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U.S. Sizing Up Iran?

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This is a review of a documentary on the 1953 Coup in Iran. Torab Saleth is an Iranian dissident who lives in exile (he has to, otherwise he wouldn't be alive).

Regime change MI6-style
Torab Saleth reviews the online documentary 'Coup 53' which was written, produced and directed by Taghi Amirani

This is a well made documentary about the August 19 1953 British-American coup which overthrew Iran’s democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, in order to scupper the nationalisation of the oil industry.

Although nothing is revealed that was not already known, it is a well researched piece of investigative work, showing all the main details about this criminal coup - for which the guilty parties have gone unpunished to this day.

Given the recent scandals about the institutional racism which pervades all aspects of life in Britain from the royal family down to the tabloid press, Coup 53 shows once again how the current British ruling class and its state has been built on centuries of world plunder. The oil concession granted to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company by Reza Shah - father of Mohammed Reza - is one of the most shameful examples of an ‘unequal treaty’. Iran only received 16% of net profits and the country’s government was not even granted access to the books in order to see how its pitiful share was calculated. Of course, Reza Shah had been himself placed on the throne after a British-made coup in 1921.

Although the USA has admitted its role on many occasions, the British to this day deny playing any part in the 1953 coup. This documentary, however, proves in no uncertain terms that the British were the main instigators and organisers and, despite later American bravado about taking the lead, in fact, they only played second fiddle. The Americans were basically fooled into joining the coup plot by being fed all the horror stories about how Mosaddegh was just about to hand over the whole country to the Soviet Union. In fact after the first coup attempt, on August 16, which failed miserably mostly because of the inept operational leadership of the CIA’s Kermit Roosevelt Jr, both the shah and the Americans fled. ...

Coup 53 was released in 2019 and, as you can imagine, has faced many distribution problems. Now, at last, it can be viewed (alas with a payment) online via the following site: coup53.com/watch-coup-53

https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1339/regime-change-mi6-style/
 
Protests in Iran.

Anger finds open expression​

From Isfahan to Tabriz, Karaj to Tehran, the slogans are clear: ‘Death to the dictator’, ‘Shame on Khamenei’, ‘Hands off Iran’. Yassamine Mather reports on the upsurge of protests​

Protests over the lack of clean water that started in the Iranian province of Khuzestan have now spread to other parts of the country. In Lorestan, Kurdistan and Azerbaijan, as well as Tehran, demonstrators are showing solidarity with the people of Khuzestan and the slogans are getting more radical every day, On July 26 demonstrators in Tehran were shouting: “Death to the dictator!”

The water shortage in the middle of a predictable heat wave in Khuzestan has two causes: global warming, as well as human interventions in what should be a province with plenty of water. Over the last three decades, after the Iran-Iraq war, in what was clearly a series of political decisions, Iran’s Islamic Republic, wary of the Arab ethnicity of sections of the population in Khuzestan, built dams designed to divert water from this region to other provinces. Ironically Iran’s Arab population is mainly Shia and despite many attempts by Saudi Arabia and its allies to strengthen the separatist Salafi movement in southern Iran, there is no sign that the current protests have anything to do with foreign interventions or support for various jihadi/Salafi groups in the region.

Persians and Arabs have shown unity in the protests, giving the lie to accusations by the regime’s supporters that they are organised by pro-Saudi separatists or support Arab separatism. However, this has not stopped apologists for the regime blaming ‘foreigners’. The regime has a record of violently attacking such demonstrations and, so far, a handful of people have been killed. There have also been a number of arrests. However, so far we have not witnessed the kind of repression we saw during the protests of 2018 and 2019, where hundreds were killed. ...

https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1358/anger-finds-open-expression/
 
As Iran's new hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, is to be sworn into office here is a timely article on possible MOSSAD infiltration of the Theocracy.

Mossad’s people​

Yassamine Mather investigates the murky world of deep penetration, sabotage and assassination​

Last week ayatollah Ali Younessi made the amazing claim that the Israeli national intelligence agency, Mossad, has infiltrated many sections of Iran’s leadership and the country’s security services. Younessi was minister for intelligence during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005.

