Tehran in Pictures

I think one way to explain the regime's brutality is by looking at the calendar. There are two important national holidays coming up, the first one is "Arba'ain" it is the 40 day anniversary of third Shia imam (who died in "Ashura" which was today), this will be also the 40 day anniversary of everyone killed today (I think it will be Feb. 5th). The second one is 11th Feb. the anniversary of Iranian 1979 revolution which is a national holiday accompanied by mass rallies. - A Daily Dish Reader

Indeed, it hasn't yet struck the Shi'ite superclerics running the Iranian government, or what passes for one, that, as with the martyred Neda Soltani, grieving in the Muslim world begins anew after 40 days and that will certainly be the case 40 days from now during which nine people and perhaps more have been killed in today's protests. And before that will be the 40th day after the death of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri.

I predict that in order to avoid clashes, the February 11th anniversary of the original Iranian revolution will be a less public, lowkey affair. I don't see any such reticence on the part of these embryonic revolutionaries in the pictures and video below, do you?


Another soon-to-be iconic photo of Iranian defiance.


A wounded policeman helped to safety by protesters.


A rare sight: Heavily-fortified cops in riot gear cowering, their backs literally against the wall.





What follows is a brief but stunning video of something else we didn't see in Tehran last summer: Protesters stopping and destroying a mini van to free their own people who'd been arrested. (Courtesy Irannewstoday.)