Recently in Iran Category

Iran's jihad against Israel escalates in an age of weak and supine Western leadership and rising antisemitism in Europe and the U.S. -- a consequence of the increasing Muslim presence. "Israel says Iran behind India, Georgia attacks," from by Dan Williams for Reuters, February 13 (thanks to Joseph Zaalishvili):

JERUSALEM | Mon Feb 13, 2012 10:57am EST (Reuters) - Israel accused arch-enemies Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah of being behind twin bomb attacks that targeted embassy staff in India and Georgia on Monday, wounding four people.

Tehran denied involvement in the strike, which has amplified tensions between two countries at loggerheads over Iran's contested nuclear program. Hezbollah, the powerful Shi'ite Muslim movement in neighboring Lebanon, declined comment.

Police in the Indian capital New Delhi said a bomb wrecked a car carrying the wife of the Israeli Defence attache as she was going to pick up her children from school. She needed surgery to remove shrapnel but her life was not in danger, officials said.

Three others suffered lesser injuries in the same blast. Israeli officials said an attempt to bomb an embassy car in the Georgian capital Tbilisi had failed and the device was defused.

Israel had put its foreign missions on high alert ahead of the anniversary of the February 12, 2008 assassination in Syria of the military mastermind of Hezbollah, Imad Moughniyeh -- an attack blamed on the Jewish state.

Israel is also believed to be locked in a wider covert war with Iran, whose nuclear program has been beset by sabotage, including the unclaimed killings of several Iranian nuclear scientists, most recently in January.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to blame both Iran and Hezbollah, accusing them of responsibility for a string of recent attempted attacks in countries as far apart as Thailand and Azerbaijan.

"Iran and its proxy Hezbollah are behind each of these attacks," said Netanyahu. "We will continue to take strong and systematic, yet patient, action against the international terrorism that originates in Iran."

Iran's ambassador to India denied that his government had anything to do with the attack on the New Delhi embassy.

"Any terrorist attack is condemned (by Iran) and we strongly reject the untrue comments by an Israeli official," Mehdi Nabizadeh was quoted as saying by IRNA. "These accusations are untrue and sheer lies, like previous times."...

Small boats with large warheads. Call it "Operation Death Dinghy." "U.S. Navy: Iran prepares suicide bomb boats in Gulf," from Reuters, February 12:

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Iran has built up its naval forces in the Gulf and prepared boats that could be used in suicide attacks, but the U.S. Navy can prevent it from blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the commander of U.S. naval forces in the region said on Sunday.

Iran has made a series of threats in recent weeks to disrupt shipping in the Gulf or strike U.S. forces in retaliation if its oil trade is shut down by sanctions, or if its disputed nuclear programme comes under attack.

"They have increased the number of submarines ... they increased the number of fast attack craft," Vice Admiral Mark Fox told reporters. "Some of the small boats have been outfitted with a large warhead that could be used as a suicide explosive device. The Iranians have a large mine inventory."

"We have watched with interest their development of long range rockets and short, medium and long range ballistic missiles and of course ... the development of their nuclear programme," Fox, who heads the U.S. Fifth Fleet, said at a briefing on the fleet's base in the Gulf state of Bahrain.

Iran now has 10 small submarines, he said.

Military experts say the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet patrolling the Gulf - which always has at least one giant supercarrier accompanied by scores of jets and a fleet of frigates and destroyers - is overwhelmingly more powerful than Iran's navy.

But ever since al Qaeda suicide bombers in a small boat killed 17 sailors on board the destroyer U.S.S. Cole in a port in Yemen in 1996, Washington has been wary of the vulnerability of its huge battleships to bomb attacks by small enemy craft.

Asked whether the U.S. Navy was prepared for an attack or other trouble in the Gulf, Fox said: "We are very vigilant, we have built a wide range of options to give the president and we are ready... What if it happened tonight? We are ready today."

Iranian officials have threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, the outlet to the Gulf through which nearly all of the Middle East's oil sails.

Asked if he took Iran's threats seriously, Fox Said: "Could they make like extremely difficult for us? Yes they could. If we did nothing and they were able to operate without being inhibited, yeah they could close it, but I can't see that we would ever be in that position."

He added that diplomacy should be given priority in resolving the tension.

"So when you hear discussion about all this overheated rhetoric from Iran we really believe that the best way to handle this is with diplomacy... I am absolutely convinced that is the way to go. It is our job to be prepared. We are vigilant."

Contacts between the U.S. Navy and Iranian craft in the Gulf region were routine, Fox said, referring to cases where his sailors helped Iranian ships that were in distress or threatened by pirates.

In addition to commanding the Fifth Fleet, Fox is also the commander of a multinational naval task force charged with ensuring Gulf shipping routes stay open. Although most of its firepower is American, the task force also includes other Western countries and the Gulf Arab states.

A new angle for conspiracy paranoia is born: "Always be wary of infiltration by the compromisers in a resistance organization, which will gradually weaken it." If the agreement with Fatah crashes and burns, it could set up a purge within Hamas. "Iran warns Hamas against any 'compromise' with Israel," from Agence France-Presse, February 12:

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Sunday warned the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against any "compromise" in its fight against Tehran's nemesis Israel, his official website reported.

"Always be wary of infiltration by the compromisers in a resistance organization, which will gradually weaken it," Khamenei told the visiting Hamas Gaza prime minister Ismail Haniya, according to the leader.ir website.

"We have no doubt about your resistance and that of many of your brothers, and the people only have this expectation of you," said Khamenei, reaffirming that Iran "will always be alongside the Palestinian resistance."

Khamenei's comments come as divisions within Hamas have emerged on a possible overhaul of the organisation's strategy.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal signed an agreement with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas earlier this month placing Abbas at the head of an interim government charged with organising elections later this year.

The agreement struck by Meshaal's foreign-based leadership with Abbas's Fatah faction has run into serious opposition from Hamas members inside the Gaza Strip, which the movement has controlled since ousting the president's loyalists in 2007.

In November, Meshaal called for "peaceful popular resistance," which would respresent a shift in the movement away from armed struggle.

He also expressed support for the establishment of a Palestinian state on territories occupied in 1967 in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem as its capital.

Haniya was quoted as telling Khamenei that the goal of Hamas remained "freedom of all the Palestinian land from the (Mediterranean) sea to the (Jordan) river, the refusal of peace talks and the Islamic character of the Palestinian struggle."....

Will the Islamophobia never end?

"Persecution of Christians soars in Iran," by Michael Carl for WND, February 12:

Reports coming out of Iran say persecution of Christians is only growing more bold and brazen, as Iranian authorities once again raided a house church – this time in Shiraz – and arrested between 6 to 10 members of the congregation.

The detainees are being held in an undisclosed location.

Jihad Watch publisher Robert Spencer says that the Iranians don’t know that they’re doing the very thing that will produce more Christians.

“They don’t know that Christianity grows amid persecution,” Spencer said. “Islam has expanded through violence and intimidation, so it isn’t at all surprising that they’d resort to it again.”

Clare Lopez, a senior fellow with the Center for Security Policy agrees, speculating that if the Iranian mullahs know persecution grows the Christian church, they don’t care. They’re following their sworn duty as Muslims.

“The issue has little to do with perceptions of how Christianity might respond,” Lopez said, “but rather with the obligation under Islamic doctrine to put and keep dhimmis in their ‘place’ within Muslim society.

“The forces of Shariah Islam are in the ascendant all over the Middle East these days,” Lopez continued, “and with the new-found sense of empowerment combined with what is perceived as Western complicity and weakness in the face of that situation, it is to be expected that all religious minorities, but especially Christians and Jews, increasingly will feel the brutality of Islamic supremecism.”

Lopez says Americans need to remember that Islam doesn’t focus on “Western” values and political ideas.

“Remember, pluralism and tolerance are totally Western ideas, completely foreign to Islam and certainly the Middle East,” Lopez said. “Recall that Persian history, aside from the brief interlude of the Pahlavi dynasty in the 20th Century, was one of dynasty, jihad and vicious anti-Semitism.

“Islam is supremacist, and whenever it feels the ability to dominate and suppress non-Muslims, that is what will occur,” Lopez said, “which is completely in accord with the Pact of Umar and Islamic law on treatment of ‘People of the Book.’ This is from Sura 9.29, the Sura of the Sword.

“In reality, what we are seeing now is the ‘default position’ of Islam,” Lopez added....

Iran is turning into North Korea, increasingly showing itself willing to trade the hunger and poverty of its people for the sake of the single-minded pursuit of a military advantage. As for the West, every time an announcement along these lines comes out, the specter of an Iranian nuclear test looms larger, though Iran will likely also go the North Korean route and detonate the bomb, let the world put two and two together for a bit, and then make a triumphant announcement.

The sense of urgency over the Ayatollah-Bomb (the other "A" in "A-bomb") has greatly intensified since last fall, but we would not be where we are if this sense of urgency had been present much earlier.

"Ahmadinejad: Major nuclear announcement expected within days," from CNN, February 11:

(CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Saturday that the nation will reveal "several major achievements in the nuclear domain" within days, state media reported.

Ahmadinejad did not offer details during his announcement at a rally to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

But he slammed "hegemonic powers," accusing them of pressuring the nation on the nuclear front.