In an interview with the Iranian ‘reformist’ website, Jamaran, Younessi said:

The leaders of the country don’t show any interest in what’s best for the public and their lives, and Mossad has succeeded, with enticements of influence and money, to penetrate the regime’s security bodies ... Now the regime is busy persecuting people who are loyal to the country, particularly from the reformist camp, instead of detecting and detaining the infiltrators working on behalf of Israel.

The regime established many intelligence agencies with overlapping tasks, for the purpose of weakening the intelligence ministry. Spy agencies can easily penetrate radical groups and organisations, because in these groups only radicalism matters. Spy agencies pick the right radicals from among their own ranks or elsewhere and have them infiltrate other intelligence agencies. The more radical they are, the quicker they get promoted and reach the top echelon of the intelligence agencies.1

Of course, the former intelligence minister was adamant that all Israeli infiltration took place after he left office in 2005. While it is difficult to assess everything he said, he is probably right that “sycophants and radicals were the most likely to be lured by foreign intelligence agencies”.

It should be noted that such claims are not new. Throughout the last few months some of the people I know in Iran have been saying exactly the same thing. Former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is also claiming that officials within Iran’s intelligence agencies have played an important role, covering the tracks of those involved in the assassination of Iran’s nuclear scientists - the latest victim being Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. According to Ahmadinejad, “A massive Israeli operation used a corrupt gang of security personnel in the upper echelons of the national intelligence apparatus.” ...

https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1355/mossads-people/
 
The attack on the Mercer Street ship will only serve to strengthen USA/UK/Israeli attempts to sabotage Iranian nuclear/military/security/ commercial infrastructure facilities.

The UK takes a dim view of attacks on cargo shipping, especially when a British citizen has died in this attack.
 
The Iranian Regime will attempt to portray these dissidents as US/MOSSAD agents.

A prominent reformist politician, Mostafa Tajzadeh, has been arrested in Iran and accused of conspiring against the country's security.

He is also accused of "publishing false information designed to disturb public opinion". A former deputy interior minister, he spent seven years in jail in 2009-2016. He is a staunch critic of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Two Iranian film directors have also been arrested for a separate protest. Mohammad Rasoulof's films have won awards at both the Cannes and Berlin film festivals. He and Mostafa Alahmad are being held on accusations of inciting unrest. They were among an Iranian cinema group who protested after the collapse of a 10-storey building in the city of Abadan in May, which killed more than 40 people.

Their open letter called on the security forces to lay down their weapons and not suppress protests prompted by the Metropol office block collapse. ...

Mr Tajzadeh, who served under former President Mohammad Khatami two decades ago, has criticised President Ebrahim Raisi and the clerical establishment.

He has long campaigned for democratic change in Iran.

Hours before his arrest, he tweeted against government tightening of the Islamic dress code for women, Fars news agency reported.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62108829
 
ramonmercado said:
The Iranian Regime will attempt to portray these dissidents as US/MOSSAD agents.

A prominent reformist politician, Mostafa Tajzadeh, has been arrested in Iran and accused of conspiring against the country's security.

He is also accused of "publishing false information designed to disturb public opinion". A former deputy interior minister, he spent seven years in jail in 2009-2016. He is a staunch critic of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Two Iranian film directors have also been arrested for a separate protest. Mohammad Rasoulof's films have won awards at both the Cannes and Berlin film festivals. He and Mostafa Alahmad are being held on accusations of inciting unrest. They were among an Iranian cinema group who protested after the collapse of a 10-storey building in the city of Abadan in May, which killed more than 40 people.

Their open letter called on the security forces to lay down their weapons and not suppress protests prompted by the Metropol office block collapse. ...

Mr Tajzadeh, who served under former President Mohammad Khatami two decades ago, has criticised President Ebrahim Raisi and the clerical establishment.

He has long campaigned for democratic change in Iran.

Hours before his arrest, he tweeted against government tightening of the Islamic dress code for women, Fars news agency reported.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62108829
Click to expand...

Another Iranian film director imprisoned by the regime.

Award-winning Iranian film maker Jafar Panahi, who was detained in Tehran last week, has been ordered to serve six years in jail, Iran's judiciary says.

