Blood in Baharestan Square

While Saturday's massive crackdown was probably the key to destroying the pro-Mousavi protests, today's violent confrontation in Baharestan Square described above in North Tehran was probably the finish.

Again hard news is a little rough to come by so I'm relying on a mosaic of my own sources, whatever the dino media can come up with and a live blogger I've been in touch with (and no, I won't be linking to that particular URL, thank you).

Apparently what happened is that there was a pro-Mousavi rally scheduled in Baharestan Square in the same section of Tehran where all the other protests have been occurring, and the regime decided to make a supreme example. They surrounded the area with basij and riot police, let loose a bunch of arrested protesters they already had in custody into the trap and then unleashed the regime forces on them with guns, clubs and axes. There's really no telling at this point how many were killed or critically injured, but it must have been substantial. Some of the demonstrators managed to escape to Sepah Square, about a mile (2 kilometers) to the north.

For the sake of balance, let's remember three things - one, this is CNN, where sensationalism rules rather than anything mundane like journalism or unbiased reporting. Two, there 's a reason this horrific account is presented in English rather than Farsi, just as there was a reason the pro-Mousavi rallies featured signs in English. And three, Mousavi and Rafasjani performed acts just as horrendous towards their political opponents when they were in power after the 1979 revolution, and if they had the power on their side now, they'd do it again without a qualm.

Here's a few clues towards what to expect next.

If the regime felt confident enough in their underlying support to pull this off, then the chances of Mousavi and Rafasjani prevailing in the political struggle against Khamenei and Ahmadinejad is slim and none, as I predicted.

Another sign that Rafasjani and Mousavi are on the losing end of things was the acceptance of the election results by Mohsen Rezaie, a former commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards who was one of the presidential candidates.

Rezaie had been fence sitting for awhile,but he obviously smells which way things are going.

Mousavi and his stylish wife are likely headed to a well-funded exile in the west,where they will likely be toasted as symbols of democracy and freedom. That's almost as unjust as what occurred in Baharestan Square today.

From the West's point of view, the main thing that ought to matter is that the Iranian regime has once again given a clear sign of exactly how barbarous they really are. Will that prompt President Hope n' Change to take a good look and realize exactly what the Mullahs are going to be like once they have nukes?

I wouldn't bet on it.

Khamenei and Ahmadinejad already know that Iran armed with nuclear weapons isn't going to be able to co-exist with the West at all. President Obama apparently hasn't a clue.