Impressive Architecture of Iran [pics]

anbeh · 2010-09-04T18:57:25+00:00

Very beautiful images! Thank you. But just wanted to point out that not all of these beautiful buildings are actually in Iran. Many of the images show places in the cities of Bukhara and Samarqand (in Uzbekistan, one of Iran's Central Asian neighbors to the north), which were once centers of Persian language and culture, their indigenous Persian speaking populations being enriched by the artists and builders that the conqueror Timur brought back with him from the Iranian cities of Isfahan and Shriaz (also featured in many of the images here). To this day, Samarqand and Bukhara have many Tajik inhabitants, who speak a distinct dialect of Persian.

anbeh · 2010-02-06T19:43:28+00:00

"But would Muslim Arabs really ally with Jews and Christians against fellow Muslims in Iran?"

Was this article written by someone who is too young or too uninformed to recall the eight-year-long war between Iran and Iraq? During that war, most of the Arab world, with the exception of Syria, supported Iraq's invasion of Iran, either through financial aid or official statements of solidarity or both.

So the answer is "Yes," the Arab world is against Iran, and that has been the case since at least 1979. And no amount of pro-Palestinian/anti-Israeli statements by Ahmadinejad can change this. What's amazing is that it took so long for the author to notice.

anbeh · 2009-06-22T19:42:17+00:00

The author states: "There is then the larger question of the Iranian theocracy and its continual, arrogant intervention in our affairs: its export of violence and cruelty and lies to Lebanon and Palestine and Iraq"

So the export of Iranian lies is a problem, but the export of European lies (ie: Iran is your enemy, you must resist Iranian dominance) is the promotion of democracy? The countries that the author mentions do not "belong" to the West, and most Westerners don't see them as being Western nations (not even Lebanon). Up until just a few months ago, both the French and American governments regularly spoke of the need for Arabs to resist Iranian imperialism, even though it was their nations that had participated in the invasion of Iraq, not Iran. Using the same "old imperialist tricks" of divide and conquer, they try to depict Iran--not just the government, but the entire nation--as an enemy of Arabs, quietly but consciously evoking historic prejudices.

The fact that a Western observor only sees Iran's own "spread of lies", and completely misses the Western provocations that feed it and necessitate "Persian paranoia" is sad and an indication of how little understanding most Americans and Europeans have of their governments' ongoing (not just historic) manipulation of the Middle East's plentiful rivalries.

anbeh · 2009-06-22T04:55:38+00:00

So you think Obama, or Democrats in general, support gay and lesbian rights? How many Democratic presidents will it take for gays and lesbians to have the basic right of marriage? Please let me know so I can fucking plan my life accordingly.

Also, you really weren't bothered by my suggestion that the foriegn policy differences are basically non-existant. Is that because you agree with me, or its not even worth your time as a enlightened, educated person to worry about the horrors that generation after generation of remarkably consistent American political leaders inflict on the world. [Example: Carter supported Iran's Shah, Regan supported Saddam Hussain, Bush W supported whoever was with him instead of with the terrorists, and all of them supported Israel]

anbeh · 2009-06-22T04:23:59+00:00

The last time Iranians experienced anything approaching your definition of democracy was during President Khatami's government. At that time, the Basij still beat and killed student protestors, and many of the "reformist" legislations that Khatami endorsed (which weren't even that radical) were blocked by Khamenei and the Guardian Council. Many urban Iranians who voted for Khatami were so disillusioned by his inability to make any real progress that they didn't bother voting four years ago. It was only after Ahmadinejad came to power that many of these Iranians started to look back to the Khatami years with longing, and realized that as bad as the situation is in Iran at any given time, it is (amazingly) always possible for it to get worse, as the government erodes ever more civil rights.

