Ugh, things are deteriorating fast. The photographer who took the above picture is now missing, along with upwards of 20 other journalists.
TEHRAN, June 21 -- Iranian government media Sunday launched a campaign against Mir Hussein Mousavi and his supporters, calling the leader of the protests over Iran's disputed election a "criminal" and comparing demonstrators to members of a hated terrorist group.
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Authorities appeared to be seeking to blame the violence on radicals. State television charged that "the presence of terrorists . . . was tangible" in Saturday's events. It asked viewers to send viceoclips of protestors in order to help authorities to arrest them.
Scenes of the violent protest were shown frequently on Iranian state television and in a special broadcast the rioters were said to be members of the Paris based Mudjehadin-e khalq organization, an Islamist Marxist group that is labeled by the United States as a terrorist organization. After siding with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war and a series of terrorists attacks, the group has little support among most Iranians.
Audio clips were played of alleged telephone recordings in which people said to be members of the organization urge others to get information about the protests to Western news organizations. Despite the media claims, involvement of the group seems highly unlikely since supporters are rare in Iran.
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