In Iran, the Struggle for Power Continues
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Demonstrations for and against the government continued today in Iran. We hear about the most serious challenge to the central government since the Islamic revolution in 1979. Also, South Korea's President is in lockstep with President Obama on North Korea. On Reporter's Notebook, states' rights have been a Southern issue since the Civil War, but the Mountain West is now joining the challenge to Washington's authority.
Banner image: Defeated reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi (C) raises his arms as he appears during a demonstration in the streets on June 15 in Tehran, Iran. Photo: Getty Images
Making News
South Korean President in Lockstep with President Obama ()
At the White House today, with South Korea's President Lee Myung-Bak at his side, Barack Obama said North Korea's past behavior won't work again. Previously, he said, belligerence has been rewarded after a time with food, fuel and loans. The President signals the intention to end to that pattern, a "message" that comes from the US, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the UN Security Council. Gordon Flake is Executive Director of the Mansfield Foundation.
Guests:
- L. Gordon Flake: Executive Director, Mansfield Foundation
Links:
Main Topic
In Iran, the Struggle for Power Continues ()
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has flown to Russia for a previously scheduled meeting, but in Iran itself it's anything but business as usual. Foreign journalists are restricted today, but social-networking web sites like Facebook and Twitter are full of reports and pictures, of new demonstrations in Tehran and elsewhere, both for and against the government. The Guardian Council has ordered a partial recount of last week's voting, but the official loser wants a new election. Central authority is under more pressure for change than at any time since the Islamic revolution in 1979. We get assessments from several points of view.
Guests:
- Mariam Memarsadeghi: Washington, DC-based adviser to NGO's
- Laura Secor: Fellow, New York Pulblic Library's Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers
- Juan Cole: Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of Michigan, @jricole
- Hooman Majd: journalist and author, @hmajd
- Borzou Daragahi: Middle East Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, @borzou
Links:
- Ayatollah Khamenei urges Mousavi to proceed through legal channels
- Majd's (Newsweek) video report from Iran
- Daragahi's article on rivals' rallies
- Cole's 'Engaging the Muslim World'
- Majd's 'The Ayatolla Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran'
- Senator McCain (R-AZ) says Obama should be tougher on Iran, MSNBC on
- Senator Lugar (R-IN) says Obama should not intervene in Iranian election, CBS News on
- President Obama comments on Iran
Reporter's Notebook
Western Lawmakers Push for State Sovereignty ()
The Montana Firearms Freedom Act is scheduled to go into effect in October, just one example of a new states' rights movement that includes the West as well as the South. Montana's Governor Brian Schweitzer is a Democrat who supported Barack Obama, but has signed into law the bill designed to challenge the President's authority. Mark Barabak reports for the Los Angeles Times.
Guests:
- Mark Barabak: Political Reporter, Los Angeles Times
Links:
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