Khamenei's sermon makes one pray: 'Dear God, protect us from those speaking in your name and on your behalf'.

We could not expect any better from a man who has personally orchestrated the election coup d'etat in Iran. As Iranians were chanting today all around Europe: "the government is carrying out massacres and the leader is giving his support to these massacres".

I believe the supreme leader along with his supporters live in a dark bubble filled with their erroneous illusions about Iran and the Iranian nation. These people are those who back violence and who actually spread the seeds of violence in the society. Since the revolution in 1979, we have heard the supreme leader referring over and over again to an enemy, an illusionary enemy which must be overcome, but this enemy of Iran is no one but himself and his crew. What we, Iranians, want today is a government who supports its people, not a government who supports Hezbollah and Hamas at the expense of the nation.

dear hala,
about the report of youtub head office and showing the map of those who upload the video so upclose.
this is very dengeruse to those ppl life,kindly note this and delet the map closup from the report.
you guys doing great job.
best regards

I rarely find journalists who would dig deeper and give the readers an insight about probable outcomes in the future.

However, it is clear that you are not familiar with political strategies usually used in Iran. When I was a young student, I became a political campaign manager in Iran, therefore, I started to study more about the power dynamics and our history.

Therefore you haven’t mentioned the ultimate scenario. Iranian regime rarely uses this tactic, but as things getting tough and frustrating on both sides, unfortunately I see increasing probability of this nasty scenario to be played out in Iran.

What it is?

Well, I believe, after a long back and forth discussion between the politcal powers, they will not back down. The Supreme Leader will not back down as he has already declared his pick (Ahmadinejad) the winner and if he would retreat from this stance, his image and credibility will be ruined and would even set the stage for Hashemi Rafsanjani to claim the leadership position.

And Mousavi will not back down as he knows he has truly won and people are behind him. So he will continue to put the administration on constant pressure.

What will happen finally?

Well, government will need to distract attention and priority in a radical way. How they do it? They usually stage an explosion where hundreds of people die. Then they start to link it to enemies and then completely changing the playing field. No one will have the courage to argue in the face of national threat. They have done it in the past, they can do it again.

I have the evidence of such actions taken place in the past by Supreme Leader, I can provide you with more information if you like.

It is very important that media would start to talk about this probability in an indirect tone early on, maybe by reciting the past events. This will disarm the regime and they will find no credibility on doing so.

Hope this helps…..

Ali

PS. I’d like you to know that Mousavi and Khamenei are both from the same city called “Khameneh” in north-west Iran. Their grandfathers had a conflict almost a hundred years ago which resulted on Khameni’s family to leave the city for Mashhad, in north-east. And both of them belong to Turkish ethnicity. Turks are famous for their persistence in the face of challenges which are undermining their pride.

Has anyone been uncovered who is representing the majority Iranians who do not want their country ruled by any of the Mullahs? Who speaks for those who do not want any theocratic rule.

The friday prayer comments is the same as before and absolutely predictable. He is supporting Ahmadinejad and the revolution. The only important thing in this situation is for them to save the regime and democracy comes at last.

We believe revoting is theonly way forward.

After 30 years we believe Iranian people have this right to ask for a fair voting from the supreme leader.

Obama is making his own brand of grand mistakes about Iran thinking avoiding George Bushes flaws would mean being on right track. Well that simple is not our world He might feel more intellectual by this but the impact on the development in Iran and indirectly on the fight against terrorism would be more negative.
The Islamic Republic from Iran seeks regional hegemony. The path to there is dumpy. The leadership has come to the conclusion that a grand bargain with US would gave them time they need. This time they need to consolidate their power outside and inside Iran.
They drag US into Iraq and Afghanistan just for that. So that was the share of bad decisions from Bush. Now Obama give them more time. The revolution in Iran now has two facets. One is the democracy aspect but the other is hardliners need to regroup and then occupy the platform they need to negotiate with US. Obama is now reinforcing them in this. In fact Obama acts like a female ape waiting to see which male is stronger to pare with.
If Ahamadinejad then pare with him. This is the main reinforcement Khamenei gets from Obama or else eye would not crack on the protests if he would knew that would not pay.

