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Iranian Protests Continue Despite Threats; GOP Critical of Obama's Response to Iran; Women Play Key Role in Iran Protests;

Aired June 22, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We are pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips.

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Tony, thanks so much.

Opposing forces pushing forward in Iran. A chilling warning from the Revolutionary Guard. New defiance from anti-government protestors, and the movement gains its first martyr.

Donut holes and cigarettes. President Obama moves to plug a health- care gap for seniors and to slap new restrictions on tobacco.

And don't get me started on cookie dough. An E. Coli scare takes all the fun out of our favorite guilty pleasure. We're pushing forward on the recall.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

From the powers that be in Iran, new threats and a bold admission; from opposition protesters, rallying cries and at least one interrupted rally. It's 9:30 p.m. in Tehran where the rulers say that ballot boxes were, in fact, stuffed in 50 cities in the June 12 election. They also say that that didn't change the outcome.

At the same time they're warning supporters of opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi to lie low or face, quote, "revolutionary confrontation." Late this afternoon hundreds of people refused, and security forces moved in. As far as we can determine, today's clashes were relatively minor.

Let's get straight to our Iran desk and CNN's Ivan Watson. He's watching all of our best sources of information and pictures.

Ivan, what's the latest?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll get to Ivan in just a second. He's actually linking with us over there on the international desk. I see him. Once he gets fired up, we'll go to him live.

Now, it's no exaggeration to say that the whole world is watching what's happening in Iran, and for millions of Iranian expats and exiles, it's personal. For Reza Pahlavi, it goes even deeper: his father was the shah, whose secular regime was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Well, today the former crowned prince spoke at the National Press Club in Washington with a message for the west.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REZA PAHLAVI, FORMER CROWN PRINCE OF IRAN: Your governments have insisted that they would not interfere in Iran's internal affairs. I applaud that. Any such attempt will give the tyrants the excuse they need to paper over their own differences and target every man struggling for freedom as a foreign agent.

But that is not all they do. They are painting every statement in defense of human rights as foreign interference, benefiting between the confusion between the two. It is vital -- it is vital that the free world not fall for such cruel cynicism in the name of realpolitik.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And let's get straight to Ivan Watson now at our Iran desk, following the latest from our various sources of information and pictures -- Ivan.

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.

Let's take a look at some contributions that have come in over the past 24 hours. Let's take a listen to this nighttime footage from the rooftops of Tehran.

I'm sorry; we don't have that quite in the system right now.

What we have been seeing, though, over the course of the past week from our many sources on the ground are people getting on the rooftops chanting "Allah Akbar," "God is great," and that's a -- a very defiant show of defiance against the Iranian government after those controversial elections earlier this month.

We're trying to get somebody at the phone right now, Kyra, who was at a demonstration in downtown Tehran today in honor of a woman who was gunned down Saturday, caught in the clashes between opposition protesters and security forces. Having a little bit of trouble getting through to her right now. But I'll just tell you a little bit about this 19-year-old woman.

She contributed photos to us. Take a look at these photos right here. This was on Saturday from a 19-year-old girl. She got right up close to these security forces with the riot gear right here. Look at this. And she was clubbed as a burning motorcycle -- that's taken by those security forces. See how intimidating they look.

On Saturday this 19-year-old girl, we're not going to name her, ran right up, took photos of these men, and was clubbed and wounded as a result. Well, guess what? She was back out on the streets today. I just got an e-mail from her in the last hour and a half, this 19-year- old, saying, "I've got some more photos for you. I'd love to send them in. I was beaten again. I wasn't the only person beaten at this attempted demonstration. I saw many other women beaten." I'm paraphrasing what she said to me in this e-mail. "I saw a 5-year-old girl beaten -- a 5-year-old boy beaten and the security forces did not allow people to go help this boy and his mother -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ivan, it's just remarkable to see how, you know, men and women continue to go back out on the streets even after experiencing that type of violence. We'll actually talk more about that in the next hour with one of our guests.

We'll keep checking in with you, Ivan. Thanks so much.

Elsewhere, Iranian Americans by the thousand are speaking out even more dramatically. They've been holding their own street protests all across the country. Hundreds of people turned out for a candlelight vigil in Dallas yesterday. Other rallies were held in L.A., Chicago, the nation's capital, and right here in Atlanta.