In the near future, Iran's nuclear demands will be met by the nation's scientists, Ahmadinejad said at the Tehran event broadcast on Press TV

"Today you see that the Iranian nation has become nuclear and can supply many of its demands," he said. "And God willing, in next few days, the whole world will witness the inauguration of several major achievements in the nuclear domain.

The news comes amid heightened tension between Iran and the West over its nuclear program.

The West believes Tehran may be trying to develop nuclear weapons, but Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is solely for civilian energy production.

Tensions hit a boiling point weeks ago when Iran conducted military exercises in the Persian Gulf after threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping lane for oil.

Iran's threat followed tough sanctions from Western nations aimed at stopping its suspected nuclear weapons program.

Once again, their attempt at showing who's boss is ultimately a display of weakness. There have been other recent actions against house churches, and if this is the "national security threat" they need to distract themselves with while committing economic suicide over their nuclear program, that speaks volumes. Of course, the "security" angle is ultimately a pretense for enforcing Sharia's own denial of freedom of conscience; apostasy from Islam is a "security" crime against Sharia.

In either case, the mighty Islamic Republic shows itself to be insecure and unstable in its reaction to ten people praying in a private home. "Ten Iranian Christians arrested at a prayer meeting," from Asia News, February 10:

Tehran (AsiaNews/Agencies) – More Christians are arrested in Iran. On Wednesday, plainclothes agents raided a house and arrested 10 people who had gathered for prayer service. All 10 detainees were transferred to an unknown location. The authorities refused to give the families any information in this regard.

Although precise details are still not available, Mohabat News reported that a man called Mojtaba Hosseini, 23, was among the people arrested. He had been arrested on 11 May 2008 with eight other people on charges of converting to Christianity. Security officials had asked him to renounce his faith and collaborate with the Intelligence office.

Mohabat News notes that the latest incident is part of a crackdown against Iran’s tiny Christian community. Converts are especially targeted.

The authorities have also forcibly closed churches where services are held in Persian (Farsi), Iran’s national language. In other churches, the Intelligence Ministry imposed the requirement of keeping out Farsi-speaking people

For this reason, Christian converts are forced to meet in small numbers in private homes. For the authorities, they are tools and spies for the West.

As we have jokingly suggested for other such cases, someone should also leak the information to the Iranians that a man of Jewish background has entered the country and has a habit of joining in "wherever two or three are gathered" in such settings. The headlines, again, would be priceless: "Ayatollahs desperate to find Jesus."

More on this story. "'Iran must attack Israel by 2014'," from the Jerusalem Post, February 9 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's strategist provided the legal and religious justification for the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people, in a document published on conservative Farsi website Alef. Reports of the document began to circulate the internet this week.

The document, written by strategy specialist Alireza Forghani, outlined the reasons why, "In the name of Allah, Iran must attack Israel by 2014."

Claiming to only represent the personal opinion of its author, and not the Iranian government, the doctrine was published on a website believed to have close ties with the Ayatollah.

Forghani called the Jewish state a "cancerous tumor for the Middle East" and reminded his readers that "All our troubles are due to Israel!"

"Every Muslim is obliged to equip himself against Israel," he urged, reasoning that if the Muslim world does not attack Israel in the near future, "the opportunity could be lost and it may not be possible to stop them."

The document explained that the war against Israel must be carried out in the name of "defensive jihad" - or the protecting of Islam against aggressors "who want to gain domination over the Muslims and kill them."

It also clarified that although Israel had yet to strike Iran, its occupation of Palestinian lands already justifies an attack as Islam dictates that "the political borders [of the world] cannot divide Muslims and the earth is divided into two parts - Muslim countries and non-Muslim countries."

Forghani pointed out that Israel is the only country in the world with a Jewish majority, using the findings of the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics's last consensus for veracity.

He posited that since Israel requires US and western support in order to attack Iran, the latter should take advantage of western "passiveness" to "wipe out Israel."

The document also provides a "concise description of mid- and long-range ballistic missiles that can target territories of this regional cancerous tumor" and destroy Israel in "less than nine minutes."

Priorities: this is actually the substance of discussions in the halls of government within Iran. The reasoning is that Superman and Spiderman help free people from "oppression." The Simpsons join Barbie on the list in the latest crackdown. Duff-Man is heartbroken.

"Report: Simpson Dolls Join Barbie on Iran Ban List," by Nasser Karimi for the Associated Press, February 6:

An Iranian government-affiliated agency has banned dolls of the Simpsons cartoon characters, who join Barbie and others on a toy blacklist, an independent newspaper reported on Monday.

The report said that the Simpsons were banned to avoid the promotion of Western culture. But Superman and Spiderman were allowed, because they helped the "oppressed."

"We do not want to promote this cartoon by importing the toys," Shargh daily quoted Mohammad Hossein Farjoo, secretary of policymaking at the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, as saying.

He did not elaborate on what was wrong with the Simpsons specifically. But he noted that any doll on which genitals are distinguishable, as well as dolls of adults, are banned. So were toys with speakers that blare out the voices of Western singers, or toy kitchen sets that include glasses for drinking alcoholic beverages.

Farjoo said however that dolls of Spiderman and Superman were authorized for sale. "They help oppressed people and they have a positive stance," he said. The agency is the same that called Barbie dolls a "Trojan horse" in 1996. In January, police said they closed down dozens of toy shops for selling Barbies....

Once again, one may note the striking uniformity of Islamic antisemitism in places far removed from one another. So, did these guys call each other? "Ayatollah: Kill all Jews, annihilate Israel," by Reza Khalili for World Net Daily February 5:

The Iranian government, through a website proxy, has laid out the legal and religious justification for the destruction of Israel and the slaughter of its people.

The doctrine includes wiping out Israeli assets and Jewish people worldwide.

Calling Israel a danger to Islam, the conservative website Alef, with ties to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the opportunity must not be lost to remove “this corrupting material. It is a ‘jurisprudential justification” to kill all the Jews and annihilate Israel, and in that, the Islamic government of Iran must take the helm.”

The article, written by Alireza Forghani, a conservative analyst and a strategy specialist in Khamenei’s camp, now is being run on most state-owned conservative sites, including the Revolutionary Guards’ Fars News Agency, showing that the regime endorses this doctrine.

Because Israel is going to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, Iran is justified in launching a pre-emptive, cataclysmic attack against the Jewish state, the doctrine argues. [...]

On Friday, in a major speech at prayers, Khamenei announced that Iran will support any nation or group that attacks the “cancerous tumor” of Israel. Though his statement was seen by some in the West as fluff, there is substance behind it. [...]

The commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Brig. Gen. Seyyed Mehdi Farahi, stated in August that the Safir missile, which is capable of transporting a satellite into space, can easily be launched parallel to the earth’s orbit, which will transform it into an intercontinental ballistic missile. Western analysts didn’t believe this would happen until 2015. Historically, orbiting a satellite is the criterion for crediting a nation with ICBM capability.

Forghani details the Islamic duty of jihad as laid out in the Quran for the sake of Allah and states that “primary jihad,” according to some Shiite jurists, can only occur when the Hidden Imam, the Shiites’ 12th Imam Mahdi, returns. Shiites believe Mahdi’’s return will usher in Armageddon.

In the absence of the hidden Imam, Forghani says, “defensive jihad” could certainly take place when Islam is threatened, and Muslims must defend Islam and kill their enemies. To justify such action, Alef quotes the Shiites’ first imam, Ali, who stated “Waging war against the enemies with whom war is inevitable and there is a strong possibility that in near future they will attack Muslims is a must and the duty of Muslims.”

The article then quotes the Quran (Albaghara 2:191-193): “And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution [of Muslims] is worse than slaughter [of non-believers] … and fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah.”

It is the duty for all Muslims to participate in this defensive jihad, Forghani says. A fatwa by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini made it clear that any political domination by infidels over Muslims authorizes Muslims to defend Islam by all means. Iran now has the ICBM means to deliver destruction on Israel and soon will have nuclear warheads for those missiles. [...]

Under this pre-emptive defensive doctrine, several Ground Zero points of Israel must be destroyed and its people annihilated. Forghani cites the last census by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics that shows Israel has a population of 7.5 million citizens of which a majority of 5.7 million are Jewish. Then it breaks down the districts with the highest concentration of Jewish people, indicating that three cities, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, contain over 60 percent of the Jewish population that Iran could target with its Shahab 3 ballistic missiles, killing all its inhabitants....

Does anyone really still believe this is about the peaceful generation of electricity? There are not only the secrecy and subterfuge to consider, but Iran's willingness to commit economic suicide to stay the course in its nuclear program, ultimately indifferent to the suffering of its people. The ends justify the means, and the goal is not about powering toaster ovens in Kermanshah. "Iran says will attack any country used to strike its soil," from Reuters, February 5:

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran will attack any country whose territory is used by "enemies" of the Islamic state to launch a military strike against its soil, the deputy head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards told the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday.

"Any spot used by the enemy for hostile operations against Iran, will be subjected to retaliatory aggression by our armed forces," Hossein Salami said, during military maneuvers.

The Revolutionary Guards began the two-day ground exercises on Saturday as a show of military might as tension rises between Tehran and the West over Iran's disputed nuclear program.

Iranian media said it was a small-scale exercise in southern Iran.

The United States and Israel, Iran's arch enemies, have not ruled out a military strike against the country if diplomacy fails to resolve the standoff. Iran says its nuclear program is purely peaceful, rather than aimed at developing weapons.

