IRAN CLAMPS DOWN IN ADVANCE – AT 7:55 A.M. ET:  There's one thing the Iranian regime does very well, and that's crush dissent.  They have a bunch of apologists and explainers in Washington, and I'd love to hear their spin on this.  From The New York Times:

TEHRAN — Hundreds of black-clad riot police officers, some in bullet-proof vests, deployed in key locations in central Tehran on Monday to thwart an opposition march in solidarity with the uprising in Egypt — an event Iranian leaders cheered as the popular overthrow of an Arab strongman.

The police gathered in small groups at some intersections but they numbered around 200 in the major squares that carry symbolic importance for Iranians and are named revolution and freedom. Some of the security forces were on motor-cycles and carried paintball guns to fire at opponents. But with minutes to go before the planned start of the protest, there was little sign of organized dissent.

The authorities have made no secret of their resolve to stop the march and deny the protesters a permit to demonstrate.

“These elements are fully aware of the illegal nature of the request,” Mehdi Alikhani Sadr, an Interior Ministry official, said in comments published Sunday by the semiofficial Fars news agency. “They know they will not be granted permission for riots.”

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was blunt.

“The conspirators are nothing but corpses,” Hossein Hamadani, a top commander of the corps, said Wednesday in comments published by the official IRNA news agency. “Any incitement will be dealt with severely.”

COMMENT:  We'll be following this to see if any brave Iranian souls come out to challenge the thugs.  We have every right, in this situation, to expect the most vigorous denunciation from the president of the United States.  You will recall that, when Iranians rose up in 2009, it took four days for Barack Hussein Obama Jr. to make it to a microphone to put in a few indifferent words about democracy. 

February 14, 2011