Iranian media said Mr Panahi was held after going to Evin prison to ask about one of two fellow directors arrested for supporting protests.
His wife told BBC Persian he was informed by guards that he had an outstanding prison sentence to serve.

Tahereh Saeedi said his detention amounted to a kidnapping.

"Jafar has some rights as a citizen. There's due process. To imprison someone, they need to be summoned first. But to imprison someone who is protesting outside the jail raises a lot of questions. This is a kidnapping," she said.

Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Al-e Ahmad were arrested over social media posts concerning the collapse of a 10-storey building in the city of Abadan in May that killed more than 40 people.

The two film makers were accused of "inciting unrest and disrupting the psychological security of society", state news agency Irna reported.

Mr Panahi, 62, has won many awards at international film festivals. They include the Berlin International Film Festival's top prize, the Golden Bear, for Taxi in 2015, as well as the Best Screenplay prize at Cannes Film Festival for Three Faces in 2018.

In 2010, he was arrested for supporting mass anti-government protests that erupted after the previous year's disputed presidential election. He was later convicted of "propaganda against the system" and sentenced to six years in prison and banned from making movies or travelling abroad for 20 years. He served two months before being released on conditional bail, AFP news agency reports.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62211397
 
The Theocracy will also dog your footsteps if you have a pet.

"He looks at me with his innocent and beautiful eyes. He is asking me to take him out for a walk, but I don't dare. We will get arrested."

Mahsa, who has a dog, is referring to a new wave of arrests of pet owners and seizures of their animals in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Police there recently announced that walking dogs in parks was a crime. The ban was justified as a measure to "protect the safety of the public".

At the same, the Iranian parliament could soon approve the Protection of the Public's Rights Against Animals bill, which would restrict pet ownership across the board.

According to the proposed legislation, pet ownership would be subject to a permit issued by a special committee. There would also be a minimum fine of around $800 (790 euros; £670) for the "import, purchase and sale, transportation and keeping" of a range of animals, including common pets such as cats, turtles and rabbits.

"Debates around this bill started more than a decade ago, when a group of Iranian MPs tried to promote a law to confiscate all dogs and give them to zoos or leave them in deserts," Dr Payam Mohebi, the president of the Iran Veterinary Association and an opponent of the bill, told the BBC.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62205744
 
Journalists under threat in Britain.

In a tree-lined business park in Chiswick, West London, there is a heavy presence of armed police. Black, multi-role armoured vehicles called Jankels are positioned at intervals alongside Met Police armed response vehicles, fully crewed-up with armed officers inside.

They are guarding every approach to the plate-glass building that houses the offices of Iran International, an independent Farsi-language news channel that has incurred the fury of Iran's regime.

"This has to be the biggest armed police operation around a commercial building in this country that I can think of," says a spokesman for Iran International.

Founded in 2017 by a former BBC Persian journalist, Iran International broadcasts into Iran by satellite. It has been providing 24-hour rolling news coverage of the huge street protests that have engulfed Iran since the death in police custody of 22-year old Mahsa Amini, allegedly arrested for not wearing her hijab head covering correctly. Many of the protests have been calling for an end to the oppressive rule of the Islamic Republic.

But instead of listening to people's demands, the authorities in Iran have arrested thousands and accused Western nations and the free media they host of stirring up the protests and provoking unrest.

So far, so familiar. That has been the refrain each time protests in Iran have erupted, but this time it's different.

Not only are the protests significantly more widespread, but the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, the real power behind the regime, has been targeting Iranian opposition journalists based in Britain.

"Iran projects threat to the UK directly, through its aggressive intelligence services," says Ken McCallum, the director-general of MI5, the UK security service. "At its sharpest, this includes ambitions to kidnap or even kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime. We have seen at least 10 such potential threats since January alone." ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63761628


Yasamine Mather reports on the protests, splits among the Regime leaders and potentially unhelpful US meddling.

Splits are widening at the top, the protests are continuing to grow, but there are still illusions in US-sponsored regime change. Yassamine Mather comments​

You would not know it from the western media, but protests in Iranian cities and towns have been more widespread and larger than in recent weeks. November 19‑20 marked 40 days since the death of a number of demonstrators in Kurdistan: therefore the occasion for mass funeral demonstrations.