Iran has warned that its response to any such strike will be "painful," threatening to target Israel, and U.S. bases in the Gulf, along with closing the vital oil shipping route of the Strait of Hormuz.

Clearly he must have meant, "Allah’s promises will be delivered and the Misunderstanders of Islam, pushing a twisted, hijacked version of what is actually a beautiful and peaceful religion, will be victorious." At least that's what all the learned analysts and Islamic spokesmen in the West would have you believe.

"Iran warns world of coming great event," by Reza Kahlili for World Net Daily, February 3 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Amid crippling sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, Iran is continuing to prepare itself for war against the West, and now is warning of a coming great event.

“In light of the realization of the divine promise by almighty God, the Zionists and the Great Satan (America) will soon be defeated,” Ayatollah Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader, is warning.

Khamenei, speaking to hundreds of youths from more than 70 countries attending a world conference on the Arab Spring just days ago, told a cheering crowd in Tehran that “Allah’s promises will be delivered and Islam will be victorious.”

The countries represented included Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Palestine and Tunisia, all of which have been involved in the Arab Spring.

In his remarks, Khamenei advised the youths to remain vigilant, stating that the Islamic awakening in the region has delivered several blows to the enemies of Islam and that all Muslims, despite their own historical and social differences, remain united in opposing the “evil hegemony of the Zionists and the Americans.”

Khamenei then claimed the current century as the century of Islam and promised that human history is on the verge of a great event and that soon the world will realize the power of Allah.

Many clerics in Iran have stated that Khamenei is the deputy of the last Islamic messiah on earth and that obedience to him is necessary for the final glorification of Islam.

Khamenei has been heard to say that the coming of the last Islamic Messiah, the Shiites’ 12th Imam Mahdi, is near and that specific actions need to be taken to protect the Islamic regime for upcoming events.

Mahdi, according to Shiite belief, will reappear at the time of Armageddon. Selected forces within the Revolutionary Guards and Basij reportedly have been trained under a task force called “Soldiers of Imam Mahdi” and they will bear the responsibility of security and protecting the regime against uprisings. Many in the Guards and Basij have been told that the 12th Imam is on earth, facilitated the victory of Hezbollah over Israel in the 2006 war and soon will announce publicly his presence after the needed environment is created....

This report shows again that the supposed distinction between "Jews" and "Zionists" is strictly for cosmetic purposes. Jews are Jews, and infidels are infidels. "Exclusive: Israel Warns US Jews: Iran Could Strike Here," by Richard Esposito for ABC News, February 3:

Israeli facilities in North America -- and around the world -- are on high alert, according to an internal security document obtained by ABC News that predicted the threat from Iran against Jewish targets will increase.

"We predict that the threat on our sites around the world will increase … on both our guarded sites and 'soft' sites," stated a letter circulated by the head of security for the Consul General for the Mid-Atlantic States, Eliran Avitan. Guarded sites refers to government facilities like embassies and consulates, while 'soft sites' means Jewish synagogues, and schools, as well as community centers like the one hit by a terrorist bombing in Buenos Aires in 1994 that killed 85 people.

The head of Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, told an audience at a closed forum in Tel Aviv recently that Iran is trying to hit Israeli targets because of what it believes are Israeli attacks on it nuclear scientists. Yoram Cohen said that Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the same militant wing of the government linked to the recent alleged plot against the Saudi ambassador to the U.S., is working tirelessly to attack Israeli and Jewish targets abroad in order to deter Israel.

Local and regional law enforcement and intelligence officials in U.S. and Canadian cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Toronto have been monitoring the situation closely for several weeks, and have stepped up patrols at Israeli government locations and Jewish cultural and religious institutions. They have issued awareness bulletins reminding officers to stay vigilant.

Federal officials in those cities told ABC News that they have also increased their efforts to watch for any threat stream pointing to an imminent attack on either Israeli facilities, Jewish cultural or religious institutions or other "soft targets."

"When there is posturing like this, we always pay extra attention to any threat streams," one federal official said.

"The thwarted assassination plot of a Saudi official in Washington, D.C., a couple of months ago was an important data point," added the official, "in that it showed at least parts of the Iranian establishment were aware of the intended event and were not concerned about inevitable collateral damage to U.S. citizens had they carried out an assassination plot on American soil."

"That was an eye opener, showing that they did not care about any collateral damage," the federal official said....

All totalitarian states have an edge of comic-opera absurdity, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is certainly no different. "Cardboard cut-out Ayatollah Khomeini tours Tehran," from the BBC, February 3 (thanks to David):

As the countdown to the 33rd anniversary of Iran's Islamic revolution gets under way, a cardboard cut-out version of the revolution's founder has gone on a tour of the capital city, Tehran.

The idea was to re-enact the first moments of Ayatollah Khomeini's arrival back in the country after exile in Paris.

But within a short time jokes about the cut-out began circulating on social networking sites.

It's Friday afternoon, and as always, the devil cannot endure to be mocked. So let's have a few jokes here as well -- maybe a caption contest is in order...

Regardless of the official reasons for her imprisonment, this is about apostasy, and she will almost certainly be hounded for her entire time in prison to recant her conversion to Christianity, as has been the case with Youcef Nadarkhani. Also reminiscent of Nadarkhani's case is the mountain of charges into which her apostasy has been translated: "collaboration with foreign-dependent groups, broad anti-Islamic propaganda, deceiving citizens by formation of what is called a house church, insulting sacred figures and action against national security."

The government may attempt to make the case a matter of security rather than conscience, but they are not fooling anyone -- not even themselves. "Iranian Christian convert sentenced to two years in prison," from Mohabat News, January 29 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

A Christian convert whom security authorities arrested in her home was sentenced to two years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

According to reports sent by reporters of Iranian Christian news agency, Mohabat News, Ms. Leila Mohammadi, a Christian convert who resided east of Tehran, was sentenced to two years of imprisonment after enduring 5 months of uncertainty in notorious Evin prison.

Her trial was held on 18 January in Revolutionary Court in Moalem street where she was charged with "collaboration with foreign-dependent groups, broad anti-Islamic propaganda, deceiving citizens by formation of what is called a house church, Insulting sacred figures and action against national security." However she was acquitted of collaboration with foreign-dependent groups because the judge believed she had done that unintentionally. For the other charges she was sentenced to two years in prison and the ruling was delivered to her.

After the verdict was issued knowledgeable sources reported that her attorney announced that the case was sent to the high court of Tehran province to be reviewed.

Leila Mohammadi, was arrested after a number of security agents raided her home on 30 July, 2011 at 10:30 P.M. in Kianshahr town, east of Tehran. The agents thoroughly searched her house and also confiscated some of her belongings.

Ms. Mohammadi was taken to Horr custody center which belongs to the Iranian police forces. From there, she was transferred to Evin prison. On 28 December 2011, she was released on a bail of 150,000 USD after 74 days in harsh conditions in solitary confinement in Evin prison.

It is being reported that some other people were also arrested in relation to this case. According to this report, some days after Ms. Mohammadi's arrest, another person called Parviz G. was also arrested by security agents. Again, in this case they thoroughly searched Parviz G's house and seized his belongings including his computer. He was freed after spending three days in Evin custody center and being subjected to interrogations and signing a disclaimer. It seems that his arrest was related to evangelical activities of his wife "Masoumeh" who was linked to the case of Leila Mohammadi.

Did he forget he just said that? "Israel a ‘cancer’ and ‘will be cut’: Iran," from Zee News, February 3:

Tehran: Iran's Supreme Leader says his country will assist any nation or group that "confronts" Israel, describing it as a "cancer”.

The remarks by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came during a Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran broadcast on state television.

Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, says that Iran has helped the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas in their fights against Israel, and will aid others who do so.

He describes Israel as a "cancer" and says, "It will be cut."

Iran's Khamenei said the Islamic Republic would not yield to international pressure to abandon its nuclear course, threatening retaliation for sanctions aimed at Iran's oil exports.

"Threatening Iran and attacking Iran will harm America ... Sanctions will not have any impact on our determination to continue our nuclear course ... In response to threats of oil embargo and war, we have our own threats to impose at the right time," Khamenei told worshippers in a speech broadcast live on state television.

"I have no fear of saying that we will back and help any nation or group that wants to confront and fight against the Zionist regime (Israel)."...

Not to mention "a more hostile, more Islamic, more sensitive Middle East, one more [attuned] to public sentiment, less controlled by the regimes, and less susceptible to international influence."

There is aid and investment. We have leverage in Egypt, for example, that we do not appear to be using on any number of issues. "Some 200,000 missiles aimed consistently at Israel, top IDF officer says," by Amos Harel for Haaretz, February 2:

About 200,000 missiles are aimed at Israel at any given time, a top Israel Defense Forces officer said on Thursday, adding that Iran's ability to obtain nuclear weapons was solely dependent on the will of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

he remarks by Military Intelligence Chief Major General Aviv Kochavi came after IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said on Wednesday that the threats facing Israel have increased and intensified in recent years due to regional instability.

Speaking to the Herzliya Conference, Gantz said that Iran's nuclear program is a "global problem and a regional problem," adding that Tehran's attempts to acquire nuclear weapons must continue to be disrupted.

On Thursday, Kochavi, speaking at the opening session of the Herzliya Conference's closing day, spoke of the growing threats Israel was facing: "a more hostile, more Islamic, more sensitive Middle East, one more attune to public sentiment, less controlled by the regimes, and less susceptible to international influence."

