that my cyborg body will allow me to feel any emotions at all. and for you heavy metal haters, look that stern look off your face or you won't get invited to the party back stage on "ridicu-list." thanks for watching. erin burnett "outfront" starts now. i'm erin burnett live from tehran tonight. what does the change here mean for the united states? and the supreme leader who says this election is crucial to "dash the enemy's hopes." what does he mean? plus, breaking news on syria from the white house. a significant development tonight, and from where i'm standing right now, obviously this is a front and center story. a whole new view on syria from here in iran. let's go "outfront." good evening, everybody.

i'm erin burnett live in iran tonight. i'm standing live in the center of tehran, of course, the capital of this country which is in the midst of election heat. people will be heading to the polls for just a few hours. tonight we are in the final hours before that election. it's been amazing. we've seen lots of passion here on the streets. the mayor of tehran is one of the candidates. i have seen more flyers here on the ground and people eager to go in front of the camera and that's pretty fascinating. as you see in our special report, the united states, nuclear program are front and center for this election. this election is crucial for the supreme leader. let me show you the front of the "tehran times." the enemy, of course, is the united states and the west, as defined by the elite supreme leader of this country. there are people, though, very passionate, but also i want to emphasize there are people disillusioned and feel the election is rigged against them.

we've been talking to people, rare access that we've had on the streets and we'll bring you that special report. this is a 50,000 real note. it's a big part of our story. for two reasons. one, this isn't worth much more than a dollar, maybe about $1.30 off the top of my head. it has dramatically changed in value over the past few years despite recently stabilizing. the reason for that is sanctions. we have a special report on that. something you can't see, faded in the background is the nuclear symbol. the nuclear programs here in this country is front and center. barack obama has said, the white house has said that this sanctions program is the toughest and boldest in history. they've been putting sanctions against the iranian economy to try to get the iranian people to force their leaders to shut down the nuclear program. here, they believe that nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. the west of course alleges it is for building a nuclear weapon. but the nuclear symbol on one of the most common bills, it is part of the psyche here that

people believe in that nuclear program. we wanted to see if the sanctions have any hope of working the we went out on the streets, we talked to people. we saw some of the fanciest cars you could possibly see. where there's a sanction, it seems there's a way around it. we have a special report that we believe will be available for all policymakers in the united states to see tonight. first, what about this election? a lot of people have said the policy won't change on the nuclear program, but how passionate are people and what does it mean for the united states? we spent time going to rallies, talking to people, and here's what we saw. a hot summer day in tehran, thousands go to a rally. the voters we met are passionate about the man they're chanting "death to usa, death to israel." but their views were not that clear cut.

in the section designated for women voters, i met a doctor. >> translator: we have no problems with the american people, but resist the trampling on the absolute rights of iran and its people. having our rights ignored by the american government representatives force us into this resistance. >> reporter: everyone we spoke with agreed that iran wants to be respected. while all the final candidates were approved by iran's supreme leader, not all are hard-liners. the candidate that seems to be getting the most buzz is hussein rabani. 24 is his campaign headquarters in tehran, and r and as you can see, it's pretty busy. he was originally a fundamentalist, but he's not actually campaigning as a reformer. the cleric has gotten some key endorsement. he's talked about being more open. i asked his campaign manager what exactly that means. would he negotiate with the united states? >> if the united states really showed interest, and being reliable in negotiation, i think

he will do it. but it doesn't mean at first he'll go for that. >> reporter: we also saw plenty of supporters from the current mayor in tehran. campaign posters for the popular mayor feature him side by side with the ayatollah. after a rally, some young men swarmed us to speak their mind. and for supporters like muhammad, hope rules the day. >> translator: the biggest thing has been the sanctions imposed on our country. they have closed our country and mismanagement has been a big challenge for this government. in my opinion, with galibah all these problems would be resolved. >> joining me now is the managing editor of "time" magazine, rick stengel. also here in tehran covering the elections. you know, rick, i know you were at the rally for jalali as well, one moment that today out to me when the parents of a murdered nuclear scientist were speaking, the audience erupted into "death to america, death to israel." but immediately afterwards

