MULLAHS SQUIRM AS DEFIANT IRANIANS HONOR MARTYRS Jul 31, 2009
Demonstrations also took place in Mashhad, Rasht, Kermanshah and Ahvaz, among other provincial centers. Unconfirmed reports suggest more than 1,000 arrests during the demonstrations -- including, in Tehran, two prominent filmmakers, Jaafar Panahy and Mahnaz Muhammadi, who are making a documentary about the anti-regime insurrection. (New York Post -- Opinions)
* Thirteen dead in Iran plane crash Jul 26, 2009
The passenger plane, an Ilyushin Il-62 from Kazakhstan leased by Irans Aria Aviation Company, veered from the runway and hit a wall while landing at Mashhads Hasheminejad Airport ... There were 153 people on board the aircraft, which had flown to Mashhad from Tehran ... Mashhad is a popular pilgrimage destination for Shiite Muslims who make up the majority of Irans population. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Sports)
17 die as plane skids, bursts into flame in Iran Jul 25, 2009
Passenger plane skids off runway and catches fire in Mashhad ... (CNN) -- A passenger plane skidded off an airport runway and burst into flames in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad on Friday, killing at least 17 people and injuring about 20, according to government-backed Press TV. ... Aryan Airlines Flight 1625 skidded off the runway and burst into flames Friday in Mashhad, Iran. (CNN -- World)
Iran plane fire kills at least 17 Jul 25, 2009
The burning plane skidded off the runway of the airport in the city of Mashhad, said the IRNA news agency ... The Aria Airlines plane involved in Friday's blaze had flown from Tehran to Mashhad with 153 people on board. (BBC News -- Africa)
17 killed in plane crash in northeast Iran Jul 25, 2009
The plane from Iran's Aria Air airline with 153 passengers on board caught fire and skidded into walls near the runway during its landing in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, said the report. Rescuers work near the plane wreckage at the international airport in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad July 24, 2009 ... A rescuer stretchers off a wounded passenger at the international airport of the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad July 24, 2009. (Xinhuanet, China)
Plane Skids Off Runway in Iran Upon Landing, Killing 17 Jul 25, 2009
July 24: Emergency workers at the scene of an Iranian passenger plane crash just off the runway at the airport in Mashhad, northeast of Tehran, Iran ... The Russian-made Ilyushin plane from the privately owned Aria Arilines was carrying 153 passengers and flew from the capital Tehran to the northeastern city of Mashhad, 600 miles away. (Fox News)
Drought takes toll on Iraq revival efforts Jul 25, 2009
A member of Iran's Air Force takes photographs at the site of the wreckage of a passenger airplane in Mashhad, 924 km (577 miles) east of Tehran, July 24, 2009. Seventeen. (AlertNet)
Iran Cracks Down To Prevent Protest Jul 22, 2009
In a speech in the northeastern city of Mashhad, he blasted opposition leaders as "liars" and said they were "spreading sedition," IRNA reported. The unrest has also moved to a different phase - one that has seen. (CBS News)
Powerful Iranian cleric says country in crisis Jul 18, 2009
"They tried to interfere in our elections. They talked nonsense. They were rude. They fomented aggression against people's wealth and property," Ahmadinejad told a crowd of thousands in the northwestern city of Mashhad. The U.S. has denied the government's allegations. (Sioux City Journal, IO)
* Ahmadinejad signals tougher approach Jul 18, 2009
The Iranian nations choice was their nightmare, the hardline president told a big crowd at the countrys most prominent religious shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad. Ahmadinejads fierce attack on Tehrans enemies is likely to further disappoint the US and its allies, which are trying to engage the Islamic Republic in direct talks over its nuclear program. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
Russian Tupolev, Workhorse Plane of Soviet Era, Has Eight Losses in Decade Jul 16, 2009
In September 2006, an Iran Air Tours Tu-154 caught fire and crashed on landing in the northeastern city of Mashhad, killing about 30 people. Yesterdays incident brings the number who have died in air disasters in the country to 1,610, according to safety data cited by the Mehr news agency. (Bloomberg -- Germany)
List Of Plane Crashes In Iran Jul 16, 2009
Sept. 1, 2006: An Iran Airtour Tu-154 skidded off the runway and smashed its wing as it landed in the northeastern city of Mashhad, sparking a fire that killed 29 of the 148 people aboard. Jan. 11, 2006: A French-made Falcon, carrying a commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards and 10 other officers, crashed while trying to make an emergency landing, killing all aboard. (CBS News -- World)