The chief of military intelligence then indicated that about 200,000 missiles were aimed at Israel at any given time, adding, however, that "Israel's military deterrence is intact."

Referring to Israel's concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions, Kochavi presented a relatively tame estimation of a possible timeline en route to an Iranian atomic bomb, saying that the project depended more on the will of Iran's Supreme Leader than on any technological advancement.

"If Khamenei issues a command to achieve a first nuclear explosive device, we estimate it would take another year before that's achieved," the top IDF official said, adding that "if he asks to translate that ability to obtain a nuclear warhead, that would take another year or two."

Kochavi also reiterated the IDF estimate that Iran is in possession of more than 4 tons of low-grade enriched uranium as well as almost 100 kilograms of uranium enriched at 20%.

"If those are enriched more, to a 90% level, that would be enough for 4 atomic bombs," the IDF officer said.

The military intelligence chief added that the sanctions on Iran "are taking their toll. There's 16% unemployment, 24% annual inflation, and practically no growth," he said adding that "at this point the pressure isn’t leading Iran to a strategic shift."....

If the nuclear program were just about electricity, Iran would not be selling its people down the river. Nor would it be bending over backwards in secrecy and subterfuge just to annoy the West.

Those who think that financial sanctions or an oil embargo can stop the desire of Muslims to acquire nuclear weapons are simply wrong, or perhaps blind and deaf.

Iran continues to enrich uranium, creating components for a nuclear bomb. It threatens to destroy entire countries, and at the same time wants to prove to the world community and the International Atomic Energy Agency experts that it is not constructing a nuclear bomb.

The fate of not only the Middle East region but the entire world depends on how we evaluate this problem.

Immediately the question arises: if Iran is not making a nuclear bomb, why impose financial sanctions?

If we believe that the Iranian nuclear program has a military character, financial sanctions and an oil embargo will not stop it. They are very easy to bypass.

Iran shares borders with several countries with which it has if not beautiful relationships, then at least normal ones.

Turkey openly opposed the oil embargo. Azerbaijan, although it understood the threat of Iranian domination, could not resist this. Central Asian countries and other countries in the Caspian Basin, "known for their democracy," have well-established economic, financial, and military ties with Iran. These ties are not now being destroyed, as their destruction would not be in accord with how those countries understand their best interests.

President Barack Hussein Obama has been pretending that he is opposed to Iran's nuclear program. If the current U.S. administration really wanted to isolate the Iranian financial system or to impose an embargo on oil from Iran, the first area where it would try to negotiate would be with Iran's neighbors.

What kind of blockade may be involved, when no one knows whether imported Iranian crude oil is going to Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia? Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, Iran's neighbors on the Caspian basin, also have economic and political interests in the region. Iranian financial institutions have branches in all these countries. Iranian petrochemical dealers are among the top sellers who do business in these markets of petroleum stations.

For example, Iranian banker Saeid Balehtjoo has a senior Iranian bank in Azerbaijan, "Royal Bank." He also has a seat on the stock exchange of Turkmenistan. See also here. This bank has close contacts with terrorist organizations and their money launderers. I met Saeid Balehtjoo in Baku. He actively supported the jihad in the North Caucasus.

I can cite only one example of how the Iranians can circumvent financial sanctions from the West, but I think this will be enough to understand that this is possible. How can they avoid sanctions? It is very easy...

For example, a few months ago, the Georgian media actively discussed a big deal. The Iranian Central Bank wanted to purchase one of the prosperous banks in Georgia. After the U.S. administration announced that it may establish sanctions against the Iranian Central Bank, Georgian businessmen still maintained close ties with Iran, and others from Azerbaijan also engaged in this business. Of course, this could not have been done without the knowledge of each country's leadership. Many businessmen involved in the Caucasus deal with Iran but then conceal their activities. No action against on Iran's neighbors and no sanctions can bring about the desired result.

Portal izrus.co.il recently reported: "The head of Israeli military intelligence (AMAN), Major-General Aviv Kohavi, said today that Iran has a quantity of enriched uranium enough to produce four nuclear bombs, as well as 200,000 ballistic missiles. The Iranian threat to Israel is more obvious than ever, Kohavi said."

Will the sanctions stop the mullahs and Ahmadinejad? You be the judge...

A side note: On January 30, Georgia's President Saakashvili met with President Obama. It is interesting that now in Georgia a very topical theme is the construction of the mosque of Sultan Aziz. Saakashvili is trying to imitate Obama. For several years there has been a dispute over whether to build the mosque or not, but it was during Saakashvili's visit to America that the Georgian government declared that the mosque would be built. This is a Georgian version of the Ground Zero mega-mosque in the center of Batumi. Its construction shows the negative influence of Barack Hussein Obama on Georgian authorities.

No one can claim this one was taken out of context. This is from Iran's own English-language propaganda outlet. "'ME nations battling Zionist autocracy'," from PressTV, January 30:

Ayatollah Khamenei said the Zionists, US, and Western powers feel weak in the face of Islamic Awakening and “this feeling of weakness and defeat will grow by the day.”

The Leader said humanity is standing at a critical juncture and is on the verge of a “grand development.”

“Humanity has passed all material and ideological schools such as Marxism, Liberal Democracy and Secular Nationalism and is at the beginning of a new era,” the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei further urged the revolutionary youths to vigilantly guard the fruit of their efforts and not allow arrogant powers to “hijack” and “derail” their revolutions.

The Leader stressed that despite social, historical and geographical differences, Muslim nations are “everyone is against the satanic US and Israeli dominance and cannot tolerate the cancerous tumor of Israel.”

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with foreign guests participating in the "Islamic Awakening and Youth Conference" in Tehran. The two-day event kicked off on Sunday with some 15-hundred participants from 73 countries.

The conference mainly focuses on the pivotal role of the youth in the wave of Islamic Awakening that is sweeping through the Middle East and North Africa.

"Dear Muslim Brotherhood. I think you're swell. I hate infidels. Do you? [ ] Yes [ ] No."

"Tehran in 'constant contact' with Brotherhood, says Iranian FM," by Gomaa Hamdala for Al Masri Al Youm, January 31:

Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood maintain close contact, Iran's foreign minister has said in an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm.

"Tehran is in constant contact with the Muslim Brotherhood," said Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.

He said Iran is ready to promote its diplomatic relations with Egypt to the ambassadorial level, paricularly in light of the Muslim Brotherhood's recent ascendancy to power. The group's party, the Freedom and Justice Party, controls 43 percent of parliamentary seats.

Salehi told the paper that Iran would immediately send an ambassador to Cairo if Egypt agreed.

Some countries "are not happy about improving relations between Egypt and Iran," he said, adding that if Egypt, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia cooperated, all would benefit.

Egypt and Iran severed official ties in 1979, when Iran underwent an Islamic revolution and Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel. However, relations have improved since a popular uprising forced former President Hosni Mubarak from power early last year.

In a way, it's kind of a compliment. In his conspiracy paranoia, he is ascribing all kinds of foreknowledge to the West. For example, the Balfour Declaration on a Jewish homeland occurred in 1917. Oil prospecting in the Mideast gained momentum in the 1930s, with especially spectacular oil fields discovered in the late '30s. When the State of Israel was established, U.S. oil production was still going strong, and would not reach peak production for about another 22 years.

But if it was all about the oil, one would think that we in our nefarious conspiring would plunk a Jewish state where, you know, there's actually oil. "'West implanted Israel into ME to control oil'," from the Jerusalem Post, January 29:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that western powers had implanted the Israeli regime into the Middle East as part of a scheme to gain control of the region and its resources.

“Why did they install the Zionist regime (Israel)? To gain control over oil, as well as the popular and revolutionary uprisings in the Middle East,” Iranian news agency Press TV quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during a speech at a youth conference in Tehran.

“It is clear that this was a historical scheme,” he added.

Ahmadinejad's comments came as UN nuclear inspectors arrived in Iran on a visit aimed at shedding light on suspected military aspects of Tehran's atomic work.

Iran said on Sunday it was very optimistic over the visit, but warned it would curb cooperation if the experts became a "tool" for outside powers....

The moment they feel uncomfortable, that is what they will claim.

When we look closely at the current situation in the Middle East and the Iranian issue, we can see some parallels with the situation of the world community before the Second World War.

At that time, the Nazis, without any significant resistance, had seized power in Germany and Austria, and Italy was their Fascist ally. Islamic supremacists are now also easily seizing power in North Africa, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Then, and today, Turkey adopted a wait-and-see attitude. During World War II, Turkey signed a non-aggression treaty with Hitler, and only in 1945, when it was clear that the Nazis were defeated, did it declare war on Germany. Today, Turkey is friendly with Iran and the jihadists, as if she is waiting to share in Ahmadinejad's nuclear achievements.

The proof of Turkey's loyalty to Iran and the jihadists is the recent speech of the Prime Minister of that country, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, about the State of Israel. In addition to denouncing Israel for possessing a nuclear bomb, he accused Israel of state terrorism.

Also noteworthy were his words about the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Erdogan, foaming at the mouth, insisted before the global community that the killing and expulsion of 1.5-million Armenians in modern Turkey was not an act of genocide.

Long ago, after the Islamic revolution in Iran, its leaders chose the path of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, the Koran and Sharia. They are threatening to destroy the U.S., Israel and the Jewish people. If we compare the Ayatollah Khamenei and other leaders of Iran to Adolf Hitler and other Nazis, we will find similar words and phrases -- and not only similar words, but similar actions.

