5. In a letter addressed to Mahdi Karroubi, Ayatollah Montazeri expressed “shock and dismay” over last Friday’s attack on Karroubi and Abdollah Nouri. They were attacked, pushed and insulted by security forces while on their way to Tehran University for Friday Prayer’s. Montazeri reiterated his position that, “A government’s legitimacy stems from the support of the majority of a country’s citizens - as mentioned in Iran’s Constitution.”
Moreover, he said, “It’s unfortunate that the government is afraid of peaceful protests and the participation of politicians such as Karroubi.” He put the blame for the violence and bloodshed upon “those who had given security forces the power to conduct such...

5. In a letter addressed to Mahdi Karroubi, Ayatollah Montazeri expressed “shock and dismay” over last Friday’s attack on Karroubi and Abdollah Nouri. They were attacked, pushed and insulted by security forces while on their way to Tehran University for Friday Prayer’s. Montazeri reiterated his position that, “A government’s legitimacy stems from the support of the majority of a country’s citizens - as mentioned in Iran’s Constitution.”
Moreover, he said, “It’s unfortunate that the government is afraid of peaceful protests and the participation of politicians such as Karroubi.” He put the blame for the violence and bloodshed upon “those who had given security forces the power to conduct such activities” – a clear hint at Khamenei and Ahmadinejad.


6. Grand Ayatollah Saneie of Qom, has once again stated, “Forced confessions obtained from detainees have no legal or rational merit whatsoever and are un-Islamic.”


7. Khatami again called for, “The immediate and unconditional release of all the people detained during the post-election protests or otherwise linked to the Green Movement.”

8. On July 22nd we reported that 306 conservative clerics from the Qom’s Seminary Teachers Association had released a statement in support of Ayatollah Yazdi’s dismissal of Rafsanjani’s demands during his Friday Sermon. New reports, however, indicate that the statement was actually written by the Editor-in-Chief of Keyhan Newspaper. Reports say that he was ordered to do so by Ayatollah Hejazi – a prominent conservative cleric from Qom. Although most of the clerics of the Association are arch-conservatives, this is yet another sign of government propaganda against the Green Movement.

(Enduring America did an interesting critique of Mainstream Media’s converge of the Mashaie affair. Here’s ...

8. On July 22nd we reported that 306 conservative clerics from the Qom’s Seminary Teachers Association had released a statement in support of Ayatollah Yazdi’s dismissal of Rafsanjani’s demands during his Friday Sermon. New reports, however, indicate that the statement was actually written by the Editor-in-Chief of Keyhan Newspaper. Reports say that he was ordered to do so by Ayatollah Hejazi – a prominent conservative cleric from Qom. Although most of the clerics of the Association are arch-conservatives, this is yet another sign of government propaganda against the Green Movement.

(Enduring America did an interesting critique of Mainstream Media’s converge of the Mashaie affair. Here’s the link: Iran: How the “New Media” Tore Down the Gates of the “Mainstream” | Enduring America)

11. The US Senate voted unanimously last night to adopt bipartisan legislation that allocates funds to help Iranians obtain better access to news and information. This was in part initiated to neutralize the censorship of news and information by the Iranian government. In total, almost $55 million dollars will be made available - according to the legislation called the Victims of Iranian Censorship (VOICE) Act.