Iranian students storm the British Embassy

[Unchainme]

Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- Iranian students stormed the British Embassy in Tehran Tuesday, breaking down the door, throwing around papers and replacing the British flag with an Iranian one.

Iran's state-run Press TV reported that police had the incident under control, but Britain's Foreign Office called the situation "fluid" and said "details are still emerging."

"There has been an incursion by a significant number of demonstrators into our embassy premises, including vandalism to our property," the Foreign Office said. "We are outraged by this. It is utterly unacceptable and we condemn it."

The Foreign Office added that "under international law, including the Vienna Convention," the Iranian government has "a clear duty to protect diplomats and embassies in their country."

The office said it asked the Iranian charge d'affaires in London "to urge the Iranian authorities to act with utmost urgency to ensure the situation is brought under control."

It is now advising British nationals in Iran "to stay indoors, keep a low profile and await further advice."

The Russian Foreign Ministry also condemned the protesters' actions.

"We are expressing our support for the British diplomats. We hope that the Iranian authorities will take necessary measures to immediately restore order, investigate the incident and prevent a repeat of such incidents," the ministry said in a written statement.

The incursion happened during a protest demanding that the British ambassador be sent home immediately.
GOP candidates debate Iran strategy
Iran on Israel, nuclear weapons

A crowd of about 1,000 people gathered near the embassy for the anti-British demonstration, and had been peaceful before some participants stormed the building. A CNN producer saw students throwing stones at the embassy's windows.

Miles away from the embassy, security forces closed the gate of a British diplomatic compound called Gholhak Garden to prevent students from entering, said Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency, or IRNA. British diplomats and their families and Iranian families who work for the British Embassy live there.

The Iranian Parliament voted Sunday to expel the ambassador and reduce diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom in retaliation for newly imposed Western sanctions, according to IRNA. The vote must still be approved by the Guardian Council, the body that determines if laws passed by Parliament are compatible with Sharia law, or Islamic law.

The Foreign Office called the Iranian Parliament's vote Sunday "regrettable."

"This unwarranted move will do nothing to help the regime address their growing isolation or international concerns about their nuclear program and human rights record," the office said in a written statement. "If the Iranian government acts on this, we will respond robustly in consultation with our international partners."

Britain cut all financial ties with Iran last week over concerns about Iran's nuclear program, the first time it has cut an entire country's banking sector off from British finance, the British Treasury announced.

Last week, all British credit and financial institutions were ordered to end their business relationships and transactions with all Iranian banks, their branches and subsidiaries by Monday.

The move came after an International Atomic Energy Agency report highlighted new concerns about "the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program," the Treasury statement said Monday.

"The IAEA's report last week provided further credible and detailed evidence about the possible military dimensions of the Iranian nuclear program," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement Monday. "Today we have responded resolutely by introducing a set of new sanctions that prohibit all business with Iranian banks."

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and has called the U.N. watchdog's report "unbalanced" and "politically motivated."

The British sanctions underline "the severity of the government's concerns about Iran's activities," Britain's chancellor of the exchequer said.

The chancellor's statement said other "partner countries" will make similar announcements about banking sanctions against Iran.

Iran's proposal mandates the Foreign Ministry to adopt similar positions against any other countries that impose the same policies as Britain, IRNA reported.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/29/world/meast/iran-demonstrations/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

[Unchainme]

I really don't get it.

I don't get why countries like Iran remain under this iron grip of a particular group of fundamentalist radicals. Maybe I'm perhaps looking at this from a Western POV, but that's seriously fucked up.

It's sad as well, I bet there's some really average joes (or Muhammads, whatever), who want to become more westernized, who don't want a religion to govern how they're country is run, but they're likely powerless to stop it.

BTW, it'd be nice if something could be done about this country. Not by starting a war. We do not need to re-enact the last book of the bible, but damn, it'd be good if China and Russia could stop for a couple seconds and realizing that supporting a country ran by ignorant people (cue American congress) is not the best way to do business and is just not ethically right.

Again, not adovocating millitary action of ANY KIND. Just saying, it'd be nice to get these guys to cut it out before we find ourselves in a version of the Road Warrior 20 years from now.

[jhale667]

Good point. No need to go down that road. And as Obama's shown, he can pull of the "unseat an A*hole dictator w/o firing a shot or putting a boot on the ground" bit, seems we should be trying the same approach there with Amerdinnerjacket and Co.