Many of us ask ourselves: when will the war start? Is it even going to begin? Maybe the international sanctions will help the world and civilization, and bring the Iranian mullahs and president to their senses, so that they will give up their nuclear ambitions. Maybe they will move jihad terrorist organizations to take up the path of the genuinely righteous, such that they will renounce violence.

Those were the same kinds of things that our ancestors were thinking in the thirties, when the Nazis gained power in Europe. And we all know what sacrifices humanity had to make in order to eradicate Nazism.

Do we really need to wait for the coming of the new Fuehrer, the caliph, to understand what is wrong with our analyses and hopes today?

It is certain that the leaders of Muslims worldwide, a significant number of them, are praying and working for one and the same goal: a jihad against the infidels. The Mufti of Jerusalem during World War II called for the destruction of Israel and Jews. Abu Mazen wants to expel Jews from the so-called east Jerusalem, and from Judea and Samaria. Muslim leaders around the world supported the Mufti and support the "Palestinians" now.

Once, at a regular meeting with the leader of the Jihad in the Caucasus, I asked the question: how are you going to win the war, when there are so many differences among various sects in Islam? He replied: "Allah loves diversity. We have our differences, but we all believe in Allah and the Prophet Muhammad and recognize Sharia, and we know that we are waiting for the terrible meal, if we abandon jihad." He was referring to the Koran's description of the people in hell being tortured with, among other things, food that is disgusting and painful to eat.

I hope that the administration of President Barack Hussein Obama will remember the story of Pearl Harbor: that slowness and hesitancy in the face of a regime that is willing to use brutal force, such as the Iranian regime, only plays into the hands of the enemy.

I tried to tell you. Or maybe Larijani is just a "fearmongering Islamophobe."

"Iranian leader: Egypt’s new parliament a step toward Islamic regime," from Al-Masry Al-Youm's Egypt Independent, January 26 (thanks to Wimpy):

The inauguration of Egypt's new parliament is an important step toward fulfilling public demands for the establishment of a regime based on Islam, said Ali Larijani, speaker of the Iranian parliament, in a letter on Wednesday. The letter was sent to Saad al-Katatny, People's Assembly speaker.

In the letter, Larijani extended his congratulations to Katatny and expressed pleasure that the latter had been elected as parliamentary speaker.

In the message, posted on Al-Alam channel online, Larijani also said he hoped that brotherly ties between the two countries would grow stronger.

Given the importance of parliamentary cooperation in the development of bilateral relations, Iran's parliament is ready to help promote parliamentary collaboration, Larijani said....

In November, Mojtaba Amani, director of the office for Iranian interests in Cairo, said he expected diplomatic relations between Cairo and Tehran to normalize after Egypt's parliamentary elections.

The toothless response from the West has not deterred the mullahs. So what now? The Europeans want to negotiate. They will do anything to avoid the war the Iranians are itching to provoke. And certainly another Wilsonian adventure would be as misguided and foredoomed as the last two. Still, something must be done. Iranian nuclear scientists should be careful getting into their cars. But not all that careful. "Iran to continue nuke program despite new sanctions," from MSNBC.com, January 23:

Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET: Hours after the European Union imposes an oil embargo and sanctions on Iran's central bank, France, Britain and Germany say they are willing to negotiate with Iran if it is ready to talk seriously about its nuclear program.

"We call on Iran's leadership immediately to suspend its sensitive nuclear activities and abide fully by its international obligations," the European countries say in a joint statement. "Until Iran comes to the table, we will be united behind strong measures to undermine the regime's ability to fund its nuclear program."

In response, the offices of Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issues the following statement, according to NBC News:

"We welcome today's decision by the European Union to ban imports of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products, freeze the assets of the Iranian central bank, and take additional action against Iran's energy, financial, and transport sectors."

Updated at 12 p.m. ET: Iran says a European Union decision Monday to impose new sanctions over its nuclear program is "psychological warfare," Reuters reports.

"... Imposing economic sanctions is illogical and unfair but will not stop our nation from obtaining its rights," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast is quoted as saying by state television, referring to Iran's nuclear energy ambitions.

Updated at 11 a.m. ET: Russia's Foreign Ministry says the European Union was wrong to impose an oil embargo on Iran over its controversial nuclear program, The Associated Press reports.

"It's apparent that in this case there is open pressure and diktat, aimed at 'punishing' Iran for uncooperative behavior. This is a deeply mistaken policy, as we have told our European partners more than once. Under pressure of this sort, Iran will not make any concessions or any corrections to its policies," the ministry says.

Updated at 9:45 a.m. ET: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised a European Union decision to place sanctions on Iranian oil exports, Reuters reports. "I think this is a step in the right direction," Netanyahu said at a meeting of his Likud faction in parliament. "For now, it is impossible to know what the result of these sanctions will be. Heavy and swift pressure is needed on Iran and the sanctions must be evaluated according to their results."...

At long last, a sense of urgency and of what is at stake has set in with regard to Iran's nuclear program. If Iran were really in it for the electricity, why would it waste time and money bending over backwards in secrecy and subterfuge? They would not commit economic suicide just to mess with Washington and Brussels. "EU bans Iran oil imports," by Laura Rozen for The Envoy, January 23:

The 27-member European Union voted Monday to ban imports of Iranian oil, and to sanction some transactions with Iran's Central Bank.

The action, passed at a foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, immediately bans EU member states from signing any new oil contracts with Iran, and orders the phasing out of existing contracts by July 1. The EU-bloc previously constituted the second largest customer for Iranian oil after China.

"Given the EU's serious and deepening concerns over the Iranian nuclear programme, the Council today broadened the EU's restrictive measures against that country," the European Union said in a statement (.pdf) announcing the action. "Today's decisions target the sources of finance for the nuclear programme, complementing already existing sanctions."

EU officials "also agreed to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank and ban trade in gold and other precious metals with the bank and state bodies," Reuters reported.

The development came days after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Iran to respond to a proposal for new international talks on curbing its nuclear program.

"We all are seeking clarity about the meaning behind Iran's public statements that they are willing to engage, but we have to see a seriousness and sincerity of purpose coming from them," Clinton said at a news conference with her German counterpart Guido Westerwelle at the State Department Friday.

Iran "can come back to the table, as we have consistently made clear to them, and address the nuclear program concerns that the international community rightly has or face increasing pressure and isolation," she said, adding: "I want to underscore we do not seek conflict."

A U.S. official briefed on the effort to execute the Iran oil sanctions told Yahoo News Sunday that the measures are being implemented as world demand for oil is going down, and thus should be able to be phased in without a spike in oil prices. But markets do not always act logically, he noted...

No, they pretty much act like a particularly easily alarmed squirrel.

Needless to say, this kind of conspiracy paranoia and nuclear weapons do not go together very well. "HIV created by West to enfeeble third world, claims Mahmoud Ahmadinejad," by Ahmad Vahdat for the Telegraph, January 18:

The radical Iranian leader added to his reputation for outlandish statements with the clam that African states were being false [sic] told that immoral behaviour was the source of epidemics.

His language seems like it would downplay the spread of the virus through heterosexual acts, which are the main vehicle for the spread of the HIV virus in Africa:

"Today there is this outstanding question that why so many killer viruses, including the HIV virus, have spread all over the world. Many so-called experts say the spread has come as a result of vices and immoralities but we see that in the centre of the places that these viruses have emerged these immoral acts have not been reported," he said. "Then how is it that at the same time in some African countries they find these viruses?

Sure. Nobody's spreading the virus through sexual activity of any kind. Just like he said there are no gay people in Iran. Is he saying there aren't any in Africa, either?

"It is obvious that the African countries must be plundered of their wealth and resources. The major powers and despots are behind the development of these diseases so they could then sell their drugs and medical equipment to the poor countries".

Iran¹s Health Minister Fatemeh Vahid Dastjerdi has also said that Iran¹s profit margin from its oil production is only five percent of its total sale price, whereas pharmaceutical firms¹ profits is 20 percent for each drug they sell.

President Ahmadinejad has previously said that Israel in its present form should be wiped off the face of the map and suggested that the September 11 attacks on the US were planned from within.

The devil cannot endure to be mocked, and predictably enough, Islamic supremacists are waxing indignant about this innocuous commercial.

You can click CC for captions. In this clip, some Israeli TV stars travel to Iran, thinly disguised as Muslim women, in order to find the fan they've heard they have there. While there, they encounter a Mossad agent who tells them that he watches their show on his tablet. One of the TV stars presses a button on the tablet, and boom! The Iranian nuclear plant behind them goes up in smoke.

Ha. I am sure it happened exactly this way.

Video thanks to Carl in Jerusalem, who has more on this here.

Taunting the weak. "U.S. drone that crashed in Iran goes miniature," by Thomas Erdbrink for the Washington Post, January 17 (thanks to Benedict):

TEHRAN — For the American government, the crash of the RQ-170 drone in Iran was an embarrassment. For the Iranian government, it was a propaganda victory.

And for at least one company, according to state radio, it could be a windfall.

An Iranian firm, seeking to capitalize on the frenzy that followed the crash of the drone — and American calls to have it returned — is now producing miniaturized toy versions of the craft. Most of the toys, which come in several colors and are made of Iranian plastic, have already been snapped up by Iranian government organizations, according to the group that manufactures them.