they're happy to talk to us. it seems it was more a rallying call rather than a reflection of how they felt personally. >> it's a ritual that they don't necessarily have in their hearts. what they have in their hearts is this hospitality for foreigners like us, people go out of their way to be hospitable, to be friendly, to find out what ear interested in. that offsets each other. iran is a kind of schizophrenic society people have said, and both of those qualities exist simultaneously. >> so many people talked about how much passion exists. there was a lot of passion for the mayor, and reformist camp. everywhere you saw pockets of people who felt it. but not palpably on the streets. did you also feel that way? >> you know, i've surprised by how much street action you do see, and that people are following the campaign. there are some people who are disenchanted and disillusioned. i think the young voters who were inspired by that 2009 race last time, they feel like there's no candidate for them

this time. the reformers are not even reformers in name. everybody has moved to the right. so there's nobody that inspires that vote anymore. >> some of them didn't even want toe go on camera, saying we're not going to vote, we don't believe in this process. so you can't feel a lot of people wouldn't be joining the voting. but you also had the chance to talk to essentially the religious capital of the country. what did you see there? >> we went to where the ayatollah khomeini started the revolution. people talk about the revolution constantly. it's one of the most religious-centered places in the whole country. we spent time talking to people there. as you might imagine, support for jalali was overwhelming there. we didn't have anybody really interested in the reformist candidates. jalali, who has the no surrender, never give in, never compromise, that does appeal to

a lot of people. it appeals to people who are particularly religious, appeals to men, i think. and i think he will do pretty well. >> i have to say, appealed to a lot of women we saw at that rally, also people, when we were talking about the sanctions today, i was amazed how many people said, yes, they're tough, but no, we are resolved. >> you know, it's funny, it sometimes seems if you compare it to american politics, sometimes just domestic issues are what concern people. in a way that's what you have here. the reason they're not talking about the most important issue, which is the nuclear negotiations, is they all agree about that. they're all like no surrender, no compromise. but they are -- i think voters will vote not on that, but who they think can manage the government. >> rick stengel, thank you very much. to rick's point, the 50,000 real note, on the back of it is the nuclear symbol. that gives a real sense of how

pervasive that feeling in support of the nuclear program is in this country. what about the supreme leader? the ayatollah? the ayatollah seems to control everything. who is he? we have a special report on that next. plus, christiane amanpour will join me to talk about the revolutionary guard, the military group that's controlling more and more of iran. plus this -- apple is by far the most popular american brand here when it comes to electronics. just a couple weeks ago, the u.s. lifted sanctions when it comes to selling things like mobile phones and computers. at this apple store, though, we were told that hasn't affected prices at all, because apple still won't sell directly to them, so they're getting their apple products from dubai. a 16 giga byte phone costs 30% more than in the united states and too expensive for a lot of people here. our special report on sanctions and whether they're changing what iranians think about the

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...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. i'm erin burnett live in tehran tonight. today the country is going to be holding its presidential election. but this is one of the few countries where the central candidate, the central person, the central character, the most important character is not actually running for office. that is the country's supreme leader ayatollah howmaini. he has more sway in this country than any of the nominees.

reza, the ayatollah, i saw one woman she had basically a necklace around her neck with the two supreme leaders since the revolution saying vote for them. the supreme leader is so central to this election. how much sway does he have over it? >> reporter: he's got a lot of sway. iranians are going to be voting for a president tomorrow, but looming very large over this entire process is the supreme leader ayatollah howmaini. very few things gets done without his approval. analysts say that includes the outcome of tomorrow's vote. in the race for iran's presidency, the one vote that matters more than any other, analysts say, is this man's iran's supreme lead e. ayatollah ali humani. >> it's going to be difficult for any candidate whoksn't approved by the supreme leader to be elected president. >> reporter: he's the highest political and religious

authority, overseeing the armed forces, judiciary and foreign policy. he also has final say on u.s. relations in iran's controversial nuclear program. in television debates, candidates seem to refer to the leader just as often as they refer to the iranian people. >> essentially they're not running for the job. they're almost auditioning for the supreme leader. >> reporter: long before he began his 24-year role as supreme leader, he was a key figure in the 1979 islamic revolution that toppeded the u.s.-backed shah of iran. an assassination attempt maimed his right hand. later that year, analysises say he's stayed true to regime policy, holding a tight grip on power, keeping enemies at bay, at home, and abroad. during his reign, he has defied

