At least when George W Bush squeezed his win, in questionable ways, he made a show of trying to make it look legal.  The crowds of protestors should demonstrate to the world that all Iranians are not alike, just like not all Americans are alike.  Regardless who becomes leader of a country, there are real people not being represented by public image.  This holds true for Israel, Palestine, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, etc.  In the person of Mir Hossein Moussavi, progressive Iranians held high hopes of escaping the oppressive theocratic stranglehold by ultra-strict power drunk mullahs.  Election results do not reflect the millions of Iranians who have educated themselves into the new century.  Those who are reluctant to address their political responsibility in Global terms are the roadblocks to survival of the human species.  It is still unclear whether Moussavi would have been successful changing the puritanical mindset of the power mullahs.  He would have definitely given Iranians a chance to try.

Iran’s supreme leader rejects vote fraud claims

• NEW: Iran’s supreme leader rejects claims of ballot rigging in presidential vote
• Ayatollah Khamenei delivers first speech since election outcome sparked unrest
• Analysts say Khamenei’s support for Ahmedinejad could further inflame protesters

Khamenei described the dispute over the election outcome as a disagreement within Iran’s establishment, accusing “foreign enemies” and “Zionists” — including the United States, Britain and Israel — of fomenting violence.

His speech was punctuated with exhortations from the crowd, including: “Allah is Great,” “Death to Israel,” “Death to America,” and “Death to Britain.”

Iran’s Khamenei demands halt to election protests

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday demanded an end to street protests that have shaken the country since a disputed presidential election a week ago and said any bloodshed would be their leaders’ fault.

Defiant Khamenei warns Iranian protesters and attacks ‘most treacherous’ Britain

Iran’s Supreme Leader today singled out Britain as the “most treacherous” Western power trying destabilise the Islamic Republic as he stood firm in the face of this week’s massive street protests, hinting at even tougher repression if the unrest does not stop.

Iran leader warns against protests

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sided with hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and offered no concessions to the opposition.

He effectively closed any chance for a new vote by calling the June 12 election a “definitive victory”.

The speech created a stark choice for candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and his supporters: drop their demands for a new vote or take to the streets again in blatant defiance of the man endowed with virtually limitless powers under Iran’s constitution.

Ayatollah Khamenei blamed Great Britain and Iran’s external enemies for fomenting unrest and said Iran would not see a second revolution like those that transformed the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Khamenei tells Mousavi to toe the line over election or be cast out

Letter from Mousavi to the people of Iran:  13 June 2009

Honorable people of Iran

The reported results of the 10th Iranians residential Election are appalling. The people who witnessed the mixture of votes in long lineups know who they have voted for and observe the wizardry of I.R.I.B (State run TV and Radio) and election officials. Now more than ever before they want to know how and by which officials this game plan has been designed. I object fully to the current procedures and obvious and abundant deviations from law on the day of election and alert people to not surrender to this dangerous plot. Dishonesty and corruption of officials as we have seen will only result in weakening the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran and empowers lies and dictatorships.   Read the letter in full at Tehran Bureau

Update: Ahmadinejad: No guarantee on rival’s safety

• Iran’s president declines to guarantee safety of defeated rival Mir Hossein Moussavi
• Disputed election results spark mass protests throughout Tehran
• Conflicting reports on whether Moussavi is under house arrest

Iran agrees to probe disputed ballot

• NEW: Iran’s election authorities to probe allegations of ballot fraud
• NEW: Protesters gather in Tehran for third day, in defiance of decree
• Mir Hossein Moussavi wanted to hold nationwide protest march Monday in Iran
• Official results from election had President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad winning

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has given his blessing to the outcome of the election, assured Moussavi of the Council’s investigation in a meeting Sunday, Press TV said.

Amazing, the Press TV server is too busy today.  World interest follows the unfolding drama.  The pendulum of hope for a more peaceful regime has swung.  Somewhere in the middle lies the truth.  The wise call by the Supreme Leader is a flicker of hope.  This is a serial soap opera with dire consequences.  Iran is a make or break issue for the Middle East and the fragile future of peace.  Recognizing this move by Khamenei as a ray of hope is one thing, seeing verifiable results is another.  If this is a shadow play to appease the angry crowds, there will be more violence.  Maybe the size of the demonstrating voters is a major factor for his decision.  Watching and waiting with baited breath.

America in the Iran Elections

The United States of America – both its governments and the citizens – have understandably taken a major interest in the presidential elections in Iran. After the latest farcical claims of victory by both incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his pro-reform rival Mir Hossein Mousavi, both the citizens and the ex-patriates of Iran are agitated and concerned for their county’s future. While the US President has recently welcomed this debate and controversy over the elections as sign of the growing awareness for the need for change in Iran , like all transitions this one must also be closely monitored as it has the potential to go sour very quickly.

