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CNN Saturday Morning News

The Big Question: Will Iran Allow Rallies Today?

Aired June 20, 2009 - 06:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, hello, everybody. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Six a.m. here in Atlanta; 2:30 in the afternoon in Tehran. I'm T.J. Holmes.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Want to thank you for starting the day with us.

We do have special coverage of the situation in Iran. And in this hour, you're going to see who holds the real power in Iran's theocracy (ph). You'll hear from an Iranian woman who will tell you why she supports President Ahmadinejad. And we're going to take a look at what is being said about the election on the Internet.

But first, we do have some breaking news to get to you. There is some new information about a possible recount.

Let's get to CNN's international desk, which is our hub for newsgathering on Iran.

HOLMES: Yes, Ivan Watson keeping an eye on things. A lot of things have been changing.

What's the update now?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.

The Guardian Council - that is the top electoral body in Iran - it has said that it's willing to recount up to 10 percent of the ballot boxes. That's according to Iranian state Press TV.

Another bit of news that we've gotten, T.J., is that a - a group of moderate reformist clerics in Tehran, in Iran, which has requested a protest today - it has indicated that it will not participate in a - a - a highly anticipated street protest against the Iranian government and against the results of last - last week's contested presidential elections - T.J.

HOLMES: And what did - make that point for us again there on the end, because we're hearing a lot about rallies and protests happening today. State-run media is saying that one of the two we were expecting to see has been canceled.

But on that last point you made there, who has that - come out and said they're not participating?

WATSON: Well, here's the big issue right now: the Ayatollah Ali Khamrnei, the supreme leader of Iran, he gave a long sermon on Friday, T.J., and he said, 'I will not tolerate these street protests anymore. They are illegal, and the people who organize them are going to be held accountable before the law.' And he basically threatened to use brute force if these demonstrations were to continue.

And there was already a protest planned to take place today. The question is, is will be the opposition actually go out on the streets? And there's a lot of confusion right now about whether or not the opposition leaders will still go out.

Now here, we're monitoring Twitter; we're monitoring Facebook sites. And we're getting all sorts of different information. Some Iranians claiming that they are going to go out, that they're going to go out and march peacefully despite the threats now coming from Iranian security forces saying that they will use force if any demonstrators go out into the streets.

So it's - it's a question of, are these people going to stand up to the authorities, who have used brutal force in the past, in 2003 and in 1999, to crush street demonstrations? - T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Our Ivan Watson, we appreciate you keeping an eye on things over there. We certainly will be checking in with you again throughout the morning.

NGUYEN: Want to reset for just a second now.

Yesterday, Iran's supreme leader tried to restore unity. Now, he declared President Ahmadinejad the definitive victor in the election. But he also sent a warning to protesters. He ordered an end to the unrest and the opposition protests.

Well, CNN's Reza Sayah has only been allowed to report one time per day. He is in Tehran, and he filed this report yesterday with some reaction, in fact, from Ahmadinejad - or supporters.

Take a look at what he was able to get.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While the crowd waited, they sang songs of tribute.

(SINGING)

SAYAH: When he arrived, they stood and welcomed him in unison: "Praise to be to his God and to his Prophet Muhammad." Iran's supreme leader for two decades, Ayatollah Khamenei, holding only a few notes on small pieces of paper in his left hand, took the stage, and tried to put an end to a week of unrest, with his right arm crippled in a 1981 assassination attempt, he leaned on the podium.

He began with a religious sermon about the dangers of division and disunity, then transitioned into a more direct and secular speech. He praised the election turnout as a victory for all Iranians, and he blamed the post-election turmoil on Iran's enemies, including the United States, Israel and Britain.

"The enemies want to destroy our confidence. They want to create doubt about the elections," he said. About an hour into his speech, he began delivering a verdict that supporters of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi didn't want to hear.

"Eleven-million votes difference?," he asked. "Sometimes there's a margin of 100,000, 200,000 or 1 million maximum. Then one can be concerned that there's been some rigging or manipulation. But there's a difference of 11 million votes. How can vote-rigging happen?"

In case that wasn't clear enough, he went on to call President Ahmadinejad, who was sitting on the front row, the "absolute victor."

Then came the ominous warning to Mousavi and his supporters to stop the street demonstrations.

"If they don't put an end to it," he said, "then they'll be responsible for the repercussions of the violence and rioting."

