Then They Came for Me
“I arrived at the Tehran University campus at ten-thirty A.M. for Friday prayers. The ceremony was scheduled to begin at one, but when I walked up to the campus gates, they were already closed. Officials from Beite Rahbari, the Leader’s Office, as Khamenei’s institution is called, were prohibiting reporters from entering. I was directed to a security office on the campus, where we would be allowed to view a televised version of the speech.
Khamenei’s speech that day was the most important of his reign and would determine the path Iran was going to take: toward militarization and a more closed authoritarian state or toward a quasi-Islamic democracy. The fact that one man’s words could determine the results of an election meant that Iran had already significantly moved toward a more totalitarian state. But that day, as I sat with a group of journalists, including my Newsweek colleague Babak Dehghanpisheh and Marie Colvin, from the Sunday Times of London, I knew we were all quietly hoping... that Khamenei would make a wise decision—and the right one for the country.MoreLess
Khamenei’s speech that day was the most important of his reign and would determine the path Iran was going to take: toward militarization and a more closed authoritarian state or toward a quasi-Islamic democracy. The fact that one man’s words could determine the results of an election meant that Iran had already significantly moved toward a more totalitarian state. But that day, as I sat with a group of journalists, including my Newsweek colleague Babak Dehghanpisheh and Marie Colvin, from the Sunday Times of London, I knew we were all quietly hoping... that Khamenei would make a wise decision—and the right one for the country.MoreLess
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