President Obama issuing his strongest words yet on the Iranian government's crackdown on protesters, but some Republican lawmakers say he's not being tough enough.

Here's CNN's Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, for now the president appears to be standing firm and making only restrained and measured comments on the unfolding developments coming out of Iran. But some Republicans in Washington argue that approach is too hands off.

(voice-over) With Iran quickly becoming one of the biggest foreign policy tests of this administration, President Obama is feeling the heat in Washington, where key Republicans argue the White House is being too cautious at exactly the wrong time.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: There's a monumental event going on in Iran. And, you know, the president of the United States is supposed to lead the free world, not follow it.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: And again, it's not so much about Iran, although it certainly is at the moment, but it's also about being on the right side of history.

ACOSTA: At first determined to keep the U.S. on the sidelines and avoid any appearance of meddling in Iranian affairs...

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is a concern to me, and it's of concern to the American people. That is not how government should interact with their people.

ACOSTA: ... the president is now dialing up his rhetoric on the violent backlash against protesters in Tehran. Mr. Obama said in a statement over the weekend, "We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom! Freedom!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom! Freedom!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom! Freedom!

ACOSTA: He only had to look out his windows at the pro-democracy demonstrators gathered outside the White House to know how the issue has come home.

But President Obama has his defenders, ranging from conservatives Henry Kissinger and Pat Buchanan to congressional Democrats, who say an aggressive stance against the Iranian government would have tainted the protesters in the streets as American tools.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: It is very crucial as I see that we not have our fingerprints on this, that this really be a -- truly inspired by the Iranian people. We don't know where this goes. And I sure wouldn't want to be responsible for thousands of people being killed, which is a distinct possibility.

ACOSTA: Even GOP elder statesman Richard Lugar warns the U.S. has no choice but to engage Iran diplomatically in the future, no matter how the current standoff is settled.

SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), INDIANA: We would sit down because our objective is to eliminate the nuclear program that is in Iran. This is...

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Even though -- even though they are shooting people in the streets and beating people in the streets and arresting political opponents?

LUGAR: Yes. In order to have any kind of a relationship we need to be able to talk to people, hear from people, argue with people.

ACOSTA (on camera): But other Republicans have noted even leaders in Europe have taken a much tougher stance on Iran. Just over the weekend, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the elections a fraud and described Iran's crackdown as brutal and inexcusable -- Kyra.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Jim Acosta, thanks so much.

Well, there is other news in the world, but we're not taking our eyes off Iran. We're constantly working our sources, watching the video feeds, scanning the social networking sites and fathering iReports, all to keep you in front of all the latest developments.

Now, the president does double duty on issues affecting your health. We're going to tell you the steps being taken that could save you money and possibly your life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, as you know, women are continually playing a prominent role in the Iranian protest. Ivan Watson has been following so many different angles for us.

You really developed some amazing sources, made contact with people that don't want to identify themselves, but they trust you to tell you what's going on. In particular a lot of the women that are out there risking their lives right now.

WATSON: Absolutely. And this is a remarkable phenomenon. The women are in the front lines of these protest and risking the wrath of the security forces and -- or being caught up in the violence. And they still keep going back.

So let's take a look at this incredible phenomenon that's developed over the last week.

PHILLIPS: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON (voice-over): Amid the clashes and chaos, a recurring scene: women in their black overcoats and scarves at the heart of the struggle, collecting rocks for ammunition against security forces, protecting a fallen pro-government militiaman from an angry mob, wounded in the government crackdown.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Iranian women since the late 1800s have been, in fact, at the forefront of the struggle for change.

WATSON: These photos were taken in Tehran on Saturday by a 19-year- old demonstrator who asked not to be named. We spoke to her by phone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a lot of other women there.

WATSON: And what were they doing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We gave the boys the stones, because we can't throw them so far. And we gave them the stones, and we just said the slogans.

WATSON: What happened to you? I heard that you were beaten by one of the security forces?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, they said, "Run."

And I said, "I can't run. How can I run? It's so crowded in here." Then he hits me with a club. He was so big. And I said, "You want to hit me?"

And he said yes, and then he hit me.