In this crowd, there was no disappointment with his words.

(CHEERING)

SAYAH: Repeatedly during the speech, they interrupted Khamenei to chant, "Death to America," "Death to Israel." Not in the crowd, candidate Mousavi, who's been calling for a revote.

(on camera): This was the first time since the Friday elections that the green-clad Mousavi supporters didn't take to the street en masse. The tens of thousands of people who showed up today a stark contrast, religious conservatives, supporters of President Ahmadinejad, with a message for his opponent.

(voice-over): But that message was not consistent. Some wanting to take a hard line, others calling for reconciliation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just support the law, what the regulations. We should support the law.

SAYAH: "If they continue the protests," said this man, "then that means they're not with the revolution. And God willing, they will eventually be delivered just consequences."

Just what those consequences might be may become apparent Saturday afternoon, when Mousavi and his supporters have called for another massive street demonstration in Tehran.

The supreme leader now though clearly warning that enough is enough.

Reza Sayah, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Where -- Setareh Sadeqi is a 24-year-old English teacher who lives in Iran's third-largest city, a city she says stands behind its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And she joins me by phone right now from Iran this hour.

And the first thing I want to ask you about is your reaction to Iran's supreme leader's speech yesterday. Was he, in your eye, on point, calling for the protests to stop?

VOICE OF SETAREH SADEQI, SUPPORTS IRANIAN PRES. AHMADINEJAD (by phone): Well, hello.

I didn't get your question. Would you please repeat that to me?

NGUYEN: Sure. I wanted to get your reaction from Iran's supreme leader's speech yesterday. Did you think that he was right to call for the protest to end today, even though there are a lot of questions still surrounding the election?

SADEQI: Well, I think the speech was very smart and very well said. And people were congratulating each other after this speech. Even - I know that there are many people who think that there might not be enough (ph) rigging of the election.

But we don't have associate (ph) rioting people with Mr. Mousavi. Just a peaceful protest are - are - may going to be (ph) continuing. But the point is that even Mr. Mousavi has called the protests to be over. Yesterday, he announced that if there is any protests going on in anywhere, this is not supported by me.

So I think that you - the nation is more united than ever. And the candidate are going to take the legal steps to - to (INAUDIBLE).

NGUYEN: All right. I want to get confirmation on that one more time, because we are getting limited information out of Iran. You said Mousavi came out this morning and said that there should be no protests? He is calling any protests?

SADEQI: Yes, that's it.

NGUYEN: OK. And what kind of reaction are you hearing from people who were in support of Mousavi?

SADEQI: Well, what people are after is that they want unity and peace. So while I've not been talking to a lot of them today, but what I see is that the city is calmer than before, and all people are just moving to where at - I mean, peace.

NGUYEN: All right. Because we are hearing that there are two scheduled protests today, rallies today. One, according to state-run media has been canceled. That has not been verified by CNN.

You say there is lots of peace there on the streets. But at the same time, there are a lot of questions concerning the ballots in this election.

What is your take on the - the questions and - and the criticism when it comes to ballot-stuffing? When it comes to the fact that we're hearing that these votes were counted, and in two hours, millions of votes were counted in as little as two hours? SADEQI: Well, first thing I should say, the whole process of counting the ballots was within some eight hours, or maybe more. And the first result that were announced was just for the little cities and - which President Ahmadinejad was ahead.

And I don't think there has been any rigging. And even the candidates or anyone has claimed that there has been or rigging or that the election has been fraud, has not yet offered any concrete documents. They're just saying things that cannot really be proof (ph).

And one - one very important thing to keep in mind is that President Ahmadinejad won the election four - four years ago, too. And this was something very well-predicted. Even I - I could read that, I think it was "New York Times" and some - some I think Terror Free Tomorrow (ph), which is another Web site for public opinion poll. And they all announced that President Ahmadinejad is going to vote. Even I say that it (ph) - he's going to gain about - or over maybe 65 percent of the vote.

NGUYEN: Mm-hmm.

Setareh, I want to ask you one more thing very quickly. A lot of women, a lot of females supported Mousavi in hopes of gaining more freedom there in Iran.

You are an Ahmadinejad supporter. Does that put you in a put of a bind?

SADEQI: Sorry?

NGUYEN: My question to you is, many women supported Mousavi in hopes of gaining more freedoms for - for - for women in that country. And you indeed have supported Ahmadinejad.

