October 27, 2005: The government will try to increase it's militia of Islamic conservative gunmen (the Basij) to over a million men, with the formation of 2,000 battalions. They may not be able to get that many volunteers, but it certainly shows the government is willing to fight to maintain power. The Islamic conservatives believe they have the moderates and reformers (who comprise, according to opinion and election polls, some 80 percent of the population) on the run. The Islamic conservatives are willing to fight to maintain control of the government, and their opponents, at least so far, are not.

Several Islamic radical factions are able to operate freely by the government. Some of these groups encourage, fund and arm Islamic conservative Shia Arab groups in southern Iraq. Others provide shelter for al Qaeda leaders looking for a place to hide. Still others support Islamic terror groups operating in and around Israel.

October 26, 2005: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged Moslems everywhere to work towards the destruction of Israel. Usually, such sentiments are not uttered publicly by senior officials, but left to local journalists and junior officials. This statement caused an international uproar, which will soon pass.

October 22, 2005: The government is cracking down on bloggers, arresting and convicting them of lifestyle crimes and slandering the government. As a result, few Iranians on the Internet will reveal their true identity, and all fear that government will install better filtering and monitoring equipment on Iran's Internet.

October 21, 2005: The government has banned the importation or viewing of most Western films (only those showing approved religious content are allowed.) The Islamic conservatives believe most Western films brainwash young people with un-Islamic ideas.