Matthews Disagrees With Guests Who Think Obama Protests Aren't About Race

By Noel Sheppard

Something truly shocking happened on Sunday's "The Chris Matthews Show": three out of four of his guests said the current anti-government sentiment sweeping the nation is not because Barack Obama is black, and that the news media are actually responsible for exacerbating the suggestion that protesters are racist.

There was even some consensus that the same kind of dissent would be happening if Hillary Clinton was president.

On the flipside, and not at all surprising, Matthews not only didn't agree, but seemed rather disappointed by this viewpoint being expressed (partial transcript below the fold):

CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Rick, you've just got a big cover out this week in Time magazine about this paranoid streak in American history. We've written about it, learned about it for years. Is it part right now, part of it is this white attitude towards a black president? Is it that stark?

RICHARD STENGEL, TIME MANAGING EDITOR: You know, I start from the viewpoint that lots and lots of racists voted for Barack Obama. I don't, I can't tell you what is in people's minds and heart. I do believe that the reaction that's going on now would happen to a white president who's trying to do some of the same things that Barack Obama is doing. But I do think also that us dwelling on it, and I agree with Obama about this, is actually not good for the public discourse. It's not good for America. We basically have to move on from this kind of discussion and deal with him as he is, as President. And by the way, remember once upon a time we worried about the fact that people couldn't criticize Barack Obama because he's black. We're passed that now.

Fascinating comment by Stengel. After all, maybe it's time for the media to stop bringing race into every discussion about this president. Maybe then he'll just be President and not a black president.

But Matthews wasn't buying it, and continued to pan the water looking for the dirt he was craving:

MATTHEWS: Let's take a look at this sign, I want Kathleen to go to this, "I Want My Country Back." That was last weekend in Nashville. Would that have happened with another Democratic president? I want my country back?

KATHLEEN PARKER, WASHINGTON POST: I think so, Chris, and I so agree with what Rick said. I mean, of course there is a racial element any time you have this conversation there's going to be a certain percentage. But, by the way, in January 75 percent of voters approved of Barack Obama, and they didn't, that percentage didn't suddenly become racists. So, there's something else at work, and when they say, "I want my country back," they're talking about this great anxiety that's widespread about the rapid growth of government, the growing debt and deficits, you know, this healthcare program that's so huge and incomprehensible to most. So, when they want their country back, they're not saying, "We want white America back." I don't think, I think that's a stretch. They're saying, "We want to remain a constitutionally sound country." And they're in doubt about that.

0 for 2. Care to make it a hat-trick, Chris?

MATTHEWS: This existential question is about should he be president, that this rage we're seeing and these rallies, you think it would be there with Hillary if she were president?

DAVID BROOKS, NEW YORK TIMES: Yeah, I do. I mean, what Rush and Glenn Beck are doing, that's just race-baiting. 100 percent, that's race-baiting. But if you take a longer view what we're seeing now is what we've seen before in American history with Father Coughlin, William Jennings Bryan, with Andrew Jackson, Huey Long. It's a populist uprising of mostly rural people who think the moral backbone of this country comes from people who work with their hands, who are extremely suspicious when you get government power fusing with banking power which is a lot of what they've seen over the past few weeks. And so there, there, they would be upset if Washington merged with Wall Street the auto industry, the energy sector, the health care industry, and if a bunch of what they saw as overeducated people were leading the country. They'd be upset whether it was Hillary, whether it was John Kerry or whether it was Barack Obama whether it was anybody.

0 for 3. Finally, Matthews got the answer he was looking for:

HELENE COOPER, NEW YORK TIMES: I disagree with you guys, I think race plays as huge part of what we're seeing. I'm looking at, you know, the, the, what you just described about the rural, the rural south and rural people who were afraid, I mean you didn't see that when George Bush was in power and he's the ultimate elitist.

Not surprisingly, Matthews was pleased: "By the way, by the way, Helene, I'm with you."

For the record, the Matthews Meter was evenly split on this, so he's not alone.