Do - do you see the call when - when women are out there, and - and pushing for this kind of change? Do you, I guess, side with them in a way for more freedom in - in Iran?

SADEQI: Well, I think this is very important how you define freedom.

I've been talking to many of my friends who were even for Mousavi. And they say our problems - you know, what I see in the media is that the only thing that claim that women in Iran do not have freedom is that covering the head is a rule, is a law. And people can't go against the law.

But even if you talk to pro-Mousavi people, they say that this is not what we call freedom. The majority of people in Iran are religious and are adherent to the Islamic rules.

So I - I don't feel that there is - there is no freedom for women in Iran. And most of the intellectuals, if you talk to them even, will - would - would accept that.

NGUYEN: All right. SADEQI: This - this protest I don't think is just for freedom. It's just because they think, many (ph) deceived by some false media outlets from the West, that it's been rigged.

NGUYEN: OK. Well, that is your opinion. Setareh Sadeqi, thank you so much for your time.

Again, we want to point out that she is a Mahmoud Ahmadinejad supporter.

But we do want to make some clarification right now. We want to bring in CNN's Octavia Nasr, senior editor of Mideast Affairs.

She said - and if - granted, we are - we have limited access to what is happening in Iran because of the media crackdown - that Mousavi has come out today and called off the protest.

What do you know? What are you hearing?

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SENIOR EDITOR, MIDEAST AFFAIRS: You know, inside Iran right now, there's a lot of misinformation. And the media, the - the official media, the government-controlled media, is sending out all kinds of messages: first saying that the rally was canceled; second saying there are a couple of rallies with just a few people showing up, and saying - people are canceling on Mousavi's - a lot of misinformation out there.

It - it would have been interesting to hear from this lady if - if she heard the news on the radio or television, or if she indeed saw him in person or - or saw on television saying this.

I'm on Twitter with a lot of Iranians inside Iran right now. They're - they're very frustrated, because they don't know what to believe at this point. They're not sure if the rally is going on, who is going to be at the rally, who's going to speak and who pulled out.

That - that's the message I'm getting. A lot of frustration from both camps. But there is a lot of misinformation.

So what she's saying basically is what she's heard, which is also what others have heard as well. But - but for - as far as CNN is concerned, we wait for our own confirmation before we report anything like this. And - and right now, for us, we're waiting on a statement by Mr. Mousavi.

We don't know what he's going to say. We don't know if he's going to say that at the venue where the protest was supposed to take place or elsewhere. Is he going to call off the protest or not?

We do not know.

NGUYEN: But wouldn't you think if he did indeed make that kind of statement, it would have gone out in mass quantities? People on Twitter, on these different social-networking sites, would have put out the message? If indeed it came from his mouth.

NASR: Perhaps, yes.

But at the same time, as you said, there is a major crackdown on the media inside Iran, including our own. You just reported that we - we have only one report coming out of Iran a day. That's the only permission we got. Not just us - all foreign media.

So you don't have independent media basically reporting. We can't go to rallies. CNN cannot attend rallies to cover those rallies. So we cannot say what is going on there, except what we're hearing from our sources.

And also, when you look at the video that we're showing, the video that we're getting, citizens - Iranian citizens -- are basically becoming the reporters. They're becoming the news agencies. They're using their cell phones; they're using their digital cameras, taking pictures, uploading them to the Internet. And then from there, the whole world is seeing there.

And - and you see there is some pictures from our own CNN iReports. This is where people, ordinary citizens, can send out images and video.

So with all this in mind, you would think - you know, of course there's not going to be news out of Iran because it is controlled. So everything that is coming out is controlled. We can only trust what we hear from our reporters on the ground or on crews on the ground. And they are making calls. They're finding out what's going on, and they're keeping us up-to-date on the situation.

So you want to take everything you hear with a grain of salt because -- from either party, from either side. Because it - a lot of misinformation out there. A lot of it. I can tell you so many tales right now that I'm hearing. None of it is to be trusted.

HOLMES: But one thing we can confirm that we know, before we let you go here. I know you're going to be with us throughout the morning.

But this - this body of clerics that we have heard, that we have gotten confirmation, has come out and said they will not be participating in any rally.

Now this might be one of the first signs we're getting of just exactly what the ayatollah, the supreme leader, was trying to do. Was trying to get people, with his words, to back off of it.