washington and the west demand for iran to stop its controversial nuclear program. at home, rights groups say his regime has jailed thousands of dissidents, journalists and activists, many during the 2009 opposition uprising, sparked by two reformist candidates, who are now under house arrest. it's no wonder, analysts say, this time around, not a single bona fide reformist was allowed to run for the presidency. >> above all, he wants someone who is going to be subservient to him. >> reporter: if history is any indication what the supreme leader wants, he usually gets. >> and reza, it's amazing, the focus on the supreme leader, to some of the people on the street, especially the more conservative one who invoked his name when they talk about this election. obviously, he's getting older. how is his health?

>> reporter: there's been all sorts of rumors throughout the years, erin, about his health, that he's sick, that he has cancer, but he's been motoring along and he appears healthy when he makes public appearances. he looks healthy, energetic. his aides says he exercises, hikes often, but he is getting up in age. he is 73 years old. it's possible the next president who is elected, especially if he serves eight years, could be in power when the supreme leader passes. many say that's going to be a critical transition, maybe the most critical in the history of the islamic republic, erin? >> certainly seems like that will be the most important one. as reza says, the people running for president right now won't be able to change the nuclear program, but if they're in power when the ayatollah changes, that could be the most important

thing that has happened here. thank you very much to reza. christiane amanpour joins me now. of course, she's iranian by birth and has covered every election in this country since 1995. christiane, when you look at the elections that you've covered, what makes this one different for you? >> the two that stick out in my mind, 1997, is when muhammad mahatma was elected. we movered that. that was an enormous surprise, both internally in iran and around the world. and for eight years of his presidency, there was a real change in iran and with iran's relations with the rest of the world. then i covered the 2009 election, which was when ahmadinejad was going for reelection. that, as we all know, resulted in the green movement, resulted in people saying that the results were flawed. it was a huge movement brutally repressed. and now what we're seeing is an attempt by the iranian authorities to make sure that nothing like either one of those

happens again. they don't want a reform candidate to win, and they certainly do not want to see the kind of mess that happened after the last election, which was broadcast around the world when people were, as i say, brutally repressed, people were killed, people were imprisoned, indeed many bloggers and journalists are in prison right now ahead of the elections, so there isn't the same kind of expression as there was last time. >> and of course, the man ultimately in charge of that the ayatollah. we just heard reza profiling him. there's only been two supreme leaders since the revolution. obviously he's older. what would happen if there were a transition? >> well, look, he is in power until he dies. that is the way of the constitution and of the religious theocracy there. so he stays where he is until he dies. but what is going on right now, according to many analysts is

that iran has become increasingly militarized. in other words, the revolutionary guard are in every aspect of iranian life, and what's happening is the revolutionary guard want to make sure they have their kind of candidate there and want their kind of candidate to win. analysts say their number one choice would be the mayor of tehran, and then sayed jalili, who is the current nuclear negotiator. and then the aide to the supreme leader, and who is somebody who is conservative, but also has dealt with the west in the past. the only surprise might be if, as some analysts tell me, there is a last-minute surge toward mr. rowhani, who now has the reform movement behind him. unlikely, but that is the only surprise that could happen, erin. >> certainly that would be incredible if that happens. as people go to the polls in a few hours. thanks so much to christiane. we are just hours away from the first elections in this country

since 2009. 2009, the election, one probably seared in your memory, with some of the horrible images of what happened to protesters. why is it so different now and why is it so crucial for the united states? a special report, next. and then a bakery, sort of a upper middle-class neighborhood. we had a little hunger today, and we went in, and look at this, angry birds and beyond. one of the nicest bakeries i have seen. people were still stopping, despite the sanctions. even though it took a wad of notes to pay for things. because prices are changing so quickly. are sanctions working? our special investigation is coming up. i want to make things more secure.

