Background Briefs

Iran protests

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Thousands of opposition supporters have clashed with security forces during a government-sponsored rally in Tehran. Iran’s reformists had been warned not to try to turn the pro-Palestinian Quds (Jerusalem) Day marches into anti-government protests.

Reports say opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and former President Mohammad Khatami were attacked.
The opposition has been banned from holding rallies since the disputed presidential election in June. In July Khatami had called for a referendum on the legitimacy of the government, saying millions of Iranians had lost faith in the electoral process.

As part of the Quds Day events, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a speech in which he repeated his view that the Nazi Holocaust was a myth.

Opposition rally on 'Jerusalem Day' (Sep 18)

Mousavi’s supporters bitterly dispute the result of the presidential election of June 12. Massive street protests followed the presidential election in which at least 20 people were killed in violence and hundreds were arrested, according to official figures.

Mapping the protests in Tehran

On June 29th, Iran’s top electoral body, the Guardian Council, confirmed Ahmadinejad’s victory after a partial recount.

On June 25 Mousavi said he holds those behind alleged “rigged” elections responsible for bloodshed during recent protests. In a defiant statement on his website, he called for future protests to be in a way which would not “create tension.” He complained of “complete” restrictions on his access to people and a crackdown on his media group.

On June 24 Iranian riot police were reported to have clashed with demonstrators defying government decrees to stop street protests over disputed elections. Eyewitness reports say there have been clashes near the parliament building in the capital Tehran, in the streets around Baharestan Square. Reporting restrictions in Iran meant the reports could not be verified. The new protests came hours after Iran’s supreme leader said he would “not yield” over the election result. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei again said the result would stand, despite the protests.

June 23

On June 23 President Barack Obama strongly condemned the “unjust actions” of Iran in clamping down on election protests. He said he respected Iran’s sovereignty and it was “patently false” of Iran to say the West was fomenting the unrest. Mr Obama said: “The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days. “I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost.”

About the Iranian allegation of meddling, the President said: “This tired strategy of using old tensions to scapegoat other countries won’t work anymore in Iran. “This is not about the United States and the West. This is about the people of Iran, and the future that they – and only they – will choose.” Referring to the recent clampdown on the foreign media in Iran, Mr Obama said: “In 2009 no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to the peaceful pursuit of justice.

The President’s remarks on Iran

June 22

Iranian riot police fired tear gas on June 22, to break up a new opposition rally in downtown Tehran, hours after a stern warning to protesters. Some 1,000 people gathered on Haft-e Tir Square despite the warning from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards against holding unapproved rallies. Reports said the police were reinforced by Basij militiamen wielding clubs. The Guards, an elite armed force, vowed to crack down on new street protests over the presidential election results.

Iran’s Guardian Council said it found irregularities in 50 constituencies, but denied that affected the result. Challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi says the vote was rigged in favor of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and must be re-run. Mousavi has told his supporters, who have taken to the streets in their tens of thousands for more than a week, to continue their protests but not to put their lives in danger.

#iranelection on twitter

How Iran eavesdrops on cell phones

Twitter, tech and Iran in our latest technology podcast

Jeb Sharp on Iranian protest movements

June 19

On June 19, Iran’s Supreme Leader has issued a stern warning that protests against the country’s disputed presidential election results must end. In his first public remarks after days of demonstrations, Ayatollah Khamenei said the outcome must be decided at the ballot box, not on the street. He said political leaders would be blamed for any violence.

Khamenei speech images

Demonstrators calling for a new election earlier vowed to stage fresh protests on June 20. Addressing huge crowds at Tehran University, the ayatollah voiced support for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying the president’s views on foreign affairs and social issues were close to his. Ahmadinejad was among the thousands of people who packed the campus and surrounding streets, punctuating the ayatollah’s speech with chants.

June 18

More than 100,000 people – many dressed in black – marched on Thursday in the Iranian capital, Teheran in the latest post-election protest there. Eyewitnesses said the crowds were addressed by the presidential challenger,Mir Hossein Mousavi, who had called for a day of mourning for those killed in earlier protests. He’s alleged fraud in last Friday’s election, which gave victory to President Ahmadinejad. Television footage showed many protestors marching with their arms aloft, making victory signs, and displaying green wristbands to demonstrate support for Mousavi.

Pictures from the ‘Day of Mourning’ in Tehran

June 18: Marco Werman speaks with Wall Street Journal Reporter Farnaz Fassihi who’s in Tehran, about the continued protests:

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June 18: Pictures from the demonstrations in Iran show mostly young people, but the face of opposition supporters spans all ages. Marco Werman speaks with a 65-year-old protester:

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June 18: The World’s Laura Lynch reports on arrests in Tehran:

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Meanwhile, Iran’s top legislative body said it is investigating 646 complaints from the three defeated presidential candidates over last week’s election. The powerful Guardian Council said it had invited Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Mohsen Rezai to a meeting on Saturday to discuss the complaints. Another key body has raised eyebrows by failing to endorse the election result. It is not known if the three candidates have accepted the invitation. The council earlier this week said it would carry out a partial recount, but had ruled out a re-run of the poll demanded by Mousavi.