—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters.

Protests Flare Up in Tehran

CHIP CUMMINS

DUBAI -- On a day usually marked in Iran by solidarity in support of the Palestinians, security services clashed Friday with demonstrators, who have defied weeks of arrests to protest the country's contested June presidential elections.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, ratcheted up anti-Israel rhetoric ahead of his expected visit to New York later this month for the United Nations General Assembly. He called the Holocaust "mythical" and a pretext for the foundation of Israel, according to press reports of his speech marking Quds, or Jerusalem, Day.

Reuters

Iranians shouted slogans during a rally marking Quds Day in Tehran.

Mr. Ahmadinejad has questioned the historical validity of the Holocaust on other occasions. But his comments Friday are expected to heighten controversy surrounding his New York visit. They could also raise skepticism over prospects for recently agreed talks between Iran, the U.S. and other Western powers set for Oct. 1.

Iranian democracy advocates and human-rights groups, along with Jewish groups, are already gearing up for demonstrations and rallies next week in the U.S. to protest violence and alleged human-rights abuses related to the elections.

On Friday, tens of thousands of government supporters attended rallies across Iran to mark Quds Day -- a day set aside in Iran to show solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Thousands of supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mr. Ahmadinejad's key rival in the presidential polls, marched separately, wearing the opposition's trademark green wristbands and shawls. They clashed with security forces and pro-government supporters in various locations early in the day, according to several reports by international news services.

View Slideshow

Reuters

A supporter of defeated presidential candidate and opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi pleads with police during a rally Friday.

Since the election, Iranian authorities have restricted reporting of events not authorized by the government and have refused to renew or grant journalist visas for most of the international press. That has news services with staff in Tehran relying on eyewitness accounts of clashes, making it difficult to assess crowd size or the seriousness of violence.

Still, reports from around Tehran suggested Friday's opposition marches were the largest in more than a month. During one rally, security services clashed with protesters and arrested 10, according to Reuters. The news agency said Ahmadinejad supporters separately clashed with Mousavi supporters along Tehran's main thoroughfare, Vali Asr Street.

More

• WSJ.com/Iran: News, video photos, more

The Associated Press reported midday Friday that a group of Iranian hard-liners attacked Mohammad Khatami, a reformist former president while he was marching with opposition supporters at an anti-government rally in Tehran.

The AP, citing an opposition website, said attackers pushed Mr. Khatami to the ground, but that fellow marchers repelled the assailants and took the former president to safety. Mr. Khatami has sided with the opposition in the post-election crisis.

Opposition leaders allege the June vote, in which election officials said Mr. Ahmadinejad won in a landslide, was rigged. Government supporters say the elections reflected the will of the people and have accused the opposition of fomenting violence.

Protests Over India's Gay Ruling

Iranian Protests, Brought to You by Web 2.0

Tehran Girds for More Protests

Officials Say More Than A Dozen Died Saturday

| A WALL STREET JOURNAL NEWS ROUNDUP

AFP/Getty Images

Supporters of Iran's defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi throw stones at riot police Saturday.

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iranian officials girded for further protests Sunday, a day after the bloodiest clashes in a week of demonstrations following contested June 12 elections.

Authorities, quoted in state media, said they had restored calm across the capital after Saturday's explosion of violence. Iranian state television reported 13 people were killed in clashes between police and what they called "terrorist groups," according to the Associated Press.

The report didn't specify how the deaths occurred, but state television reported earlier that several people were killed Saturday when "rioters" attacked a mosque in western Tehran. Iranian officials, quoted in state media, blamed the violence on organizers, who they said coerced large numbers of demonstrators onto the streets.

Violence in Iran Escalates

2:42

Iranian protestors are faced with a ruthless crackdown as authorities deploy gunfire, teargas and water cannons and threaten the crowds with arrest. Video courtesy of Fox News.