WATSON: At Shiraz University riot police clubbed women dressed in black robes. A man yells, "Don't beat them, you bastards." The women stand their ground. Many Iran experts aren't surprised.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a saying or a name for them, "shizan" (ph), lioness. Lion woman.

WATSON: At least one of these women has paid the ultimate price for her defiance, a woman now known around the world as Neda, felled by a bullet on the frontline. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And I understand we have the 19-year-old on the phone with us now. She's calling in, right?

WATSON: Yes. And we don't want to identify her. I'm going to ask, can you hear me on the phone over there in Tehran? This is Ivan.

CALLER: Yes, I can.

WATSON: Hey, thank you so much for joining us. First of all, I understand you were hurt today. Can you tell me what happened today in Iran?

CALLER: Today we were at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Square. And I and so many other women, we were standing in a corner, because you know, there is a lot of shops for (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know, robes for women, and the shops were closed. And we were waiting there and suddenly the Basijes (ph) came.

WATSON: The Basijes (ph) are the militiamen, yes?

CALLER: Yes. And they said, "Go away."

And there was an old woman. She said, "It's my country. It's my town. I don't want to go. I want to stay here. And I'm waiting for my husband. And he's going to pick me up."

But he said -- he said three times, "Go away." And they didn't listen. And suddenly, they hit the women so badly. And she was injured.

WATSON: The old woman?

CALLER: Yes. She was injured and other -- three other women that were standing there. We ran away, and they screamed a lot, and I helped one of them.

WATSON: And I understand that -- were you going to attend this memorial, this demonstration after this woman Neda was killed?

CALLER: Yes, I was. I helped her go home, and I returned. And they -- said we were staying at the bus stop, because they couldn't say anything when we were at bus stop. And we said, "We want to go by bus." And when a bus came, they forced us to take that bus, because they said, "If anyone doesn't take that bus, we're going to hit her or him."

WATSON: Why are you going out into the streets? Why are you trying to attend these demonstrations?

CALLER: Because I think it's my responsibility. Because many of my friends are in this situation. And when I stay home, I'm worried about my friends, other women, other boys that are hit. And I think I should go, maybe I can help them. WATSON: You know your foreign ministry called the elections this month a precious gem. They said they were wonderful and that they were successful. What do you think about these presidential elections?

CALLER: I think it was successful, because I don't know why they make a fool of themselves. Because everyone knows that we -- we were taking part in that election, because we didn't want Ahmadinejad to become our president. And we did that, because we wanted Mir-Hossein Mousavi to be our president. And it wasn't because of our regime or leader said that. It was just because we didn't want Ahmadinejad to become the president, and unfortunately, he is.

WATSON: Do you think these demonstrations will continue? Are you waiting for a leader right now to tell you what to do?

CALLER: Yes. Unfortunately, we don't have a leader to tell us what to do. And that's -- that's not a good thing, because we don't know where to go. Every day they say different places. And we don't know where together, what to do, to go or not go. If we could have a leader, it was so good.

WATSON: You told me in your e-mail that a little boy was hit by the security forces, buy the Basij?

CALLER: Yes.

WATSON: Can you tell me what you saw?

CALLER: We were -- we were staying at the bus stop. And a woman with her son, I think 5 or 6 years old. They were passing, and suddenly the Basij came with a motorcycle on the pavement. The people were rushing, and they -- they throw tear gas at people. And they hit that boy with the motorcycle, and they ran away.

And the woman sat down on the ground and cried for help. And we went to help her, but one of the Basij came and said, "Go away. Don't stay here. She will go" -- she was shaking so bad and she was crying. Her child was crying also. And they didn't let us help her. They just give her water to drink.

PHILLIPS: If you don't mind if I ask you a question, as well. I'm here on the set. This is Kyra. I'm with Ivan on the set here in the CNN Center in Atlanta.

Do you think that men there in Iran are looking at all of you differently now, your role, your ability to come out and protest, to take a stand, to stand up against the violence? Do you think you're being viewed differently by just the average man there in Iran?

CALLER: Yes, yes. We are different from -- I personally am different. I think I'm different from the next week -- from the previous week. I'm sorry. Because I think I'm a little braver now. Because when someone gets hit once, the second time I think doesn't matter. For me it's like this. Because when they hit me, I say, "Hit." I have been hit so many times. And this time it doesn't matter. I just want to help my brothers and my sisters.

