Tehran, Iran
By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
The Iranian government has outlawed pet dogs and has begun to arrest owners who bring their animals in public.
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
He might not be the first person that comes to mind when you think of the blogosphere – but Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has his own blog. And surprisingly, it’s a somewhat open forum.
While the president writes fairly infrequently, his posts are less confrontational than his usual speeches and the comments are both scathing and supportive.
NBC News' Ali Arouzi reports from Tehran.
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
The National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear program came as a surprise and shock to most people here, for the most part Iranians felt that a U.S. military strike was a certainty, until Monday's findings.
The latest NIE report sharply contradicts it's 2005 assessment that Iran was working inexorably towards developing a nuceaur weapon -- prompting a case of "we told you so" on Iranian state TV, which branded Bush a liar and war monger.
Dr.Mohammed Marandi, professor at the University of Tehran, discusses the turn about and what it means for U.S-Iranian relations.
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
In a region where other Muslim governments ignore the AIDS epidemic, quarantine HIV-infected people or preach abstinence as the only solution, Iran's approach is fairly progressive. Iran's AIDS program melds up-to-date programs and research with deep-rooted religious values.
The country still doles out floggings to Iranians caught with alcohol, but it also gives clean syringes and methadone treatment to heroin addicts. Health workers pass out condoms to prostitutes. Government clinics in every region offer free HIV testing, counseling and treatment.
In 2005 the postal service unveiled a stamp emblazoned with a red ribbon for AIDS awareness. In 2006 there was an AIDS awareness concert in Tehran. This year, school children in Mashad created a 150 foot long painting to promote AIDS prevention and awareness. And in 2008, the government is due to earmark an estimated $30 million to AIDS programs.
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| Reuters |
| A man stands next to a piece of artwork at a conceptual art exhibition about HIV/AIDS in Tehran on World AIDS Day, Dec. 2. |
"Iran now has one of the best prison programs for HIV in not just the region, but in the world," said Dr. Hamid Setayesh, the coordinator for the U.N. AIDS office in Tehran. "They're passing out condoms and syringes in prisons. This is unbelievable. In the whole world, there aren't more than six or seven countries doing that."
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
The last time a Russian leader came to Iran was in 1943 when the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill attended a wartime summit in Tehran.
Six decades after Stalin’s visit, it was the turn of President Vladimir Putin, who came to Tehran to make it clear to Washington that Moscow would not accept military action against Iran, a sentiment shared by other Caspian Sea states at the summit.
"We should not even think of using force in this region," Putin said at the summit in comments clearly aimed at the United States and Europe.
And as far as official Iran is concerned – Putin’s visit was just as significant as the Tehran summit during World War II.
"The mere fact of Putin's presence on Iranian soil is evidence that the West's policy of isolation is a failure and can be interpreted as a victory of Iranian diplomacy," the newspaper Iran News wrote prior to the summit.
But even though Tehran may seem to have gained an upper hand with what seems to be Russian support for it is nuclear program and a buffer against a military strike, at the same time, many Iranians don’t trust Russia as a country that will defend their national interests. While official Iran is touting Putin’s visit as a victory that is beneficial for Iran, unofficially the visit has been treated with a great deal of suspicion.
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NBC News Today Show broadcast from Tehran, Iran on Thursday. Matt Lauer reported from the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran on the legacy of the hostage crisis and its continued impact on Iranian-American relations 28 years later.
While Richard Engel reported on both the role of women in Iran and gave a glimpse of Iranian society that is rarely seen -- from horse back riders at a Tehran country club to Iran's answer to Brad Pitt.
And just like the infamous 'iron curtain' of the Cold War, political scientists today are talking about an equally divisive "Green Curtain," green being the color of Islam, that has fallen over the Middle East. Richard Engel analyzes the Sunni- Shiite divide from a Tehran perch. Click here to read his story: "A peak behind the 'Green Curtain' in Iran."
Click here to see the complete coverage of the Today Show in Iran.
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By Richard Engel, Middle East bureau chief
It was a sober assessment.
The surge will be over by next summer, but even then U.S. troops will only return to pre-surge levels.
There has been progress toward reconciliation, but it’s hard to put your finger on where it has been.
But today’s testimony was not merely a report card on the surge. It also outlined a new strategy for stability in Iraq, the latest of many.
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
You can tell that Iran is feeling a little beleaguered these days when there are reports that Tehran may be under attack from rodents!
That is what the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported this week, that police had, ahem, "arrested" 14 squirrels on charges of espionage.
The rodents were found near the Iranian border, allegedly equipped with eavesdropping devices, according to IRNA.
When asked to confirm the story, Esmaeel Ahmadi Moghadam, the national police chief, said, "I have heard about it, but I do not have precise information." He declined to give any more details.
IRNA said that the squirrels were discovered by intelligence services – but were captured by police officers several weeks ago.
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
"Everyone here knew it was coming, but on Wednesday evening when the government suddenly announced it was enforcing gas rationing at midnight, the move sparked protests across Tehran.
Long lines turned violent at nineteen gas stations in the capital, as customers tried to get as much as they could before the new restriction came into effect, only 26 gallons per car per month.
We were at one gas station when we saw an angry mob set fire to the gas station while chanting derogatory slogans about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Then the fury of the mob turned its attention to other targets, looting government owned banks and supermarkets.
VIDEO: Rioting over gas rationing
The sheer level of anger and resentment over this issue has seriously undermined the credibility of Ahmadinejad, who was elected two years ago on a platform of delivering Iran’s massive oil wealth to the workingman’s doorstep.
Instead, the opposite has happened. Gas hasn’t delivered any wealth to the average Iranian and instead the price of gas has become more expensive. Parliament voted last month to increase the price of gasoline by 25 percent to 64 cents a gallon.
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
"Things are starting to feel like the old days again," said a cautiously dressed woman in her early 30’s doing some grocery shopping on Valiasr Street, Tehran’s main thoroughfare. "I am very careful about what I wear these days. The police are arresting woman all over the city for what they think is immoral clothing."
"I don’t like to wear the heavy clothing I have on now, especially as it’s almost summer. I hope this doesn’t last," she added.
Under the previous leadership of reformist President Mohammad Khatami, women started to enjoy some freedom about how they could dress. "Moral codes" loosened - allowing woman to show more hair under their headscarves and some flexibility in the style of the "montos" or gowns they wore.
Over time women began sporting outlandish hairstyles under their headscarves, putting on heavy make-up and wearing shorter and tighter montos.
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An Iranian woman shows off a bit of her own personal style in Tehran. NBC News/ Ali Arouzi. |
But when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005, there were warnings that strict Islamic codes would be reinforced. Nothing really came of the warnings and commentators predicted that Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric was just hot air. Many believed it was too late to roll back social reforms – especially in Tehran.
But the mood on the streets has changed dramatically in recent days. Thousands of Iranian women have been cautioned about their dress and many more have been arrested in the capital in the fiercest crackdown on what's known as "bad hijab" since the mid-1990’s.
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