NASR: You're absolutely right, T.J.

This is exactly what - what people - people expected. When the ayatollah speaks, he is the supreme leader of - of Iran. He spoke; he said the results are definitive. He supports it - President Ahmadinejad. And he called for people not to protest.

So anyone showing up in the streets of Tehran or any other Iranian city is going against the supreme leader's command. And that means very serious consequences. He did say, 'You will face consequences if you do.' That means the possibility of unleashing the police on the protesters.

So anyone who shows up at the rally is really going against the supreme leader's command. And - and that is not something that many people inside Iran are going to want to do.

So it will be very interesting to see if the rallies go on, what happens at the rallies. Is Mousavi going to call off the rally, or is - is he going to show up and call for calm, and say that he is in negotiations with the supreme leader himself?

Very interesting day. It can take Iran in - in so many different directions, depending on what this man is going to say once he speaks.

NGUYEN: But this group of clerics that has decided not to attend - it's very crucial that they made that decision, because others will follow.

NASR: Others will follow. But more importantly, in Iran, you always have to read between the lines, you know? You - people say something, and - and - you know, you get a message from the words they say, and then you have to read between the lines.

And underneath this message - and what these people did, they pulled out, basically and said, 'We're not going to show up at the rally.' They didn't say what else they're going to do.

There might be negotiations going on. They might have a plan; they might have a strategy. And - and we shouldn't go beyond that. We should just say, 'OK, they pulled out.' That means, yes, less support for the rally. It doesn't mean less support for Mousavi; it doesn't mean more support for Ahmadinejad. It just means that they are not going to participate in a rally that their supreme leader yesterday told them ...

NGUYEN: Not to.

NASR: ...not to participate in that. It's as simple as that.

NGUYEN: It's a waiting game at this point.

NASR: It is. And - and the whole world, I should say, because everybody is focusing so much on Iran right now - is waiting for Mr. Mousavi to speak. Because he is right now the leader of that opposition movement. And he is the one leading the protests, calling for the protests.

People are following him. It is his loss in the elections that sparked all the - all the demonstrations and so forth. Whatever he says is going to be the - the beginning of the new chapter in Iran.

HOLMES: And even though the lady Betty just talked to there in - in Iran says that he came out and said there won't be rallies - if he spoke, if he came out of television, there's no way we wouldn't know that. Everybody's waiting to hear this man speak. So if - if we hadn't gotten that word, she claimed... NGUYEN: Well, actually, we just got word - I got word from our executive producer in my ear just now saying that we have called her back and she's said that she saw it on Mousavi's Web site, and she also saw it on state-run television.

NASR: And - and you see, she probably saw a statement.

And that's exactly what people are saying, misinformation. Web site's hacked; you cannot trust any of this information.

HOLMES: Yes.

NASR: If you go to a - a Web site and it says, "The rally is canceled." It doesn't mean much.

NGUYEN: Right.

NASR: We have to hear from the source that it is canceled. And I - like I said, right now, we're all waiting to hear from Mousavi. He will say exactly what is going on.

And - and in the meantime, we wait to see if people are going to tell us they showed up. Like we don't know - she said the streets are calm. We don't know if she herself went out in the streets and ...

NGUYEN: Exactly.

NASR: ...what streets and what...

(CROSSTALK)

NASR: And - and all that.

So, you know, it - it - we - we have to treat everything with a lot of...

NGUYEN: Caution (INAUDIBLE). Especially when it comes to...

NASR: Right.

NGUYEN: ...a lot of the information that we're getting right now is only from state-run television. And that is, as we've been saying, exactly what it says: state-run television. So it's one side of the story. The question is, what is the other side doing?

NASR: That's right.

HOLMES: Octavia, we are so glad...

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: ...to have you with us. You're going to be with us throughout the day.

Again, our senior editor of Middle East affairs, Octavia Nasr, going to be with us throughout the morning. Glad to have you. Glad to have you all with us as well. Our coverage continues. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. We are doing special coverage on Iran today.

And we want to get to your thoughts about the situation there. Should the protesters still take to the street after the supreme leader warned them not to? Will it lead to violence? A lot of questions today. We want to hear your thoughts.

So send them to our Facebook and Twitter pages. You can find us at those two sites.

You can also e-mail us, weekends@cnn.com. We want to weigh in today. And we will be reading your responses on the air.