Anniversary Protests Defy Iranian Regime Jul 11, 2009
Protests also erupted against the regime in at least eight cities in addition to Tehran, including Isfahan, Tabriz, Shiraz, and Mashhad, according to wire reports and Iranian bloggers on the scene. Farahanipour said that his ability to enter Iran, and move from city to city, while using a variety of public communication devices, showed the weakness of the regime, its intelligence services, and its border security. (Newsmax)
Guide: How Iran is ruled Jul 5, 2009
Although the body is officially based in the holy city of Qom, sessions are also held in Tehran and Mashhad. Direct elections for the 86 members of the current assembly are held every eight years and are next due in 2014. (BBC News -- Africa)
Foreign broadcasters walk a fine line in Iran Jun 30, 2009
"I don't fully trust VOA or BBC Persian, but at least they are much better than the state TV channels," said a 57 -year-old shopkeeper in the northeastern city of Mashhad. "At least they don't hide the news.". (WSVN-TV Miami, FL)
Iran's Embattled Supreme Leader: A Test for Khamenei Jun 26, 2009
His modest childhood home in Mashhad has become a virtual shrine, his edicts are binding and his powers absolute. Yet protesters forced from the streets this week have taken to shouting "Death to the dictator" and "Death to Khamenei" from their rooftops. (Time.com)
Why Iran's Changed Forever Jun 25, 2009
Qom and perhaps even Mashhad, an important clerical and pilgrimage site where Khamenei has his financial power-base, would go into permanent opposition. Iraq's great clerical training ground in Najaf, the most sacred of Shiism's "gateways" to heaven, where an Iranian, the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, presides, would likely become more assertive in expressing its views on how good Shiites everywhere should live. (CBS News)
Viewpoints: What next for Iran? Jun 23, 2009
Demonstrations also took place in a number of other towns, such as Shiraz, Esfahan, Tabriz and Yazd, but many other major towns, such as Mashhad, have been relatively quiet. However, unless the opposition manages to spread the demonstrations to other parts of Tehran and other cities around the country, or nationwide strikes are organised, for example by oil workers and the Bazari (merchant class), it would be difficult to imagine that the demonstrators could continue their protests indefinitely. (BBC News -- Africa)
Western rights group calls on Iran to end crackdown Jun 20, 2009
"The arrest of hundreds of protesters, including university students in Tehran and Mashhad, has been reported by unofficial Iranian internet news sites," it said ... "There have ... been reports of violent attacks by security forces on demonstrators and students in the provincial towns of Shiraz, Isfahan, Tabriz, Bandar Abbas, and Mashhad," Human Rights Watch said. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Key arrests in crackdown Jun 19, 2009
It says there have been reports of people arrested in provincial cities such as Zahedan, Tabriz, Mashhad, Babol and Shiraz. The New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran says at least 200 people have been arrested across Iran. (BBC News -- Africa)
Iranian opposition grows broader Jun 18, 2009
Rallies attracting thousands have popped up across the country including the central historic city of Isfahan, the conservative northeastern city of Mashhad and Shiraz in the south. It is not just the election many people in the streets are angry about. (Boston Globe)
Call for day of mourning in Iran Jun 18, 2009
" Official results from Friday's vote showed Mr Ahmadinejad had won a landslide, leading to daily clashes between Mr Mousavi backers, anti-riot police and Islamic militiamen. Authorities have dismissed opposition allegations of vote rigging. Despite calls by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for national unity, Mr Mousavi supporters have continued to pour on to the streets. Bloodshed, mass protests, arrests and a media crackdown have focused attention on the world's fifth-biggest oil... (ITV news, UK -- News)
Iran Is Not the Enemy Jun 18, 2009
In the great Shia pilgrimage city of Mashhad, on the old Silk Road to China, I understood for the first time that this was something utterly apart, as separate from Sunni practice as a Sicilian Roman Catholic might be from a Scotch Calvinist ... In Mashhad, I was assured, public executions had become rare because they were unpopular, and people would not go to watch them unless the condemned man had committed some especially heinous and bloody crime ... I was also unpleasantly surprised, during... (The American Conservative)
Latest eyewitness reports Jun 18, 2009
