Disputed Iran Election Prompts Rioting

Reform Candidate Supporters Clash With Police; Ahmadinejad Claims Landslide, Charges Foreign Media With "Propaganda"

(CBS/AP)  Last updated 6:57 p.m. ET.

Opponents of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clashed with police in the heart of Iran's capital Saturday, pelting them with rocks and setting fires in the worst unrest in Tehran in a decade. They accused the hard-line president of using fraud to steal election victory from his reformist rival.

Young people are especially angered by what they believe to be a rigged election, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.

The brazen and angry confrontations — including stunning scenes of masked rioters tangling with black-clad police — pushed the self-styled reformist movement closer to a possible moment of truth: Whether to continue defying Iran's powerful security forces or, as they often have before, retreat into quiet dismay and frustration over losing more ground to the Islamic establishment.

But for at least one day, the tone and tactics were more combative than at any time since authorities put down student-led protests in 1999. Young men hurled stones and bottles at anti-riot units and mocked Ahmadinejad as an illegitimate leader. The reformists' new hero, Mir Hossein Mousavi, declared himself the true winner of Friday's presidential race and urged backers to resist a government based on "lies and dictatorship."

Authorities, too, pushed back with ominous measures apparently seeking to undercut liberal voices: jamming text messages, blocking pro-Mousavi Web sites and Facebook and cutting off mobile phones in Tehran.

The extent of possible casualties and detentions was not immediately clear. Police stormed the headquarters of Iran's largest reformist party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front, and arrested several top reformist leaders, said political activists close to the party.The activists spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Mousavi did not appear in public, but warned in a Web message: "People won't respect those who take power through fraud."

Many backers took this call to the streets. Thousands of protesters — mostly young men — roamed through Tehran looking for a fight with police and setting trash bins and tires ablaze. Pillars of black smoke rose among the mustard-colored apartment blocks and office buildings in central Tehran. In one side road, an empty bus was engulfed in flames.

Police fought back with clubs, including mobile squads on motorcycles swinging truncheons.

The scuffles began when protesters gathered hours outside the Interior Ministry around the time officials announced the final election results showing a nearly 2-to-1 landslide for Ahmadinejad. Demonstrators chanted "the government lied" and waved the ribbons of Mousavi's "green" movement — the signature color of his youth-driven campaign.

"I won't surrender to this manipulation," said a statement on Mousavi's Web site. "The outcome of what we've seen from the performance of officials ... is nothing but shaking the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran's sacred system and governance of lies and dictatorship."

The door for possible compromise was closed by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He could have used his near-limitless powers to intervene in the election dispute. But, in a message on state TV, he urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, calling the result a "divine assessment."

There are no independent election monitors in Iran. Mousavi's claims, however, point to some noticeable breaks with past election counting.

The tallies from previous elections — time-comsuming paper ballots — began to trickle in hours after polls closed. This time, huge chunks of results — millions at a time — poured in almost immediately from a huge turnout of about 85 percent of Iran's 46.2 million voters. The final outcome: 62.6 percent of the vote to Ahmadinejad and 33.75 for Mousavi, a former prime minister from the 1980s.

The U.S. refused to accept Ahmadinejad's claim of a landslide re-election victory said it was looking into allegations of election fraud.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she hoped the outcome reflects the "genuine will and desire" of Iranian voters. At a joint appearance with Clinton, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said his country was "deeply concerned" by reports of irregularities in the election.

"The majority of Iranians are certain that the fraud is widespread," said Tehran-based analyst Saeed Leilaz. "It's like taking 10 million votes away from Mousavi and giving them to Ahmadinejad."

Whether this is enough to spawn a sustained opposition movement remains an open question.

Much depends on how much they are willing to risk. The heartland of Iran's liberal ranks is the educated and relatively affluent districts of north Tehran. It's also the showcase for the gains in social freedoms that began with the election of President Mohammad Khatami in 1997: makeup, Internet cafes, head scarves that barely cover hair and satellite dishes that are technically illegal but common.

The ruling clerics tolerate all that to a point — part of a tacit arrangement that the liberties stay as long as reformists remain politically meek. A real protest movement could threaten their coveted Western-looking lifestyle and risk a brutal response from groups vowing to defend the Islamic system.

The political chief of the powerful Revolutionary Guard has warned it would crush any "revolution" against the Islamic regime by Mousavi's "green movement" — drawing parallels to the "velvet revolution" of 1989 in then-Czechoslovakia.