The subsequent attacks by security and military forces have led to still more deaths. Currently reports from Iran suggest that at least 430 people have been killed in protests that have lasted more than 10 weeks. In addition there have been short protest strikes and other actions by workers, including by those employed in the Shanahan steel plant, as well as Iran Tyre workers in Tehran.

The Financial Times reports that Iranian workers, although sympathetic to the protestors, have so far shown “little readiness for general strikes” and the article quotes a businessman in the oil sector:

… when his staff last week went to Asaluyeh - an Iranian port that serves South Pars, the world’s largest gas field - there were no signs of any shutdown. He added that there have occasionally been protests by non-staff workers hired by subcontractors, but only in sectors that have little impact on production ...1

This might be true for now, but, as the economic situation deteriorates, as a direct consequence of the impasse on the nuclear deal, the value of the Iranian currency, the rial, dropped even further against the dollar last week. All this had led to yet another round of massive price rises.

A number of audio files leaked from senior military commanders show divisions at the top. In one recording, a senior military officer, addressing fellow commanders, calls them ‘deniers’. He told them that it is impossible to turn a blind eye to daily protests in most districts: “Don’t you see the slogans written on walls, hanging from bridges … the slogans security forces rush to clean up before the working day starts? Don’t you hear the protestors every evening, using darkness to express their opinion?”

The ‘reformist’ factions of the Islamic Republic regime are also openly questioning the wisdom of ignoring the extent of the protests. In a statement issued on November 9, one of Iran’s major ‘reformist’ organisations stated:

The protests are the outcome of years of government denial of the problems faced by the Iranian people ... statements by officials, including the joint statement by security and intelligence agencies, are in fact part of the problem, rather than a solution for the country’s political deadlock.

The statement ended with a proposal to help the embattled government: “We on our part would like to suggest practical ways out of the crisis and we are happy to discuss our proposals with the government, should it be inclined to listen to them and implement them.” ...

https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1420/widespread-and-larger/
 
Rapper could face death penalty.

A dissident rapper who backed the anti-government protests in Iran has been charged with "corruption on Earth" and could face the death penalty.

Toomaj Salehi, 31, was also accused of spreading propaganda, co-operating with a hostile government and incitement to violence, a judiciary official said. The official denied a report by a human rights group that his trial had already begun without a lawyer of his choice.

Mr Salehi was arrested last month after he posted videos of himself protesting. He also released clips of raps in support of the unrest, which was sparked by the death in police custody 10 weeks ago of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained for allegedly breaking Iran's strict hijab rules.

Iranian authorities have cracked down violently on the protests, which they have portrayed as "riots" instigated by foreign enemies. At least 451 protesters have been killed and 18,170 others detained, according to the Human Rights Activists' News Agency (HRANA). It has also reported the deaths of 60 security personnel.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63780502
 
Yassamine Mather reports on leaked documents.

... Last week, following a cyberattack on Fars News, the propaganda arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), a group called Black Reward managed to copy data and subsequently released it.

Iran is accusing Israel’s Mossad of responsibility. Among the videos shown by the group there is footage of the terrible conditions in the country’s prisons and Black Reward has also published a series of secret official documents. Some of these show the inefficiency, corruption and power struggles at the highest levels. Clearly in these circles everyone admires the ‘emperor’ (ie, the supreme leader), but no-one admits that the crises unfolding before their very eyes could end up challenging the ayatollah’s rule.

According to these leaked documents, a special bulletin prepared by media experts for IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami notes that the Basij paramilitary organisation is too weak to stop the protests. Indeed, at least 115 military personnel have been arrested on charges of participating in the ongoing protest movement.

The leaked documents cited “experts” as saying that there is “a considerable amount of doubt and uncertainty among the revolutionary forces” (meaning the regime’s own forces, of course). Additionally, Fars officials noted that the protest movement “considers the greatest achievement of the recent riots to be the loss of fear. Protestors are no longer scared of the military and police forces.”