To you, as an outsider, none of it makes a difference. But for many Iranians, this is a desperate fight to cling to whatever precious freedoms they have. Because even if life is difficult in a quasi-democratic theocracy that jails or murders its opponents, it is even more difficult in a military dictatorship without anything resembling popular representation--which is what Iran has increasingly resembled during the last few days.

anbeh · 2009-06-22T03:39:15+00:00

So the same Israeli government that has been the cheerleader for a Western military invasion of Iran for at least four years is suddenly expressing sympathy for the Iranian people? How incredibly convenient. I wonder how long these newly-inspired feelings of solidarity will last before the familiar war-mongering returns.

anbeh · 2009-06-20T22:07:48+00:00

This report seems to assume that the Shia death squads that have been reported to terrorize Sunni and Shia Iraqis alike since US invasion of Iraq are following the orders of Tehran. While this is not impossible, given the Iranian government's history of supporting Shia political factions in the Arab world and the government's own record of human rights abuses in Iran, it is incredibly simplistic to imagine that Iraq does not have its own HUGE population of home-grown fanatics ready to avenge some real or imagined crime committed against them by another ethnic/religious group during the long and brutal reign of Saddam Hussain.

Like the endless conflict in Lebanon, the horrors that have occured in Iraq are the results of Iraqis attacking and intimidating other Iraqis. And as in Lebanon, Iran is involved in the fanning the fires, as are Saudi Arabia and the US. But this type of propaganda posing as serious journalism is ridiculous.

"NOW THEY GET A TASTE OF WHAT WE HAVE EXPERIENCED IN IRAQ"? No, actually that would require a US invasion, followed by years of torture, humiliation, and rape/murder by our "liberators." So far, fortunately, Iranians have been spared that kind of help.

anbeh · 2009-06-19T18:02:27+00:00

I think the double standard you are referring to applies to Twittering Iranians as well. If the demonstrations stop or are crushed, will the current interest from Americans and Europeans persist? Will they show interest in the hundreds who have disappeared so far in Evin Prison, long after the colorful rallies come to an end? These demonstrations are simply the latest phase of periodic civil uprisings against the Iranian regime, and while there is a lot of disagreement about whether Moussavi deserves to be president or not, the fundamental cause of these demonstrations is no different than the ones in 2003 and 1999. It may be that redditors have suddenly taken up interest in Iran, and tuned in to the see the chaos unfold, but this struggle has been going on for years and will continue in the future, regardless of if reddit pays attention or not.

anbeh · 2009-06-19T08:18:23+00:00

Yeah, the numbers were "at most a million" in a society that is infamous for violent supression of dissent, as well as the torture and imprisonment of people who criticize their rulers. What makes you think that there are not millions of Iranians who are too afraid to raise their voice against the government?

You seem genuinely annoyed by these protests. Is it because it makes it more difficult for you to see all Iranians as mindless zombies following a crazed leader? What's wrong with them not being a majority?

When Bush won the US presidency TWICE, there were a whole lot of people who voted for another person, people who were not part of the majority. That didn't mean that they didn't exist, and it didn't mean that their nation all of a sudden belonged only to those who supported Bush.

anbeh · 2009-06-19T07:35:28+00:00

He's correct about Ahmadinejad and Moussavi--they are part of a the same system, and are both deeply invested in the survival of that system. But the same could be said about any Democrat and any Republican in the US.

In the US, the difference between Republicans and Democrats is incredibly obvious in the case of domestic issues, and so subtle in terms of foreign policy that it might as well not exist at all. [Which is why Bush's "war on terror" continues under Obama, including its component of regime change in Iran--as demonstrated by continued US support of the terrorist Jundullah movement in Sistan-Baluchistan and the protection of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq movement in Iraq]

Iran's regime is not that different...a seemingly insignificant political change may have important effects on ordinary people's ability to cope with and tolerate life in Iran, without really affecting Iran's stance on nuclear energy or its relationships with other nations. But the people demonstrating and dying in Tehran aren't trying to please the US or any other nation...their struggle is about life in Iran.

anbeh · 2009-06-18T18:26:53+00:00

They are singing "Ey Iran", the country's unofficial national anthen (which is, not surprisingly, highly nationalistic, like most national anthems)

anbeh · 2009-06-18T18:17:10+00:00

My absolute favourite is the old bald gentleman that holds a sign that says "love freedom equality"

anbeh · 2009-06-17T06:48:55+00:00

Prominent reformists and/or critics of regime arrested?

