Tehran, Iran
As thousands of Iranians openly challenge their government and the legitimacy of their president, NBC News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel breaks down the power structure within the Islamic republic.
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
TEHRAN -- As the post-election crisis in Iran continues, authorities have barred all journalists working for foreign media from reporting on activities in the streets. And foreign reporters who went to Iran to cover last week's elections are beginning to leave, as officials say their visas will not be extended.
Ali Arouzi, an NBC News Producer based in Tehran, discusses how difficult it is to report the story in the middle of a media blackout.
How are you covering the story?
The journalists who had visas to cover the elections have now been told that they have to leave the country. And the journalists who have permanent press cards here, such as myself, have been told that we are absolutely not allowed to film in the streets, that it is prohibited.
The Ministry of Islamic Guidance, which looks after the foreign press here, issued these new rules, saying that these demands have come from above.
But we were out today, walking in the streets, without a camera. We were out and we were just observing what was going on.
How are Iranian officials restricting reporting?
They have essentially cut off all communication. All mobile phones have been cut off. Text messaging is gone. Internet has become very sporadic – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. None of these things work.
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By Richard Engel, NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent
TEHRAN – As the sun began to set, the scene outside the polling station at the Husseiniya Ershad mosque in downtown Tehran was like a big social gathering.
A young bride and groom walked into the polling station to vote together on their big day. And a lot of the women voters in this particular neighborhood turned exercising their political rights into something of an outing.
Some women wore full-length black chadors, the cloak traditionally worn by Iranian women in public. But the majority of the ones at this polling station have been sported brightly colored head scarfs, pulled back to the top of their foreheads or even the middle of their heads, with a lot of hair spray and even heavy make-up. Many have said "Hello" to each other and exchanged phone numbers.
The sense of the election as a social event extended to the opposite sex as well.
Male and female students in this country usually don’t have much of an opportunity to meet and socialize. But at the street rallies during the last several nights in Tehran, many men and women were jumping up and down and cheering – together. That kind of interaction is very rare here because unmarried men and women are restricted from mingling with each other in this country.
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By Richard Engel, NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent
TEHRAN – I’m outside one of the main polling booths here, a large mosque in downtown Tehran. The polls are supposed to officially close soon. But from where I’m sitting, it’s clear that will not be enough time. I am looking at hundreds of people on the steps of this mosque trying to get into to vote.
According to Iranian officials the turnout has been unprecedented. There are estimates that as many as 70 percent of eligible voters have turned out.
That could be an indication that many of the young people who have been so inspired by this campaign and came out in the tens of thousands to demonstrate, demand change and protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually did come out today to vote.
That was always the big question. Whenever you have so many students who are leading a charge, it’s unclear if they will actually turn out on voting day. That seems to have taken place today. Many of the people we saw were young people.
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
TEHRAN, Iran – When you see an American flag in Iran, it's usually on fire.
But that wasn’t the case during the Takhti Cup, a two-day freestyle wrestling tournament hosted by Iran. The United States competed against nine other nations – including Iran – and the Stars and Stripes waved proudly throughout the event.
"We love being in Iran. It’s the greatest wrestling country in the world. It's a wonderful place to come and compete," said Zeke Jones, head coach of the U.S. team. "The Iranian wrestlers are serious competition for us and the fans treat us like rock stars, so this is a great place."
Jones, who originally visited Iran in 1998 and was one of the first Americans to compete in the country after a nearly 20-year freeze, said he hopes athletic events like this one will lead to warmer relations between the two countries.
"As for the politics, I think that any time wrestling can be a tool to bring countries together, it's a wonderful thing," he said.
Three decades ago, the United States cut off diplomatic ties with Iran after the protracted embassy hostage crisis. But since then, the two countries have occasionally put aside their differences for the sake of athletic competition. For example, this is the seventh time a U.S. team has competed in the Takhti Cup since 1998. Also an Iranian basketball team played in the United States last year.
But these events don't always go according to plan. In February, at the eleventh hour, Iran decided not to issue visas for a U.S. women's badminton team who had been invited to compete in the country – a move the Obama administration at the time called "unfortunate."
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
BUSHEHR, Iran – As we were bused from the airport in the southwestern coastal city of Bushehr toward Iran’s nuclear power plant, the most noticeable feature was the large number of anti-aircraft guns dotted across the landscape to protect the facility from attack.
