Thousands of Iranians Protest U.S. Actions in Iraq

[cal04]

Thousands of Iranians marched through the streets of Tehran on Friday to protest U.S. military actions in Iraq after a senior hardline cleric praised the resistance of Shi'ite Muslim rebels in Najaf. Chanting ``Death to America'' and burning U.S. flags, the protesters flooded streets in central Tehran carrying banners proclaiming: ``Death to the occupiers'' and ``American democracy - massacre of innocent people.'' Similar state-sponsored rallies were planned across the country.

Shi'ite Muslim Iran has consistently called for U.S.-led forces to leave Iraq and expressed outrage at the presence of multinational forces in holy Shi'ite cities Najaf and Kerbala.
``They (Americans) want to fully eliminate Islamic groups from the Iraqi scene and give power to a laic group who are U.S. agents,'' Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati told worshippers at Friday Prayers in Tehran before the protest march started. ``I must appreciate those who are resisting around the holy shrine (of Imam Ali in Najaf) against the bloodthirsty wolves,'' he said.

Jannati, who heads a powerful hardline constitutional watchdog, criticized Iraq's interim government for ``giving the green light'' to the U.S. military to carry out raids against Shi'ite fighters in Najaf. But he made no direct reference to rebel Iraqi cleric Moqtada al Sadr whose supporters have been fighting U.S. and Iraqi forces in Najaf for more than a week.
A statement read by the protesters expressed ``hatred for the occupiers' presence in Iraq and our support for the innocent Iraqi nation.''``Iran condemns the international community's silence on the crimes being committed by occupying forces in Iraq,'' it said.
One protester, Mohammad, 53, said it was the duty of Muslims to confront the U.S. military in Iraq. ``America attacked Iraq and looted the country and now the Iraqis want to defend their rights,'' he said. ``The Americans call them terrorists, but the Iraqi people are not terrorists, they (the Americans) are the real terrorists.''
Jannati mocked accusations by some U.S. and Iraqi officials that Tehran has been arming Shi'ite rebels in Iraq.

``This is just another pretext against Iran. Could it be any more amusing than this?'' he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-iraq-iran-protest.html

[LynneSin]

1. They protest because they knew their country is next

:cry:

[Nimrod]

2. They don't realize what they're getting into

They've just supplied all the video clips and sound bytes Bu$hCo needs to justify another pre-emptive strike on "terrorists". I fear they've put themselves on seriously borrowed time.

[Jerseygirltoo]

4. Don't be naive

Do you think he needs the excuse of people protesting to attack Iran? It's irrelevant. They've been saying Death to America for 25 years now. The justifications will be development of nuclear weapons, long range missiles, and support of the resistance against the US in Iraq.

[Nimrod]

5. No, he doesn't need it

But it will prove a massive convenience.

[farmbo]

3. Two years ago, the marchers were pro-American students...

Bush has managed to turn the entire Middle East into anti-American Jihiadists.