HOLMES: Well, coming up here, Wolf Blitzer filling in for Larry King. Had a bit of a roundtable on why the next hours are so critical in Iran. He's talking with Roger Cohen, a columnist for "The New York Times," who's in Tehran.

Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: A lot of the images we're getting now from Iran remind a lot of folks of 1970 - 79, the fall of the shah, the revolution there.

The question: Are we witnessing another defining moment in Iran's history?

NGUYEN: Well, CNN's Wolf Blitzer hosted "LARRY KING LIVE" last night and spoke with two journalists who have extensive knowledge on the situation, and one of whom is inside Iran right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Robin Wright, you've been in these situations' you've covered it for many years.

The next few hours -- am I exaggerating -- could be critical?

ROBIN WRIGHT, INTERVIEWED AHMADINEJAD, KHAMENEI: The escalation today really is remarkable. And he's taken this to a whole new level.

He has put - he has given notice to the opposition that he will broken no -- no demonstrations, and he's prepared to use the instruments of the state in order to make sure that doesn't happen.

This -- this division is now no longer about just who is the next president of Iran. It's very much now pitting the supreme leader, the symbol of the revolution, against those who are arguing for a different vision of the Islamic republic. And the stakes now are much greater. BLITZER: Roger Cohen of "The New York Times," the columnist, is on the phone, joining us now from Iran.

Roger, tell us what - what you're seeing, what you're hearing. Perhaps, most important, what you're feeling.

ROGER COHEN, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": It's tense. It's very tense.

There were a lot of Basij on the street, this armed militia, that go around in jeans, T-shirt, helmets, shields and batons, truncheons. They were standing all around Vanak Square and up the big avenue, called Vali Asr, as I walked up there.

And there's no question that the statement of the supreme leader, the speech sermon yesterday, in which he laid down a line in the sand and said, 'No more of this,' and essentially dismissed the recount, and made it very clear that his tolerance for this had reached its limit, that has changed the atmosphere.

And the demonstration scheduled for 4:00 p.m. this afternoon is looming as a kind of high noon here in Iran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: On CNN this weekend, Christiane Amanpour shares her firsthand look and worldwide reaction to the explosive election in Iran, "FROM THE STREETS OF IRAN." It's tonight, tomorrow night, 7 Eastern, on CNN.

HOLMES: All right. And we are expecting protesters to be in the streets in the next few hours.

And at the same time, we don't really know what to expect in Iran over the next hour. We are an hour away from scheduled protests.

NGUYEN: Right.

HOLMES: Two protests, major ones we were expecting to see in the streets, 7:30 Eastern time. That would be 4:00 there in Tehran.

However, now reports that one of those has been canceled; reports that some are saying they're not going to go; reports we got as well, Mousavi that came out and said one of them would be canceled.

NGUYEN: Although, it wasn't a sighting of Mousavi, it was just something on a web site. So a lot of this information cannot be verified. What we can tell you is if these protests do go forward as planned, at 7:30 Eastern Time this morning, it will be a clash between those protesters and the supreme leader, who yesterday called on protesters not to take to the streets. But if they did, there could be some real crackdown on the streets in Iran.

That's why we're watching so closely today. There is much more to come right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

Welcome, with everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. HOLMES: Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could be with us on this special coverage of what's happening in Iran, the election fallout. Coming up this half hour, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei held his first public address since last Friday's disputed election. So, who is the ayatollah? Exactly what is his role? We've been hearing that term supreme leader a whole lot.

NGUYEN: Supreme leader, yes.

HOLMES: So, what does that mean?

NGUYEN: All right. Well, in his speech the Ayatollah gave a tongue lashing to the White House. What does President Obama's administration have to say about that? We are going to delve into that issue as well.

HOLMES: Also you've seen the violence in the streets. But who are the enforcers in Iran? There is a group out there you might have heard this name a couple of times, the, uh, the Basiji. They are supported by the state. They use violence. They don't wear uniforms. Taking a closer look at their role as well.

NGUYEN: Let's get right to this. Iran's supreme leader speaks, and the crowd chants death to Israel, death to America, death to Britain. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYATTOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, SUPREME LEADER, IRAN (through translator): It has been upon, up to the people to decide, and that's what happened. People have picked who they wan wanted. My will was never told to the public, what I wanted was never publicized. And people did not have to listen to that. People had their own yardsticks, had their own criteria, and they acted based on those.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, Friday's prayer gathering at Tehran University was the Supreme Leader Khamenei's first public appearance since last Friday's disputed election. The ayatollah passionately defended the vote and praised the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's win. Called it a definitive victory and dismissed any allegations of fraud or vote rigging.

