Not the Change They Expected

UPDATE

It's Saturday afternoon in Tehran, and the streets are generally quiet. But the aftermath of Iran's rigged election, in which radical-right President Ahmadinejad and his paramilitary backers were kept in office, has left Iran's capital steeped in anger, despair, and bitterness.

Last night, after the polls closed, heavily armed troops from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps were in evidence in the streets. In one area of north Teheran, where backers of opposition challenger and reformist ex-Prime Minister Mousavi are concentrated, I saw a convoy of at least fifteen military vehicles filled with armed guards idling along the side of the road. The street in front of the Interior Ministry, where votes are counted, is blocked and heavily guarded after rumors that Mousavi supporters might gather there to protest the election count.

Mousavi himself has pledged to fight the verdict, using words like "tyranny" and adding, "I will not surrender to this dangerous charade."

MORE TO COME .....

The scene was in stark contrast to Election Day.

I went off in search of Ahmadinejad voters Friday in Tehran. They are not easy to find.

It's perfect election weather in Iran, relatively cool today with a nice breeze and clear skies, and at polling station after station, the turnout was huge. I began my day at the 7th Tir Technical School in central Tehran. It is a relatively prosperous, middle-class area, and scores of people were on line this morning, ID cards in hand, waiting patiently to vote. A dozen election officials were milling around, and when they noticed that I was a reporter, out of nowhere appeared a tray with tea. An official checks my press credentials and says, "Welcome."

The people in line were solemn, men and women, some with kids. I do a straw poll, quietly asking voters who they plan to cast their ballots for, and why, and it's clear that at this station at least, it's Mir Hossein Mousavi country. Tarandeh, 38, a teacher with an M.A. in English, says, "I'm someone who has never ever voted before in the Islamic Republic, not once. I was the first on line today, at 8 am. And the gentleman looked at my voting book and asked me, 'Where are your other votes?' I told him, today is my first." Tarandeh's father was an admiral in the Iranian Navy, and he knows Mousavi from his days as prime minister in the 1980s. "I am sure he will not insult and disrespect the beliefs of others around the world, for instance, by talking about the Holocaust." She notes than Iran has a Jewish minority.

Further north, in the Fereshteh neighborhood of north Tehran, the turnout for Mousavi is overwhelming. Hundreds of people are waiting on line to vote at a mosque and cultural center, men to the left and women to the right. As I walk down the aisle between them, a young woman notices that I am an American reporter. "Vote for Mousavi!" she says. I tell her that I can't vote, but that I voted for Obama. A crowd is gathering. "Obama!" Three or four people applaud. Several of them say, "We like Mousavi!" Few speak English, but they are translating for each other. I say, "Perhaps Mousavi and Obama will meet soon." By now there are thirty or forty people listening to the conversation. All of them break out into cheers and applause. It's a startling, and stunning moment.

Outside, voters are eager to talk. Hessam Omidi, 24, is a student who's only voted once before. "I am here for the future of my country," he says. "We have been isolated in the world, lost our connection with the rest of the world." Nasser Hakimi, 70, a doctor, says, "I am here for Mousavi, because I don't like Ahmadinejad. Actually I don't care about Mousavi, I just was Ahmadinejad out." He says virtually everyone in the neighborhood is for Mousavi, except for a handful who won't vote at all. "Mousavi can talk to Obama, and he can negotiate a compromise on Iran's nuclear program." His wife, Elly, a yoga instructor, nods her head. "We are not cattle or cows or sheep to follow orders. We live in an ancient country with a proud history." She says that nearly all women in Iran are sick of the current situation, and lowering her voice, she adds, "If Ahmadinejad wins, I predict there will be another revolution."

Last night, worried about exactly that prospect, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards issued a stern warning that the security forces will not tolerate a "Green Revolution" if Mousavi loses and his supporters refuse to accept the results.

Finding few, if any supporters of the president, I head west to the Narmak area of Tehran, well known as Ahmadinejad's neighborhood, because he lived there for years. Unlike the previous places I visited, this is a run-down working class area. But it's still hard to find a supporter of Ahmadinejad, surprisingly. "Ahmadinejad did not fulfill his promises," says Milad Saki, 22, a student with spiky hair. Faraz Khaveri, 25, who works in a publishing house nearby, says, "This is the neighborhood of Ahmadinejad, but there is massive support for Mousavi here." Mohammad Reza, 22, a student at Sadr University in Tehran, says, "The situation in Iran is critical. And all Ahmadinejad talks about is Israel!"

