau has been removed from that feed within the last few minutes. These 7 points were also picked up by the Huffington Post where they were posted about 10 minutes after I posted them here. They can be found in the Huffington Post's live blogging feed here.