An estimated two-thirds of Iran’s population is younger than 30. With the morality police constantly patrolling the streets of Tehran, Iranian youth try to find a place in society that stays clear of upsetting the political and religious establishment.
A chain reaction of hope in Iran is fueling youth-led street protests that seem poised to beat back Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s power grab. Over 1 million demonstrators gathered for a Tehran rally on June 18, by far the largest anti-government crowd to assemble since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Hardliners in Iran are preparing to make a desperate bid to preserve their power in the face of burgeoning public opposition. A source within Iran's law enforcement agency revealed late on June 18 that backers of presumptive president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will try to deploy special Revolutionary Guard units to confront protesters in Tehran.
Casting a cautious eye to Azerbaijan's southern neighbor, Iran, the head of an Azerbaijani Diaspora organization claimed on June 18 that ethnic Azeris in Iran are not taking part in Tehran demonstrations against the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
A political maxim holds that a revolution tends to eat its young. It happened that way with France with its Great Terror; it happened in China with its Cultural Revolution and counter-strike against the Gang of Four; and there's no need to elaborate on what happened in the Soviet Union during the late 1920s and 30s.
Azerbaijan's Muasir Musavat opposition party has announced plans for a demonstration on June 22 in front of the Iranian embassy in Baku to protest what it terms Iranian police's roughshod treatment of ethnic Azeris who opposed the re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Hard-line backers of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are doubling down on their bet that repression can break popular opposition to his power grab. The storm of protest in Iran over the suspicious presidential election results showed no signs of abating, however.
Iran's presidential election, as marred as it has been by probable fraud and mass protests in Tehran, could ultimately be a boon to US-Iranian relations -- even if Mahmoud Ahmadinejad retains power.
Iran's presidential election is degenerating into a battle of nerves. Protesters remain unwilling to accept blatantly rigged results that appear designed to usher in a neo-conservative dictatorship.
Reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Musavi has formally appealed against Iran's election result to the legislative body the Guardians Council, according to a statement on his website.
