BY: NCViking

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader, came out with a sermon blaming the Zionist media for wrongly portraying the uprising as anything other than the Islamic Republic being united.

Is this united? Notice the CNN-I reporter giving the source of the footage as government funded Iranian T.V., not Jewish monsters or the Great Satan.

Khamenei also offered up a veiled threat to opposition leaders to stand down or face the consequences.
From the New York Times, via Michelle (since I don’t subscribe):

In his first public response to days of protests, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sternly warned opponents Friday to stay off the streets and denied opposition claims that last week’s disputed election was rigged, praising the ballot as an “epic moment that became a historic moment.”

In a somber and lengthy sermon at Friday prayers in Tehran, he called directly for an end to the protests by hundreds of thousands of Iranians demanding a new election.

“Street challenge is not acceptable,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. “This is challenging democracy after the elections.” He said opposition leaders would be “held responsible for chaos” if they did not end the protests…

…He blamed “media belonging to Zionists, evil media” for seeking to show divisions between those who supported the Iranian state and those who did not, while, in fact, the election had shown Iranians to be united in their commitment to the Islamic revolutionary state.

Congress is now doing what the Obama Administration has refused to do – openly support the Iranian dissidents in their uprising.

From RedState.com:

U.S. Congressman Mike Pence (R-Ind.), Chairman of the House Republican Conference, and Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, have introduced a resolution that goes where the President fears to tread: explicit support for the Iranian dissidents. Said Congressman Pence:

“This is an important moment for the Congress, our country and the people of Iran. For days hundreds of thousands of dissidents have taken to the streets of Iran in support of freedom and democracy. The American cause is freedom and in that cause the American people will not be silent. I am honored to join Chairman Berman in offering this important resolution. The joint resolution I and Chairman Berman introduced will give voice to countless Americans who stand with the Iranian dissidents as they stand up for freedom. I urge Members on both side of the aisle to support this important resolution and I hope for its immediate consideration.”

So far, support for the dissidents in Iran from America has been largely from inviduals, bloggers, twitterers, and pundits. Congressman Pence’s resolution will be the strongest official response to date.

Could there be a Tienanmen Square-type event next?

Technorati Tags: Iran, uprising

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