Here’s an interesting example of a conspiratorial explanation for recent events. Neda, the woman whose death in the Iranian election protests was captured on YouTube, has become a potent symbol of the brutality of the crackdown. As with most such symbolic events, there’s some debate as to the reality of the situation:
Iranian Leaders Blaming CIA, Protestors for Killing Neda
In his Friday prayer sermon, senior cleric Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami called for the government to protest the “leaders of protests, who were supported by the United States and Israel, strongly and with cruelty so it will be a lesson for everyone.”
Khatami also said that 26-year-old protestor Neda Agha Soltan, shot last Saturday and memorialized by protestors as a martyr for their cause, was killed by those protestors.
“The proof and evidence shows that they have done it themselves and have raised propaganda against the system,” Khatami said. “I say hereby that these deceitful media have to know that the ordeal will be over and shame will remain for them.”
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“Well, if the CIA wants to kill some people and attribute that to the government elements, then choosing women is an appropriate choice, because the death of a woman draws more sympathy,” Ghadiri said.
