Initial results from Iranian parliamentary elections show Ahmadinejad losing support, while Khamenei gaining strength. Iranian minister says voter turnout at 64%, claims 'Americans, Zionists tried to knock down our regime, but nation slapped them in the face by going to vote'
Initial results from Iran's parliamentary elections suggest that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's camp has been dealt a devastating blow, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's camp might be gaining a stronger foothold. The shift will most likely bolster Khamenei's status inside the Islamic Republic, though it is not estimated to have a significant effect on the nuclear dispute between Iran and the West.
(read full report - with the obligatory Israeli dismissals - on Ynet)
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Commentary: my sources tell me that the real power struggle in Iran is not between the "Guccis" of Mousavi and Rafsanjani, but between the "pure" clerics of the Khamenei camp and the (comparatively) more secular, yet still religious, "moderates" supporters of President Ahmadinehad.
I cannot take it upon myself to pass judgment on the wrongs and rights on these two parties other than stating that the following is indisputable:
The pro-US "Guccis" totally failed in their boycott of these elections.
Not, unlike Russia, is undergoing a real power struggle, but none of the forces struggling for power are in any way pro-US or pro-Israel. The Iranian wannabe Khodorkovskys or Hararis are either in jail, or under house arrest or abroad.
The "Green Revolution" in Iran appears as defeated as the "White Revolution" will be defeated in Russia on Sunday.
That is good news.
As for the rest - I leave it to the Iranian people to choose the kind of leaders they want to be governed by.
The Saker
