Supreme Leader - Tag Search

More on Mahmoud Vahidnia, the math student who took on the ayatollah

Evan Hill | November 3, 2009 11:01 AM | 2 | recommend (0)

This morning, Gregg wrote about Mahmoud Vahidnia, a math whiz and sophomore at Iran's Sharif University of Technology who publicly criticized Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to his face, after Khamenei made a speech at the university on Wednesday.

The story of Vahidnia's audacity was, curiously, first reported on Khamenei's official Web site. Yet concerns lingered over whether Vahidnia, reportedly harassed by "security forces" after his 20-minute critique, had been arrested. The Los Angeles Times' Babylon & Beyond blog gave us news on Monday (which I'm just now seeing) that Vahidnia was not arrested and is doing fine. New video and quotes from Vahidnia, after the jump.

Read more »

Saleh offers southerners carrots and sticks

Transcript: Biden's speech at Tel Aviv University

IHEC releases early results from Babel, Najaf

Al-Akhbar: Our weekly brief

Peace Processing

Biden arrives in Israel amid serious Palestinian doubts

Gregg Carlstrom | March 9, 2010 4:56 AM | 1 | recommend (0)
Vice President Joe Biden and his wife arrived in Israel on Monday.
As Joe Biden lands in Israel, the Israeli government -- obviously keen to demonstrate that it's serious about restarting peace talks -- announced Monday that it will violate its West Bank settlement freeze and build 112 new homes in Beitar Illit, a settlement west of Bethlehem.

Iraqi Elections

Polls close in Iraq; media reports suggest strong turnout, relative calm

Gregg Carlstrom | March 7, 2010 9:27 AM | 0 | recommend (0)
An Iraqi man on a bicycle displays his ink-stained finger after voting in Baghdad on March 7, 2010. (Photo: AP)
A handful of insurgent attacks around the country killed two dozen people, but Iraqi security forces seemed generally confident; the vehicle ban in Baghdad, scheduled to last all day, was lifted before noon. Anecdotal reports suggest a strong turnout across the country.

Iraqi Elections

Campaigning stops, voting starts; scattered violence in Baghdad, Mosul

Gregg Carlstrom | March 4, 2010 9:59 PM | 0 | recommend (0)
Iraqi policemen show their ink-stained fingers after voting outside a polling station in Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad. (Photo: Reuters)
Iraq's campaign season wrapped up today, 48 hours ahead of the election, as soldiers and medical personnel voted early. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and police will be on duty Sunday for the general election, when millions of Iraqis will vote at some 10,00 polling centers around the country (and abroad).

Bloggers

The "MSM"