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Iran Election Sparks Protests in Iran and Worldwide; Washington Skeptical of Election's Veracity; Former Gitmo Detainee: 'I'm not a Terrorist'; BET Founder Reflects on Achievement

Aired June 14, 2009 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta.

The presidential election in Iran has created a lot of turbulence in that country and around the world. We are going to spend the next hour examining every aspect of this complicated story.

CNN's global resources and correspondents are deployed from Tehran to Washington and to major cities around the world. And we have a panel of experts to guide us throughout the hour. "Iran Election Fallout:" our breaking news story all this hour on CNN.

What we know right now is that the man many people thought would become the new President hasn't been seen in public. And President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he cannot guarantee his safety.

Supporters of challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi returned to the streets today to make clear they do not accept the election outcome. Many accuse the government of rigging the election especially after Mousavi appeared to be leading the vote count on Friday.

A letter on Mousavi's Web site demands the election results be annulled. And right now that doesn't seem likely.

The apparent winner, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, held a massive victory rally in Tehran today and you can see tens of thousands of people turned out. The president also held a news conference today and offered a glimpse of what the next four years might look like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): Show me who dares to threaten Iran in the world and if God willing, this year, if we go to the United Nations headquarters this year I will address those cowards and I will tell them which one of you dares threaten Iran please raise your hand so that the people could cut your hand off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the U.S. is conferring with its allies about the Iranian election. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with her Canadian counterpart yesterday at Niagara Falls. The Canadian foreign minister said Canada is deeply concerned by reports of voting irregularities in the Iranian election.

For an overview, let's go to CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour. She has been in Tehran for the past week covering the election and now the past two days the ensuing protests.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sunday the streets of Tehran belonged to the supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Hundreds of thousands of them filled one of the capital city's main squares and surged into the surrounding streets for a rally that was organized to celebrate Friday's elections and the results that gave him a controversial landslide victory.

Overhead helicopter footage told the story and the President told the flag-waving crowd they should be proud of their historic voter turnout and of the results.

AHMADINEJAD: Today we should appreciate; we should appreciate the great triumph of the people of Iran against the united front of all the world's arrogance.

AMANPOUR: Just hours earlier at a press conference he defiantly addressed the street protests and widespread complaints of fraud and cheating.

AHMADINEJAD: Our people's response is quite clear. And the 40 million people who participated in the elections are present right now. Close to 25 million people who cast their votes in my favor are also present right now.

AMANPOUR: Referring to the country's nuclear program, a combative President said no foreign power would quote, "even dare think of bombing Iran's nuclear site." And he warned other government that he is watching their reactions to his election.

Despite the huge crowd out for him this day, angry supporters of the defeated Mir Hossein Mousavi were out again, too. In much smaller numbers, nonetheless full of grievance. At Tehran University, students waved fists and two fingers through the locked iron gates and they yelled "cheats."

Despite the police presence on the street and in some areas the running battles that they are having with the protestors, people are still allowed to be on the street. They continue to gather. There is no indication that there'll be any curfew or any more stringent punishment.

Hundreds of regular and riot police are out but for the most part they maintain weary vigilant charging protesters when they venture too close. But it's the non-uniformed revolutionary vigilantes on foot and in waves of motor bike advances who are causing most of the injuries. This young man shows us his baton bruises. Another weeps in fear after escaping a beating through an open door. The streets remain jammed with traffic honking their protests others wave and join in from the side.

This woman had a message for President Obama. "I just want him to know that this was not a vote for Ahmadinejad," she says. Despite saying he was now president of all Iranians whether or not they voted for him, when asked, Ahmadinejad failed to guarantee Mousavi's safety.

Later police issued a statement saying they had not arrested him. And a letter on Mousavi's Web site says that he's asking the authorities to nullify the election result while also calling on his supporters to refrain from any violence.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We will have more of Christian Amanpour's question and answer session with the Iranian president specifically, a contentious showdown between the two regarding the safety of the defeated opponent.

