'MENA revolts model Iran’s revolution' The Iranian Armed Forces Headquarters says that the popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa have been inspired by the Islamic Revolution in Iran. In a statement released on Wednesday ahead of the 22nd anniversary of Imam Khomeini’s demise the Armed Forces Headquarters said popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa are modeled after the historic 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, led by the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini. It went on to say the growing wave of Islamic Awakening in the region has formed a brave front against colonialism and global arrogance. In January, Tunisians took to streets in a revolt that finally drove the country’s ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power. A popular uprising, which lasted from January 25 till February 11, forced the 82-year-old former Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak to step down. Libyan anti-government forces, inspired by revolutions that toppled authoritarian rulers in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt, are fighting to topple embattled Muammar Gaddafi, who has ruled the country for over 41 years. In Yemen, hundreds of thousands of people have also turned out for regular demonstrations in the capital Sana’a and in the cities of Aden, Taizz, calling for corruption and unemployment to be tackled and demanding the ouster of longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Since the beginning of Bahrain’s revolution in mid-February, tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have poured into the streets across the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom, calling for more rights, freedom and wide-ranging political reforms in the political system of their country. The statement of the Iranian Armed Forces Headquarters also added that the Islamic Republic of Iran -- thanks to its rule of the Providence of the Jurist and practice of religious democracy -- has succeeded to thwart all plots hatched against the system.  Iran’s charismatic leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, spent the remaining years of his life in a modest home in Tehran’s Jamaran district from where he governed the country. Ayatollah Khomeini passed away on June 3, 1989, after eleven days in hospital. The 22nd anniversary of Imam Khomeini’s demise is going to be commemorated in Iran and across the globe on June 4, 2011. Source: presstv.ir