Other documents reveal that Iranian officials also expressed concerns that the government of president Ebrahim Raisi was disorganised when dealing with the protests. Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was recorded as telling Khamenei that the “government does not have a plan or a goal and they cannot make a decision. They are confused.” It seems that the supreme leader agreed that the government was lacking a plan and was slow. ...

https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1422/strikes-on-student-day/
 
Two more protesters executed.

Two men have been hanged in Iran for allegedly killing a member of the military during nationwide protests.

Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini were found guilty of "corruption on earth" over their alleged involvement in the death of a paramilitary officer.

Human rights groups have denounced what they described as a "sham" trial.

The family of 22-year-old Mr Karami say they were not permitted to meet him before he was killed.

Protests against Iran's clerical establishment erupted in September following the death in custody of a woman who was detained by morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab, or headscarf, "improperly".

At least 516 protesters have been killed so far, including 70 children, and 19,262 others arrested, according to the foreign-based Human Rights Activists' News Agency (HRANA). It has also reported the deaths of 68 security personnel.

Many of those who have been detained after protests have reportedly been subjected to enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention, torture and other ill-treatment.

Lawyers representing Mr Hosseini said he was beaten and blindfolded while in prison.

"He was tasered and beaten on the soles of his feet with a metal rod," Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64196635
 
ramonmercado said:
Another Iranian film director imprisoned by the regime.

Award-winning Iranian film maker Jafar Panahi, who was detained in Tehran last week, has been ordered to serve six years in jail, Iran's judiciary says.

Iranian media said Mr Panahi was held after going to Evin prison to ask about one of two fellow directors arrested for supporting protests.
His wife told BBC Persian he was informed by guards that he had an outstanding prison sentence to serve.

Tahereh Saeedi said his detention amounted to a kidnapping.

"Jafar has some rights as a citizen. There's due process. To imprison someone, they need to be summoned first. But to imprison someone who is protesting outside the jail raises a lot of questions. This is a kidnapping," she said.

Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Al-e Ahmad were arrested over social media posts concerning the collapse of a 10-storey building in the city of Abadan in May that killed more than 40 people.

The two film makers were accused of "inciting unrest and disrupting the psychological security of society", state news agency Irna reported.

Mr Panahi, 62, has won many awards at international film festivals. They include the Berlin International Film Festival's top prize, the Golden Bear, for Taxi in 2015, as well as the Best Screenplay prize at Cannes Film Festival for Three Faces in 2018.

In 2010, he was arrested for supporting mass anti-government protests that erupted after the previous year's disputed presidential election. He was later convicted of "propaganda against the system" and sentenced to six years in prison and banned from making movies or travelling abroad for 20 years. He served two months before being released on conditional bail, AFP news agency reports.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62211397
Click to expand...

Panahi has been released.

Award-winning Iranian film maker Jafar Panahi has been released from jail on bail, two days after he went on hunger strike over his imprisonment.

He was seen hugging supporters and being driven away from Tehran's notorious Evin prison on Friday. Mr Panahi, 62, was arrested last July when he protested against the detention of two fellow filmmakers, who had been critical of the authorities. His wife told the BBC he was told he had an outstanding jail term to serve.

Tahereh Saeedi said at the time that his detention - several months before the ongoing anti-government protests erupted - amounted to a kidnapping.

Mr Panahi has won many awards at international film festivals. They include the Berlin International Film Festival's top prize, the Golden Bear, for Taxi in 2015, as well as the Best Screenplay prize at the Cannes Film Festival, for Three Faces in 2018.

The Cannes festival director Thierry Fremaux expressed "great relief" over the film maker's release.

"We do not forget all those, in Iran and around the world, who are subjected to violence and repression," Mr Fremaux told the AFP news agency. "The Cannes Film Festival will always remain alongside artists from all over the world in defence of freedom." ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64519948
 
The moderators are in agreement that this thread has very much lost its way.

A great mass of the posts and articles that have caused it to swell to almost one hundred pages have nothing to do with U.S. plans to destabilise/invade Iran or even CONSPIRACY in its broadest terms.

We'll raise our hands and confess that none of us has kept a close enough eye on new additions to it, and a number of them should have been removed or transferred elsewhere--apologies.

It's a lot to put right, so please bear with us while we attempt to rectify this.

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