There was no word on any new clashes Sunday, although after dark many people in Tehran went to their rooftops to shout "Death to the dictator" and Allahu akbar," a common form of defiance in recent days.

Meanwhile, state-run Press TV reported that ex-President Hashemi Rafsanjani's eldest daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, and four other family members were arrested late Saturday, according to AP. Last week, state television showed images of Ms. Hashemi, 46, speaking to hundreds of supporters of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Mr. Rafsanjani, 75, has made no secret of his distaste for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mr. Ahmadinejad has accused Rafsanjani and his family of corruption.

One senior police official, quoted on state media late Saturday, said 400 police had been injured in violence and said hundreds of buildings -- including many banks -- and cars had been destroyed. It was unclear if the tally was for the entire week of protests, or just Saturday.

On Saturday, witnesses painted a scene of chaos, permeated by the haze of tear gas and the wail of police sirens, along large swaths of the city.

Witnesses in central Tehran, reached by phone, reported uniformed officials, some in camouflage and others in plainclothes, beating protesters back with batons and firing tear gas.

Crowds appeared to be much smaller Saturday than in previous days, when supporters of presidential challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi took to the streets in the hundreds of thousands to demonstrate against what they said was vote rigging in the June 12 election victory of Mr. Ahmadinejad.

Mr. Mousavi repeated his demand Saturday that the election be annulled. "The Iranian nation will not believe this unjust and illegal'' act, Mr. Mousavi said in a letter published on one of his official Web sites. The letter listed alleged violations, such as ballot boxes that had been sealed before voting began.

Mr. Ahmadinejad has said the vote was free of fraud. Iranian officials have agreed to a partial recount of some contested votes. On Friday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Mr. Ahmadinejad's announced margin of victory was so big that vote rigging wouldn't have had an impact on the outcome.

President Barack Obama Saturday challenged Iran's government to halt "all violent and unjust actions against its own people.'' In a statement, Obama said the universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected. He said the U.S. "stands with all who seek to exercise those rights."

The AP reported police used water canons against thousands of protesters, citing eyewitnesses. Witnesses told the AP that between 50 and 60 protesters were seriously beaten by police and pro-government militia and taken to Imam Khomeini hospital in central Tehran.

Related Video

• Video: Latest Deadly Clashes
• Video: Not Ready for Another Revolution
• Video: How Far Will Protestors Go?
• Video: Amateur Video of Iran Protests
• Video: Is Twitter Diluting Iran's Messages?

Iran Election

• Digits: Videogames a Way to Avoid Iran's Web Censors?
• Google Adds Farsi to Translation Tools
• Iran Leaders, Challengers to Meet
• Iran Cracks Down on Web Use
• Audio: WSJ's Fassihi Reports From Tehran
• Vote: Will Iran's regime survive?
• Complete Coverage at WSJ.com/World

Checks and Balances

Iran's government is a combination of democracy and Islamic theocracy. Take a look at the power structure.

View Interactive

Separately, state media reported a bomb blast Saturday at the mausoleum of the founder of Iran's revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Initially, media reported the blast killed two and injured eight. In an update Sunday, state media reported that just the suicide bomber had died in the attack, which injured another three.

Another eyewitness to the Tehran clashes said in one neighborhood, protesters pelted security officials with stones. The security forces would then charge into groups of demonstrators, tossing tear-gas canisters. The sound of gun shots rang out, but it was unclear if authorities were firing into the air.

By sundown, the security services appeared to have dispersed big crowds that had gathered along Fatemi Street, a major boulevard, and Azadi Square. "Everyone was spread out," said one eyewitness. "Everyone was all over the place and set bonfires on all the streets."

"We saw a lot of people bloodied," this eyewitness said. He said, however, the uniformed riot police--typically dressed in black--didn't appear to be beating protesters. Instead, it was a corps of troops in camouflage-colored uniforms, with riot masks, shields and batons.

Men in plainclothes and riding motorcycles--typical of Iran's Basij militia--also sported riot gear and were beating protesters with batons, this person said.