Wednesday

Heavy restrictions have been placed on foreign news organizations. Reporters are not allowed to cover unauthorized gatherings or move around freely in Tehran – but there are no controls over what they can write or say.

All over the world people are monitoring unfolding events in Iran via the internet. Although there are signs that the Iranian government is trying to cut some communications with the outside world, citizen journalism appears to be thriving on the web. As it is capable of providing short updates of eyewitness observations, as well as spreading links to news outlets, the microblogging social network Twitter has seen fast moving conversations about the Iranian election.

#iranelection on twitter

June 17: The World’s Alex Gallafent explores the role played by the social networking site Twitter in the ongoing protests in Iran:

June 17: Marco Werman speaks with The World’s Laura Lynch — who is just back from Tehran — and with Iranian-American Azadeh Moaveni, about the unrest in Iran and how it’s been reflected on the Web:

Tuesday

Rival rallies in Tehran (Tuesday)

June 16: The World’s Laura Lynch reported from Tehran under the new severe media restrictions:

June 16: Marco Werman speaks with Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi about her views on the developments in Iran since last Friday’s elections. Saberi worked as a reporter in Iran for six years until she was arrested and jailed this winter on charges of espionage. She was released last month.

President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that he was “deeply troubled” by violence in Iran. Mr.Obama called on Iran’s leaders to respect free speech and the democratic process, and said he would continue pursuing tough dialogue with Iran.

In his first public comments on the situation in Iran, the President said: “I am deeply troubled by the violence that I’ve been seeing on television. I think that the democratic process, free speech, the ability for folks to peacefully dissent, all those are universal values and need to be respected.” But the President avoided any comment on the allegations of vote fraud. “We respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran,” Mr Obama said.

The President’s comments on the situation in Iran

June 15 demonstrations

At least eight people were killed by members of the pro-government Basij militia during Monday’s protests which involved hundreds of thousands of people. It was one of the largest since the Iranian revolution 30 years ago. Mousavi addressed the crowd in his first public appearance since Friday’s vote. He maintains the results were rigged to allow President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claim a landslide victory. Ahmadinejad has dismissed the claims and says the vote was fair.

View pictures from Tehran

June 15: The World’s Laura Lynch reports from Tehran on Monday’s protests:

June 14

On Sunday, tens of thousands of people joined a rally in central Tehran to celebrate the re-election of Iran’s President Ahmadinejad while Mousavi lodged an official appeal against the result amid continuing angry protests. Security forces arrested up to 100 members of reformist groups, accusing them of orchestrating the violence. Ahmadinejad denies any vote-fixing, saying the result was “very accurate”.

At an earlier news conference on Sunday, Ahmadinejad accused foreign media of refusing to accept the result because they did not like it. “Forty million people have taken part in this process. How can they question it?” he said. Asked about Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran’s relations with foreign powers , he said the nuclear debate “belongs to the past”, and that Iran had “embraced” the idea of an international effort to eliminate nuclear weapons.

June 13

The protests started on Saturday when thousands of angry protesters clashed with police after Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of the presidential poll. Secret police were attacked, while riot police used batons and tear gas against backers of Mousavi, who called the results a “charade”. There had been a huge turnout for Iran’s closely-fought election last Friday as long lines formed at polling stations, and voting was extended by at least four hours. Incumbent President Ahmadinejad, a hardliner, faced a strong challenge from reformist former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi in a campaign dominated by the economy. Both candidates claimed victory as the polls closed on Friday. Mousavi said he was the “definite winner” and alleged that there had been widespread irregularities. But almost immediately afterwards, President Ahmadinejad announced that he had won.

Photo gallery: Post election clashes in Iran

The official results gave Ahmadinejad 62.6% of the vote against just 33.8% for Mousavi. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the high turnout of 85%, described the count as a “real celebration” and called for calm.

Iran’s electoral council had approved four candidates to run in the country’s presidential elections: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, running for a second four-year term in office, Mr. Mousavi and two other candidates: Mohsen Rezai and Mehdi Karroubi both registering less than 2% of the vote each.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Ultra-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was far from the predictable winner of the 2005 presidential election. But the then-mayor of Tehran won the second round of the much-criticised poll, becoming the first non-cleric to hold the post. The softly spoken son of a blacksmith ran on a platform of fighting poverty and corruption, and of sharing out the country’s oil wealth. He presented himself as a humble man of the people, appealing directly to Iran’s poor. In the following years, he has developed a reputation internationally for his fiery rhetoric and verbal attacks on the US and Israel.

