Media Crackdown In Iran Before Parliamentary Elections In March

There are hundreds of thousands of blogs in Iran. Radio Free Europe

Iranian Bloggers To be Executed For 'Spreading Corruption' As Tehran Cracks Down In Run Up To Elections -- Daily Mail

* Four journalists also arrested in moves to curb freedom of expression
* U.S. State Department urges Iran to 'protect rights of all citizens'
* Israel says 'world must act quickly' as UN urges West to resume talks
* Iran's parliament will decide on Sunday whether to stop oil exports to EU

Two Iranian bloggers are to be executed for 'spreading corruption' - as Tehran cracks down on freedom of expression in the run up to its parliamentary elections in March.

Four journalists have also been arrested, prompting the U.S. State Department to urge Iranian officials to 'protect the rights of all its citizens and uphold the rule of law'.

It comes as Israel said the world must act quickly to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and the UN urged the West to resume talks with the pariah state.

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Update: Iran is gearing up for elections and it isn't pretty -- Christian Science Monitor

My Comment: Executing bloggers .... what was inconceivable a few years ago is now becoming common in today's Iran. From my vantage point this is a reflection of how paranoid and frightened the mullahs are now becoming.

Commander Of Iran’s Quds Force Claims That He Controls Iraq AND South Lebanon

Gen. Qasem Soleimani is the commander of Iran’s Quds Force and reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. (File photo)

Chief Of Iran’s Quds Force Claims Iraq, South Lebanon Under His Control -- Al Arabiya News

Commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Brig. Gen. Qasem Soleimani has said that the Islamic Republic controls “one way or another” over Iraq and south Lebanon and that Tehran is capable of influencing the advent of Islamist governments in order to fight “arrogant” powers, ISNA student agency reported on Thursday.

“The enemies are trying to besiege the Islamic Republic of Iran, but this symposium is an opportunity for thousands of youth who play an influential role in the Islamic awareness to travel Iran and shed sensitivities of Iran-phobia by observing the an Islamic government founded on religious principles in Iran,” Gen. Soleimani, who reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said.

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My Comment: He sounds very cocky and confident.

Iran: Barbie Is Out, Drone Toys Are In

Iran is cracking down on sales of Barbie dolls, but will mass-produce model toys based on the RQ-170 Sentinel drone the country captured after it crashed within its borders.

Iran Cracks Down On Barbie, Plans Toys Of Captured U.S. Drone -- National Post/Reuters

TEHRAN — Iran’s morality police are cracking down on the sale of Barbie dolls to protect the public from what they see as pernicious western culture eroding Islamic values, shopkeepers said on Monday.

As the West imposes the toughest ever sanctions on Iran and tensions rise over its nuclear programme, inside the country the Barbie ban is part of what the government calls a “soft war” against decadent cultural influences.

“About three weeks ago they [the morality police] came to our shop, asking us to remove all the Barbies,” said a shopkeeper in a toy shop in northern Tehran.

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My Comment: This .... among many many many reasons .... is why the Iranian regime is despised.