WATSON: What do you say to the security forces and to the Basij when they come and try to attack you?

CALLER: I tell them, "Are you Iranian? If you are, then why do you kill your brother? Why do you hit your mother, your sisters? And if you are not, what are you doing here?"

We all tell them, if you're Iranian, you shouldn't do that to your people, to your own country's people.

PHLLIPS: And do you see more young women, even older women, coming out on the streets and protesting and standing up for their rights? Are you seeing maybe relatives or friends or other families that normally wouldn't come out and voice their opinion, are you seeing more women come out and get involved?

CALLER: Yes. If you want the truth, I think women are more than men in the streets. Today I was just with the women, because they think that forces don't hit them but they're wrong. But they stay there. The women are all together, and they say we want to stay here. And there are so - more than men.

PHILLIPS: Why do you think the woman's voice is so important in what we're seeing in your country right now?

CALLER: Because I think till now the women didn't have a chance to express themselves, to say that we are important in our country's future. But now they can play an important role in our freedom. It's a good chance for us.

WATSON: And -- are you optimistic? Do you have hope right now after the violence on Saturday? Do you think your protests can change anything?

CALLER: Yes. I'm absolutely optimistic, because history has taught me that all the revolutions start like this. Every revolution has its violence, and some people die, but nothing stays like this forever. And finally (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

WATSON: And what about this woman, Neda, who was killed on Saturday? Are people talking about her in Tehran?

CALLER: Yes. Yes. I was so -- I don't know. I was so sad when I saw her. And I cried for, I think, one hour, me and my sister and my mother. And every day -- today in the streets, this old woman said to the forces, "Didn't you kill Neda? You were the one who killed Neda. And we don't let you kill another Neda." And she said, "We are all Nedas today, and we are all going to -- we don't let that happen again."

WATSON: I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with us. You're such a brave young woman.

CALLER: Thank you. Thank you. WATSON: And I'm sorry we can't say your name on the air, because we don't want you to get in any more trouble. You've already been beaten at least once from what you've told us. Thank you so much. And please be careful out there.

CALLER: Thank you. Thank you so much for taking the time, giving me the time to -- just to speak about my country. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: OK. Nineteen years old. First of all that's fascinating if we think, "OK, what were we doing when we were 19 years old?" And No. 2, just how she pointed out there's more women out here than men. I just -- and that even stimulated a lot of reaction here in the newsroom, because we're...

WATSON: They started applauding.

PHILLIPS: They did. They really did. And there you go. This has created, I mean, a lot of emotion not only among women but men and women, but even more so the women and just talking to Iranian women that I know here in the states. They get emotional and choked up. I mean, this is uncharted territory for women in Iran.

WATSON: You don't have to be a woman to -- when I got this e-mail from her today, you know, I choked up, as well, because you can hear. This is a young woman who -- who said when she was first knocked around on Saturday by guys with billyclubs that she couldn't believe she was alive. And I can't believe she went back out again today.

And I've seen the way security forces break up rallies. And it's terrifying, you know. They shut down the cell-phone networks. I went to a women's rights protest in Tehran about five years ago. And it's very intimidating. And the incredible thing is, these women, they just sit there and they stare down these security forces, and they yell at them. They yell back.

And here you're hearing from this 19-year-old, how she was doing the same thing. Incredible.

PHILLIPS: So interesting. So five years ago you were there at one of those rallies?

WATSON: Very small one. Yes.

PHILLIPS: It was small. So it -- but just that the -- so not a lot of women felt comfortable coming out and doing that. Was it violent in any way? Or was it more you can go ahead and shout, but we're going to keep you in your place?

WATSON: The authorities surgically kind of cut off the street. It was on a sidewalk of a busy street in front of Tehran University. And what they did, you had about 50 women holding a sit-in there, holding up signs calling for equal rights, chanting. And they parked buses in front of them to block the view of them from the street. And then they surrounded these women with plain clothes cops filming them.

And then across the street they had a phalanx of cops, who were out beating off people who were trying to watch and pushing us away. And that was really scary. If you made it through, you know, if you ran through, you could actually stand next to these women and sit next to them.

But it was really...

PHILLIPS: Do you still keep in touch with any of them? Boy, wouldn't you love to know where they are right now, if they're out there?

