May 20, 2004
THE LONELY MULLAHS:
Iranians demonstrate against US, UK: Thousands gather in Tehran to protest US and British actions in Iraq. (Matthew Clark, May 19, 2004, csmonitor.com)
Iran's clerical regime, a frequent critic of US-led coalition efforts in Iraq, has once again called for Iranians to protest the occupation of their neighbor to the west.Thousands of protesters – some chanting "death to America, death to Israel" and burning US, British, and Israeli flags – heeded that call Wednesday as they took to the streets of Tehran "to demonstrate against US and British 'crimes' in Iraq and the profaning of Shiite Muslim holy sites," reports Agence France-Presse.
About 200 demonstrators also threw firecrackers, stones, and petrol bombs at the British embassy in Tehran, reports Reuters. They were reportedly calling for the embassy to be closed. A few windows were broken, but no one in the embassy compound was injured, a diplomat told Reuters.
Iran's leaders have been calling for demonstrations in three cities – Tehran, Mashhad, and the holy city of Qom, reports BBC.
200 people throwing rocks is all they have left to show for the Revolution. History has Ended in Iran. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 20, 2004 8:49 AM
How long is our media going to report these government-staged plays as meaninful demonstrations of popular feeling? If our government hired a bunch of people to throw rocks at the Iranian embassy, they'd never report that as evidence of popular feeling.
Posted by: Brandon at May 20, 2004 11:55 AMHow long are bloggers going to imply (or outright claim) the counter-revolution is imminent?
Posted by: jsmith at May 20, 2004 11:21 PMUntil it happens--that should certainly be within the next few years.
Posted by: oj at May 20, 2004 11:23 PMI tend to agree, OJ, but it's been going to happen tomorrow for over two years according to some.
Posted by: jsmith at May 21, 2004 12:03 AMWhat evidence is there of an organized resistance movement within Iran? Dissatisfaction with the regime means nothing. Does anyone want regime change bad enough to die and kill for it? Once an organized resistance movement forms, then you can talk about how many years it will take for them to succeed.
Posted by: Robert Duquette at May 21, 2004 4:09 PM