Iran Revolution - Day 15

IT LOOKS LIKE THE WAILING OF THE WOLVES IS WORKING. 

Every night the people of Iran go onto their rooftops and wail for change. The noise is said to be getting louder and louder every evening. This is a form of protest which would be almost impossible for the Mullahs to put an end to. And it gives the people more and more courage people as they hear visceral evidence that they are not alone in their anger.

After initially declaring the Iranian protests a "non-story", Pamela has the best coverage these days:

IRANIAN REVOLUTION: "THE LESS WE PROTEST, THE MORE PEOPLE WILL DIE"

Back when sanity was in order, fine, decent men governed. Today they stand on the sidelines, much like  Churchill when he too was cast into the wilderness, hoping against hope that free men will wake up and heed their words of caution. John Bolton wrote such words yesterday in the LA Times in his exceptional OpEd: The only answer for Iran is regime change, posted at Atlas here.

Today in the Wall Street Journal, Jose Maria Aznar, former prime minister of Spain (1996-2004), takes up the mantle for freedom. Bravo!

Silence Has Consequences for Iran

The less we protest, the more people will die.

The Islamic Republic that the ayatollahs have created is not just any power. To defend a strict interpretation of the Quran, Khomeini created the Pasdaran, the Revolutionary Guard, which today is a true army. To expand its ideology and influence Iran has not hesitated to create, sustain and use proxy terrorist groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. And to impose its fundamentalist vision beyond its borders, Iran is working frantically to obtain nuclear weapons.

Those who protest against the blatant electoral fraud that handed victory to the fanatical Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are in reality demanding a change of regime. Thus, the regime has resorted to beating and shooting its citizens in a desperate attempt to squash the pro-democracy movement.

This is no time for hesitation on the part of the West. If, as part of an attempt to reach an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, the leaders of democratic nations turn their backs on the dissidents they will be making a terrible mistake.

President Obama has said he refuses to "meddle" in Iran's internal affairs, but this is a poor excuse for passivity. If the international community is not able to stop, or at least set limits on, the repressive violence of the Islamic regime, the protesters will end up as so many have in the past -- in exile, in prison, or in the cemetery. And with them, all hope for change will be gone.

To be clear: Nobody in the circles of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or Ahmadinejad is going to reward us for silence or inaction. On the contrary, failing to support the regime's critics will leave us with an emboldened Ahmadinejad, an atomic Iran, and dissidents that are disenchanted and critical of us. We cannot talk about freedom and democracy if we abandon our own principles.

Some do not want to recognize the spread of freedom in the Middle East. But it is clear that after decades of repression -- religious and secular -- the region is changing.

And more:

IRAN REVOLUTION: DAY 15 AND THOUSANDS TAKE TO THE STREETS

Thousands used the annual memorial at the Ghoba mosque to take to the streets

Iran arrests local staff of British Embassy Jihadwatch 

Continuing the campaign against Great Satan 2.0, in a move evocative of the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis three decades ago. "Britain assails Iran over embassy staff detentions," by Karin Laub for the Associated Press, June 28:

Iranian authorities have detained several local employees of the British Embassy in Iran, a move that Britain's foreign secretary Sunday called "harassment and intimidation."

Iranian media reported Sunday that eight local embassy staff were detained for an alleged role in postelection protests, but gave no further details. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the employees were detained Saturday, but did not say how many were taken into custody.

12:30 pm: O-vomit moment: Obama officials say talks with Iran still possible

We have no guts, no pride, and no humanity now? That's the change people voted for?

Tweets: All streets & alleys leading to Ghoba mosque are loaded with people.

Thousands march in silent Tehran protest

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — About 5,000 protesters marched slowly and silently through Tehran on Sunday near a mosque where the government was allowing a demonstration for the first time in days.

Authorities are riding on motorcycles alongside the marchers, who are telling each other to walk slowly and drag their feet. Police are telling the demonstrators to move faster.

The marchers are walking from north to south down a major street, Shariati Street, near the Ghoba Mosque, where a memorial is being held in honor of a hero of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Some of the protesters are telling the police that they have the legal right to protest in peace.