Michele C. Good post, and the Cox & Forkum Cartoon is SpotOn, but the link is BAD. http:\\\ will get you - nowhere... :o)

Thanks for the heads up, Cap'n. The link has been fixed.

Dear Command Post -

If I may make one comment.. Please discontinue referring to the Iranian people who are demonstrating, boycott and anti-regime as the "reform" movement.. The Iranian people are not the reform movement.. they are ANTI-REGIME and FREEDOM movement.. the reformers have wasted their chance and are blacklisted by the Iranian people as well as the hardliners.. It does a great disservice to refer to the Iranian Freedom fighters as reformers - they are simply ANTI-REGIME (Both Reformers and Hardliners)

Thanks - :) Just want you good folks to have the right info so others get the truth as well!!!!

Dariush, thanks for the clarification. The post has been edited to reflect your wishes.

That's so important because your site gets a lot of readers and by simply making this change and understanding the truth you do a much greater service to everyone and the Iranian people.. Thanks so much - we really appreciate it.. Unfortunately Michele, the media LIES - with 40 - 50% figures.. they push the regime's propoganda like puppets.. there were literally no more than 1 - 2% who voted.. but we try to ignore the lies as much as possible and keep pushing the good stuff.. Your site is great! Thanks for the help..

All manner of priest, mullah and shaman lust for earthly power. They see their own whims, lusts and greed as truth and piety. The reality is that they are not fit to be keepers of men, not even to be competent swine herds or biting castrators of dogs.

"Mullahs counting votes at polls. Mullahs ruling over proles. Mullahs stealing baby toys. Mullahs with their heads on polls."
-- with apologies to cartoonist B. Kliban

I'm afraid that Iran will be back burnered in the Mainstream mdia. The Conservatives really don't want or need another crisis on their plate and the Left/Socialists don't want it in the news because it will get people thinking about the very nature of the WOT. The UN will flinch, and point out that internal affairs are not their business, unless it is a small poor nation that the UN can take a cut of the aid package that they weasel out of the 'donor nations'. So unless a LOT of Bloggers get behind the Iranian freedom movement, the mullahs will kill enough citizens to scare the rest into staying home and it will all be forgotten. Remember what happened in Rhwanda not long ago.

"So unless a LOT of Bloggers get
behind the Iranian freedom movement, the mullahs will kill enough citizens to scare the rest into staying home and it will all be
forgotten."

No one is forgetting the Mullah's aspirations for nuclear weapons.

It isn't time yet.

It will take a minimum of 5 Coalition heavy divisions to force the Mullah's from power. They are either engaged, in Iraq, Korea, or Afghanistan, or else refitting and rearming. Any buildup for an attack will require a minimum of three months, and you will know when it begins.

Go home.

Get off the streets and save your lives.

Organize.

Layered cells, no more than two inter-layer contacts to prevent vertical envelopment.

Establish connections with the west.

We need troop numbers and locations.

We need the names of regular army unit commanders, along with e-mail addresses, or other methods of contact.

If we have to come in there, it will be much quicker, and much less violent if the regular army stands aside. Keep track of who stands where. be careful. The Council sees the possibility and are co-locating Pasdaran with regular army to enforce allegiance.

Get busy.

You have better things to be doing than dying in the streets for nothing. Make it count, if you must.

Support Bush. Kerry will leave you high and dry.

President George W. Bush is still in office and therefore our mainstream press is out there DOOM and GLOOMING everything and ignorning anything positive going on.

Everyone in America could have a job, Iran could over throw its government, and all nations of the world cease fire and declare peace and claim they were motivated to do this because of George W. Bush.

Would Tony Foresta or X? or What? Or any of the liberals find out about it in the mainstream press? Nope. Nothing positive no matter how positive in is will ever get reported as long as we have a Republican in office.

During Clinton's years... All we ever heard about were the 'Positive' things going on. The 'negative' things were either ignored or intelligently skewed to look positive.