WATSON: I'm sure they've been out on the streets, if they haven't been detained at some point. Because the intelligence services there, we know that they've been doing roundups this past week. We've gotten reports of them grabbing activists and critics of the government from their homes; journalists, as well.

So this -- this is not a game. This is really terrifying, these tactics that are used to try to control this society.

PHILLIPS: We'll be talking a lot more through the afternoon. Ivan, thanks. Appreciate it a lot.

Well, the president does double duty on issues affecting your health. We're going to tell you the steps being taken that could save you money and possibly your life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And we want to let you know we're going to continually update you on the latest from Iran. We continue to bring in amateur video, talking to folks there on the ground through every technical means possible.

The latest is Revolutionary Guards threatening a huge crackdown We're trying to monitor that as best as possible. Mousavi coming forward saying you still have to protest. It is your right to protest. Also, the government coming forward saying, "Hey, look, we understand There were bogus ballot counts in 50 cities." But still the government coming forward saying Ahmadinejad still won this election, and at this point he stands as the president. We're following everything out of Iran throughout the afternoon.

Now we're going to push forward. His plan to make health care more affordable. President Obama announces a major deal with big drugmakers, and it means seniors may not have to dig so deeply to pay for gaps in coverage for prescription drugs. The deal is expected to result in an $80 billion reduction in Medicare drug costs over ten years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Part of the health care reform I expect Congress to enact this year. Medicare beneficiaries whose spending falls within this gap will now receive a discount on prescription drugs for at least 50 percent from the negotiated price their plan pays. It's a reform that will make prescription drugs more affordable for millions of seniors and restore a measure of fairness to Medicare Part D.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: President Obama knows firsthand how hard it is to quit smoking. Today he's signing a bill designed to save others the trouble. The measure will let the Food and drug Administration regulate tobacco and lays down strict rules on how and where tobacco can be sold. The main goal, stopping kids from lighting up. The president about to sign that bill about half an hour from now 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. We will bring it to you live.

The women of Iran, silent no more. The author of "Reading Lolita in Tehran" joins me with an uprising that's virtually gender-neutral.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's another tense night in Iran, where the government is tempering admissions with ammunitions. Authorities now say in dozens of cases, ballot counts exceeded local populations in the presidential race June 12. They say President Mamoud Ahmadinejad was still re- elected fair and square. And the Revolutionary Guard says anti- government demonstrators had better accept it or face, quote, "revolutionary confrontation."

Late this afternoon, hundreds of people returned to Tehran Square, and security forces moved in. We're still trying to determine the intensity of that confrontation. Let's get back to our Iran desk. CNN's Ivan Watson checking the best sources of information and pictures. Ivan, what have you seen so far?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, can we show you video right now? This comes from an iReport contributor, and it's from Sunday night. Let's take a listen for a minute to the people chanting on the rooftops here.

Hear that? That is Iranians chanting Allah akbar (ph). That is "God is great." Night after night since those controversial presidential elections, people have been taking to the rooftops, chanting, showing against the Iranian governments after the elections in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who's declared the winner. Remember, the opposition candidates, all three of them, claim there were some big problems with the elections. Two of them have accused the government of rigging the elections.

Let's take another look at an iReport video from the same poster. Let's take a look. This is daytime on Sunday. It shows people gathering, several hundred, at the very least on Sunday marching in the streets, trying to walk down the streets of Tehran, to show their opposition to the results of that presidential election today. Iran's foreign ministry called it a precious stone -- said the results were wonderful and that there were record votes made by Iranians. The opposition here, the demonstrators say "We're not fools. You guys have lied to us. Ahmadinejad did not win this election." Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Ivan thanks so much. We'll keep talking. If the pro-reform movement has a martyr, it has to be Neda. She's a young woman who was shot to death in the fiery demonstrations on Saturday as bystanders screamed and cameras captured each bloody second. The details can't be verified but protesters blame Neda's death on pro-government militia.

Today's abbreviated rally apparently started as a vigil. A family friend is quoted as saying the government barred a public funeral.

Women have been on the front lines of the pro-Mousavi movement and the anti-government fallout. Azar Nafisi knows why. She's an Iranian journalist and author who settled in America in 1997. She wrote "Reading Lolita in Tehran," and this, her most recent book, "Things I've Been Silent About." Azar joins me know live from Washington.

