In Iran Crisis, Paris Exile Group Plays Disputed Role

As millions of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran over the past week to protest the presidential-election results, exiled opposition group the National Council of Resistance of Iran saw its moment. “This uprising is the result of 30 years of murder, oppression and corruption by an Iranian regime we’ve dedicated our entire lives to fighting,” Mohammad Mohaddessin, chairman of foreign affairs for the Paris-based group told TIME. “Even if protesters aren’t calling for [the NCRI] to take power, it’s only natural that, given our organization’s experience, our clandestine networks are playing an important role informing and assisting the Iranian people to achieve its desire of regime change.” Authorities in Tehran claim that isn’t the half of it.

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CNN responds to Iranian hacking accusation

In a news conference Monday in Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi made some accusations about western media outlets. Qashqavi accused “everyone working” at the BBC, the Voice of America and CNN of pursuing the “weakening of Iran’s unity” and seeking the “disintegration” of the country all because, he said, of ties to Israel and Zionism. In addition, Qashqavi specifically claimed that CNN “officially” trains people to “hack government and foreign ministry” Web sites

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Fighting tears, shah’s son calls crisis a ‘moment of truth’

The son of the former shah of Iran called Monday for solidarity against Iran’s Islamic regime, warning that the democratic movement born out of the election crisis might not succeed without international support. “The moment of truth has arrived,” Reza Shah Pahlavi said at Washington’s National Press Club

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Analysis: Why is Iran so upset with Britain?

The contested election results in Iran have brought thousands onto the streets of Tehran in protest. So why have the voices of two of Iran’s most prominent critics — the United States and its leading ally the UK, so far been comparatively muted in their support of the protesters and in their criticisms of the regime?

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John King: Clashes in Iran, disagreement in U.S.

The dramatic and at times deadly post-election fallout in Iran dominated the Sunday conversation. And as we watched more demonstrations on the streets of Tehran, the debate among key policy-makers in the United States centered on whether the Iranian regime was potentially near a tipping point and whether President Obama has been too cautious his handling of this major challenge.

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Wolfowitz: U.S. should reach out to Moussavi

President Obama should reach out to Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi as tensions in Iran over the disputed presidential elections continue to heighten, a former Bush administration official told CNN Sunday. “I would certainly find out if he (Moussavi) wants a conversation,” former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “If he doesn’t, I certainly wouldn’t push it.

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Iran’s parliament speaker criticizes election authority

Iran’s influential parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani implied Saturday that the election authority sided with a certain candidate as thousands of defiant anti-government protesters once again swept into the streets of the capital. A stream of videos posted on social networking Web sites depicted tense scenes and chaos — sounds of gunshots, images of helicopters whirring overhead and wounded men and women being carried away. The extent of deaths or injuries remained unclear.

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Moussavi Facebook page throws blame back on regime

Iran’s ruling system is "going to the slaughterhouse" because of the national outrage over last week’s fraudulent presidential election, the Facebook page of Iran’s top opposition presidential candidate quoted him Saturday as saying. The post, attributed to Mir Hossein Moussavi, reasserted his call for a new election to be overseen by an independent council.

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Obama to Iran: ‘The whole world is watching’

President Obama called Saturday for the Iranian government to refrain from violence and injustice against its own citizens. “The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching,” Obama said in a White House statement. “We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost

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