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Mossadegh Project News & Updates
November 8, 2008 :: FREE ESHA
Chronicling
the human rights abuses of the Islamic Republic is a full
time job. Here is one such unfortunate story. U.S. born
Esha Momeni, currently doing post graduate work at
Calstate University, was recently arrested in Iran for no
good reason and incarcerated. Please sign the
petition, spread the word and increase the pressure
towards her timely release.
----> Free Esha Momeni: Illegally Jailed in Evin Prison
October 11, 2008 :: A Sermon For Yom Kippur
An Illinois rabbi addresses his congregation on Yom Kippur with a special sermon on Iran, and the need for "intelligence and understanding" rather than fear and ignorance.
----> Rabbi Brant Rosen on Iran: A Sermon for Yom Kippur
September 25 :: Ahmadinejad's Hypocrisy
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to New York to address the UN this week has provoked the usual outrage and protests from many directions. Iranian American Roya Boroumand writes scathingly of the visit in a September 24th New York Sun column, "How To Treat Ahmadinejad".
Roya is the co-founder, with her sister Ladan, of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy in Iran, which catalogues the countless human rights abuses and executions committed by the government. It was named for her father, a former Mossadegh supporter who was assassinated in Europe by agents of the Islamic Republic. From Roya's article:
Mr. Ahmadinejad's interlocutors in New York can challenge him, for example, when he presents his usual list of grievances. In a recent interview, he mentioned the 1953 American-sponsored coup that overthrew Prime Minister Mossadegh. This is a legitimate complaint if it were coming from the Iranian people. But coming from Mr. Ahmadinejad, it is a farce.
After the revolution, Iran's Islamic leaders killed, exiled, or reduced to silence all of Mossadegh's coalition. November 2008 will be the 10th anniversary of the gruesome stabbing of Dariush and Parvaneh Forouhar, leaders of the Iran People's Party and Mossadegh supporters, by the regime's intelligence operatives. Seven years before, Revolutionary Guards butchered, in Paris, Shapur Bakhtiar, leader of the Iran Party and member of the Mossadegh government.
August 25 :: Hula-hoop Diplomacy
Don't just hope for peace, hoop for it, at the "Hooping for Peace" event to be held during the 2008 Democratic National Convention, August 26-27th.
----> "Hooping for Peace" 2 Day Event at the 2008 DNC in Denver
August 21 :: National Geographic
The current issue of National Geographic includes a feature on Iran which includes Mossadegh.
----> National Geographic Magazine- "Persia: Ancient Soul of Iran"
August 16 :: The Ugly American
In a new interview, nauseating neocon John Bolton says the 1953 coup was the right thing to do, and would not apologize for it. Click to watch his argumentative interview with Al Jazeera.
----> VIDEO: Shameless John Bolton Defends Mossadegh Overthrow
August 11 :: It's Alive
Author, TV host, commentator Tarek Fatah, a Canadian based secular Muslim and opponent of Islamic extremism, discusses destructive U.S. behavior in the Middle East.
----> Tarek Fatah: 'The West Created These Monsters'
July 22 :: Nuclear Assumptions
Did you know that Iran ADMITS to pursuing nuclear weapons? At least according to President Bush they have, despite copious denials and anti-nuke diatribes from Iranian officials at the highest level. It's an absurd life-or-death game of "he said, she said" with global consequences, all under the "shadow of a nuclear holocaust".
----> IRAN: The Nuclear Assumption
July 15 :: No Apologies
Looking back at the coup 50 years later, columnist George Will concludes, 'it was still a success'.
----> George Will: 1953 Coup Was Worth It
July 9 :: Trust
CNN's Frank Sesno points out that past U.S. sins have made it nearly impossible for Iran to trust America.
----> CNN's Frank Sesno: Why Iran Can't Trust America
July 1 :: MOSSADEGH Shirts Sale
The MOSSADEGH shirts have been reduced in price for summertime... There are two versions- the classic green design and the new gray design. They come in a variety of styles and colors- ladies, long sleeve, and organic...and they are 100% fair trade, finest quality. Makes a great gift (for someone else, or for yourself :)).
