character. it is important to understand where he was responsible for things alone, where the blame is to be shared, and in some cases where he was not the key person responsible. host: bradley graham's new book "by his own rules: the ambitions, successes and ultlimate failures of donald rumsfeld" will go on sale today. thanks. guest: thank you for having me. host: that pretty much does it for this program. tomorrow we will speak with senator john mccain. we will speak with tom ridge on thursday. we will take you live now to the national press club concerning iran. it is the morning news event. the speaker is an advocate for the campaign for civil disobedience against the regime

in iran and will call for a secular parliamentarians and thademocracy there. . . [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009]. . . dñ@ñdñdñúñ@ñ@ñdñ@ñ@ñ@ñdñdñúñdñ@ñ ññññlñ

ññññññññ ññññññññññññññ >> waiting here at the national press club for remarks from iran's former crown prince, reza pahlavi. coming up in a couple of hours, president barack obama will be making a formal announcement, welcoming the weekend agreement

by the pharmaceutical industry to help close a gap in prescription drug coverage under medicare. we will have that live for you as well. now to the national press club. >> i am a former u.s. a foreign service officer, a fortunate enough to be stationed in a a speakers country buca. before introducing the speaker, some announcements -- there will be a sound files of this speaker made available through the website. people may purchase up to the broadcast operations center of the club, 202-262-7510. turn off any blackberries or cell phones, and tomorrow, the speaker is the secretary-general of the organization of the islamic conference.

his topic is "u.s.-muslim world relations and the contributions to that." there is material on the table outside related to this newspaper. the newspaper, as you know, is the former crown prince of iran, the son of the late shah of iran. reza welcome back to the press club. we are very you could be here. i sent welcome back, because mr. pawlenty has spoken at the nbc -- because reza pahlavi has spoken to the npc at least once before. i want to thank for her role in arranging this speaker, his office and all those who i've met and hussein i cannot

pronounce correctly. he would give us his view on the post-election relations in iran. he thinks it reflects a fundamental change in attitude of the iranian people to the islamic regime, and has ideas on what the west should do about it. after he speaks, he will take your questions. line up at dtw alternating marker fronts, go left and right. -- line up at the two alternating microphones, go left and right. we have this room until all o'clock 30. afterwards, -- until all o'clock 30. afterwards, if you will be available for interviews at the end of the hall. as you leave, please add your name to the signing sheet outside. thank you very much. >> ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming. thank you for your time and

attention to the cry for freedom and democracy on the streets of iran. i cannot -- i can tell you firsthand how much my compatriots are appreciative of your generous attention to their plight. the best i can do for you today is to recount what my fellow iranians tell me about their conditions, hopes, and fears. bear in mind that for the great majority of iranians born after the islamic revolution, the unfolding events are the most significant transformation -- transforming experience of their collective memory. the courage of the conviction gives hope for peace and democracy, in the most troubling region of the world.

on the other hand, their defeat will encourage extremism from the shores of the lavon to to the energy juggler of the world. at the very least, it will threaten regional tranquillity and global economic recovery through fears of terrorism, a slowdown of globalization, and steeply higher energy prices. at worst, fanatical tyrants who know that that feature is against them may come at their present course on their terms, a nuclear holocaust. which will it be? that is the question of the debt. -- that is the question of the day. my request to you is to not underestimate the role you play in the outcome.

international media are already the information artery, connecting different parts of the freedom movement in iran. that is why the regime has ominously warned media that only officially report -- officially approve reports to be dispatched of the country. having restricted the return path of media, they are also jamming electronic transmissions and restricting internet traffic into the country. but it is the third leg of communication from people the people, from one resistance cell with another, from leaders to supporters inside, of which the regime is most fearful. they cannot fight people who stand together. only an information blackout can isolate individuals so that they can be addressed separately.

thus, -- so that they can be oppressed separately. thus, the outcome of the struggle will depend on your ability, the free media, to fight their blackout with the light of information. your second contribution is keeping your political leaders informed about the brutal violence of the regime's playclothes thugs against unarmed people. your government have insisted that they would not interfere in iran's internal affairs. i applaud that. any such attempt will give the timon's the excuse they need -- ctyrants the excuse they need to paper over their own differences. but that is not all they do. they are taping -- painting

every statement in defense of human rights as foreign interference, benefiting from the confusion between the two. it is vital, it is vital that the free world not fall for such cruel cynicism in the name of realpolitik. the universal declaration of human rights knows no national boundaries. its defense is not only a matter of ethics, but a mutual obligation of all governments who are its signatories. it is also in their interest. no one, no one will benefit from close in his or her eyes to knives and cables cutting into the faces and now it's up the young and the old -- the faces and mouths of the young and old.

pppppppppppppp or from a bullet piercing our beloved neda. [applause] whose only sin was the quest for freedom. no one but tyrants and their thugs.

