Khamenei’s Speech: I stayed up late last night watching his speech online and was too tired to comment on it afterward since it ended at around 3:00 am pacific standard time. Anyway, I believe that his speech marks a major escalation in the crisis engulfing Iran today. He sided with Ahmadinejad, who was present at the Friday prayers (see the image below) given at Tehran University (along with Rezai, the other conservative candidate) and he said that the Islamic Republic does not tamper with elections. He blamed the protesters for attacking Islamist students at the university dorms and held the opposition leaders responsible for the deaths of the dozen or so people that died earlier this week. He gave a warning against future protests (although the opposition is planning rallies for Saturday) and said that he was speaking as a friend but should things continue, he will not be so friendly, hinting at a possible crackdown, one that I’ve been saying is a serious likelihood from the beginning.
Blaming Foreign Governments: He blamed foreign governments for clandestine operations in Iran. Iran, like Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and elsewhere in the region, is without a doubt an intelligence battlefield with all kinds of agencies trying to promote civil strife. Indeed, reports indicate that the US is supporting Jundallah, an al-Qaeda-like Sunni fundamentalist group that has been launching attacks on Iranian military personnel and civilians in the Sistan-Baluchistan province in southeast Iran, and the Bush administration openly allocated funds to destabilize Iran. In no way am I saying that the protests are the result of these operations, but I’m just giving the reason as to why Khamenei may be blaming these governments. These demonstrations most certainly represent geniune frustrations that need to be addressed and Khamenei failed to address the deep-seeded frustrations prevalent among a large segment of Iranian society.
In Denial: Listing to his speech, you would think as though everything is picture perfect and that what is happening in Iran is baseless and the doing of foreigners. His strategy of blaming foreigners for what is happening domestically is not unique to Iran as ALL governments do it, but his finger pointing, refusal to listen to the grievances of the opposition, and indirect threats mark a serious escalation. Protestors will most definitely being angered by his brushing off of their passions.
On Rafsanjani: He indirectly scolded Ahmadinejad’s attacks on Rafsanjani during his debate with Mousavi and paid direct homage to Rafsanjani. This is a classic case of politicking… he’s trying to appease one of the main opposition agitators while at the same time threatening against future protests.
His Conclusion: He ended the speech with an appeal to the emotions of his followers by mentioning that his life is ready to be sacrificed, his body is “naaghis” or damaged (one of his arms doesn’t function because of a failed assassination attempt by the MKO in the early 80s), and that he has a little “aaberoo” or dignity but that he’s willing to fight to preserve that dignity, to which many in the crowd broke down into tears and then shouted chants. I don’t want to seem dramatic, but prepare yourselves for the upcoming escalation potentially starting with Saturday’s opposition rally. His supporters are willing both to die and kill to protect him and the system, which is the main difference between now and 1979 - the Shah had little support and when push came to shove, his few supporters packed their bags and fled the country. These people loyal to Khamenei think that they have the biggest claim to Iran since it was hundreds of thousands from within their ranks that died defending Iran during the Iran-Iraq War and will not walk way so easily simply because giving up is, as they see it, tantamount to betraying the holy sacrifice of all those martyrs of the revolution and war.
WOW…scary. This is exactly what I too thought would happen. I know that any support from the west is the worst thing that the west can do as well. I actually like Obama’s stand to remain neutral. The last thing the people of Iran need is for this bastard to say, told you so the west is the reason for the uprising. I am on pins and needles right now, knowing that something aweful is around the very near future.
You forgot to mention that in his first Khutba he went into the story of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, which was when Mohammad compromised with the Meccans and the Muslims felt he was selling out, but it was later revealed to be a victory for the Muslims, which showed Mohammads wisdom in compromising.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Hudaybiyyah
I find it interesting that this was left out by western media. In other words is Khamenei comparing himself to what prophet did and saying he may be compromising soon with the greens and telling his base, the Basij, that this is similar situation, and wisdom in such an act.
