IranWatch: June 22
For highlights of previous coverage, see IranWatch: June 21 | June 20 | June 19 | June 18 | June 17
Updated 09:35 p.m. Eastern: Latest from CBS' Elizabeth Palmer in Tehran
A new round of protest rallies was halted today, but Iran's clerical leaders seemed to be growing wary of the powerful images of violence against opposition protestors that have leaked out via cell phone video and the Web despite the restrictions on media and Internet use. CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer filed this report for the CBS Evening News:
Updated 06:25 p.m. Eastern: A Primer On How Young Iranians Are Using the Internet
Here's a clip with Shiva Falsafi, lecturer in the UCLA Department of Women's Studies and an expert on the history of social and political movements in Iran, explaining how Iranian youth are exploiting Internet technologies to communicate.
Updated 06:50 p.m. Eastern: British Warned Of Embassy Siege
Earlier today, Britain's Foreign Office announced plans to withdraw the families of embassy staff. Now we know why. Members of Iran's Parliament have called for a review of the country's relations with the United Kingdom and members of four Iranian student unions plan to hold a protest in front of the British embasssy. Iran's Fars news agency said the protest would target the "perverted government of Britain for its intervention in Iran's internal affairs, its role in the unrest in Tehran and its support of the riots."
Updated 06:10 p.m. Eastern: Tehran Turns Into Honk City
During normal times, this would just be another episode of agitated drivers riding their horns. But these are anything but normal times in Iran and honking has turned into the latest mode of protest.
Updated 06:00 p.m. Eastern: Arrested Protesters To Be Tried By Special Court
The Los Angeles Times, which still has boots on the ground in Iran, reports that the nation's "judiciary will set up a special court to try protesters arrested in the surge of civil unrest since the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a judiciary official said on state television, as the government continues its crackdown aimed at crushing its greatest domestic challenge in 30 years."
Updated 05:35 p.m. Eastern: Latest Iran Rumor: National Strike Set For Tuesday
For the last few hours, Twitter has been buzzing with a story to the effect that opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has called for a national strike on Tuesday. These reports, although increasing in frequency, are still unconfirmed.
Updated 05:05 p.m. Eastern: Iran's New Great Satan? State Television
Domestic unrest over the contested Iranian presidential elections has found a new target: State television.
According to Time Magazine, frustration has been building with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) for the last couple of weeks. But its decision to ignore the killing of "Neda," an Iranian woman protester shot to death over the weekend in Tehran, pushed the wrong button with a lot of people.
"Cartoons decrying state media are now sweeping the Facebook sites that function as an information transit point for protesters and their sympathizers. "Lying media, our shame, national TV" reads one cartoon, while a photograph of a Tehran window display shows a TV set bearing this banner: "There is nothing more vile than wounding the pride of a people."
Updated 04:52 p.m. Eastern: Laranji Urges Gov't. Critics To Drop Street Protests In Favor Of Legal Channels
Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has urged "politicians and candidates" to separate themselves from street demonstrations which he says have fostered civil disorder.
"We must separate those who have burnt people's shops in the streets and harmed the police and Basij (volunteer militias) forces, who are the guardians of the country, from the critics of the election results," he said.
"Some, who may not have even voted, are taking advantage of the current mood by creating unrest and disrupting public security. They must be stopped," adding that "critics of the election results'" should separate themselves from the street protesters.
Updated 04:45 p.m. Eastern: First Person Report: Frustration Grows In Tehran
Iranian demonstrators have expressed their frustration at the government by "destroying ATM machines, bus stops and phone booths," according to a CBS News interview with a 45 year-old resident of Tehran who wished to go by the name Mohammad to protect his identity.
In the days since the election results were announced, demonstrators have flooded the streets of Tehran protesting the election's outcome, prompting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to announce on Friday that further protests will be met with dire consequences.
According to Mohammad, "Areas potentially exposed to demonstrations have closed down earlier than usual, resulting in traffic dying down and stores closing early, at 7 p.m. rather than 10 p.m.," in order to protest the current state of affairs and out of fear of police retaliation.
But Mohammad tells CBS News that many of the streets of Tehran have quieted over the past few days, as "residents remain cautious" and more on edge.