Azar, you just see women on the front lines. You listen to the interviews we have from these young, brave women. I mean, women are not silent any longer now.

AZAR NAFISI, AUTHOR, "READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN": Women are not silent, Kyra, and women have not been silent for the past 30 years. It has taken the life of a beautiful, talented, aspiring young girl like Neda to make the world to finally acknowledge the role that Iranian women have been playing in bringing freedom and Democratic rights to this country. It's a very, very anguished moment for me, as well as a very proud moment.

PHILLIPS: Tell me why -- what was it? Was it the election? It wasn't -- let me put it this way. It wasn't necessarily the election, because this was something like you said that has been stirring for years and years and years. I bet if you were in Tehran right now, you would be on the front lines. You would be with those women. You'd be protesting. You'd be getting hit. You'd be going back out there.

What was it? Was it the election that was sort of the catalyst for this, something that has been brewing for so long?

NAFISI: Yes, because the Iranian people over the past 30 years have been using the spaces and election times, open spaces, both divisions within the regime comes out, and also the candidates are more open to what people say publicly. So, they also use the elections to air their grievances and bring out their demands. And they are doing it again, only each time it comes out with greater momentum. Can I go back to 30 years ago, when Iranian women came into the streets saying freedom is neither Eastern nor Western. Freedom is global.

And vigilantes of the regime were throwing acid into their faces and shooting into the demonstrators and harassing and beating them. There was a cultural revolution when young men and women were murdered and their bodies snatched from the hospital, so there would be no evidence of what government has done. But now, this momentum has gained so far. Neda is the child of those women who came out in the streets so long ago, and...

PHILLIPS: ... and not only Neda, I don't know if you caught this interview just a few moments ago with a 19-year-old brave young woman. Let's take a listen to a little bit of that, if you don't mind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you going out into the streets, why are you trying to attend these demonstrations?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via telephone): Because I think it's my responsibility, because many of my friends are in this situation. When I stay home, I'm worried about my friends, other women, other boys that are hit. I think I should go. Maybe I can help them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Do you have any regrets not being in Tehran right now?

NAFISI: I have a great deal of regret not being there physically, although I am there with my heart and soul. My generation took so many of our rights for granted. This generation has paid with its flesh and blood, what individual rights and human rights mean. I wish I were there with them.

PHILLIPS: What is going to happen? Is this going to stop? Will there be a huge violent crackdown and this will go away, or do you think these roots run so deep, that this is the pivotal moment and things are going to definitely change from this point forward?

NAFISI: How could you quell people's desire for freedom? How could you tell them -- it's not just political rights that they're asking for. It's their existential rights to exist the way they want to. Every Iranian man and woman wants the pursuit of liberty, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This is not a Western thing. This is a universal aspiration. I'm not just using slogans. They have shown by coming into the streets with empty hands and using their voices as weapons that this movement is going on. Those who should be afraid today are the ones who are shooting into the people.

PHILLIPS: Azar Nafisi, I admire your work tremendously. It's always a pleasure to talk to you and get your insight.

NAFISI: It's a great pleasure to talk to you. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Thank you so much. Before we move on, we should let you know that we're not taking our eyes off of Iran. We are constantly working our sources, we're constantly watching video feeds, scanning social networking sites, gathering iReports. All of this to keep you on the front lines of the latest developments. We'll take a quick break. More from CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Toss your cookie dough, if you've got any. It won't be easy, it's hard to even say it, but you can do it. Nestle has recalled its raw cookie dough products while the FDA hunts down the source of an E. Coli outbreak. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has been following the story all weekend. How big is the problem, and I'm glad this didn't happen when we were in college. (LAUGHTER)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, because sometimes, dinner was raw cookie dough.

The problem is actually quite big and relatively severe for a food- borne illness outbreak. Let's take a look.

There are now 65 people sick in 29 states. Seventy percent of the people sick under the age 19 -- those college students Kyra and I were talking about. And 25 people have been hospitalized. It's interesting, most of the sick people are women. I think women may be more into cookie dough than men are.

