Iran's President-Elect Addresses Nation

Iran's President-Elect Addresses Nation After Surprise Victory -- Voice of America

Iran's President-elect Hassan Rowhani has called on citizens to remain "committed to the law" in order to establish peace and stability in the country.

In his first televised speech since Friday's election, the moderate cleric said Sunday he "deeply" needs the people's assistance along the path toward preserving national pride and national interests.

Rowhani's surprise victory was seen by many analysts as a popular repudiation of the conservative hardliners in the race.

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More News On The Election Of Iran's President-elect Hassan Rowhani

Iran's election results in numbers -- Times of India/AFP
Iran election: President-elect Hassan Rouhani hails win -- BBC
Iranians revel as new president hails 'victory of moderation' -- Reuters
Iran president-elect carries reform hopes after routing hardliners -- Reuters
Iran's new president Rouhani draws congratulations, skepticism -- CNN
World powers hope for improved Iran ties -- AFP
Analysis: Iran moderate's poll triumph is mandate for change -- Reuters
Analysis: What does the election of Rohani mean? -- Ariel Ben Solomon, Jerusalem Post
What Does Rouhani's Win Mean for America? -- Doug Schoen, Forbes
Profile: Hassan Rouhani -- BBC

My Comment: The Iranian Presidency has always been a ceremonial post with the real power held by the clergy. Will there be a change in policy in Iran .... no. But it will be in a different tone.

Iran's Presidential Election: A News Roundup

Iran Extends Presidential Voting Hours Citing Big Turnout -- Voice of America

Millions of Iranians are voting Friday to choose a new president and officials have extended voting hours twice in response to what they describe as a large turnout.

Iran's state run news agencies said the polls would stay open an additional three hours with the possibility of additional extensions.

Analysts say the high interest in the carefully orchestrated campaign may be due to the candidacy of moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani. Iran's former nuclear negotiator picked up the endorsements of leading reformists.

Former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, another reformist leader, has also urged his supporters not to boycott the election.

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More News On Iran's Presidential Election

Iran election: reports of late surge for more moderate candidate Hassan Rowhani -- The Telegraph
Turnout appears strong in Iranian presidential vote -- McClatchy News
Voters split but turnout high in Iran election -- Reuters
Iran votes in key presidential contest -- AFP
Iran votes for president, Khamenei slams U.S. -- Reuters
Moderate in Iran elections complicates matters for voters -- CBC/AP
Inside Iran's Presidential Election and Beyond -- AP
Iran elections: the world hopes for change, but is likely to be disappointed -- Ian Black, The Guardian

The Power And The Reach Of The New Media in Iran -- News Updates

An Iranian woman holds up a picture of the latest crackdown by Iranian police. Photo AFP

Twitter Retains Spotlight in Iran Coverage -- Wall Street Journal

As the election outcry in Iran reached its fourth day, news outlets reported that the U.S. government asked Twitter to again delay a maintenance session that could take the service offline.

Twitter has been a focal point in coverage of the Iran election, as its users have railed against mainstream-media outlets and shared proxy information so that Iranian citizens can maintain anonymous Internet access.

Users also asked the microblogging service to postpone its maintenance so that it could stay online as protests hit a flash point, which Twitter agreed to late Monday. At a conference Tuesday, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey thanked the service’s hosting provider, NTT America, for delaying the upgrade.

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More News On The Impact Of The Internet On The New Iranian Revolution

UPDATE 2-Mousavi supporters rally support on Twitter -- Reuters
Social Networks Spread Defiance Online -- New York Times
Mideast Hanging On Every Text And Tweet From Iran -- L.A. Times
Attempted Iran media clampdown meets Internet age -- AP
More on Twitter and protests in Tehran -- Foreign Policy
Officials: Social networking providing crucial info from Iran -- CNN
US asks Twitter to maintain service after Iran vote: official -- AFP
Report: State Dept. urged Twitter to reschedule maintenance -- CNET News
Officials: Twitter stayed online for Iran chaos -- AP
Twitter becomes a lifeline to an Iran in turmoil -- Computerworld
Web Attacks Expand in Iran’s Cyber Battle (Updated Again) -- Danger Room
Iran's Revolution Will Be Twittered (and Blogged and YouTubed and...) -- Huffington Post
Iran Reporting = MSM Fail? -- Danger Room

Crunching Iranian Election Numbers For Evidence of Fraud

From The Threat Level/Wired News:

It was a Dewey-Truman upset all over again, but without the picture-worthy banner headline.