The protesters shouted "Death to the dictator!" and included all ages, young people, old women and old men, eyewitnesses said.

"There was smoke and tear gas everywhere," said one eyewitness. Iranian authorities have restricted foreign journalists from reporting on unauthorized protests.

View Slideshow

Associated Press

Supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossien Mousavi set fire to a barricade.

Security services appeared to have fanned out heavily across the city. Along Chamran highway, heading from central Tehran to the more affluent northern suburbs of the city, protesters were seen walking, their hands held up high making peace signs. Witnesses said many streets and alleys between Revolution Square and Freedom Square were filled with security officials, several of them beating groups of protesters. Police had spread out into many streets.

"They took a person out of the car next to mine, just for honking the horn," said one eyewitness. "They dragged him out of the car and several police beat him up and then took him away."

The violent clashes followed Friday's sermon by Mr. Khamenei, in which he ordered demonstrations to stop, and promised to hold protest organizers responsible for any bloodshed should they continue.

Underscoring that tough stance, Tehran Province Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan said Saturday that police forces "will crack down on any gathering or protest rally which are being planned by some people,'' according to state media. The head of the State Security Council also warned Mr. Mousavi that he would be held responsible if he encouraged street protests, state media reported.

Mr. Mousavi and the two other candidates who ran against Mr. Ahmadinejad had been invited to meet with Iran's Guardian Council, a top review board, to discuss their allegations of vote rigging. On Saturday, a council spokesman told state TV that Mr. Mousavi and the reformist candidate Mahdi Karroubi didn't attend. But the spokesman also said the council had agreed to recount 10% of the vote, in its ongoing investigation of the election.

"Although the Guardian Council is not legally obliged ... we are ready to recount 10% of the [ballot] boxes randomly in the presence of representatives of the candidates," said the body's spokesman, Abbas-Ali Kadkhodayi on state TV Saturday.

Iranian Opposition Plan Further Protests After Deaths (Update2)

June 17 (Bloomberg) -- Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the main challenger in the disputed Iranian presidential election, plan a fifth day of protests in Tehran after the biggest rally in 30 years led to as many as 15 deaths. Mousavi called for a mass demonstration tomorrow to mourn those killed.

Two prominent Mousavi backers were detained, AFP reported. Iran’s supreme leader yesterday appealed for unity after meeting representatives of candidates in June 12 presidential voting.

Today’s protest follows a June 15 rally that was the largest anti-government demonstration since the Islamic revolution ousted Iran’s shah in 1979, triggered by opposition accusations of vote-rigging to re-elect President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Several people were reported killed. Tehran’s bazaar merchants, a group that backed the 1979 revolution, may strike to protest the election, the BBC said.

Election turmoil is pitting young Iranians and more educated voters who want social freedom and better ties with the West against the Islamic republic’s ruling clergy. Ahmadinejad’s opponents accuse him of wrecking the economy, which suffers from high unemployment and inflation, and driving Iran into international isolation through his confrontation over the country’s nuclear program. The head of the UN nuclear agency said he believed Iran wanted the option of an atomic bomb.

“The state is going through its biggest crisis in 30 years,” said Mohammad-Reza Djalili, an Iranian analyst at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. “The structure of the system has been shaken, and now it has cracks.”

Appeal for Unity

State television’s news channel showed interviews with people on the streets calling the protesters enemies of the state and quoting officials as saying protests at the vote should be made through proper legal channels.

Mousavi said the same people who committed fraud in the June 12 ballot were responsible for damaging public buildings during the protests. “It’s the companions of lies and fraud that attack banks and public buildings to complete their scheme,” he said in comments on his Web site.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaking on state television late yesterday, appealed for unity. He also said he would back a recount in some areas if an examination proves it necessary, Agence France-Presse reported. The clergy-led council overseeing elections said a partial recount may be authorized.