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i'm erin burnett, live in tehran tonight, where voters in iran will be going to the polls in just a few hours. it's very different scene from 2009 in the disputed election. there are people here who are passionate, but many who feel disillusioned. around the world there is one image that may be burned. there were protester brutally cracked down on by the government after the election when it was disputed. this time, though, it's very different on the streets. the big question is, what's changed? a defining moment in iran. one of the most widely watched deaths in history. he was shot, instantly a symbol of mass protests following iran's 2009 election. the 26-year-old aspiring tour guide, who wanted to watch the protests, was caught up in the chaos.

just days after ahmadinejad won a landslide victory. the result was quickly challenged. >> this demonstration is illegal. the government denied them permission to come here today. >> the people have been burning tires and burning things. lots of marches, people shouting "down with dictator ship." >> he was known as a reformer. his supporters, many young university students, believed he would change iran for the better, moving their country away from the hardline policies that ahmadinejad favored. >> i would like to have a lot more respect from other countries towards my country. and i think -- he will guarantee that future, i hope. >> we hope that this time real reform will happen from within. >> reporter: this time around it's a lot different. the hero of the green movement

is under house arrest. even the universities have been closed. tehran university is right behind me, one of the biggest in the country. the students were told by the government to, well, end the school year early, take an early holiday. everyone here says that's because they don't want the students involved in protests like in 2009. back then a lot of students were involved, some of them were jailed or even expelled. >> as a matter of fact there is nothing changed, because there is no democracy. >> reporter: the candidate rallies look very different from to 2009, and locals say they see a complete communication lockdown on the horizon. foreign news agencies have been blocked. many internet cafes are closed. many here social media is being closely watched. an amazing thing to see how different things are. you know, they don't really want

to come on camera and talk about it, but they don't feel their vote matters. their way of voting and protesting is to not vote at all. it will be a fascinating next 24 hours as the first round of the election happens. we have more live coverage in a couple moments when we come back. we've seep not just american products in stores, but products from america's allies. i want to mention that it's america and its allies that currently together are imposing what the white house says is the toughest and broadest sanctions in history. so are these sanctions an exercise in futility? a special report next. all business purchases. so you can capture your receipts,

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welcome back. i want to begin the second half of our program with breaking news. i'm live in tehran, iran, and we have breaking news from the white house, which has said syria has crossed the united states' red line when it comes to chemical weapons. according to intelligence officials, this is a u.s. intelligence community report, the assad regime has used the nerve agent sarin gas multiple times, according to the united states intelligence community. about 150 people have been killed because of those chemical weapons. obviously that conflict is one that's watched incredibly

closely here in iran. in a sense it's been characterized as a proxy war between iran and the west in syria. "out front" correspondent chris lawrence is here with us. what's amazing is how important this use of chemical weapons is when it comes to what the united states might do in syria. i know about two thirds of the american public say in that's a red line, if crossed, they would support military action. now that it's happened, what will the united states do? >> that's the big question, the white house officials today were signaling that the u.s. could provide some military support, but not specifying exactly what form that support could take. but let's look at what the rebels have requested. they brought a specific question for weapons to the u.s. and european allies just in the last week or so. they're asking for russian-made antitank weapons, asking for shoulder-fired missiles, also asking for hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition for

their ak-47s and their machine guns. that's what they want. obviously they would like an enforcement of a no-fly zone, but i'm told by officials tonight any talk of a no-fly zone is probably off the table at this point. right now the question would be if the u.s. were to dive into giving them some more arms, how would they go about it, facilitate it through european allies, and some of the other allies in the region. >> chris, it's just the central question right now, and for americans watching, obviously it's not just about syria, but about broader american involvement militarily in the middle east. here in iran there's campaign posters from the iran committee for hezbollah, which of course also is an ally of the assad regime. the united states go ahead involved, all of a sudden you

have the u.s. and iranians face to face. how would iran's role change if the u.s. gets involved? >> reporter: there's no question that since the u.s. has sort of on the fence, iran has sort of gone all in to prop up assad's regime. the iranians are running out of friends in that region. hezbollah remains a prime proxy for them, and they need syria to funnel weapons to hezbollah in lebanon. by all accounts, what we are hearing from officials, there's no way that the city of kusair, which was recently recaptured could have been done. many of whom were trained in street fighting in iran. so those fighters are already tipping the balance. we know some of those fighters are now taking up strategic positions around aleppo. the rebels are concerned without rearming, without getting more ammunition, they may not hold off some of those hezbollah fighters who were so crucial in

