IRAN UPDATE – AT 5:07 P.M. ET:  It is difficult to get accurate information out of Iran.  We do know that there were major street protests in several Iranian cities today, including, of course, Tehran.  From The New York Times:

Hundreds of riot police officers deployed in key locations in central Tehran and other major Iranian cities on Monday, beating protesters and firing tear gas to thwart opposition marches that marked the most significant street protests since the end of 2009, news reports and witnesses’ accounts from Iran said.

The size of the protests was unclear, although witnesses and opposition groups estimated that there were perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 demonstrators across the country. While the protests were ostensibly in solidarity with the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, Iranian domestic repression quickly became the focus. But Iran, unlike Egypt, used force to quell them.

And...

In the central city of Isfahan many demonstrators were arrested after security forces clashed with them, reports said, and sporadic messages from inside Iran indicated that there had also been protests in Shiraz, Mashhad and Rasht. Numbers were hard to assess, given government threats against journalists who tried to cover the protests.

What we don't know, and can't know, is whether the demonstrations will continue or even grow, or whether this was a one-shot deal.  As the story points out, force has been used to crush the protesters. 

This time, the U.S. has tried to keep up with the story.  Hillary Clinton, who seemed to disappear at the end of last week, and who was rumored to be pictured on milk cartons, spoke up:

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday expressed support for the tens of thousands of protesters in Iran's capital, saying they "deserve to have the same rights that they saw being played out in Egypt and are part of their own birthright."

Speaking to reporters after meeting House Speaker John Boehner, Clinton said she and others in [US President] Barack Obama's administration "very clearly and directly support the aspirations of the people who are in the streets" of Tehran.

She and "others"?  Hmm.  I wonder if that includes the president.  That's an odd construction.

There are widespread reports of friction between the president and Clinton over the handling of Egypt, with Mr. Obama apparently angry that the secretary didn't immediately embrace the street demonstrators, and called for a gradual transition.  Of course, Obama didn't immediately do anything, but when you spend your time raising your finger to see which way the wind is blowing, action becomes difficult.

A wise commentator wrote that the first rule of street protests is, "Never go home."  The Egyptian protesters refused to leave.  Will that be the case in Iran, or will the goon squads win, as they did in 2009?  We'll see what tomorrow brings to the streets.

February 14, 2011