July 2009

Ex-Powell aide suggests CIA assassination program was actually active By David Edwards, Raw Story, July 15, 2009 The secret CIA program allegedly aimed at assassinating suspected terrorists abroad has raised the eyebrows of at least one former senior Bush Administration official who hints that the program may have actually gone into effect, despite the denials [...]

Advisor to Iran supreme leader calls for tolerance of dissent By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times, July 12, 2009 A top advisor to Iran’s supreme leader Saturday urged the country’s establishment to be more tolerant of dissent, even as military officials stepped up their rhetoric in the latest signs of divisions created by the marred [...]

Khamenei’s son takes control of Iran’s anti-protest militia By Julian Borger, The Guardian, July 8, 2009 The son of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has taken control of the militia being used to crush the protest movement, according to a senior Iranian source. The source, a politician with strong connections to the security apparatus, [...]

Rafsanjani’s party dismisses vote results By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times, July 7, 2009 A day after commanders of the Revolutionary Guard warned there was no middle ground in the dispute over the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the political party of one of Iran’s most powerful clerics Monday defiantly issued a statement dismissing the [...]

Attack on Iran would be ‘very destabilizing’ — US military chief AFP, July 5, 2009 A US military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be “very destabilizing,” top US military commander Admiral Mike Mullen said Sunday, warning that any attack could have serious “unintended consequences.” “I’ve been one who has been concerned about a strike [...]