By: Associated Newspapers Ltd

Iran is now a ‘nuclear state’, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced this morning.

As Gordon Brown warned that the world’s patience is wearing thin, Ahmadinejad told scores of cheering Iranians that the Islamic Republic is capable of producing weapons-grade uranium.

He spoke as tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Tehran to mark the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

Despite fears of violence, opposition supporters found themselves largely overwhelmed by the clerical regime and pro-government demonstrators.

The massive security clampdown appeared to succeed in preventing protesters from converging into a cohesive demonstrations.

Large numbers of riot police, members of the Revolutionary Guard and Basij militiamen, some on motorcycles, deployed in back streets near key squares and major avenues in the capital to move against protesters.

He said it had produced its first batch of 20 per cent enriched uranium – and had the capability to enrich to far higher levels at its Natanz plant.

Enriching uranium produces fuel for a nuclear power plants but can also be used to create material for atomic weapons.

The international community has warned Iran against further enrichment activities, threatening new UN sanctions.

Today Gordon Brown again reiterated the threat of sanctions.

‘I believe the mood around the world is now increasingly one where, patience not being inexhaustible, people are turning to look at the specific sanctions we can plan on Iran,’ Mr Brown said.

‘This is a critical time for Iran’s relationship with the rest of the world.’

MrBrown said the international community did not want to impose sanctions but would do so if Iran did not cooperate more fully over its nuclear plans

The Iranian leader insisted the material was not intended to produce an atomic bomb, however.

‘We have the capability to enrich uranium more than 20 percent or 80 percent (the level needed to create an atomic bomb),’ he said in a speech broadcast live on state television.

‘But we don’t enrich (to this level) because we don’t need it…

‘When we say we do not manufacture the bomb, we mean it, and we do not believe in manufacturing a bomb,’ he told the crowd. ‘If we wanted to manufacture a bomb we would announce it.’

Thousands of supporters had been brought in on buses to hear Ahmadinejad speak as security forces threatened to crush any opposition protests.

Witnesses say security forces fired paint balls to disperse anti-government protesters in one of the first clashes of the day’s ceremonies.

The unrest began after protesters began to chant opposition slogans in Sadeqieh Square, which is about a half-mile (one kilometer) from a huge pro-government gathering where President Ahmadinejad delivered his speech.

Witnesses say there were no apparent injuries among the several hundred protesters.

Internet speeds around the capital dropped dramatically this morning as the government tried to foil demonstrations against the regime.

State television showed live footage of crowds carrying Iranian flags and pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei making their way to Azadi (freedom) Square in central Tehran, where the main gathering is being held.

Opposition members went on rooftops late Wednesday and shouted Allah-u-Akbar (‘God is greatest’) in protest – echoing similar cries after the disputed June election as well as anti-shah protests more than three decades ago.

‘There is a heavy presence of security forces everywhere. Police trucks are at every major intersection,’ said a witness in central Tehran. Police helicopters were flying over the city.

An opposition website, Iran Green Voice, reported large numbers of opposition supporters gathering in several cities, including Tehran and the northern city of Tabriz.

‘In some parts of Tehran, opposition supporters are chanting ‘Death to the Dictator” the website said.

Security forces are equipped with water cannon to disperse opposition protests, the opposition website Jaras reported.

Other opposition websites spoke of groups of protesters in the hundreds, compared to much larger crowds in past demonstrations

One protester told The Associated Press she had tried to join the demonstrations but soon left in disappointment.

‘There were 300 of us, maximum 500. Against 10,000 people,’ she told an AP reporter outside Iran. She said there were few clashes.

‘It means they won and we lost. They defeated us. They were able to gather so many people,’ she said. ‘But this doesn’t mean we have been defeated for good. It’s a defeat for now, today. We need time to regroup.’

Another protester insisted the opposition had come out in significant numbers, but ‘the problem was that we were not able to gather in one place because they (security forces) were very violent.’

‘Maybe people got scared,’ he said. ‘The idea wasn’t to lose or win today … But what is certain, today was not a good day.’

The opposition leaders have promised to join street rallies, including the Green movement founder and former presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Police chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam said on Wednesday the Revolutionary Guards and Basij Islamic militia were ready for any incident.