You really want to see this one. And that is at the bottom of the hour right here on CNN.

CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano reports on Iran's controversial election and the vantage point from Washington -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Don, White House officials are being cautious in their public comments about Iran. They obviously don't want to be seen as interfering with the process, but they're also leaving no doubt they are skeptical about the election results.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad celebrated what he called his re-election, Vice President Joe Biden made clear the Obama administration has doubts.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't have all the details. It sure looks like the way they are suppressing speech, the way they are suppressing crowds, the way in which people are being treated that there is some real doubt about that.

QUIJANO: Despite reports of voting irregularities, Vice President Biden did not signal the administration would back away from efforts to engage the Iranian government, but he insisted the U.S. position on Iran's nuclear program will not change.

BIDEN: Our interests are the same before the election as after the election and that is we want them to cease and desist from seeking a nuclear weapon and having one in its possession and secondly to stop supporting terrorism.

QUIJANO: Analysts say if Ahmadinejad remains in power, the U.S. will have no choice but to deal with him.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: It's going to be very difficult for the Obama administration to say, that no, we want to speak to different interlocutors in Tehran given the influence which Iran has on major issues are critical importance to U.S. foreign policy from nuclear proliferation to Iraq and to Afghanistan.

QUIJANO: But the dispute over Ahmadinejad's re-election also ratchets up the pressure on the Obama White House to get tougher with Iran.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to take a half step back from this administration's olive branch and apology approach to enemies and countries that have been hostile to the United States of America.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: Now, domestically there is also pressure on the Obama administration to get tougher with Iran. In a statement, Senator Joe Lieberman said the Iranian regime had made a mockery of democracy. And he called on President Obama and lawmakers to express solidarity with the Iranian people -- Don.

LEMON: All right, thank you very much for that, Elaine.

I want to read some of your responses. This one is just coming over. So it's not on the screen, one person you heard Elaine talking about Joe Lieberman. One person, I think it was Hillster 329 says -- sorry, it is not Hillster -- it is Diamond D9 says -- Obama must be smart; must work with whomever is victor. You can't vow to rational reactionaries like Lieberman, it won't help."

Move on to some of our other responses here.

AZNasser says, "I know CNN doesn't want to appear to be reporting rumor, but with the media control the regime has, you must mention them."

Mmcdon says, "I hope Iran can have an investigation into this election. The only way people will find peace and comfort, how sad this is."

Craighuff says, "The international community needs to step up get involved. It is not a time to sit back, especially the United States."

Kpaku says, "CNN is doing a good job breaking the news in Iran. Digital divide makes it impossible for Iranians to express their views."

Giovanni01 says, "How is it that people in the USA don't understand how difficult getting reliable information from Iran is." Logon to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com and as you see, your responses will get on the air here at CNN.

Well, you know what we have seen very vocal election protests all around the world really: Los Angeles, New York, Washington, London, and right here in Atlanta as well.

Our panel of experts will try to explain the reason for all the outrage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Here and all over the globe, Iranians are reacting to their country's disputed presidential election, they are showing up in droves to protest, wave Iranian flags and chant political slogans. CNN's Ram Ramgopal goes us -- give us I should say the details on the demonstrations from across the planet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAM RAMGOPAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From inside Iran more evidence to seething popular anger, some of this footage coming via social networking sites the contributors wanting to remain named anonymous for a fear of reprise.

A video posted on CNN's IReport.com Sunday showing protesters jamming the streets of Tehran. And late in the evening garbage was still on fire as police on motorcycles try to impose order. In response, cars honking in disapproval of the police's actions.

Protests too in cities around the world with expatriate Iranian populations, all of them seemingly anti-Ahmadinejad: in London, hundreds gathered on the streets many overseas Iranians sent in absentee ballots and the overwhelming sentiments among the demonstrators was that their votes have not been counted.