NGUYEN: Well, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the true power behind Iran's theocracy. Few Americans know much about him other than the fact that he is the ayatollah. Well, Khamenei is, in fact, 69 years old and became a political dissident ahead of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He has ruled Iran since 1989. That's when Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the revolution, died. Now, Khamenei served as Iran's president during the turbulent 1980s, when Iran was at war with Iraq. Khamenei has maintained his predecessor's hard line, often calling the U.S. the Great Satan.

We are seeing that hatred, though, spilling out once again when the Ayatollah spoke at Tehran University yesterday. We talked about this just a little bit earlier. Thousands were chanting this: Death to America, death to Britain.

Well, Trita Parsi is the president of the National Iranian-American Council, the largest Iranian-American organization in the U.S. and joins us now from Washington.

Those chants, expected?

TRITA PARSI, PRES., NAT'L. IRANIAN-AMERICAN COUNCIL: Well, that has become a tradition at some of the hard-line rallies, but the fervor with which it is said and the meaning, I think to a certain has changed. You have a population in Iran that tends to be quite pro- American. That has tremendous respect and admiration for American values, American culture, as well as American people. So that one side of hearing the chants is a very small side of a much larger picture of more positive feelings toward the United States.

NGUYEN: Well, let's try and clear this up picture for just a second. The ayatollah spoke yesterday. The supreme leader said the election was definitive. Do not go out in the streets today. This is a real clash between protesters -- and now not Ahmadinejad, not the election, but if they head to the streets, they are in a clash with the supreme leader. That's why this is so pivotal, correct?

PARSI: Exactly. He's raised the stakes, and he's trying to assert his authority. And by him going out and certifying this vote, even though the Guardian Council is supposed to look into it, he's essentially saying that if you're going out and protesting, you're defying my will. That's why it's going to be so important to see whether people actually will go out today or not, because that will be a watershed moment.

NGUYEN: What would they face, should they go out? And we're expecting at least one of the rallies will start at 7:30 Eastern Time, this morning. What could they possibly face?

PARSI: Well, what they, themselves, seem to think they will face is potentially a very, very harsh crackdown. But people that I have spoken to, in Iran, or people I've spoken to who have spoken to other people in Iran have come out with an almost unanimously message saying that people are feeling that they have no choice. That there is an injustice that they have been faced with and as a result they're going to go out regardless.

NGUYEN: But in some of these other protests, earlier this week, it wasn't violent. Some of them had tape over their mouths. There is word today that some may even go out in the streets with the Quran in their hands as a way to protect themselves from any kind of crackdown.

PARSI: The protests that we have seen so far have been overwhelmingly nonviolent, and it's partly been because the government itself has been refraining from taking harsher action. The reason why people are expecting that it could be different today is precisely because of what the supreme leader is saying yesterday. In which he said, that those who go out will face consequences and will be responsible for those consequences. NGUYEN: One last thing I want to ask you. What do you make of reports coming from Iran's state agency, saying the Guardian Council will recount up to 10 percent of the disputed vote? I mean, is that going to make much of a difference at all?

PARSI: Well, mindful of what the supreme leader said yesterday, himself, it doesn't seem that it matters at all. And that's part of the reason it seems, like Mousavi and Karroubi did not show up for the meeting today with the Guardian Council. The authority and this legal path of going to the Guardian Council has already been undermined by the supreme leader himself.

NGUYEN: That's quite a statement for the two opposition candidates, especially Mousavi, to not show up today.

PARSI: It is showing a defiance and showing that they don't recognize legitimacy, essentially, of that path.

NGUYEN: All right. Well, we do appreciate your time today and your insight.

PARSI: Thank you.

NGUYEN: Thank you so much.