‘In case of any riots, public disturbance and disorder … police will detain and keep rioters in prison until April 9,’ an unnamed official told the semi-official Fars news agency on Thursday.

The Islamic state is facing its worst domestic crisis in three decades as opposition supporters have rallied round reformists who lost to Ahmadinejad in the election.

In recent months, the opposition has built its street protest strategy around days of important political or religious significance in attempts to embarrass authorities.

The tone of the rallies, however, has shifted from outrage over alleged fraud in President Ahmadinejad’s re-election to wider calls against the entire Islamic system, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Neither side has shown much appetite for compromise in the eight months since the disputed June presidential vote, which the opposition says was rigged to secure Ahmadinejad’s re-election.

Iran faces growing Western calls for targeted sanctions against it after Ahmadinejad ordered production of higher-grade uranium, stirring fears that Tehran aims to make nuclear bombs, not just fuel for civilian use as it says is the case.

The authorities, who say the poll was fair, have struggled to suppress the protests, and opened trials in recent weeks of people charged in connection with bloody riots on December 27.

Opposition leaders have said the trials were an attempt to deter people from taking part in protests today.

Iranian authorities again tried to squeeze off text messaging and Web links in attempts to cripple protest organisers. The opposition has used internet and text messaging as its main communication channels.

Internet service was sharply slowed, mobile phone service widely cut and there were repeated disruptions in popular instant messaging services such as Google chat.

But several Iranians reached by The Associated Press said some messenger services, including Yahoo!, and mobile phone texting were still sporadically accessible. Many Internet users said they could not log into their Gmail account, Google’s e-mail service, since last week.

‘We have heard from users in Iran that they are having trouble accessing Gmail,’ said Google in a statement. ‘We can confirm a sharp drop in traffic and we have looked at our own networks and found that they are working properly.’

An Iranian opposition website claimed today that security forces attacked opposition leader Mehdi Karoubi when he attended a rally.

‘Karoubi was attacked by security forces in central Tehran… they shattered his car’s windows … Karoubi was not seriously injured,’ Jaras website reported. The same website said security forces also attacked former president Mohammad Khatami.

The Islamic Republic has survived many challenges, not least a 1980-88 war started by Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, whose forces were propped up by Gulf Arab oil money and Western weaponry.

But the national unity forged in that trauma has long given way to rifts within clerical and political elites that widened after the June election. Street protests have flared periodically ever since, sometimes around official rallies.

Attending February 11 events is a tradition for many in the country of 70 million, over half of whom have only ever known the Islamic Republic established by the revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

‘If we all stay at home, our youngsters will be left alone on Bahman 22 (February 11). We should support them,’ said Laleh, a 67-year-old housewife. ‘I have nothing to lose.’

Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi said on Wednesday her country faced a catastrophe that would wreck peace in the whole Middle East if what she called government repression of the people were not halted.

Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Karoubi say the reform movement is alive despite pressure from the hardline rulers to disband. Karoubi predicted last month that Ahmadinejad would not be able to complete his four-year term.

‘Even if he stays in power until the end of his term, he will be the weakest president since the revolution,’ an Iranian analyst who did not want to be named said this week.

* Iran is now a ‘nuclear state’ says Ahmadinejad as thousands take to the streets Iran is now a ‘nuclear state’, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced this morning.

* EU President’s secret bid for economic power The new President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, is using the financial crisis sweeping the eurozone to launch an audacious grab for power over national budgets.

* Ahmadinejad warns Israel against any military move Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel should be resisted and finished off if it launched military action in the region.

* A Greek crisis is coming to America It began in Athens. It is spreading to Lisbon and Madrid. But it would be a grave mistake to assume that the sovereign debt crisis that is unfolding will remain confined to the weaker eurozone economies.

* Israel’s Netanyahu keeping mum about Obama’s virtual arms embargo Israel’s government has kept its silence during a year-long ban on weaopns sales imposed by the United States at the same time the administration has approved $10 billion in weapons sales to Arab states.

* Time Magazine Digging Up Trouble in Jerusalem The United States-based Time Magazine complained this week that the archaeological activities of the City of David Foundation, also known as “Ir David” or “Elad,” are making life difficult for President Barack Obama.

* EU deal ‘agreed’ on Greece debt woes EU leaders have reached a deal on helping Greece tackle its debt crisis.

