Shoes, eggs hurled at Iran leader upon arrival in Tehran

[Shah-i-Kot]

Shoes, eggs hurled at Iran leader upon arrival in Tehran

Reuters : Dubai, Sun Sep 29 2013, 01:05 hrs Hundreds of Iranians cheered President Hassan Rouhani on his return from New York on Saturday after his historic phone call with US President Barack Obama but a smaller number of hardliners shouted "Death to America" and threw eggs and a shoe at his official car leaving the airport in Tehran, Iranian media reported.
While an anticipated handshake between Rouhani and Obama at United Nations headquarters failed to materialise, they held a 15-minute call on Friday at the end of the moderate new Iranian president's trip for the UN General Assembly.
Iranian media said hundreds of Rouhani supporters keen to see him make good on pledges of "constructive interaction" with the world to ease Iran's international isolation and get punitive sanctions lifted turned up to hail his UN visit.
But about 100 conservative hardliners also appeared and, shouting the "Death to America" slogan common since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, pelted his official car with eggs and stones in protest at Rouhani's diplomatic opening towards Washington, according to witness reports posted on Twitter.
The semi-official Mehr news agency ran pictures of groups of protesters holding up a 'Death to America' placard and banging the sides of Rouhani's limousine as it began to depart the airport. Mehr said one protester threw his shoes at the car, a gesture of deep insult in the Islamic faith.
There has been little reaction so far from Iran's political leaders but one senior parliamentarian tentatively welcomed Rouhani's conversation with Obama as a sign of the Islamic Republic's "position of authority".
"This (phone call) shows that Iran's place in the world is of critical importance. That the president of America insists on a telephone call is a sign of sincerity," Mehr quoted the head of parliament's committee for national security and foreign affairs, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, as saying on Saturday.



Shoes, eggs hurled at Iran leader upon arrival in Tehran - Indian Express

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

sons of mut'ah are angry.

[Shah-i-Kot]

thats probably why Rouhani refused to meet Obama at UN. This phone call apparently has the same effect.

[Badlun]

I had a chance of few minutes conversation with Hilary Clinton few years back when she was Secretary of State and when I told her that Iran is not at all an enemy of US as Shia Islam is a pacific one and they do not have Al qaeda kind of organization, they do not have Taliban and they do not have Salafis, Wahabis, Deobandis, Tableeghis and other terrorist or terror promoting organizations. Hizbullah is not an Iranian entity and they also believe in democracy and have members in Lebanese parliament.

The only issue is Israel and nuclear weapons. Israel and Nukes both are not direct issues with US and a way can be sought to have negotiations on both the issues but Iran is not at all a direct enemy state of US.

She was a bit surprised, shook her head ,smiled and told me that I am 100% right and I will convey this thought to the policy makers of US.

It seems US is realizing their stupidity of declaring Iran as an enemy state and making it member of the evil axis.

[Shah-i-Kot]

UPDATE 2-Iran's elite military warns of dangers of dealing with U.S.






Sun Sep 22, 2013 9:07am EDT

(Reuters) - Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard has warned of the dangers of dealing with U.S. officials, ahead of expected diplomatic contacts, underlining the internal challenges President Hassan Rouhani could face to improve ties with the West.
Rouhani is expected to pursue a charm offensive in the coming week while in New York for the U.N. General Assembly in order to set the right tone for further nuclear talks with world powers which he hopes will bring relief from sanctions, according to diplomats and analysts.
Hours before leaving for New York on Sunday, the new Iranian president said that Tehran was ready for negotiations with Western powers provided they set no pre-conditions. He also said the world needed to accept Iran's right to enrich uranium.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military force was established to safeguard Iran's revolution in 1979 and has since influenced political, social and economic affairs.
"Historical experiences make it necessary for the diplomatic apparatus of our country to carefully and sceptically monitor the behaviour of White House officials so that the righteous demands of our nation are recognised and respected by those who favour interaction," an IRGC statement said.
It added the IRGC would support initiatives that were in line with national interests and strategies set forth by Iran's theocratic leader and highest authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The United States and its allies have imposed tough economic sanctions on Iran over suspicions Tehran intends to develop a nuclear capability. Iran says the programme is purely peaceful.
The IRGC statement, published by Iran's Tasnim news agency on Saturday and marking the 33rd anniversary of the start of the Iran-Iraq war, came days after Khamenei and Rouhani told the security hardliners to stay out of politics, in effect instructing them not to scupper the new centrist government's attempt to resolve the nuclear dispute.
CLOUT
The 125,000-strong IRGC has a military budget that is said to dwarf that of the regular armed forces. Its top commanders are handpicked by Khamenei but its clout also derives from former members who have occupied positions of influence in business, parliament and across provincial government.
Rouhani spoke about negotiations with the West when addressing the military parade on Sunday to commemorate the annual "Sacred Defence Week".
"In these talks all the rights of Iran, including nuclear and enrichment rights on our own territory should be accepted within the framework of international law," he said, according to state news agency IRNA.
Rouhani also paid homage to Iran's armed forces and indicated that the country would not forget about the suffering former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein imposed on Iran, and his backing from Arab and western states.
Iranian television showed footage of the parade featuring Sajjil and Ghadr missiles which commanders claim have a range of about 2,000 km (1,200 miles). Media reports said the latest air defence systems were also showcased.
"Our armed forces do not aim to dominate and colonise the region but in the face of aggression they will not dither and will defend the independence and the honour of our country and revolution with all their might," Rouhani said.
U.S. President Barack Obama and his aides have made clear that they are ready to test Rouhani's intentions to seek a diplomatic solution to the nuclear dispute.
The White House has left open the possibility Obama and Rouhani could meet on the sidelines of the U.N. meeting, and a U.S. official has privately acknowledged the administration's desire to engineer a handshake between the two leaders, which would be the highest-level U.S.-Iranian contact since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Last week, Khamenei appeared to give his strongest endorsement yet to Rouhani's attempts to initiate talks with the United States, saying he agreed with "heroic flexibility".
Reflecting optimism over Rouhani's diplomatic initiative, Iran's currency, the rial, has strengthened against the dollar by more than six percent. Open-market traders currently offer around 29,000 rials to the dollar versus 31,500 a week ago.


UPDATE 2-Iran's elite military warns of dangers of dealing with U.S. | Reuters

[Badlun]

Rouhani will definitely have opposition from the conservatives and Mullahs but what I have seen in Iran is that the people love US, its people and the West.

They are very modern in their outlook on life. Young generation has a lot of tendency to adopt western manners, modern education and want freedom of speech , liberties and get rid of the strict Islamic regime. they are fed up from the sanctions and the economy is in shatters.