[Unchainme]

Good point. No need to go down that road. And as Obama's shown, he can pull of the "unseat an A*hole dictator w/o firing a shot or putting a boot on the ground" bit, seems we should be trying the same approach there with Amerdinnerjacket.

We go to war with them, and the draft would be brought back. So, yeah, no need.

It's actually surprisingly not Amerdinnerjacket's fault. Although he is their GWB when it comes to politics, the President of Iran actually takes orders from a group of claerics.

I mean he's a bad guy most definitely. But the entire govt there is ruled by the bastardized version of islam.

[Seshmeister]

It's complicated.

Far fewer people go to the mosque each week than in any other muslim country or Americans to church, less than 30% a week.

Iran is naturally quite a secular, 'westernised' country and should really have a leaning towards us. To prevent this the religious government has to keep ramping up tension and anti-western feelings and tries to radicalise the population. They have valid gripes against the US and UK not least all those years we propped up the Shah and Israel but a lot of this is about the religious political class trying to create us as a bogeyman.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Iran is a different bird, though...

Firing one shot throws countries like Israel, North Korea and China into the mix....

Iran has been threatening to rain missiles on Israel for quite a long time...

Perhaps the hawks that keep squawking for military action in Iran can have their kids volunteer to fight it....

But we can't do that, can we....

[Seshmeister]

We threatened to rain missiles on Russia for 40 years doesn't mean that it would ever happen.

Who is to say that these people can't understand a nuclear deterrent when Krushchev or Reagan could?

[Unchainme]

Is it bad of me to believe that the US should absolutely keep some nukes around?

not because I believe in using them aggressively, but just in case some pain in the ass country comes around, and decides to use them on us first.

[kwame k]

Although it's been so overused in the last few years........

Blame Bush and his fucking "Axis of Evil" speech.

Guess what country was helping us in our War on Terra after 9/11......yep, Iran.

Iran was also leaning towards a moderate government/religious leadership....extending an olive branch our way, which Bush promptly shit all over.

So this is yet another example of how Cowboy Diplomacy fails.

We had a chance to have a powerful friend in the middle east and end decades of strained relations.

[Unchainme]

Although it's been so overused in the last few years........

Blame Bush and his fucking "Axis of Evil" speech.

Guess what country was helping us in our War on Terra after 9/11......yep, Iran.

Iran was also leaning towards a moderate government/religious leadership....extending an olive branch our way, which Bush promptly shit all over.

So this is yet another example of how Cowboy Diplomacy fails.

We had a chance to have a powerful friend in the middle east and end decades of strained relations.

Peoples memories of what happened in 79 have kinda permanently scarred things. When you say the word Iran to anyone about 35 or older, the first thoughts are of what happened then. Not of a possibly progressive country.

The relationship is indeed very repairable, just depends on if Iran ever goes more moderate/secular or not. Also, again, it depends on who's in the White House on our end.

[kwame k]

Peoples memories of what happened in 79 have kinda permanently scarred things. When you say the word Iran to anyone about 35 or older, the first thoughts are of what happened then. Not of a possibly progressive country.

The relationship is indeed very repairable, just depends on if Iran ever goes more moderate/secular or not. Also, again, it depends on who's in the White House on our end.

Listening to the current crop of GOP lunatics......war with Iran is on the table.

[Nitro Express]

All this has more to do with disrupting China's oil supply than anything else. The west no longer controls China and they fear the US Dollar will lose it's oil reserve status. Basically the G5 countries are all in collusion against China.

The war on terror was an obvious fake excuse. You don't fight terrorists with big military operations. Israel has fought terrorists for years without moving huge military operations around the world. I think the world is waking up to the reality of the situation.

The guy who really got it from the get go was Ken Burns. The guy that makes those historical programs. About ten years ago he said when we look back at the time we are now in we will call it the petroleum wars. Maybe Iran is smart enough to know they will need something besides oil in the future and they don't want to be digging sand like Saudi Arabia will be when the oil is gone. Israel is nothing more than NATO's bitch. Sure they have more PHD's per capita than any other country on earth and a lot of good people live there but their government has much to be desired and are nothing more than NATO puppets.

[Unchainme]

Listening to the current crop of GOP lunatics......war with Iran is on the table.

I don't think Romney or Newt would be as crazy to do it. They'd probably focus to much on lowering taxes, and that kind of stuff.

Bachmann and Perry? Yup.

[Nitro Express]

Listening to the current crop of GOP lunatics......war with Iran is on the table.

