Iran: Bigger Missiles and Taliban Rules

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October 17, 2005: Rumors of Russian support for Iranian development of ballistic missiles (by secretly selling them 30 year old technology) and nuclear weapons (by openly building nuclear power plants in Iran) have shifted European public opinion more against the Iranian government. Such missile technology would enable the Iranians to hit European targets (with a new, 3,500 kilometer range, missile), and Russian ones as well. But current Iranian ballistic missiles can hit Russian targets. Better ones could hit European targets.It is believed that most of the Russian aid in missile development is via unemployed Russian missile engineers attracted by a big payday. However, the Russian government is considered responsible, as they know who these engineers are, and can get to them if they want to.

The U.S. now believes that the Iranian secret nuclear weapons program is 18 years old.

October 16, 2005: A bomb went off in the southeast, killing six and wounding 41. Britain was blamed, because Britain was blaming Iran for aiding Iraqi terrorists inside Iraq. But the Arabs living in southeast Iran (where most of Iran's oil is), have long been upset about the bad treatment they get from the ethnic Iranians who run the government.

October 15, 2005: Young Iranians, especially college students, have been warned that the police will soon start cracking down on parties, drinking and flirting. This will mean large numbers of arrests and beatings by police and Islamic conservative militias that help the police.

October 13, 2005: Islamic conservatives (the Iranian Hizbollah organization) are organizing a satellite television channel for broadcast to North American and Europe. The programming would preach the usual Hizbollah line (death to Israel and world-wide domination of Shia Islam.) In Iran, Hizbollah is funded by the government.

The government is wiling to resume talks with Britain, Germany and France over Iran's nuclear program, if everyone understands that Iran must have its way with how it uses nuclear power. The government believes the Europeans will eventually give in.

October 12, 2005: Some ministries in the government, controlled by very conservative Islamic politicians, have forbidden female employees to work past dusk, so that they can be home, where women belong, before sundown. Women, and young people in general, see this as the start of a Taliban like form of Islamic conservatism being forced on the country. When this was done in Afghanistan, it led to widespread anti-government sentiment.

October 11, 2005: General Mohammad Kossari, head of security for the army, announced that plans had been made to use many suicide bombers against American troops if the U.S. attacked Iran.

 

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