It appears Iran’s Green Movement is preparing to demonstrate on Monday in support of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, whether the regime approves or not.
Muhammad Sahimi writes at the Tehran Bureau:
Terrified by the prospects of large demonstrations on Monday February 14, the regime has arrested a large number of people and has ratcheted up its pressure on the leaders of the Green Movement.
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Since Wednesday afternoon, access to the Internet has become very difficult in Iran. Access to the blog hosting service WordPress has been entirely blocked (or “filtered,” in the officially favored term) to all Iran-based Internet users in a move evidently intended to curtail the dissemination of information about February 14 events.Multiple reports from Tehran indicate that calls to people to take part in the demonstrations have increased significantly. Slogans in support of the rally are being written widely, on walls and rials, Iran’s currency.
In a clear retreat from his earlier position, Ayatollah Khamenei in a meeting with Air Force officers avoided discussing the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, and stopped likening them to the 1979 Revolution in Iran. He only mentioned in passing “developments in some of the countries of the region.” He was clearly trying to avoid saying anything that would remind people of the February 14 marches in solidarity with the people of the two nations.
Update: Green Movement leader Mehdi Karroubi has been placed under house arrest.
