If you don't know what's going on in Iran visit Nico Pitney's page at the Huffington Post here: [link] and catch up. Most recently from Iran comes the speech of supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei given at the Friday prayer. He said that Ahmadinejad is the absolute rightful victor of the presidential (s)election and that the protests are fabricated by the west (USA, Britain) to cause a rift in the country. He said that today's youth are confused, and that "If our young didn't have any hope, they wouldn't partake in the election. If they didn't feel freedom, they wouldn't vote." He forgets to mention that the young exercised their right to vote in support of Mousavi and only protested when they thought that their votes were not being honored. Khamenei went on to slander the US, at one point the crowd was shouting "Death to America! Death to America!" It amazes me that even when the US tries to stay as much as it can out of their affairs they still blame us. Obama himself said that the Iranians need to decide this for themselves and it is not his place to meddle in their affairs.
There was large crowd gathered at the Friday prayer, but this was not surprising as many have noted that Ahmadi is busing in his supporters from the countryside. I also noted while watching some news coverage that there appear to be no women in the crowds. I don't know if it is always like that or not. I know some religions have men and women worship separately (I think Islam does this) but I am not sure if that applies to this situation.
Things on the streets seemed to be calm yesterday. Mousavi had planned for supported to attend the prayer en masse but for some reason or other canceled and has rescheduled for today. It is 5:19 Tehran time, I expect news will be coming in soon of any protester gathering. I have been following twitter fervently since this whole thing started, it is enlightening but chaotic. The #iranelection hashtag is filled with spam and redundant RTs but I'm following a few good sources that have been a constant flow of information over the past few days. The news from the streets of Tehran is at once inspiring and horrifying. I am amazed at the courage of these Iran citizens but the frightened for them as well. I have seen videos and pictures that I can not get out of my head. Much of the media being posted is extremely violent and graphic, one picture shows a man on the ground, his face covered in blood, his head resting in a pool of blood. Upon seeing these images I fear that the protesters in Iran will be crushed Tiananmen style, but then I see videos like this one: [link] The cry of "Allah O Akbar" filling the dark night is hauntingly beautiful, also moving is this video: [link] of doctors and nurses, still in there white coats and medical masks protesting. Many doctors are said to be protesting after Basij arrested protesters at hospitals and refused to let them have care, even possibly people who were seriously injured. Other emotionally charged videos from Iran are scattered all over the internet, videos of Basij militia men attacking protesters, videos of massive silent rallies taking place in Tehran. (and reportedly in many other cities as well, but we have yet to receive and videos or pictures from these) Floating somewhere on the internet (I can no longer find it) is a video of a courageous female protester kicking at a baton wielding man, she manages to land several hits before the man strikes her down.
I encourage everyone to look at these pictures and videos and spread the word about what is happening in Iran, if you want to know how you can help visit this webiste: [link] for more information.