Even those who are not protesting have become targets of the undercover police, known as the Basij, who have been chasing protestors into homes and businesses in order to punish those who try and help demonstrators.
"The undercover police are bearded individuals dressed as civilians in plain clothes and wearing vests. They are helping riot police without taking responsibility for the beatings," he says.
The undercover police are also attempting to create confusion by destroying storefronts and damaging property and blaming the violence on demonstrators.
Mohammad reports of instances where the Basij have thrown rocks at the windows of homes that house demonstrators as well as threatening violence against anyone who protects a protestor trying to escape punishment.
Although the streets may be less crowded and shops closed down, Mohammad reports that "the protestors have not backed down and the sounds of unrest have increased over the past week."
He says there has been an increase in chants of "Allah-u-Akbar" meaning "God is great," "Down with the Dictator" and
"Down with Khomeini" that can be heard in the streets after dark along with peoples' violent screaming. These slogans gain momentum each time members of the Revolutionary Guard make a statement attacking the protesters.
Mohammad says that despite the Supreme Leader's warnings, protestors "continue to gather in small groups throughout the night in order to make their voices heard."
But opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi urged on the peaceful protests saying Monday "The country belongs to you" and "Protesting lies and fraud is your right."
Updated 04:25 p.m. Eastern: McCain Offers Neda Tribute In Senate Address
Updated 04:20 p.m. Eastern: Neda Ceremony Broken Up By Basiji
Neda is the woman who has become an icon for the Iranian opposition since she was shot to death during a Saturday protest in Tehran.
Cohen said that during the service, some uniformed police had joined in the prayer, perhaps another sign of division within the security forces. With events moving at such a fast clip, the rumor mill is churning out no shortage of material. Indeed, Cohen said that one unconfirmed rumor has a Revolutionary Guard unit refusing to take part in a crackdown that its commander was subsequently arrested .
Updated 04:07 p.m. Eastern: Photos Of Tehran Protest
Citizen journalist site Demotix has more pictures of Monday protests in the streets of Tehran.
Updated 03:52 p.m. Eastern: New Video Of Wounded Protesters
Here's new video of young Iranian protesters shot after clashes with security forces. We're not able to confirm the date.
Updated 03:42 p.m. Eastern: Is There A Rift Within The Ranks Of The Elites?
As the standoff between the protesters and the government continues, there are increasing signs of divisions within the ruling elites about how to handle the crisis, according to Iran expert Farideh Farhi. Bernard Gwertzman has a good Q&A with Farhi at the Council of Foreign Relations Web site.
Updated 03:33 p.m. Eastern: Gauging Potential Spillover On The Israel-Palestinian Conflict
"Since the Palestinians are themselves divided on almost everything, the two different Palestinian political camps have different reactions to the developments in Iran,"writes Khatib, adding that the Iranian regime's treatment of protestors as well as the leadership's uncertainty about how to deal with the crisis will have an effect on the Arab street.
In particular, he said, the turmoil in Iran will "weaken the argument of Islamists in the region who have been holding Iran up as a model for future anti-Zionist and anti-imperialist Islamist Arab states. As far as this issue is concerned, the damage is irreversible regardless of the outcome of the ongoing protests in Iran. "
Updated 3:17 p.m. Eastern: Gov't. Blames "Vandals" For Civilian Deaths
Tehran's prosecutor general's office says that armed saboteurs were responsible for the shooting deaths of civilians protesting the outcome of the presidential elections in Iran.
"A number of Tehrani citizens were shot dead by unknown vandals Saturday night," it said in a statement quoted by the government-backed PressTV. "Iran's security and intelligence officials are currently probing into the identity of the individual whose photo was published and broadcast by news agencies."
Updated 3:12 p.m. Eastern: Police, Basiji Militia Disperse Tehran Demonstration
Updated 3:00 p.m. Eastern: Conflicting Reports Surround Neda's Identity
Some early reports said she was a 16-year-old girl attending Saturday's demonstration with her father. But in an interview with BBC's Persian service, a man claiming to be Neda's fiancée said she was a 27-year-old student who died in her music teacher's arms.
