Tag Archives: Iran

This should please the Obama haters. In a unique twist on the Osama bin Laden saga, Iran’s intelligence minister says Tehran has “genuine intelligence showing that the terrorist leader died of disease long before the alleged raid” by the United States, the Iranian semiofficial FARS news agency reports. “We have accurate information that bin Laden died of illness some time …

Iran says that the logo for the 2012 London Olympics secretly spells out the word “Zion.” And if the Brits don’t change it, they’re going to boycott. The logo, a jagged representation of the year 2012, has been said by its critics to resemble many things, from a swastika to a sexual act, but the Iranian government argues it represents …

As pro-Democracy protests arise once again in Iran, yesterday members of the Iranian Parliament erupted into chants calling for the executions of the leaders of the protests.

The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission has issued a statement on yesterday’s story about the possible execution by stoning of two young men in Iran for having gay sex. At IGLHRC’s request, I pulled my first post on the story while they investigated. Via email: The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has received reports of …

Many of you have noted that I have removed yesterday’s post regarding the pending executions of two young gay men in Iran. Shortly after that post went up, both Andy Towle and I were contacted by Jessica Stern at the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, who was very concerned that fragile communications being made on the men’s behalf …

In this clip titled Dark Past & Homosexuality, San Diego’s “ex-gay” loon James Hartline tells Farsi-language Mohabat TV about how his mean mother turned him into a drug-addicted multiple-felon homosexual. Complete with sepia-tinged dramatic reenactments! Any Farsi speakers care to translate?

A month after banning the ownership of pet dogs, Iran’s Exalted Glorious Supreme Islamic Leader has banned the teaching or playing of music, saying it is “not compatible” with Islamic values. In some of the most extreme comments by a senior regime figure since the 1979 revolution, Khamenei said: “Although music is halal, promoting and teaching it is not compatible …

A high-ranking ayatollah in Iran has told police they are to fine anybody found a with a pet dog. Working dogs are exempt, praise to Allah. A senior Iranian cleric has decreed dogs are “unclean” and should not be kept as pets — a move aimed at discouraging Western-style dog ownership in the Islamic state, a newspaper reported on Saturday. …

Royal Dutch Airlines has turned down reassignment requests from gay flight attendants who say they fear flying to Iran. Trouble is brewing at Dutch airline KLM, where a number of homosexual stewards want to be excused from flying to Iran. Iran is one of the most intolerant countries in the world when it comes to homosexuality, and the stewards – …

Angry over the use of Twitter to spread dissent, last night pro-government hackers in Iran brought the service down. Those who tried to access Twitter were redirected to a site that had a green flag and proclaimed “This site has been hacked by Iranian Cyber Army.” The Web site was down for nearly an hour. Representatives from Twitter could not …

Speaking at Georgetown University, on Tuesday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to an audience member’s question about the safety of gays in other nations. Clinton said she is “deeply disturbed” about the situation for gays in Iran and the “violation of human rights in Uganda.” She added, “It’s important for the United States to stand against that and enlist …

Twelve gay men are awaiting execution in Iran for the “crime” of homosexuality. Gay City News’ Doug Ireland reports: Ten young Iranian men, including eight teenagers, are currently awaiting execution for sodomy, and two more are being re-tried on the same capital charge. And, in an exclusive interview with Gay City News, an Iranian student gay rights activist confirmed for …

The gay witch hunt continues unabated in Iran. On October 6, 2009, Rahim Mohammadi was executed in Tabriz, a city in northwest Iran, after being convicted of sexual abuse and rape during sexual relations between males (a homosexual act called Lavat). According to Rahim’s lawyer (here), Mr. Mohammad Mostafayi, there was not enough evidence presented to the court to prove …

By now you’ve likely heard that the world’s most famous anti-Semite, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had Jewish parents. A photograph of the Iranian president holding up his identity card during elections in March 2008 clearly shows his family has Jewish roots. A close-up of the document reveals he was previously known as Sabourjian – a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver. …

According to this report, some of the protesters in Iran may have been emboldened by Obama’s speech to the Muslim world in Cairo.

If you haven’t been following Andrew Sullivan on the crisis in Iran, you are missing some of the most astounding blogging seen since the medium was invented. His coverage has been exhaustive, contemplative, and nothing short of Pulitzer-worthy, in my opinion. It’s a bit daunting just as a reader to follow his dozens of Iran updates a day, and while …

As Andrew Sullivan has exhaustively documented over the last few days, the most fascinating aspect of the brewing revolution in Iran is the way that internet social media, particularly Twitter, has worked to unite, inform, and inspire the rebels. Twitter, the online service designed to tell the world – in 140 characters or fewer – how your day is going …