If not moderated yet I just found a dictation mistake the word eye must be replaced by he:

Obama is making his own brand of grand mistakes about Iran thinking avoiding George Bushes flaws would mean being on right track. Well that simple is not our world He might feel more intellectual by this but the impact on the development in Iran and indirectly on the fight against terrorism would be more negative.
The Islamic Republic from Iran seeks regional hegemony. The path to there is dumpy. The leadership has come to the conclusion that a grand bargain with US would gave them time they need. This time they need to consolidate their power outside and inside Iran.
They drag US into Iraq and Afghanistan just for that. So that was the share of bad decisions from Bush. Now Obama give them more time. The revolution in Iran now has two facets. One is the democracy aspect but the other is hardliners need to regroup and then occupy the platform they need to negotiate with US. Obama is now reinforcing them in this. In fact Obama acts like a female ape waiting to see which male is stronger to pare with.
If Ahamadinejad then pare with him. This is the main reinforcement Khamenei gets from Obama or else he would not crack on the protests if he would knew that would not pay.

They are killing my people, they are killing my youth, they are killing my voice, my voice of happiness and my voice of freedom.

This is when words are more powerful than bullets. Stand up and be accounted for if you believe in your freedom because at some point in your society too, there where those who with their blood gave you the right to be FREE.

Study your own history people of the world; FREEDOM has never been FREE

Standing with the Iranians is standing up for your own freedom

Hala

We in Iran, are tired from your one-sided, biased reports about everything : about our election , our choice,our president ( who may not be very popular among the wealthy Iranians who live in north of Tehran but is definitely the most favourable in other towns and villages) . We are tired of the names you attach to those who are basijiis when you could simply ask your own Reza Sayah to go to mirdamab Blv. in north of Tehran to see that they are not notorious, bearded beasts but some boys in the next door , very simple ones who just try to maintain order and security for other people. We are tired of the whole lies you broadcast for viewers all around the globe We are tired of everything you say.

The interesting thing is that you wonder why those who are with the government , the leader and the president don't send you any response because they are tired, bored and they don't know to whom they should complain against Mousavi and his supporters who have explicitly taken people as their hostages.

We , the silent majority ( with no access to web) are those who support the leader. Yesterday he talked to all and warned some. He and us wait to see and if the other camp doesn't stop we have to force them understand " enough is enough ."
Many of shopkeepers, civil servants and the ones commute in the down town are tired of their meaningless protest.

Hala

believe it or not, in a country with 750 thousand people monitoring the election , it's not easy to cheat. With 85% turnout it's impossible to rig the vote.
My family , me and a lot I know, voted for Ahmadinejad. he won 24 million votes but not from Tehran. believe it or not !

I know that you may not publish my comment but I wanted you to read it and know the facts.
And let me tell you something. I'm a girl but if the leader orders I , swear to God that I'll go to the streets and sacrifice my life for Islam. Iran. the leader and the revolution of course and I'll fight with those who are against the will of the people.

I'm Really Happy about the second time Election of the President some people who are desperate for change are playing in the Hands of Foreign people . although they want change but there is a criteria for it . you can't decide it via demonstration and street violence . Foreign Media is not doing Justice and Manipulation the truth . In a program (connect) the Guy was totally unaware of the situation on the Ground . He have wrongly said Church while he need to use Mosque at that time .

