The Iranian Election is Their Issue, Not Ours
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy This is the clip from a segment I did last night on the Iranian elections with Keith Olbermann’s Countdown.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy This is the clip from a segment I did last night on the Iranian elections with Keith Olbermann’s Countdown.
This is a guest note from an anonymous student in Iran.
There are now nine dead, according to BBC Persia reports, and dozens injured. I am getting notes that police are raiding homes and apartments and not just arresting people but engaged in wanton destruction of property. Mousavi doubts a positive nod from the Guardian Council. Hundreds of thousands demonstrated against the election declaration.
These dispatches were written over the last several days. They do not include references to the most recent events and violence. There are others on the way that deal with what has been happening since the announcement by Iran’s Ministry of Interior that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won the presidency outright.
I am in Los Angeles today and will be appearing on Keith Olbermann’s Countdown this evening shortly after 8 pm EST. The topic is Iran. My colleague Flynt Leverett and his wife Hillary Mann Leverett have a provocative piece out called: “Ahmadinejad Won. Get Over It.
Iran’s now illegitimate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad just made the bizarre statement in the last hour that ongoing street protests really show that Iran is a democracy. I guess he hasn’t been to the ones where people are being beaten by police with clubs.
First read the passionate, informed blogging insider accounts from Khatami adviser Mohammad Ali Abtahi. Here’s a taste: There was a lot of difference between yesterday and last night. Yesterday Iran was joyful because of changing the fate. Every body participated in. But last night was a shocking and bitter night.
(To get a feel for what is going on in the streets of Tehran, watch this linked BBC video clip.) Last night in London after appearing on Keith Olbermann’s show, I got an email from a well-connected Iranian who knows many of the power figures in the Tehran political order asking to meet me.
I’ll be offline for a while as flying back to Washington. Moussavi has just called for counting of ballots to halt because of massive voter fraud. Rumors are that Rafsanjani was “detained” when driving to meet Supreme Leader.
While eating a London-style breakfast this morning at the Royal Horseguards Hotel in Whitehall, I read two major articles featuring long interviews with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.