Iranian Protesters: "Obama, Are You With Us Or Against Us?" (VIDEO)

A video on Youtube appears to show protesters in Iran chanting, "Obama: Are you with us or against us?"

Wednesday, the 30th anniversary of the U.S. embassy takeover, saw competing protests in Iran as both anti-U.S. and anti-Iranian government protesters took to the streets. Read more here.

The HuffPost cannot verify the authenticity of this video.

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Comments

[stargazer13]

09:08 PM on 11/05/2009

Iran in transition

[Khirad]

10:59 AM on 11/05/2009

On a couple occasions, Amir asked me, hopefully, "do you think America will save us? Overthrow these mullahs?" ... Another time, he said, "America ought to just leave us alone. We can make change ourselves." All across Iran, I heard such contradictory remarks, revealing that the shadow of America still looms large in the Iranian psyche.

- Afshin Molavi, The Soul of Iran

I think everyone can understand this. Obama has to choose his words carefully, but he should continue to raise concern over humanitarian rights violations. Anything more goes against the wishes of Reformist leaders and activists who want him, for their own sake, to distance himself from them. As much as we can feel these chants (which could have a tinge of domestic politics to them perhaps, as well, quite the opposite of what is imagined -- double meanings and dual purposes aren't unusual -- I'm admittedly perching on a purely speculative limb here though), pragmatically we must step back and realize that there is little we can do but as citizens of the world, wherever we are, continue to bear witness and offer support. While the politicians leading the movement may not always speak for the demonstrators on the street, without them, they would in a sense be decap!tated organizationally and lose what very little protection they have now. Without them, they would lose all legitimacy and everyone so much as wearing a wisp of green could be accused of shouting "Khamene'i is a mυrdεrεr".

[baba2nde]

11:16 PM on 11/04/2009

Two points:
1) If "HuffPo cannot verify the authenticity of this video" but proceeds to post it, HuffPo is purposefully misleading its patrons.
2) For context, the outside world can be forgiven for thinking the USA is about to fall to pieces if all they have is footage from Fox.

[wereeverywhere]

11:20 PM on 11/04/2009

That HufPo can't verify because of IRI's press lockdown shows that HufPo values its credibility and that the protesters who shout 'marg bar dictator' (death to the dictator) are again correct. Free the press, free the people, and free Iran.

[baba2nde]

11:51 PM on 11/04/2009

The video was staged in the city of Victoria, Seychelles at noon on September 18, 2009 and I have source details if you want.

... NO - I am only joking, but do you see how anyone can do fox one better?

[ruhaba]

10:24 AM on 11/05/2009

This did happend , i just spoke to my sister in tehran . Belive it or not people want freedom in Iran.It is their right. I pray for That day .

[Khirad]

10:35 AM on 11/05/2009

I wish you'd come around more. ;-)

It's good to hear such things.

[StMTraveler]

05:14 PM on 11/04/2009

How can we help Progressive Iranian Movement?
The last time we interfered in the internal Iranian affairs was during 1953. We are still paying for our actions.
Many of us did not accept election of George Bush, even though the majority of us voted for the Democratic candidate Al Gore. Still George Bush was nominated as our President. Should we Americans ask Russians or Chinese to interfere in our internal affairs?
Our past political mistakes, and financial burdens we have placed on the Iranian people will not advance our long term American interests. To assist the Progressive movement in Iran, allow a greater exchange between the two societies, remove the burdens placed on the Iranian people by economic sanctions and restrictions. It is foolish to punish the people for our disagreements with their government. By removing the burden, we allow change in demographics of Iran toward a larger middle class; thus, it will shift the internal Iranian policy from Traditionalists toward the Progressives. We must support the Iranian Progressives. The Progressives are young, better educated and often the middle class segment of the Iranian population.

We will not advance our American interests, or the Progressive Iranian movement, by listening to those who advocate a more aggressive policy toward Iran. Our representative in the Congress must stop the hideous play of hypocrisy and face the facts in the Middle East. How hurting Iranian people would help us with our long-term national interests?

[FrenchWarHero]

03:45 PM on 11/04/2009

Sorry Iran - you're on your own. We are too busy kissing mullah a$$ hoping that they will negotiate away their nuclear arms program. Of course they never will give this up, nuclear arms are critical to their continued control and oppression of the people of Iran and the ultimately region.

