BRUSSELS, March 19 (Reuters) - The European Union plans to take action against Iran for its jamming of European satellite broadcasts, according to a draft statement by EU foreign ministers ahead of a meeting on Monday.

The statement, obtained by Reuters, follows talks among EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and the foreign ministers of Britain, Germany and France on the jamming of programmes broadcast to Iran by the BBC, Deutsche Welle and other media.

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2010 - U.S. Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, and Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, were joined yesterday by ten of their colleagues, including three from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in a press conference to announce the support by a bi-partisan House majority for the humanitarian rights and protection of residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq.

NCRI - "Iranians defied a ban on events marking a traditional festival on Tuesday, turning an annual celebration into a show of antigovernment sentiment," New York Times reported.

On Sunday, two days ahead of the annual Fire Festival in Iran, the mullahs’ Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in response to a made-up and ridiculous question said that Charshanbe Souri (Fire Festival) “has no basis in Sharia (Islamic religious law) and causes a lot of harm and corruption, therefore, it must be avoided."

NCRI - Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, described the Fire Festival uprising on Tuesday as a major defeat for the clerical regime and its suppressive machinery and massive propaganda apparatus.

The regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in an anti-Iranian and anti-Islamic decree on Sunday said the festival has “no basis in sharia (Islamic religious law) and creates a lot of harm and corruption, (which is why) it is appropriate to avoid it.”

Iran Fire Festival protests – 24

Security forces vehicle set on fire in Sanandaj
Number of youths arrested in Boroujerd

NCRI - Fire Festival uprising spread to many towns and cities across Iran. In Sanandaj, provincial capital of Kurdistan, the clerical regime’s local authorities dispatched 300 of suppressive forces to block the 17 Shahrivar Street, a main high street in the city, in a bid to prevent people’s gathering. The suppressive forces failed and people managed to get together and celebrate the Fire Festival by fire crackers and handmade sound grenades. In Feiz Abad, Golnaz, Sixth of Bahman and Sharif Abad districts widespread clashes between the youths and agents of the State Security Forces took place. In Haji Abad district people set fire to a vehicle belonged to the suppressive forces.

Iran Fire Festival protests – 23

In clashes with suppressive forces in Esfahan, at least 15 have been arrested

NCRI - The uprising of the Iranian people on the occasion of the Fire Festival is continuing in many Iranian cities.

Orumieh, the provincial capital of Western Azerbaijan, has seen its biggest anti-regime protests in recent months. Sounds of firecrackers and sound grenades are heard across the city.

Iran Fire Festival protests – 22

Heavy clashes and hit and runs between youths and regime’s suppressive agents in southern Tehran;

Some youths have been injured and a number of them have disappeared

NCRI - From the start of Gol Banou Street in the Vali Asr region in Tehran, people chanted “death to dictator” and hurled home-made sound grenades at the regime’s suppressive forces, crippling their operations.

Iran Fire Festival protests – 21

NCRI - Iranian youths in Tehran set fire to a building of the paramilitary Bassij Force on Tuesday, located at Baharestan Park in Vahidieh. This region also saw heavy clashes taking place between people on the one hand and the regime’s suppressive forces, State Security Forces, and plainclothes agents on the other. The smoke from the fires set by the youths has engulfed the air.

NCRI- Videos show people in Tehran chant  "Death to dictator" during Fire Festival celebrations in Iran.

According to the Social Headquarters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) inside the country, the uprising of the Fire Festival is increasingly becoming widespread despite the massive suppressive presence of the Iranian regime and a flurry of intimidations by various ranks of regime officials.

Iran Fire Festival protests – 20

Fiery protests by Youths in Aryashahr, Shahrak-e Gharb, Javadieh, and Naziabad
Youths in Majidieh set ablaze an SSF vehicle

NCRI - Chants of “death to dictator” by the brave people of Aryashahr district in Tehran have filled the air.

In Ferdows Boulevard and South Ramin Street, the size of the crowds is unprecedented. People chant “death to dictator” and “artilleries, tanks and Bassijis are no longer effective.”

Iran Fire Festival protests – 19

Fire Festival celebrated with chants of “Henchman Khamenei, the time for your death has arrived”

NCRI - As the night fell in various parts of Tehran, the uprising of the Iranian people against the religious dictatorship took larger proportions.

In Amir Abad in Tehran, youths carried out enthusiastic protests on the Fire Festival and burnt pictures of the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. They also chanted “death to Khamenei” and “henchman Khamenei, time for your death has arrived.”