Top Things you Think You Know about Iran that are not True , page 2

(Hi. New person.)

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned what's been going on in Iran. It seems important to mention that the Iranian regime and the vast majority of the people of Iran are 2 very different & opposing things.
The revolution of 30 years ago has been a very bad thing for them almost from the beginning. About every 10 years or so, some group (usually associated with the universities) has the audacity to suggest changes and a move toward more freedom & democracy. What always follows is mass arrests, torture (esp rapes of both females & males) & mass executions or murders. 60+% of the population is under 30 years old, but even the older people are very, very unhappy with the "Republic" of Islam.
Apparently, the last "election" cycle, there were several "reform" candidates on the ballot- one (Mousavi, "head" of the Green Movement) of them won dramatically and the incumbent (Ahmadinejad) was declared the winner in a very obviously corrupt way. Massive peaceful demonstrations ensued & many were beaten, arrested, tortured & killed- both on the streets & as a result of torture in the prisons + executions) Lebanese Hizbollah & Hamas basij have been brought in (alongside IRGC/ basij troops) to do most of the abuse (the Iranian regime is the primary financial support of these terrorists). Iranian Army (Ardesh) & police have not (generally) been involved & some of those have been arrested to prevent them joining the people. Cell phone & internet service has been shut down periodically, but the people of Iran have done a remarkable job of getting info, videos & photographs out to the rest of the world. Extra-national journalists were thrown out early on & most of what's been carried by people like CNN & BBC has come from these "citizen journalists".

What may be surprising is that the people of Iran are fighting hard (they are no longer afraid & totally committed) for freedom & democracy. Most of them are fighting for at least a separation of Islam & government. Many/ most want a completely new system. Some of the mullahs are fighting with them & one of the presidential candidates (Karroubi- a cleric) has been taking great risks by both protesting with them and making a huge stink over the rapes. The Iranian people are, apparently, *very* pro-West, not at all acrimonious to Israel and are very much opposed to all this nuclear stuff (I have the impression to nuclear power also) They are adamant that things remain peaceful (this seems to go back to Zoroastrian roots) and are unarmed. Presently, 3 Americans are being held in Iran. They were vacationing in Khurdistan; hiking near the Iranian border and either crossed over or were snatched by Iranian forces. I think there are also a Canadian journalist and a French student/ journalist being held still. So there are hostages in play now.

An attack on Iran isn't as likely to re-galvanize the Iranian people to the regime as it was, but it would be a good thing to support them in whatever ways we can to facilitate their ousting of the regime. Proxies (& Haystack) are always needed and moral support (which they do hear & spread by word of mouth) can be expressed via Twitter (hashtag #iranelection).

You tube is full of videos of their struggles and also protests in NY when Ahmadinejad was at the UN recently. There are many, many blogs by people in Iran & expats in the US. U2 has taken up their cause since the election & incorporated that message into their stage sets.
This is an incredibly beautiful country, very cool people. Their pre-Arab history is really something. I urge you to check them out & support them if your heart moves you to.