At least one model — a pink one — has been reserved for President Obama.

“He said he wanted it back, and we will send him one,” said Reza Kioumarsi, the head of cultural production at the Ayeh Art group....

Priorities. By banning Barbie and trying to foist a substitute toy on consumers, they have automatically made the Barbie doll that much more interesting to the public.

As always, Islamic morality policing is a cheap way for the government to look busy, shore up its credentials as a pious operation, and to remind the public who's boss, and that they are watching. "Iran cracks down on Barbie, plans toys of captured U.S. drone," by Mitra Amiri for Reuters, January 16:

TEHRAN — Iran’s morality police are cracking down on the sale of Barbie dolls to protect the public from what they see as pernicious western culture eroding Islamic values, shopkeepers said on Monday.

It's Skipper that's actually a Zionist agent, you know...

As the West imposes the toughest ever sanctions on Iran and tensions rise over its nuclear programme, inside the country the Barbie ban is part of what the government calls a “soft war” against decadent cultural influences.

“About three weeks ago they [the morality police] came to our shop, asking us to remove all the Barbies,” said a shopkeeper in a toy shop in northern Tehran.

Iran’s religious rulers first declared Barbie, made by U.S. company Mattel Inc, un-Islamic in 1996, citing its “destructive cultural and social consequences”. Despite the ban, the doll has until recently been openly on sale in Tehran shops.

The new order, issued around three weeks ago, forced shopkeepers to hide the leggy, busty blonde behind other toys as a way of meeting popular demand for the dolls while avoiding being closed down by the police.

A range of officially approved dolls launched in 2002 to counter demand for Barbie have not proven successful, merchants told Reuters.

The dolls named Sara, a female, and Dara, a male arrived in shops wearing a variety of traditional dress, with Sara fully respecting the rule that all women in Iran must obey in public, of covering their hair and wearing loose-fitting clothes.

“My daughter prefers Barbies. She says Sara and Dara are ugly and fat,” said Farnaz , a 38-year-old mother, adding that she could not find Barbie cartoon DVDs as she was told they were also banned from public sale.

Pointing to a doll covered in black long veil, a 40-year-old Tehran toy shop manager said: “We still sell Barbies but secretly and put these in the window to make the police think we are just selling these kinds of dolls.”

Iran has fought a running battle to purge pervasive western culture from the country since its Islamic revolution overthrew a western-backed king in 1979, enforcing Islamic dress codes, banning Western music and foreign satellite television.

Even Hillary Clinton has acknowledged that the Iranians want a bomb. They have already made their genocidal dreams abundantly clear. This nuclear scientist was part of a program that clearly is aspiring to murder of millions. Taking him out could have saved millions of lives.

"Santorum: US wrong to condemn Iran scientist death," by Thomas Beaumont in the Associated Press, January 14 (thanks to Wimpy):

GREENVILLE, S.C.—Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Saturday the U.S. was wrong to condemn the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist this week.

The Obama administration's public posture on the death Wednesday of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan does not reflect the hard line Santorum supports in keeping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, the former Pennsylvania senator said while campaigning in conservative upstate South Carolina.

"Our country condemned it. My feeling is we should have kept our mouth shut," Santorum told about 200 people packed into a popular breakfast diner in Greenville....

And while Santorum stresses values issues, he has also argued for a tough stand on Iran's nuclear capability. Responding to a question in Greenville, he said he supports missile strikes to stop its nuclear program, if Iran refuses to submit to inspections.

"If these are people who are developing a weapon to be used to either destroy the state of Israel or to spread terror -- a reign of terror -- around the world, we shouldn't be sitting on the sidelines and letting it happen," he said. "They cannot have a nuclear weapon, because you, in Greenville, will not be safe."...

Iranian leaders have repeatedly stated that the demise of Israel is imminent. Iran's intentions to build a nuclear bomb are now widely acknowledged. This nuclear scientist was aiding in the construction of weapons that could murder millions of innocent people. Iran clearly already considers itself at war with Israel and the United States, and the killing of this scientist was a defensive action in the war.

Ron Paul represents the voice of appeasement and willful blindness regarding the Iranian jihad.

(Video thanks to Wimpy.)

What would it mean? Nothing good.

If Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. would take all necessary measures to prevent this.

These words were discussed in almost all the meetings that I had with politicians, journalists and ordinary people during my recent week-long visit to Jerusalem in the State of Israel.

We all were so impressed by the statements of State Department and Pentagon officials who seemed for a time to have forgotten about the Iranian threat but were now apparently waking up to what might happen if Iran blocks the Strait and finds a loophole in U.S. and E.U. sanctions.

There is a view that the Iranians themselves may refuse to supply petroleum and petroleum products to these countries. As you know, Ahmadinejad is preparing Iran for a long period of complete international isolation, if sanctions can be enforced against Iran. Also, Iranian authorities have established excellent relations with some countries in the Caucasus, and unfortunately one of them is my homeland Georgia, which has a general non-visa policy with Iran, not to mention close economic relations, which came about in recent years.

Iran will compete with Turkey, but they also have common interests and enemies in the form of the State of Israel and the Kurdish rebels, against whom the military in these countries conduct joint military operations.

In 2012, a new railway connection, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, was built between Azerbaijan and Turkey. It runs through Georgia, changing the strategic balance in the region, and you will agree with me that the new balance is not in favor of the U.S. and the EU. For those who do not know that, I can further inform you that Azerbaijan shares borders with Iran. The Ayatollahs have always had a plan to swallow Azerbaijan, as the population of that country is Shi'ite, although currently there is no active jihad movement there. In addition, a large percentage of Iran's population is ethnic Azeris. As for Turkey, Erdogan with his anger at the West and program to destroy Turkish secularism is no less a threat than a terrorist and fanatic such as Ahmadinejad.

In addition, any increase in oil prices plays into the hands of jihadists and their financiers. They are very pleased to be investing more money in the business world in order to finance Jihad.

When I heard about the intentions of Ahmadinejad to block the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. and E.U. imposed sanctions against Iran, I was reminded of a meeting I attended in Grozny, Chechnya, in June or July 1998. The vice-premier of the Chechen Republic, Turpal Ali Atgiriyev, and people who were unknown to me were talking about the road linking Tbilisi, Itumkale and Grozny. Some guests were talking in Arabic, others in the Turkish language. Since Atgiriyev did not understand these languages, the ​​conversation was being translated into Russian.

I do not remember all the details, but I do remember one point. It was about the smuggling of goods produced in Islamic countries (Turkey, Iran, Saudi, Jordan, Pakistan) through Georgia to Chechnya, and from there to Russia and other European countries. I can only add that this road was funded by Osama bin Laden.

Despite the sanctions against Iran and its oil industry, Iran does not need to block the Strait of Hormuz. Presumably Ahmadinejad can simply raise the price of oil, bringing in extra dollars to sponsor Jihad. Europe cannot abandon oil. Iran always finds a loophole for the export of oil among friends and neighbors such as Russia, Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

A major problem posed by Iran is its nuclear program, which is still ongoing and poses a real threat to us all. When the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, the Clinton administration recognized it. The Obama administration is making contact with the "Muslim Brotherhood" in Egypt and recognizes the jihadists in Libya. Maybe they are waiting for the day when Iran finally creates a nuclear bomb to welcome Iran into the nuclear club. Israel is being advised to begin negotiations with those who want to wipe it off the face of the earth.

Remember when the pressure was on against Iran over its treatment of Pastor Nadarkhani for apostasy from Islam, and he was suddenly described by authorities as a traitor, Zionist, rapist, and brothel owner? How quickly that has evaporated again from the narrative. This began as an apostasy case, and it is continuing as such.

"Iran Pastor Nadarkhani Rejects Release Offer," by Stefan J. Bos for BosNewsLife, January 13 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has rejected an offer to be released from prison if he publicly acknowledges Islam's prophet Mohammed as "a messenger sent by God" well-informed Christians and rights activists said Friday, January 13.

Iranian authorities reportedly summoned lawyers for Pastor Nadarkhani to his home city of Rasht on December 30, to explain the deal. Local officials indicated they would release the pastor if he agreed to make the statement about Mohammed, Christians with close knowledge about the situation explained.

"However, Pastor Nadarkhani has refused to do so, and remains in prison awaiting a final decision on his case," confirmed advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) in a statement to BosNewsLife.

Christians said the pastor has made clear that making the demanded statement about Muhammed would amount to abandoning his faith in Jesus Christ.

Indeed. For one who believes Christianity's teachings about Jesus, there is nothing left for Muhammad to do except affirm or deny those teachings, and he denied them. Christianity's teachings about the divinity of Jesus clearly cannot be reconciled with Muhammad as a messenger of God who denied Jesus' divinity. It would be a case of God sending someone to deny Him.

Another source assisting the pastor told BosNewsLife there is concern about the renewed pressure on Nadarkhani, who faces execution for refusing to recant his Christian faith and return to Islam....

The regime does have a certain knack for taking hostages, and Iran is looking for all the leverage it can get against sanctions.

It is noteworthy that they have prosecuted him according to Qur'an 5:33: "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter."

"Iran sentences U.S.-Iranian man to death for spying," by Parisa Hafezi for Reuters, January 9:

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Court has sentenced an Iranian-American man to death for spying for the CIA, officials said on Monday, a move likely to aggravate U.S.-Iranian tensions already high because of Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

The United States denies that Amir Mirza Hekmati is a spy and has demanded his immediate release. The White House said it was trying to verify the report on his sentencing.