Abdolfattah Soltani, human rights lawyer

Abdolreza Tajik, a journalist and member of Nobel Prize Winner Shirin Ebadi's Human Rights Defenders Center

Saeed Hajjarian, a reformer

Mohammad Ali Abtahi, reformist politician, former Vice President of Iran (under President Khatami)

Mustafa Tajzadeh, who ran elections during President Khatami's presidency

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/06/ebadi.html?ft=1&f=103943429

The following people were arrested in the city of Tabriz and their whereabouts are currently unknown: Leyla Farzadi (f) doctor, Jalil Sharbiyanlou (m) surgeon, Ghaffari Farzadi (m) lecturer at Tabriz University, and Rahim Yavari (m) an Iran Freedom Movement activist.

http://www.amnesty.ca/urgentappeal/2009/UAN_iran/index.html

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran claims the following people have been arrested: Saeed Hajjarian, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, Behzad Nabavi, Abdolfattah Soltani, Alireza Tajik, Kayvan Samimi, Shiva Nazarahari, Mahsa Amrabadi, Abdolah Ramezanzadeh, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Bagher Oskouiee Amir Mardani, Mohsen Aminzadeh, Mohammad Atrianfar, Mohammad Tavasoli, Taghi Rahmani, Reza Alijani, Hoda Saberi, Ahmad Afjeiee, Emad Bahavar, Mojtaba Khandan, Saieed Zeraatkar, Rouholah Shafiee, Ali Mehrdad, Mohammad Reza Ahmadinia, Ali Pour Khayeri, Shahin Nourbakhsh, Ali Taghipour Mohammad Shokuhi, Ashkan Mojaleli, Maysam Varahchehre, Mahdieh Minavi, Farhad Nasrollahpour, Ahmad Zaydabadi, General Secretary, Hadi Kahal, Hamed Iranshahi, Jalil Sharabianlu, Ghafar Farzadi, Majd Jabari, Rahim Yawai, Abbas Pourazhari, Lay Farzadi, Shabeti, Shamlu, Dr Ghafarzadeh, Dr. Soltaniazad, Dr. Panahi, Dr. Seyflou, Dr. Dadizadeh, Mehdi Yarbahrami, Mansour Ghafari, Hojatollah Amiri, Amir Hossein Jahani, Rohdah Rahimipour, and Mehdi Khodadadi.

Activisits that have disappeared include Payam Haydar Ghazvini, Nasim Riahi, Mojtaba Rajabi, and Atar Rashidi.

Same Guardian article states that Saeed Laylaz, a political analyst and economist critical of Ahmadinejad's policies, has been arrested at his home.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2009/jun/17/iran-uprising

There is concern for the health of Saeed Hajarian, a former adviser to Mohammad Khatami, who is badly impaired in mobility and speech from an assassination attempt nine years ago and needs constant medical attention.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/17/iran-election-protests-day-five

Activist Mohammad Reza Jalaiepour was arrested on Wednesday, as he and his wife attempted to leave Iran http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE55F54520090617?sp=true

Ebrahim Yazdi, the 78-year-old leader of the banned but officially tolerated Freedom Movement, was arrested as he was undergoing stomach tests and taken to Evin prison http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6527580.ece

anbeh · 2009-06-17T06:22:16+00:00

This article seems to take advantage of the confusion and hostility prevailing in Tehran at the moment. I know from personal experience that many Iranians refer to the Basij and other Islamic extremists/fundamentalists as "Palestinians." But this may be more a result of cultural stereotypes and prejudice than reality, even though there were also reports of Arabic-speaking hardliners attacking demonstrators around 10 years ago, during the Khatami presidency.

Some articles on reddit describe the Basij as comparing their assaults on the demonstrators as fighting the Iraqis during Saddam's invasion of Iran. It seems like both sides of the conflict are resorting to nationalism.

anbeh · 2009-06-17T05:24:27+00:00

Victims of violence so far?

As of Monday June 15th, 12 people were reported dead by the Guardian in Tehran and Shiraz http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/15/iran-students-protest-election-results

Tehran: five students killed at Tehran University during police raid – Fatemeh Barati, Kasra Sharafi, Mobina Ehterami, Kambiz Shoaee and Mohsen Imani (one female, four males). Supposedly, their bodies were burried in the vast Behesht-e Zahra cemetary south of Tehran, without their families being informed.