Similar scenes in Berlin, Germany and also across the Atlantic: in the Canadian City of Toronto nearly a thousand people showing up for a large protest. In several American cities, in Los Angeles which has one of the largest populations of Iranian/Americans -- young and old joining the protest outside the federal building.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the polls and all the predictions we're saying that Mousavi was going to win but -- an Ahmadinejad won was such a huge landslide it was just something that nobody even thought about that even Ahmadinejad supporters have been thinking about that. And then the way that they gave out the news was very fishy.

RAMGOPAL: In Washington the demonstrations were held outside the Iranian intersection of the Pakistani Embassy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We stand in solidarity with the people in Iran. These people are not much older than us, much younger than us in many, many cases and they're after -- is willing to fight for their own -- for the votes that they casts. So obviously our hearts goes out for them, our prayers go out for them. RAMGOPAL: A show of solidarity for their compatriots in the distant land; what's left clear, what's the long term impact these protest will have.

Ram Ramgopal, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We want to get some analysis here from a lot of people, people who are in the know and know a lot about this particular subject and this particular region. My guests for this hour: Trita Parsi is president of the National Iranian American Council. He wrote "Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States." He joins us from Washington.

TRITA PARSI, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL IRANIAN AMERICAN COUNCIL: Thank you.

LEMON: And also, someone who'll be joining us later. To protect the identity of this guest, we're going to refer to her only as "Nikou" (ph). She's a freelance journalist, and she's from Tehran. She's going to join us in a little bit.

And then there is Kelly Golnoush Niknejad. She's the editor for Tehranbureau.com and she is in Brookline, Massachusetts. Did I pronounce your name correctly?

KELLY GOLNOUSH NIKNEJAD, TEHRANBUREAU.COM: Close enough. Golnoush Niknejad.

LEMON: Close enough. Thank you both. Thank you both very much for joining us today. Let's start with you, Kelly. When you see what is happening in Iran and you look at the young people and you also see a lot of women protesting. And you know in this region, women are deemed not to have the same rights as men there. Do you look at this as a changing -- even though the election results may not be the way that many of these protesters are -- is this a pivotal moment or changing moment for Iran?

NIKNEJAD: Absolutely. It is unprecedented.

One thing that, you know, the Iranian people that I have been in touch with want us to know is that the media has got this wrong. They are not protesting because Ahmadinejad won. Even though he's deeply unpopular, what they are very unhappy about is the fact that the voting turned out to be a sham. That it was all rigged from the beginning.

Statistically the numbers are implausible if not impossible. The fact that 58 percent of the population turned out and people who have never voted cast a vote, this wasn't because they were so happy with the way things have been going for the past four years.

Another point to remember is that Mr. Ahmadinejad is unpopular even within the conservative ranks. Anyone who knows anything about Iranian politics knows how implausible this is. Another important point to remember is that the government itself violated its own rules. They are supposed to wait three days before they confirm results.

LEMON: And announce those results. Right, Kelly.

I want to bring in Trita Parsi. Trita, she brings up a very interesting point. I was looking at some of the writing; you do a lot of writing when it comes to Iran and reading some of your things.

You are saying and many others are saying not since 1979 have you seen anything like this in Iran and this one may be even more significant than then. Why?

PARSI: Well, first let me say I think Kelly raised an extremely important point. Had this been a close election but there was a sense that it was fair, I don't think you would see any protest in Iran right now. I think she raised a good point that this is not about that Ahmadinejad won. It's about the fact that they sense that -- they perceive this to be a fraud; that their election essentially was stolen.

I think this is rather an unprecedented event that can have significant impact on the future of Iran. Some people are describing it as a choice between if Ahmadinejad succeeds and he keeps the presidency, and you have a purge of a lot of other people from the reformist camp Iran is going to move toward some sort of a military dictatorship. If they fail...

LEMON: OK.

