IRAN UPDATE - AT 7:32 P.M. ET:  Here is what we know about events in Iran today.  As we're constantly told, it is very difficult to get accurate information out of the country, as journalistic channels are being blocked. 

We know there were some demonstrations, but much, much smaller than the ones over the weekend.  They were suppressed violently by the security forces.

We know that a call for a general strike for tomorrow is still on, but we have no way to measure how effective that call will be.

We know that the administration is still sticking to its restrained approach.  A presidential news conference is scheduled for tomorrow, and there's a chance that a tough question or two will be asked about the president's stance.

So tomorrow is a critical day.  If no general strike comes off, we might be able to say, tentatively, that the uprising has been contained through intimidation.  That doesn't mean it's over.  The uprising of 1979, which led, tragically, to the mullah regime, took months to develop.

June 22, 2009