* China to push aside Japan as No. 2 economy China is likely to soon overtake Japan to become the world’s second largest economy, a milestone that will only fuel growing fears about the economic might of the world’s largest country.

* Dramatic images of World Trade Centre collapse on 9/11 released for first time We have seen the Twin Towers collapse hundreds of times on TV. The steel and glass skyscrapers exploding like a bag of flour, the dust and smoke pluming out across Manhattan.

* Global bank tax near, says Brown Gordon Brown said on Wednesday the world’s leading economies were close to agreeing a global bank tax.

* Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri warns of Israel ‘threat’ Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri says he is concerned about “escalating” threats posed to the Middle East by Israel.

* European Debt Issues Top Agenda for Meeting With the European Union’s single currency in the grip of the worst crisis in its history, the bloc’s new president is expected to use the growing alarm over debt levels to argue for a new form of “economic government” in Europe.

* Euro MPs back new European Commission The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of the new 27-strong team of European commissioners.

* China PLA officers urge economic punch against U.S. The calls for broad retaliation over the planned U.S. weapons sales to the disputed island came from officers at China’s National Defence University and Academy of Military Sciences.

* Jordan negotiates construction of nuclear power plant Jordan is moving forward with its plan to set up a nuclear reactor.

* Barroso urges new wave of optimism in Europe European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Tuesday (9 February) celebrated EU enlargement and the single currency as the bloc’s main achievements in the face of crisis-related gloom in Europe.

* Obama ups military aid to Arab League states The administration of President Barack Obama has proposed an increase in U.S. military aid for several Arab League states.

* Google prepares Facebook assault Google is set to make a fresh attempt to gain a stronger foothold in the booming social networking business on Tuesday as it seeks to counter the growing threat that Facebook poses to some of its core services.

* Byzantine-era street uncovered in Jerusalem Archaeologists said Wednesday that they have unearthed a section of a stone street in Jerusalem that provides important new evidence about the city’s commercial life 1,500 years ago.

* PM’s first year far better than ’96 Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu enjoyed a much more trouble-free first year in office than in his first term as prime minister.

By: Robert Maginnis – Human Events

Last week Dennis Blair, the Director for National Intelligence, testified he is “certain” there will be an attempted terrorist attack in the U.S. in the next three to six months, but he provided no details or assurances the Obama administration is doing anything to stop it. Blair’s unsupported warning is another example of why average Americans are losing confidence in President Obama’s ability to protect the country.

Blair’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee was much starker than his view last year, which emphasized considerable progress against al Qaeda. Blair and other intelligence officials told a Senate committee that al Qaeda had adjusted its tactics to more effectively strike American targets domestically and abroad.

But Blair left the public in the dark after predicting “certain” attempts to attack the homeland. What kind of attack is he “certain” of? A sack of anthrax spores released in a shopping mall, a dirty bomb exploded outside a federal building or another 9/11-like hijacking that turns airliners into missiles? Blair’s failure to calm public angst with even a few details is an example of why this administration is losing America’s confidence.

President Obama’s first year in office was similarly marred by numerous confidence-busting security faux pas that negatively affected public opinion.

That’s why it’s not surprising a January 2010 Washington Post-ABC News poll found only 47% of Americans have confidence that Obama is making the right decisions for the country’s future, down from 61% a year ago. The same poll found most (62%) Americans also believe the country is on the wrong track.

Sinking public confidence in Obama is evidenced a number of ways. For most Americans the economy is the leading confidence-busting issue but security is second. National security and foreign affairs are the president’s primary constitutional duties.

But those critical duties consumed only 15 percent of Obama’s State of the Union address. Consider his performance on three of his duties to appreciate why Obama is losing public confidence: fighting terrorism, conducting foreign affairs and leading the armed forces.

“Since the day I took office,” Obama said at the State of the Union, “we’ve renewed our focus on the terrorists who threaten our nation.” But Obama’s anti-terrorism performance compared with former President George W. Bush is poor. A year ago, nearly one-half (49%) of all Americans said the policies of the Bush administration made the U.S. safer from terrorism. Today, only one in four Americans believe Obama’s policies are making America safer from terrorism.

