Iran Liberation Front

Iran Liberation Front (ILF) (Persian جبهه آزادی ایران, Jabhe Azadi Iran) is an Iranian opposition organization that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which it sees as dictatorial. In 2010, the organization claimed responsibility for various actions that took place in Iran.

Masoud Alimohammadi

"The Iran Liberation Front" claimed responsibility for an attack in Tehran on 12 January 2010 which killed professor Masoud Alimohammadi.^[1][2] The organization stated that it "gave the vice-president of the university of Tehran what he deserved" and that on 7:30 that morning "he was punished". The organization claimed that Alimohammadi had given Iranian security forces the names of lecturers and students who had participated in a protest against the "rigging" of the 2009 Iranian presidential elections.

Iran's English-language Press TV reported that a U.S. based pro-monarchist group, the Kingdom Assembly of Iran (originally mistranslated as the Iran Royal Association),^[3] claimed responsibility for the bombing.^[4] However, other sources say that the group denied having made this claim.^[5]

Attack in Marand

On 6 February 2010, the organization claimed responsibility for an attack in the Iranian town of Marand, against a truck which was carrying tear gas and other substances for the use of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.^[6] The claim of responsibility was made, among other methods, through a video posted on YouTube.^[7] In the video, a woman with her face covered, whom the paper "Corriere Della Sera" referred to as Azadeh, said that she had been tortured by the regime for what she defined as her "will for freedom". She claimed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards purchased tear gas through companies in Europe and threatened that while this time no innocent people were hurt, it did not mean that it may not happen in the future. According to the Italian report, the video includes pictures of "suspected drivers" and names of companies involved in the transport of agents for dispersing crowds.

Other activities

As the first anniversary of the 2009 Presidential Elections in Iran approached, the ILF posted a video on YouTube with instructions for the protesters on ways to defend themselves from "the religious police and guards".^[8] According to a report in "La Stampa", the images show how to use handkerchiefs against tear gas, motorcycle helmets to ward off blows from clubs, and how to use nails to target motorcycles belonging to the Basij militia. The video,^[9] posted on June 2 by "ILF1389" on the YouTube channel "ILF-TV", also suggests using slingshots to launch marbles, molotov cocktails and has instruction on how to use home-made bazooka tubes to of launch fireworks.

References