Authorities also called foreign journalists with visas to cover the elections, including members of The Associated Press, and told them they should prepare to leave the country. Italian state TV RAI said one of its crews was caught in the clashes in front Mousavi's headquarters. Their Iranian interpreter was beaten with clubs by riot police and officers confiscated the cameraman's tapes, the station said.

"The massive demonstrations of police and army presence on the streets was designed to show that they were quite ready to kill protesters if they had to in order to impose order," said Patrick Clawson, deputy director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "On the whole, these guys in north Tehran who are terribly upset about what is happening are not ready to die."

Hadi Ghaemi, spokesman for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, denounced the outcome as "a Tehran Tiananmen" — a reference to China's brutal 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy activists — and urged the international community not to recognize the result.

There were also protests by Mousavi supporters in the southern city of Ahvaz in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan who shouted, "Mousavi, take our votes back!" witnesses said.

Mousavi called on his backers to avoid violence, but he is still talking tough about pressing his claims of election fraud. He charges the polls early but has not fully outlined all of his fraud allegations.

Unlike his ally Khatami, Mousavi is a hardened political veteran who led the country during the grim years of the 1980-88 war with Iraq. He also could join forces with the powerful political patriarch Heshemi Rafsanjani, who strongly opposed Ahmadinejad's re-election during the intense monthlong campaign.

Amjad Atallah, a Washington-based regional analyst, called it "one of the most existential moments" in Iran since 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"You can't overstate how important what is happening now is for Iran," he said.

In Tehran, several Ahmadinejad supporters cruised the streets at dawn waving Iranian flags out of car windows and shouting "Mousavi is dead!"

They were quickly overwhelmed by the Mousavi backers.

The protesters — some hiding their faces with masks — still wandered the streets after nightfall as some fires still burned. The pungent smell of burning rubber and smoldering trash lingered in some parts of the city.

Hundreds of anti-riot police blocked the streets leading to Tehran University's dormitory, home to thousands of students and the site of the 1999 student riots that marked the biggest disturbances in post-revolution Iran. University exams nationwide were postponed until next month.

Oddly, normal life was interspersed with the anger. People continued shopping and stores remained open.

With the Internet and mobile texting down, some Iranians turned to Twitter to voice their views.

"Very disappointed with Iran elections," said one entry."Apparently still a backward regressive nation."

Another: "Elections in Iran: stayed tuned as it gets interesting (& maybe scary)."

Ahmadinejad addressed a crowd in Tehran, but did not mention the unrest, saying only "a new era has begun in the history of the Iranian nation."

But there were no hints of any new policy shifts on key international issues such as Iran's standoff over its nuclear program and the offer by President Barack Obama to open dialogue after a nearly 30-year diplomatic estrangement. All high-level decisions are controlled by the ruling theocracy.

[antoniof123]

obama = weakness

obama = cowardice

obama = appeasement
Posted by government_control at 5:43 PM : Jun 14, 2009

Your are an idiot!

I only hope we have the sense to stay out of this and let them revolt on their own.

[YrSoWrong]

Mubarak = marionette. CBS blogger = puppet. Marionette gets strings. Puppet gets fisted.

[cbsantispin]

Iran uses paper ballots and the strongest support for opposition leader Mousavi is in Iranian cities. Polls remained open for hours after normal closing times to accommodate the flood of voters. 2 hours after the Polls closed, Ahmadinejad was declared the landslide winner with 63% of the vote. This is clearly a fraud, there is no way to count the thousands of paper ballots by hand in just 2 hours and come to that conclusion, not to mention the thousands of ballots from Iranians voting outside the country. Landslide FRAUD is more like it!

[government_control]

Obama sends happy new year greetings to the people of Iran.

LMAO

[saturn05]

What happened to the good old days when the CIA went into the country and secretly assasinated leaders of other countries we didn't want in power?

[liptonlight1]

Does anyone else smell CIA here (the protests)? It wouldn't be the first time the CIA interfered in Iran, and tried to manipulate world opinion.

[government_control]

obama = weakness

obama = cowardice

obama = appeasement

[government_control]

Obama put his credibility on the line with his child-like "un-clenched fist" speech, and Irans terrorist regime just responded by spiting in Obamas face.

Obama is a global disgrace.

LMAO

[jwesel1]

They stole the election, Period !.. and people are rising to reclaim their right. I would not concede no matter what. Having said that, I think the challenger will be arrested and die in prison followed by some kind of bs explanation from the thugish government of iran !
Posted by curiously1 at 12:15 PM : Jun 14, 2009

===================================================================
I think you're confusing Iran with Egypt. What you described happens all the time in Egypt with Hosni Mubarak's regime arresting Opposition during and after the sham elections. The only reason world turns its face the other way is because Hosni Mubarak is a puppet in the hands of the zionists.

