As the LA Times story below makes clear, the Iranian government is trying to portray the massive demonstrations in Tehran and other cities across Iran as part of a foreign conspiracy against Iran and a threat to the nation. A quick look at the article titles at the semi-official Fars News Agency confirms this:
- Spy Agencies Recruit Agents to Bring Iran into Chaos
- Terrorist Groups Target Lives of Iranians
- US Intelligence Agencies’ Role in Recent Unrests Unfolded
- Rioters Underline MKO’s Leading Role in Iran’s Recent Unrests
- Detainee Confesses to Plots for Detonating Bombs in Iran
- French Detainee Asks for Iran’s Pardon
This is the way the trial’s defendants are being portrayed in Iran:
Back to topThe 100 culprits that are put to trail at these series of hearing sessions are categorized in three groups, namely the “plotters, intriguers, and planners of the riots”, “the antagonists and those affiliated to foreign services”, and “the opportunists, hooligans, and hoodlums who set ablaze, or destroyed private and public properties, and those that have had hands in disturbing public security.”
The first hearing session of this kind was held on Saturday August 1st, in which big shot culprits, including the head of former President Seyed Mohammad Khatami’s Presidential Office Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Ali Abtahi and renowned reformist journalist Mohammad Atrianfar presented their defense.