Worried that the
government was monitoring their phone conversations, some residents said the
Internet was the best way to transmit information. However, the spotty
connection made it difficult to rely on the Web. "It's beyond fear," said a woman
who arrived at a U.S. airport from Iran but still did not want her name used
for fear for her safety. "The situation is more like terror." Watch arrivals describe the situation » Meanwhile, Iranian authorities said they have
arrested several foreign nationals, some with British passports, in connection
with the country's post-election unrest.
Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ezhei said some people with
links to the West and Israel had planned a series of bombings in Iran ahead of
the election, Press TV reported Wednesday.
Watch a report on Iran's history with the West » "England is among the countries that fan
the flames with their heavy propaganda, which is against all diplomatic
norms," Mohseni-Ezhei was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news
agency. "And the BBC Farsi has also played a major role. Also, a number of
people carrying British passports have played a role in the recent
disturbances." The British Foreign Office said it was looking into the
claims. Iran is saying that the
26-year-old woman whose death Saturday has emerged as an emblem of the
government's crackdown against protesters might have been shot by
"mistake," the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported
Wednesday. The report said the investigation
into the death of Neda Agha-Soltan is continuing, "but according to the
evidence so far, it could be said that she was killed by mistake. The marksmen
had mistaken her for the sister of one of the Monafeghin who had been executed
in the Province of Mazandaran some time ago." Monafeghin refers to the People's Mujahedin
Organization of Iran, which promotes a Marxist government for Iran and has
waged a campaign against the fundamentalist Islamic Tehran government --
including bombings that killed politicians, judges and cabinet members. Earlier Wednesday, Press TV said police had
raided a building in central Tehran that was being used as a
"headquarters" to foment post-election unrest. The television station, citing unnamed
sources, said the building was used by campaign staffers of opposition leader
Mir Hossein Moussavi. And evidence indicated that "foreign elements"
were behind the planning, Press TV said.
The Iranian government has long blamed other countries, especially
Britain, for "meddling" in its affairs but has offered no proof. Tehran said Wednesday that it was temporarily
recalling its ambassador from London, another move in escalating tit-for-tat
gestures between the governments. On Tuesday, Britain expelled two Iranian
diplomats. A day earlier, Iran told two British diplomats to leave. The difficulty in getting information has
been compounded by a government clampdown on representatives of the
international news media, who have been banned from covering protests. That has
led some news outlets, including CNN, to rely on people who are disseminating
information via social networking Web sites.
According to Reporters Without Borders, 36 journalists have been
arrested, 26 of them Iranian, since the election and "many others"
are missing
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