PARSI: Let me just finish this one. If they fail it doesn't mean Iran will become a democracy but the option of being able to change towards democracy from within will still remain in place.

LEMON: Trita, I don't mean to interrupt any of you guys and Kelly as well. But I want you to stand by because, you know, it's very difficult getting information now from Tehran and getting people to speak out.

So I want to bring in this next person if you guys will be patient here. I want to bring in Nikou who is a journalist and she is in Tehran. We are not releasing her full identity. I'm reading some of the information, Nikou that you sent to us. Thank you very much.

You said I would love to expose the truth on this militia back coup d'etat orchestrated by Ahmadinejad and IRGC and backed by the Supreme Leader.

Why do you say that?

"NIKOU," FREELANCE JOURNALIST IN TEHRAN (via telephone): Well, basically based on circumstantial evidence and hearsay, things that have been told from pretty good sources what happened was that the military or militia basically intervened and it was a last-minute thing. It was probably planned beforehand but to us it was a shock and they -- it was beyond stealing the election. It was -- what analysts are saying now is that it was a political coup. The reason they say that is because it was -- it had military force behind it and was unlawful and this was just to consolidate the triangle of power.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Nikou, if you will, I would like you to describe the situation there on the ground especially when it comes to journalists. We are hearing that some journalists are being arrested or taken into custody or maybe even injured in these protests. Describe what you are seeing when it comes to journalists and tell us if you are concerned as well.

NIKOU: Right.

Right. Well a news site official affiliated with the Mousavi campaign today released a statement saying that 100 political activists and journalists have been arrested (INAUDIBLE). Some of them were released but some are still being held.

I also heard that an ABC cameraman was kind of hurt in the fray. But generally no foreign journalists are being hurt. It is mainly the Iranian journalists, the domestic media who are constantly being pursued.

Ahmadinejad has accused the whole street protest in the aftermath of the election results announcement as being a plot concocted by journalists and foreign spies. That is one of the reasons that they are cracking down more than usual. There is always that type of crackdown but now because of the sensitive situation it's even more than always.

And that's why everyone is very paranoid about giving their real names and protecting their identities because it could mean jail. It could mean being charged with espionage and in some cases we've had before, execution.

LEMON: Nikou, we appreciate...

NIKOU: Hopefully that will all change once the real vote result comes out.

LEMON: Nikou we appreciate you joining us and we want you to be safe. Again, we are not releasing Nikou's information because we want her to be safe. We don't want anything to happen to her.

But again, this is -- it's interesting because it is tough to hear from journalists there as we have been telling you that many of the Internet sites have been shut down. And Nikou is joining us, a journalist in Tehran who is fearful in talking to us about other people and other journalists there who are fearful as well.

I want to get back to our panelists now. You can see them:, Kelly Golnoush Niknejad -- close enough, she says -- and then also Trita Parsi joining us. We're going to talk to them about Nikou's story and other things that are going on the ground.

And I have a question specifically for Trita, something that he wrote about that I think is very interesting.

Our special look at Iran's election fallout rolls including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad facing tough questions from our very own Christiane Amanpour.

Plus, my exclusive interview with former detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, living under a cloud of secrecy until now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The president of the United States promised to shut down Guantanamo Bay within one year of taking office. He has received little support even among Democrats. But in a surprise move on Wednesday, under the cover of darkness, the administration relocated four detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Hamilton, Bermuda; a move that outraged many in Bermuda and Britain, of which Bermuda is a territory.

Tonight for the first time, the former Guantanamo Bay detainees speak out. It is a rare and exclusive interview with men who have lived under a cloud of secrecy and isolation for years. I asked them their thoughts on the Bush and Obama administrations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHALIL ABDUL NASSER, FORMER GUANTANAMO DETAINEE (through translator): We were in a jail innocently for more than seven years during the President Bush administration. Now the new President Obama became elected, he tried really hard to bring justice. And he has been trying very hard to find other countries to resettle us and finally he freed us.