I now strongly feel, Rights & Human Rights of people have become rather "Politics". Recent examples of Sri Lanka, Iran, Pakistan all worst in their Human Rights record were highlighted by International Media and Countries including Western Countries differently. It all based on their strategic and political interest not Really because of their Interest in PEOPLE or HUMAN RIGHTS. In this information rich and educated world, this is obvious to all what could really be happening. I wish CNN should start this as a "voice for voiceless"

I think CNN does a good job.
You interview all sort of people about Iran crisis.
People you bring in front of your cameras however have different backgrounds. Some of them like Trita Parsi and Houshang Amir Ahmadi are no way independent analyst but belong to the huge and costly Islamic lobby in US. They are organized in NIAC. This development would challenge their industry in US. Because they should do a U turn now. This anxiety oozed from Ahmir Ahmadi,s comments on CNN today.

I appreciate the people around the word helping us in Iran. But they are at the same time helping themselves.
If we could put the right man in power in stead for him being selected then less oil money would be channeled into big terrorism around the globe by Khamenei. So you would be safer in Bali and London and even Iraq and India. Join us for safety and democracy

I just wanted to say that Iranians, at this point have to be creative in expressing their solidarity, like doing a national day of prayer, national fasting, national stoppage of work–something that will not put them in direct clash with the Guardian army but will show to the world their solidarity and then continue to spend time planning how to resolve their issue with their Supreme Leader. I wish I could send this message over to them.

Nejad won by 11m votes. Such a scale of rigging is impossible. And the verdict testifies to his committment to the villagers and the middle class, not to mention the resistance of imperialism. However, we expect more freedom to Iranian people, good relations with Iran's neighbours and reconciliation with its crticts for the sake of development, peace and tranquility. He is known to be simple and humble in his personal life. If he applies the same qualities in his official and foreign policies, he could win the world. If he tends to listen to the world with equanimity, the world will listen to his words sincerely. On the other hand, heavy protests on Iranian streets cannot be condoned. Who is wrong, and who is right is to be proved by a system which stands for justice. In that context,Khamenei is the man to stop the crisis. But the protesters are not satisfied by the way he has approved Nejad’s victory.In democracy, people may question the authority until they get satisfactory reply.

Hi
Yesterday, I wrote here about probable explosion in Iran in order to stop people's movement, but you didn't publish it.
If you have done so, if you would make people aware of such dangerous actions by government in order to mislead the world, it wouldn't happen….

Amajinejad's victory was a fluke.

today Ayatolah men blast the shrine of Khomini. What a cliche ! now they can imprision every one and torture everyone in the name of security !

I like the way the ayatollah reached out to the western powers that be,back off with your evil ways,no meddling is tolerated

I am reading a lot of comments from iranians who live nearby to khomeni's tomb who claim that the news report was released on state tv before the blast actually occurred, surely this would indicate complicity of the regime in setting the bomb, I mean really....do they think their own people that naive? is there anyway to confirm these reports, can commercial sattelite coverage give us accurate times of the bombing which can be correlated with the times of the news reports?
this needs to be dealt with, it will give more idea of the regimes agenda towards the protesters. please do not ignore this issue!!!!

please, please discuss the email from ali above, he predicted this, cnn dig dig dig dig deeper! and then dig some more if he is offering info please put on live, he wrote that before it happened... he is very brave to give you this information, probably at great threat to his life. Do his courage justice and talk over his information live, let the world judge whether he is telling the truth!!!!!
attempt to confirm identity, but put it on, it is a view that needs to be discussed

ps: Hala, love your work!, as a student journalist with a great passion of using media to improve the world, it is great to see such dedication by a news anchor, i'm sure that the oppressed and freedom loving people of the world salute your efforts.

However......please leave sport in the sport section. It takes away from your excellent coverage of world issues, isn't it a little shameful to talk about protesters being killed and injured, and then do a direct cross to some guy talking about golf?
best wishes and look forward to watching again tomorrow

The media is playing into the drama displayed by the Iranian people. Are the Iranian people so foolish as to think that Mousavi is going to change Iran. Nothing is going to change!! it will still be an oppressive regime that does not grant freedom to the people. I think the iranian people should get off the streets and go home. This is not a revolution!!

