“Islamist Regime In Total Control”

The second round of Iran presidential elections has caused an earthquake. Mahmud Ahmadineyad has become president, defeating one of the regime’s greatest leaders since 1979. Ahmadineyad is the most learned of all Iranian presidents and is the first president of the Islamist Republic who has a military background (he is Colonel of the Revolution Guard Reserve Army). He is also the first to come from the people and not to have amassed a fortune for the last few years. But behind his victory is, without a doubt, his great loyalty to Ali Jamenei.
Though Ahmadineyad’s election has clearly been manipulated, it represents an important event for the country: this is the first time that a mullah has been defeated by a non-mullah. It is, first of all, the victory of the regime’s toughest faction - that which controls the whole machinery of power. It represents the end of more than 20 years of divisions within the government. Jatami could rightfully have stated that he was never abreast of everything that was happening in the country, and that is true. But this argument wouldn’t be valid now. Ahmadineyad’s election proves that Iran cannot be reformed from within.
Nonetheless, these elections set a clear choice for both Iranians and Europeans. And this could be convenient.