President Obama promised that he would shut down Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within one year and he signed the executive order. I would like the President Obama to honor that word and free my 13 brothers who were left behind and all the rest of the people who deserve to be free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The men are called Uighurs, Muslims from western China. They were captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan after U.S. bombings began in October, 2001. Their country has called them terrorists. They say they were caught up in circumstances beyond their control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NASSER: This is not true because I have never been in any kind of training camp. I have never been receiving any training and the U.S. courts confirmed this, that I had never been a terrorist or trained for a terrorist. So this is just accusation against me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: More of my exclusive interview tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

So, was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad avoiding the question? You be the judge. A rather contentious face-off between CNN's Christiane Amanpour and the Iranian president. You'll see it all right here on CNN. So with our panel of Iranian experts, they're going to weigh in as well. Moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: At a news conference today Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Friday's election was free and fair. But when CNN's Christiane Amanpour asked him about his opponent's safety, Ahmadinejad avoided the direct question. Here's what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Maybe you missed the translation. I was asking whether you...

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN: (INAUDIBLE)

AMANPOUR: No. Just the first question. Last night you said you were the president of all Iranians.

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): Yes. I did respond to your question. I said that people come out of a stadium of one person may be angry and he may pass the traffic light violating the traffic violations, and he will be fined by the police. He is also a member of the Iranian nation. Of course he has been fined for just violating the traffic rules. This has nothing to do with your question. I'm the president of all Iranians, and as I have been in the past four years. All people are respected. And all people are equal before the law.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. That was the exchange of Christiane Amanpour and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. You see on our screen there, those are my guests. I want to bring them back. You see Trita Parsi, the president of the National Iranian-American Council, and then also we're going to bring with us Kelly Niknejad. She's an editor for tehranbureau.com. Also with us as well is our journalist who is in Tehran. Her name is Nikou. We are keeping her identity private. Also, some of you say you that can't understand what she is saying. We are trying to technically disguise her voice because we are concerned for her safety. And she is concerned as well.

So, thank you all for joining us. And you'll be with us throughout the hour here on CNN. Kelly, I want to get to you and I want to ask you something. This one is coming from - because you know we have been reporting the social Web sites have been talking a lot about this issue and really keeping many people abreast. Here is from Ohworldgirl she said it would be great to know what electing Mousavi meant for international relations and peace initiatives with the U.S. and yawn and she says, yeah, Israel.

So, how do you answer that question?

KELLY NIKNEJAD, TEHRANBUREAU.COM: Oh, it was vital. It is very important to note that, you know, the protesters are saying (INAUDIBLE) god is great. This was the slogan during the revolution. What they are saying is that we are working within the system up until now. We believed in the system. We had elections where at least there was a veneer of democracy where they could come and, you know, signal to the supreme leader that this is the direction we want you to take us. And to have turned out in unprecedented numbers to say that things were not going well the past four years. This is the direction that we want to go to and to be completely disregarded in that respect is just, you know, it's just shocking to them.

And, you know, there were signs even before the election that this was going to take place. One of our political analysts who had grown up with intelligence agents and the IRGC and including the supreme leader, he saw the signs very clearly. He wrote a piece saying that the supreme leader was backing Ahmadinejad. This was not a good idea. The polls were showing that the public opinion was, you know, trending towards Mr. Mousavi and you know, he shouldn't go against the will of the people.

LEMON: And Kelly, I want to get the other guys in here as well. Your point is well taken. Your point is well taken. We get what you are saying here. I want to read something from Trita. Many people are thinking that this is about the counting and maybe there was something with the counting and it was fudge. But here's what you said, that you wrote. You said that "few doubt that the results presented by the Interior minister are rigged, in fact, there are increasing questions as to whether the votes were ever even counted." And you said that if this were really a landslide in favor of Ahmadinejad where are those 63 percent of the people right now?

