Iran Military Warns Online Media

Revolutionary Guard Warns Iranian Web Sites, Bloggers Not To "Create Tension"; Twitter, MySpace, Facebook Blocked

(CBS/AP)  Last Updated 7:20 a.m. Eastern.

Iran's most powerful military force has warned online media of a crackdown over their coverage of the country's election crisis.

The Revolutionary Guard, an elite military force answering to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said through the state news service that Iranian Web sites and bloggers must remove any materials that "create tension" or face legal action.

CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reports that Iranian authorities appear to have successfully blocked all access to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter Wednesday morning. Access had been intermittent since the election.

The Guards are a separate military with enormous domestic influence and control of Iran's most important defense programs. They are one of the key sources of power for a cleric-led establishment that has been pushed by the crisis into an extraordinary public defense of the Islamic ruling system.

It was the Guards' first public statement since the crisis erupted following the presidential election last Friday.

Along with the Western social networking sites which are now blocked, Iranian reformist Web sites and blogs have been vital conduits for Iranians to inform the world about protests over the declaration of election victory for hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Despite official warnings and a ban on street demonstrations, some Web sites allied with opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi said Wednesday that supporters should gather in a downtown square in the late afternoon.

Mousavi has dubbed the election an "astonishing fraud," and called for it to be nullified and done again.

The announcement raised the prospect of further clashes with security forces. The violence has left at least seven people dead, according to Iran's state media.

CBSNews.com editor-in-chief Dan Farber noted that several sites are offering information on what is happening on the ground in Iran and other countries, piecing together and triangulating data to create almost real-time snapshots. While it's often impossible to verify the authenticity of the information, the combined force of the Web in conveying the story from Iran has been unprecedented. Click here to see some of the recent video and images from "citizen journalists" covering the aftermath of the contested vote.

Iran's government barred foreign media Tuesday from leaving their offices to report on the street protests.

Iran clamped down Tuesday on independent media in an attempt to control images of election protests, but pictures and videos leaked out anyway - showing how difficult it is to shut off the flow of information in the Internet age.

The restrictions imposed by the government made such social networking sites as Twitter and Flickr more prominent - with even the U.S. State Department calling on Twitter to put off a scheduled shutdown for maintenance.

Iranians were posting items online, but it wasn't known how much of that information was being seen by others inside the country. And although some of the posts on Twitter appeared to be from users in Tehran, others clearly were not.

The crackdown on media kept most Western journalists off the streets of Tehran Tuesday, but it did nothing to stifle the dramatic mass gatherings of political supporters, thousands of whom swarmed the streets of Tehran in rival demonstrations, pushing a deep political crisis into its fourth day despite a government attempt to placate the opposition by offering to recount a limited number of ballots.

Iran's supreme ruler drew a firm line against any threats to the regime, warning Iranians to unite behind the country's Islamic system.

Khamenei called for Iranians to unite behind the cleric-led ruling system despite the rival demonstrations Tuesday.

There's a lot of political maneuvering going on to contain the unrest, and one sign of that is the arrest of at least 100 prominent opposition members - including some senior members of the clergy, reported Palmer on Tuesday.

"In the elections, voters had different tendencies, but they equally believe in the ruling system and support the Islamic Republic," said Khamenei.

[gravyboat3000]

by curiously1 June 17, 2009 7:11 PM PDT
Ahmed came to the US to gain respect for his regime, claiming that they are peaceful, that they respect freedom, oh yeah and among other things that they don't have gays in Iran. Well...he was laughed at by the students. Now I guess we see the true face of freedom in Iran. The thugs are chasing peaceful demonstrators in the streets, beating them, arresting them and so on. Just to show you that ISLAM and FREEDOM are not compatible at all.
_______
Don't equate this crack down with true Islam. How convenient, for the Chistians to blame the religion, and not the people who run things.

Catholic Church, anyone?

[curiously1]

Ahmed came to the US to gain respect for his regime, claiming that they are peaceful, that they respect freedom, oh yeah and among other things that they don't have gays in Iran. Well...he was laughed at by the students. Now I guess we see the true face of freedom in Iran. The thugs are chasing peaceful demonstrators in the streets, beating them, arresting them and so on. Just to show you that ISLAM and FREEDOM are not compatible at all.