Iranian Rial

The Iranian rial strengthened to 9,897 per dollar from 9,915 the day before. The currency’s rate is managed by Bank Markazi, the central bank. Iran’s benchmark index, the TEPIX, closed at 9,271 yesterday, trimming the advance for 2009 to 7 percent, according to data published on the Web site of the Tehran Stock Exchange. The exchange didn’t update the index today.

Seven people were killed in attacks on university dormitories in Tehran and Shiraz, south of the capital, the British Broadcasting Corp.’s Persian service reported. As many as eight people were killed and 25 injured in the June 15 protest march when security forces fired on protesters, the BBC said, citing state radio.

Mousavi called for a national day of mourning tomorrow, according to his Web site. “I ask everyone, in any possible way, including gatherings in mosques to empathize” with the families of the dead, he said, adding that he would attend himself.

He called the killings “savage,” adding “the people know who attacked the university dormitories, beat boys and girls, and who killed people in Azadi Square” where the June 15 protest was held.

Interior Minister

Iranian Interior Minister Sadegh Mahsouli wrote to Tehran’s governor general, Morteza Tamaddon, asking for an investigation into “ill-intentioned” recent attacks on students at the city’s university, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

In what may be a sign of tension within the ruling elite, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani held Interior Minister Mahsouli accountable for attacks on civilians and university students in Tehran in recent days, the Iranian Labor News Agency reported.

Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour, a Mousavi spokesman for young supporters, was arrested today at Tehran’s airport, while attempting to return to Britain, his wife, Fatemeh Shams, told the Mowj-e Sevvom or Third Wave Web site, which confirmed that reformists applied for permission to hold a rally today to the Interior Ministry.

Iranian authorities, meanwhile, arrested two prominent Mousavi supporters, AFP said. Hamid Reza Jalaipour and Saeed Laylaz were detained at their homes, the news wire said, citing colleagues and family.

Deeper Suspicions

The violence “raises deeper suspicions about the real message of these elections,” said Claire Spencer, head the Chatham House foreign policy consultant’s Middle East department in London. “Repression of public dissent” may eventually “undermine the unity of the state.”

Crude oil fell for a fourth day, its longest losing streak since February, as prices tracked declines in global equities on speculation that an economic recovery has yet to take hold. Iran is the second biggest oil producer in the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries.

The nation’s Guardian Council, made up of 12 clerics and lawyers, may authorize a second vote count in areas where Ahmadinejad’s victory was questioned, state television said.

The regime is “saying that some votes can be recounted to see if there were irregularities,” Djalili said. “But the opposition isn’t asking for this, they are seeking the annulment of the vote.”

Official Results

Elections officials said Ahmadinejad won about 63 percent of the vote, to about 34 percent for former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Ahmadinejad said in a cabinet meeting today the poll was a “referendum” in which “25 million people confirmed this way of management in the country.” About 39 million voted in a record turnout of 85 percent.

Mousavi, a former premier who accuses the authorities of vote-rigging, and another candidate, former Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karrubi, rejected a partial recount, the Iranian Labor News Agency said yesterday.

The council ruled out scrapping the election result, Sky News reported, citing state television.

Iranian authorities ordered restrictions yesterday on the activities of foreign media organizations in the country. Reporters should avoid being present at or covering protests without the permission of the Interior Ministry, the Culture Ministry said in a faxed statement.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said some foreign media outlets have become the “mouthpiece of rioters” who besmirched the country’s reputation after the election, AFP reported.

Nuclear Program

The U.S. and several major allies, including Israel, say Iran’s nuclear program is cover for the development of a weapon, a charge denied by the government in Tehran, which says the work is peaceful and intended to generate electricity.

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, Mohammed ElBaradei, told the BBC for the first time he believed Iran wants the option of developing a nuclear weapon. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the world “does not have a lot of time” to deal with Iran’s program.

President Barack Obama said yesterday at a White House news conference that the U.S. “won’t meddle” in the election, although he has “deep concerns” about the violence.