Please - Command-Post Compatriots: WAKE UP - A Free Iran is necessary for ANY PROGRESS in Iraq and the Middle East - Don't believe the Mullah's lies.. Read this: There is major clashing and violence going on in dozens of Iranian cities.. t he people are rising up... rather then spitting crazy theories - accept the facts that Iran is on the verge of revolution and we NEED TO HELP THEM NOW! ---- any ideas? - spread the word? - campaign?

here is some news:

What the BBC Didn't Report from Iran Elections

February 23, 2004
Iran va Jahan
Iran va Jahan Network



Following the election sham in the Islamic Republic, several towns and cities in Iran have become unstable and widespread clashes are reported from them.

In Dehdasht (old name Belad-Shapoor) between 2 to 9 people are reported to have been killed in the clashes. People started protesting after the cheating just became too brazen.

In Firoozabad, Fars, people clashed with the Law Enforcement Forces when a cleric by the name of Yunesi-Sarcheshmeyi was declared the winner. One conscript soldier is reported killed. It is not certain whether he was on the side of the people or against them. The people have set fire to banks and all shops are shut.

In Miando-ab, West Azerbijan, some of the cheaters have publicly confessed how they were taught by a cleric to remove the voting stamp from their ID cards and vote again.

Marivan is still reported to be tense after several days. People have beaten up one of the candidates by the name of Ali Karimi, after he was seen in public.

In Izeh, the outgoing MP who clashed with the bodyguards of a judiciary official after pointing out the cheatings, is said to have died after going into a coma as a result of his injuries.

In Bam, the quake victims have protested at their ongoing conditions by gathering in Sardaran-shahid Square.

Today in Isfahan, more than 25000 people in three locations, Nikbakht Court, AhmadAbad Square, and in front of the provincial government building have gathered after a saving account was declared bankrupt one day after the elections. Even though the authorities knew about the bankruptcy before the elections. Several banks have been attacked and had their windows broken.

In Malekan in East Azerbijan, people were told that 45000 are eligible to vote, yet the number of declared votes for candidates totalled 50000! Everyone including children and old people have poured into the streets of Malekan and there is non-stop running battles with the Law Enforcement Forces.

Today Mehdi Karubi, the outgoing speaker was asked why he is in the 31St position in Tehran election results. His reply was "Because people boycotted the elections".

For those of you who can read Persian, see Jamshid Barzegar's analysis for BBC world service. He seems to have accepted the official figures of 40-50% turnout without questioning the credibility: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2004/02/040221_jb_electionresult.shtml and ignored what the people from Iran have reported to the website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2004/02/040220_mf_eyewittness.shtml

Dariush,

I've been trying to tell you this for days now.

We do not have troops and armor deployed in the Persian Gulf, awaiting orders to come ashore to help.

They are not there.

Wishing will not change this.

We do not have troops and armor in deployable condition, in large enough numbers to protect themselves and additionally make a significant military difference. Five divisions is the minimum and I mean by that "divisions" similar to the "four" we sent to Iraq. A normal division is ten to twelve thousand men. 3INF fielded over thirty thousand. 4INF, as part of task Force Iron Horse fielded over forty five thousand. The British "division" fielded forty five thousand men. Together, the Pasdaran and the Iranian Regular Army is stronger than Iraq's army was after ten years of sanctions.

If this force existed and was ready to deploy, it would be a minimum of three months before the first unit stepped foot on Iranian territory. Ordinance cannot be airlifted in significant quantity, it requires sealift. But these forces do not exist, they are not ready to deploy, there is not a strong base of popular support in the United States, we do not have the legal authority based on UN Security Council Resolutions that we had in Iraq.

You are being manipulated.

The timing of this sham election is not accidental. It was explicitly designed to coincide with the least liklihood of external support, as calculated by the Mullahs. By forcing the issue now, you play right into their hands.

They believe they can crush you, in the absence of external support. You cannot bluff them with the threat of outside intervention, because they have done their homework and would not have commited themselves if such a threat was realistic at this time.

There is still time to pull back from the brink, but you do not seem to care. How many will die because of poor planning, based on wishful thinking instead of military superiority? What will be left of the future if you fail now?

If there is no other choice, then your strategy must depend on self sufficiency.

