Sanctions against Iran may boost the protest movement.

(From Guardian Unlimited)

On the eve of the anniversary of the contested presidential elections of 12 June, the new UN sanctions on Iran could add to further internal tension at leadership level. By targeting the finances and activities of its ruling clique, the sanctions may also give new impetus to the protest movement that has been bravely confronting the regime.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will look back at the year that has passed as perhaps the worst year in the history of the Islamic Republic -- as the year in which he faced the most serious challenges to his leadership and to the unity of the Islamic political structure.

He may pretend that the situation at home has returned to normal. Yet he knows the apparent normalcy has only been achieved by brutal methods not by conviction: by thousands of illegal arrests, by creating false accusations and through …