Human Rights Groups

Human rights groups have accused state security forces of using excessive violence to quell the protests and said live ammunition was used on demonstrators in several Iranian cities.

Supreme Leader Khamenei, who is due to lead Friday prayers, has told Mousavi to pursue his complaint through legal channels and asked the council to consider the fraud allegations carefully, state television reported.

While such an investigation is little more than a “gesture,” the decision to examine the election’s fairness shows that the Iranian leadership feels it is under pressure, said Anoush Ehteshami, a lecturer at the Centre for Iranian Studies at Durham University in England.

Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former vice president who was an adviser to ex-Parliament Speaker Karrubi, was among those arrested, and another prominent activist, Saeed Hajjarian, was also held, according to Karrubi’s office.

Vidoes from protests in Tehran

Tehran, 2009/6/13

Finally i could upload the videos of clash and conflict between protestors to election results and riot police forces and somewhere Basij forces. The delay is because of very low bandwith of internet at these days in Iran.

You can see the photos here and here.

Iranian Protest Election Results (2)

Demonstrations in Tehran after election results. More photos +

P.S 1: Thank you so much for warm and kind comments from arround the world. Unfortunately i can’t answer all comments and kindness, but i want all people support us in Iran to reach the right of Iranian people.
Thank you all again.

P.S 2: This website is banned in Iran by goverment since 3 hours ago.

A young girl’s head is broken by stone.

Iranians Protest Election Results

•13 June, 2009 • 83 Comments

Tehran, City Center, 2009/6/13

Police forces attack to people that protested the re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Angry people in many points of Tehran fired buses and police motorcycles and cars and fall into conflict with Special Police Forces.

More photos and videos at next post.

Iranian 2009 Presidental Elections

Tehran, 2009/6/12

Iranian 2009 Presidental Elections started at 8 AM by local time and ended at 10 PM. Becuase of limitations, i was not permitted to do photography inside of branch elections and just could take a few photos of people after vote and a mobile branch elections.

Mousavi Supporters at Azadi Street Rally

Tehran, Azadi Street, 2009/6/10

Thousands of Mousavi supporters, many of them young people, packed into nearby Freedom Square later Wednesday for a rally.

Ahmadinejad Defends Poll's Legitimacy After Violent Protests Erupt

FARNAZ FASSIHI

TEHRAN -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his re-election was "real and free" and cannot be questioned.

Mr. Ahmadinejad made the comments Sunday during a press conference -- his first since Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei annointed him the winner of Friday's presidential race, triggering violent protests across the nation and allegations by his nearest challenger of widespread vote rigging.

Mr. Ahmadinejad also accused foreign media of launching a "psychological war against" against the country.

View Slideshow

AFP/Getty Images

Supporters of opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi clashed with Iranian police after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the victor in a contentious election.

About a mile away from Mr. Ahmadinejad's press conference, young Iranians set trash bins, banks and tires on fire as riot police beat them back with batons, the Associated Press reported.

"The election will improve the nation's power and its future," he told a room packed with Iranian and foreign media, according to AP.

Several Iranian journalists who asked questions first congratulated Mr. Ahmadinejad for his victory. When asked about the allegations of voting irregularities, the president brushed the claims off.

"Some believed they would win, and then they got angry. It has no legal credibility. It is like the passions after a football match. It is not important from my point of view," he said. "The margin between my votes and the others is too much, and no one can question it."

The violence in the streets ratcheted up the stakes in the most contentious election since the founding of the Islamic republic 30 years ago. Prolonged strife or a political standoff would heighten the uncertainty hanging over a country that is one of the world's biggest oil producers and Washington's main irritant in the volatile Middle East.

As night descended on Tehran Saturday, supporters of main challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi clashed with anti-riot police and plain-clothed militia. The city resembled a military zone as thousands of Special Forces units and anti-riot police stormed streets waving their electric batons and hitting rioters and onlookers.