PARSI: I mean, that is one of the questions that a lot of people were asking. If this was a landslide usually when you see a landslide you would see spontaneous demonstrations and people taking it to the streets and celebrating their victory. You didn't see that. Instead, you saw a demonstration or a rally in support of Ahmadinejad, which was very impressive, very large numbers. But it seemed to have taken them two days to organize it. And again, it casts more doubt. I don't think we can ever say for certain that we know but there are a lot of question marks here. At the end of the day, what really matters is people's perception -

LEMON: OK.

PARSI: And people's perception seems to be that there is something fishy going on.

LEMON: And Trita, we want to get and Kelly, we want to get Nikou in. Hopefully you can understand her better. But again, we are trying to disguise her voice and her identity as well. Nikou, you spoke about the journalists there and there concern. As you have been monitoring the situation there does it appear to be escalating to you or has it been tamped down a bit since the initial start of the protest? NIKOU: No. It's definitely been escalating. What happened is that - in the last two days, it has only been two days. In the early hours of the day and during daytime basically the city is calm but it's an uneasy calm. And then towards 5:00, this is what we have seen in the past few days. It starts to heat up and people start pouring out into the streets, and young and old, men and women and basically chanting slogans and demanding that their vote be recounted.

And then the anti-riot police which I have never in my life before seen in Tehran are out in full force. The normal police, the ordinary police don't do anything to the people because they are on their side. But the anti-riot police, the (INAUDIBLE), which are basically a militia-type organization controlled by the Sepah are also out there. And then today for the first time we have people coming out on the roof tops from their homes, people who didn't come out to the streets also chanting god is great slogans which as Kelly said goes back to the time of the revolution and has not been heard for the last 30 years. So it is really a momentous thing happening here a titanic shift that is happening.

LEMON: All right. Nikou is a freelance journalist. She is in Tehran. And we are disguising her voice and her identity because we want to make sure that she is safe. I want to thank her. They're going to join us. Stay with us throughout the hour. Kelly Niknejad and also Trita Parsi, all will join us through the hour, here to help us with our coverage and again, we are following special coverage. Iran's election fallout tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern when we will have a two-hour special as well, 10:00 to midnight Eastern.

First they created the first television network focusing on African-Americans. Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB JOHNSON, FOUNDER OF BET: Being first creates a validation. If you are an African-American, it creates a validation because most businesses, the majority of businesses don't go looking for that fifth or the sixth guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television is an African-American first.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Time now for our special series, "Up from a past, African-American Firsts." I spoke with Bob Johnson. He is the founder and former CEO of Black Entertainment Television Network. He is the first African-American to launch a major television network, something he says he knew he could do. We also talked about his support of Hillary Clinton during the 2008 election and whether his very public opinions about President Obama have changed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LEMON (on camera): What made you think, you know, at the start of all this, you know, the cable, the advent of cable, CNN, all this, what made Bob Johnson think, hey, I can do this. I could start BET?

JOHNSON: Well, it is probably a combination of I would call a little bit of pride and sort of - I don't know what the other word is, a little of pride, a little bit of arrogance.

LEMON: Arrogance?

JOHNSON: That's right. You sit back and if you believe in yourself and if you think you are pretty smart and you think you're competitive and you can do things and you get around people who have been known to be "the smartest people in the room" and the arrogance comes in, you say, these people ain't that smart.

LEMON: But it wasn't easy. Did you make a profit the first couple of years?

JOHNSON: No. We lost money for five years and once we turned a profit it went straight up. But no, I mean, it was not easy in the sense of getting cable operators to carry black programming at a time cable systems weren't in the big urban cities. It's not easy to advertise to buy cable when they're all used to buying network television and they didn't know what cable was. It was not easy to get program to appeal to the market population we are trying to serve.

LEMON: African-Americans had this affinity for BET because they were so proud of it. And once it was sold there was a criticism that it went to a place where they didn't think it should go. They were no longer proud of it. And you say to that?

