(CNN) -- "The latest violent protests to hit Iran has prompted hundreds of arrests, including some prominent figures, and left at least eight dead, although the Iranian government denied its security forces have killed anyone.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council reported the eight deaths in a series of clashes over the weekend -- the deadliest since June protests followed the nation's disputed presidential election.

"For months, the Iranian people have sought nothing more than to exercise their universal rights," U.S. President Barack Obama told journalists during a break from his Christmas vacation in Hawaii. "Each time they have done so, they have been met with the iron fist of brutality, even on solemn occasions and holy days."

"It's about the Iranian people and their aspirations for justice and a better life for themselves," Obama said. "And the decision of Iran's leaders to govern through fear and tyranny will not succeed in making those aspirations go away."

In many cases, opposition media reported, government security forces prevented observances of Ashura, the major Shiite Muslim holy day marking the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammed, as a martyr.

Iranian opposition Web sites have kept up a steady stream of reports about the clashes, but official news agencies been largely silent. The Fars news agency ran three pages of photographs of peaceful mourning ceremonies marking Ashura, but there was no mention of protests.

The Iranian media blackout has made it difficult to verify accounts that leaked out, but videos that found their way west depicted bloodied and -- in some cases, apparently dead -- protesters.

But officials like Iran's Deputy Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan and Tehran Police Chief Azizollah Rajabzadeh denied their forces had killed anyone. In fact, they told the semi-official Islamic Students News Agency, their forces fired no weapons and weren't even carrying firearms.

While the videos are dramatic and the news of deaths chilling, the roll call of arrestees grows longer and deeper into Iranian dissent.

As many as 500 people may have been arrested in Isfahan, the opposition JARAS news agency reported, among them Habib Nouri, the 50-year-old brother of Abdollah Nouri, the revolutionary-leader-cum-reformist-politician who served nearly five years in Evin prison for religious and political dissent."
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Didn't we just go through this 6 months ago after the Mahmoud victory over Mousavi? Now it's re-started again.

I have friends there and I hope there ok . but watching them go against cannons with there bare hands makes me proud to have known them . it not like here .

How it it not like here...if enough of us rose up against the government we'd be taken out too.

One wonders with the political and economic divisiveness we have in this country that has not happened since the Civil War. Probably because of what you said and mean, most of us are afraid of what the gov't is capable of. Now what is going on in Iran, I can understand it, just the timing of it is a little curious. The last time we saw this over there was back in June when ol' Mahmoud won the election over Mousavi and the people were outraged.

I'm afraid, that Iran will be consumed by either a war with the West, or a civil war.

Look at what happened in Iraq. Even today, bombs going off left and right, people are being beheaded, mass protest, just google "Iraq" and click "news".


If you ask me, the real reason is, that these people are living under a dictatorship or having a authoritarian leader for so long, even if you intervene, they will end up electing another one sooner or later.

USA should STOP intervening because it's just oil to the fire. The people have a tendency that if there is no enemy, they will make one up. And if there is, then there is no point making one up, they will unite against it at the end.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34622227/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

"Iran seeking to smuggle in 1350 tons of Uranium ore."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/29/iran.protests.larijani/index.html


Internal strife between Iranian citizens and their government



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34619547/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/


"If Britain does not stop talking nonsense it will get a slap in the mouth," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said."

Veiled and suggestive threats and or sabre-rattling against the West.


I don't know, but it sounds to me like we need to be a bit more vigilant about what is going on over there right now.

People will eventually rise up..those poor souls over there feel they have little to lose, agreed we should not get involved in it in any way.

Here..as selfish and spoiled as Americans are, hell nobody would risk their own backside for anyone else. And our government is quite capable of snuffing us out if we get to loud...

It's not like the "West" didn't rattle their saber at Iran. Don't you think that would be hypocratic to suggest that Iran is the only one doing it?

I remember McCain singing about bombing Iran and the endless "bomb Iran" crap for over 4 years now.

USA doesn't like if someone singing about bombing USA and you get upset hearing it, you don't think they would too?

Obama is a hypocrite too. Talking about "not having a nuclear power in the Middle EAst" while it's NOT ok for Iran to have nukes, but United Arab Emirates is building nuclear plants by the help of South Korea.

Pakistan has numerous nuclear bombs, India has it too and so does Israel

Talking about favoritism.

And do what??? Go and save the Iranian people like we have saved the Iraq people...oh please..

Not at all, just saying perhaps we don't get too complacent, and keep our guard up.

Do you think were getting to complacent again? I think in view of the latest plane thing(s)...were on top of it again. Or at least they want us to think they are...

Indeed, now they gonna bomb Yemen. The new Afghanistan? Now they are gonna "retaliate" for the failed bomber guy from the plane.

Officials: U.S., Yemen reviewing targets for possible strike
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/29/us.yemen.strike.targets/index.html

How many more new wars?

As many as it takes to wipe out another entire generation of young men...and then the women can be dominated easier..

Not gonna happen, too many changes coming, may very well be more war to accelerate the process...

The return of the divine feminine is also on the brink. Time to wake up world....big changes coming. Were all in for a very rude awakening, that's what we get for being asleep.

I agree, Lady.
CNN is one of those who sold us Obummer.
Gotta' know, if Iran is in their news, the powers in office have plans of butting in.

Can't just let Iran fix they're own situation.

A prediction.
China gets it's main oil supply from Africa. Africa is becoming very unstable. If the flow of oil is interrupted, I see China invading Russia for the oil.

gonna?

they've been bombing Yemen

Yemen is in the middle of a civil war in the north and Al Queda taking over in the south. The Yemeni Al Queda just announced their linking with the Pak Al Queda in conjunction with this attack

there have been several Predator strikes against the Al Queda forces in the last few weeks in Yemen. As I recall at the request of the Yemeni govt


an interesting thing, this attempted bombing was the first non Pak/Afghan oriented Al Queda attack