All are war mongers except Ron Paul. Obama is the same. No real democrats running in this election. They should tattoo an elephant on Obama's forehead. The neocons never left the white house, they just put a guy in there who the public would think was the last guy on earth who would keep and expand the nazi agenda. The big mistake people make about neocons is that they are stupid. They have gotten almost everything they have wanted by duping a gullible public. Pretty obvious they control both sides. Hillary is a neocon as well. She supported Bush and has been a key player in keeping the old neocon game going. Obama may pull some troops but if he gets reelected it's back to the same games.

[jhale667]

Peoples memories of what happened in 79 have kinda permanently scarred things. When you say the word Iran to anyone about 35 or older, the first thoughts are of what happened then. Not of a possibly progressive country.

The relationship is indeed very repairable, just depends on if Iran ever goes more moderate/secular or not. Also, again, it depends on who's in the White House on our end.


Not to mention anyone over 35 (or with a functioning set of eyes) can see the disturbing resemblance Amadinnerjacket bears to one of the hostage-taker ringleaders in Embassy photos from the day. He's a scumbag, no doubt - but you're right - the country is a seriously F*ed up Theocracy and he is their wacky W.-esque figurehead counterpart....and from what I hear a LOT if not most of the Iranian people are sick of their BS...

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Not to mention anyone over 35 (or with a functioning set of eyes) can see the disturbing resemblance Amadinnerjacket bears to one of the hostage-taker ringleaders in Embassy photos from the day.

Oh absolutely, dead ringer.....

[kwame k]

I don't think Romney or Newt would be as crazy to do it. They'd probably focus to much on lowering taxes, and that kind of stuff.

Bachmann and Perry? Yup.

Nope, they're taking a page from the Rove "Be afraid very afraid" playbook on Iran......

Mitt Romney said his first trip, if he is president, will be to Israel, "to show the world we care about that country and that region."

Romney did not say whether he would help Israel launch an attack on Iran to stop Tehran from getting nuclear weapons, because inexplicably he wasn't asked. Romney did say that he favors "crippling sanctions" and indicting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations for inciting genocide.

Newt Gingrich was asked if he would take military action against Iran, and said he would with one caveat: it would have to lead to regime change.

But Gingrich added: "If my choice was to collaborate with the Israelis on a conventional campaign or force them to use their nuclear weapons, it would be an extraordinarily dangerous world if out of a sense of being abandoned they went nuclear and used multiple nuclear weapons in Iran. That would be a future none of us would want to live through."

Link (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/22/newt-gingrich-mitt-romney_n_1109092.html)

[Nitro Express]

I don't think Romney or Newt would be as crazy to do it. They'd probably focus to much on lowering taxes, and that kind of stuff.

Bachmann and Perry? Yup.

I know Mitt a little. He seems like a very motivated guy. I think he is one of these Mormons who sees climbing the ladder as helping the image of Mormons. Mormons desperately want to be accepted and want to be important. Is Mitt nuts? I don't think so, I think he suffers from tunnel vision more than anything. He's not a in the wool CFR member. I think he is like Reagan in many ways. Complicated and hard to figure out. I would say Newt is a full in the wool establishment member.

[Nitro Express]

Regarding Israel. The government there is the problem. I don't think people realize how well the muslims and jews actually get along there. It's the government that stirs the shit. It's the minority religious extremist that stir the shit. The average person there just wants to make a living period. Sometimes you can support the people of a nation and call out their government. You can support the idea of Israel but you can criticize their thuggery. In many ways they are doing exactly what the nazis did a half century ago.

[Seshmeister]

If that's true why do the Israelis keep on electing these fucking borderline fascist militaristic thugs into government?

[kwame k]

If that's true why do the Israelis keep on electing these fucking borderline fascist militaristic thugs into government?

If you figure that one out......explain why the USA has done the same thing:)

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I think part of the reason why we've never taken the next step towards military action in Iran is similar to that of North Korea....

Meaning, the US knows that those fuckers are crazy enough to do some radical stuff in retaliation, like tactical nukes or chemical weapons....

[kwame k]

I think part of the reason why we've never taken the next step towards military action in Iran is similar to that of North Korea....

Meaning, the US knows that those fuckers are crazy enough to do some radical stuff in retaliation, like tactical nukes or chemical weapons....

The old MAD cold war thing.......

[Kristy]

My paranoid Spidy sense tells me this is a plot by the Illuminati to kick start the war with Iran sooner than expected.

[kwame k]

It's election suicide if they pursue the war mongering rhetoric with 2 failed occupations and an economy that's in the toilet.