It was a rare occasion – after years of delays, Iranian and Russian engineers carried out a series of critical tests at Iran’s first nuclear power plant Wednesday. The Iranian authorities offered a group of journalists a guided tour of the facility to showcase the event.
The facility – which Iran says will be used to generate electricity – was built by the Russians at a cost of about a billion dollars.
The tests on Wednesday were essentially a dry run, without enriched uranium in the rods, just lead, before full-scale operations are due to begin in the coming months.
"We are very proud. Our power plant is on its way to being ready, despite all the pressure from the West not wanting us to advance," said Mohsen Shirzai, an engineer at the plant who was giving us a guided tour.
The tour itself was sanitized and carefully stage managed, but that was not the point.
The Iranians wanted to send a clear message to the international community: They have made a massive leap forward in their plans to develop nuclear technology, their nuclear plant is in its final stages and in a matter of months Iran will be a nuclear energy-powered country, despite efforts by American, Israel and Europe to curb the program.
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
TEHRAN, Iran – The celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution were conducted in traditional fashion – full of chants like "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."
But 30 years on, the reaction among Iranians to the revolution that toppled the U.S.-backed shah and brought hard-line clerics to power is far from monolithic.
Today, many of the people who helped usher in the Islamic revolution are disappointed with its legacy results; meanwhile, many of Iran’s young people don’t define their lives by a revolution that came about before they were born.
Even President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Iran would welcome talks with the United States, if they were based on mutual respect.
Could Iran be in for a new era of change?
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
TEHRAN, Iran – During the past 30 years, the United States has pondered regime change, military action, and containment as policies toward Iran. None have proved effective.
Now President-elect Barack Obama is expected to try what he calls a "new approach" towards Iran – engagement.
Don’t expect Obama to sip tea with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who has the final say on all political and state matters, and come away with pledges from Tehran to stop aiding terrorists, abandon its nuclear weapons program or recognize Israel anytime soon.
But what we might see – if the political stars align – is the beginning of considerably lower-level diplomatic engagement, perhaps the establishment of a U.S. diplomatic post in Tehran and some people-to-people, cultural, and sporting exchanges.
"Now that Bush has gone, this is a great chance for us to make friends with America," said Maryam, a Tehran University student. "I think this is the first real chance in 30 years for the two sides to put aside their differences. It’s in everyone’s best interests."
But Farshad, a civil engineer, disagreed. "You know the Americans do not want peace with us. All this talk from Obama about engagement with Iran is an excuse. He wants to look like he has tried to make a deal with us, but really his end goal is to attack us."
If those two comments offer any indication, dealing with Iran is going to be very tricky.
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
TEHRAN, Iran – "When I saw the election results this morning on TV I was very jealous of America," said an Iranian student in Tehran, Darius Dashdi.
"I was jealous of their democratic system and the opportunity that is afforded to each and every citizen regardless of color or religion. I wish we had the same type of opportunities here," he said.
Despite Dashdi’s optimistic view of the United States’ election of Barack Obama, the Democratic winner has largely been viewed here as the lesser of two evils.
Early on Wednesday, prominent Iranian MP Hamid Reza Haji Babai said the Democrat’s victory presented an "opportunity and a test," with Iran now "waiting for that change" that Obama based his campaign on.
"In the past eight years, (President George W.) Bush had created a bad atmosphere against the United States in the world with his militarism and this financial crisis," said Haji Babai.
"The election of McCain would have worsened this atmosphere," he said.
Back on the streets of Tehran, housewife Roya Amini said "Obama seems like he is different, but you never know with America what they might do."
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
TEHRAN, Iran – In a country that can be very isolated, people from all walks of life in Iran seem to know the ins and outs of the upcoming U.S. elections. Most are well informed about the candidates and their running mates and almost everyone has an opinion or a theory – some surprising, some far-fetched.
Some even want to claim Sen. Barack Obama as one of their own – with Persian lineage to boot.
"Obama has an international background, I understand his background is not totally American, he even has family ties with Iran, I hear Bushehr," said a university professor who asked only to be identified as Max. He was referring to the southwest port town of Bushehr, which coincidentally is the site of Iran’s controversial nuclear facility.
Others seem to believe that the hard-line policies of Sen. John McCain may be exactly what are needed to deal with the current Iranian regime. "I think McCain should become president, America needs a strong experienced man to deal with this region," said a student who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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