The blast at Khomeini shrine is an act of desperation by Khamenei best security officer Mr. Rohaolah Hosseinian.
This regime owns the terror industry. I am amazed how short memory CNN reporters have.
All major terrorist attacks with or without blasts since 1979 has the signature of this regime including 911 when 8 of the muscle men passed Iranian borders. One may say most places were not related to Islam they blew like Argentina bombing 1994 so known that it is now in wikipedia . But they also planned to bomb Mecca back in 1981 that resulted into a clash with police there and killing of many. This one came out in the television debates of candidates. Google yourself I do not send links. Then bombing of Imam Reza`s shrine back in June 1994 which they tried to stick to the opposition then and it looked to work for a while but that become revealed later in their own trivialities. Then all bombs they put in Bazaars and shrines in Iraq.
You could not expect from American journalists to know that but I wonder now why experts in Iran affairs on CNN has such a short memory.

The Iranians want their freedom. Well, they are not going to get it with Mousavi!!

One thing I don't understand: where in your comments, CNN, shall the public hear what the Iranian Resistance in exile will do? You haven't yet talked about them.
That s 1. On the other hand: I'm glad to hear that mr. Obama now is more resolute in talking about the Mullahregime"s actingway. I would be pure happy for the Iranians, when Obama scraps the PMOI and the NCRI from the American list of terrorist organisations. That shall cause the definitive fall of the Mullahs. Because they want free elections in Iran, with observers from the UN.

The unrest in Iran is not about who becomes a president. It is a vote against the supreme leader and the rule that has taken the country in the darkness.

Why USA is not using their spy satellites for live images from Iran?

There leaves little doubt that the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would rather have the Iranian governing structure fully exposed as a fraud that concede that any authority exists other than his own. The events unfolding in Iran also exposes Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for who he truly is, nothing more than a talking head. This is whom the world will have to work. Nonsense. Can you imagine the consequences of the world letting this govenment based in the dark ages acquire anything as dangerous as nuclear weapons. Let's hope not.

I spoke to a close friend in Iran today .... all communications are being shut down, internet is SLOW now and calling cards have been blocked .

Critical question what is the UN doing???

There was once a man named Ayatollah..., ...so God gave the people of Iran Twitter..., ...God bless the brave men and women of Iran. I'm so choked up right now. I've never been so proud of the Iranian people. I've never been so proud of my generation. Generation Text. We The Best!

The Revolution Will Be Twitterized.

Dear Hala Gorani and Christian Amanpour,

There had been some writings in the intenet that original surname of Ahmadi Nejad is something else and his family has changed their surname in the time when they moved to Tehran about 50 years ago. Could you please ask your Iran team to discuss about this issue? It is interesting to know his background.

Best regards,

Behruz Tabrizi

This is a part of the order that was told the basij militia by their commander:
If a group of people came towards you and did not pay attention to your "stop order" and were not scattered, shot at least one or two of them.
A friend of mine heard this when passing basij militia around ValiAsr square in Tehran.

and by the way , who cares about mousavi, we do want our freedom..we've had parliament for more that 100 years but we are still fighting for freedom...even if we could not get the liberty right now the world would know we, iranians think totally different from our dictatorial government...that is what matters to us !!!!

Hello,
I would like to know why Cnn wasn't so agile and active in distributing informations and videos from Gaza during bombardement as it is now during Iran's unrest?

And, what is the United States is going to do about this bloodshed? I clearly understand Obama's thinking of not wanting to get involed in a nation's politics. But, the situation in Iran is now beyound this thinking.

Please ask our president to help our young Iranian people who are loosing their life just because they ask for JUST.

Dear Hala,

I just want to draw your attention to President Ahmadinejad's speech at the UN last year.
He said he sees the American Empire coming to an end!, was he also prophesying on his regime- Iranian dictatorship empire coming to an end?.