do not let them to find what is sovereignty, what is interference in other's affairs. ladies and gentlemen, a movement was born on the 12th of june. it is not islamic or anti- islamic, it is not for capitalism or socialism, nor any other ideology or specific form of government. it cares little about the historical squabbles before its birth, but it is about the sanctity, even more, the sovereignty of the ballot box. it may not succeed immediately, it may have ads and flows -- and

sen flows, but let me assure you, it will not die. we will not let it die. a week later, the supreme leader of the islamic republic decided to stand erect as a dam in front of this movement, sanctioning theft of the ballot box and flagrant fraud, all in the name of islam. it was an ugly moment of disrespect for both god and man. it will not stand. the citizens of iran will not stand it. and at the end, he will not stand. rest assured the movement of 22nd o-- movement of the 22nd,

already invested with the blood of my brief countryman, with support from and recorder of the globe, will not rest until it achieves unfettered democracy and human rights in iran. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much. we all of questions for you. we will start with the right. >> cnn. i have two questions -- can you talk of anything you have heard of what is going on outside of tehran? we have not heard a lot about the situation. obviously, media is not able to get there. also, he spoke very briefly about what the international community can do. specifically, do you think that president obama has struck the right town? is there anything else should or

could be saying, or anything else the u.s. should or could be doing? thank you. >> thank you very much. but i can tell you first and foremost is that the extent of violence, unfortunately, is far more widespread than it has been reported by the media, perhaps because of a concentration of media has been mostly focused on major cities, but having received many reports from provinces and smaller towns, there has also been a tremendous amount of repression and conflict there. what could be interesting to all of you is that even just a day, driving gear to the national press club, i received multiple calls from various parts of the country. a member of the revolutionary guards passing through an alley

where a kid was riding a slogan -- writing a slogan. there is a sense of complicity, in a way. i have reports of police forces in iran, a wink to the kids come out saying "we have orders to hit you. if we do not hate you, our superiors will hit us." i have reports were some clerics who are leaders of for friday prayers would address in civilian clothes and other in some of the civilian protests. this is getting amazingly, by the minute, a sort of the sense of people abandoning a sinking titanic. what is most important is that we are already seeing that our messages an hour appeals to the security forces not to hit their own brethren and join with them

is getting more and more crowns. it is unfortunate that the siege -- basij as a whole still has to demonstrate, but many many more forces are showing their discontent. there was a specific report i received today, and i cannot name names for obvious reasons, but one of the higher echelon members of the privilege and regards, who was specifically assigned to make sure that he is in charge of the questioning any kind of unrest, recently said in his report, his account, that after what happened last week, even he said "i can no longer morally or consciously stick to a system, and for any ideas that i thought the revolution was supposed to before, after what is happening to the people." there is an amazing reflection that is happening not just for the people, obviously, but in

the regime. this is what i hear, the kind of reports i receive. you ask about what the u.s. and specifically the administration -- i was encouraged but delayed its position of -- i was encouraged by the latest position and words of president obama. the distinction between what is considered or could be interpreted as interference in the sovereign affairs of a state, as opposed to stand for the principles of validation of human rights and democracy. we welcome that. it is effective. this is precisely what iranians at home and demand world leaders, particularly someone like president obama, who, after all -- his entire message of hope and change and affirmative action, if i could call, was a big inspiration to many, and as such, the world community has been, for the most part, in an unprecedented fashion, showing

more and more solidarity. that is important, that is frightening, that is life in the streets of tehran that people finally, after 28 years, and god knows how many times i've said that, fallen so many times i deaf are a -- fallen so many times on deaf ears, but is there for the world to see. as a final comment on this topic, i received at least in the past five days, personally, over 200 calls, at least, of various people inside iran, in respect of which movement ever present, tell on our behalf of the world "do not quiet down. keep talking, keep supporting us, a key to being there for us. we are dying here. we need to know we are not alone." >> are you the key for anything else specifically for the u.s.? -- looking for anything else specifically for the u.s.? >> i think the key element will

be -- the mask of this regime coming off of what will turn out to be a police state. will it be a genocide? is it going to be a major, major crackdown? is the world community prepared to take the next step? we have to plausibly anticipate it. the question is, what will world governments to this time? are we going to have tianamen square revisited, or will this be different? the cost of not doing this could lead us only to a much more dire -- not just for the iranian people, who will be tremendously setback in their hopes for freedom anytime soon, but the danger that this regime represents beyond iran's borders to the international community. >> channel 10 israel. his excellency, i wonder what you define what we're seeing right now. is it a revolution? what will be the aftermath? will it be a regime change, or

only a change in the regime? >> as i mentioned to you in my opening statement, the 22nd and what happened shortly thereafter may have been at the beginning a dispute over election results. since then, i think that most iranians today, including the cab of mr. mousavi and others, are realizing that this is far beyond the question of the election result. it has become a question of not only the sanctity of the ballot box, but the very fact that it is of national sovereignty, national liberty, which, until this regime, with such a supreme leader, that in such a clear matter has pretty much drawn the line in the sand, will make it almost impossible for anyone to demand anything less than moving beyond the system. it is going in that direction. the momentum is there.

