Tag: iran

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Iran: the hijab protests are now massive, but a revolution will need the military to change sides

Mohammed Abbasi

Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, SOAS, University of London More than three weeks after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Ahmini for disobeying Iran’s strict laws, which make it compulsory for women to wear the hijab – or Islamic headscarf – protests continue to rage on the streets of all major cities. On Saturday, protesters even managed to hack into Iran’s biggest news channel to broadcast their message to the whole country. A broadcast featuring supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in a meeting with state officials, was replaced by images of protesters who have died in the violent crackdown on dissent in Iran. The popular … Continue reading Iran: the hijab protests are now massive, but a revolution will need the military to change sides

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Was Obama ‘for or against’ the Invasion of Iraq?

Mohammed Abbasi

Obama moral compass changes on IraqBy Adil E Shamoo  In a speech in Brussels on March 26, President Barack Obama rejected Vladimir Putin’s assertions regarding the wrongs of the United States invasion of Iraq. Rhetoric aside, the Russian president has no moral standing for the invasion and annexation of Crimea. Nevertheless it is important to look at Obama’s own moral arguments in justifying an invasion that a majority of US citizens regard as a major US foreign policy disaster.  Putin called into question the legitimacy of the coalition behind the Iraq invasion by pointing out that president George W Bush … Continue reading Was Obama ‘for or against’ the Invasion of Iraq?

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New US reality: An empire beyond salvation

Mohammed Abbasi

US Secretary of State John Kerry couldn’t hide his frustration anymore as the US-sponsored Palestinian peace process continued to falter. After eight months of wrangling to push talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority forward, he admitted while on a visit to Morocco on April 4 that the latest setback had served as a “reality check” for the peace process. But confining that reality check to the peace process is hardly representative of the painful reality through which the United States has been forced to subsist in during the last few years.  The state of US foreign policy in the … Continue reading New US reality: An empire beyond salvation

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The many shades of McWorld

Mohammed Abbasi

Some years ago, in response to a rather strong piece on US shenanigans in the Middle East, an American reader wrote back: “Why do you hate America?” As some of my perceptive readers might have already deduced, I get loads of fanmail in response to my weekly rants, especially from my own kind and most of it not most flattering. Yet the accusation ‘why do you hate America’ from an all-American white reader was a little disconcerting. For I do not see myself as an America phobe. The influence of American literature, Hollywood, culture and their collective glorification of ambition, excellence, grit and … Continue reading The many shades of McWorld

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Israel is facing a backlash in America

Mohammed Abbasi

By Rami G. Khouri April 02, 2014 “Information Clearing House – “DS” – Consider two incidents that occurred in the past few days in the United States and you should start to grasp the elements of a slow, subtle but steady and important shift that is taking place in the country. It is happening in that arena where pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian sentiments are being expressed in public and seek to influence American government policy, media and even the decisions of churches and non-government organizations such as student and professional groups. In Las Vegas, three likely Republican presidential candidates addressed the Republican Jewish … Continue reading Israel is facing a backlash in America

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Pakistan/Iran – Souring diplomacy

Mohammed Abbasi

  Iran suspects its guards had been taken to the Pakistan border region and that the onus of rescuing them from their captors lies with Islamabad.  The reported killing of one of the five Iranian border guards abducted in the Sistan-Balochestan province of Iran last month has soured the mood in Tehran. Our western neighbor suspects its guards had been taken to the Pakistan border region and that the onus of rescuing them from their captors lies with Islamabad. While Pakistan swiftly condemned the kidnapping incident, and offered to act on any credible intelligence made available to it, its investigations so far have, … Continue reading Pakistan/Iran – Souring diplomacy

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Current Iran “Crisis” Began With Overthrow of Democratically Elected Government in 1953

Mohammed Abbasi

  Tanks in the streets of Tehran, 1953. (Photo: Wikipedia) In Manufactured Crisis, investigative journalist Gareth Porter details the manipulation and fabrications that have accompanied the current Iranian nuclear situation. The main difference between this and the Iraq war conspiracy, the author says, was that the neoconservatives who were carrying it out never got the war on Iran they wanted. Obtain this book, Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare, from Truthout with a minimum contribution. Just click here. You will be enhancing your knowledge, supporting progressive authors and backing the vital journalism of Truthout. Have we narrowly averted a … Continue reading Current Iran “Crisis” Began With Overthrow of Democratically Elected Government in 1953

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U.S. National War Academy: A Project for The Muslim nations – Whats the Muslim Response?

Mohammed Abbasi

  Plans for Redrawing the Middle East: The Project for a “New Middle East” By Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya Global Research, November 18, 2006 Region: Middle East & North Africa Theme: US NATO War Agenda In-depth Report: AFGHANISTAN, IRAN: THE NEXT WAR?,IRAQ REPORT, THE WAR ON LEBANON     “Hegemony is as old as Mankind…” -Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S. National Security Advisor The term “New Middle East” was introduced to the world in June 2006 in Tel Aviv by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (who was credited by the Western media for coining the term) in replacement of the older and more imposing term, the “Greater Middle East.” … Continue reading U.S. National War Academy: A Project for The Muslim nations – Whats the Muslim Response?

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Bahrain wants to mend fences with Iran

Mohammed Abbasi

    Bahrain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed flanked by Minister for Transport Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed addressing a press conference. — Photo by INP   ISLAMABAD: In an obvious reference to Iran, Bahrain said on Thursday that it expected Pakistan to have a moderating effect on Muslim countries in the region. “We look forward to Pakistan having influence of moderation and peace,” Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa said at a press conference at the conclusion of the three-day visit of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. During the king’s visit, … Continue reading Bahrain wants to mend fences with Iran

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Pakistan strains Iran’s patience

Mohammed Abbasi

  On February 6, five border guards in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan were abducted by the terrorist group Jaish al-Adl (the Army of Justice). This seemingly new group is most likely a renamed and repackaged version of the Jund ul-Allah (The Army of God) terror group, operating from Pakistani territory. Before tensions over the abduction of the border guards subsided, the Iranian Consulate in Peshawar in Pakistan’s northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was attacked by a suicide bomber.  Terrorist activities against Iran, conducted by groups operating from Pakistan and to some extent Afghanistan, are nothing new. In 2009, … Continue reading Pakistan strains Iran’s patience