Suicide bomber dies amid violent protests in Tehran

[Recursion]

Source: Al Arabiya

A suicide bomber was killed and two people wounded in Tehran Saturday in the latest events as Iranian riot police used tear gas to disperse mass rallies which took place despite a threat by the government to crack down on demonstrators, Fars news agency reported.

A bomb exploded near the shrine of Iran's revolutionary founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, killing the suicide bomber and injuring two. "A suicide bomber was killed at the northern wing of Imam Khomeini's shrine. Two people were injured," Fars said without giving further details.

Iranian riot police used tear gas elsewhere in Tehran to disperse demonstrators protesting against a disputed presidential election, a witness said.

Earlier on Saturday one of the organizers of a mass rally in Tehran backed down on after authorities threatened a harsh response as Iran's electoral watchdog the Guardians Council expressed readiness to "randomly" recount up to 10 percent of ballot boxes from last week's disputed presidential election.

Read more: http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/06/20/76486.html

[Recursion]

1. Al Jazeera has this now too

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/06/2009620132947283202.html

[AlphaCentauri]

2. Well that is interesting

this news are not very visible

[Recursion]

3. Even in the English Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera it's buried

I only noticed it because I was practicing my Arabic on Al-A's site.

[AlphaCentauri]

7. Good that you found it

all other news are just recursion of the same

[tocqueville]

4. Suicide bomber attacks Khomeini shrine in Iran

Source: Reuters

By Dominic Evans and Fredrik Dahl – 33 mins ago

TEHRAN (Reuters) – A suicide bomber blew himself up at the mausoleum of the father of Iran's revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, state media said Saturday, in an attack coinciding with more unrest over a disputed presidential vote.

"A few minutes ago a suicide bomber exploded himself in the shrine," police official Hossein Sajedinia was quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying.

Two people were wounded in the incident in the northern wing of the shrine, another news agency, Fars, said.
Supporters of defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi set on fire a building in southern Tehran used by backers of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a witness said.

The witness also said police shot into the air to disperse rival supporters in Tehran's south Karegar street.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090620/wl_nm/us_iran_election_151

[beachmom]

5. Most think the government did this, so then they could justify cracking down on "terrorists".

Back in '79, revolutionaries used similar tactics to discredit the government.

[Wizard777]

6. Hizbollah Probably. They've sent reenforcement to Iran.

[tomm2thumbs]

8. it was also said to have been reported on official Iran state TV before the explosion occurred

again, who knows what is actual news right now - just good to have the caveats out there as reporting has become very sporatic and uncomfirmable

[cal04]

9. Suicide bomber attacks Khomeini shrine in Iran

Source: Reuters

* Mousavi says ready for 'martyrdom' - aide
* Mousavi calls for national strike if he arrested-witness
* Suicide bomber kills self at Khomeini shrine-state media
* Police fire teargas at protesters
* Top legislative body says ready to recount 10 pct of vote

Defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi said on Saturday he was "ready for martyrdom" in leading protests that have shaken the Islamic Republic and brought warnings of bloodshed from Iran's Supreme Leader.

Mousavi also called for a national strike if he is arrested, a witness said. As darkness fell, rooftop cries of Allahu Akbar (God is greatest) sounded out across northern Tehran, an echo of tactics used in the 1979 Islamic revolution against the Shah.

In an act fraught with symbolic significance, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the mausoleum of the father of Iran's Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, while unrest continued across Tehran in defiance of a ban on demonstrations.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/EVA033026.htm

[The Magistrate]

10. There Is Certainly Room, Ma'am, To Question The Report Of The Bombing....

[Blue Meany]

Since Mousavi state that he would take refuge in the shrine,

if he were prevented from attending the demonstration, it is unlikely that his followers behind this. And since it was apparently report on state TV before it actually happened...well you get the picture.

[Flaneur]

11. There is certainly room to question everything coming out of Iran.

From all sides.

[Strong Atheist]

26. Welcome to DU!

:toast:

[CC]

Would be a great way for the Iranian govt

to turn the people against the protesters.

[earcandle]

That is why we have to be careful not to get involved.

Whose loyalty to which whatever? 

Let the Democratic process be about sorting the voting
irregularities.

They should just call another election and do it right.

[ooglymoogly]

Splain how that is even a remote possibility under these circumstances.

and those we have witnessed in the last week +.