Obama’s anti-terrorism policies illustrate why he is losing public confidence. Most (56%) Americans disapprove of his decision to close the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo bay, Cuba and bring the terrorists to this country for trial. Two-thirds disagree with Obama’s decision to try Khalid sheik Mohammed, the 9/11 mastermind, in a New York City federal civilian court, a decision which the president is now reconsidering after a public backlash.

The administration’s actions after the attempted terrorist bombing aboard an airliner in December sapped confidence. A Rasmussen poll found 31% of voters rated Obama’s response to the Christmas day bombing attempt as good or excellent, but 38% said the response was poor. A majority (61%) reject Obama’s decision to treat the terrorist as a common criminal by granting him constitutional rights. Perhaps that’s why most (63%) Americans worry Obama will not go far enough to investigate terrorism because of concerns about constitutional rights.

These actions undermine confidence that Obama’s anti-terror efforts are trustworthy. Perhaps that’s why most (77%) voters, according to Rasmussen, say another terrorist attack is at least somewhat likely this year and only a third (38%) of voters believe we are winning the war on terror.

Obama’s handling of foreign affairs fails to engender confidence as well. Regarding Iran’s atomic weapons program, most (69%) Americans believe Obama is not tough enough. They believe only military force (59%) — not Obama’s diplomacy and/or sanctions approaches – will stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons and 61% favor the U.S. taking military action to keep that from happening.

Public confidence is wavering regarding Obama’s Afghanistan strategy. Last year, Obama changed the war strategy twice and he summarized his second effort in one sentence at the State of the Union: “We’re increasing our troops and training Afghan security forces so they can begin to take the lead in July of 2011 and our troops can begin to come home.”

Americans are not impressed with his war plan. Nearly half (46%) of all Americans expect the situation to get worse. A review of the news from the war zone isn’t building confidence either.

Our ally Pakistan refuses to sustain operations along the Afghan border, training especially among Afghan police is broken and allies like the British are threatening to leave. Now, team Obama is desperately reaching out to the enemy, the Taliban, to find a compromise. But the Taliban will only negotiate if they are winning and then dictate the terms. The Taliban aren’t losing and Obama is anxious to get the troops home before the 2012 elections.

There is a similar lack of confidence emerging over Iraq. Only one in five Americans expects the situation in Iraq to get better in the next six months which could impact Obama’s State of the Union promise: “This war is ending, and all of our troops are coming home.” A disrupted March 7 parliamentary election in Iraq could push that nation into another civil war and reverse Obama’s withdrawal promise.

Then-presidential candidate Obama promised to reduce the U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles. Current negotiations with the Russians to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) aim to reduce warheads from 2,200 to approximately 1,500, but also reduce nuclear-delivery systems to a level Russia can afford. Reducing America’s delivery systems may please the Russians but dangerously limit our capabilities against the emerging Chinese threat.

It also appears Obama will appease the Russians by accepting limited U.S. verification of Russian missile-flight data to check on Moscow’s new developments and he has already abandoned our European-based mid-course missile defense system against Iran, at Russia’s insistence. Obama is giving up too much to the Russians with nothing but promises in return – more confidence- busting decisions.

Finally, Obama’s handling of the military undermines public confidence. The administration lacks a focus on what’s important other than using the armed forces as fodder for Obama’s radical agenda.

Last week, the Pentagon published Obama’s Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) which guides strategy and force structure decisions. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, complained the document requires a military “capable of being all things in all contingencies,” which makes it hard for the committee to determine what the priorities are and which of the many possible risks are the most important.

The unfocused QDR includes a key Obama priority, linking climate change to national security even though the science is disputed. The report tasks the Pentagon with reorganizing operations around issues including climate change. Apparently the reorganizing includes diverting military satellites to monitor natural phenomena like glaciers rather than spending fulltime tracking terrorists.

Obama isn’t shy about sacrificing military readiness to pay a political debt either, another confidence busting action. That’s why in the State of the Union he promised to “repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve.” A week later Secretary of Defense Robert Gates dutifully testified “I fully support the president’s decision.”

Secretary Gates said “The question before us is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how we best prepare for it.” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ.) labeled Gates’ sycophant comment as “repeal by fiat.” Gates presumes the outcome because ultimately this is not about what’s best for the military but what’s best for Obama. Even the latest non-random survey finds military personnel opposed to changing the law but down sharply from 2004.

