Iran

[Karma]

this country is lead by an arrogant, blustering idiot. how long is the rest of the world going to let Iran poke its finger in the global "eyes" before people get tired of their shit?

they were totally out of order for capturing the British soldiers (an incident which shows just how USELESS the EU council is...since they turned to AMERICA for "help") and it's been prooven beyond doubt that they are indirectly fanning the flames of war in Iraq.

NOW, they boldy proclaim that theyve brought several nuclear centrifuge machines online despite UN sanctions (further proof that the UN is a joke).

someone (or maybe SEVERAL countries) needs to turn Iran into a frickin parking lot and be done with it.

 

[Clara Oswald]

Negative public opinion on Iraq is affecting policy on Iran.

 

[goldenboy]

It's always fascinating to follow what's going on inside Iran too. The Fashion Police have been out in force. From the Herald Sun awhile back:

IRAN launched a fresh nationwide drive aimed at forcing women whose clothes are deemed too tight and headscarves overly skimpy to fall in line with its Islamic dress rules.

Iranian newspapers printed pictures of women in tight and colourful clothing being given warnings on Tehran's streets by female police officers dressed in chadors as the crackdown got underway yesterday.

Such moves by the police are customary every year as Iran's hot summer begins, hem lines become shorter and more skin is revealed.

But people have been warned about this year's crackdown with more prominence than in the past.

According to the Fars news agency, women were initially notified of their transgression on the street and if they showed resistance they were then taken to a correctional centre in Tehran.

Its reporter saw a bus of 15 women arriving at the centre in central Iran.

Their parents were then notified, names and photos added to a database and they were allowed to leave after signing a written commitment and changing clothes.

kamangir.net , an Iranian-themed blog, has shots of some of the unlucky women protesters, beaten, bloodied.

Another blurb:

Tehran, 26 April (AKI) - Some 150,000 women have been detained in Iran for violating strict new Islamic dress code rules, the country's top police officer has announced. "During the first four days [since the code came into effect] we have picked up 150,000 women who were not properly veiled, but many of them were released after they signed an admission of guilt and a formal apology," General Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam told journalists. An unspecified number of the women taken into custody were also forced to undergo psychological counseling, Moghaddam said.

“Only 13 of these women are still being held and they will have to stand trial," he explained.

Some prominent politicians have criticised the government and the security forces for the way the matter has been handled.

“Certain methods produce undesired results," said Ayatollah Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi. “Dragging women and girls to police stations for having some hair out of place, not only won't serve to bring morality to the country, but will have very negative effects on it," he added.