[ajjaxtheleast]

But WHY does Ahmadinejed say the things that he does,
things like denying that the holocaust ever took
place or that he wants to wipe Israel off the map,
which he calls a mis-interpretation by
the western media.

Credibility-wise Ahmadinejed and ANY now-day
media is a wash,,,,so another story,,

Ahmadinejed says what he says for the same reason
that all leaders do,,,to reflect the mind set of
the majority or enough of the voters to get him
elected or re-elected.,or enough of them not to
present an unacceptablity noticable election fraud.

America is so powerful that we can totally destroy
the infracture of one country, trapes onto the next
country with the sme thing in mind, rearrange the
military schedule of it's adjoing country creating
3-million citizen displacements to ease this next
foray's "project" and still have enough left-over
energies for covert operations in yet a fourth
country to help it's elections turn out "fair".

At least for one more time, maybe the last,,,

Ahmadinejed:,,"Ha ha you lose!"

[summarex]

test

[curiously1]

They stole the election, Period !.. and people are rising to reclaim their right. I would not concede no matter what. Having said that, I think the challenger will be arrested and die in prison followed by some kind of bs explanation from the thugish government of iran !

[mnbrant]

In our own elections, John McCain was gentleman enough to concede a fair election to Obama. Even Al Gore conceded an unfair result to save the country from civil strife. For the sake of his country, Mousavi must be man enough to accept the obvious. It is beginning to appear that he is acting against the best interest of his country, and in accordance with external forces. If he keeps that up, they will have him for treason.
Posted by tommygun083 at 7:42 AM : Jun 14, 2009

Die Iraq scum. Heh

[mnbrant]

Obviously a Tehran with a functioning democracy and and being a place where people want to do business with them is scary. Who would want that?

[ClaudiaW2010]

The election was Friday. Saturday morning the minister of the Interior announced Ahmadinejad as the winner. In a country of 46.2 million eligible voters, with an 85 percent turn-out, this was obviously not a kosher election (pardon). Normally, the results of an election in Iran would take three days to announce, and one would expect at least that amount of time with such a huge turn-out. The fact that it was such a rapid announcement alone makes the situation suspect.

For you people who are comparing President Obama's administration to the election in Iran, you really have no sense of Iranian history, American history, or appreciation for this country of ours and its election process. While claiming your intentions are in concern for USA, you are achieving just the opposite. You are not only without books, you are Anti-American.

[Illuminated1]

damn keyboard....typo



We all know Amadinijad cheated in the election as he blamed the international media in attempt to deflect his culpability.
Supreme Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a message on state TV, he urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, calling the result a "divine assessment."
As he spoke, his secret police were closing media communication links and cell phone towers, in an attempt to halt information from getting out.
A free nation doesn't do this. We all know Iran is not a free nation. The hearts of Iran are free, but thier bodies belong to the supreme ayatollah.
Posted by Illuminated1

[Illuminated1]

We all know Amadinijad cheated in the election as he blamed the international media in attempt to deflect his culpability.in a message on state TV, he urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, calling the result a "divine assessment."
As he spoke, his secret police were closing media communication links and cell phone towers, in an attempt to halt information from getting out.
A free nation doesn't do this. We all know Iran is not a free nation. The hearts of Iran are free, but thier bodies belong to the supreme ayatollah.

[zonkzilla]

I think proof the election was rigged would be in the fact that in Mousavi's village, the poll workers and campaigners outnumbered the other voters and yet Ahmadinejad "won" that village by a large margin. The only way that would be possible is if Maousavi's own people voted against him and that did not happen.
The Iranian people have a choice, they can either rise up and take control of their country or they can die in a war with Israel and possibly the US. The Iranians can either die fighting for freedom or die for the insanity of the ruling clerics. The choice is theirs.
There is nothing the US can do at this time, it is totally up to the people of Iran.

[tommygun083]

In our own elections, John McCain was gentleman enough to concede a fair election to Obama. Even Al Gore conceded an unfair result to save the country from civil strife. For the sake of his country, Mousavi must be man enough to accept the obvious. It is beginning to appear that he is acting against the best interest of his country, and in accordance with external forces. If he keeps that up, they will have him for treason.

[lexern]

Has the Obama regime clamped down on American news outlets ? This rigged election and riots against the dictatorship of Iran should be the top story 24/7. Has the Obama regime put a mussle on our allies, where is the comdemnation from, England, France, Germany ? Something smells and it smells like Obama.