President Obama’s actions on fighting terrorism, conducting foreign policy and commanding the armed forces undermine public confidence much as did intelligence director Blair’s failure to address public anxiety about his “certain” attack. Obama is failing to succeed in his primary constitutional duties which should cost him politically and diplomatically and America will be less safe as a result.

By: Robin Henry – Times Newspapers Ltd.

Tony Blair’s claims that Iran now poses as serious a threat as Saddam Hussein’s Iraq have been dismissed as a “piece of spin” by the British ambassador to Tehran.

Sir Richard Dalton was fiercely critical of Blair’s testimony at the Iraq inquiry yesterday, in which the former Prime Minister compared Iran’s nuclear proliferation to the perceived threat of Saddam Hussein’s weapons program before the war.

Blair, now a Middle East peace envoy, said the international community must now be prepared to take a “very hard, tough” line with Tehran.

He also attacked Iran for supporting the Islamic extremist insurgency after the Iraq regime had been toppled, saying it had nearly caused the coalition mission to fail.

However today Sir Richard said Blair was only suggesting a harder line with Iran to justify his own military action against Iraq.

“To say that Iran was the principal reason seemed to me to be part of a broader argument which he was trying to make, namely that it makes what he did in Iraq look better if he extends it to the future and says the policies then might have to be applied,” the ambassador said.

“But Iran is a completely different situation.”

He also warned that the next government should make it clear they would not pursue the same action.

Sir Richard told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “One result of Tony Blair’s intervention on Iran – he mentioned Iran 58 times – is to put the question of confronting Iran into play in the election.”

“We need to be much clearer, as voters, with our politicians and with our candidates that we expect a different behaviour and a greater integrity in our democracy next time.”

Blair raised Iran during his day-long questioning at yesterday’s session of the Iraq Inquiry.

In explaining his reasons for going to war, he said: “My fear was — and I would say I hold this fear stronger today than I did back then as a result of what Iran particularly today is doing — my fear is that states that are highly repressive or failed, the danger of a WMD link is that they become porous, they construct all sorts of different alliances with people.”

He went on to blame Tehran for destabilising the Iraq in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion.

Blair said despite extensive planning they had not foreseen the role played by al-Qaeda and Iran in fomenting the insurgency that broke out.

He added: “The real problem is that our focus was on the issues that in the end were not the issues that caused us the difficulty.”

“People didn’t think that al-Qaeda and Iran would play the role that they did. It was really the external elements of al-Qaeda and Iran that really caused this mission very nearly to fail.”

He also claimed Iraq may have become involved in a race against Iran to develop nuclear weapons if Saddam’s regime had not been removed.

By: The Jerusalem Post

Whoever controls the controls the world’s “energy and wealth,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted by IRNA as saying Saturday.

Ahmadinejad told an audience in Teheran, “Many countries have, unsuccessfully, tried during the past years to become a superpower in the region but they failed as they play no role at the international equations.”

“It is now clear that whoever dominates the can rule the entire world too,” he added.

According to the Iranian official news agency, Ahmadinejad also predicted the end of the world hegemonic system, as international problems had not been resolved.

“In terms of economic issues, the world hegemonic system reached a deadline while regarding political events, it failed to solve the existing problems and is no longer powerful from the military aspect,” he was quoted as saying.

In related news, meanwhile, put 16 opposition supporters detained during anti-government protests last month on trial Saturday on charges of rioting and conspiring against the ruling system, according to ‘s state media.

The official IRNA news agency and state Press TV said the defendants face charges ranging from plotting against the establishment to violating security regulations. Five of those on trial, including two women, were accused of “moharebeh,” or defying God, a charge that could carry the death penalty, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.

The new prosecutions, coupled with the execution on Thursday of two men accused of involvement in anti-government groups, could mark an attempt by Iran’s hardline leaders to intimidate the opposition ahead of a new round of street demonstrations expected in February.

Those who stood trial Saturday — including a follower of the Bahai faith, an alleged communist and a student activist — were detained during anti-government demonstrations on December 27, when at least eight people were killed and hundreds more were arrested after clashes between opposition activists and security forces. The violence was the worst since authorities launched a harsh crackdown immediately after ‘s disputed presidential election in June.