there is no ave or recourse left for that nation for my compatriots to find any resolution for the problem. the latest decision made by the council of guardians reiterates once again that even if they are willing to admit that there was a discrepancy, they claim is not enough to warrant even a recount. pretty much the line has been drawn in the sand. i think that from now on the question is to offer every opportunity for anyone who is joining with the people today to get off this sinking titanic at the islamic regime is all about. we welcome that, we encourage that, but at the end, it will become a member -- a matter of on the one hand saying that we are of the people and at the same time trying to sustain the regime. yes, it is almost a revolutionary climate in terms of what people are ultimately demanding. i often don't use the word revolution because i feel that has a very negative connotation in everybody's collective memory.

i'm talking about a movement of non-violent civil disobedience as a method of bringing about change, which is not something we have not seen in our recent years, but the key point is that i have seldom seen non-violent movement of changed succeed without international support. that is a very key element. that is what i would like to stress here today. >> a daily turkish newspaper. my question, as a follow-up to the question of whether president obama had set the right town or not, i wonder if you believe that the regional countries have set the right town? as far as i know, iran's immediate neighbors, like turkey and iraq, have called mahmoud ahmadinejad to congratulate his election victory. do you think that these kinds of messages go directly to mr. ahmadinejad is a stand against the people on the streets, or an alliance to the current iranian regime?

how do you interpret it? thank you. >> well, i think it is hard to interpret it anything other than standing in complete opposite of with the iranian people stand today. why they do this? ask them. i don't think it is my place to justify or explain why it is that if the government decides to legitimize the regime. all i am telling you is that people in iran will not forget such a key moment, at the time they are risking everything they've got. if we have a long-term vision, the will become more aof an issue to think about that the media. -- more of an issue to think

about than in the immediate. >> i would like to ask you about the relations between president hugo chavez and president, in a shot. they have had the privilege -- president ahmadinejad. they have had a privileged relationship over the last two years. my second question is that if you think that iran should have nuclear energy, is in that effort to the world? -- isn't that a threat to the world? >> on the first question, the french have an expression, that people who resemble each other possible with one another. i think the writing is on the wall. [applause] i don't think any to elaborate. i -- i don't think i need to

elaborate. i have a lot of venezuelans, and i think they're concerned that this help the alliance is a detriment to because of democracy and freedom. my position, as always, the nuclear issue, is very clear. before we get into the energy issue, iran, before the revolution, was a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty, as a result of which we became 10% shareholders in a consortium that was going to furnish iran the nuclear rods to fuel nuclear reactors that were going to be started, and should have been completed, i believe, around 1983, if i am not mistaken. at the time, the world community was not concerned about iran's civilian nuclear program. as a matter of fact, most countries today are demanding tougher sanctions on iran through the u.n., the same countries competing with one

another to send us nuclear technology. among them the united states, france, other countries. what has changed? the nature of the system. it is the trust that you can have a system that makes the whole difference. lack of transparency, lack of responsibility or accountability, is the real threat. not of the nation's right or sovereign right to technology. it has never been that. of course, the regime, as capable as they seem to be in twisting every word and act to make it like a national cry, do not tell people of iran that day, the regime, is responsible for us having lost that right, and only them. as far as the military usage of that, it would be in total violation of our own signature to the treaty. in principle, i would end by saying that there is no question, in my view, that a

democratic iran and a nation committed to peace need not pursue weapons of mass destruction. i cannot envisage in my own mind, if i were there today, as an iranian, i would feel safer if everybody around us at their own set of nuclear weapons pointing at each other. that is not a safe environment. under any circumstance. i do not buy that argument. but don't forget, last and not least, that most of the regime of's rhetoric in the last few years -- the regime's rhetoric and the last few years, and perhaps longer before that, has always been mostly aimed for not domestic consumption, but for external consumption, particularly towards the arabs in the region. that often has deflected attention from the problem with in iran itself, which until now has left many, including the media, confused as to whether it

is a real sentiment of people. today you will hear more and more, because of your presence there, what i knew all along -- but the iranian people really think. when you have people struggling to make ends meet, when you have a factory worker who has not been paid a salary over at least half a year, and his entire salaries may be the equivalent of $2,000 or $3,000 a year, and the regime gives this kind of money, twice, five, 10 times that amount, to some hezbollah family in lebanon or some hamas member in palestine while he is starting, those priorities are not in the interest of their own people. people know that. people are celebrating making yellowcake? how about celebrating keeping us from starving? if you trust the iranian people, and we shoin