On the sidewalk outside, I approach a group of conservatively dressed women in black chadors, expecting that perhaps -- unlike the women in colorful scarves -- they might be backers of the president. "Mousavi or Ahmadinejad?" I ask, to the group of six or eight women. I am stunned, again. "Mousavi! Mousavi!" they all say, laughing and smiling. One pulls our a hidden green armband. Again, a crowd is gathering around me, and soon two dozen people have assembled. "We are waiting for someone to revive and rebuild this country!" says someone. "We want freedom!" says another. "Freedom of speech." A woman looks at me. "And stop the hijab police!" referring to the notorious dress-code cops who prowl Tehran. Suddenly they are all talking at once. "Ahmadinejad is a liar!"

Still looking for Ahmadinejad backers, I head to south Tehran, the president's reputed stronghold. The first polling place I visit, at the Sangy Mosque, under twin towering minarets tiled in blue, white, and gold, is decidely Ahmadinejad territory. The officials are grim and unfriendly. Guards armed with machine guns stand outside, though no such guards appeared at the other polling places I've visited. They scowl at my credentials, and tell me I can't interview voters. But in fact there are few voters to be found. Compared to the other places, where hundreds of people waited in long lines, here there are no more than half a dozen people.

A few blocks away, at another mosque, still deep in poverty-stricken south Tehran, the officials are more welcoming. About three dozen people are waiting in line. I approach Reza Zarei, 37, a taxi driver, who introduces me to his entire family: wife, brother-in-law, father-in-law, various cousins. I've approached him because he has the appearance of an Ahmadinejad guy, with a beard, conservative clothing, and a wife in full black chador. But no. "We are all Mousavi!" he says, and his relatives nod and smile in agreement. "Just like the Amercans voted for Obama, we are going for Mousavi," he says.

Nearby, a young man tells me, "You are not going to find anyone for Ahmadinejad here." His friend, Hamid Ghadyani, agrees. "In this area it's maybe 50-50," he says, then corrects himself. "Well, most are for Mousavi, and the rest are for Karroubi." Mehdi Karroubi is the other reformist candidate, who has pledged to support Mousavi if he wins. "We are not going to vote for Ahmadinejad. The way he deals with other countries is not what we expect in a president. He is too aggressive. The policy of Islam is peace."

I tried.

Comments (35)

1. What a joke. Everyone who is friendly and happy are voting for Mousavi and only the grim and repressed are voting for A. What a childish image.

   Posted by gren at 06/12/2009 @ 09:39am

2. Well, to be fair, I did a short observational documentary in Ohio around the times of elections, going from rally to rally interviewing people, etc. The climax of the piece were the two final rallies in Columbus; John McCain and Arnold Schwarzenegger on October 31st and Barack Obama on November 2nd. The tenor of the two events, both inside and outside where they were being held, was radically different. For the Obama event, the entire downtown area of Columbus was effectively shut down and the line for the event sprawled countless city blocks. People were dancing and cheering; the energy was contagious (a clichéd phrase I know, but it's the best way to describe it). At the McCain event however, a group of two Iraq War Veterans physically attacked a few protesters, some of the elderly, people were chanting in racist epithets, and a large number of the people were interviewed were boisterous and angry. It was a cartoon-like difference.

   Posted by Erick at 06/12/2009 @ 09:58am

3. Time for lamb shank & baklava!

   Posted by Happy at 06/12/2009 @ 09:59am

4. It would seem that the US is not the only country where conservatives are being forced to grow up a lot faster than they're capable of.

   Posted by DejaVu at 06/12/2009 @ 10:04am

5. Posted by gren at 06/12/2009 @ 09:39am

   Don't worry.

   We can still bomb the hell out of them if Mousavi wins.

   Posted by Benchrest at 06/12/2009 @ 10:06am

6. ....if Mousavi wins.

   Posted by Benchrest at 06/12/2009 @ 10:06am

   If he is the Iranian Magic......we can just wait until Iran falls apart.....save our bombs for.......hmmmmm.....hmmmmmmm.....Somalia and Yemen!

   Posted by Happy at 06/12/2009 @ 10:10am

7. Posted by Happy at 06/12/2009 @ 10:10am

   We don't have to save them.

   We got puh-lenty to go around.

   The plant at McAlister OK is rockin and rollin.