Military cars blocked large swaths of main throughways and instead of traffic police, the para-military Basijis—trained volunteers in plain-clothes—were directing traffic. Vali Asr, the long Tehran avenue where Mousavi supporters last week formed a giant human chain during presidential campaigning, was covered in smoldered black ash—from burnt campaign posters that had been ripped from walls—and shattered glass. Dark smoke hung in the air from garbage dumpsters that were set ablaze on many streets.

On Motahari Avenue, one of the major streets in central Tehran, three public buses were set afire by demonstrators. Syamak Izadi, 62 years old, said he was riding on the bus in central Tehran when a group of men, dressed in Mr. Mousavi's trademark green, stopped the bus and told passengers to get off. They then doused it with gasoline and set it afire, he said.

Protestors played cat and mouse with the police. They gathered on corners throwing their fists in the air, then ran away when riot police descended. On Hafteh Tir square, several hundred people, including men and women, young and old, marched blocking traffic shouting "God is Great" and asking the public to join them. People gathered on pedestrian bridges and encouraged the protestors while drivers honked their horns.

There was unconfirmed shooting reported in northern Tehran with reports of one woman injured from stray bullets.

"The results are not acceptable to us, Mousavi needs to lead the crowd and depose this government," said a 37-year-old biologist who gave his name only as Kasra.

Shouts of "Allah o Akbar" rocked Tehran, reminiscent of the revolution where residents take to their rooftops and shout God is Great in order to show their protest.

Mobile phone service was suspended across the capital. BBC's Persian language service, which many Iranians listen to for news, was jammed. Social networking site Facebook, used by Mr. Mousavi's young supporters to organize, was blocked. On Vali Asr, a pedestrian bridge was set ablaze near Mellat Park.

Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday he had doubts about whether Iran's presidential election was free and fair, though the U.S. must accept "for the time being'' Tehran's claim that Mr. Ahmadinejad won.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. hopes the outcome of the election reflects the "genuine will and desire" of the Iranian people. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the U.S. administration is paying close attention to reports of alleged election irregularities.

At a joint appearance with Sec. Clinton, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said his country was "deeply concerned'" by reports of irregularities in the election.

Supporters of Mr. Mousavi had begun gathering outside the interior ministry and outside his campaign headquarter in central Tehran early in the morning. At that time, uniformed police and plain-clothes security officials broke up groups of protesters, chasing some away from the buildings.

At one point, groups of supporters near Mr. Mousavi's headquarters shouted "death to the dictator," a chant borrowed from the Iranian revolution. Security forces responded by bludgeoning several with batons.

Several journalists were beaten badly, and a female protester was beaten unconscious by uniformed police. As the police battled the protesters, demonstrators and onlookers from windows and from the sides of the streets shouted, "security forces, shame on you."

"Is this democracy?" said Ali Reza, a 30-year-old Mousavi campaign worker, whose eyes were red from tear gas and his white pants torn and bloodied. "We don't have any power to fight these people, but what they are doing is unfair," he said.

Security forces also used pepper spray and tear gas against workers inside the campaign headquarters, throwing canisters through the front door.

Most shopkeepers had closed their stores along the street. But several also opened their doors to provide refuge to protesters. At a traditional Persian restaurant, security forces knocked down the front door, and dragged out dozens of young men and women.

Protesters Say Ahmadinejad Stole Election

3:08

Iranians took their anger to the streets of the capital city of Tehran Saturday afternoon, saying the presidential elections were rigged. (Courtesy of Fox.)

Iranian universities--in the middle of final exams--suspended classes for a week as of today, students said.

The violence and stiff public resistance to the final tally is unprecedented in recent Iranian elections, and threatens wider demonstrations by Mr. Mousavi's supporters, a stiff crackdown from the state, or both.

Political observers warned of a potentially turbulent week ahead. One popular slogan shouted by Mr. Mousavi's supporters at the campaign rallies: "If there is cheating, Iran will blow up."