Other reports have noted that Hekmati is a former Marine, which the Iranians have seized upon in prosecuting him.

"If true, we strongly condemn such a verdict and will work with our partners to convey our condemnation to the Iranian government," said Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

Western nations have recently expanded punitive economic sanctions against Iran over suspicions it is trying to develop atomic bombs under the cover of a civilian atomic energy program. The Islamic Republic denies this.

But word from diplomatic sources in Vienna, headquarters of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, that Iran has begun enriching uranium in a mountain bunker protected from possible Western air strikes is likely to heat the atmosphere further.

"Amir Mirza Hekmati was sentenced to death...for cooperating with the hostile country America and spying for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)," the student news agency ISNA quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei as saying.

"The court found him Corrupt on the Earth and Mohareb (one who wages war on God). Hekmati can appeal to the Supreme Court."...

Worse yet, the likely consequence, if it is not already in the works, may be a Saudi nuclear program. A Wahhabi bomb, and a Sunni-Shi'ite nuclear arms race. "Israel preparing for nuclear Iran: report," from Agence France-Presse, January 9:

Israel is preparing for Iran to become a nuclear power and has accepted it may happen within a year, the London Times reported on Monday citing an Israeli security report.

The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) think-tank prepared scenarios for the day after an Iranian nuclear weapons test at the request of former Israeli ambassadors, intelligence officials and ex-military chiefs, the paper reported.

Israel has so far maintained it will do all within its power to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities, but has shifted its position following recent United Nations' reports, according to the Times.

One can't rule out an element of disinformation here, however.

The UN atomic agency said Monday that Iran is now enriching uranium at a new site in a hard-to-bomb mountain bunker, in a move set to stoke Western suspicions further that Tehran wants nuclear weapons.

INSS specialists including a former head of Israel's National Security Council and two former members of the prime minister's office conducted the simulation study in Tel Aviv last week.

If Iran does test a nuclear weapon, INSS predicts a profound shift in the Middle East power balance.

According to extracts of the report seen by the British publication, experts believe the US would propose a defence pact with Israel, but would urge it not to retaliate.

Russia would seek an alliance with the US to prevent nuclear proliferation in the region, although Saudi Arabia would likely pursue its own nuclear programme, the report concluded based on current policies.

INSS specialists believe that an Iranian test in January 2013 would follow increasingly provocative demands by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime, including the redrawing of its Iraqi borders and action against the vessels of the US Fifth Fleet.

"The simulation showed that Iran will not forgo nuclear weapons, but will attempt to use them to reach an agreement with the major powers that will improve its position," said a passage of the report published by the Times.

"The simulation showed that (the Israeli military option), or the threat of using it, would also be relevant following an Iranian nuclear test," it added....

"The State Department had said last month it was looking into 'very disturbing' allegations that Acosta was a participant in an alleged Iranian plot to launch cyber-attacks on sensitive US national security facilities."

"US orders expulsion of Venezuelan consul," by Jim Mannion for the Associated Press, January 8:

The United States has ordered the expulsion of Venezuela's consul general in Miami amid reports linking the diplomat to an alleged Iranian plot to target sensitive US facilities with cyber attacks, the US State Department said Sunday.

The US action comes as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was to kick off a Latin American tour in Caracas later Sunday.

In Caracas, President Hugo Chavez made no mention of the consul's expulsion in his Sunday radio and TV program but accused Washington of "inventing" Iranian plots to attack the United States from Latin American countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.

For the United States to say "no country should get close to Iran really is a laugh," Chavez said.

The Venezuelan embassy in Washington was notified Friday that Livia Acosta Noguera, the consul general in Miami, had been declared persona non grata and had until Tuesday to leave the country, said State Department spokesman William Ostick.

"In accordance with Article 23 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the department declared Ms Livia Acosta Noguera, Venezuelan consul general to Miami, to be persona non grata. As such, she must depart the United States by January 10," he said.

"We cannot comment on specific details behind the decision to declare Ms Acosta persona non grata at this time," he added in a statement.

The State Department had said last month it was looking into "very disturbing" allegations that Acosta was a participant in an alleged Iranian plot to launch cyber-attacks on sensitive US national security facilities.

The allegations were made in a documentary that aired on the Spanish-language television network Univision, which said Acosta was taped discussing the alleged plot with a Mexican computer expert who said he was among a group of students recruited for the plot.

The contacts reportedly took place in 2007 while Acosta was serving as a second secretary at the Venezuelan embassy in Mexico City.

An excerpt of one conversation has Acosta demanding information that the student, Juan Carlos Munoz Ledo, had passed on to Iranian diplomats about the locations of US nuclear power plants. She was quoted as later telling Munoz that she had passed the information to the head of Chavez's presidential security unit.

Univision said Munoz said he was recruited for the Iranian plot by a leftist professor at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, but then recruited other students to secretly videotape the Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats they met with.

According to Univision, the students then sent or personally turned over the material they gathered to US embassy officials in Mexico, the FBI, Pentagon and US lawmakers....

Here is yet more evidence of the authoritarian and coercive nature of Sharia, as well as its hostility to free thought and expression, although in this case the challenge is perceived as being more moral than political. Sharia Alert from the Misunderstanders of Islam Republic of Iran: "Iranian cleric calls Facebook 'un-Islamic', membership a 'sin,'" from DPA, January 7 (thanks to all who sent this in):

An Iranian ayatollah has said that the social networking service Facebook was un-Islamic and being a member of it a sin, the ISNA news agency reported Saturday.

In Iran, it is common for senior clerics to be asked about their stance on certain social issues and whether these issues are compatible with Islamic norms.

Their answers are regarded as a form of decree.

ISNA on Saturday broadcast coverage of the response of Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi-Golpaygani, a senior cleric, to the question about Facebook and Iranian membership in the social networking service.

"Basically, going to any website which propagates immoralities and could weaken the religious belief is un-Islamic and not allowed, and membership in it is therefore haram (a sin)," the ayatollah replied.

"Only the use of websites propagating religious criteria and not leading to any kind of ethical immoralities is of no problem," he added.

According to official figures released last October, 17 million Iranians have a Facebook account, despite heavy restrictions and filtering imposed by the government.

Due to the popularity of Facebook with younger generations, observers believe that the number of real Iranian Facebook users could be much higher than 17 million.

Iran has a population of 70 million, of which than 60 per cent is under the age of 30.

Over 5 million websites are reportedly blocked in Iran, but Iranians use proxy software and virtual private networks (VPN) to access them.

Iranian officials have, for over three decades, been waging what they call a "battle against the invasion of Western culture."

This has led to blockades of "immoral" internet sites and banned Western music and movies. However, pirated versions of those are easily available on the black market.

The country recently established a cyberpolice unit to better police the internet and even plans to introduce its own national internet, though this has been postponed several times.

All the better to monitor its citizens against thoughtcrime: "the residents of Iran must give their name along with their father's name, telephone number, address and national ID to log in to access internet."

The "Government Knows Best" mentality meets "Allah knows best." "Iran Begins Internet Crackdown, Preps Countrywide 'Halal' Intranet," by Ravi Mandalia for ITProPortal, January 7 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Just before the parliamentary elections, to be held in March, Iran has decided to strictly control web users in the country by bringing some draconian rules to be implemented in cybercafes besides preparing to introduce a national intranet. Residents of Iran are complaining that they are unable to connect to the Internet anonymously at Cyber Cafes in the country as government is creating a "censored" national intranet.

The government of Iran, on Wednesday, introduced a new rule under which the residents of Iran must give their name along with their father's name, telephone number, address and national ID to log in to access internet, reported UPI.

Besides these rules, the government is also conducting various tests for a new countrywide network which is aimed at "substituting services" which operates through the internet. This move has lead to fears that the country is planning to withdraw itself from global internet.

Iran's "Green Revolution" activists depended heavily on Twitter and other social networking services. This move would attempt to eliminate those means of criticism and organization.

In fact, just a week before the judiciary of Iran commented that the messages that are distributed through the social networks or e-mail asking for boycotting elections should be treated as "national security crimes".

This rivals North Korea. When you make any policy decision reminiscent of North Korea, you're probably doing something wrong:

The domestic Intranet of Iran will be called "halal" which means pure and once it is activated the country will be shutting global web access to the 23 million internet users in the country.

Best buds

I've been predicting this since at least 2006: the chief beneficiary of our misguided Wilsonian adventure in Iraq is Iran.

June 27, 2006: "Of course, Ahmadinejad may be jumping the gun a bit as far as that is concerned, but he is certainly doing all he can to bring into being a Shi'ite client state in Iraq."

September 13, 2006: "Here we see looming in Iraq the Shi'ite client state of Iran that the U.S. has unwittingly helped put into place with its short-sighted democracy project."

October 31, 2006: "Is al-Maliki on the road to creating the Shi'ite client state that the Iranians have been trying to foster in Iraq for quite some time now?"

February 11, 2007: "Iran continues its efforts to create a Shi'ite client state in Iraq."

June 10, 2008: "Or are U.S. troops the main obstacle to Iraq's becoming a full-fledged client state of Iran?"

November 12, 2008: "Very soon now the President of the United States and the President of Iran will sit down, without preconditions, and hash this out, and clear everything up before Iraq turns fully into the Shi'ite client state that the Iranians covet."

