Please redouble your prayers for the people of Iran

There is every evidence that the votes in the election this weekend were not even counted, or rather that the count was ignored in order to keep Ahmedinejad in power. The younger generation is not pleased. Martial law, silencing of methods of communication, violence, chaos, and anxiety have made this an incredibly tense situation.

We are now in the realm of pure power plays and a frustrated populace.

You may read more here and here.

Steve Clemons is covering this in The Washington Note.

Gary Sick reports:

On the basis of what we know so far, here is the sequence of events starting on the afternoon of election day, Friday, June 12.

* Near closing time of the polls, mobile text messaging was turned off nationwide
* Security forces poured out into the streets in large numbers
* The Ministry of Interior (election headquarters) was surrounded by concrete barriers and armed men
* National television began broadcasting pre-recorded messages calling for everyone to unite behind the winner
* The Mousavi campaign was informed officially that they had won the election, which perhaps served to temporarily lull them into complacency
* But then the Ministry of Interior announced a landslide victory for Ahmadinejad
* Unlike previous elections, there was no breakdown of the vote by province, which would have provided a way of judging its credibility
* The voting patterns announced by the government were identical in all parts of the country, an impossibility (also see the comments of Juan Cole at the title link)
* Less than 24 hours later, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamene`i publicly announced his congratulations to the winner, apparently confirming that the process was complete and irrevocable, contrary to constitutional requirements
* Shortly thereafter, all mobile phones, Facebook, and other social networks were blocked, as well as major foreign news sources.

Video at the BBC

Pray, my friends, pray.

Iran braces for more election protests
BBC News - ‎14 minutes ago‎
Iran is bracing for more protests over its presidential election results after defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi called for it to be annulled.
Hatred, chaos and savage beatings in Tehran CNN International
Iran's Leader Emerges With a Stronger Hand New York Times

--the BB