Iran’s Ahmadinejad Defends Election Victory in Face of Protests

At least 10 leaders of two groups that backed Mousavi were detained, AFP said, citing Rajab Ali Mazroei, an official of the Islamic Iran Participation Front. The Front and the Islamic Revolution Mujahedeen Organization were the groups targeted.

Former parliamentarian Mohsen Mirdamadi and Behzad Nabavi, a former deputy parliament speaker, were among those held, AFP said, and Mohammad-Reza Khatami, a brother of former President Mohammad Khatami, was detained also.

Mohmmad Ali Abtahi, a senior adviser to one of the candidates, former Parliamentary Speaker Mehdi Karrubi, said that some of the political leaders who were detained yesterday, including Mohammad-Reza Khatami, were released today. Others remained in detention, including Mostafa Tajzadeh, former deputy interior minister, and Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, who was cabinet spokesman under Khatami, Abtahi said in a telephone interview today from Tehran.

The crackdown on protests is “unacceptable,” AFP cited German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as saying today. “The violent actions of the security forces against demonstrators is not acceptable, nor is preventing peaceful protest,” Steinmeier said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor the situation on the ground very carefully.”

Communications Cease

Mobile telephones weren’t working in Iran yesterday and were functioning sporadically today. The Internet was either down or working slowly in Tehran. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter weren’t operational in the country today and Mousavi-supporting Web sites didn’t work. It wasn’t clear whether government agencies were involved in blocking services.

Ahmadinejad likens protests to ‘a football match’

• Ahmadinejad paints his win as victory over foreign powers
• Disputed election results spark mass protests throughout Tehran
• Ahmadinejad won election with 62.63 percent of vote, government says
• Challenger Mir Hossein Moussavi objects to election results

Ahmadinejad hails election as protests grow

• Ahmadinejad says vote was a “great ordeal” but points “to the future”
• Angry crowds in Tehran break into shops, tear down signs and start fires
• Ahmadinejad won landslide victory with 62 percent of vote, government says
• Challenger Mir Hossein Moussavi says results are due to “blatant violations”

National Council of Resistance of Iran – Foreign Affairs Committee

• Video: Protests by thousands in Tehran against mullahs’ fraudulent election
• Rajavi: Popular uprising a stamp of rejection of sham election, display of Iranians’ determination
• Iran: Clashes and protests by thousands in Tehran against mullahs’ fraudulent election
• Iran election sham – 3: IRGC accuse Moussavi of “psychological warfare”
• Iran election sham – 1: Vote rigging in mullahs’ election
• Iran election sham – 5:Eye witnesses say polling stations in many cities deserted
• Iran election sham – 2: SMS networks cut off as vote rigging takes place
• Iran: In major vote-rigging, half-filled ballot boxes taken to polling stations

WITNESS: Dreams turn to ashes on Tehran boulevard after vote

Questions will linger over the Iranian election outcome

WHETHER the election was rigged or not, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s landslide win was deeply disappointing for the prospects of peace. If, as appears likely, Mr Ahmadinejad or his backers cheated, then the election was exactly what challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi is claiming — a dangerous charade that could bring tyranny to Iran. On the other hand, if the result is a true reflection of Iranian sentiment, it is a disturbing sign that much of the nation has embraced Mr Ahmadinejad’s extremism and queued for hours in scorching sun to cast their votes to prove it.

Isolated Iranian moderates fight on

More clashes follow Iran election

In the disappointment, we must hope that Ahmadinejad heard something.  We must hope that he has a convincing plan prepared to address his countrymen’s angst.  His controllers are the ones who must loosen the reigns on human rights.

It is all about Khamenei and the Power Mullahs.  We all know who runs Ahmadinejad, but do we really understand who runs Iran?

Ahmadinejad, 52, had the backing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who has the final say on all affairs of state. Khamenei moved to endorse the incumbent’s victory and discourage protests yesterday, describing the election as a “glittering event” and called for a day of “kindness and patience,” in comments read out on state television.

At the top of Iran’s power structure is the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who succeeded Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini, the father of the Iranian Revolution, upon Ayatollah Khomeini’s death in 1989. Khomeini and Khamenei are the only two men to have held the office since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

See: Structure of Power in Iran

NPR:  Ahmadinejad opponents shout protests from rooftops

Protesters battled police over Iran’s disputed election and shouted their opposition from the rooftops Sunday, but President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the unrest as little more than “passions after a soccer match” and drew his own huge rally of support.

Just after sundown, cries of “death to the dictator” echoed through Tehran as thousands of backers for Ahmadinejad’s rival, Mir Hossein Mousavi, heeded a call to bellow from the roofs and balconies. The deeply symbolic act recalled the shouts of “Allahu Akbar,” or God is Great, to show opposition to the Western-backed monarchy before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Authorities detained top Mousavi aides, including the head of his Web campaign, but many were released Sunday after being held overnight.

Iran’s deputy police chief, Ahmad Reza Radan, told the official Islamic Republic News Agency that about 170 people have been arrested. It was not known how many remained in custody.