High on a wave of support from Iranian youth, reformist candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi was ready to claim victory in Iran’s presidential election last Friday. But before the night was over, he’d been deposed by official results reporting that incumbent hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won instead … and by a huge margin.

Despite the fact that Iran uses paper ballots nationwide that have to be counted by hand, only two hours after the polls closed the state-run news agency was already claiming that Ahmadinejad won 69 percent of the vote to Moussavi’s 28 percent.

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My Comment: With an absence of observers on the ground, we must rely on the Iranian Government for what actually happened during the counting. Should we trust the Iranian Government .... maybe some will, but I do not.

Unrest In Iran -- News Updates For June 16, 2009

Limited Recount Possible In Iran's Disputed Vote
-- Yahoo News/AP

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's powerful Guardian Council is ready to recount specific ballot boxes in last week's disputed presidential elections, a council spokesman said Tuesday, another twist in an election that has touched off widespread protests.

State television quoted Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei as saying that the recount would be limited to voting sites where candidates claim irregularities took place. It was not clear which or how many voting sites would be affected.

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Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters near the iconic Freedom monument in Tehran

More News On The Unrest In Iran

Iran ready for vote recount after protests turn deadly -- Yahoo News/AFP
Iran to Recount Some Votes -- Wall Street Journal
Iran 'to hold election recount' -- BBC
Iran Election Authority Agrees to Recount -- Time Magazine
Iran recount ordered as rival rallies are planned after bloodshed in Tehran -- Times Online
Iran to hold election recount in wake of protests -- The Telegraph
Iran to recount SOME votes in presidential election after seven die in violent mass protests against Ahmadinejad's 'victory' -- The Daily Mail
Iran to recount ballots as uprising turns bloody -- The Guardian
Claims of student massacre in Tehran spread -- The Independent
Hardliners open fire on defiant protesters as tension grips Tehran -- Times Online
Crowds flock to the streets of Tehran to protest at election result -- Times Online
In Tehran, a Rallying Cry: 'We Are the People of Iran' -- Yahoo News/Time Magazine
A Massive Crowd Defies Ban in Iran -- Washington Post
Iranians Take to the Streets to Protest Elections -- Voice of America
Iran protest biggest since revolution -- Washington Times
Hundreds of thousands in Iran protest vote result -- L.A. Times
Obama 'Troubled' by Post-Election Turmoil in Iran -- Voice of America
Activists Launch Hack Attacks on Tehran Regime -- The Danger Room
Iran's Lesson: Even in a Tainted Election, Voting Still Matters -- Time Magazine
ANALYSIS: Iran regime likely shaken for good -- Washington Times
Iran Election Dispute Plays Out Online -- Washington Post
High resolution photos from Iran -- Boston.com
Follow The Developments In Iran Like A CIA Analyst -- The Atlantic
‘We Are Accessing Open Proxies’ -- Washington Independent
Iranian dissidents go online to defy the government censors -- Times Online
Iran’s Tweets: Windows into Protests - or Digital Mirrors? -- The Danger Room
News Updates From The Spirit of Man

COMMENTARIES, OPINIONS, AND EDITORIALS

Democracy Could Still Win in Iran -- Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
Iran on a Razor's Edge -- Roger Cohen, New York Times
Obama Should Stand Up for Democracy -- Jonah Goldberg, LA Times
Ahmadinejad Gets the Best of Obama? -- Bahukutumbi Raman, Forbes
Iran's Enemies Are Circling -- Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times
Iran Was Never a True Democracy -- Der Spiegel editorial
The Twitter Revolution in Iran -- Washington Times editorial
Khamenei's Military Coup -- Mehdi Khalaji, Washington Post
5 Reasons to Suspect Iran's Election -- Simon Robinson, Time
Don't Call it an Election in Iran -- Christopher Hitchens, Slate
Ahmadinejad's Victory Was Legitimate -- K. Ballen & P. Doherty, WaPo
Is Iran's Election America's Problem? -- Matthew Yglesias, American Prospect
Iran Has Clarified Its Beligerence for the World -- Amir Taheri, WSJ

Iran Protest Cancelled As Leaked Election Results Show Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Came Third

From The Telegraph:

Iran's reformist presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi has called off a major rally to protest last Friday's election results, amid claims police had been cleared to open fire on protesters.