The protesters have presented ‘s cleric-led establishment with its biggest challenge since the 1979 revolution despite a brutal crackdown that has left hundreds imprisoned.

IRNA quoted a prosecutor identified only by the last name of Farahani as saying in court that some of the defendants had confessed to spying, planning bomb attacks and damaging public and private properties. He also said some of the defendants had sent videos on the clashes between protesters and Iranian police to the “foreign hostile networks,” IRNA reported.

By: Avi Yellin – Arutz Sheva

(IsraelNN.com) According to recent media reports, Israeli military and intelligence agents are currently operating in Iraqi Kurdistan. Their primary role, according to reports, is to train elite Kurdish commandos in guerrilla warfare and anti-terror tactics. The Kurds – whose country is currently occupied by Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria – are reportedly again, after many years, accepting Israeli assistance in their struggle for independence.

Fearing an al-Qaeda backlash, Kurdish leaders have denied cooperating with the Jewish state and have refused to even issue comments on the matter.

When the New Yorker asked Mark Regev, then spokesman for Israel’s Embassy in Washington, to comment on allegations of Israeli-Kurdish cooperation in 2004, Regev denied the claims, telling the magazine that “the story is simply untrue and the relevant governments know it’s untrue.”

But American intelligence officials at the time sought to expose Israel’s assistance to the Kurds. “They [the Israelis] think they have to be there,” a senior CIA official told the New Yorker, adding that Israel’s presence in northern Iraq is widely acknowledged in the United States intelligence community.

Apart from rumors of Israel training Kurdish commandos, Israeli-Kurdish relations have expanded considerably in recent years. In July 2003 the Israeli government reversed its embargo on Iraq, allowing trade between the two peoples including the export of Israeli military products to the Kurds.

Kurdish commandos have also reportedly accompanied Israeli operatives across the Iraq-Iran border in recent years to install sensory devices meant to monitor suspected Iranian nuclear facilities.

Like Jews, Kurds are a non-Arab indigenous Middle Eastern people seeking independence in their ancestral homeland. Active Israeli support towards a free Kurdistan is seen as a natural and pragmatic policy by many in the region. “By aligning with the Kurds, Israel gains eyes and ears in Iran, Iraq and Syria,” a former Israeli intelligence officer told the New Yorker.

Hamas leaders are reportedly concerned by reports of Israel operating in Iraqi Kurdistan and have begun investigating the possibility of Israeli infiltration into their own ranks. According to the terror group, the recent assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai could have been planned and executed by Israeli agents operating beyond the Jewish state’s borders.

By: Samira J. Simone – Cable News Network

(CNN) — As the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution approaches this week, with the promise of mass protests from Iran’s growing opposition movement, it’s tempting to compare the upheaval with unrest that ultimately toppled the shah of Iran.

A coalition of Iranian reformist groups is urging opponents of the regime to stage nonviolent protests this week, serving as a show of force for citizens who oppose the government’s stiff crackdown on those who protested Iran’s disputed election last June.

While there are striking similarities between the movements separated by decades of Islamic rule, experts say there are even stronger differences that make what lies ahead for the current movement extremely challenging.

“This is a movement that isn’t trying to make a revolution in the sense of toppling a regime,” said Abbas Milani, director of Iranian studies at Stanford University. “It’s making a revolution in trying to make a democratic change.”

But first, the similarities.

The fluctuating street demonstrations that have roiled Iran since the country’s disputed presidential election revive memories of the mass protests that flared up against Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Iran’s last monarch.

“Taking to the streets is as Iranian as apple pie is American,” said Ervand Abrahamian, author of “A History of Modern Iran.” He noted that Iranians have used street protests as their weapons of choice as early as the Tobacco Protest of 1890, a revolt led by Shiite clerics against a tobacco concession granted by Iran’s imperial government to Britain.

The opposition movement 31 years ago was led by the shah’s nemesis, Ayatollah Khomeini. The stoic, steely-eyed religious leader was exiled from Iran in 1964 but continued to denounce the shah as a corrupt dictator and Washington’s puppet. Today’s so-called Green Movement has been protesting for social justice, freedom and democracy in demonstrations throughout the country since the June polls — using slogans that are often identical to those heard during the 1979 Islamic revolution.