[federalist papers fan]

03:35 PM on 11/04/2009

We need some leadership from the president with regards to the ongoing developments in Iran and the repeated rejections of his overtures to Iranian leadership.

[nicole473]

08:08 PM on 11/04/2009

Really. And what exactly would you like him to do?

[federalist papers fan]

11:14 PM on 11/04/2009

He could further isolate the regime economically with sanctions and build an international consensus to address the unfolding human rights violations for starters.

[ailbhe]

03:15 PM on 11/04/2009

I admire them so much for risking their lives standing up to a violent dictatorship, fortunately with 70% of the population under thirty, being more educated than previous generations and sick to death of being told what to do, it won't be long before the youth can no longer be controlled.

In a few years the clerics will be gone, the backlash against conservatism will swing heavily into the opposite direction.

I don't know whether Obama's doing the right thing or not. On one hand if he publicly supports them, it will be used as 'evidence' by the regime that the supporters are all American spies and traitors.

On the other hand, most people, especially the young don't believe anything the government tells them, view the government as repressive and see anything they oppose as a positive force. They may actually be empowered by support from the most powerful man in the world and it could encourage others to join them.

I just hope that behind the scenes, they are doing everything in their power to help them.

[praha]

01:02 PM on 11/04/2009

It would be great to think that the Iranians - risking their skin to demonstrate on the day dedicated to honor the taking of US hostages by chanting this - would actually see their voices lead to something but I am sad to say it is unlikely still, given the repression.
It would also be wonderful to imagine that in this period, on the 20th anniversary of Eastern Europe casting off the shackles of repression the Iranians could do the same, but it really takes a persistent and courageous effort of hundreds of thousands of people in the face of a lot of fear, and usually needs a charismatic leader to forge ahead and lead the way.

I wish the young people of Iran the best. They have a beautiful country, culture, language and history, and what they are living with now is a shame. But Obama is not their saviour, they need their own Obama.

[gnomic]

12:54 PM on 11/04/2009

American voters are asking the same question.

[praha]

01:08 PM on 11/04/2009

only the loonies

[Khirad]

10:30 AM on 11/05/2009

And the ones who would love a Christian Republic on the IRI's model.

[akdmay]

12:28 PM on 11/04/2009

The Video is legitimate, I read the same in the green movement blogs, and heard about it from friends in Iran.
"Obama, Obama! Ya Ba Onaa Ya Ba Ma " which literally means
Obama, Obama! Either with them or with us.
I do understand President's Obamas' concerns, both domestic and international, and the reality on the ground that he does require some sort of response/ interaction/ traction on the issue of relationship with Iran to move to the next phase and move forward with his foreign policy agenda. But it looks that President Obama's timing is UNFORTUNATELY putting once again the United States of America on the wrong side of the History.
As idealistic as it may sound, backing the democratic movement in Iran, or at least staying neutral, though might not benefit in the short run, i.e. next few months, but it will pay off huge dividends in the long run. A democratic government would be a reliable opponent to negotiate with and a much more reliable partner to work with.
At this point, I think the onus is on the administration, to show if they deal with the matter as most of Corporate America CEO do with their companies, i.e. quarterly results, or administration has got longer plans.

[praha]

01:12 PM on 11/04/2009

I think the best way the US can realistically help there is going to be clandestine, as anything overt would be counterproductive. SO don't hold your breath waiting to see blatant blowhard type behavior you might have seen form the Bush team. The Obama squad has a more nuanced and intelligent approach, aimed at results rather than self gratification. This is not an easy thing to deal with. If we want to see Iran come out of the dark ages, to see the 70% of the population under 30 have a chance to join the rest of the world as they'd like, the best thing we can do is act carefully, and help in real, rather than dogmatic, ways. This will be slow, careful, secret, and hopefully productive, rather than loud shouting pseudo patriotic crap about democracy, while actually being impotent, like the Cheney method.