Supporters had been due to turn out en masse in Tehran on Monday afternoon, despite government warnings to stay off the streets.

But this morning, a statement on Mr Mousavi's campaign website announced that the demonstration had been postponed – although it said Mr Mousavi would go to the site to ensure any supporters who showed up remained calm.

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My Comment: Who knows what the final result is. With no independent outside observers on the ground to monitor the election, fraud and irregularities will always be a .... he said she said .... situation As to the election figures being bandied about in which President Ahmadinejad actually came in third .... again .... we will never know for sure.

Iran's Presidential Election -- The Aftermath June 15, 2009

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei casts his vote to elect a new president in his office in Tehran on June 12. OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI / AFP / Getty

The Power Behind Ahmadinejad's Disputed Win: Ayatullah Khamenei -- Time Magazine

Despite the convulsions in Tehran's streets in the aftermath of a disputed presidential election, Iranians — and the smart folks in Washington — know that Iran's presidency is not the seat of executive power. Unelected mullahs hold veto power over the decisions of the elected government, and their Supreme Leader, currently Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, must approve all political policies and make the key foreign policy and security decisions. No one can run for president without the approval of the clerics, and they routinely narrow the field to those deemed acceptable within the parameters of the Islamic Revolution.

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A supporter of the beaten presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi is attacked by security forces in Tehran. Photo AP

More News On Iran's Presidential Election

Iran supreme leader orders probe of election fraud -- Yahoo News/AP
Iran Bans Opposition Rally as Critics Are Detained -- New York Times
Iranian Candidate Exhorts Protesters -- Washington Post
Iranians heat up post-election protests -- Washington Times
Ahmadinejad Defends Poll's Legitimacy After Violent Protests Erupt -- Wall Street Journal
Iranian President Ahmadinejad celebrates win with show of brutality -- Times Online
An Emboldened Leader Seals Unity of Iran’s Elite -- New York Times
Unrest in Iran Deepens as Leading Critics Are Detained -- New York Times
Rage Smolders in Iran -- Wall Street Journal
Iran tries to put a lid on election protests -- L.A. Times
Ahmadinejad opponents shout protests from rooftops -- APNews
Iran Detains Reformists as Election Protests Continue -- Voice of America
Ahmadinejad hails controversial victory, despite protests -- Christian Science Monitor
Iran's Ahmedinejad Addresses Supporters as Opposition Protests -- Voice Of America
Mousavi seeks to overturn Iran election result -- Reuters
Iran Opposition Seeks Fatwa Against Ahmadinejad -- ABC News
Iran Election: The Regime Cracks -- Time Magazine
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed victory crushes reform hopes in Iran -- Times Online
BBC says election broadcasts disrupted from Iran -- BBC
Iran puts curbs on media after disputed election -- Yahoo News/AP
Ahmadinejad hails controversial victory, despite protests -- Christian Science Monitor
Taking to the Streets — and Tweets — in Tehran -- The Danger Room
Iran's Election Results Stoke Global Debate -- Wall Street Journal
Muted Response Reflects U.S. Diplomatic Dilemma -- Washington Post
US Withholds Judgment on Iran Election Results -- Voice of America
Biden Questions Vote but Sticks to Policy on Iran -- New York Times
Obama administration watches Iran, waits -- Washington Times
EU Voices Concern on Iranian Post-Election Violence -- Voice of America
Iran protesters 'defy ban' -- BBC
Iran Election: The Revolution will be Twittered -- The Belief Net

Iran's Presidential Election -- News Roundup June 14, 2009

Supporters of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi run during riots in Tehran. Olivier Laban-Mattei / Getty Images

Ahmadinejad Defends Vote As 'Real And Free' -- Yahoo News/AP

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday his re-election was "real and free" and cannot be questioned — despite accusations of mass voter fraud.

Ahmadinejad made the comments Sunday during a press conference — his first since the government announced that he was re-elected to a second term in a landslide victory during Friday's vote.

