American Morning
Iranian protester pleads for U.S., world to intervene
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/22/iran.protests.police.getty.art.jpg caption="A picture obtained on June 21, 2009 shows Iranian riot police on a street of Tehran on June 20, 2009."]
An Iranian student protester in Tehran made a passionate plea for help from the world community this morning in a phone call to CNN’s “American Morning.”
For safety reasons, CNN can only identify the student by his first name, Mohammad. He's been a part of the protests and a target of the violence there. Below is an edited transcript of the interview.
John Roberts: What is the scene like on the streets? Are there more demonstrators out there on the streets? Or is it much quieter than it has been in recent days?
Mohammad: Hello. Actually I participated in Saturday's demonstrations in parts of Tehran. What I saw, I saw thousands of security officers that tried to break up the crowd. They used canisters and batons and water cannons against us. They attacked us. And we also in response attacked them. We attacked them by throwing stones. And we built trenches in the streets and actually defended too.
Roberts: So there was quite a large confrontation going on there over the weekend. But can you tell us what the scene is like on the streets today?
Mohammad: Today was a long day in Tehran. And yesterday there weren't any organized rallies in Tehran. Because we take orders from our leader Mr. Karroubi and Mr. Mir Hossein Moussavi. The connections, the communication is very difficult, more than even you can imagine in Tehran. But I myself haven't received any orders from our leaders yet. But as soon as I get any order, I will participate in any demonstration that they tell us.
Social media's role in Iran protests
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/18/intv.thompson.nick.iran.art.jpg caption="Nick Thompson of Wired magazine discusses the use of social networking in the Iranian protests."]
Information today is a precious commodity as the Iranian regime cracks down, severely limiting our ability to report there. Protestors and media inside Iran have turned to Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging to get the word out about what's going on.
Nicholas Thompson, a senior editor at "Wired" magazine, spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” Thursday about the social media phenomenon in Iran.
Kiran Chetry: First of all, are we overstating the role of social networking in organizing these rallies in Iran?
Nicholas Thompson: I think we're overstating the role of Twitter. I don’t think we’re necessarily overstating the role of cell phones, Facebook, or social networking in general.
Chetry: So what is Twitter being used for in Iran?
Thompson: Twitter is being used for some internal communications. What it's really being used for is getting the word out to the outside world. The great thing about Twitter is you can have as many followers as you want and anybody can read anything. It's a completely open network.
So it's great if you want to get news to your friends in America, people in the media in America who are watching and playing an important role in this drama. But if you actually want to organize a protest and if you actually want to get people to together at 6 o’clock, Twitter is kind of sort of useful, but it's not being used by everybody in Iran the way that it's sometimes portrayed as here in the United States.
Ex-hostage: Do not interfere with Iran
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/18/intv.kennedy.moorhead.jpg caption="Moorhead Kennedy, a former American hostage in Iran, tells CNN the U.S. is better off not intefering in Iranian affairs right now."]
A man with unique insight into the events that are playing out in Iran is Moorhead Kennedy. He was the acting head of the United States’ Embassy's economic section in Tehran when it was overrun by student protesters in 1979.
Kennedy was one of the 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days in that standoff. He wasn't released until January 20th, 1981 when President Reagan was inaugurated. Kennedy spoke to John Roberts on CNN’s “American Morning” Thursday.
John Roberts: Do you see any parallels between what we’re seeing on the streets of Tehran now and what happened in 1979?
Moorhead Kennedy: Well, I think the biggest parallel is that at least some of the reaction against us in '79 was because...of past interference in Iranian affairs. And I think that there seems to, be from a lot of talk going around, that we should do something…about this election problem in Iran. It's the attitude that we have sometimes about Iran, a rather colonial attitude that has always been part of our problem with that country. And so I think if I had any conclusion to draw, we would have been much better off not interfering in Iran then and I think we're going to be much better off not interfering in Iranian affairs now.
Iran threatens Web sites reporting on protests
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) - Iran's opposition Wednesday pledged to continue protests over disputed presidential elections as authorities tightened controls on media, threatening Web sites reporting on the country's worst crisis for decades.
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi, who claims last week's re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was rigged, called on his supporters to join him on the streets of Tehran Thursday in the latest in a series of demonstrations.
Meanwhile, the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard - which enforces strict Islamic codes - said it will prosecute Web sites it accuses of inciting riots, adding to a ban on foreign media reporting on the protests and a block on Internet site such as Facebook or Twitter.
Even as the Guard made its announcement, thousands of Iranians planned to head to Haft-e-Tir Square in central Tehran on Wednesday evening despite a stepped-up government crackdown that has seen people arrested across the country. Video Watch Christiane Amanpour on media restrictions »
The scale of the protests, the worst seen in the country since a 1979 revolution overthrew its monarchy, Tuesday prompted Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has already endorsed Ahmadinejad's win, to appeal for calm, urging citizens to support the Islamic state.
His appeal came a day after at least seven people were killed during a pro-Moussavi demonstration in Tehran.
McCain pans president's Iran response
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. John McCain told CNN Wednesday President Obama's statement that he doesn't want to meddle in the Iranian election controversy sends the wrong message.
"On this issue, I do not believe that the president is taking a leadership that is incumbent upon an American president, which we have throughout modern history, and that is to advocate for human rights and freedom — and free elections are one of those fundamentals," the Arizona Republican told John Roberts on CNN's American Morning.
President Obama Tuesday said that he has deep concerns over the election results in Iran, but stressed that "it's not productive, given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations, to be seen as meddling, the U.S. president meddling in Iranian elections."
McCain disputed that assessment. "We're not meddling in any country's affairs when we call for free and fair elections and the ability of people to exercise their human rights," he said Monday. "And when they disagree with a flawed or corrupt election, as the Iranian people have, [not] to be beaten and even killed in the streets."
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