In both movements students were at the forefront, as was the innovative spread of anti-government rhetoric. While Khomeini’s supporters circulated audiotapes of his fiery speeches throughout Iran, today’s movement relies heavily on new technology, namely social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook and the popular video site YouTube.

“The present day movement is clearly anti-despotic, and it shares that feature with the movement in 1979,” said Ali Banuazizi, a political science professor at Boston College.

CNN’s Special Report: Protests in Iran

But that’s where the similarities between the two movements largely end, observers say.

Take the opposition’s enemy for instance. In recent months, opposition leaders Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karrubi have compared the violent government crackdowns against protesters to the actions of shah, whose brutal Savak police force was one of the most hated and feared elements before the Islamic revolution.

Karrubi and Moussavi, who both ran against hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have criticized the government, saying remnants of the “tyranny” and “dictatorship” that prevailed under the shah’s regime persist today.

“I think the opposition would like to see direct parallels, which make the toppling of the regime seem imminent,” Abrahamian, said. “But the differences are very much different.”

“The shah had very little legitimacy — he was brought to power by a foreign-inspired coup,” he added, noting that Pahlavi was restored to power after a coup led by Britain and the United States ousted nationalistic Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. The shah had previously fled Iran after Mossadegh and his supporters challenged Pahlavi’s control.

“The present regime, even though it lost a lot of legitimacy with the irregularities of the election and the refusal of allowing the public to express itself — that aura of legitimacy is still there.”

That’s because it, unlike the shah, came to power by mass support and maintains a conservative base throughout Iran. The reformists now fighting so firmly against it — Moussavi, Karrubi, former president Mohammad Khatami, and others — are the same followers of Khomeini who helped usher in the Islamic Revolution that now serves as the backbone of the government.

What they are demanding is the democratic system promised by Khomeini. The uprisings are rooted in the June election, when opposition leaders called Ahmadinejad’s overwhelming second-term win a fraud. “Where is my vote?” became a common slogan in the protests.

Part of the government’s strength is its well-organized security forces — posing brute strength to counter the protesters — that answer straight to Iran’s current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was established after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to defend the regime against all threats, “but has since expanded far beyond its original mandate,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. foreign policy research center.

“Today the guard has evolved into a socio-military-political-economic force with influence reaching deep into Iran’s power structure,” the CFR says, noting that several current and former IRGC members have been appointed to positions as ambassadors, mayors, undersecretaries, provincial governors and cabinet ministers.

During the demonstrations that followed the election, the IRGC’s paramilitary volunteer force — the Basij — was seen chasing protesters on motorcycles and attacking them. Amateur videos showed members of the Basij, wearing plain shirts and pants and wielding clubs and hoses, dispersing protesters and beating a handful of Iranians at a time.

“Today, Iran’s security apparatus is entrenched in the Islamic republic,” said Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian studies at New York’s Columbia University. “Over the last three decades, what the Islamic republic has done instead of investing in jobs, is invest in security.”

Also, the opposition leadership, though fervent supporters of Khomeini, is quite different from the late charismatic leader who was regarded as an “imam” — a title bestowed only on those believed to be anointed by God.

Still, crushing dissent became a trademark of Iran’s regime after the revolution, as Khomeini returned to install strict Islamic rule as opposed to the true democracy many of his supporters had bargained for. According to Amnesty International, the regime secretly executed up to 5,000 political prisoners in 1988. Morality police even patrolled the streets in a campaign against Western-styled clothing, music and behaviors.

Today’s opposition leaders are “nominal leaders, put there by the people — but none of them are willing to risk people’s lives,” said Milani. “If Moussavi was as reckless with people’s lives as Khomeini, he could have challenged this regime much more.”

The makeup of today’s protesters — youth, women, teachers, reformists — also lacks a key component that helped bring down the shah: labor workers.

“There were very strong labor strikes — that’s what really broke the back of the old regime,” Milani said. “We know from documents that when the oil industry when on strike, the regime had no choice”

Experts agree that there’s been no significant upheaval from Iran’s industry workers or the merchants at bazaars.

Perhaps the greatest challenge to the Iran’s current opposition movement is the sheer refusal of the government to back down. Ahmadinejad’s administration, under Khamenei’s watch, has vowed to respond with force against any protests during the anniversary celebrations this week. Thousands were arrested during last summer’s demonstrations, and hundreds were accused of engaging in a “soft revolution” and tried in court. At least 11 protesters have been sentenced to death after the election, and a few have already been executed.