The allegiance of the Regular Army will most likely decide the issue.

Good luck.

"CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (AP) - Nearly a quarter-million U.S. soldiers are within weeks of passing through this desert kingdom on their way to or from the war in neighboring Iraq, the largest such rotation of American forces in history, according to military planners overseeing the project.
"This is a breathtaking, history-making operation," said Army Maj. Gen. Stephen M. Speakes, who runs the rotation from this sand-blown base south of Kuwait City.
Explaining the troop rotation is simple: About 130,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq will go home and 110,000 will take their places for about a year, in Operation Iraqi Freedom 2.
Getting it done is another matter.
The maneuver involves eight of America's 10 active Army divisions and a U.S. Marine Expeditionary Force, along with 40,000 troops from a few dozen countries in the U.S.-led coalition."

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA1BYBYZQD.html

Eight of ten, 2INF in Korea, 82AB in Afghanistan.

Check out this stunning piece of totalitarian ass kissing from CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/02/22/iran.elections.otsc/index.html

Words fail me.

First of all - troops aren't necessary.. and if they were it would only be special ops teams.... The Iranian military will turn over --- just watch what happens.. it's happening now.. a revolutioin right under our noses and no one is covering it!

"The Iranian military will turn over."

Christmas in February?

Ok, you said trust me, I'm trusting you.

I don't understand what you want from us then?

In any event, good luck.

And good hunting.

Dariush is dead on the money. The Mullahs are cutting their own throats with this. Even now they rely on Afghani thugs imported to keep down protests. The average Iranian is reaching his or her breaking point. I think Americans have a very distorted picture of Iran. I have been lucky enough to have family members that lived or still live in Tehran, and from what ive seen in them and what theyve told me, Persians are like to Americans of any people in the region. They are educated, they are entrepenuers, they love and seek freedom. I have learned that most Iranians have been patiently hoping that the system would reform over time, and for a while that seemed possible. But the Mullahs have panicked and now that illusion is shattered. An entire generation of men was wiped out by the Iran-Iraq war. Whats left is the old and the young, which means that the young have a great deal of strength. I agree there is a very good chance that the military will side with the Iranian people, in fact its almost certain. Who would stand by and let the oligarchs send foriegn thugs to murder and intimidate the young freedom seekers? Something extraordinary is about to happen. What the US can do is provide the moral support. President Bush should speak more about Iran. Let the people know that we are with them and when they have won their freedom we will be close at hand to help and embrace them.

The link to CNN is very indicative of the managed news approach to creating a separate reality. The reality the is reported by Dariush (and others) is quite at odds with this.
The question is, what is the true reality on the ground in Iran? And how is this perceived by the majority of the people in the US? Until and unless the majority of the people in the US perceive the events in Iran as they really are (and truly central to final victory/success in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere), the Congress and the President will not move. The leadership in the Executive Branch is all too aware of the nature of events on the ground, but finds it difficult to contradict the "reality" reported by CNN, BBC, etc. There is a real credibility crises here, but hte readers of the Command Post probably have a different view of that than the general public.

This is what happens when the "commander in chief" overextends our military forces. We will be unable to react if the situation gets out of hand in Iran, or for that matter, in North Korea, or Pakistan or India or......

Riiiight. The marine division we have chilling in Okinawa, the light infantry division in Hawaia, the 2 divisions pretending to protect South Korea instead of the other way around, 2 more in the US used to train others, 2 more that have been out of Iraq for coming up on a year, 2 NG divisions in the Balkans, and (count them) 6 untouched NG divisions in the US, plus enough independant brigades to make up 2 more. Thats before we even start talking about the reserves or the units scheduled to rotate into or out of Iraq. This whole 'we are stretched to the limit' thing is a farce. We are only stretched insofar as we are unwilling to disturb domestic politics by calling up more than a handful of NG and reservists, or stop pretending we need to defend Korea, the Balkans, or Germany.

