See those metal things these Iranian faux-folk dancers are holding up? Yes, they're full of freshly enriched uranium.
More wonderful images here and here of the kitschy celebrations Iran has staged to celebrate their first achievement of enriching the stuff.
The Canada-based Iranian blogger who put them up draws a parallel between these celebrations and the equally kitschy ones staged by the Shah to celebrate the supposed 2,500 years of the Iranian kingdom. It's widely recognised that the Shah's celebrations were one of the tipping points that signalled his downfall.
Our blogger wonders if these latest ones might just signal something similar......
And were they singing 'Tomorrow Belongs to Me'?
Posted by: Jinnee | April 12, 2006 at 04:37 PM
Pretty retro. I think even the Chinese have moved on from this revolutionary iconographic guff.
Posted by: Expresso_expression | April 13, 2006 at 04:55 AM
Celebrating the coming of the 12the Mahdi?
All streams of Islam believe in a divine saviour, known as the Mahdi, who will appear at the End of Days. A common rumour - denied by the iranian government but widely believed - is that Mr Ahmadinejad and his cabinet have signed a “contract” pledging themselves to work for the return of the Mahdi and sent it to the Jamkaran mosque.
Iran’s dominant “Twelver” sect believes this will be Mohammed ibn Hasan, regarded as the 12th Imam, or righteous descendant of the Prophet Mohammad.
He is said to have gone into “occlusion” in the ninth century, at the age of five. His return will be preceded by cosmic chaos, war and bloodshed. After a cataclysmic confrontation with evil and darkness, the Mahdi will lead the world to an era of universal peace.
Posted by: chevalier de st george | April 14, 2006 at 02:16 AM