[woeisme1]

by vistavermin1 June 17, 2009 5:19 AM PDT
I know we want Obama to do something for the people of Iran and instead he sits on his hands and does nothing.. You're right I can't deal with Obama and his I'm sorry but I can't do anything except say I'm sorry.
=================

Indeed you are a sorry mother and you always have been. Oh....your posts....there sorry too.

[ibsteve2u]

But is there a significant difference between "They shut the Internet up trying to seal the modern world out.", and one multinational corporation's talking heads cooperating with a yellow rag owned by an infamously "Anything that makes me more money!" media mogul to offer America opinions and polls that serve both conglomerates well?

[combustionconverter]

Freedom is one of those things you only miss when it goes away. Like your health you only notice it when you are sick. Of course with Iran it is slightly different because as they see now they only have a semblance of what they thought they had. This election rips off those nasty veils that now show they do not have the freedom to elect a person of their choosing. The mullahs have always run the country but they thought if they make it seem like the government is elected that the people wouldn't make too much of a fuss. Oh well nice try. Either they go for it as in a true revolution which knocks of the Islam part of the ruling leaders placing a no church clause like we have or they suck up to the fact of their slavery to Islamic law once and for all. They shut the Internet up trying to seal the modern world out. Islam does face challenges when the truth keeps turning up. Maybe chop off a few heads now to calm them down.

[6591Hou]

by ABM_21 June 17, 2009 7:36 AM PDT
It's not 'false crap'. Republicans are conservative and, believe it or not, so are most Muslims. Sad isn't it? The people who were supposed to protect us before 9/11 have more in common with the alleged attackers than Democrats do.
===========
Conservative repubs are conservatives, moderates are moderates and so on - you can't say all repubs are uniformly conservatives in all areas just as you can't say all dems are uniformly liberals in all areas. Backing off the wide-brush labeling is the first step towards this country actually having a dialogue about anything meaningful. You know Reagan and Tip O'Neill used to have drinks together, politics doesn't have to be as divisive as it's gotten to be.

[ToolMangler1]

by vistavermin1 June 17, 2009 5:19 AM PDT
I know we want Obama to do something for the people of Iran and instead he sits on his hands and does nothing.. You're right I can't deal with Obama and his I'm sorry but I can't do anything except say I'm sorry



He is doing exactly what he should, Voicing disapproval and staying 'out' of what is going on over there. This way, they can't blame an atrocious putdown of the people on us..

[woeisme1]

Very good post ToolMangler1. Right on brother. These right wingnut neo radicals have no brain power. They want Obama to bomb, bomb , bomb!! That's all they know!! Oh...and maybe a little about how to pick up a congressional page and how to cheat on your wife and how to sell out America to big oil.

[notblue]

skyk, why don't you grow a brain stem and stop comparing conservative American citizens with Radical Islamic dictatorships and regimes. When yopu spew false crapp like that do you understand how stupid and hateful that makes you appear? Guess not!

[ABM_21]

It's not 'false crap'. Republicans are conservative and, believe it or not, so are most Muslims. Sad isn't it? The people who were supposed to protect us before 9/11 have more in common with the alleged attackers than Democrats do.

[skyk-2009]

The thing the this President does that so impresses me is he KNOWS history and uses it to his advantage. We sometime think that the problems we face are new and different when in reality they are the same, just different time and different players. History has shown us how to deal with Religious Extremist in OUR nation and the answers being applied here by our President are the same as applied in our past. We could never have broken the back of the Klan in this nation IF we'd have relied on our Military. We MOST certainly would not have broken their backs if we'd have relied on opinions from OTHER leaders in the world. No, it was the "Commies from up North" riding buses and marching in THIS nation who broke their backs. Ignorant people do not know History and certainly aren't going to learn from it.

[curse914]

by charlie877 June 17, 2009 5:57 AM PDT
Whats the difference between them and you? Yer both spout'n bullshyyyt. Just cuz one says "god" and another says "education", makes no difference. Yer both a buncha azzzholes with rights on people's destinies! Everybody else's but yers..

[][][][][][]

Whatever, Arthur. Your Trolling is transparent.

Do you have a job? I have never seen someone so dedicated to posting nonsense 24/7. One would have to assume you still live with your parents.

[curse914]

by charlie877 June 17, 2009 5:51 AM PDT
Ask the devil how smart he is.

[][][][][]

This is the response that I expected from a religiod kook. You would fit in well in Iran.

The very fact that you are able to express your mindless opinion from a computer is thanks to progressive advancements to society, not to the regressive, stagnant, mind sludge of the cleric, priest or pastor.