But his top opponent accused the government of voter fraud and many of his supporters have clashed with police in Tehran's streets. About a mile away from Ahmadinejad's press conference, young Iranians set trash bins, banks and tires on fire as riot police beat them back with batons.

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More News On Iran's Presidential Elections

Iran vote stuns voices for reform, opening to West -- Reuters
Ahmadinejad Confirmed Victor; Violent Protests Erupt in Tehran -- Wall Street Journal
Ahmadinejad Vows New Start As Clashes Flare -- Washington Post
Iran Liberals erupt after vote -- Times Online
Street fights, record turnout mark Iranian election -- Washington Times
Riots erupt in Iran after Ahmadinejad declares victory -- L.A. Times
Protests Flare in Tehran as Opposition Disputes Vote -- New York Times
Iran reformists held after street clashes -- BBC
Difficult moment for Iran - and world -- BBC
Ahmadinejad defends vote as 'real and free' -- AP
Iran's Controversial Election Results Raises Questions Over Its Relations to U.S. -- FOX News
Iran election result makes a U.S. overture more difficult -- L.A. Times
U.S. Officials to Continue to Engage Iran -- New York Times
U.S. Persian Gulf forces cautioned on Iran -- CNN
Most Israelis could live with a nuclear Iran: poll -- Reuters
Israel's foreign minister sees threat in Iran vote -- Yahoo News/AP

The Aftermath Of Iran's Presidential Election

A supporter of Iranian reformist presidential candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, holds a piece of stone and with his covered his face with green scarf symbolizing his party's color as the others burn a trash bin in Tehran, Saturday, June 13, 2009. Supporters of the main election challenger to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clashed with police and set up barricades of burning tires Saturday as authorities claimed the hard-line president was re-elected in a landslide. The rival candidate said the vote was tainted by widespread fraud and his followers responded with the most serious unrest in the capital in a decade. (AP Photo)

Election Battles Turn Into Street Fights In Iran -- Yahoo News/AP

TEHRAN, Iran – Opponents of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clashed with police in the heart of Iran's capital Saturday, pelting them with rocks and setting fires in the worst unrest in Tehran in a decade. They accused the hard-line president of using fraud to steal election victory from his reformist rival.

The brazen and angry confrontations — including stunning scenes of masked rioters tangling with black-clad police — pushed the self-styled reformist movement closer to a possible moment of truth: Whether to continue defying Iran's powerful security forces or, as they often have before, retreat into quiet dismay and frustration over losing more ground to the Islamic establishment.

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More News On The Aftermath Of Iran's Presidential Election

Ahmadinejad's victory greeted by Tehran protests -- Reuters
Protests hit Tehran after Ahmadinejad wins -- Reuters
Ahmadinejad Confirmed Victor; Violent Protests Erupt in Tehran -- Wall Street Journal
Iran erupts after vote -- Times Online
Protesters clash with police in Tehran amid vote-rigging allegations -- Globe And Mails
Tehran Tension Mounts -- Gulf Daily News
Ahmadinejad's reelection prompts mass protests in Iran -- Christian Science Monitor
Iran Election In Dispute as 2 Candidates Claim Victory -- Washington Post
Iranian election ‘a dangerous charade’ -- Sunday Herald
US rejects victory claim by Iran's Ahmadinejad -- AP
Wide Reverberations as Door Slams on Hope of Change -- New York Times
Israeli officials: Iran vote shows growing threat -- AP
The West fooled itself Iran would allow reform -- Times Online opinion
Iran's Election Mania Turns to Confusion -- Henry Newman, The Guardian
Women: Iran's New Political Force -- Patrick Martin, Globe and Mail
Meet the Boss in Iran -- New York Daily News editorial

Iran's Presidential Elections -- The Aftermath

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, rival Mir Hossein Mousavi. AP/FOX News

Tehran Tense After Disputed Election Results -- Yahoo News/AP

TEHRAN, Iran – Anti-riot police guarded the offices overseeing Iran's disputed elections Saturday with the count pointing to a landslide victory by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while his opponent denounced the results as "treason" and threatened a challenge.

