A Miracle in Iran?

             The Venezuelan newspaper I bought this morning in Caracas carried two pictures of demonstrators in Iran yesterday.
            In one of the photos I was unable to read the signs the people were carrying.  Everything was written in a language (or languages) with which I am not familiar.  The title under the picture said that the people carrying the placards were supporters of Mahmud Ahmadinejad, the current president of Iran.  It is reported that he received 63 percent of the votes in the country’s recent presidential elections.
            In the other photo I was able to read all the posters.  One said, “Ahmadinejad is not our president.”  Another read, “Ahmadinejad is not my president.”  Others: “Shame on you,” “Where is my vote?” and, “How long?”  It was immediately clear to me that this group of people were not supporters of the current president.  Any English speaking person wouldn’t need a caption under the photograph to explain the feelings of these people.
            A basic reference tool that I keep in front of me on my desk at all times is the 2007 World Almanac published by World Almanac Books.  It lists the most common languages spoken in the different countries throughout the world.  Checking Iran, I see that the principal languages are: “Farsi/Persian (official), Kurdish, Pashto, Luri, Balochi, Gilaki, Mazandarami; Azeri and Turkic languages; Arabic, Turkish.”
            I don’t understand the situation.  If the demonstrators against Ahmadinejad represent the majority of voters, as they claim, why were they carrying placards in English?  Or is my World Almanac no longer a reliable reference tool?  Has some miracle taken place in the last two years so that English is now the most common language spoken in Iran?  Will the 2010 World Almanac have to be updated in this regard?  Is it possible that the official language will be listed as “English/American” instead of “Farsi/Persian?”
            Or,… is something strange going on in Iran?