NGUYEN: On "CNN This Weekend", Christiane Amanpour shares her first- hand look and worldwide reaction to the explosive election in Iran, "From The Streets of Iran". That's what it's called. It is tonight and tomorrow night, 7:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Let me explain to you what you are seeing on your TV screen right now. This is what we are essentially at the mercy of here at CNN and other Western media outlets. Because we have been shut out from covering what's happening there ourselves, independently, in Tehran. What you are seeing are pictures of live television happening in Iran right now. You see several things being covered. You see the news coverage, there, what's happening in North Korea, and various things. You even see a movie playing down there. But we are expecting news coverage to come out of there about some of the protests that are, at least, planned for today. This is just four of the things we are monitoring. A couple of television stations there in Iran. We are monitoring. When we see things pop up there, we'll bring it to you as it warrants. Our coverage here continues.

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KHAMENEI (through translator): The tense presidential election was actually a great show in which people indicated their feeling of responsibility to their destiny of our country. It was a great manifestation of people's participation in the affairs of their country. It depicted very well people's solidarity with their establishment. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well so says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, there. Those are his words from his sermon yesterday, on Friday. Pretty much giving a directive and drawing a line in the sand about what's supposed to happen today with these protests. The Iranian government then clamping down on international media reporting from Iran, so really restricting what the world can see of street protests, and anything else coming out.

NGUYEN: But as CNN's Octavia Nasr tells us, citizen journalists? Well, they have stepped in to try to fill some of these gaps.

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OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR, MIDEAST AFFAIRS (voice over): Iranian demonstrations, beatings, and a tireless call for new elections have filled the Internet in the past week. Raw images, graphic and emotional, showing the resilience of an Iranian opposition that continues to ask for a new vote. Iranian's have become the news and the journalists at the same time. They turn their personal cameras and mobile phones into news gathering machines and uploaded video after video from Tehran to Tabriz, from street corners to university dorms, wherever news is happening, they capture it and upload it to the Internet. And the world receives it on the other end and broadcasts it even farther.

Several Middle Eastern countries have regional, political and security interests in Iran. This is reflected in large blocks and high- frequency coverage most TV stations and newspapers have been have been dedicating to the subject on a daily basis.

A headline, no doubt, in Israel and Arab countries alike, offering news and analysis, while highlighting the determination of Iranians in defying government controls and insisting their voices be heard.

It's a similar story on TV. The Dubai-based Al Arabia didn't allow a week-long ban to reports from inside Iran to stop them from reporting on events down to every detail.

On Israel's Channel 10, a discussion about the new phenomenon of Iranian citizen-journalism which went from, quote, "activism to a full-fledged uprising" according to some experts. It's hard to gauge how many Iranians in the midst of these protests understand the scope of their cyber power. That's one of the questions we will try to answer when Iranian authorities allow international networks back into the streets to report first hand. Until then, CNN will continue to cover the story from all angles, including the cyber one.

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NGUYEN: And Senior Editor of Mideast Affairs Octavia Nasr joins us now.

Octavia, we have just been talking up here, we're about, what, 45 minutes away from those scheduled protests there in Iran. Although, we're getting word, again, from Iran state-run media, which is backed by Ahmadinejad, that at least one of those is canceled today. But there is a lot of questions. A lot of people really don't know what is happening today.

NASR: People are in disarray inside Iran. And we're sensing that from our contacts that we deal with on a regular basis. They're saying the situation is ambiguous. They can't tell for sure if there will be a rally, if there isn't a rally. And then even if you are in a rally, we're not going to hear from these people for a while. So we're hearing from people who are at home, on their computers, right now, telling us what they are seeing, what they are hearing from their friends, colleagues, who said that they will participate in the rally.

What happens, which is interesting, people go to these rallies and they are worried because they are capturing these images on cell phones. They have been sending out messages to people, saying take your SIM card out, when you are in the rally, so you can take pictures without being captured, without being sensed, you know. So, you know that when people are in the rallies, taking pictures with their cell phone, stills or video, they don't a SIM card so they are not able to communicate back to us or to their friends. We usually wait a few hours, sometimes a couple of hours, before they get back and start uploading the videos.

NGUYEN: That's even if they can get the information out?

NASR: If they can get it out. Otherwise, the information is controlled by the state media, radio, television, newspapers. And something about Iranian state media; it is state media, it is funded and run by the government. But more importantly, state media has been playing a very important role in these elections. This started during campaigning when they sensed that Mousavi, the opposition candidate, was doing well in the polls. And they started getting active as far as taking the side of the president, President Ahmadinejad and sending out information about him, and trying to keep some information about Mousavi, and the other candidates out.