July 1, 2009: "Their goal of creating a Shi'ite client state is closer than ever to being realized."

July 30, 2009: "Was this what we have been fighting for in Iraq all these years? An Iranian Shi'ite client state in Baghdad?"

"Political Role for Militants Worsens Fault Lines in Iraq," by Jack Healy and Michael S. Schmidt for The New York Times, January 5:

BAGHDAD — It was one of the deadliest insurgent groups in Iraq in recent years, an Iranian-backed militia that bombed American military convoys and bases, assassinated dozens of Iraqi officials and tried to kidnap Americans even as the last soldiers withdrew.

But now the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is welcoming the militant group into Iraq’s political system, a move that could tilt the nation’s center of gravity closer to Iran. The government’s support for the militia, which only just swore off violence, has opened new sectarian fault lines in Iraq’s political crisis while potentially empowering Iran at a moment of rising military and economic tensions between Tehran and Washington.

The militant group, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, broke away from the fierce Shiite militia commanded by the anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr, who has strong ties to Tehran. The American military has long maintained that the group, led by a former spokesman for Mr. Sadr, Qais al-Khazali, was trained and financed by Iran’s elite Quds Force — something that Iran denies.

Since the American military withdrawal last month, Iraq has been convulsed with waves of attacks that have raised concerns about its political stability. On Thursday, bombings killed at least 68 people, including 44 Shiite pilgrims in a single attack in the southern deserts near Nasiriya. With that backdrop of violence, the Iraqi government can plausibly claim that its overtures to the group are an earnest attempt to make peace with a powerful armed foe while nudging the country closer to a much-needed national reconciliation.

Thousands of other militants, both Sunni and Shiite, have cut deals with the government to stop fighting, and few officials see a meaningful peace in Iraq that does not include reconciling with armed groups. On Thursday, Asaib Ahl al-Haq made another conciliatory gesture, saying it would release the body of a British bodyguard, Alan McMenemy, who was kidnapped in 2007 with four others, only one of whom was released alive.

Yet, critics worry that Mr. Maliki, facing fierce new challenges to his leadership from Sunnis and even his fellow Shiites, may now be making a cynical and shortsighted play for Asaib’s support. They say Mr. Maliki may use the group’s credentials as Shiite resistance fighters to divide challengers in his own Shiite coalition and weaken Mr. Sadr’s powerful bloc, which draws its political lifeblood from the Shiite underclass.

By doing so, Iraq’s government could embolden a militia with an almost nonexistent track record of peace while potentially handing Tehran greater influence in a country where the United States spent billions of dollars and lost nearly 4,500 American soldiers in nearly nine years of war.

“I think it is a dangerous step, this move by the government, to join with groups that do not believe in the peaceful political process,” said Osama al-Nujaifi, the speaker of Iraq’s Parliament and a Sunni Arab. “They use the political with one hand and military forces with the other hand.”

Moreover, some American and Iraqi officials are leery about whether Asaib Ahl al-Haq — the name translates as League of the Righteous — is truly ready to forswear violence, especially with thousands of American diplomats and security contractors still in the country. Mr. Maliki’s recent attempts to marginalize the country’s Sunni minority and consolidate power have amplified their fears and, not coincidentally, precipitated a political crisis.

“They have blood on their hands, and it’s not just American blood,” a senior United States military official said of Asaib Ahl al-Haq. “I am all for forgiveness and reconciliation, but they are — and I think always will be — beholden to their masters in Iran.”

In June, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and other militias said to be backed by Iran conducted rocket attacks on American bases that resulted in the deaths of 13 soldiers, making the month the worst for combat-related deaths for United States forces in Iraq since 2008. Military officials also said the group was responsible for the last American combat death in Iraq, a November roadside bomb attack in Baghdad.

“It’s not a good sign that Maliki is so keen to work with a group that has been responsible for the deaths of many Americans,” said Marisa Cochrane Sullivan, deputy director at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington and an expert on Asaib Ahl al-Haq. “A.A.H. having a prominent role in the government is not in the interest of the United States.”...

No kidding, really? This keen analysis is why Marisa Cochrane Sullivan makes the big bucks.

Mr. Maliki’s government has avoided any overt pledges to support the group in Iraq’s next elections. “We welcome those who want to join the political process and give up their weapons, no matter whether they are Sunni or Shiite,” said Hassan al-Suneid, a lawmaker from Mr. Maliki’s State of Law coalition.

American officials made efforts to bring a disarmed Asaib Ahl al-Haq into Iraq’s government as early as 2009, even releasing Mr. Khazali, and his brother, Laith, from prison.

“Khazali was telling us when he was being interrogated that they were ready to lay down their arms,” said a Western diplomat, referring to the group’s founder. “We released those guys, and they went back to Iran and didn’t exactly lay down their arms.”

And you believed him. "Idiot" is not strong enough a word for you.

At an officially sanctioned rally last week in central Baghdad, hundreds of the group’s members and supporters gathered in a public square that was previously the stage for pro-democracy demonstrations. For hours, they celebrated the insurgents who fought American troops in Iraq, waving banners and screening triumphal videos of their deadly attacks on American Humvees, tanks and convoys.

Standing in front of Asaib’s emblem — a hand making a two-fingered peace sign flanked by silhouetted insurgents — Mr. Khazali praised the Iraqis who had spilled blood fighting American forces, and said that the insurgents had forced the American withdrawal....

Interesting to note that Ahmadinejad and Ron Paul see eye-to-eye on this issue. "Ahmadinejad: Israel's attempts to 'Judaize' Jerusalem will bring about its end," from Haaretz, January 3:

Israeli attempts to "Judaize" Jerusalem will bring about its end, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday, saying Israel's occupation of Palestinian land was the most important topic in the world.

Speaking to a delegation to the Turkish-Palestinian Parliamentary Friendship Group, Ahmadinejad was quoted by Iranian state television that the "Zionists, who have no faith in religion or even God, now claim piety and intend to take away the Islamic identity of the Holy Quds."

Projection alert: Jerusalem has a Jewish identity going back thousands of years. Its "Islamic identity" is based on an unhistorical legend about a dream Muhammad had. Yes, that's all.

"This ridiculous move is in fact the continuation of the colonialist polices of oppressors, which will not save the Zionist regime, but also take the regime closer to the endpoint of its existence,” the Iranian president added.

Speaking of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ahmadinejad was quoted by Iran's official news agency Iran as saying that the "issue of Palestine is the main issue in the region and the whole world and nobody can ignore it."...

Like the cases of Pastor Nadarkhani and of Sakineh Ashtiani, this is another story Iran would like to go away so it can do as it pleases. That must not be allowed to happen. An update on this story. "Concern over condition of four detainees arrested in AOG church of Ahwaz," from Mohabat News, December 31 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Following an attack on the Assemblies of God Church of Ahwaz which resulted in the arrest of a number of Christians and their children, concerns are growing over the conditions of four of these detainees.

How soon will we hear tacked-on charges aimed at deflecting sympathy for them? Remember that Ashtiani was sentenced to stoning for adultery, and then charged with murder. Nadarkhani was an apostate from Islam, but then suddenly a "Zionist," "traitor," "rapist," and "brothel owner" as criticism of his death sentence for apostasy grew. Since then, authorities have proceeded against Ashtiani for adultery, and Nadarkhani for apostasy.

According to reporters of Iranian Christian News Agency, Mohabat News, concerns are growing over the unknown conditions of four of the people arrested during the attack on the AOG church of Ahwaz which took place almost one week ago.

The detainees include, Farhad Sabokroh, the Pastor of the AOG church of Ahwaz, his wife Shahnaz and two other ministers and converts called Naser Zamen-Dezfuli and Davoud Alijani who is called David. No reliable information is available regarding their health and conditions in the places where they are being held.

According to Mohabat News, on Friday 23 December, 2011 at 11 A.M., security agents of the intelligence ministry raided the AOG church of Ahwaz in a pre-organized manner. All attendees at the weekly service were arrested and transferred by bus to an unknown location.

This report indicates that the security agents, whose faces were covered, showed no mercy to the Sunday school children of the church, apprehending them together with their parents who were present at the church. This incident has caused serious mental injury to these children.

After some hours all detainees were freed once their personal details such as home addresses were recorded.

However, four of the detainees named above, are still being held. The latest report on their conditions indicates that Farhad Sabokroh and his wife suffer from varicose veins and their general health condition is not good. They were held in custody in the intelligence office until 28 December, 2011 were then separated and transferred to unknown locations and we have received no further update concerning them.

At least one of the abducted Christians may be an ex-Muslim:

The other two detainees are Naser Zamen-Dezfuli who is about 60 years of age and Davoud (David) Alijani who is 30. Before being arrested, Zamen-Dezfuli had his own business and Alijani was an engineer at a petrochemical site in Mahshahr port. After accepting Christ and applying Christian faith in his life, David was threatened and interrogated several times and was eventually fired from his engineering position.

The health conditions, whereabouts and fate of these Christians are unknown but it has been rumored that they might still be in the custody center of the intelligence office of Ahwaz or may have been transferred to Karoon prison of Ahwaz. Their families' efforts to obtain news concerning their whereabouts have yielded no information as yet.

This lack of news about their situation has resulted in a wave of anxiety among Christians, the detainees' families and especially the leaders of the churches in Iran. It's also being reported that the Ministry of Intelligence has even asked the leaders of the AOG church in Iran to not take any action in this regard....