It seems the momentum in Iran is once again shifting toward the reformists. A week after Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, the powerful head of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, lambasted the regime’s handling of the election crisis and demanded the release of demonstrators detained by the Revolutionary Guard, fresh protests have again erupted throughout the country.On Monday, hundreds of people gathered in Daneshjou Square in the city of Shiraz, about 500 miles south of Tehran, to chant “Down with the Dictator!” and set fire to photos of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Thousands more marched to the tomb of Shah Chiragh, one of Shiraz’s most magnificent mausoleums, to light candles in memory of those who have lost their lives in the uprising.The next day, huge protests broke out on the streets of Tehran in commemoration of another mass uprising that took place in Iran almost 60 years ago. On July 21, 1952, Iranians of all religious and political stripes banded together behind the country’s charismatic prime minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, to challenge the autocratic rule of Iran’s decidedly uncharismatic king, Muhammad Reza Shah.Mossadegh, who a year earlier had been named Time magazine’s Man of the Year for his efforts to democratize Iran, had just been forced out of office by the shah. When tens of thousands of Mossadegh’s supporters poured onto the streets to demand his reinstatement, the shah ordered his military to fire on the protesters. The military refused th… >>>
