Well Ahmadinejad's vist to Damascus and the closer Iran-Syria ties really snub America. We are being played like fish and Syria is cock of the walk.

The presidents of Syria and Iran signed a visa-scrapping accord yesterday, signalling even closer ties and brushing aside US efforts to drive a wedge between the two allies. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Well Iran has been doing everything it can to promote war in my view. It had a new US President ready to bend over backwards for peace - and Iran squandered the opportunity. Now it is posturing for war all the time. Sad really. Especially because Iran can't even see it. Iran thinks IRAN is the helpless victim:

Arab News - 20 February, 2010
From the deck of Iran’s new guided-missile destroyer, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized the United States’ military presence in the Gulf on Friday and said Washington was trying to frighten Iran’s Arab neighbors so it could sell them weapons.>>>>>>>>>>

Hilary is getting shirty with Iran and Iran is getting shirty with the West. Which is worrying. We are on the road to war. Here's Clinton:

Addressing a plenary session at the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Clinton said Iran had gone back from its commitment made to the Group of Five plus One in Geneva last year and the entire world had enough reasons to feel that Tehran was not moving in the “right” direction on its nuclear programme.
And here's Iran:
Since the 2006 war and 2008 war both Hezbollah and Hamas have emerged stronger particularly Hezbollah, which not only increased its military capabilities but has also gained crucial political advantages in Lebanon and in its position in the Muslim world in general. An Israeli war against either Hamas or Hezbollah is an asymmetrical war, which Israel’s conventional army, as proven by their failure in 2006 and 2008, is incapable of winning. Further, such a war will not alleviate Israel’s deteriorating political condition.

The West and Iran are posturing ahead of tomorrow's big demo. The US is saying it wants a UN sanctions resolution within weeks. Meanwhile:

Tomorrow (Thursday's) upcoming anniversary of the Iranian revolution will be a major test in the struggle between Ayatollah Khāmene’i and the opposition. The government has issued a warning to the people not to come out onto the streets. Mousavi has said it should be a "day of the public". This is a face-off. If there are major numbers then Khāmene’i is facing sustained opposition. A major demonstration on the anniversary of the revolution is almost insulting to Khāmene’i as it implies he has failed to carry forward the legacy of the Revolution. If the numbers are small then the crack-down is working - people will give up and go underground and resort to secret meetings and sabotage. The man to watch is Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini (the son of Ahmad Khomeini, who was the Grand Ayatollah's youngest son and always very close to his father). He is annoyed with Ahmadinejad and has an uncomfortable relationship with the conservatives. If he comes out vocally or visibly in support of the Greens it will be a further problem for Khāmene’i (Hassan Khomeini has already been having meetings with them).

Everyone seems to be playing games on this nuclear issue. But the end result may well be another Middle East war unless someone wises up soon. We need a sort of Mo Mowlam figure to beat their heads together.

Reuters - 07 February, 2010
The United States and Germany said on Saturday they saw no sign Tehran would make concessions on its nuclear programme, despite upbeat comments from Iran’s foreign minister over prospects for a deal. >>>>>>>>>>

Iran is blaming the USA and Israel for that assassination. Chances are that it was Israel to be honest. Targeted assassination is, after all, a key Israeli policy.

Reuters - 13 January, 2010
A remote-controlled bomb killed a Tehran University nuclear scientist on Tuesday, state media reported, in an attack which Iran blamed on its two arch enemies, the United States and Israel.

Unbelievable times in Iran. Can Ahmadinejad survive? There's a tipping point in these things and - given his unpopularity within the establishment itself - I would say NO. The man is doomed. But does that mean that the system is to be replaced? No. That I doubt.

Agence France-Presse - 29 December, 2009
Iranian security forces arrested more than a dozen dissidents Monday after at least eight people were killed in fierce clashes, opposition websites said, drawing international condemnation.Those detained included aides to reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami and opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, veteran dissident Ebrahim Yazdi and award-winning rights campaigner Emadeddin Baghi, reports said.

This comes in from Farid:

Washington DC - December 7, 2009 (RPS Staff) - Sounds of "Murderer Khamenei, his power is illegitimate" are reverberating in the Vali-Asr Square in Tehran.
According to the Iranian opposition, a procession of thousands of brave Tehranis, many of them young, marched to the Vali-Asr Square to the Students' junction and are shouting: "Murderer Khamenei, his power is illegitimate," "Death to Khamenei" and "Death to the dictator".
Security forces charged the demonstrators with their batons injuring many. Protests continue to grow in various parts of the capital. On Enghelab Square, the crowd shouted "Free political prisoners". Again, security forces attacked the protesters and gunfire rang out. Clashes are on-going at this time with the repressive regime forces. people attempted to close shops, but shopkeepers refused to leave their store and remain outside.
University of Tehran, security forces were checking identification and cell phones of young people. Some had their cell phones confiscated. Payphones near the university were covered with black plastic and are prohibited from use. Any communication in and out of the university is closely monitored.
In addition to visible security officers surrounding the university, there are also undercover agents who parked a large bus in front of the entrance gate to prevent people outside from seeing what was happening inside.

This from Phil Noble of Politics online:

While Iranians at home are being silenced online, according to a recent Wall Street Journal investigation, the Internet crackdown is extending to Iranians abroad as well. Iran's leadership is crossing national borders and targeting world-wide dissidents with harassment techniques created to silence their global critics. According to the Wall Street Journal, "dozens of individuals in the U.S. and Europe who criticized Iran on Facebook or Twitter said their relatives back in Iran were questioned or temporarily detained because of their postings...Five interviewees who traveled to Iran in recent months said they were forced by police at Tehran's airport to log in to their Facebook accounts." Several interviewees reported having their passports confiscated due to the harsh criticisms against the Iranian government regarding the handling of the presidential election in June that they had posted online. A German intelligence report indicates that Iranian intelligence operatives are monitoring about 900 critics of the Iranian regime in Germany and try to intimidate the protestors by videotaping them. Internet laws in Iran are purposely kept vague so that the regime can arrest people and bloggers for any reason. The suppressive president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad understands what a powerful tool the Internet is in disseminating information and seeks to harness the Net to spread his own message. Ahmadinejad is himself a blogger and is said to allot 15 minutes a week to writing on his blog, "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Personal Memo's".

Well - the West has finaly caught on that Iran won't have anything to do with reprocessing overseas. Bloody obvious really. And now the UAE is jumping on the same bandwagon with the help of French nuclear proliferation.

Associated Press - 21 November, 2009
Representatives of six world powers urged Iran on Friday to accept a U.N. plan aimed at delaying its ability to build a nuclear weapon, as the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency warned Tehran not to miss the opportunity to resolve the dispute.