Yes - the President does need to speak more about Iran.. one wonders why he hasn't.. we have deals been cut with? Everyone knows that the British are good friends of the Mullahs - and perhaps this is something that is causing this perceived absence of support for the Iranian freeodm fighters.. Although - to the rational mind it only seems absolutely necessary that this regime will not exist in a future peacefule, just and democractic MidEast - so it's hard to judge why the admin is walking the way it's walking and where we are going to walk to.. Bottomline is, at the end of the day, it is up to the Iranian people to overthrow the regime.. Ufnortunately it needs help from the outside.. for example - A GENERAL STRIKE would bring the regime to it's knees -- on the other hand, the regime has made Iranians so poor that they are living week to week and depend on work for bread - we need to provide them with MONEY so they can strike... anyhow - things are happening, but I only hope US takes the right stance.. I'm worried that he's not talking about it enough and there is no plan..

No plan?

Maybe.

But I wouldn't drive on Tehran with 23 unopposed divisions on my left flank, and my air and log bases in Kuwait susceptible to being overrun anytime between the time I left the beach and the time my FEBA reached the southern outskirts of the Iranian capitol.

I wouldn't do it with my active divisions currently engaged, and my reserves lacking public support for a callup.

I wouldn't do it without at least a behind the scenes attempt to gauge possible reaction from the UN Security Council.

I wouldn't do it eight months before my own national elections.

In a perfect world, I'd send my clandestine operators in first, to estimate popular support, to help organize resistance, focusing on the regular army and civilian organization, specifically redundant communication channels between factions and cells, and information warfare channels. When I was ready to move, the resistance wouldn't be caught by surprise when the hardliners turned off the transmitters, and the hardliners also wouldn't have control of the only information flow out of the country that is reportable from the viewpoint of the western media. My sources would all have titles, and there would be more than one telling a given story, because those are the criteria used by the media to establish credibility.

Until I was ready to move, I'd try very hard to remain quiet on the subject, to further my re-election effort, and to preserve operational security.

If at any point the Mullahs tried to force my hand, I'd have to think long and hard before reacting to pre-emptive maneuver. I'd want to see some kind of hard data, from multiple credible sources countering the official line, in terms of election returns and therefore public opinion, and regarding violent clashes. Given official sources claiming a 50% turnout, against a few rumors of substantially lower turnouts, and a few fragemntary reports adding up to no more than 50 deaths to date, even if taken at full face value absent independant corroboration, I very much doubt I would be inclined to accelerate my timetable. Going before the groundwork has been laid risks my global standing, my continued position as CINC, and the lives of my men.

I can not rule out a compromise with the hardliners. My primary objectives would be the cessation of efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, and obvious cooperation, not talk but actual results, regarding state support for terrorism. If these cards were on the table, it would require a significant threat to the stability and long term viability of the government I was negotiating with to make me walk away from that table.

That's the way I'd do it, but that's just my opinion.

Take it for whatever it's worth.

"I Am in Permanent Contact with Iran"

February 24, 2004
Point De Vue
Vincent Meylan



The Eldest Son of the last Shah of Iran Speaks to Exlusively to Vincent Meylan

There are the bodyguards, in black suits who ask you not to reveal the place of rendezvous, the private secretary, the chauffeurs, the press attaches, those of Reza Pahlavi and those of Flammarion, the publisher of his book, "Pour L'Iran" (For Iran), a retinue which moves with its king in exile. All this polite world, smiling, but when the allocated time has run out, no point to plead for another five minutes to take one last photograph. "We are sorry to hurry you, but the Prince has appointments all day." That's it. The meeting is over. Reza Pahlavi, himself, would have stayed a while longer to discuss with you. Like a fine Easterner, he appreciates a long chat. He likes to argue, to debate, exposes his ideas and above all, to talk about his country, Iran, the goal of his struggle for 25 years.

POINT DE VUE: Do you think that one day you will become the Shah of Iran, like your father?

REZA PAHLAVI: I have always said that the form of the regime is not the key question. Most important is the content of the regime. It must be founded on the sovereignty of the people, the universal declaration of human rights, and the secularism of the state. It is on these pillars that a democratic future can be drawn for Iran. Once these principles of government have been won, the people can choose between a democratic republic and constitutional monarchy.

