Special report from Tehran on Iran’s 2009 presidential election

Announcer: Now, a special report that Gideon Kouts brought last night on “Yoman,” after returning from Tehran. He filmed these images there during the week.

Gideon Kouts: It began with great hope. Thursday, the eve of the election: Tehran is preparing for the great change whose first signs could already be felt for several weeks. At the hotel we are sitting with two senior advisers to the candidate who appears to be the winner, Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Today, both are under arrest. We are weaving plans for a better future, without Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. We fear what will happen if not.

Saeed Laylaz: As you can see, the streets these days, the people are more aggressive than 10–12 years ago. Even in front of Basiji people or in front of military, military groups. It means and it shows that the the the political pressure of the country is going to be higher and high day by day.

Mohammad Atrianfar: And also it can be one of the most rare political events in Iranian history. This can be the first time after the revolution... And if Mr. Ahmadinejad wins the election, it seems unnatural, unexpected.

Gideon Kouts: They also have far-reaching plans to change policy in the nuclear field.

Mohammad Atrianfar: Mr. Ahmadinejad didn't act well regarding our foreign policies, especially when it relates to our nuclear technology. The our policies regarding nuclear technology during Mr. Khatami presidency and Mr. Ahmadinejad presidency was policies around the our supreme leader. When Mr. Khatami was in power, we moved forward to solve this problem letter by letter.

Gideon Kouts: At Mousavi’s Green headquarters, final preparations for the vote.

Activist: On Sunday we will have a big party with the mother’s birthday and the son’s birthday, and in addition, on Saturday there will be a party with cakes for...

Gideon Kouts: On the street, a few friends. Each one supports a different candidate. Still, a dream of democracy.

Interviewee: “I love him, I simply love him,” says a supporter of Ahmadinejad.

Gideon Kouts: Friday. Long lines stretch from the morning hours at the polling stations for the historic vote. Men and women vote separately. The candidate’s name is written on a ballot; there are no secluded booths. People write at tables, on the walls. Mousavi’s supporters are confident. Twenty million text messages have already guaranteed their victory, they say.

Interviewee: He came for the last opportunity, perhaps, to save his country...

Gideon Kouts: Election or no election, the traditional mass Friday prayer is being held at the University of Tehran. Many thousands have come to pray and listen to the representative of the Supreme Leader, today Ayatollah Kashani. He calls on them to unite around the candidate closest to him. And the traditional chants are unavoidable: Death to the infidels, death to the United States, death to Israel. This time, a large group of Iranian Air Force officers in blue are in the crowd. They too are shouting, perhaps in a demonstration against the threat of an Israeli attack. At the polling station near the Great Synagogue, Ohel Yosef, many Jews, Muslims and members of the Zoroastrian faith are voting. Near the synagogue we meet Shlomo, a member of the Jewish community, who is hurrying to vote before the Sabbath begins. And in the street, a conversation in Hebrew develops about candidate Ahmadinejad.

Shlomo: This creature who came along, he... In my opinion, I think he has lowered the dignity of this country. And in general, he isn’t... The chair is too big for him. It’s not a Jew saying this, look, the whole people are telling you, if only he would leave. Whoever comes, comes. It doesn’t matter to them. Now there is Mousavi, and as I see it, he should win this election. If there aren’t any problems.

Gideon Kouts: In the evening, the Jewish community gathers for Sabbath prayers. There are about 500 people of all ages. Shlomo will not have time to vote. The lines are long; many polling stations are short of ballot papers. The decision had already been made in the evening: Mousavi must not be allowed to win. The vote-counting station at the Interior Ministry is taken over by the Basiji, members of Ahmadinejad’s private militia. In the morning, undercover police officers and members of the riot-control unit raid the Green headquarters and shut it down. The activists and supporters remain outside.

Interpreter: She says democracy is dead in Iran because of this election... She believes it is some kind of catastrophe.

Gideon Kouts: The police attack in the narrow street. We flee to the boulevard, but the turmoil continues there too. Demonstrations spring up quickly, unexpectedly, on every corner. A large march turns toward the hotel where I am staying. “Fraud, cheating!” they shout. I go up to my room and film from the window the motorized unit too, which is forbidden to film, as it arrives to disperse the demonstrators. The militia members notice me. I close the curtain, lock the room and go downstairs anxiously. This time, it will pass peacefully. President Ahmadinejad invites us to a press conference in his office, inside the large, guarded presidential compound. A city within a city in Tehran. His usually arrogant answers are surprisingly restrained against the backdrop of a huge bouquet of flowers. Even on the subject of the Israeli threat he is moderate: today, problems are not resolved that way; the enemy knows we can defend ourselves; there is no fear of war. His message to Mousavi: if he lost the election, he should not run a red light, he says. But Mousavi does not stop at the red light. The huge demonstrations move from Bastimi Square to Vali-Asr Square and, how symbolic, to Revolution Square. The Greens, who refuse to wear mourning clothes, set tires and rubbish alight. An incident near a Basiji headquarters ends with seven dead. Police surround the rebellious campus of Sharif University, and inside, militia members settle accounts with the students. Ahmadinejad organizes a counter-demonstration in Vali-Asr Square. His supporters are fewer, but brazen and violent. “Ahmadi, Ahmadi, you are a national hero, the heir to the Prophet,” they chant. To cover their march, it is best to have the right picture at hand. And again, the familiar calls to rally the crowd: Death to Israel, death to the United States, death to Mousavi. Ahmadinejad’s people are celebrating tonight, but on the other side the disappointment may be dangerous. Gideon Kouts, Channel One, Tehran.