NewsHour Correspondent Ordered to Leave Iran

MARGARET WARNER: Not on the topic, but definitely on who.

The way it works here is, you have to register with an agency that is in turn licensed by this Ministry of Islamic Guidance. And you are assigned a translator. And, basically, most reporters here think they're, you know, they're tracked pretty closely. And the translator, whenever you talk to somebody in Farsi, is obviously there.

So, and then, you have to make your requests through them for anyone who is official. So, for instance, I'm here doing a nuclear story, but we couldn't possibly get to any nuclear installation, any kind of even nuclear research lab, or talk to any nuclear scientists.

And you can't really go around them. Now, you certainly can make private appointments with people who aren't in government. And all of us do that. But it's pretty tightly, at least, monitored. Veteran reporters who have been here several times say the atmosphere is definitely more restrictive and more tense than it has been, say, in years past.

RAY SUAREZ: Do you think you were followed during last week, when you were out and about and doing your work?

MARGARET WARNER: Well, the joke is, they don't need to follow you, because you always have these cars or cabs. And, you know, they know exactly where you are.

So, no, I never thought I saw someone tailing me, though there was an experience. Actually, we were at a cemetery, and I was interviewing people there. The next day, in a completely different location, the same plainclothes guy was hanging around. So, you know, you can draw your own conclusions.

MARGARET WARNER: Well, they say it's true, also, for Iranians.

And the paradox is that the conservatives actually now have a complete grip on the government, the presidency and the parliament in the hands of hard-liners. People here in Tehran, at least, that we have spoken with, say there is definitely a difference. It is definitely more restrictive. They definitely feel they have to be more cautious in what they say.

I mean, there is still healthy debate here. And there are opposition papers. But they think it is related, perhaps, to the tension over the nuclear controversy. You know, and others think it's related to the regime's desire to be sure it remains in control. Why that's worse now is unclear.

RAY SUAREZ: The nuclear controversy is certainly one of the issues that brought you to Iran in the first place. Could it be that any foreign reporter in the country is now simply a headache to the regime, now that the deadline is passed, now that President Ahmadinejad has held his news conference, and expressed Iran's intention to continue enriching uranium?

MARGARET WARNER: I'm the only journalist, I and my crew, that I know has been expelled.

But other journalists here have had difficulty, for instance, getting their visas extended, which they had thought they would be able to. So, little by little, the numbers are dwindling. And, you know, again, you are kind of left wondering, because, when you ask officialdom, they kind of shrug or say, oh, there is no problem.

So, you don't really know why. But there are too many similar situations, at least with the visas, to be a complete coincidence.

MARGARET WARNER: Not apparently. What we are told is that President Ahmadinejad just gave no quarter, just basically repeated the position of the Iranian regime, which is, they do want to talk about the nuclear program, but they are not going to agree to any preconditions that the United States and Europe have asked them to do about freezing enrichment.

What was apparently striking to Annan was Ahmadinejad's almost in-your-face attitude. He was not at all diplomatic. And he was sort of brash, a little bit cocky. He likes to joust with people. And he's very assertive and aggressive. But it was not a diplomatic conversation, from what I understand.

And, certainly, there seemed to be no apparent movement. There is a meeting in Europe tomorrow between Larijani, the chief nuclear negotiator for Iran, and Javier Solana, the foreign minister of the E.U. in Europe.

And it's anyone's guess what is going to happen there. But the betting among people in the know here is, if Iran is going to indicate any flexibility and any desire to search for a workable compromise, that it should come in that meeting.

RAY SUAREZ: Margaret Warner, joining us from Tehran shortly before her expulsion by the authorities there -- Margaret, thanks a lot.

MARGARET WARNER: Thanks, Ray.