PDV: What will be your future role then?

RP: It is not the future that preoccupies me, but the present. Today, my only mission is to gather the opposition, inside and outside Iran. We must work together, to finally bring down this regime, to manage well the transition period and organise free elections and a national referendum.

PDV: What will be the main goals of this referendum?

RP: The first objective will be to mark the official end of the Islamic republic. The second, to allow the Iranian people to express their support for the principles that I have just outlined. The Iranian republic is a theocracy, we must never forget that. In this system, the citizens are considered as children, incapable of self-government. All the decisions are taken by the Supreme Leader. Only he can interpret the laws of the Koran. We are in a week of parliamentary elections in Iran, but the word election has no real meaning. It is not the deputies who make the law. They propose it to a council, which itself depends on the Supreme Leader. This calling to the ballot box is nothing more than a facade. According to official statistics published recently by the Ministry of Information, nine out of ten Iranians are not bothered by the elections.

PDV: Do you think that they are prepared to rally to the Pahlavi name which has been criticised all these years?

RP: One does not appreciate the height of a mountain unless you stand at its foot. You need some distance. History is the same thing. You need to take some distance to write. Iranians today do not have the same opinion of the Iran of my father or grandfather as the Iranians of 1979. Under their rule, the country made significant progress, materially, socially and intellectually. Of course, it was not perfect. Surly, there were mistakes. I do not deny it. But the situation in Iran then has nothing comparable to today. So, I carry the name of Pahlavi, but I have not inherited in the historic sense, the political methods of my father and my grandfather. I have my own ideas, my own vision.

PDV: After 25 years of living in exile, do you still feel Iranian?

RP: Iran is my country. That I live in Washington makes no difference. We are three million and a half Iranians living in exile, but we live in Iran every day. It is our passion. We have a key role to play in the future of our country. Among the 3.5 million exiles, we find captains of industry, directors of N.A.S.A space missions, doctors, heads of clinics, artists, writers, journalists. Our diaspora possesses a colossal fortune estimated at 600 billion dollars. It is an enormous potential which neighbouring countries like Afghanistan and Iraq do not possess.

PDV: Is it this Iranian community that finances your movement?

RP: The diaspora takes care of many costs, notably the media networks, such as the television and radios which broadcast from outside the country. But 95% of these funds are spent inside the country. These funds allow for concrete action, to assist those who want to organise demonstrations, to distribute pamphlets, or to buy a mobile telephone.

PDV: According to you the days of the Islamic republic are numbered?

RP: The fissures are getting bigger and bigger and it will fall apart by itself. We can push it over by launching a non-violent civil disobedience movement. I am encouraging this strategy among all those Iranians whom I am in direct contact. It does not matter to me if they are republicans or monarchists, of the right or of the left, we have to row all together to arrive upon the shores of democracy. The ideas that I have been articulating for many years is starting to have an important echo in Iran. Even among the heart of the Armed Forces, the Guardians of the Revolution and the Clergy.

PDV: How are you able to stay in touch with all these people?

RP: We have a network which thankfully allows us to communicate in all secrecy. And thanks to God, we live in the age of the Internet and satellite communication. This technology allows me to enter the most remote regions of Iran. I only need my personal computer and mobile telephone to dialogue with an Iranian. The Islamic regime may block the internet sites, interrupt the airwaves, but it can not cut off 50 million young Iranians who are fed up with being told what to wear and what to think. Their sole demand is to be allowed to live. They are confronted by terrible problems of drugs, prostitution, depression and suicide. Every year, 250,000 of them flee clandestinely from the country.

PDV: Recently, you met with the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, the sworn enemy of your father. Did you talk about these things to him?

RP: Not only did we talk, but we agreed 99%. It does not matter that he is the grandson of Khomeini and I the grandson of Reza Shah. We are of the same generation. We have lived through the same experiences, historically, politically and intellectually during these past 25 years. Logically, we came to the same conclusion. As long as this regime exists, we can never come out of this situation. Our only disagreement rests in the role that the West can play in the liberation process of our country. He believes in the necessity of external pressure, an American operation. I do not.