   Posted by Benchrest at 06/12/2009 @ 10:15am

8. What a breath of fresh air to see Iranians take that leap of faith that us Americans took in Nov. It's interesting to see how just like Americans in the last election; Iranians are also tired of the same old hate and fear routine that radical politicians like to use as their only political platform. If Mousavi wins, Iranians too will realize that he won't fix all their problems and that he may not be able or willing to keep all of his promises (lessons being learned in the States now) but they will also feel empowered and hopeful that they CAN create change for themselves. Most importantly, the future generations will realize that change and progress are not doomed but that the only way to achieve this is to work together putting their differences aside for a common goal. Change is possible...Si Se Puede! Yes THEY Can!!

   Posted by caro.urrutia at 06/12/2009 @ 10:19am

9. Hey, MASK, gold and interest rates are dropping today.......look for polls saying coast is clear for a gangbuster econ. recovery!

   Posted by Happy at 06/12/2009 @ 10:38am

10. Doesn't matter who wins to the Islamic Terrorist, they still rest assured of the continued support, supply, and training the Iranians will continue to supply them so don't worry about it dryfuss!

    Posted by BigPasture at 06/12/2009 @ 11:31am

11. Posted by Happy at 06/12/2009 @ 10:38am

    "polls"?...plural?....You mean MORE than Rasmussen? But...but...but..they don't matter??!!?!???!??

    Posted by Mask at 06/12/2009 @ 11:32am

12. "Doesn't matter who wins to the Islamic Terrorist, they still rest assured of the continued support, supply, and training the Iranians will continue to supply them so don't worry about it dryfuss!----Posted by BigPasture at 06/12/2009 @ 11:31am

    They are nothing...if not predictable.

    "Mousavi wins it'll be "So what? The ayatollahs run everything. Who cares who the President is? Iranian Presidents are impotent!"

    Ahmadinejad wins it's "He's a mad-man. A Hitler! A power-hungry fanatic ready to strike! He's going to launch his nukes as soon as he gets them 'next week'!!!!"

    Such is the way of things."---Posted by Mask at 06/10/2009 @ 11:06am

    Posted by Mask at 06/12/2009 @ 11:35am

13. Posted by snowball666 at 06/12/2009 @ 11:38am

    True, however...

    Little more rabies in the bloodstream with RIO....but essentially the same.

    Posted by Mask at 06/12/2009 @ 11:57am

14. I was pleased with the Chinese position on peacefully resolving any nuclear issues with North Korea. While I am not big on sanctions, I believe any non-proliferation issues should be handled through peaceful negotiations. While I am against a "Free Trade' relationship with any country, China might be useful ally regarding conflict resolution between countries including Iran?

    Posted by pjcasey at 06/12/2009 @ 12:48pm

15. Posted by Mask at 06/12/2009 @ 11:35am

    Rush Limbaugh pretty much said the same thing today.

    Posted by zmann at 06/12/2009 @ 1:26pm

16. Hey...we'll see.

    I just like the fact that the world is watching Iran to see what happens...and the only people against the election are the right wingnuts.

    Oh yeah, they're against American elections, too.

    I forgot.

    As Emily Litella would say, "What's all this I hear about Iranian erections?"

    Never mind.

    Posted by Stephen_Carver1 at 06/12/2009 @ 1:59pm

17. Posted by zmann at 06/12/2009 @ 1:26pm

    Nothing more predictable than Rush.

    But, a win by Mousavi is going to be a real kick in the teeth to the Right.

    Their average flunkie isn't a complex thinker. They like a nice, easy, SIMPLE "bad guy" to focus on.

    Ahmadinejad with his Maynard G. Krebs look and David Duke rhetoric was perfect. A face, a name, and "He's a Persian Hitler!!! Poised to nuke Tel Aviv NEXT MONTH, if we don't 'do something'!!!"

    Gholamreza Rezvani (or some other "Council of Guardians" Joe Schmoe) doesn't trip off the tongue like "Ah-mad-in-da-head"...

    and Rafsanjani and the Grand Ayatollah Khamanei aren't doing world press tours.

    The Right needs a PERSONALITY to focus on...."Reagan vs Gorbachev"...."Bush-41 vs Saddam"...."Dubya vs Saddam and/or bin Laden"....or "Dubya vs Ahmadinejad".

    Some pleasant mouth-piece (at worst) in Mousavi?....hard to get fired up.

    Posted by Mask at 06/12/2009 @ 2:35pm

18. Hey Mask,

    if foreign baddies are just the product of the cons evil Dr. Yakub's laboratory, is it also possible that W was in reality innocuous, or maybe that he doesn't even really exist? just a liberal hate magnet. maybe that shmuck that killed the cop in DC was created boys in brazil style by, say, william kunstler back in summer of 64.

