The United States or Iran? CBS News flaunted whose side they were taking during Monday’s Evening News. In her report on the gatherings in Iran, foreign correspondent Elizabeth Palmer peddled Iranian propaganda, hyped the crowds in Tehran mourning the loss of a terrorist, and boosted a message of death against President Trump.
Despite the fact that the murderous Iranian regime was forcing its people to attend mourning ceremonies for General Qasem Soleimani, anchor Norah O’Donnell was noticeably impressed when she reported that “So many mourners filled the streets of Iran, they could be seen from space.” Later adding: “The procession stretched nearly four miles as Iran's leaders made new vows to avenge the death of its top general.”
Palmer was in the crowd and praised it as an “epic salute to Qasem Soleimani.” The foreign correspondent could add Iranian propaganda peddler to her resume, seeing as she fell for the crocodile tears of Iran’s supreme leader. “Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khomeini wept as he led the prayer service for his friend and ally, the man he had worked with so closely to expand Iran's influence across the Middle East,” she sympathized.
“This is not just a mourning procession, it's a political message designed to demonstrate that all Iranians are united in anger and in outrage against the United States,” she then boasted.
Palmer’s declaration was followed up with this message of death for President Trump from an Iranian woman in the crowd: “I just say the sentence for President Trump; you dig your grave.” “Soleimani’s daughter was also on hand. Her father's death, she said, would bring dark days to America,” Palmer hyped.
The claim Iranians were “united” over Soleimani’s death was also Iranian propaganda. Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad penned an op-ed in The Washington Post begging reporters “Don’t believe Iranian propaganda about the mourning for Soleimani.” She reminded readers that Soleimani was responsible for recently massacring 1,500 Iranian protestors, so there’s no way their families were mourning him.
If being Iran’s mouthpiece wasn’t bad enough, Palmer then boosted a message from the Iranian proxy and terrorist organization Hezbollah, even pushing their claim American civilians would not be targeted by their retaliation:
If Iran does retaliate with force, it’s likely to involve Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah, a battle-hardened Iranian proxy force based in Lebanon but thought to have global reach. “It was the U.S. military that killed Soleimani,” said Nasrallah, “and it will pay.” But he emphasized that American civilians would not be targeted.
“There's already been some political fallout from the assassination,” Palmer concluded with another Iranian propaganda line. “Iran has announced it's pretty much withdrawing from the nuclear deal and going back to enriching as much uranium as it likes.”
But back here, in reality, Iran had always been breaching the nuclear deal. CBS’s flagship newscasts were nowhere to be seen back in November when a United Nations document leaked, showing Iran was hiding man-made uranium in an undeclared location.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CBS Evening News
January 6, 2020
6:32:21 p.m. EasternNORAH O’DONNELL: So many mourners filled the streets of Iran they could be seen from space.
(…)
6:35:55 p.m. Eastern
O’DONNELL: Tonight the mourning continues in Iran. The capital was filled today by a sea of mourners, the largest gathering in decades. The procession stretched nearly four miles as Iran's leaders made new vows to avenge the death of its top general. Our Elizabeth Palmer was in the crowd.
[Cuts to video]
ELIZABETH PALMER: In Tehran, an estimated one million people joined in an epic salute to Qasem Soleimani. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khomeini wept as he led the prayer service for his friend and ally, the man he had worked with so closely to expand Iran's influence across the Middle East.
This is not just a mourning procession, it's a political message designed to demonstrate that all Iranians are united in anger and in outrage against the United States.
IRANIAN WOMAN: I just say the sentence for President Trump; you dig your grave.
PALMER: Soleimani’s daughter was also on hand. Her father's death, she said, would bring dark days to America.
If Iran does retaliate with force, it’s likely to involve Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah, a battle-hardened Iranian proxy force based in Lebanon but thought to have global reach. “It was the U.S. military that killed Soleimani,” said Nasrallah, “and it will pay.” But he emphasized that American civilians would not be targeted.
[Cuts back to live]
There's already been some political fallout from the assassination. Iran has announced it's pretty much withdrawing from the nuclear deal and going back to enriching as much uranium as it likes. Norah?
O’DONNELL: All right. Elizabeth in Tehran tonight, thank you.