[tomm2thumbs]

some have said the story was reported on state TV prior to explosion

and that cameras were quickly set up to capture the scene - reading now on HuffPost this from a contact there:

'I'm watching state TV here in Dubai and they just did a report on the bombing at the mausoleum. There was NO DAMAGE. All they showed was a broken window saying the "terrorists" luckily blew themselves up outside the building before doing any damage inside. The "bombing" was clearly a fraud as there was NO DAMAGE done to the mausoleum other than a broken window they showed at the entrance of the building. It clearly looked like there was NO BOMBING, no explosion fragments or blood shown just one shattered window.'

Just because you never know hearing one side or the other what is truly going on

[ooglymoogly]

"some say" my, my, my, nt

[tomm2thumbs]

'Dewey Defeats Truman' - oh smart one.

[MrBig]

The worst thing that could happen

is for Mousavi to be assassinated. I cannot imagine what kind of time bomb that would set off in that country. If Ahmadinejad and the rest of that government had any sort of intelligence, they would have body guards around Mousavi 24/7

[Warpy]

More than one person has said this is likely a false flag attack

because so many of the green protesters support Khomeini and are against the present regime for betraying the ideals of the original revolution.

The problem with these things is that the truth disappears pretty quickly. I'd suggest taking most things with a large grain of salt.

Also, whenever a violent uprising starts, you never know which direction it will end up going. The uprising against the Shah was a secular and democratic one and we know what weasels took control of that one.

[David__77]

Oh boy...

That would be a terrible terrible thing for the Iran opposition.

[Turborama]

12. Moussavi reportedly awaits 'martyrdom'

Source: CNN

The main opposition candidate in Iran, Mir Hossein Moussavi, was said to be ready for "martyrdom" today as thousands of protesters clashed with police in protests that defied warnings from Iran's supreme leader.

This is a developing story, more details to follow when they become available...

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/

---

[Ohio Joe]

13. Interesting

I'm curious to see where this story goes because my initial reaction to it so far is that... Well, it just does not seem like a very good idea.

[vadawg]

14. dude knows this is over, mayby hoping to get a reprieve

i personally think hes toast, the regime will close the protesters down, make it bloody so that the general populous will get the message and then they will have a mini pogrom against so called malcontents that formented the protests.

[troubledamerican]

15. Wow. What would Al Gore do?

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sarcasmo]

25. Are you at the wrong message board?

[troubledamerican]

27. I guess you think he'd take a stand like Moussavi?

I believe in real courage on behalf of democracy.

No matter what the country.

Do you?

[sarcasmo]

29. Iran has nothing close to a Democracy. Are you really trying to equate Gore to Moussavi?

[troubledamerican]

30. The current uprising ain't an expression of monarchy or

anything but democracy.

The contextual parallels between Gore, Kerry & Moussavi are not my own idiosyncratic observation.

Nice try, thanks for playing.

[sarcasmo]

31. You were the one who asked what would Gore do, and now you bring Kerry's name up?

[OKNancy]

16. Telegraph UK story

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5588198/Mir-Hossein-Mousavi-ready-for-martyrdom-as-Iranians-defy-Supreme-Leader.html

Iran's defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi on Saturday night told his supporters he was ready for martyrdom, and demanded that the entire disputed election be annulled.

He dramatically raised the stakes in the standoff with Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after publishing a letter to the country's highest electoral authority in which he cited examples of electoral fraud to support his "undeniable right" to call for a re-run of the election.
Mr Mousavi made his defiant call during a speech delivered in southwest Tehran, according to an ally, who telephoned a western news agency shortly afterwards to report: "Mousavi said he was ready for martyrdom and that he would continue his path."

A witness told Reuters that Mr Mousavi had called for a national strike if he was arrested.

More at link

[dipsydoodle]

18. Did he mean

he would continue his path until he was martyred - or afterwards ?

[Aloha Spirit]

19. It means he did a purification ritual

[NYC Democrat]

17. well there is no turning back for him now then.

[SkyDaddy7]

20. He will either be a hero for freedom...

Or he will be a martyr for freedom

[stlsaxman]

22. also called for a General Strike if arrested.

[w4rma]

23. I wish him and his supporters success and safety. (nt)

[OKNancy]

24. Kick

[AlphaCentauri]

28. Hope he doesn't take the suicidal path