the last battle. erin? all right. chris lawrence, thanks to you. obviously this syria situation and this breaking news tonight could be a real turning point in the syrian situation, and also, of course, in the showdown going on between iran and the united states. in that showdown, the united states has placed on iran the toughest sanctions ever. i want to quote the white house ever, the most stringent and broad sanctions in the history of the world. the goal of the sanctions is to halt and stop iran's nuclear program, which iran says is for peaceful purposes, and the united states and the west say is for building nuclear weapons, but for sanctions to work, they have to hit the heart of the economy. oil is still the most important thing here, about 80% of the export revenues come from that, but you may be surprised do you know that the united states actually allows the top buyers of iranian oil to still do business with the united states? the state department just recently formally signs a piece of paper.

here's an exemption, you may shake your head and say how does that make sense? you may shake your head more when you hear this. chi neesz imports of iranian oil are up 66% in the month of may alone. chinese imports, china's the pretty stunning statistic, even though overall some of the imports, of course, have been dropping dramatically. what about regular people? are the sanctions working? here's what we saw. congested, busy tehran is packed, tons of traffic, but the kinds of cars are mixed. tehran is a car town, so to find out if sanctions are hurting, we went to dealerships, like this one? central tehran, where i asked the manager if sanctions are hurting. >> translator: it gets more and more expensive day. importing is difficult so the prices go up. >> reporter: are they worried about buying because the prices keep going up? >> translator: everybody invests in something. some people invest in cars, some will invest in gold. >> reporter: that's right, buying this porsche costs

$110,000, more than double the united states, but it's a good investment when prices are surging. where there's a sanction, there's often a way around it. you're probably asking where do the cars come from? after all, germany is not supposed to be sending mercedes to iran, and japan isn't supposed to be sending them here either. hammond told me they're coming from dubai, doha, qatar, kuwait and ohman. that's where most of these cars are coming from. he said by far the most popular brands are the mercedes and the other german brands and the japanese brands, and for the luxury carmakers, that's a lexus. the more poplar cars are korean, hyundai and ha -- kia. korean brands are dominant, but sanctions make them more expensive, too. >> samsung is the biggest electronics brand in iran. the sanctions are a recent event. before that samsung still had

the highest sales in the most number of stores. >> the store manager told me he has a third the customers than he did just months ago. sanctions, though, hurt the poor the most. so that cost me 20,000 real. that price is double for these tomatoes what it was a year ago. this is a poor neighborhood. every single one of these vegetables is grown locally. even the locally produced items have surged in price. labor costs have gone up. even the sanitization costs have gone up. just in one year, the price for a tomato has doubled. these young men say they don't eastern enough to afford surging food costs. >> our income is much less than it used to be, but we get by. >> they see shrimp are double a year ago, the same with all these fish. sanctions bite, but are they

working at their goal, ending iran's nuclear program? it seems for now, the answer is no. >> translator: once science is learned, science cannot be unlearned. >> translator: resistance and also progress, that's what we want, and we will persist to the very end. "out front" tonight from the kareem endowment. kareem, some of them weren't hesitant. and as we've been showing, the 50,000 note with the nuclear symbol, in a sense it feels like people are even more committed to this program, despite the fact that it's very fair to say that sanctions are taking a bite. >> i'm not sure if that's actually true. as you illustrated, the iranian people are stuck between a brutal regime and an incredibly draconian sanctions program, which you described as the most draconian in the history.

sanctions have certainly accentuated the existing maladies of the iranian economy. incredibly high inflation, unemployment, underemployment. i think if family were properly explained the nuclear program and asked, would you be willing to make certain nuclear compromises, you know, compromise on the amount of uranium in which you enrich, in exchange for economic incentives, i think many people would be willing to take that bargain. the problem is the regime has never allowed an open discussion about the nuclear issue in iran. >> of course, to your point that's not really the way it's set up here. it's a peaceful program and people support that, and they support their right to that. it's a patriotic thing, but what about the fact this is the toughest sanctions regime in history? some people say look at cuba, castro stayed in power.