PDV: Why?

RP: The Iranian people do not need a military operation. On the contrary, they expect the international community to cease dealing with this regime. Two days ago, I secretly met here, in Paris, with young Iranians, who had travelled from the big cities. They had come specifically to meet with me. Their message was very clear: "Tell the media and the Western governments that they must halt giving this regime its legitimacy. When Prince Charles visits Bam, even as part of a humanitarian effort, fifteen days before the parliamentary elections, the regime's officials are ecstatic. They pose for pictures with delegation members, with smiles on their lips, and they snub the Iranian people." The West protests against the fact that certain candidates have been barred from standing at the elections, but that is not important. Even if Mr Khatami's brother is elected as deputy, that does not change anything. We must boycott the entire regime. We do not need anybody to liberate us, but we will never forget those who gave us a hand. What is the point of giving the Nobel Peace prize to Shirine Ebadi, whilst continuing to deal with the very regime that she is fighting against?

POINT DE VUE (No:2900)
Interview by Vincent Meylan
Photos by David Atlan
Translation: CK, London.

Jeffers, I think there is an important issue you left off the table. One of the reasons everyone is terrified of the US is the air power thing. Can we bring a regime to its knees via missiles and bombs? No, but what we can do is turn any economy on earth into subsistance farmers for the forseeable future, and even the meanest tyrants quake at that thought. Nobody likes their palaces blown up. That's a major card we have to play. It terrifies the world that we can devastate almost any country with very little risk to ourselves.

BREAKING NEWS:

Bush Denounces Iran Elections
Tue February 24, 2004 01:26 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Tuesday denounced Iran's parliamentary elections and said Tehran leaders stifled freedom of expression.

In Friday's election, an unelected hard-line clerical watchdog barred some 2,500 reformist candidates, some of whom have been key interlocutors with the European Union in its dialogue with Iran.

"I am very disappointed in the recently disputed parliamentary elections in Iran," Bush said in a statement read by his spokesman, Scott McClellan.

The United States is locked in a test of wills over Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran says is for energy production but which Washington fears could be used to make a bomb.

Bush said the disqualification of the candidates "deprived many Iranians of the opportunity to freely choose their representatives."

"I join many in Iran and around the world in condemning the Iranian regime's efforts to stifle freedom of expression, including the closing of two leading reformist newspapers in the run-up to the elections. Such measures undermine the rule of law and are clear attempts to deny the Iranian people's desire to freely choose their leaders," Bush said.

He said Washington supports the Iranian people's aspirations "to live in freedom, enjoy their God-given rights and determine their own destiny."

Mark,

What you describe is true, but what are the consequences if we exercise that ability?

Wouldn't that just create another power vacuum for the terrorists to exploit?

Dariush, it appears you have what you need from Bush. The alignment of the son's of the Shah and the Ayatollah would create interesting possibilities.

I believe that the only way to prevent Israel from taking action to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions would be if someone else does so first. I can't say I would be opposed to nuclear weapons in the hands of a stable government which had renounced terrorism in thought and deed, but I can't say how many would share those thoughts.

Unless all the plans are locked in place prior to the US elections, spring of 2005 would seem to be too soon to properly prepare for a western coalition offensive, so in my opinion, the Iranian people have perhaps a year and a half to settle the issues of concern before outside intervention is likely.

I very much hope that redress does take place internally. I think everyone involved will end up happier under those circumstances. In the alternative, I hope you understand the gravity with which the average western mind considers the combination of a hard line Islamic government, state support of terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction.

Once again, best of luck, keep us posted, and if you feel that we can assist your struggle in any way, let us know.

I found this article, which offers some additional information. Although the general tone might be critical, I don't necessarily advocate that viewpoint, instead, offer the piece to help counter what has been to date largely an information vacuum as to the election turnout and the general public opinion in Iran.

Worse still, the reformists never made it clear what it was exactly that they wanted. They complained about the fact that some
of them were prevented from standing as candidates. But they never called for an end to a system under which people can be
prevented from standing as candidates. They moaned about “dictatorial and despotic tendencies” in the regime but never
proposed any measure to correct them. What they really meant, therefore, was that they would be happy with the system
provided they used its machinery against rivals.

