Tag Archives: mullahs

In Iran Crisis, Paris Exile Group Plays Disputed Role

As millions of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran over the past week to protest the presidential-election results, exiled opposition group the National Council of Resistance of Iran saw its moment. “This uprising is the result of 30 years of murder, oppression and corruption by an Iranian regime we’ve dedicated our entire lives to fighting,” Mohammad Mohaddessin, chairman of foreign affairs for the Paris-based group told TIME. “Even if protesters aren’t calling for [the NCRI] to take power, it’s only natural that, given our organization’s experience, our clandestine networks are playing an important role informing and assisting the Iranian people to achieve its desire of regime change.” Authorities in Tehran claim that isn’t the half of it.

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What Iraqis Think About Iran’s Election Turmoil

Iraq and Iran have rarely had the luxury of ignoring each other; in the 1980s, the two fought a bitter eight-year war, and more recently, since the U.S. toppling of Saddam Hussein, Iran has taken an active — and some would argue malign — interest in its neighbor to the west.

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Commentary: Iran’s hardliners are the real losers

With an apparent political coup in Iran by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his supporters over the weekend, the ruling mullahs have dispensed with all democratic pretense and joined the ranks of traditional dictators in the Middle East. (CNN) — With an apparent political coup in Iran by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his supporters over the weekend, the ruling mullahs have dispensed with all democratic pretense and joined the ranks of traditional dictators in the Middle East. The hardliners in Tehran, led by the Revolutionary Guards and ultra-conservatives, have won the first round against reformist conservatives but at an extravagant cost — loss of public support.

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