Iranian Protesters Take to the Streets Again, Ahmadinejad Declares Iran a ‘Nuclear State’, Cracks Down on Internet (UPDATED)

UPDATE:

Iranian Government Thugs Beat Wife of Opposition Leader

TEHRAN, Feb 11 (Reuters) – An Iranian opposition website said plainclothes security officers on Thursday beat the wife of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi as she tried to take part in a rally marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

“Plainclothes beat Zahra Rahnavard by baton when she tried to attend the revolution Day rally in Tehran,” Mousavi’s website Kalemeh reported. “She was rescued by Mousavi’s supporters.”
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE61A2W820100211

Another bloody week in Iran, thanks to Mahmoud and this hardline thugs.

Security forces dispersed opposition protests as hundreds of thousands of government supporters massed Thursday in a central square of the Iranian capital to mark the 31st anniversary of the revolution that created the Islamic republic.

Authorities clamped down hard to prevent a major show of force by the opposition amid one of the country’s most important political occasions. Tehran residents also reported Internet speeds dropping dramatically and e-mail services such as Gmail being blocked in a common government tactic to foil opposition attempts to organize.

Dozens of hard-liners with batons and pepper spray attacked the convoy of a senior opposition leader, Mahdi Karroubi, as he tried to join the anti-government protests, his son Hossein Karroubi told The Associated Press. The attackers — believed to be members of the Basij civilian militia — damaged several cars and smashed windows on Karrobi’s car, though he escaped unharmed, he said.

Security forces also briefly detained the granddaughter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the architect of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and her husband, who are both senior pro-reform politicians, the opposition Web site Rahesabz reported.

It was one of the most high-profile detentions in the crackdown by authorities. The granddaughter, Zahra Eshraghi, and her husband Mohammad Reza Khatami, who is the brother of a former pro-reform president, were held for about an hour before being released, the site said. The report could not be independently confirmed, but the site has been credible in the past.

The anniversary celebrations were an opportunity for Iran’s clerical regime to tout its power in the face of the opposition movement, which has persisted in holding mass street protests since disputed presidential elections in June despite months of a fierce security crackdown.

……For days ahead of the anniversary celebrations, anti-government Web sites and blogs have called for a major turnout in counterprotests and urged marches to display green emblems or clothes, the signature color of the opposition.

Opposition Web sites reported that protesters gathered in several places in Tehran on Thursday, displaying green banners and shouting slogans — but their numbers were not immediately clear. Witnesses said police deployed hundreds of forces in central Tehran to confront them.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,585451,00.html

A crackdown on communicating with the outside.

Iran’s telecommunications agency announced Wednesday that it has permanently suspended Google’s e-mail services and that a national e-mail service for Iranians will be rolled out soon.

It is not clear what effect the order has had on gmail in Iran. Google says in a statement, “We have heard from users in Iran that they are having trouble accessing Gmail. We can confirm a sharp drop in traffic, and we have looked at our own networks and found that they are working properly.  Whenever we encounter blocks in our services we try to resolve them as quickly as possibly because we strongly believe that people everywhere should have the ability to communicate freely online. Sadly, sometimes it is not within our control.” 

Google on Tuesday unveiled a new service called “Buzz,” a social networking tool built into its gmail service.

The announced suspension of gmail comes as Iranian authorities have deployed in force across Tehran to conduct last-minute security sweeps and warn residents to refrain from joining antigovernment protests planned for Thursday — the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

……Police have confiscated satellite dishes from residential rooftops, according to opposition Web sites. Some pedestrians have been quoted saying that their mobile phones were searched and, in some cases, taken by police patrolling areas of the capital where protests have erupted in the past. Iranians have also reported widespread service disruptions of text messaging services, though mobile phones appeared to be operating normally Wednesday.
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/02/10/iran-shuts-gmail-announces-national-e-mail-service/

This must be the threat to ‘deliver a harsh blow to global arrogance’ he promised.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed Thursday that Iran has produced its first batch of uranium enriched to a higher level, saying his country will not be bullied by the West into curtailing its nuclear program a day after the U.S. imposed new sanctions.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,585461,00.html

The Hildabeast issued the standard criticism from her State Department desk,  Obama imposed ‘new sanctions’ which include freezing assets, and probably won’t do any good.   The batshit crazy Islamic clowns in Tehran will shrug it off and continue rattling their sabres.  Anything short of another full blown revolution won’t work.

Related post:

http://sfcmac.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/iranian-protesters-defy-government-take-to-the-streets/