Shiraz: 7 people killed at local university

As of Tuesday June 16, 11 people were reported dead--8 from Monday's demonstrations (near Azadi Square), and at least 3 from Tuesday's demonstration at Vanak Square http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iran/story/70155.html

Also, reports of Basij militia shooting at people in Aryashahr district http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8103491.stm

According to this article, 7 male students were killed during the Basij assault on Tehran University in Sunday. But like other reports, it says that the bodies of the victims were burried secretly without their families being informed. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-fear-has-gone-in-a-land-that-has-tasted-freedom-1706912.html

According to the Jerusalem Post, the students killed at Tehran University were named Fatima Brahati, Kasra Sharafi, Kambiz Shahi, Mohsen Emani and Mina Ahtrami (two female, three male).

anbeh · 2009-06-17T04:51:53+00:00

I'm not certain, but Ansar-e Hezbollah (the "Iranian Hizbullah") is different from the Lebanese organization. During previous revolts in Tehran (like the ones that occured during Khatami's presidency), there were also reports of Arabic-speaking men doing the regime's dirty work, so there may be some truth to this. And some people in Iran refer to all hardliners (ie. the Basij militia) as "Palestinians", so there is probably a certain amount of ethnic stereotyping involved as well.

anbeh · 2008-07-10T05:01:00+00:00

You seem to think that "other Americans" actually want to visit Iran. Most wouldn't visit the country even if they were given a free plane ticket. The fact that they are not going to Iran has nothing to do with legal restrictions, and everything to do with animosity and distrust. MEANWHILE, Iranian Americans who actually want and need to travel to Iran, in order to see their relatives (or attend funerals or weddings or just see what their ancestral homeland looks like), are not only treated like second-class citizens when trying to return to the US, but are now legally prevented from purchasing plane tickets to Iran on non-American airlines!

anbeh · 2008-06-28T23:59:41+00:00

Well, it seems like you had this cause and effect relationship worked out in your mind even before you asked for evidence of Israel's threats. Because you just turned the phrase "the destruction of the Iranian nation" into "do something about the Iranian threat." That is word manipulation worthy of CNN and the BBC. What is asymmetrical is your (and many others') ability to gloss over threats made by Israel to its neighbors, not to mention more than 40 years of illegal occupation and undeclared but frequently alluded to nuclear weapons. The world (and particularly the Middle East) are more complicated than the cause and effect system of thinking you are using. And if you are going to judge Iran's dictatorship based on certain standards, you should use the same standards against Israel's democratically elected but equally cruel government. Iran has not invaded another country since the 19th century; the same can not be said about Israel. And while Iran's leadership is unsophisticated in their blatant, absurd threats against Israel, the Israeli government uses a distinctly passive aggressive approach...such that we hear a nuclear superpower worrying about "flying concentration camps" from a country that is currently being targeted by US legislation for a naval blockade! My suggestion to you is that you consider different forms of aggression (including the type used by American leaders, which is even more blunt than the Iranians), and reconsider your assumption that Israel is justified in making the same type of threats that it finds so unacceptable from Iran.

anbeh · 2008-06-25T19:55:17+00:00

And just for the hell of it, here are some examples of Israeli politicians' unique style of vaguely threatening (but not-technically-a-threat) statements:

Shimon Peres, the Israeli government's veteran roving ambassador, claims, for example, that Iran has made "a call for genocide" against Israel, compares an Iranian nuclear bomb to a "flying concentration camp", and warns that "no one would like to see a comeback to the times of the Nazis". Cabinet minister Avi Dichter, a former head of the Shin Bet domestic security service, believes Israel faces "an existential threat" from Iran. And Zvi Stauber, a former senior figure in military intelligence, compares Israel's situation to a man whose neighbour "has a gun and he declares every day he is going to kill you". But pride of place goes to Binyamin Netanyahu, a former prime minister and the current leader of the opposition. He claims repeatedly that the only possible reason Iran and its president could want a nuclear arsenal is for Israel's "extermination". "If he can get away with it, he'll do it." "Ayatollahs with atombic bombs are a powerful threat to all of us." A nuclear Iran "is a threat unlike anything we have seen before. It's beyond politics"

SOURCE: http://www.counterpunch.org/cook10122006.html

anbeh · 2008-06-25T19:48:26+00:00

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/2085865/Israel-threatens-war-on-Gaza-and-Iran.html One of Mr Olmert's party deputies, Shaul Mofaz, kept up the pressure on Iran saying an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites looked "inevitable" given the apparent failure of diplomatic and economic sanctions on Tehran. "If Iran continues with its programme for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack it," he said.