The question now is which empire is coming to an end, a democratic empire which respects people and most of all women, or a dictator('cratic) empire that shoots on his own people.

By the way I am not an American, but like the Greek philosopher said, I am a citizen of the world. crisis anywhere is crisis everywhere.

Jesse.

hala,
what we are witnessing in Irag is a culmination of dissapoints waiting to explode...Iranians, especially the youths who have been influenced by western cultures and 'democratic' tenets don't really share their president's stance on terrorism, anti -Semitic cum america views. what they want is freedom, expression and economic might.

Many would be surprised at the open defiance to the supreme leader; this is what we all know exists in the minds of millions of Iranians but means of voicing them out had not presented itself, till now. Iran would never remain the same again
A word of caution for other states too...Dictatorship is an old swansong no matter it coloration, religion or whatsoever

What is happening in Iran right now, is not about Mousavi, it is about Iraninan peoples struggle against terror and lack of democracy. It iis not just about Iranian people, it is about the world's intrest in peace and democracy. it is a voice and outcry for support. Let the people in Iran know they are not alone in this movement. act on what you have codemned for decades, namely; terrorism and lack of respect for international law. Now it is time for the leaders of the world to take a stance. Don't let this great chance for freedom and peace go to waste.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

The government killes our people then doesn't inform their family, instead they take them to someplace unknown. Iranian families are worried about their loved ones. WHERE ARE THEY? more than 13 people have been killed and the iranian media is still looking for the people who have killed those 3 guards! how shame full..

In looking at the video of Iranian shooting victims, it seems to me they are almost entirely upper chest and head shots. (sorry to be so cold about this). These are the classic signs of sniper fire. Did the regime learn a valuable lesson from the Shah, by only allowing sharpshooters to pick off demonstrators, thus averting the overall bloodbath of Army troops in volley fire? If so, how horrible of them to make that calculation against their own people. And yes, if it were true, you wouldn't want any press around to anoy you with the grisly truth. Iran is in my prayers.

Down with Islamic Republic of Iran. I support all the protesters in Tehran and other cities that they are fighting for Democracy and freedom but unfortunately Media giving to the world wrong information.

Thank you to CNN for broadcasting images coming out from Iran!
Iranian government should know that they can ban all journalists from reporting but the whole world is still watching!

CNN, thank you for your coverage of this issue. We are eternally grateful.

What I would like someone to answer is why did Obama cut funding to Iranian human rights & democracy groups right at this time when they need it the most! Outraging on the part of the US President!

i'm egyption girl lives in north Africa, 4 years ago i was happy becuse Ahmed el naged became te president of iran, but now i'm angry of my self for beleving in him to improve the situations in the ,middle east.
now, its clearly how i was wrong, whats happening now in iran and the goverment refuse a resluctions is outrages, the picture of the girl who has been shoot is still in my memory and i don't think that i could ever forget it, her murder is in El khamini and negad's neck.

Where is the president of the U.S.?

We are almost in World War III and have potential allies to defend Western Culture in the uprising. And we the administration offers no support. No guts, or vision.

Najad is a great leader that should be elected again.
we see these days a fierce attack from foreign news agencies like CNN and BBC on Iran's democracy option even though the iranian turn out was 85% on election day!!
those who demonstrate are non democratic as they want to impose their will on the rest of Iran.
outside intervension is the main reason why there are casualties in Iran today, I believe Iranian officials when they say that britain is interferring in Iran's affairs and don't believe british officials because the british have a history of lying as the occupied my country (Jordan) once and all of us remember Belfore's promise which broke their promise.

I want to talk to President Obama ..... Mr. president since you've been elected , I've started to hope for a real change, real democracy....... Now my countrymen are killed because of democracy in Iran, I'm sure you've watched the video of " Neda" who gave her last breaths to democracy, to freedom....... Mr.President give us a hand, we all rely on you, we all have hopes on you........... we dont have anything to loose anymore, they are armed from head to toe, we are fighting with our blood.......Support US..... a nation is waiting for you........