JOHNSON: I disagree with that. I mean, BET is still is true to its core commitment to serve the viewing interests of African- American. (INAUDIBLE) is probably better. I think Deborah Lee who worked with me for 17 year and is now the CEO of BET has put her own programming brand and stamp on the network. I think the network is a terrific business model. It is still and will always be in my opinion the pre-eminent African-American media channel in the country.

LEMON: But I think what you said to me previously is that people have to understand that BET is a business and it's not - it doesn't speak or set values or whatever for a community.

JOHNSON: I've always approached BET as a business. And I approached it as a business focused on recreating shareholder value.

LEMON: Don't get me wrong - if I'm wrong, correct me, but I think your wealth building for African-Americans you think that should be a very high priority?

JOHNSON: That's my highest priority - is to demonstrate that African-Americans can attain and sustain wealth that is fundamentally what I believe. If I had a calling, it would be to preach wealth attainment and well containment and not to be embarrassed or anyway feel that you are not serving the broad black public interest by accumulating wealth.

LEMON: How do you feel about the last election and the election of an African-American president?

JOHNSON: I think it was a monumental achievement for Senator Obama, President Obama as an elected official, as a politician, to demonstrate that he had the following and support of the United States to take on the highest office in the country and probably the most powerful position in the world. That was a watershed moment.

LEMON: Is it bittersweet for you though? You have a friend who you love and you've known for a long time who is also running. And you have the first African-American president, were you torn in a way?

JOHNSON: No. I don't think there was any torn. I mean, it was - I've known the Clintons for over 20 years. I knew Barack Obama about a year and a half. And it was just a matter of you support people who you know. You want them to win. You do everything to help them win. But when it's over, we are all democrats.

LEMON: Did you really believe that you could achieve anything that you want - everything that you wanted? Did you ever think you would achieve this level of success?

JOHNSON: I always knew I could be successful. I knew I could be successful in one or two ways, either working for somebody because I was never afraid of work, never afraid of hard work, never afraid of making a commitment to work and the effort required to work. Or I could eventually find something that I would do myself and I put that same work ethic into it.

LEMON: What's the best thing about being you? What is the best thing about being Bob Johnson?

JOHNSON: You know, I think the best thing about being me is that I get to see a range of opportunities. You'd be surprised at the opportunities that come my way because people wanted to do business with me or be in a relationship with me in some way. And that is fascinating.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Our special series "Up from a Past, African-American firsts" continues next week. I'll introduce you to Cathy Hughes. We have been saying this every week. We want to get this Cathy Hughes interview on. We got a little delayed with it but we will get it on for you next week. She runs the largest African-American radio broadcasting company in the U.S..

A special extended look at the fallout over the election in Iran tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. First the "Forbes" most powerful celebrities list has Angelina Jolie replacing Oprah Winfrey at the top. They are numbers one and two.

That brings us to today sports and news quiz, who is the highest ranking athlete in the most powerful list? Is it Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant or someone else? Is it that guy? We answer when we talk live with our sports business analyst Rick Horrow. Hello, Rick. Goodbye, Rick.

RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Yes, sir.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. So before the break we asked you who is the highest-ranking athlete on the "Forbes" most powerful celebrity list? Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, get out your golf clubs if you said Tiger Woods. You are correct, sir and ma'am. He ranked number five on the "Forbes" most powerful celebrity list. Next athlete on the list is Kobe Bryant who comes in at number 10. That brings us to our very own powerful celebrity sports business analyst who joins us from West Palm Beach, Florida.

Hello, sir. Thank you very much. We were just talking about that as we were watching the game the other night about, you know, one day it's going to be Lebron. But right now, it's Kobe when it comes to basketball.

HORROW: Yes. Sorry. Real quick, what also happens is you got basketball players, the next on the list, Michael Jordan. 18, tied to Bob Johnson. By the way, they are partners, owning the Charlotte Bobcats, interestingly enough. Lebron James, 19th, Federer 27, David Beckham, 28, Mickelson 36. Of the top seven, you got two of them are who are golfers, you got three basketball players. A tennis player. Soccer player. You are, what, 101. You're not out here, where are you?