He has frustrated the West but pleased many in Iran by his refusal to give in to international demands to curtail his country’s nuclear and missile development program, maintaining his view that Iran has a right to civilian nuclear energy and denying the country is pursuing nuclear weapons.

In a speech at the UN in April 2009, his comments that Israel was a state founded on racist principles prompted a walk-out by delegates from at least 30 countries but earned him a hero’s welcome on his return home.

Domestically, the president has been criticized for what some see as his antagonizing of the U.S., and for his failure to tackle the country’s economic problems. Despite domestic criticism, he still has the support of the military, the Revolutionary Guards and the state-owned media which, analysts say, could make him a difficult candidate to unseat.

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June 1: Iran’s President Ahmadinejad has a blog, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and YouTube videos. Iran’s other presidential candidates are also on the web. As election day grows near, they’re hoping to attract votes from Iran’s many Internet users. Reporter Cyrus Farivar takes us on-line to follow the Iranian election.

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Mir Hossein Mousavi

Former Iranian Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi is widely regarded as the main challenger to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A self-described “reformist who refers to the principles” of the 1979 Islamic revolution, he has vowed to combat Iran’s “extremist” image abroad. As prime minister from 1981 to 1989, when the post was abolished, he was praised for his deft handling of the Iranian economy during the bitter eight-year war with Iraq.

An architect and painter, Mr Mousavi has spent the past 20 years behind the scenes in Iranian politics, serving as a presidential adviser from 1989 to 2005 and on the Expediency Council, Iran’s top arbitration body. He has secured the backing of Mohammad Khatami, Iran’s former reformist president, in his bid for a political comeback.

Now 68, Mr Mousavi has called for greater personal freedoms in Iran and criticised the ban on private television channels. But he has refused to back down from the country’s disputed nuclear programme, saying it is for peaceful purposes. Mousavi, who speaks Farsi, English and Arabic, is currently the president of the Iranian Academy of Arts.

Mohsen Rezai

A former head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards, Mohsen Rezai was the first of Iran’s four main contenders to register his candidacy for the presidential race. The 54-year-old is the only conservative challenger to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Rezai also ran in the 2005 election, but pulled out just ahead of voting day. A self-proclaimed critic of Mr Ahmadinejad, he has accused the Iranian leader of pushing the country to the edge of a “precipice” and promised to reform Iran’s struggling economy.

A veteran military man who also holds a PhD in economics, Mr Rezai is now vowing to fight poverty, inflation and unemployment. On the issue of Iran’s disputed nuclear program, he has accused President Ahmadinejad of using “adventurous language”, and vowed to “neither support passivity nor adventurism”.

His impressive military record started before the 1979 Islamic revolution as a member of an armed militia that opposed the US-backed Shah. He was appointed as the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Corps at the age of 27, and led the force during the bloody eight-year war with Iraq. Rezai went on to become the secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council – the country’s top arbitration body – in 1997. He is one of five Iranian officials wanted in Argentina for their alleged involvement in an attack on a Jewish centre that killed 85 people in 1994.

Mehdi Karroubi

Reformist Mehdi Karroubi, 72, was speaker of parliament from 1989 to 1992, at a time when the Iranian parliament was dominated by Islamic radicals. He was praised by many MPs in 2002, when he led a walk out in protest at the jailing of a fellow reformist politician. He came a close third in the 2005 elections, but criticised the process, saying there had been “bizarre interference” in the polls and that money had changed hands to influence the results.

Karroubi, the only candidate to refer to himself as reformist, has openly opposed many of Ahmadinejad’s policies and is one of the few politicians to have criticised the president’s dismissal of the Holocaust. He has promised that if elected he would adopt a “policy of detente” with other countries, a step away from Mr Ahmadinejad’s more provocative approach. He told the AFP news agency he would “adopt the middle path” in Iran, to bring in social, economic and political reforms without alienating hard liners.

Who runs Iran? – the Islamic republic’s complex political system

Nieman Reports on covering the news from Iran

The trial of Roxana Saberi

May 12: In April 2009 Iranian-American reporter Roxana Saberi was put on trial for espionage in Teheran. Saberi, 32, from Fargo, ND, spent more than three months in Tehran’s Evin prison – the Iranian authorities accused and convicted her of spying for the United States. Saberi, who had worked for several Western news outlets, including The World, denies being a spy. According to one of her lawyers, she did admit having an Iranian government document in her possession. That’s what an appeals court convicted her of — before reducing her sentence and letting Roxana Saberi go free in May.The U.S. government welcomed the move as a humanitarian gesture. But as Cyrus Farivar reports, some would argue that Saberi’s release was always about politics:

May 13: The World’s Lisa Mullins talked with Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel Peace Prize winning Iranian human rights activist about the case after Saberi’s release.