[FrenchWarHero]

04:12 PM on 11/04/2009

This is Liberal bull. Vocal support for democracy and individual freedom wasn't invented by Bush / Cheney. Do you honestly believe that the Kennedy or Clinton administrations would NOT vocally support these demonstrators? Unfortunately, Obama has thrown these people under the bus. He is more interested in appeasing the Mullahs and convincing them to abandon their nuclear arms program. This strategy will never produce results and his weakness has embolded Iran and their terrorist allies. Too bad for them and us.

[akdmay]

06:07 PM on 11/04/2009

Praha, this is my hope too. The reality in Iran is that the relationship with the United States is the jackpot, whoever takes it home is the real winner. So, I keep my fingers crossed that President Obama would not hand it to a Ahmadinejad and bunch of thugs.

Ahmadinejad and his gang would not keep any promise, and will not be failthful to any concession of any sort that they might make with the United States, if they make it in the first place.

I know that my people should look for their own Obama, whom I am sure they will find someday.

[Beatriz09]

01:18 PM on 11/04/2009

I wish there was a way in which Obama could really help, more than what he is already doing, but I don't see how ... .

If he intervenes directly, I'm sure that a whole new generation of Iranians will be very thankful. But the problem is that the previous US interventions in Iran were a disaster, while no country has the right to meddle into the internal affairs of another. So how could he intervene (supposing he had the means, which he hasn't, as too many US soldiers are already abroad fighting wars) without provoking a civil war in Iran? Because the Bassij surely won't give up the fight, and the chaos this will inevitably create could turn Iran into another safe haven for terrorists coming from other countries.

Maybe the UN could have intervened, but then if the UN starts to do such a thing, where does it end? Because there are a lot of countries who treat their opposition members and demonstrators the way Ahmadinejad has. The UN could have declared the election illegitimate (but on what basis, as it didn't had any direct control ...?), and not admit Ahmadinejad as a UN member. But would Russia and China have accepted that? I don't think so, which means creating a mayor international diplomatic conflict, at a time when we need as much collaboration as possible ... .

So I really don't see what Obama could do, unfortunately ... . It's a horrible situation, but how could the

[Tsar Bomba]

12:06 PM on 11/04/2009

The first step Iranians need to do is dump religion. When we do the same there will be no need to call out for help since 99% all societies problems would be solved.

[admarx]

07:29 PM on 11/04/2009

Stalin? Mao? Hitler?

[Khirad]

10:31 AM on 11/05/2009

On a roll until the last one.

[Paladine]

11:26 AM on 11/04/2009

People looking for justice...and can't get it in their own country...so sad.

[breakingpoint]

12:28 PM on 11/04/2009

you mean the US?

[StormWarrior]

06:54 PM on 11/04/2009

LOL

[Khirad]

10:32 AM on 11/05/2009

Yes, it's exactly the same thing... *eyeroll*

[Hawklord Tst]

11:25 AM on 11/04/2009

i don't know persian, but this seems legit. i double if the were saying "yankee go home" i don't recall Obama congratulating Ahmadinejad, but maybe i missed it. if the demonstrators can shame the thugs on motorcycles to support or tolerate them, this could lead to something. the iranians must do this themselves, but hopefully without bloodshed. my heart goes out to our friends there to get their country back, and Obama can help through silent diplomacy, or maybe a "tear down this wall" type speech. words never hurt

[smallguvguy]

11:11 AM on 11/04/2009

We are being shamed, this is why President Obama should have spoken about free and fair elections in Iran instead of congratulating Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for stealing the election. Expect more for our policies regarding Hondourus and Afghanistan.

[Tsar Bomba]

12:09 PM on 11/04/2009

It's Honduras, and their freely elected president was overthrown by a small group of wealthy right wing fascists and their Cuban mafia enablers in Miami.

[smallguvguy]

12:14 PM on 11/04/2009

He violated the constitution and got ousted from office. If only we had the stones ...

[akdmay]

12:32 PM on 11/04/2009

It is funny I am trying to convince myself that President Obama is not the Superman, but again, some of these opportunities to break through and resolve issue are achieved once in a life time of a political figure, if it happens at all. And he's got tons of different issues at his hand.

I wish he'd at least stay neutral.

[wijg]

11:11 AM on 11/04/2009

Heartbreaking. People from one country pleading with the leader of another to do something.

[breakingpoint]

12:29 PM on 11/04/2009

like us they will be sorely disappointed