ABC News Reports from Inside Iran
ABC News correspondent Muhammad Lila reports from Iran this week, digging into a changing country few Americans understand. As the nuclear negotiation headlines tick by, Lila will explore the streets of the capital with Iranian street artists, talk to the clerics in Qom and go skateboarding with young Iranians in north Tehran. Join the discussion on social media using #InsideIran.
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Snapshot: Parkour in Tehran#FacesOfIran : Poorya Zaturam moves like a blur, doing Parkour, causing a stir but won't be deterred #AlmostRhymin pic.twitter.com/D7PysvuYnA
Oct. 30, 2013- Reply
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#FacesofIran: "It's a better life"#FacesOfIran : Works as a street cleaner, but misses his old job farming. "It's a better life, cleaner air." pic.twitter.com/4OsobXRd7B
Oct. 30, 2013- Reply
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#FacesOfIran : Isa had regular customer who bought flowers for sick child. When child cured, she bought them for him. pic.twitter.com/Rt2QrQMg4m
Oct. 30, 2013- Reply
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#FacesofIran: Skaters of TehranLater this week, Muhammad Lila plans to show off his skills on a board at a Tehran skate park. Today, he met 15 year-old Mohammed Hassan:#FacesOfIran : Mohammed Hassan, 15, is a boarder. Listens to heavy metal. Favorite song is about peace. pic.twitter.com/dIzLHKAU2v
Oct. 30, 2013- Reply
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Tagging in Tehran after darkLong after sunset in Tehran, ABC News hit the streets with a group of artists to check out their work.A wall in Tehran where inexperienced street artists are allowed to learn to paint/tag. #InsideIran pic.twitter.com/OLhn91jUnc
Oct. 30, 2013- Reply
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What sanctions?Having driven around #Tehran , top to bottom, it doesn't feel like a city hard hit by sanctions. Easy to find imported, western brands.Oct. 31, 2013
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#FacesofIran: Meet Baqer#FacesOfIran : Baqer Khoksar, 27 cooks kebab all day every day, his favorite food. Won't share secret recipe #Goodcook pic.twitter.com/TX27IQkOjh
Oct. 31, 2013- Reply
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#TwitterTrouble in Tehran
It's day three and Muhammad Lila (@MuhammadLila) is having Twitter trouble - surprise! We went in armed with multiple virtual private networks (VPNs) and we're still running into roadblocks.
Ugh. Twitter not letting me u/l photos. Bandwidth again? Standby. In meantime, check out icyandsot.com now apparently both in USOct. 31, 2013- Reply
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After hours of hiatus, finally back on #Twitter . No conspiracy theories please. Was just dude next door hogging my bandwidth #InsideIranOct. 31, 2013- Reply
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But we're not alone, Twitter has been blocked in Iran since 2009. Following the election protests that year, the Iranian government cut Twitter access in a bid to limit reporting from the ground. The Green Movement protests, in response to former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election, sparked millions of Iranians to share information and pictures on Twitter. Since then, Iranians have been forced to become sneakier and savvier at navigating around the block using VPNs and anti-filtering software.
But while Iranians are unable to freely access Twitter, President Rouhani’s media team tweets regularly in English from @HassanRouhani and Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who just started tweeting last month already has a verified account.
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#FacesofIran: Lilifur#FacesOfIran : Lilifur (pron Li-lee-fur), Iranian-bred, lives in #Tehran 's biggest stable. Think she smiles? #Iran pic.twitter.com/MqP661BTD5
Oct. 31, 2013- Reply
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#FacesofIran: Hannah
We've taken a vote and all agree that Hannah is the cutest #FacesofIran post yet.#FacesOfIran : Anna, 6-months old. Sits playfully, surrounded by toys, undisturbed, as Iranian rock band jams nearby. pic.twitter.com/C6uMdCvbnE
Oct. 31, 2013- Reply
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Sanctions squeeze in some areas, not othersIn speaking with Iranians, no one says sanctions are crippling. One grocer: "We just don't buy as much" #InsideIranNov. 1, 2013
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Area where sanctions ARE felt? Medicine. Some not available, longer wait times. Iranians say unfairly targeting ppl who need help most.Nov. 1, 2013- Reply
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Earlier this year ABC News' David Muir went in search of one of the biggest pharmacies in central Tehran, after hearing that life-saving medicine was running out. And it was.“Right now, we are running low on every kind of medicine,” Dr. Kheirollah Gholami, who runs the pharmacy told our team. “When I can’t pay you, how can you send the medicine to me?” Gholami added. -
Conspiracy theories abound inside the 'Den of Spies'
ABC News was given unprecedented TV access to the former U.S. embassy compound where Americans were taken hostage in 1979. To Iranians, it's still a symbol of American oppression – a “Den of Spies” where U.S. agents plotted against Iran for decades.
Woman, inside embassy, tells me she thinks #Iran should hv peace with all countries, but doesn't think possible with US. #InsideIranNov. 3, 2013- Reply
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Inside, it’s part museum, part conspiracy theorist haven, writes Muhammad Lila. A mural painted in the stairwell depicts planes striking the World Trade Center towers – and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars that followed – with a clear suggestion that American “agents” plotted the attack themselves, in order to wage war on other countries.A tour guide, polite and well-spoken, insisted that the entire 9/11 attack was scripted.
“It was all a Hollywood production,” he told Muhammad Lila.