This is a note from a blogger in Iran after Khameni’s speech:
“I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will
turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get
killed. I’m listening to all my favorite music. I even want to danceto a few songs. I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows. Yes,maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow! There are a fewgreat movie scenes that I also have to see. I should drop by the
library, too. It’s worth to read the poems of Forough and Shamloo
again. All family pictures have to be reviewed, too. I have to call myfriends as well to say goodbye. All I have are two bookshelves which I told my family who should receive them. I’m two units away from getting my bachelors degree but who cares about that. My mind is very chaotic. I wrote these random sentences for the next generation so they know we were not just emotional and under peer pressure. So they know that we did everything we could to create a better future for them. So they know that our ancestors surrendered to Arabs and Mongols
but did not surrender to despotism. This note is dedicated to
tomorrow’s children…”
I also watched the speech was up till six am local time, I think the media as underestimated Khamenie strength and following among the people. And I also believe the people in the street have too, he made a good point by saying, if people just took it to the streets, why bother with an election. I hope their is a peacefull outcome. But I will say one thing, many of sacrificed for the revolution and its islamc ideals. Thier is a large segment in Iran that dont identify with Khomeni’s vision for Iran, but it was the people who do, that sacrificed their lives during the sacred defense. And i think people are delusional if they think that the people of Iran will abandon the principles of the revolution. As an religious Iranian, who grew up in Canada, I have to hand it you for trying to maintain a balance approach to issues and not fall into the typical anti islam tirade that many iranians in the west divulge into. Like it or not. Islam is.. and will always be part of the Iranian identity, it has shaped our culture, our people and our leaders. The shah dismissed Islams role in his society, and paid the price. And for those who say islam came because our ancestors surrendered to the arabs, the prophet said to the arabs
‘If ye turn back , He will substitute in your stead another people, then they would not be like you.’ (Q47:38) The Sahabah asked the Prophet , ‘O Prophet , who are these people that Allah has mentioned, that he would chose them instead of us? That they will not do as we did?’ The Prophet placed his hand on Salman’s thigh and said, ‘It will be his people. And even if faith is near the Surya (the Pleiads), someone from the Persians would attain it.
Salman farsi, as the name suggests was persian, and was close companion of the prophet. As you see role of persians in Islam began from the beggining .. and it current role was predicted by the prophet. Iran like it or not, is the last bastion of Islam, and it was the Islamic identity that allowed us to defend our contry against during the sacred defense and it is this Identiy that will always prevail in Iran.
Just an observation — Imam Hussein’s march to Iraq was deemed illegal by the Umayyids. Did that stop Imam Hussein? (of course not) Is Imam Hussein therefore responsible (by Khamenei’s “logic”) for the massacre at Karbala? (this would be preposterous)
I think that one reason that all of these demonstrations happened in Iran, while we don’t see them in the Arab world, is the sacred Shia virtue of Adl (Justice). This virtue has been grievously violated by the falsification of the election results.
Please tell me if I’m off base here. I’m not Iranian, but I am trying to understand the situation. I pray that we do not see a wave of violence in the streets of Tehran, but I fear that this is what we are in for.
Has anyone seen an English translation of Khamenei’s speech?
http://www.iranaffairs.com/iran_affairs/2009/06/iran-elections-claims-and-counterclaims-analyzed.html
English transcript of Khamenei’s sermon (quality unknown)– http://pastebay.com/23186
J- Alternate reading of that treaty. I think perhaps he’s demanding that the Greens compromise, because “it’ll be better for you in the long run”
The Key questions is: Should there be a separation of Mosque and state.
If Yes, then the IRI Constitution should be revoked/re-written with no mention of Allah/God, let alone “Besmellah-Rahmano-Rahim” which is an Arabic expression — having nothing to do with Persians culture of wine and women — a la Omar Khayam.
If no, then let the majority rule (which is not the big cities like Tehran, etc) take charge. Let them fly themselves to the ground over time. Are we in a hurry to stop them taking their course? If we are, then we should question our own motives within the evolutionary process of thousand of years.
If you think the US did not interfere in this, you’re overlooking what media and new media is doing to encourage these Hoomans and Kamrans to come out and shout for Mousavi – asking them for reporting and video. They are exploiting these Iranians of course, and I don’t feel sorry for them at all when the bullets fly.
Pouya, you were not dramatic enough. Ahmadinejad is sepah pasdaran. If he wants to, he can raise an army of supporters the likes of which have not been seen. Then these foofooli types who are coming out for dokhtar baazi will see what’s what.
Pouya,
Can you please tell us how Saudis are reacting to the spectacle in Iran? They usually enjoy it when Iranians are having any internal turmoil.
How many people do you think support Ahmadinejad in Iran? I realise that in wealthy North Tehran they can’t see beyond his 5 dollar haircut and cheap jacket, but surely most everywhere else where people don’t drive Mercedes he should have a decent following? He is very critical of Rafsanjani and others like him that have robbed the country. I watched the debates just a few days ago and my jaw dropped when I heard the critical things A’jad was saying. Ofcourse this could have just been all rehearsed for the media.. I dunno. But if you listen to BIKAR Irooni folks on their “blogs” they will make out like every single last supporter has to be “bought” with oranges and potatoes.. and that no-one sees eye to eye with him or support him without some kind of payout. Heck.. I voted for him and I wasn’t paid anything! I just like the guy.. so sue me.