    Posted by gangpapist at 06/12/2009 @ 3:20pm

19. Maybe the vote counting is fraudulent, and maybe the announcement is premature, but the press is reporting an Iranian official announcement that A. won the election, and early tallies are not even close. I wonder if the reports we were provided with here were based on wishful thinking and seeing and believing what one wants to see and hear. Maybe dreyfuss should have tried a little harder to find A. voters.

    Posted by gren at 06/12/2009 @ 3:22pm

20. Posted by gren at 06/12/2009 @ 3:22pm

    Both sides say it's contested...

    Plus I hear Norm Coleman is declaring he won.

    Posted by Mask at 06/12/2009 @ 3:25pm

21. The CNNI program on Middle Eastern business, had reports on Lebanon and Iran. Lebanon is currently experiencing growth, because their banking system remained oriented toward traditional commercial banking and did not indulge in toxic speculations. By way of contracts, Latvia, like a lemming, indulged in Western bubble economics, and their economy is crashing. Regardless of the outcome of the Iranian election, Ayatollah Khamenei has authorized the privatization of 80% of the economy. If there is an improvement in relations with the West and a "Free Trade" relationship is established with the multinational sharks, Iran will be in trouble. If they do not establish tariffs, and require foreign companies to make their products for Iran, within Iran, they will see massive job losses, along with civil unrest, in an already fragile economy. As we have seen with the Chinese and Japanese experience, dependence on foreign trade, employing one's own work force, makes them dependent on a market with disposable income to support that workforce. No disposable income in the foreign market, and the jobs for the native workforce disappears . Besides her oil, Iran is mineral rich, but even those exports depend on the ups and downs of foreign markets. Regardless of one's view of Iran, the world does not need another Latvia.

    Posted by pjcasey at 06/12/2009 @ 3:57pm

22. Most importantly, the future generations will realize that change and progress are not doomed but that the only way to achieve this is to work together putting their differences aside for a common goal.

    Posted by caro.urrutia at 06/12/2009 @ 10:19am

    Oh, please. How naive can you be?

    Tell it to the former colonists who ultimately got representative government and a Bill of Rights out of the American Revolution.

    Tell it to the former slaves who got at least a measure of freedom and dignity out of the American Civil War.

    Tell it to the descendants of those former slaves who regained their civil and voting rights via the Civil Rights Movement in the face of racist violence and opposition.

    Tell it to the French peasants who got land out of the French Revolution.

    Tell it to the American workers whose strikes and organizing from the 30's through the 70's raised millions out of poverty.

    Tell it to the people who drafted the G.I. Bill who weren't just handing out a "Thank You and Welcome to the Middle Class" pass but were trying to prevent veterans from turning to the Far Left and Far Right.

    Change and progress come through struggle, sometimes peaceful and sometimes not, sometimes active and sometimes just the threat, because the ruling class will never yield any of their power, privilege or wealth just because we ask them to.

    Posted by cka2nd at 06/12/2009 @ 4:15pm

23. Ebb and flow. Will we see relative calm, better dialog for a while with Obama and Mousavi - then the inevitable catastrophe (a la 9-11) produced by a tiny fraction of the population, possibly of the false flag genre - then a return of reductionistic, reactionary fascist/neocon hate... Election of Bush3, Ahmadinejad2, then a long period of same blustery, hollow putrid back and forth lobbing of us-good/them-bad --- then longer until finally even the fearbound dittoheads atrophy a little -- then Obama2 and Mousavi2...

    Posted by winyahn at 06/12/2009 @ 5:21pm

24. Afraid Dreyfuss is wrong. This is much like America - Teheran and a couple other big cities are NYC or San Francisco - the rest of the country is Mississippi. Quite probable the A has won, even with an honest count, which is not assured.

    Posted by DavidSpero at 06/12/2009 @ 5:36pm

25. Happy, if you believe "the Messiah" is going to ruin our country, may I assume you have been short of late, and are being raped like a haitian in NYPD custody? If not, please explain why your money and mouth are so diametrically opposed. You are the big bad stock guru right? Lunch is for pussies and all?

    Posted by entropy at 06/12/2009 @ 6:48pm

26. On topic, it will be a real shame if religion, ignorance and nationalism triumph, and both iran and the us miss out on this opportunity for detente. We may be responsible for radicalizing the iranian population through our abhorrent actions against the mossadegh gov't, but reconcilliation will require both parties to abandon resentment. Re-electing a lunatic holocaust denier benefits only extremist elements in both nations, even if his power is largely symbolic.

