[url="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/world/middleeast/28iran.html?_r=1&hp"]Death Toll Rises to 10 as Clashes in Iran Intensify[/url]
Quote:BEIRUT, Lebanon ââ¬â Iranian police opened fire into crowds of protesters on Sunday, killing at least 10 people and setting off a day of chaotic street battles that seemed poised to deepen the countryââ¬â¢s civil unrest, witnesses and opposition Web sites said.
The nationwide protests, on the holiday commemorating the death of Hussein, Shiite Islamââ¬â¢s holiest martyr, were the bloodiest and among the largest since the uprisings that followed Iranââ¬â¢s disputed presidential election last June, witnesses said. Hundreds of people were reported wounded in cities across the country, and the Tehran police said they had made 300 arrests.
The Iranian authoritiesââ¬â¢ decision to use deadly force on the sacred Ashura holiday infuriated many Iranians, and some said the violence appeared to galvanize more traditional religious people who have not been part of the protests so far. Historically, Iranian rulers have honored Ashuraââ¬â¢s prohibition of violence, even during wartime.
In Tehran, thick crowds marched down a central avenue in mid-morning, defying official warnings of a harsh crackdown on protests as they chanted ââ¬Ådeath to Khamenei!ââ¬Â referring to Iranââ¬â¢s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
[url="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/12/the-start-of-an-iranian-intifada.html"]The start of an Iranian intifada[/url]
by MEIR JAVEDANFAR in Tel Aviv
28 DEC 2009 00:56
[url="http://mikverbrugge.tumblr.com/post/...-iranian-armed"]COORDINATION CENTER FOR NATIONAL IRANIAN ARMED RESISTANCE FORCES DECLARES ITS EXISTENCE.[/url]
[url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100713/ts_nm/us_iran_nuclear_scientist"]Missing Iranian scientist turns up in Washington[/url]
Quote:WASHINGTON/TEHRAN (Reuters) ââ¬â An Iranian nuclear scientist missing for more than a year turned up in Washington on Tuesday, claiming to have been kidnapped but U.S. officials denied that they held him against his will or mistreated him.
Iran, which is locked in a standoff with the United States and other Western nations over its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons, has repeatedly accused the CIA of abducting Shahram Amiri, who worked for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization.
Amiri, who vanished during a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia more than a year ago, mysteriously appeared at the Iranian interests section of Pakistan's embassy.
"My kidnapping was a disgraceful act for America ... I was under enormous psychological pressure and supervision of armed agents in the past 14 months," Amiri, who is in his thirties, was quoted as saying in a phone interview with Iran's state TV.
Quote:What a joke. Hussain Haqqani the Pakistan Ambassador is a CIA operative. At least Zardari would demand some money for the Iranian scientist. Haqqani would hand him over for free and be happy to earn some extra brownie points.
Quote:In brief remarks to reporters, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Amiri was free to go.
"These are decisions that are his alone to make," Clinton said. "In contrast, Iran continues to hold three young Americans against their will, and we reiterate our request that they be released and allowed to return to their families on a humanitarian basis."
Clinton was referring to three American hikers who have been held by Tehran since July 2009 on an accusation of illegally entering the country. They have not been charged.
I think this US offer, exchange deal for 3 hikers.
[url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100715/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_missing_scientist"]'Abducted' nuclear scientist returns to Iran[/url]
Quote:It also gives the ruling clerics a welcome distraction at a time when domestic protests are growing over Iran's stumbling economy and worries about the fallout from international sanctions.
Amiri's return "shows the strength of the Islamic republic," boasted lawmaker Amir Taherkhani. Another prominent parliament member, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, called the alleged kidnapping a "terrorist act."
But the Washington Post reported that the CIA paid Amiri $5 million to provide intelligence on Iran's nuclear program. The Post in its online edition late Wednesday said the money came from a secret program aimed at inducing scientists and others with information on Iran's nuclear program to defect.
U.S. officials also told the Post that Amiri should be unable to get to that money now that he's returned to Iran, which is under financial sanctions.
It remains unclear how Iranian authorities will ultimately deal with Amiri ââ¬â and the U.S. claims he cooperated with American authorities ââ¬â despite his hero-style welcome.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called Amiri a "dear compatriot" and said Iran was keenly interested in learning more about the reasons for his alleged abduction.
Journalists were allowed to cover Amiri's first steps back in Iran in a rare relaxation of media restrictions. The last such press gathering permitted at Tehran's international airport was linked to another tussle with Washington: the May visit by the mothers of three jailed Americans arrested last year on the Iran-Iraq border.
Amiri's pre-dawn arrival capped a stunning tumble of events over the past month that included leaked videos with mixed messages, Amiri surfacing at a diplomatic compound in Washington and the White House finally acknowledging his presence in the country.
The U.S. says he was a willing defector who changed his mind and decided to board a plane home from Washington. Amiri has told a very different tale, claiming he was snatched while on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and bundled off to the United States to be harshly interrogated and offered millions of dollars by the CIA to speak against Iran.
Amiri was embraced by his family ââ¬â including his tearful 7-year-old son ââ¬â and greeted by a top envoy from Iran's Foreign Ministry. The 32-year-old Amiri smiled and gave the V-for-victory sign.
Speaking to journalists after a flight via Qatar, Amiri repeated his earlier claims that he was snatched while in the Saudi holy city of Medina and carried off to the United States.
The first months were full of intense pressures, he alleged. "I was under the harshest mental and physical torture," he said at the Tehran airport, with his young son sitting on his lap.
He also alleged that Israeli agents were present during the interrogations and that CIA officers offered him $50 million to remain in America. He gave no further details to back up the claims or shed any new light on his time in the United States, but promised to reveal more later.
"I have some documents proving that I've not been free in the United States and have always been under the control of armed agents of U.S. intelligence services," Amiri told reporters.
' />