They covers President Ahmadinejad extensively and didn't cover the others as much. And then things got really serious when people started demonstrating in the streets. That's when the crackdown began. And then a crackdown on us, the international media. CNN and other media outlets were not allowed in the streets. We were not allowed in rallies to report on the story. We were confined to our offices.

And then after that, we were confined to one report a day. And that's what we're doing now.

NGUYEN: And now, we're confined to no reports until our correspondent goes and specifically puts in the application, puts in the request, to do a report.

NASR: And gets approval for that. So you can understand what's going on when we tell the story from this perspective, and you see, oh, OK, so state-run media is really playing a role in -- in what's going on. And very important to tell our viewers that why we report what state- run media, in Iran, is saying, very important also to find those voices of the dissent, find them so that we can hear their side of the story. And where we're going, mainly, for that is on the Internet. Because they found - like you heard in my report - they seemed to have found a voice on the Internet, on social networking sites. They're uploading their videos. They're also Twitter, for example, sending out all kinds of updates.

And I'll tell you, when one of my contacts, who is a pro-Mousavi person, tells me that the situation is ambiguous and he's someone who is very well connected with the campaign. He himself is saying the situation is ambiguous. On the other hand, I have a contact who is pro-President Ahmadinejad and she's sending me information telling me that the rallies are canceled, you know, that the propaganda war is on.

NGUYEN: Already begun, yes.

NASR: And we want to be very careful with that.

NGUYEN: But I want to be very clear with you. We have not heard word that the opposition rallies have been canceled. We have not heard from the candidates. We have not heard from anyone that they -- on that side - that they have been canceled today.

NASR: There is a lot of misinformation out there. Information that we cannot trust. Some saying the rally will go on. Others saying, both rallies will go on, and then there is information saying the rally is canceled.

NGUYEN: We have not heard from Mousavi?

NASR: No, we have not heard from him directly. We have our crew in Iran, in Tehran. They are working the phones. They're calling all their contacts. They will get us information first hand and we'll report this as soon as we get it. But for now, we're waiting on Mr. Mousavi to speak, or to issue a statement about today's rallies.

Very important to understand what happened yesterday, at Friday's sermon, when Ayatollah Ali-Akbar Khamenei went on and said that the election results are final, and he supports President Ahmadinejad. And he called on people not to demonstrate. This is the supreme leader of Iran telling Iranians not to go in the streets and demonstrate. So anyone showing up in the street will be going against the supreme leader's command. And that's not an easy feat at this point.

NGUYEN: It's quite a showdown if it does happen.

NASR: Uh-huh.

NGUYEN: Octavia Nasr, thanks so much for your insight. I know you are going to be here with us all morning long. So we will be talking with you shortly.

NASR: OK.

HOLMES: Octavia, thank you. We're back in a minute.

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HOLMES: A couple photos we want to share with you, we are just getting in here. Here is one of Iranian women holding up a sign there. This is near the Iranian embassy. It reads, "No to police violence in Iran." Also says, "Yes to the will of the Iranian people". The two messages on those two pictures you are seeing. Also, another photo we want to share with you. A protester, there, his fist in the air. As Iranians worshipers chant slogans in support of Iran's supreme leader, as they arrive for Friday prayers.

NGUYEN: And we want to remind you of special coverage today. Christiane Amanpour shares her first-hand look and worldwide reaction to the explosive election in Iran. "From the Streets of Iran", tonight and tomorrow night, 7:00 Eastern on CNN.

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HOLMES: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is 7 o'clock, here where we sit. It is now 3:30 in Tehran. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.

NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks for starting your day us with.

We do have some special Iran coverage for you. In fact, we've been bringing you live coverage for the past two hours. And in this half hour, we're taking a closer look at how Americans are reacting to Iran's election.

Kate Bolduan (ph) has the response from the White House. And CNN is in a unique position to bring you live coverage from all across the world.

So we are following developments on this breaking news story this morning. Our access, we have to be very transparent with you, has been limited by the Iranian government. It really put a crackdown on foreign journalists.

HOLMES: Of all of the access we do have, around the world, around this country, just in covering the story, but one place we have been shut out, right now, is Iran. There are restrictions on what foreign press could do. We are told we couldn't cover anything related to the election, couldn't cover the rallies. Our reporter there, Reza Sayah, was told he had to stay in his hotel room; could only file one report a day. That, now, has even changed to where he has to get permission on a case-by-case basis, just to file a report for us.