    Posted by entropy at 06/12/2009 @ 6:51pm

27. For the one hundredth time.

    WHO'S COUNTING THE VOTES??

    Posted by bleedingheart at 06/12/2009 @ 7:09pm

28. Article from: Agence France-Presse

    IRANIAN presidential candidate Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is set to win the election despite his competitor already claiming victory, the election chief says.

    Dr Ahmadinejad has taken a strong lead in his bid to be re-elected as Iran's president, chalking up 67 per cent of the vote with nearly half the ballot boxes counted, said Kamran Daneshjoo, chairman of the electoral commission at the interior ministry.

    But reformist former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi has already claimed a landslide win despite conflicting reports.

    "In line with the information we have received, I am the winner of this election by a substantial margin," Mr Mousavi told a news conference.

    With 47 per cent of total boxes counted, amounting to over 15.2 million votes, Dr Ahmadinejad received over 10.2 million votes, or 67 per cent of the total.

    That compared with 4.6 million, or 30.3 per cent for Mr Mousavi, the electoral commission said.

    Posted by lrjones4 at 06/12/2009 @ 8:01pm

29. oh, the horror! the lumpenproletarians prevailed!

    the ones that made Dreyfuss feel so uncomfortable whenever he had to engage with them

    the ones that he described as descendants of the Italian blue shirts of the 1920s

    apparently, the Iranian Orange Revolution will have to wait

    Posted by RichardEstes at 06/13/2009 @ 01:39am

30. Sorry Robert, there probably won't be a revolution. I really can't picture those upper class girls willing to break a nail, or a heel, to wage revolutionary combat. I respect The Nation a lot, but with these foreign elections they really do miss the ball. As someone pointed out earlier in another one of Robert's Iran dispatches, this magazine also tried to glorify the Venezuelan right-wing, upper class students protesting against Chavez. Whatever you may think of Ahmadenijad, it was pretty arrogant on the Western media's part to have just dismissed him as some finished clown. We needed to stop drooling over marches in Tehran and realized that Iran is a bigger country than just the capital.

    Posted by Communard115 at 06/13/2009 @ 01:46am

31. Oh My God, I thought the Nation was an anti-imperialist magazine. Sure is not looking like it today. I guess the only votes worth counting are those people who Tweet and text message. Appalling article! Is this The Nation or Human Events magazine,not a dimes worth of difference in this article.

    Posted by Anti-imperialist at 06/13/2009 @ 08:58am

32. Reminds me of the recent elections in Israel. Hardliner v. Hardliner is logical. Wonder what the Iranian results would have been if Bibi had been turned away. I suppose when you constantly threaten a country with bombing, you can expect folks in the threatened country to reciprocate by insuring they have leaders who don't back down.

    Posted by OneVote at 06/13/2009 @ 09:01am

33. posted by ROBERT DREYFUSS on 06/13/2009 @ 09:00am

    One can only hope that Iran didn't need Mousavi for better relations to form with the US.

    Posted by syfriendly at 06/13/2009 @ 09:26am

34. Let's face it the Iranian Presidential position is just a puppet of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Who would never allow a more moderate president like Mousavi. Likely the election results were simply switched. That's the easiest way to do it.

    The elections were held only to mollify the people and give Iran the veneer of legitimacy to the outside world, and will now allow them to say they have a "mandate" from the people. The population of Iran is mostly people under 35 who turned out in great numbers to vote for change. They did not get it. But Hope Runs Eternal, as they say.

    The protests that are going on now were probably expected. No doubt organizers will be rounded up and either jailed or murdered. Average protesters will be beaten and threatened. The protests will end and the rest will be business as usual.

    It's not that much different here really if you replace the power of the Ayatollah in Iran with the power of Corporations here at home. Same thing, religious extremism there and capitalist extremism here.

    Most of the people in Iran are just decent people who want to live their lives in peace like most of us do.

    And then you have the assholes who post here like Happ and Benchrest who just want to toss bombs at them and kill people who are basically just like them.

    Isn't life wonderful!

    Posted by chaoszen at 06/13/2009 @ 10:12am

35. EXCELLENT ARTICLE.DID ANYONE THINK THE ELECTION WOULD END EITHER WAY? CONTROL, FEAR AND INTIMIDATION RULE IN THAT REGION.MOUSAVI WAS THERE OBAMA BUT THE ONLY PROBLEM WAS THERE ELECTION WAS IN IRAN. JOE CAPRIO/CITYLIFEPRODUCTIONS

    Posted by CITYLIFE9 at 06/13/2009 @ 11:19pm