I know next to nothing about Iranian politics beyond the story that a religious council holds most real power in the country and that those fellows are widely deemed (by journalistic types elsewhere) to be unpopular. That and the one about the reform-minded president who has spent several frustrating years countering the religous council.

This, in a nutshell, seems to be conventional wisdom about Iran: widespread frustration among the middle class and urban types with the religious council is leading to the rise of reformist politics. Freedom on the march, one might say.

Either that isn't as true as the conventionally wise would prefer or shenanigans are on the march, however. You will have heard that an "ultra conservative" (a term in search of context to have much meaning) former head of the police (no context needed) just won the presidency by a country mile. He had been mayor of Tehran, and Tehran is massive, so it seems safe to say that the folks in a position to know him best must have thought he was ok (the countriside being where the ultraconservatives are said to live). But could the fix have been in? If so, it was clever to add that less than 50% of the eligible turned out.



I just don't see much indication that the world is getting any better.