“What is different is that the shah had lost momentum, spirit and interest” toward the end of his rule, Dabashi said.

The current regime has felt blows to its credibility from the West, its senior clergy and of course, the opposition, but has shown no signs of crumbling in the face of accusations of human rights violations or bloodshed. It seems the government has grown even more defiant over recent weeks, beefing up security for the expected protests and even declaring it would enrich uranium at higher levels in defiance of demands from the United States and other Western nations.

“I think this regime at this moment is more despotic,” Milani said. “The shah claimed to be the king. Khamenei clams to present the voice of God.”

“If you go against the shah, you’re going against the regime,” he added. “If you go against Khamenei, you are ‘mohareb’ — he or she who fights God.”

* FM: Turkey can’t keep slamming Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday leveled criticism at Turkey for what he called “weekly” condemnations of Israel.

* ‘What’s the Alternative?’ MK Orlev: Jordan is Palestine Asked to present his alternative to the “two-state” Israel-Palestine option, MK Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home) says, “The Arabs of the Palestinian Authority already have a state – Jordan.”

* Hamas sees ‘no prospects’ for Mideast peace The leader of Hamas said Monday he sees “no prospects” for a Mideast peace settlement, a stand that could reduce Russia’s chances of holding a Middle East peace conference that includes the Palestinian militant group.

* Yemen’s al-Qaeda calls for jihad against Jews, Christians The Yemen-based wing of al-Qaeda called on Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula to wage jihad, or holy war, against Christians and Jews in the region.

* Deficit concerns continue ahead of EU summit Just days before EU leaders meet in Brussels to discuss measures to increase the region’s competitiveness, market concerns over public finances continue to rattle national governments and hog the media limelight.

* Why Iran unrest is not revolution re-run As the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution approaches this week, with the promise of mass protests from Iran’s growing opposition movement, it’s tempting to compare the upheaval with unrest that ultimately toppled the shah of Iran.

* Abbas under ‘intense’ pressure from EU to return to talks Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is under “intense” pressure by the international community to return to negotiations.

* Iran ‘starts enriching nuclear fuel to 20%’ at Natanz Iran has started the process of enriching uranium to 20% in defiance of the West.

* Barroso team set for parliament approval after lengthy delay The new European Commission team is set to win a confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday (9 February) after a three month delay and a prolonged period of infighting between the EU’s two main institutions.

* Russia in stand-by mode over US missile plans in Romania Moscow is “concerned” and expects “proper explanations” on US plans to deploy anti-ballistic missile defence systems in Romania.

* New Iran nuclear sanctions ‘only path’, says US The US has said new sanctions against Iran are the “only path” after Tehran announced it was stepping up its uranium enrichment program.

* “Israel’s obliteration is certain” Iran’s supreme leader vows to “defend Palestinians due to their heartfelt beliefs.”

* Assad: Syria will stand by Lebanon Syrian president, Lebanese official discuss “repeated Israeli threats.”

* Lieberman: ‘Land for Peace’ is Dead Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Israel Our Home party, says, “It’s time to forget our obsession of “territory in exchange for peace; all future agreements must be based on ‘peace in exchange for peace.'”

* Iran to make ‘advanced’ attack drones Iran has begun making ‘advanced’ unmanned drones capable of carrying out ‘assaults with high precision’.

* Jordan urges US to push ME peace King Abdullah: “Decades of instability” if two-state solution becomes unviable.

* Hamas leader Mashaal visits Moscow Group’s leader arrives for talks just a week before PM scheduled to visit there.

* Giant bizarre deep sea fish filmed in Gulf of Mexico Extraordinary footage of a rarely seen giant deep sea fish has been captured by scientists.

* Pluto’s dynamic surface revealed by Hubble images The icy dwarf planet Pluto undergoes dramatic seasonal changes, according to images from the Hubble Space Telescope.

* Palin: Obama Will Win Again If He Backs Israel and Bombs Iran Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor who ran with Sen. John McCain against the Obama-Biden ticket, said that U.S. President Barack Obama can win again if he starts backing Israel and decides to attack Iran.