Iran Protests Grow as Internet Blackout Deepens (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Welcome back. Iran is in a near-total internet blackout amid widespread anti-government protests. Authorities cut off communication more than 36 hours ago, raising fears of a brutal crackdown to suppress dissent. The demonstrations have raged for nearly two weeks in more than one hundred cities. You are seeing footage there from the capital, Tehran, where some protesters chanted long-lived the Shah. They called for an end to the Islamic Republic and the return of the Shah's exiled son. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump issued another stark warning, threatening to hit Iran, quote, where it hurts, if it uses violence against protesters. Iran's Supreme Leader has said Trump should focus on, quote, his own country. For more on what's taking place across Iran, I want to bring in our Paula Hancox in Abu Dhabi. Paula, thanks for joining me again. President Trump is weighing in on the protests, with a pretty strong warning to Iran's leaders there. What does that tell us about how the White House is viewing this moment?

[00:01:11] Speaker 2: Well, Ben, it tells us the White House is watching what's happening in Iran very closely. It's not just the US president, also the secretary of state, others within the Trump administration who are commenting on this, Marco Rubio, secretary of state, saying that they stand with the protesters. And we have heard some fairly strong words from the US president saying that the US would step in if peaceful protesters were killed. Let's listen to what he has said just recently.

[00:01:44] Speaker 3: I just hope the protesters in Iran are going to be safe, because that's a very dangerous place right now. And again, I tell the Iranian leaders, you better not start shooting, because we'll start shooting, too.

[00:01:58] Speaker 2: Now we know that there have been dozens of people killed at this point. The figures we have are from the Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO. They say at least 45 killed, eight children among that number, and hundreds injured, they say, along with about 2,000 or more that have been arrested. Now, CNN cannot independently verify these numbers, but this is similar to what we are hearing from a number of rights groups inside the country. It does appear as though the protests have momentum, the fact that they are being held in every single province across Iran at this point. We've heard authorities say that they have sympathy for the economic concerns, which is what sparked these protests almost two weeks ago now. But they are criticizing what they call rioters and foreign mercenaries, claiming that they are causing trouble. But what we are seeing on the ground are these increased calls not just for economic justice, for better management of the country's economy, but also calling for regime change, calling a chance-like death to the dictator, wanting this Islamic regime to collapse. And we're also hearing those calls from outside of the country as well. Reza Pahlavi, for example, he is the eldest son of the late Shah, who was deposed back in 1979 when the Islamic Revolution took place. He is making very direct calls for nationwide action. Let's listen.

[00:03:36] Speaker 4: I ask all of you, today and tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, this time starting at 6 p.m., to come into the streets with flags, images and national symbols and to reclaim public spaces as your own. Our goal is no longer merely to come out into the streets. The goal is to prepare to seize city centers and hold them.

[00:04:00] Speaker 2: Now we have heard among some protests through images that have been posted on social media chants that are pro-monarchy. But it is very difficult to gauge exactly what support Pahlavi, for example, does have still within Iran, and whether or not this is just a pocket or whether there are more that would want to see a return to the monarchy. Now we have also been seeing small pockets of pro-regime protests as well, a number of pro-government demonstrations that are being broadcast on Iranian state television, press TV, for example. But it will be obviously very closely watched by those around the world. The coming days and how these protests escalate, especially given there is that Internet blockout in the country that started on Thursday night by authorities, there are great concerns that this could mean that a crackdown by authorities on these protesters could become more brutal.

[00:05:03] Speaker 1: Okay, thank you so much for your reporting. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi now.

[00:05:06] Speaker 5: My source tonight is CNN's Fareed Zakaria, host of Fareed Zakaria GPS every Sunday here on CNN. And Fareed, it's great to have you because I want to know what you make of these 13 days of protests. It's obviously impossible to ignore, to see how much it's growing. What is your sense from what we can see and what we do know of what we're seeing play out in Iran tonight?

[00:05:29] Speaker 6: Katelyn, ever since the Iranian revolution, there have been many protests and there have been many very widespread protests. The regime is very good at tamping down these protests using brutal repression, using forms of patronage. But all that said, I do think this one seems different and it does feel like the regime is at a turning point. And the reason for that is conditions in Iran are terrible. The military has been devastated. The economy is devastated. And also, you have the reality that President Trump has now issued a kind of warning, which means the regime has to be careful of the kind of crackdowns they do, which they've tended to do in the past with abandon. So you put all that together and it does feel like either they are going to go down a path of really extraordinary repression, maybe they do it in a way that isn't as easy to televise, but that will still, that will be something the population will see, or they will have to give in in some way. But it doesn't feel like this is going to get diffused very easily.

[00:06:46] Speaker 5: So how does the president factor into all this? Because, I mean, obviously you saw his threats today. If they start shooting the protesters, the United States is going to start shooting. I saw the Supreme Leader today was telling Trump he should focus on his own country instead. But how do they hear the threats from the president of the United States?

[00:07:06] Speaker 6: Oh, I think they take them seriously because the president of the United States is the leader of the most powerful military in the world and a military that showed Iran that it can extend its reach right into Iran with its most prized possessions, its nuclear program. And I think that, look, the regime has always used this mixture of patronage and repression. Patronage patronage for rural communities, more religiously minded people. They have had a base of support, not a majority, but some kind of base. And then brutal repression every time there is some kind of protest, every time there is some kind of dissent. And that repression is very substantial. And even if there are liberals within their own ranks, they repress them. Remember the Green Movement. This is a regime that is very skilled at repression because, in a sense, they came to power through revolution, Caitlin. They know they're not going to let another revolution take place on their hands. But this time, it just feels like the economic conditions are bad. The regime is broken militarily. They face the Trump threat. They face an Israeli threat. This is looking like a perfect storm that Iran is going to find it very hard to navigate through.

[00:08:36] Speaker 5: One is we're watching them try to navigate through it. The son of the former Shah, who was overthrown in 1979 during that revolution, he's been thanking the president. He says that he's promising to hold the regime to account. And I know protesters were heard there chanting for his return. I want to know, do you think that's realistic? Or given your extensive experience in this area, how do you view that?

[00:09:03] Speaker 6: It's difficult to imagine the return of a monarchy. But I think Reza Shah, the man you're talking about, whom I know, is a very decent man who has often said that he would imagine a purely constitutional role. And is it conceivable that he could play some part like that, like the Spanish monarch did when democracy came back to Spain, where he kind of helped facilitate a transition to democracy? It's absolutely possible. I think that the truth is the Iranian people have lived through one of the great totalitarian nightmares of the 20th century, now into the 21st century. And so there's probably a great longing for change. But I do want to emphasize, Caitlin, that the regime has power, has money, has guns, and has shown itself quite willing to use them. So I don't think they're going to go down without a fight. That's my gut.

[00:10:05] Speaker 5: Well, Fareed Zakaria, we'll trust your gut on this and obviously be watching to see your coverage this Sunday here, Fareed Zakaria GPS, at 10 a.m. Eastern. And thank you for joining me tonight. I really appreciate it.

[00:10:16] Speaker 6: My pleasure.