Mustafa from Mashhad described what happened in his city: "Yesterday evening some two or three thousand people were holding a demonstration. The police wanted to arrest them, so many of the protesters barricaded themselves in the university of Mashhad. The police couldn't get in and those people had to stay there all night long.". Everything blocked. (BBC News -- Africa)
Ayatullah Ali Khamenei: Iran's Supreme Leader Jun 17, 2009
"They say, 'We have extended a hand toward Iran.' What kind of hand is this? If the extended hand is covered with a velvet glove but underneath it, the hand is made of cast iron, this does not have a good meaning at all." Responding to President Obama's video message in a speech before a crowd of tens of thousands in the northeastern city of Mashhad. (Time. (Time.com)
Huge protest over election results in Iran Jun 17, 2009
Police clashed with pro-Mousavi demonstrators in Esfahan and Mashhad, and authorities fired in the air to disperse protesters in Shiraz, the Associated Press reported. This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle. (San Francisco Chronicle)
From torture victim to hardline supreme power Jun 17, 2009
As a young man, Ayatollah Khamenei studied in the Islamic seminaries of his home area of Mashhad and later moved to the Shia holy city of Qom. There, he encountered Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the radical religious leader who would later inspire the Islamic Revolution. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Iran's Lesson: Even in a Tainted Election, Voting Still Matters Jun 16, 2009
From Tabriz to Tehran to Mashhad, from Bonn to London to Virginia, they waited in long lines at polling stations, determined not to let the country slide further into penury and isolation, not to let 2005 repeat itself. I was thrilled when some friends e-mailed to say I had helped encourage them to vote. (Time.com)
Obama 'troubled' by Iran violence Jun 16, 2009
Page last updated at 08:08 GMT, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 09:08 UK. Iran to hold election recount. (BBC News -- Americas)
Nate Silver: The statistical evidence is intriguing but, ultimately, inconclusive Jun 16, 2009
IN addition, the fact that he took every single large province, 7 of the 10 largest by 65% or more, even when he wasn't popular at all in Tehran, Mashhad, etc. I'd be interested in a regression looking at how urban/rural areas went. (Harper's Magazine)
NYT analysis: Irans iron cleric blinks Jun 16, 2009
The son of a cleric from the holy city of Mashhad, Ayatollah Khamenei was known as something of an open-minded mullah, if not exactly liberal. He had a good singing voice; played the tar, a traditional Iranian stringed instrument; and wrote poetry. (MSNBC -- International)
At least seven killed in Iran protests Jun 16, 2009
Witnesses told the AP that pro-Mousavi demonstrators clashed with police in the historic city of Esfahan and the northeastern city of Mashhad, a conservative bastion with one of Iran's most holy Shiite shrines. Click for related content. (MSNBC -- International)
Five die in sectarian clashes in southeastern Iran; dozens reported injured Jun 2, 2009
Iranian students reached out to shake hands with presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi during a rally in Mashhad Sunday. (Atta Kenare/ AFP/ Getty Images) Los Angeles Times / June 2, 2009. (Boston Globe)
Can Iran's Minorities Help Oust Ahmadinejad? May 30, 2009
Khamenei himself was actually born in Mashhad in the northeast, where his father had been studying at a seminary. Another local relative said that when SAVAK, the Shah's intelligence service, had been chasing the revolutionary cleric, Khamenei had hidden at his aunt's place in Khameneh for one night. (Time.com)
Dipped in diversity: Sierra Vistans learn about cultures from their neighbors Apr 19, 2009
Miller grew up in Mashhad, a city in northeastern Iran, until she was 21. She recently returned from a six-month tour of Afghanistan, where, with her skills in the Farsi language, she served as a linguist and cultural analyst. (Sierra Vista Herald, AZ)
Obama's Charm Offensive To Iran Apr 3, 2009
Khamenei told a crowd in Mashhad on March 21 that America's extended hand looked like an iron fist encased in a velvet glove. Recalling American support for Iraq in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, and the United States's accidental shooting down of an Iranian passenger plane in 1988, Khamenei wondered aloud if Obama was changing America's policy or only its rhetoric. (CBS News)
Iran's supreme leader rebuffs Obama's overture Mar 23, 2009
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran delivering a sermon during his visit to Mashhad on Saturday ... "They chant the slogan of change, but no change is seen in practice," Khamenei said in a speech before a crowd of tens of thousands in Mashhad. (International Herald Tribune)
Report: Iran Dismisses U.S. Outreach as a 'Slogan' Mar 23, 2009