Updated 2:48 p.m. Eastern: Grand Council To Announce Final Decision Wednesday
Iran's Guardian Council, the highest electoral authority, will announce its final decision regarding the disputed presidential election Wednesday, June 24, Iranian news agency Mehr reports.
The council has received and reviewed all of the complaints regarding balloting and will release its final position, spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhoda'I said Monday.
Earlier, the council acknowledged voting irregularities in 50 electoral districts, but said they would not have affected the election outcome.
Independent organizations dispute that assertion. The U.K.'s Chatham House released preliminary findings over the weekend that demonstrate what they view as the near impossibility that the victorious President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could have garnered as much support in several non-conservative districts.
Updated 2:34 p.m. Eastern: Moderate Karoubi Calls For Election Anulment
Mehdi Karoubi, a defeated moderate candidate, renewed his call to anul Iran's presidential election, according to Reuters.
"Instead of wasting time on recounting some ballot boxes … cancel the vote," Karoubi said in letter to the Grand Council, according to his Web site.
Updated 1:19 p.m. Eastern: Clerics Consider Eliminating Supreme Leader?
Iran installed a supreme leader following the 1979 Islamic revolution and only two men have held that post – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the current leader. The stability of that system has come under question as protests of the disputed June 12 presidential election have turned violent.
Clerics in Qom, an important Iranian religious center, and members of the Assembly of Experts are considering changes to the current government model in order to restore political stability, sources in Qom told Al Arabiya.
A central figure in such a debate is Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the chairman of the Assembly of Experts, which is responsible for electing the supreme leader. Rafsanjani is widely believed to be supportive of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, though he has made no public declarations on the matter. Several of his children have very publicly backed Mousavi and were arrested and briefly detained by Iranian authorities over the weekend.
Updated 1:05 p.m. Eastern: New Video From Tehran
This video posted on YouTube reportedly shows events from today's demonstrations:
Updated 12:09 p.m. Eastern: Report From Scene Of Latest Demonstration
CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer, one of the few remaining Western journalists in Tehran, filed this report from the site of Monday's demonstration:
I was in Haft-e-Tir Square, one of the huge central traffic circles in downtown Tehran. In late afternoon - about 4:00 p.m. local time - people began to gather. I think there were more than a thousand clogging the sidewalks around the square facing a massive police and paramilitary presence. Police helicopters circled overhead.
The people were there, they said, to mourn those killed in the violent protests over the past 10 days.
Basij militia - uniformed and in plain clothes - lined the roads leading to the square, armed with truncheons. Hundreds more buzzed through traffic threatening anyone who stopped too long. About 5:00 p.m., several truckloads of fully equipped riot police arrived to help dispel any knots of people. At the north end of the square the police shot several tear gas grenades to break up the crowd.
The young people said if they were not allowed to march they would keep walking, circling the square as the police couldn't attack them that way. Even so, they were being constantly harried and shoved along by Basij.
Updated 11:42 a.m. Eastern: New Video Surfaces On Blogosphere
There's some video, reportedly of today's demonstrations, posted by an Iranian blogger on his site, Revolutionary Road.
According to the site, there's another demonstration planned for today in honor of Neda, the girl whose death Sunday was captured on a now infamous video.
Updated 11:09 a.m. Eastern: Mousavi Urged To Form Opposition Political Front
Reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is being urged to form a "political bloc" that could offer a long-term opposition to the current Iranian regime, reports the Financial Times.
The Kargozaran, a political party affiliated with Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, is calling on Mousavi to set up an "official political front which can embrace the defenders of the real Islamic republic," spokesman Hossein Marashi told the paper.
The association with Rafsanjani is important, as the former president also holds a number of key posts within Iran's regime and could be a powerful ally to Mousavi. Several of his children were arrested over the weekend for openly protesting in support of Mousavi, though Rafsanjani has made no public statements.
Marashi told the Times that the political front idea was his own, but that Rafsanjani could help from his "legal and political positions."
Updated 10:37 a.m. Eastern: U.K. Evacuating Families Of Foreign Office Staff
The British Foreign Office announced it's evacuating the families of staff based in Iran as violence continues.