LEMON: I'm before one. It is.

HORROW: There you go. Good answer.

LEMON: That means I'm in the negative territory. By the way, that interview I did with - was at the Bobcat Stadium where his office is. OK. So listen - gosh. Bargaining miracle, the Lakers will be world champions. The Lakers lead the NBA finals. Three games to one over Orlando. Let me guess who you're - whose side you're on.

HORROW: I'm firmly at the fence. I was at the first two games in Orlando. Nobody's ever come back from a 3-1 deficit. So we're pretty sure that's what it's going to be what it is. It's the Lakers. But the international flavor of this, by the way, Dwight Howard, big celebrity for the Magic. But you got 215 countries, you got 42 languages, even Al Jazeera is broadcasting the games live to the Middle East in Arabic starting in five minutes. So it's truly a global marketplace in sports plays a very important role, too.

LEMON: We really appreciate it. Rick Horrow, our business sports analyst on CNN. Thank you very much, sir, with that helpful information. Sorry we didn't have more time for you. But we're covering breaking news here today on CNN. Have a good one. Enjoy the game.

HORROW: OK. All right. Next week. LEMON: Softball sized hail, reported tornadoes, severe storms. Jacqui Jeras, what in the world is going on?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This is a rough weekend. And I tell you that Don, especially across the high plains states. Look at the severe thunderstorm and tornado watches just lined up here. We're talking from Montana all the way down through Texas. And, yes, we've had reports of tornadoes. Thankfully no damage. And softball sized hail. That is just enormous. 4 1/2 inches coming down. That happened in Texas and also into parts of Wyoming, believe it or not. I promise you don't want that falling down on your head. A couple of areas that we've been talking about with some damage that was produced earlier today, check out the pictures that we have out of Birmingham, Alabama. A strong complex of thunderstorms blew through the area early this morning.

Second round of storms in two days. Lots of people without power. Look at all the trees down. Some on top of homes. Same story in Montgomery, Alabama. That complex of thunderstorms has just gone right down towards the south. Believe it or not, it's all the way down into the Gulf of Mexico as we speak. So quiet down a little bit in the southeast right now. Still severe weather here across parts of Texas. Several severe thunderstorm warnings that are in effect just dropped the tornado warning for Motley County. If we see more development throughout the evening, of course, we'll bring that along to you. But lots of folks in the nation's midsection getting hit, Don. And this pattern is going to stay put for a good three days.

LEMON: All right. Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much for that news on the weather.

We want to recap our top story tonight. Our coverage of the fallout over the Iranian presidential election. The kind of fallout Iran has not seen since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The man many people who thought would become the president is asking for the he election results to be thrown out. Right now that doesn't seem likely. The apparent winner, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held a massive victory rally in Tehran today with supporters of challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi are not ready to concede. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: That was the scene today in Iran. Pockets of Mir Hossein Mousavi's supporters today make their displeasure clear. Many believe the election there is rigged. Mousavi who has not been seen in public since Friday has posted a letter on his Web site asking that the election results be annulled. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour asked President Ahmadinejad about Mousavi's welfare. The president responded by comparing Mousavi's supporters to sore losers at a soccer match.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR (on camera): You said that you were the president of all Iranian no matter who they voted for. I would like to ask you, what is the situation with your challenger Mr. Mir Hossein Mousavi? And will you guarantee his safety? And why have opposition reform individuals, officials been arrested?

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): The situation in the country is in a very good condition. Iran is the most stable country in the world. And there is the rule of law in this country. And all the people are equal before the law.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. I'm Don Lemon. I'll see you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern for a special two-hour edition of CNN NEWSROOM to talk about the election in Iran. "State of the Union" with John King begins right now.