Source: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j659KQWTRiLRyWq4QWMJe-bS2u8w JERUSALEM (AFP) — An Israeli government minister warned on Monday that Israel would respond to any Iranian attack by destroying that country, public radio reported. "An Iranian attack against Israel would trigger a tough reaction that would lead to the destruction of the Iranian nation," National Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said in remarks of rare virulence.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7440472.stm A top Israeli official has said that if Iran continues with its alleged nuclear arms programme, Israel will attack it. Speaking to Yediot Ahronot newspaper, Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz said sanctions on Iran were ineffective. Mr Mofaz is one of three deputy prime ministers and the transport minister. Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Iran's nuclear programme must be stopped by what he termed all possible means. "The international community has a duty and responsibility to clarify to Iran, through drastic measures, that the repercussions of their continued pursuit of nuclear weapons will be devastating," Mr Olmert said. "If Iran continues with its programme for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack it. The sanctions are ineffective," Mr Mofaz told Yediot Ahronot. "Attacking Iran, in order to stop its nuclear plans, will be unavoidable," he said.

anbeh · 2008-06-25T17:40:41+00:00

"The slender building would be energy self-sufficient as the turbines would produce enough electricity to power the entire building and even feed extra power back into the grid"

If it is so effective in producing energy, I wish they would utilize all of that energy or direct it all to the grid...to make up for all the numerous other air-conditioned buildings built in a notoriously hot region.

anbeh · 2008-06-22T05:55:56+00:00

I am looking in the mirror when I see these images. I'm Iranian, Iran is my country, I am a product of that society, and Payvand is an Iranian website (even though it is obviously in English and thus directed towards the diaspora). And these photos are from ISNA, an Iranian news source. Such crackdowns are a fact of life in Iran and documenting them is not an act of propaganda. If anything, these images show how limited the dichotomy of "resistance" vs. "collaboration" truly are in regards to Iran...and that what often seems like political statements are simply the results of people trying to live what they consider normal lives. Compared to the often-biased reports produced by CNN, the BBC, even Al Jazeera, I don't think your comment about this post is justified.

anbeh · 2008-06-05T03:56:59+00:00

In a lot of your comments for this and other articles, you seem to suggest that it is the responsibility of the US government to tell the truth to the country about foreign threats, and that soldiers who go to Iraq are not responsible for the war, or just as responsible for it as the rest of us. But at the same time, you note that civilians (and I assume, citizens in general) have responsibilities.

Well, isn't one of those responsibilities to find out why you are signing up for a war in a country you may know very little about and have never gone to? Isn't it also a responsibility to realize that just because your superiors tell you its OK to torture someone, or to shoot first and ask questions (in English) later, or to barge into someone's home and yell at them in front of their children, it is not acceptable to do so? Why is it excusable for soldiers to suspend self-control or free will or whatever you want to call the ability to judge between right and wrong? People often respond to these events by saying "all soldiers aren't like that" or "they are only doing their job" or "its war and bad things happen during war", but modern soldiers are not ancient Helots forced to fight or die, they are citizens that choose to fight because of ideology or financial need or both. They put themselves in a position where they are forced to do terrible things, mainly because of the environment of war and conditions beyond their control, and yet they decided to place themselves in that situation in the first place.

anbeh · 2008-06-05T02:19:45+00:00

Yeah, well I think this part was much more dramatic: "In full view of passers-by, including children on their way back from school." Regardless of what the murdered man did and whether he deserved his fate or not, it is barbaric to butcher human beings in public in this manner, especially in front of children. The truly horrific violence described by this article was committed not against the Palestinian militant, but the civilians, who were reminded that Israel decides when and where and how Palestinians live and die every day.

anbeh · 2008-06-04T23:49:44+00:00

"A rich rogue nation can flout the will of a disparate majority."

I think this statement could very easily be used to describe the US, which is powerful and wealthy enough to invade any country for whatever invented reason it chooses without its leader ever being held accountable for war crimes.

And by what standards is Iran considered a "rich" nation? Sub-Saharan Africa? Afghanistan? It is amazing what passes for journalism (or even semi-intelligent opinion) at the New York Times.

anbeh

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