The Indian link in Iran

Someone or may be many in Iran are inspired by India, it seems. Mir Hussein Moussavi's followers have begun calling him “the Gandhi of Iran.” His image is carried aloft in the vast opposition demonstrations that have shaken Iran in recent days, his name chanted in rhyming verses that invoke Islam’s most sacred martyrs.

Mr. Moussavi, 67, is an insider who has moved toward opposition, and his motives for doing so remain murky. He was close to the founder of Iran’s Islamic Revolution but is at odds with the current supreme leader. Some prominent figures have rallied to his cause, including a former president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. So it is not clear how much this battle reflects a popular resistance to Mr. Ahmadinejad’s hard-line policies, and how much is about a struggle for power.


Mr. Moussavi and his wife, who played a prominent role in his campaign, have been under enormous pressure to accept the election results but “Mr. Moussavi says he has taken a path that has no return and he is ready to make sacrifices.” more....


MEANWHILE
* Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Tuesday received representatives of the four presidential candidates. Representatives of some state organizations responsible for organizing June 12 vote were also present, IRNA reported. 

“Voters have different political attitudes but are all the same in their faith in the Islamic Republic and their support for the Islamic establishment,“ Ayatollah Khamenei said. 

“The friendly atmosphere that existed before the elections should not turn into an atmosphere of conflict and confrontation after the vote because both groups of voters believe in the system.“

* Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps (IRGC) in a statement on Wednesday warned those inciting violence and spreading rumors in cyber space and said they could face grave consequences by its Center for Cyber Crime.
It called on the bloggers to delete the lethal information. 

*More protests are expected in Tehran after the main presidential challenger urges supporters to observe a day of mourning.


* Six members of Iranian football team are believed to be in deep troubleafter wearing green wrist bands in support of the opposition movement.