Tens of thousands of people took part this morning in the funeral procession in Tehran of Ahmad Shamlou, an icon of contemporary Persian poetry, and said farewell to a man who refused to submit to the whims of Iran's clerical rulers despite huge pressures by the religious, terrorist dictatorship.

Islamic Guidance Minister Ataollah Mohajerani had earlier warned Shamlou's family that the funeral procession must in no way be "politicized".

Large groups of people, mostly young people and university students, flocked to Iranmehr Hospital in north Tehran since the early hours of the morning. The crowd outside the hospital chanted the traditional national hymn, "Iran, land of gems" (banned by the mullahs) and displayed their opposition to clerical rule with slogans against suppression of free speech.

Mr. Massoud Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, praised Shamlou as "the great national poet" of Iran in a message on Monday and called on the people of Tehran, particularly the young, to defy the pressures and restrictions by mullahs" "culture-phobic" regime and attend Shamlou's funeral.

[Agence France Presse: The crowd of mostly young people carried flowers and sang poems written by the Iranian "father of political poetry."]

["I have never been afraid of death," they chanted, citing a phrase from one of his famous poems, many tearful but smiling.]
 

Khamenei Says Talk Of Re-Establishing Iran-US Relations An "Insult", Agence France Presse, July 27

TEHRAN - Calls for rapprochement with the United States are an "insult" to the Iranian people, the country's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech Thursday broadcast by Iranian television.

"In the current state of affairs, anything said in favor of rapprochement or negotiations with America is an insult and betrayal of the Iranian people," said Khamenei, who is on a tour of the northwest.

He described the United States as being "more vulnerable than ever."

"The weakening of the United States in the world, the growing opposition of countries to sanctions, and in particular the failure of the Camp David negotiations (between Israel and the Palestinians) are proof of the decline of the country and its loss of influence," Khamenei said.

"As Iran is a model for Muslim peoples, the United States will never give up their hostility towards us," he said.

Washington "could give up its opposition to Iran the day we are powerful and strong in the economic, cultural, scientific and military fields," he added.
 

Is Muhammad Khatami's Time Running Out?, Economist, July 15

… Thousands of protesters from Tehran's poorer areas joined pro-democracy students on July 8th in the capital's Revolution Square, where they collided bloodily with the police and Islamic vigilantes.

"The clerics live like kings, while the people are reduced to poverty!" shouted the crowd.

Other chants singled out the country's president: "Khatami, Khatami, show your power or resign! and Khatami, Khatami, this is the final notice!

Is Muhammad Khatami's time running out?

The limits of his influence are underlined each time his reformist loyalists are beaten up in the streets, or newspaper editors and human-rights advocates are jailed…

On the eve of the protest, he all but admitted his weakness by warning his conservative rivals that Iranians were growing dangerously restless, and remarking that their discontent could no longer be contained by force…

But his government has neglected the faltering economy. Officially, unemployment stands at 16%, but much more goes unrecorded. The average wage is about $70 per month. Many Iranian men need two or three jobs to support their families. Social discontent has prompted sporadic uprisings in recent weeks.

In the oil town of Abadan, residents protested about salty drinking water two weeks ago; over 200 people were arrested. In Islamshar, a district outside Tehran, women have taken to the streets in recent days to demand better municipal services.

Such scattered unrest in the hinterland imperils neither the security forces nor the clerical establishment. But the Revolution Square protests do suggest that any emerging coalition between Iran's progressive elite, led by students and intellectuals, and ordinary discontented people could pose a formidable threat.

In public, the supreme clerical leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blamed America and other western powers for fomenting the latest unrest in a bid to bring down the Islamic Republic.

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