international intrigue

Your Morning Iran-Unrest Update

As philosophers the Rascals once famously said, “All the world over, so easy to see. People everywhere just wanna be free.” Here’s what’s going on in Iran:

• The Guardian Council, which is supposedly investigating accusations of electoral fraud, has invited the three opposition candidates disputing the election results to a meeting to discuss their complaints. It’s unknown whether they will accept.

• Mousavi supporters dressed in black have spilled into the streets today to mourn those who have been killed by violence since the election. It’s expected to be one of the biggest rallies to date. Mousavi is calling for a candlelight vigil later tonight.

• A body of pro-Mousavi clerics have asked for permission to hold a rally on Saturday.

• Authorities continued to imprison opposition leaders and reformists, including Ebrahim Yazdi, the country’s first foreign minister after the 1979 revolution. He was arrested while undergoing stomach tests in the hospital. According to the International Campaign for Human Rights, “200 prominent journalists, opposition politicians, and reformists have been rounded up by the regime.”

• Iran’s Interior Ministry ordered a probe into attacks at Tehran University on Sunday that left several students dead and others badly beaten.

• YouTube, like Twitter, has recognized the important role it is playing in the protests, and is relaxing its usual restrictions on videos containing graphic violence so that Iranians may continue “to use YouTube to capture their experiences for the world to see.”

• About 700 people gathered at a rally in Union Square last night to support the Iranian opposition. Here’s a video.

Your Morning Iran-Unrest Update