[mrs_trepidatious]

This is a preview of 2012 when Obama stuffs the ballot box to win.

[skyk-2009]

LOL You mean like Bush? LOL Anyone who belongs to a party that represents less than 25% of the people AND who has people leading it like you folks shouldn't be worried about trying to plant ideas like this. No, you should FIRST be working toward having a party whereby a claim like this COULD have some value. LOL Right now NO ONE would believe you at all.

[curse914]

by vistavermin1 June 17, 2009 5:15 AM PDT
And Obama does nothing...... Where is Hilary????

Where is the speech from Obama about liberty and freedom... Oh his teleprompter doesn't know that speech.

[][][][]

Remember when we (conservative kooks) promised to help the Kurds in their uprising against Saddam? Remember when we (conservative war hawks) assisted Saddam in his war against Iran?

It is good that the youth of Iran are challenging the Religious nutters in charge.

An educated populace is a dangerous populace.

[skyk-2009]

LOL I know! They have always been good at pounding their chest...come to think of it that's the ONLY positive thing they gave us during the entire 8 years of the Bush Administration. LOL Right now we are doing EXACTLY what we need to be doing... Let the Religious Fanatics deal with the mess they have made and lets worry about our OWN Taliban in this nation.

[ajjaxtheleast]

Twitter and Facebook the drones of the media,,,

Able to kill people while sipping a cup of coffee.

[woeisme1]

LET FREEDOM RING!

JAIL BUSH/CHENEY FOR THE WAR CRIMES THEY COMMITTED - FOR TAKING A HUGH SURPLUS LEFT THEM AND BRINGING THIS COUNTRY INTO FINANCIAL RUIN - FOR DESTROYING AMERICA'S CREDIBILITY AROUND THE WORLD - JAIL ALL NEO-CONS WHO PROMOTE REVOLUTIONS AGAINST OUR GOVERNMENT!!

JAIL ALL THE RADICAL RIGHT ACROSS AMERICA! SAVE OUR NATION!!!

[WayAround]

Do you ever notice how Iran always acts in a way especially designed to provoke Western sensibilities?

1. warning **ONLINE** media (this article)

2. referring to the Holocaust as a "myth" (~ September 2006)

3. tries to ban rock 'n' roll (~ August 2007)

[skyk-2009]

This isn't just Iran that does this. If you check out the position of the Religious Right in this nation you will find they use much the same line and in much the same way. The Brand is different but the goal is the same for both... total control based on religious beliefs.

[skyk-2009]

It seems the Radical Right all over the world can't deal with the modern age huh?

[woeisme1]

The radical right in America needs to be disbanded and jailed forever. They are anti-Americans, every last one of them.

[IThoughtItWasFunnyAgin]

Of course, you mean the radical left instead, right? Funny thing, Mousavi is tied to the same Hizbollah and Hamas thugs the Guard brought in to fight the protestors.

The Iranians are just being hoodwinked by Mousavi who was also chosen by the Guard and the Ayatollah. He just mouthed some words that made them feel good. And made it look like he's for democracy.

This is just a stage production to make it look like Iranians are rebeling...but they'll back their Ummah's every time. They're even trying to fool them with SOME of their Ummah's being arrested.

Nice Hollywood production....and the Iranians will be no better off whatsoever under Mousavi.

[ToolMangler1]

You 'chirped' it right that time 'Birdy'.. :)
The internet is killing propagandic lies..

[zonkzilla]

If the so called "elite guard" were to crack down too hard on those demanding justice, the regular army could side with the protestors which would mean full scale civil war.
The protestors outnumber the revolutionary guard by 100 to one so the oppresion police are not really in a position to threaten.
The only way this freedom uprising will be successful is if it continues to grow each day. If the uprising is seen to dwindle it will fail.
America's thoughts and prayers are with the courageous freedom lovers in Iran.

[woeisme1]

And the republicans here think Obama is sanctioning them and limiting their freedoms. They ought to go to Iran. There you can be a radical extremist and get away with it. The government encourages it!

[ahrats]

Gestpo tactics, Iran is the nazi's. The ruler has his own police force to put down any non govermental sanction needed. If he let them I'll bet they would open fire on any protesters. Iran is 8-9th century government trying to cope with the 21st century. The Koran never thought about educated people and there desires only what the book say's is correct. A book written a very long time ago before there were schools and college's. Iran its your fault for educating the people, shut-down all education and you might be able to hold on awhile longer.