This is E. Coli 0157-H7. It's not entirely clear if it did get into cookie dough how it happened. But Nestle had this to say, because we're talking about Nestle cookie dough products, raw cookie dough that you're supposed to cook. So you're supposed to throw away products like this. And Nestle says "We want to strongly advise consumers that raw cookie dough should not be eaten. This message appears prominently in our packaging." What this says is, "Look, it said on our packaging do not eat raw cookie dough, and now if you have these products not only should you not eat it, you should throw it away."

PHILLIPS: Got it. Elizabeth, thanks.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Ripple affects of the Iranian election, how it could affect your gas tank.

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PHILLIPS: We're continuing to follow all the updates out of Iran. Obviously, we're covering other things in the news today, but we just want to let you know, constantly, we are monitoring video and iReports and text messages and calls that are coming in from the thousands of protesters that are still on the streets.

The biggest concern right now is how violent this will get. The Revolutionary Guard continually threatening protesters. We're getting calls in from a number of people who are witnessing violence. Meanwhile, reformist candidate Mousavi says it's your right to protest, keep doing it, it will eventually make a difference.

Already has made a difference. Voices being heard that have never been heard before.

If you don't think the events in Iran will ever touch you, just remember this. Iran is the second largest oil producer in OPEC, and it controls the door that most of the world's oil actually goes through. No wonder oil traders are watching the news very closely.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHLLIPS: The story in Iran right now is the people in the establishment. We're going to push forward, those stories and struggles next hour, but the ripple effects could affect you and your money because Iran is such an important player in the oil market, of course. Chief business correspondent Ali Velshi with us here in Atlanta. And Ali, it's not just about the oil in the ground. It's about a body of water, too.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Listen, there's no way this is more important than the matters concerning the people we have been covering on the ground in Iran, but I want to give you some sense of the influence Iran has over what you might pay for gas at the pump.

All the oil, or much of the oil that comes out of the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, these oil fields around here, has to go out through the Arabian Gulf and through the Strait of Hormuz. This becomes very important because the Strait of Hormuz -- let's move into that and give you a sense of what it is. The strait of Hormuz at its most narrow point is only about 21miles wide, which means supertankers that take about 40 percent of all the oil that is shipped by sea in the world have to go through the Strait of Hormuz out, and then those tankers have to come back in through the Strait of Hormuz through two very narrow channels.

Now, that's the problem. Every time there's some sort of tension with Iran, and it becomes a discussion about military tension, what tends to happen is the Iranian government tends to threaten that it will close off the Strait of Hormuz, through which ultimately 20 percent of all the world's traded oil flows. That hasn't happened this time, and the U.S. government continues to say, Kyra, they won't allow it to happen. There are a lot of U.S. ships in the area. There hasn't seemed to have been any movement around this issue right now, but it's something worth considering. We worry about Iran and nuclear threat, but Iran has a much bigger threat, much more readily available because of the Strait of Hormuz. It can shut down oil travel through that strait.

PHLLIPS: But you know, would that really happen, considering, I mean, the economic impact? I mean, there are a lot of selfish interests here and there can be a lot of talk that oh, we'll do this, we've got control of this, got control of that, but when it comes down to it...

VELSHI: Iran needs the money it gets from oil.

PHLLIPS: That's hard cash that -- right. Exactly.

VELSHI: That's why most people think it would be a move that would signify they are taking a very hard line. Despite everything that has happened, Iran doesn't intend to rattle a lot of sabers around that. But the reality is, it's a 21-mile strip and if something were to happen there, that's something we all have to consider. We would have to get our oil rerouted somewhere else, and that's more complicated.

PHLLIPS: All kind of angles. We are following every single one of them. Right over your shoulder, right over at the International Desk, Ivan Watson following other stories and developments for us out of Iran. Ivan, what have you come across?

WATSON: Kyra, we are going to try to do something unusual right now. One of our sources on the ground is holding a phone up in Tehran. Let's take a listen to what has been a nightly chant against the government of Allahu akbar (ph), "God is great" by people yelling off the rooftops. Let's take a listen.

(CHANTING)

WATSON: If you can hear that, that's live coming from Tehran right now on the phone, people on the rooftops chanting "Allahu Akbar" (ph). It's been happening night after night after this month's controversial presidential elections. A show of defiance to the government from Iranians, who accuse the government of rigging those elections in favor of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.