Dark Days in Bahrain and Iran
Nicholas Kristof reports on ham-fisted response to protest in Bahrain:

• The pro-democracy movement has bubbled for decades in Bahrain, but it found new strength after the overthrow of the dictatorships in Tunisia and Egypt. Then the Bahrain government attacked the protesters early this week with stunning brutality, firing tear gas, rubber bullets and shotgun pellets at small groups of peaceful, unarmed demonstrators. Two demonstrators were killed (one while walking in a funeral procession), and widespread public outrage gave a huge boost to the democracy movement.
• King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa initially pulled the police back, but early on Thursday morning he sent in the riot police, who went in with guns blazing. Bahrain television has claimed that the protesters were armed with swords and threatening security. That’s preposterous. I was on the roundabout earlier that night and saw many thousands of people, including large numbers of women and children, even babies. Many were asleep. ("Blood Runs Through the Streets of Bahrain," by NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF, New York Times, February 17, 2011)
  

While another report notes a more secret but disturbing response in Iran.  (A posting on Facebook site 25 Bahman, notes "Green Way of Hope Council published a statement inviting all Iranians on the 20th of February to take part in the memorial service of two martyrs who were killed on February 14th.... Ardeshir Amir Arjamand, Moussavi’s vice president, confirmed the call.")

• A main leader of Iran’s opposition was reported missing on Thursday and both the opposition “green movement” and Iran’s hardliners issued calls for street rallies, escalating tensions after the reemergence of street protests and their brutal suppression on Monday.
• The daughters of the missing opposition leader, Mir Hussein Moussavi, told an opposition Web site that they had had no word from either of their parents since Tuesday and feared they had been detained. Security forces have surrounded their home, and all communications have been cut.
• On Wednesday, the Web site of another opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi, reported that the house of his eldest son had been raided and damaged by security officers seeking to arrest him. ("Iranian Opposition Leader Missing as Tensions Rise," by The New York Times, February 17, 2011)

By the way, how reliable is this statement from Iranian.com?

• One main development is that the regime can not rely on its revolutionary guards (IRGC)anymore and now mainly relies on the Basij and Ansar Hezbollah militias who are mostly illiterate thugs and criminals hired from mostly rural and poor areas, paid large bonuses to suppress the protesters while their Basij ID gives them free pass to sell drugs, receive government bonuses and in some ways become untouchables.("25 Bahman Updates: The Iranian Democratic Movement Is Matured," by SecularDemocraticIran, 16-Feb-2011)