----> MOSSADEGH t-shirts- Summer sale
June 30 :: CIA
The Iranian press reports are being carefully monitored by retired Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner, who has taught strategy at the National War College and now conducts war games centered on Iran for the federal government, think tanks, and universities. The Iranian press “is very open in describing the killings going on inside the country,” Gardiner said. It is, he said, “a controlled press, which makes it more important that it publishes these things. We begin to see inside the government.” He added, “Hardly a day goes by now we don’t see a clash somewhere. There were three or four incidents over a recent weekend, and the Iranians are even naming the Revolutionary Guard officers who have been killed.”
Earlier this year, a militant Ahwazi group claimed to have assassinated a Revolutionary Guard colonel, and the Iranian government acknowledged that an explosion in a cultural center in Shiraz, in the southern part of the country, which killed at least twelve people and injured more than two hundred, had been a terrorist act and not, as it earlier insisted, an accident. It could not be learned whether there has been American involvement in any specific incident in Iran, but, according to Gardiner, the Iranians have begun publicly blaming the U.S., Great Britain, and, more recently, the C.I.A. for some incidents. The agency was involved in a coup in Iran in 1953, and its support for the unpopular regime of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi—who was overthrown in 1979—was condemned for years by the ruling mullahs in Tehran, to great effect. “This is the ultimate for the Iranians—to blame the C.I.A.,” Gardiner said. “This is new, and it’s an escalation—a ratcheting up of tensions. It rallies support for the regime and shows the people that there is a continuing threat from the ‘Great Satan.’ ” In Gardiner’s view, the violence, rather than weakening Iran’s religious government, may generate support for it.
June 23 :: Time To Talk With Iran
Earlier this month, 6
members of Congress and numerous other figures including
ex-CIA and a former aide to Reagan convened on Capitol
Hill in DC with a simple message: talk to Iran. It
included a speech from popular Congressman Ron Paul,
followed by our own remarks. To see it, click the link for
the video.
----> "Time To Talk With Iran" Event on Capitol Hill in DC
May 30 :: McClellan's Bombshell: Bush Lied
Scott McClellan, who has never heard of the 1953 coup, has just come clean about his war propaganda dissemination for the criminal Bush regime-- too late for Iraq, but there's still time for Iran.
----> Scott McClellan: Bush Propaganda Misled US to War in Iraq
May 6 :: Amanpour on Iran
CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, a Persian-British breed, on Iran.
----> CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Iran's Distrust of Britain
April 29 :: Monarchist's Historical Revisionism
Last week our letter responding to factually incorrect anti-Mossadegh propaganda was published in IRANIANS newspaper, one of the most widely circulated Persian publications in the U.S.
----> Our Letter: U.S. and Shah Acted Illegally, Not Mossadegh
April 27 :: Googled
Google executive Omid Kordestani is proud of his Iranian heritage and believes in educating others about its rich history and culture. So why is it that Google is renaming the Persian Gulf on its maps?
----> Google Sales VP Omid Kordestani: Educate Others About Iran
April 17 :: Oily Americans
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan: "America is an oil junkie. She doesn't care how she gets it, she must have it."
----> Louis Farrakhan on Oil, Iran and 1953 Coup
April 13 :: "Ancient History....."
During a press conference given at the height of the hostage crisis, Jimmy Carter responded to a question about the U.S. role in the 1953 coup and support for the Shah.
----> President Jimmy Carter: 1953 Coup is "Ancient History"
April 4 :: The State Department's Latest Farce
The US State Department is full of compliments for the Iranian people, their heritage, tradition, and contributions. So why does this flattery ring false?
----> State Department's Sizdeh Bedar Wishes Conceal Bloody Ambitions
March 25 :: Biden Opposes War With Iran
Senator Joe Biden (D-DE), a former 2008 Presidential candidate, outlines his policy toward Iran.
