The Iranians Watch Us Closely

"The Iranians watch us closely." Greg Mitchell gets an eerie note from NYT executive editor Bill Keller: i'm writing, and it's getting late. my visa's up tomorrow and i have to go. the iranians watch us closely, seem to know where we are much of the time. yesterday i took a five-hour drive to isfahan, in western iran (details TK in the nyt) and on the way we stopped to take a peek at the holy city of qom. as we were making a loop through that city, my translator got a call on his cell phone from the ministry that oversees the press: "please tell me, what is your program in qom. some reporters have contemplated overstaying their visas, trying to work under the radar. even if you manage to elude the authorities, though, you create real dangers for all the iranians you would need to hide you, translate for you, get you around and help you get the story out."