The standoff left Tehran in tense anticipation. Many people opened shops and carried out errands, but the backdrop was far from normal: black-clad police gathering around key government buildings and mobile phone text messaging blocked in an apparent attempt to stifle one of the main communication tools of the pro-reform movement of Mir Hossein Mousavi.

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More News On Iran's Presidential Election

Ahmadinejad wins 63% of vote in most of Iran: official -- AFP
UPDATE 1-Mousavi says protests Iran vote violations -- Reuters
Ahmadinejad 'wins Iran presidential vote' -- BBC
Ahmadinejad Lead a Blow to U.S.-Arab Allies -- Wall Street Journal
Iran's Ahmadinejad heads for victory with unbeatable lead -- China View
Ahmadinejad enjoys second surprise triumph -- Reuters
Iranian Officials: Ahmadinejad Heading for Landslide Victory -- Voice of America
Scuffles in Tehran as Ahmadinejad and Mousavi both claim victory -- Times Online
Ahmadinejad Rival: I Won't Surrender to Election Manipulation -- FOX News
Iran's police disperse Mousavi's protesting supporter -- China View
Club-Wielding Regime Thugs Take to the Streets in Iran -- Gateway Pundit
Israeli officials: Iran vote shows growing threat -- Yahoo News/AP
TIMELINE-Iran's road to presidential elections -- Reuters

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Declared Winner Of Iran's Presidential Election

An Iranian woman stands in line to cast her vote at the Masoumeh shrine in Qom about 120 kms south of Tehran, Friday, June 12, 2009. Iranians voted Friday on whether to keep hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power for four more years or replace him with a reformist more open to loosening the country's Islamic restrictions and improving ties with the United States. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Ahmadinejad Leads Iran Vote, Challenger Defiant -- Reuters

TEHRAN (Reuters) - State media declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of Iran's election but challenger Mirhossein Mousavi alleged irregularities and claimed victory for himself.

The state election commission said early on Saturday that Ahmadinejad, a hardline conservative, was ahead with almost 68 percent of the vote after 15 million votes -- or 47 percent of ballot boxes -- had been counted. Mousavi, a moderate, had just over 30 percent.

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More News On Iran's Presidential Election

In Iran, first results give Ahmadinejad commanding lead -- Christian Science Monitor
Ahmadinejad has large lead in Iranian election -- CNN
Nejad Wins -- Gulf Daily News
Ahmadinejad takes lead in Iran poll -- Sydney Morning Herald
Rivals Both Claim Victory In Iran Election -- CBS News

My Comment: I am willing to wager that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are going to be cracking heads in the next few days.

Iran's Presidential Election -- News Updates June 12, 2009

Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi's campaign employed tactics including Facebook pages and a YouTube video clip. Above, some of his supporters cheer at a final rally in Tehran before the Friday vote. Associated Press

Voting Extended As Iranians Pack Polling Stations -- Yahoo News/AP

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranians packed polling stations from boutique-lined streets in north Tehran to conservative bastions in the countryside Friday with a choice that's left the nation divided and on edge: keeping hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power or electing a reformist who favors greater freedoms and improved ties with the United States.

Turnout was massive and could break records. Crowds formed quickly at many voting sites in areas considered both strongholds for Ahmadinejad and his main rival, reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi, who served as prime minister in the 1980s and has become the surprise hero of a powerful youth-driven movement. At several polling stations in Tehran, mothers held their young children in their arms as they waited in long lines.

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More News On Iran's Presidential Election

Iran vote extended with turnout heavy -- Washington Times
Turnout for Iranian election could break records -- Yahoo News/AP
Heavy Turnout Reported as Iranians Vote in Presidential Election -- Voice of America
Election: Iran's decision to oust Ahmadinejad – or not -- Christian Science Monitor
Obama "excited" by Iran's robust election debate -- Reuters
A Polarized Iran Prepares to Go to Polls -- Washington Post
Crowded Polls After Hard-Fought Campaign in Iran -- New York Times
Iranians ready to decide presidency -- and maybe much more -- L.A. Times
Riding Mousavi's 'campaign tsunami' -- The Guardian
The Man Who Could Beat Ahmadinejad: Mousavi Talks to TIME -- Time Magazine
In Iran Vote, a Challenger Looks to Past -- Wall Street Journal
Zakaria: Iran election could make history -- CNN
Key events in Iran since revolution -- AP