Updated 10:05 a.m. Eastern: Latest On Tehran Clash
This from the Associated Press:
Eyewitnesses say riot police are attacking hundreds of protesters with tear gas, and firing live bullets in the air to disperse a rally in central Tehran.Helicopters hovered overhead as about 200 protesters gathered at Haft-e-Tir Square Monday. Hundreds of anti-riot police quickly put an end to the demonstration.
Witnesses said police at the scene tried to prevent any gathering, even small groups. At the subway station at Haft-e-Tir, police did not allow anyone to stand still, asking them to keep walking and separating people who were walking together.
Updated 9:33 a.m. Eastern: Reports Of New Tehran Clashes
Al Jazeera is reporting that Basij militias are using tear gas to disperse protesters in Tehran.
The Associated Press also says police are firing guns into the air.
Updated 9:26 a.m. Eastern: Will Iran Address "Neda's" Death?
With the unfortunate Neda becoming a symbol for the protest movement, the Iranian government may be forced at some point to address this senseless death. If the Guardians Council can re-examine the vote, they can also look into how an innocent protester was fatally shot in the chest. Without taking that step, and escalating the rhetoric and violence, with videos and photos to document any carnage, the Iranian rulers will further inflame the dissenters.
Meanwhile, CNN is reporting that Haft e Tir Square has demonstrator's memorial for Neda.
Updated 9:19 a.m. Eastern: Guardian Council Admits Voting Irregularities
Iran's Guardian Council, the country's highest electoral authority, admitted Monday that votes in 50 electoral districts were impossibly high in the June 12 presidential election – meaning that there were more votes than registered voters.
The total number of affected votes could be near 3 million, but the council insists the outcome of the election would not have been affected.
Read the latest story on CBSNews.com.
Updated 8:41 a.m. Eastern: Italy Opens Embassy To Protesters
According to a report on al-Jazeera television, the Italian Embassy in Tehran is to open its doors to any protesters injured in clashes with authorities.
Updated 8:25 a.m. Eastern: Iran's Hi-Tech Cyber-Spying
An article on The Wall Street Journal's Web site today details the lengths to which the Iranian regime has gone to spy on users of communications technology.
Experts inside and outside the Islamic Republic tell the Journal that the hard-line government and it's backers in the clerical establishment have employed advanced European technology which enables them to not only block Web sites, but to monitor and tamper with content on a massive scale.
According to the paper, the regime has used the technology to compile vast amounts of information on individuals and has even altered the content of some messages for the purposes of disinformation.
Updated 8:13 a.m. Eastern: Newsweek Reporter Detained
Newsweek spokeswoman Katherine Barna told the Associated Press that the magazine's correspondent in Iran, Maziar Bahari, was detained on Sunday. The magazine said it had no contact with Bahari since his detention, and does not believe he has been charged with any crime.
Updated 8:01 a.m. Eastern: Opposition Tones Down Protest, Turns On High-Beams
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has called on his supporters to turn on their headlights this afternoon in a show of defiance and mourning for the 17 people who have died in clashes with security forces.
Compared to the massive, dramatic street demonstrations — the last of which took place on Saturday and resulted in the reported deaths of at least 10 people — headlights are a bit of a muted protest. Iran's regime is cracking down hard.
Updated 7:31 a.m. Eastern: Overnight Icon "Neda" Sweeps Cyberspace
It's all coming from the Twittesphere, and none of it can be confirmed, but Web sites say her name was "Neda," which in the Farsi language means, "the voice," or "the call," and the last moment of her life is now resonating around the globe: an instant Internet icon of the confrontation in Iran.
CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports that cell-phone videos posted to YouTube and other Web sites show what was apparently the young woman's death on a Tehran street. It came with a description by someone who claimed to have been at the scene: a doctor, who said she'd been shot by a sniper on a rooftop.
The grim scene ricocheted through cyberspace, accumulating detail: she was sixteen, it's said, a philosophy student; her full name was Neda Soltani — and her body was quickly buried.
In Iran, her death is being described by some as martyrdom — something worthy of mourning, which sometimes fuels huge demonstrations. The question today is whether her image can help coax nervous opposition supporters back onto the streets after a dire warning from the government.
The powerful Revolutionary Guard has warned protesters that if they take to the streets again, they should be prepared for a "revolutionary confrontation".