The last hope of the reformists was a massive boycott of the polls by the voters. Had that happened they would have been
able to claim the result as a round-about victory for themselves. But it didn’t happen. The official figures, backed by reports
from some 300 foreign correspondents and information from our own sources, indicated that the turnout had been at least as
high as it was four years ago.

The only difference is that this time around some 20 percent of those who went to polling stations cast blank ballots.

What does this mean? It means that many people went to the polls to deny the reformists the low turnout they had dreamed
of. At the same time, they cast blank ballots to make it clear that they do not approve of the system.

All in all some 25 percent of the total electorate voted for the candidates. Of those less than a quarter chose the candidates
regarded as close to the “reformists”.

A further quarter voted for candidates who have genuine local power bases and could not be classified either as reformist or
conservative. Thus the support base for the so-called “conservative” faction amounts to around 12 to 15 percent of the total
electorate.

In other words what matters in the present context of Iranian politics is not who gets how many votes - we know that no one
can attract a majority - but who controls the levers of power. On that score there is no ambiguity: power in Iran today belongs
to the camp identified by Western Iranologists as conservative.

That camp, however, does not consider itself as “conservative” at all.

On the contrary it prides itself as the standard-bearer of the revolution.

Anyone who would think Iran’s true rulers are conservatives would be making a mistake.

Whether anyone likes it or not the Khomeinist movement remains a revolutionary force. As already noted, its support base in
Iran has shrunk between 12 to 15 percent of the electorate. But, unlike the confused, not to say hypocritical, reformists, the
Khomeinist camp has a clear ideology, a well-established agenda, and well-known methods of dealing with its opponents. It is
as it appears. And that, in the context of Iran’s current politics, is a relief for all concerned.

Genuine, or if you like “hard”, Khomeinism, (conservatives) still enjoys some support in Iran. Ersatz, or “soft” Khomeinism as
represented by the so-called reformists, however, has no firm constituency.

As long as Iranians are not able to offer a clear alternative to conservatives, the nation will not emerge from its historic
impasse. By dispersing the fog of confusion, last week’s election may make the formation of such an alternative that much
easier.

Time may prove that the end of the seven-year reformist itch in Iran would be good for the Iranian people and all those who
want Iran to resolve its revolutionary crisis and return to normal.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=40069&d=25&m=2&y=2004

From the same source:

Iran Blasts US, EU Over Poll Remarks
Agencies

TEHRAN, 20 February 2004 — Iran yesterday angrily hit back at what it said were “unacceptable and interventionist
comments” from the United States and European Union over the Islamic republic’s controversial elections.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told the state news agency IRNA that foreign critics of Friday’s parliamentary
elections were “not informed of the realities and the complexities of developments under way in Iran.”

On Monday, the United States said the elections — won by religious hard-liners and conservatives — did not meet
“international standards” and were “deeply flawed”, given that most reformists were barred from even standing.

And a statement by foreign ministers of the European Union — Iran’s largest trading partner — called the election a “setback
for democracy”.

Meanwhile, eight women have secured seats in the 290-seat Iranian Parliament, fewer than the outgoing Parliament, which
had 13 female parliamentarians, the Interior Ministry announced yesterday.

Two women were directly elected, having secured more than 25 percent of the votes. The two women, one from the central
district of Isfahan and the other from Khalkhal in northwestern Iran, are likely to be joined by six women from Tehran, even
though the final results have not yet been announced in the capital.

Nine female candidates will go forward to the second round of voting, having failed to gain the required 25 percent of the
vote.

The second round, involving more than 100 hopefuls, is expected to take place in April, but even after the second round, the
total of female parliamentarians is unlikely to equal the outgoing 13. The new legislative term starts in May.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=40095&d=25&m=2&y=2004

From my experience, Arab News seems to generally toe the Suadi government line, but still frequently publishes pieces across a wide spectrum. Although it's difficult to assign a "spin quotient" to the publication, it seems to support the current regime in Iran more often than not.

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