IRAN – AT 7:45 A.M. ET:  It is difficult to get information out of Iran today, but it appears that the mass opposition rallies have either failed to materialize, or were put down very quickly by security forces.

In addition, although Iran's supreme leader promised some kind of major jolt today, none has occurred.  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proclaimed Iran a "nuclear state" – no surprise there – and that was that, at least so far.  The esteemed president said that Iran was capable of producing weapons-grade uranium but chose not to do so.  We'll see about that.

From Fox:

TEHRAN, Iran — Security forces dispersed opposition protests as hundreds of thousands of government supporters massed Thursday in a central square of the Iranian capital to mark the 31st anniversary of the revolution that created the Islamic republic.

Authorities clamped down hard to prevent a major show of force by the opposition amid one of the country's most important political occasions. Tehran residents also reported Internet speeds dropping dramatically and e-mail services such as Gmail being blocked in a common government tactic to foil opposition attempts to organize.

It's now late afternoon in Tehran.  The day is not yet over.  So far, though, the security forces have, sadly, done their job very effectively.

February 11,  2010