Iran holds a parliamentary election on Friday seen as a test of the clerical establishment's popularity at a time of growing dissent over an array of political, social and economic crises. The vote will be the first formal gauge of public opinion after anti-government protests in 2022-23 spiralled into some of the worst political turmoil since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Critics from inside and outside the ruling elite, including politicians and former lawmakers, say the legitimacy of Iran's theocratic system could be at stake due to economic struggles and a lack of electoral options for a mostly young population chafing at political and social restrictions.
refusing to be silenced. and, wolf, really extraordinary scenes across iran. tonight we are seeing some of the most intense, some of the most widespread protests we have seen so far from the capitol teheran to more traditionally conservative religious cities that are a part of the clerical establishment s power base, to cities across the region in the west. we re also getting disturbing reports of more casualties and a rising death toll in those areas, wolf. we ll stay on top of the story for sure. thank you very much, very much. coming up, a scramble for democratic leadership post as the speaker of the house nancy pelosi announces she s stepping aside. plus the first african-american woman elected to become the mayor of los angeles. we re talking to karen bass about everything from her historic win to the challenges she faces right now leading one
within the iranian regime. turkey is pushing very hard on iran. turkey is playing the role iran wishes it were playing. with the turmoil in syria, i think ahmadinejad he has obviously allies. but he s got a lot of opposition within the top clerical establishment. to the point about being impeached, the supreme leader made a very strange statement in which he said one wonders why we have a parliamentary system. there are certainly benefits why we have a presidential system. exactly. you look, he s had trouble with ahmadinejad, who was sort of his guy. he had trouble before that. trouble with rafsanjani before that. so he may be thinking, look, why do i need this nationally elected figure who inevitably becomes a rival? why not a parliamentary system where you have this low profile prime minister figure? really interesting would be the supreme leader, the longest serving leader in the middle
system. you are seeing tensions within the iranian regime. turkey is pushing very hard on iran. turkey is playing the role iran wishes it were playing. with the turmoil in syria, i think ahmadinejad, he has obviously allies. he s got a lot of opposition within the top clerical establishment. to the point about being impeached, the supreme leader made a very strange statement in which he said one wonders why we have a parliamentary system. there are certainly benefits why we have a presidential system, benefits. you look, he s had trouble with ahmadinejad, who was sort of his guy. he had trouble before that. he s had trouble before that. so he may be thinking, look, why do i need this nationally elected figure who inevitably becomes a rival. why not a parliamentary system where you have this low profile prime minister figure. really interesting would be the
harvard physicist. a look at the way your mind works and doesn t. fascinating conversation with nobel prize winner daniel kahneman. a big birthday but an awkward time to throw a big birthday bash. i ll explain. first my take. it s the start of the new year and we will do predictions on this show. i thought i d try my own hand at some before asking others to risk their reputations. and in the spirit of keeping myself honest, i m going to look back at what i said and wrote in time magazine at the start of last year and see how i did. it s always risky to stick your neck out and humbling to look at your predictions but here goes. the only indulgence i allow myself is to start with areas i did well. i said i thought china would moderate its foreign policy behavior recognizing its assertiveness and arrogance over the last year had caused jitters throughout asia. i think that happened. i said the taliban s momentum would be broken in afghanistan. it has somewhat. i said the d