Inside Embassy, conspiracy theories alive and well. Even blame US for 9/11. Anti-American, but one student says wants to study in US.Nov. 3, 2013- Reply
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Ppl in embassy say no hostility to American ppl, but anti-US murals, doormats made of US flag, send different msg.Nov. 3, 2013- Reply
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Snapshot: Paper shredders, just like in Argo
In nearly every room of the former U.S. embassy, original materials seized during the embassy takeover have been meticulously preserved, reports Muhammad Lila.
As you'll recall in the movie Argo, when embassy staff realized the compound was about to be overrun, they set off on a desperate mission to destroy and shred as many official documents as they could.
One of several paper shredding machines (remember the movie Argo?) preserved at former US Embassy. #InsideIran pic.twitter.com/fcaaeUk3oZ
Nov. 4, 2013- Reply
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Watch: U.S. and Israeli flags go up in flames
Muhammad Lila was on the streets of Tehran for today's protests: -
Google Hangout: Muhammad Lila chats with US college studentsIn a 45-minute Google Hangout with U.S. college students at Williams College in Williamstown, MA Lila chatted freedom, Adele and sanctions.Is life more difficult with sanctions in place? "No. Everything is the same as before," an English teacher in #Tehran tells us. #InsideIranNov. 5, 2013
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"If you look at ordinary Iranians, they're no different than ordinary Americans. They're just like you." #InsideIranNov. 5, 2013- Reply
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Iranians love Adele
After more than a week inside Iran, one thing is clear: young Iranians love Adele. Muhammad Lila went underground to check out Tehran's music scene:
The group's name is Accolade. Being "underground" means they don't have a municipal license to perform at officially sanctioned events. They still perform in front of audiences, but only at privately organized gatherings, some of which can be quite large.
The band's leader, Daniyal, says being underground is an artistic choice, a way to maintain full creative control over his lyrics without having to conform to guidelines from others, including the government. There's also the issue of having a female vocalist, Azadeh Ettehad, perform solos, something that up to now has been taboo in Iran.
Despite not being able to perform in front of thousands of screaming fans at a stadium, Ettehad says she's happy in Iran and doesn't want to leave. She thinks it's important to fight for change – socially and culturally – and says it's only a matter of time before women are allowed to sing solos on their own.
And speaking of singing, man, can she belt it out. Below, she sings Adele's "Rolling in the Deep." -
From Iran's underground music scene to New York City
ABC News' Ben Gittleson (@BGittleson) spoke with Rana Farhan, a well-known Iranian singer based in New York. A brief excerpt of the interview follows, read the full interview here.
How has music in Iran come to be considered "underground"? How has the scene developed over the years?
Since the Iranian Islamic revolution [in 1979], all music is considered "underground" unless it is approved by the government. Very few are approved, so most young musicians find creative ways around these restrictions through distributing their music and videos over the Internet and playing secret concerts.
What musical genres are most popular among young Iranians?
Iranian young people are like most young people. Their taste ranges from rock to hip-hop and R&B to traditional Iranian music. Although they can't legally buy it, they find ways to grab songs from the Internet and share them. For instance, my website is blocked in Iran, but if any of my fans send me an email, I will send them my latest mp3s and encourage them to share.
What has your own experience been with music in Iran?
When I was a kid, there used to be this record store called Beethoven. Every week my girlfriend and I would save our lunch money and run down to see what were the latest records that had arrived from overseas. Things like Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King.
We really liked that blues stuff, and I would take those records home and play them over and over and try to learn them on my brother's guitar. My brother played in a local band, and they would play concerts and clubs. But of course, all that stopped when the religious right took over. After that we could only play and jam in our basements and in parties.
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Watch: Meet Farideh Khoosha, female State TV journalist
After attending a briefing at the Foreign Ministry, Muhammad Lila's (@MuhammadLila) latest dispatch:
In the foreign ministry's briefings, most of the journalists are women. Wearing black chadors over their blue jeans, microphones and notebooks in hand, they were the ones asking the most aggressive, insightful questions.
One of the journalists, Farideh Khoosha, caught my eye. Sitting in the front row, she landed the first question, and later wrangled a one-on-one interview with the spokesperson.
Outside, we learned Khoosha's with the youth wing of Iran's state broadcaster – not exactly a bastion of freedom of expression. We asked if we could profile her, and after a phone call with her boss, she agreed. Below, her story in her own words: -
Skateboard diplomacy in Tehran
In many ways, they're just like kids you'd see in an American suburb, writes Muhammad Lila. Skateboards in tow, energy drinks in hand, and T-shirts with logos of their favorite urban skater gear.
Alireza, helped found T-Sixty, estimates 2K new Tehranis try skateboarding every year. Unlike US, boarders free to sk8 on #Tehran streets.Nov. 1, 2013- Reply
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Alireza tells our team they're working hard to get the sport off the ground, with skateboarding facilities in nearly every major Iranian city. Their dream? A cross-cultural skateboarding exchange with skaters from around the world, including America. Call it skateboard diplomacy.Changing gears here. Hanging with skate crew at T-Sixty. Great guys, trying to get boarding off the ground in #Iran . pic.twitter.com/wbtiFMZXj4
Nov. 1, 2013- Reply
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Signing off after ten days #InsideIranMany thanks for following along here. For more Iran content, check out the ABC News Inside Iran hub.Leaving #Iran . Thanks for all the follows/feedback. Fascinating place, ppl warm/gracious. Hope to be back #InsideIran again.Nov. 6, 2013
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