they've endured incredible pain. but in north korea, they're still moving ahead with the nuclear program. maybe they would be further without sanctions, of course, but what if the sanctions don't work? it seems like the west's eggs are in that basket. >> that's a great question, erin. the goal of sanctions is not to hurt iranian people or gratuitously debilitate the economy. the goal is pretty clear. it's to subject the leadership of iran, particularly the supreme leader subject him to enough pressure to get him to make meaningful and binding nuclear compromises. but the problem is when you're dealing with these authoritarian regimes like iran, like north korea, the economic welfare of their populations are never their first or even second tier priorities. so they are willing -- they have long willing to subject to the population, to economic hardship rather than compromise on their political and ideological aims.

>> kareem, thank you very much. a man who knows as much about iran as anyone out there. our special coverage continues. plus big domestic news. we have deadly wildfires. a special live report for you. plus a massive explosion at a chemical plant in louisiana. a real shock today. we're going to get to the key headlines in just a moment. i want to make things more secure. [ whirring ] [ dog barks ] i want to treat more dogs. ♪ our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business? i need help selling art. [ male announcer ] from broadband to web hosting to mobile apps, small business solutions from at&t have the security you need to get you there. call us. we can show you how at&t solutions can help you do what you do... even better. ♪ every day we're working too... and to keep our commitments. and we've made a big commitment to america. bp supports nearly 250,000 jobs here.

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welcome back to a special edition of "outfront." live from tehran, the capital of iran. we are just hours away from voters going to the polls for the presidential elections. so much at stake for the united states. and more of our special report in a moment. we do have breaking headlines from the united states. i want to get back to don lemon who has that. don? >> lots happening here at home. we want to get to those wildfires in colorado right now. we have just learned that two people have died in what officials are calling one of the deadliest wildfires, one of the most destructive wildfires in the state's history there. more than 15,000 acres already burned and a mandatory evacuation order is in effect.

nearly 40,000 people have been forced their homes. cnn's martin savidge out front tonight. martin, how contained are these fires? >> reporter: the number is 5% containment. they say the cloud cover today brought the temperatures down and the temperatures during the day have been significant. that helped. the 5% is nothing when you're talking about a fire of this magnitude. they have a long way to go. those two fatalities came as a real shock. because so far despite the loss of homes, 360 is the number so far, one of the things that people had been hanging on to is the fire has not killed anyone. that has changed. two people it appears, different circumstances, early this morning while attempting to evacuate the flames. over 700 firefighters are still battling the flames. more assets continue to be brought in. they were hitting it very hard they say from the air. they say the overall spread didn't move a lot, which is

pretty significant given the strong winds they have been dealing with. they are hoping to continue to battle this fire overnight. again, a long way from doing anything like getting containment, but at least if they can stop the advances, that would be considered significant. i will warn you, it was only yesterday they were talking about just 96 homes. overnight it suddenly jumped to 360. so this fire still has great potential to grow. it still is a tremendous threat, despite the assets. sometimes fire officials say no matter what they have, it is nature that rules them and nature is ruling with these high winds. >> we already watching. thank you, martin. 29-year-old zachary green has been named as the man killed in a massive chemical plant killed in an explosion in louisiana. three people are in critical tonight. all the plant workers are believed to be accounted for. officials say the situation is stable. and the fire has been extinguished. aside from a controlled burn of the remaining chemicals.

ed lavandera has more. do we know yet what may have been caused this explosion? >> reporter: we do not know the cause yet, don. that is something that investigators will begin the process of doing and working on. much of today has been spent trying to make sure all of the 600 employees inside the plant when the explosion happened were safe and secure. we have one dramatic picture from inside the plant that someone passed along to us. it shows you that ball of flame, the plume of smoke going up into the air and workers racing to get to safety. so frightening moments inside that plant when this explosion occurred. but almost 75 people injured in this blast. there are three people still in critical condition. a young man, 29 years old, was killed. the explosion happened just beyond that treeline behind me. for most of the day, authorities had asked many people to stay indoors as they were trying to