[Satan]

Although it's been so overused in the last few years........

Blame Bush and his fucking "Axis of Evil" speech.

Guess what country was helping us in our War on Terra after 9/11......yep, Iran.

Iran was also leaning towards a moderate government/religious leadership....extending an olive branch our way, which Bush promptly shit all over.

So this is yet another example of how Cowboy Diplomacy fails.

We had a chance to have a powerful friend in the middle east and end decades of strained relations.

Yep. Ahmadinnerjacket was only elected AFTER Chimpy placed Iran in the fictional "Axis of Evil", because the Likud puppet PNAC fucksticks who controlled his fraudministration (Perle/Feith/Wolfoshitz/Chertoff/etc) insisted on it.

The previous figurehead, and even the mullahs themselves were far more willing to work with the US before then. And why not? They didn't have any love for Sunni regimes like the Saudis or Saddam either.

[Satan]

My paranoid Spidy sense tells me this is a plot by the Illuminati to kick start the war with Iran sooner than expected.

Not so much the Illuminati as the NuttyYahoo. He's been obsessed with starting a war in Iran since his first turn as Israeli PM in the mid 90's.

[Nickdfresh]

Iran is a different bird, though...

Firing one shot throws countries like Israel, North Korea and China into the mix....

Iran has been threatening to rain missiles on Israel for quite a long time...

Perhaps the hawks that keep squawking for military action in Iran can have their kids volunteer to fight it....

But we can't do that, can we....

Over the weekend, I read that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards even threatened to attack early warning sites in Turkey.

[Unchainme]

Over the weekend, I read that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards even threatened to attack early warning sites in Turkey.

Do we look bad as a country if they try to or are successful, counter with something?

Not a full blown war or something, but what does the us do then?

[lesfunk]

I don't think Iran is a "real" enemy of the USA. I think we've been pitched the "war with Iran is coming" for decades, ever since the Ayatollah and the hostage crisis.
It could become a self fulfilling prophesy

[Nitro Express]

It's complicated.

Far fewer people go to the mosque each week than in any other muslim country or Americans to church, less than 30% a week.

Iran is naturally quite a secular, 'westernised' country and should really have a leaning towards us. To prevent this the religious government has to keep ramping up tension and anti-western feelings and tries to radicalise the population. They have valid gripes against the US and UK not least all those years we propped up the Shah and Israel but a lot of this is about the religious political class trying to create us as a bogeyman.

Then you have Wikileaks exposing that Saudi Arabia would encourage Israel to attack Iran because the Saudi royal family fear the leadership of that country. It's the old Shite and Sunni spat and they want us and Israel to take their enemy out or at least cripple it to where it isn't a threat to them. A lot of weird geopolitical stuff going on behind the scenes that the average person would never be able to figure out just watching the biased mainstream news. In the US they just make Iran out to be the great Satan full of maniacs trying to kill us which like you said, isn't the case at all.

[Nitro Express]

You would never see this on Fox News.

[Nitro Express]

The old MAD cold war thing.......
The maniacs in charge need a war as a distraction and they need a big one. Nobody is buying the war on terror anymore. If you look at history, leaders always take you to war when they have no solutions to anything. One thing they do is use the media to fan the fear and paranoia. Of course once the war starts they can clamp down on us here too. I think that's the plan.

The last thing China, Russia, and Iran want is a war. They have nothing to gain from it. It's the leaders in the west who are faced with collapsing economies and angry citizens who want war. They need war.

We will see if this will be the situation that someone tried to start a war but nobody showed up.

If you look at the world economy the only place you have real trouble is in the G5 countries. Outside of those the economy actually grew. It's because Europe and North America are ran by the same bankers. Goldman Sachs works on more than one continent. It's nothing more than a failed colluded banking system trying to hang onto power. What needs to happen is the governments in these countries need to take these banks over before they destroy countries with debt and wars. They already replaced elected leaders in Italy and Greece with their cronies. Basically, Asia has cut their financing off because the countries there got tired of financing wars and so now the western banking powers are going ape shit, stealing everything they can, bullying elected officials out of office, trying to start wars. Having their idiots in the press lie and spread fear. It's like watching rats in a sack fight each other.

[Nitro Express]

If that's true why do the Israelis keep on electing these fucking borderline fascist militaristic thugs into government?

I spent a whole year in Israel and left more confused about the place than before I left. What amazed me is how many people there really aren't into religion at all. That was a shocker.