----> Senator Joe Biden: Impeach Bush if He Attacks Iran
March 24 :: Howl
Poet, activist, revolutionary Allen Ginsberg, an icon of 1960's counter culture, was never fooled by all the anti-Mossadegh rhetoric coming from the newspapers and his government in the 1950's.
----> Allen Ginsberg: Iran Was OUR Hostage
March 19 :: Anniversary of Oil Nationalization - Live TV Today
Tomorrow, March 20th, marks the 57th anniversary of oil nationalization in Iran.
Broadcasting live from Tehran, PRESS TV is airing a "Tribute to Oil Nationalization" today on its show "4 Corners" with a panel discussion.
Guests are: Arash
Norouzi of The Mossadegh Project, from London, author Dilip
Hiro, and in Tehran, Dr. Saeed Leylaz.
It aired live this afternoon and an archive of the show
can be viewed in streaming video at this link: www.presstv.com/pop/wmp.aspx?id=48233
March 18 :: Pickering on Iran
Thomas R. Pickering, former Ambassador to the United Nations and half a dozen member countries, acknowledges the damage done by the 1953 coup in this 2007 testimony before the House of Representatives.
----> Thomas R. Pickering on Iran: '53 Coup Damage Persists
March 14 :: Fallon's Ominous Departure
Reporter Stephen Kinzer on the sudden resignation of U.S. Admiral William Fallon [The Guardian, 3/12/08]:
In 1953, after President Dwight Eisenhower decided to overthrow the Iranian government headed by Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, the CIA station chief in Tehran, Roger Goiran, was ordered to help prepare the coup. Goiran replied that intervening in Iran would be a terrible idea. The response from Washington was simple and direct: Goiran was removed from his post.
That history is eerily relevant to today's news. The 1953 coup led to a host of disasters that
destabilized the Middle East and gravely weakened the national security of the United States. An attack on Iran now would be no less devastating.
Removing the CIA station chief - the man whose job it was to know more about Iran than anyone else in the US government - was a precursor to America's last violent intervention in Iran. Admiral Fallon's fall could well be a precursor to another, equally tragic intervention.
February 21 :: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
The
feature film version of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novels
Persepolis is winning international acclaim. Click here to
read what author Marjane
Satrapi has to say about the 1953 coup and Mossadegh
(newly updated). To watch the video of the Persepolis
trailer and learn more background info on the film,
click:
----> Satrapi's 'PERSEPOLIS' Movie Wins Acclaim
February 10 :: The Folly of Not Talking To Iran
Senator Dianne Feinstein was flabbergasted when she heard that the Bush administration had chastised its own UN Ambassador, Zalmay Khalizad, just for being in the same room with a couple of Iranian officials during the World Economic Forum. With the risk of war still a reality, the stakes are too high for such pettiness, argues Feinstein.
----> Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Iran
February 2 :: The Folly of Attacking Iran Tour
Beginning February 7th in Los Angeles, All the Shah's Men author Stephen Kinzer will lead a 22 city U.S. speaking tour to prevent war with Iran. Click the link for more info and complete tour schedule.
----> The Folly of Attacking Iran National Tour 2008
January 29 :: IRAN is not IRAQ!
It just might be the most inane political talking point ever devised: "Iran is not Iraq". Everyone agrees with it, everyone repeats it, and yet the actual lessons of the phrase are ignored by the Bush administration, oblivious to the wisdom of their own self-conceived mantra.
----> Experts Agree: "Iran is Not Iraq"
January 21 :: Hegemony
Colonel Larry Wilkerson admits that U.S. foreign policy from the 1953 coup onwards has been about maintaining control over Iran, the natural hegemon of the Middle East.
----> Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: Iran is the Hegemon
January 17 :: 50 Years Bad Luck
If Iranians still resent the coup today, more than half a century after the fact, imagine what they'll be saying 50+ years from now if the United States attacks their country. So argues 28 year CIA veteran Paul Pillar.
----> CIA's Paul Pillar Warns Against Any US Attack on Iran
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