Iran's interior ministry, in a televised press conference late Saturday afternoon, said Mr. Ahmadinejad had won 24,527,516, or 62.6% of the votes cast. Mr. Mousavi, a reformist former prime minister, won 13,216,411, or 33.8%, according to ministry figures.

Reformist Mehdi Karroubi garnered just 0.85% of the vote, and Mohsen Rezaei, a conservative challenger, won 678,240, or 1.73%. Mr. Khamenei said turnout was above 80%, and congratulated Iran for the vote.

The endorsement by Mr. Khamenei, who has final say in all matters of state policy, essentially served as an official seal of approval for the results.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Mousavi's campaign workers said the communications wing of their candidate's election operation had been shut down Saturday morning by court order.

"We were expecting some level of cheating but no one was expecting this charade," said Hamid Reza Jalaeipour, a sociologist and senior advisor to Mr. Mousavi's campaign. "Mr. Mousavi will not accept these results and will fight it."

In a statement attributed to Mr. Mousavi in leaflets passed out by supporters and posted on his Web site, the candidate said he "contests the obvious cheating in the election and would like to warn that he would not cave into this dangerous charade."

But Mr. Ahmadinejad's supporters defended their candidate.

"There was no cheating," said 68-year-old Heshmat Akhlaghi, an Ahmadinejad supporter who lives on the outskirts of southern Tehran.

State television showed footage of polling stations packed with voters on Friday. It aired several-days-old footage of Messrs. Ahmadinejad and Mousavi, each calling for the public to accept the election results.

"Mr. Ahmadinejad is the president for all the people. We expect the other candidates to respect the people's will," Mojtabah Samareh Hashemi, the campaign manager for Mr. Ahmadinejad, was quoted saying on Rajanews, the website affiliated with Mr. Ahmadinejad.

Raganews carried a number of congratulatory articles and called the election "the victory of honesty over deception."

Campaign offices at Mr. Mousavi's northern Tehran headquarters were raided by unknown assailants and staff were harassed, according to workers there.

In this election, the race for the presidency wasn't just about the candidates but also about Iran's direction. Mr. Mousavi embodied hope from supporters inside and outside Iran for more moderate, pragmatic administration, while Mr. Ahmadinejad represented the republic's tradition of radical ideology.

On election day, throngs of voters flooded into polling stations. State media reported unprecedented turnout among Iran's voters. At many polling stations across the country, crowds formed lines that snaked several miles.

Mr. Mousavi said there was an organized effort to block his campaign staff from communicating with one another and the public on Friday. The Ministry of Telecommunications imposed a nation-wide block of text messaging from mobiles. Mr. Mousavi's supervisors at polls were planning to report discrepancies by text messages.

Thousands of Mr. Mousavi's volunteer supervisors were not issued credentials by the Interior Ministry, which runs the elections, and were barred from polling stations, Mr. Mousavi said. Internet speed was slower than usual all day and by noon nearly all Web sites affiliated with Mr. Mousavi were blocked.

The campaign said that a group of people, who identified themselves as intelligence officers, entered Mr. Mousavi's campaign headquarters in northern Tehran on Friday evening demanding that the young strategists at the campaign, responsible for much of deploying new media techniques, leave the premises.

Mr. Mousavi's campaign lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh, said in an interview that Tehran's chief prosecutor informed Mr. Mousavi's campaign lawyer that security agents would arrive Saturday morning with a court order to shut down all their communication operations.

Mr. Obama and many of his advisers had been voicing optimism in recent days that the U.S. president's outreach to the Islamic world, including his speech in Cairo last week, was helping facilitate a more moderate trend in the Middle East. They cited the victory in Lebanese elections last week of a pro-Western coalition against a political bloc led by Hezbollah.

"We are excited to see what appears to be a robust debate taking place in Iran," Mr. Obama said Friday at the White House before the dueling claims of victory came out.

U.S. and European officials involved in Iran policy fear Mr. Ahmadinejad's re-election could raise the prospect of sustained conflict between the West and Tehran in the coming months.

What Obama learned from the tea party protests