Tehran Celebrates 40 Years Since Islamic Revolution; U.S. Backed Forces Attack Last Syrian Town In ISS Control
ANDERSON: Well, we are connecting your world from here at the World Government Summit in Dubai and why these -- while sometimes these get- togethers like Davos where I was recently, you can feel like they're in a bubble of isolation. That is far from the case of course. That's why we are connecting the world so much in flux around the world. Case in point of such changes is a time for celebration. In Iran it seems as the country marks the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. That is when the government of the U.S.-backed Shah was overthrown and the Ayatollah Khomeini was -- had just returned from exile became head of the new Islamic Republic. But the anniversary comes amid skyrocketing tensions with the U.S. now. Some fear war between the two adversaries could be on the horizon. Well, CNN's Fred Pleitgen joining us from the Iranian capital. And is this an anniversary being celebrated across Iran, Fred?</s>FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly is among the folks in the government, Becky, and there certainly are going to be big celebrations on this date tomorrow. And if you look at Iran today you can really see how important this date is for so many Iranians, not just the ones here because it changed the trajectory of so many lives here in Iran, but then of course also to the many Iranians who are forced to flee abroad after the Islamic Revolution. And if we look at Iran today, Becky, you can see that Iran is politically and militarily probably more powerful than it ever has been since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution in this region, but at the same time economically it certainly is struggling especially under sanctions coming from the United States. Let's have a look.</s>PLEITGEN: The return from exile of Ayatollah Khomeini in February 1979 and the overthrow of the U.S.-backed Shah marked the culmination of the Islamic Revolution. Businessman Abdullah Hassan Chafee says he organized opposition groups in those days. 40 years later, he believes the revolution produced mixed results. Religiously and ideologically the revolution achieved its goals, he says, but economically due to sanctions and domestic mismanagement, we've not yet reached those goals. The Islamic Revolution also an uprising against America's support for the Shah. In late 1979, Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran capturing and holding hostage more than 50 Americans from within 400 days. U.S.-Iranian relations have never recovered. Hardliners still chanting death to America at Friday prayers even though Iran's supreme leader recently tried to tone down the rhetoric. Let me make something clear for U.S. leaders, he said. Death to America means death to Trump, John Bolton and Pompeo. It means death to American rulers. We have no problems with the American people. The Trump White House is cracking down on Iran pulling the U.S. out of the nuclear deal signed by the Obama administration and hitting the country with sanctions that are crippling its economy and causing its currency to plummet. The U.S. says Iran is a threat to Israel and America's allies in the Middle East, and lashed out at Iran's ballistic missile program. Iran's answer, a defense Expo praising the rockets. Iran shows no signs of bowing to American and international pressure. The country says it will continue to develop its ballistic missile program which it says is solely for defense purposes. For the first time Iran recently released video of one of its underground missile assembly facilities. 40 years after the beginning of the Islamic Revolution the confrontation between the U.S. and Iran continues.</s>PLEITGEN: And those I would say, Becky, are the two main questions on the minds of many Iranians, not just the ones who are living in this country but also of course many around the world as well. On the one hand is what is going to happen with this conflict that they have with the United States. Could things get even worse especially right now with a Trump White House clamping down on Tehran. And then the biggest question probably right now for folks here in this country is how are they going to deal with this dire economic situation. Of course we'll recall, the ones who've been here so many times since the nuclear agreement was signed in the nuclear agreement was discarded by the United States, there was a lot of hope. All that hope now at this point is gone and many Iranians are asking how this country can get out of that dire economic situation especially of course with the U.S. again applying that pressure. Becky?</s>ANDERSON: Sure. And Fred, when you speak to people on the streets of Tehran who may or may not have read the headlines that go in The Washington Post today Trump is moving as closer to war with Iran. Whether they've read those headlines or not on this the anniversary of the revolution, what is their sense about what the U.S. might do next?</s>PLEITGEN: Well, I think there's a lot of people who do fear that the confrontation especially between this Trump White House and then of course also, for instance, with national security adviser John Bolton also very much clamping down on Iran as well, is that there could be a bigger confrontation that might be looming especially if you look at right now towards the Iranian role in places like Syria. Of course, where you have for instance, the Israelis bombarding Iranian positions. I think there are some who fear that something like this could spiral if cooler heads don't prevail. I think at this point in time that's not something that Tehran necessarily wants but of course there is always the potential for miscalculation. But I think that if you speak to many people here in Iran, the big thing on their minds right now is this economic isolation, the economic problems, and how this country is going to get out of that. And right now, very difficult for people to find any sort of hope that things could change. There was of course that hope after the nuclear agreement went into place that foreign investment could come to this country, that there could be a jobs free in this country as well. Right now there are a lot of Iranians who are very, very concerned about their own economic situation, how this government could possibly get them out of it and generally how the country could get out of it as well, Becky.</s>ANDERSON: Sure, if 6:54 p.m. in Tehran in Iran. It is cracking on towards half-past seven here in the UAE. And let's stick in the region, head to somewhere Iran is closely linked to nearby Syria. ISIS militants fighting to hold the last area under their control. U.S.-backed forces launched a major operation on Saturday at a small town near the border with Iraq. Now, at its peak, ISIS controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria. Now the militant group has been pushed back. It only controls a few square kilometers near the Euphrates River. Ben Wedeman joining us now near the frontlines in eastern Syria, an extremely dangerous place. The talk is that the ISIS Caliphate is no more despite there being cells still active. You've been in region now on the ground for some days if not weeks, what do you understand to be the real story?</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the real story is, Becky, that the ISIS holds a very tiny area in this town behind me, perhaps three square kilometers but it is putting up a fight. The final offensive to retake this town called Baghouz</s>ANDERSON: And Ben, you're clearly keeping the lights down. You know, not in any way trying to advertise your presence where you are because this is -- this is a live situation. For those that you are talking about, for the residents who are stuck inside that town, what's their future looking like tonight?</s>WEDEMAN: Bleak to say the least, but certainly it really will all depend on the investigations into those who are coming out what they find. Now we were at one of the locations where the people leaving the town are processed and all adult males are questions. Questioned not by SDF intelligence personnel but also by Americans, British, and French personnel who are there as well. All the -- we saw many men actually being held. Probably they will go to a special camp which we might call Guantanamo East as far as their faith is concerned. And others for instance we see -- I think you saw that report we did included Canadian women, they may also face some legal problems when they return home. As far as is the local residents go -- and we understand that at the end of the day there weren't that many local residents left, that many of the inhabitants of this town behind me are actually families, relatives of ISIS members, they're going to have to deal with the fact that they have the stench of ISIS upon them whether they were supporters or sympathizers or not, so their future as I said, Becky, is bleak.</s>ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman is in Eastern Syria for you this evening. Ben, thank you. We appreciate it. 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