assess the air quality around this plant, make sure that there were no problems with breathing and asking people to stay indoors to make sure everyone was safe. so governor bobby jindal says although today has been about making sure that people were safe, getting them to safety, now the work of trying to figure out what caused this explosion and who, if anyone, should be held responsible. that work begins now. >> obviously, when you've got the potential for loss of life, everybody's focus is on securing lives, not only on site but the surrounding communities, as well. once the investigations are done and once there's a responsible party, they will be held responsible. we'll make sure, working again with our local and federal partners, that something like this doesn't happen again. >> reporter: that shelter in place order has been lifted. officials in louisiana say so far no indications of any poor air quality or chemicals in the air people should be worried about. don? >> ed, thank you very much for

that. we want to ed to sanford, florida where a judge decided the jury in george zimmerman's second degree murder trial will be sequestered. zimmerman is accused of shooting 17-year-old trayvon martin last year. he claims he shot the florida teen in self-defense and pleaded not guilty. the trial is expected to last as long as a month. so mark, why would the judge wait until now to announce a sequestration? >> i think she was simply holding out to determine whether the jury needed to be sequestered. it's a big deal. a lot of expecpense and resourc are spent housing a jury. so there's a lot to it. and it's a tremendous inconvenience for the jurors. but as you heard the questions being asked and the answers coming today, it's pretty obvious that she needed to do that. people were talking about family

and friends, approaching them, wanting to influence them already. i think the judge just thought the risk was far too great to let them go home, be around family, friends, and somebody trying to influence them. i think she made the right decision. >> there was concern even when picking a jury they wouldn't be able to find anyone in the country that wouldn't be tainted by media coverage. >> yeah, and i never really bought into that. we've never had a jury in the united states history that we weren't able to find and have in a criminal case. so it was a matter of doing a little more work. but not everybody follows the news. a lot of the jurors choose not to stay current with what's going on concerning crime stories or court cases. so they're getting there. i've been more impressed than i expected to be with the selection we heard so far. a lot of intelligent people have been giving good answers. all but seemingly one from

yesterday. it seems like they've been straight on. >> two to four weeks, does that seem par for this type of trial? >> it does. a lot will depend on how tight the judge keeps it. she's been running a tight ship here. if in fact the judge limits it to about the five minutes where this situation where the shooting and the death occurred, then the case is going to go on the shorter end. if the door becomes opened by one party or the other where they're going to get in all these extraneous matters, then the case could drag on to the farther end. but if in fact they really keep it limited to what happened during those fateful five minutes or so, the case is going to be on the shorter side than the longer side. if the state opens the door and they start getting into character issues, we could be in for a longer trial. >> mark, thank you, sir. we appreciate you. still to come, more of erin burnett's live coverage from tehran, including a preview of

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welcome back. here in teheran it's about 4:30 in the morning and people will get up shortly to vote. we heard the call to prayer and some of the birds waking up.

it will be a crucial day at polling stations around the country, and we'll be going to them. one thing that really interested me talking to people on the streets today, we went to a neighborhood. it's the weekend tomorrow here but it kind of starts essentially the middle of the day thursday and a lot of people were out, absolutely packed in the bizarres and some people said, we're not going to vote. we're frustrated. i want to emphasize, some of them were incredibly conservative. one woman came from canada, dual citizen back here to stay with her parents because she wants to cast her vote for the reformist candidate. we'll be fascinated to see what happens tomorrow when we bring you that special report from the polling stations of what actually happens here and a special report on women. 60% of the higher education degree go to women but one of the lowest employment rates for women in the world. what do women want and what are their big frustrations here in

the country? we go behind the vail. our live coverage continues here live from tehran tomorrow. look forward to seeing you then. this is "piers morgan live." fighting the flames in colorado, the december street struggle to contain the spreading wildfire, the worst in state history. we'll go live to the front lines and chad myers has the latest on the weather affecting millions of millions in america and on the east coast here. six months since the shooting at sandy hook elementary. i'll talk to two teachers killed by adam lanza and they met with president obama and chris murphy about his war against the nra and the growing leak investigation and privacy and security in america and takes on the obama scandals and the grill tonight, chris como and kate baldwin talk new day and much,