I think it will decrease his position as a supreme leader.this is for the first time that people shout loudly "down with khameneyi".you could not imagine that what does it means.it clarifies we hate the highest level of our political system which is the leadership .so people show that this regime could not be stand for a longtime because we do not frightened of martyrdem.

It is a sad situation in IRAN , the demonstrators have no power, no guns, the reality is that they have no FREEDOM at all even AHMADINEJAD has no power , the CLERICS rule the country and that is not going to change, DEMOCRACY doesn't work in that region MONARCHY is the solution that is what the BRITISH did in IRAQ after WORLD WAR 1 ,and look at JORDAN today, i still remember the SHAH REZA PAHLEVI and his beautiful wife and WHY ??? USA abandoned him , and now THE CLERICS have a hold of this country , they will keep the hold unless defeated in a WAR, THEIRS ARMY are very effective now the HEZBOLLAH in LEBANON just defeated ISRAELI ARMY recently , what was a shock to me, and to the ISRAELIS( the IRANIANS trained and supplied the HEZBOLLAHS so they must be very modernized fighting force too).
But this FATAL ERROR pales in comparison to what BUSH administration did in PAKISTAN removing MUSHARAFF and that we still have to see the consequences in near future, another FATAL ERROR and this one with nuclear weapons.So goes USA's democracy flaws every time time they elect(and reelect or those 2 elections were rigged too?? FLORIDA then OHIO) an incompetent president like in the case of GEORGE W BUSH , a complete ignorant in terms of HISTORY and then next president ( an intelligent and competent one President OBAMA) has to deal with a serious crisis.
Back to IRAN demonstrators they will be CRUSHED for sure, it looks like uprising of WARSAW at the end of WORLD WAR 2 everybody watching nobody helping and the end tragic. The AYATOLLAHS have been patient for now but they will change soon, the problem is a logistic one they don't have enough prisons for all those demonstrators, but they will find a solution.

It is a sad situation in IRAN , the demonstrators have no power, no guns, the reality is that they have no FREEDOM at all even AHMADINEJAD has no power , the CLERICS rule the country and that is not going to change, DEMOCRACY doesn't work in that region MONARCHY is the solution that is what the BRITISH did in IRAQ after WORLD WAR 1 ,and look at JORDAN today, i still remember the SHAH REZA PAHLEVI and his beautiful wife and WHY ??? USA abandoned him , and now THE CLERICS have a hold of this country , they will keep the hold unless defeated in a WAR, THEIRS ARMY are very effective now the HEZBOLLAH in LEBANON just defeated ISRAELI ARMY recently , what was a shock to me, and to the ISRAELIS( the IRANIANS trained and supplied the HEZBOLLAHS so they must be very modernized fighting force too).
But this FATAL ERROR pales in comparison to what BUSH administration did in PAKISTAN removing MUSHARAFF and that we still have to see the consequences in near future, another FATAL ERROR and this one with nuclear weapons.
Back to IRAN demonstrators they will be CRUSHED for sure, it looks like uprising of WARSAW at the end of WORLD WAR 2 everybody watching nobody helping and the end tragic. The AYATOLLAHS have been patient for now but they will change soon, the problem is a logistic one they don't have enough prisons for all those demonstrators, but they will find a solution.

The Guardian counsel just request ed ( 9:30 PM tehran time)an extension of five days from Ayatollah Khamenei to look more carefully into the election allegations.

PLease CNN with all do respect, where are you getting your information of Honduras? What are your sources, please study our laws and constitution so that you can decide for yourself that this was not a military coup, it was an arrest for violating the law. Today has been a very peaceful day, stop using Telesur as reference, we all know telesur is from Chavez which has threatened our peace with Venezuelan and Nicaraguan troops. The few people that are trying to make caos are the very little people that support Zelaya, like former employees. Our military is out there to promote us peace and security. Please get your sources right.