From a CNN interview this morning with a man described by CNN as an Iranian student protester in Tehran:
Mohammad: Americans, European Union, international community, this government is not definitely — is definitely not elected by the majority of Iranians. So it’s illegal. Do not recognize it. Stop trading with them. Impose much more sanctions against them. My message…to the international community, especially I’m addressing President Obama directly – how can a government that doesn’t recognize its people’s rights and represses them brutally and mercilessly have nuclear activities? This government is a huge threat to global peace. Will a wise man give a sharp dagger to an insane person? We need your help international community. Don’t leave us alone.
Chetry: Mohammad, what do you think the international community should do besides sanctions?
Mohammad: Actually, this regime is really dependent on importing gasoline. More than 85% of Iran’s gasoline is imported from foreign countries. I think international communities must sanction exporting gasoline to Iran and that might shut down the government.
But wouldn’t that make the United States a political football inside Iran and destroy the legitimacy of the protest movement by portraying it as a pawn of the Great Satan? Someone had better tell Mohammad that he really doesn’t understand the internal dynamics of the complex society he lives in — and that one strongly worded statement from the President of the United States could doom his dream of living in a peaceful and democratic country.
Michael Goldfarb of The Weekly Standard