A familiar chant of Death to America echoed around a religious shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad as Khamenei complained that Obama had insulted the Islamic republic of Iran from the first day. " He added: If you are right that change has come, where is that change? Make it clear for us what has changed. His remarks came as a nuclear powered U.S. submarine the USS Hartford collided at sea with an amphibious vessel, the USS New Orleans, off the Straits of Hormuz. Fifteen sailors were... (Fox News)
Iran's supreme leader dismisses Obama overtures Mar 23, 2009
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to his supporters as he prepares to deliver a sermon during his visit to Mashhad, east of Tehran, on Saturday ... We haven't seen any change, Ayatollah Khamenei said in a speech before a crowd of tens of thousands in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad. (Globe and Mail)
Iran demands change in US policy Mar 22, 2009
Speaking to a large crowd in the holy city of Mashhad, Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran had "no experience with the new American government and the new American president". One gesture the US administration could make would be to ease some sanctions on passenger aeroplanes and spare parts. (BBC News -- Africa)
Iran rebuffs Obama overtures Mar 22, 2009
AFP/Getty ImagesIran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, addressed thousands yesterday in the holy city of Mashhad ... "They chant the slogan of change but no change is seen in practice. We haven't seen any change," Khamenei said in a speech before a crowd of tens of thousands in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad. (Boston Globe)
Talk amongst yourselves…. Mar 22, 2009
Khamenei said in a speech Saturday in the northeastern city of Mashhad. The crowd chanted Death to America. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
Iran's Supreme Leader Dismisses Obama Overtures Mar 22, 2009
"They chant the slogan of change but no change is seen in practice. We haven't seen any change," Khamenei said in a speech before a crowd of tens of thousands in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad. In his video message, Obama said the United States wants to engage Iran, but he also warned that a right place for Iran in the international community "cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and... (Newsmax)
Iran ready to change Mar 22, 2009
"We have no experience with the new American government and the new American president. We will observe them and we will judge. If you change your attitude, we will change our attitude," Khamenei said in an address to thousands of Iranians in the holy city of Mashhad which was broadcast on state television. Tehran, he said, had yet to see any change in US policy towards Iran. (iAfrica.com)
Iran's rhetoric comes with bite Mar 22, 2009
"Have you lifted oppressive sanctions? Have you given up mudslinging and making accusations against the great Iranian nation and its officials?" Khamenei said in a speech in the northeastern city of Mashhad. The crowd chanted "Death to America.". (AZCentral -- News)
Iran to U.S.: "You change, our behaviour will change" Mar 21, 2009
He was speaking in the northeastern city of Mashhad ... "Now the new American administration says: We would like to negotiate with Iran, let's forget the past," Khamenei told a big crowd of people that had gathered at the site in Mashhad. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Irans Khamenei dismisses Obama overture Mar 21, 2009
Speaking to tens of thousands of people in the holy city of Mashhad, Khamenei asked how Obama could congratulate Iranians on the new year while the United States continues to accuse the country of supporting terrorism and seeking nuclear weapons. "They give the slogan of change but in practice no change is seen. ... We haven't seen any change," Khamenei said. (Huntington WSAZ-TV, WV)
Iran's strongman shows signs of weakness Feb 14, 2009
MASHHAD, Iran For people like Mahdi Fahandari, times have always been tough in Iran ... Located 850 kilometres east of Tehran near the Afghan and Turkmenian borders, Mashhad is Iran's second-largest city and home to the mammoth Imam Reza Shrine, which makes it a destination for millions of Shia visitors ... The pilgrims and the cross-border trade usually keep the economy strong, but like the rest of the country, Mashhad is feeling the pinch. (Globe and Mail)
Will Obama say 'we're sorry'? Feb 13, 2009
For the past two decades, the "dream" has been carried out by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, born in 1940 in Mashhad into a family of preachers, and just a second-tier cleric. When Khomeini died, he was not even an ayatollah, not to mention an imam: just a hojjatoleslam, a student. (Asia Times Online)