DO you remember when Arash said Israel never cracks down on itz citizens? The fatty has such litle knowledge of the country he supports its astounding:
“Additionally, the Israeli crackdown hit hard at the March launch of the Arab League-sponsored year of Jerusalem as capital of Arab culture for 2009 (the event was postponed in January due to the large-scale Israeli military operation in Gaza). Rafiq Husseini, a resident of East Jerusalem and a senior advisor to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, heads the committee in charge of organizing the activities. The main event was in Bethlehem, due to the ban on PA activities in Jerusalem. The Israeli national police and border police stopped at least eight related events that were organized in Jerusalem, including the release of balloons into the air, the distribution of T-shirts, a soccer match and a visit of students to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. The students were waving Palestinian flags and about 20 persons were detained.”
to kiarash 25000,000 support him , so do I ….so sue me. hahah
Change for the poor means food and jobs, not a relaxed dress code or mixed recreation…Politics in Iran is a lot more about class war than religion
Financial Times Editorial, June 15 2009
There is hardly any election, in which the White House has a significant stake, where the electoral defeat of the pro-US candidate is not denounced as illegitimate by the entire political and mass media elite. In the most recent period, the White House and its camp followers cried foul following the free (and monitored) elections in Venezuela and Gaza, while joyously fabricating an ‘electoral success’ in Lebanon despite the fact that the Hezbollah-led coalition received over 53% of the vote.
The recently concluded, June 12, 2009 elections in Iran are a classic case: The incumbent nationalist-populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (MA) received 63.3% of the vote (or 24.5 million votes), while the leading Western-backed liberal opposition candidate Hossein Mousavi (HM) received 34.2% or (3.2 million votes). Iran’s presidential election drew a record turnout of more than 80% of the electorate, including an unprecedented overseas vote of 234,812, in which HM won 111,792 to MA’s 78,300. The opposition led by HM did not accept their defeat and organized a series of mass demonstrations that turned violent, resulting in the burning and destruction of automobiles, banks, public building and armed confrontations with the police and other authorities. Almost the entire spectrum of Western opinion makers, including all the major electronic and print media, the major liberal, radical, libertarian and conservative web-sites, echoed the opposition’s claim of rampant election fraud. Neo-conservatives, libertarian conservatives and Trotskyites joined the Zionists in hailing the opposition protestors as the advance guard of a democratic revolution. Democrats and Republicans condemned the incumbent regime, refused to recognize the result of the vote and praised the demonstrators’ efforts to overturn the electoral outcome. The New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, the Israeli Foreign Office and the entire leadership of the Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations called for harsher sanctions against Iran and announced Obama’s proposed dialogue with Iran as ‘dead in the water’.
http://www.countercurrents.org/petras200609.htm
Recent events suggest that political leaders in Europe, and even some in Washington, do not accept the Zionist-mass media line of ‘stolen elections’. The White House has not suspended its offer of negotiations with the newly re-elected government but has focused rather on the repression of the opposition protesters (and not the vote count). Likewise, the 27 nation European Union expressed ‘serious concern about violence’ and called for the “aspirations of the Iranian people to be achieved through peaceful means and that freedom of expression be respected†(Financial Times June 16, 2009 p.4). Except for Sarkozy of France, no EU leader has questioned the outcome of the voting.
The wild card in the aftermath of the elections is the Israeli response: Netanyahu has signaled to his American Zionist followers that they should use the hoax of ‘electoral fraud’ to exert maximum pressure on the Obama regime to end all plans to meet with the newly re-elected Ahmadinejad regime.
Paradoxically, US commentators (left, right and center) who bought into the electoral fraud hoax are inadvertently providing Netanyahu and his American followers with the arguments and fabrications: Where they see religious wars, we see class wars; where they see electoral fraud, we see imperial destabilization.
Yay for the imperial gaze. All this headline video of Iranians throwing rocks and shouting slogans, not to mention the number of subscribers to facebook/twitter groups is translating into what exactly? Americans feeling so kind and supportive. This nation, even under the new president, is responsible for dead civilians, many of them children. Why didn’t anyone want to help then? Speak out? Write resolutions in congress to sympathize then?
I don’t trust this coverage or the motivation behind it. Call me jaded, but I never really thought Americans cared so much about Iranian freedom and democracy. It’s all so convenient.
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