Iran Election Blog

Tehran holds Canada responsible for the fact that Iranian expatriates living in this country cannot cast ballots in the June 14 presidential election, a Foreign Ministry official said on Sunday.

“The responsibility for the fact that the presidential election will not be held for our countrymen living in Canada lies with the government of Stephen Harper,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araghchi said in response to a statement issued by Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird on Saturday in which he blamed Iran for failing to arrange for Iranian expatriates’ voting.

In his statement, Baird said, “Iran has taken no steps to arrange for Iranians in Canada to participate in this election, confirming that the regime itself sees the vote as an empty propaganda exercise. We have not yet received any proposal from Iran concerning the representation of its interests in Canada. Despite having nine months to make such an arrangement, Iran has failed to do so, depriving Iranian nationals of a range of services as well as the opportunity to vote.”

Where in the world are candidates -- ranging from famous figures to unknown individuals -- allowed to use national media outlets equally? Where in the world is there such a thing? in the U.S.? in capitalist countries? In America and other capitalist countries, if a candidate is not a member of the existing two or three parties and if he is not supported by the mafia of wealth and power, he has no opportunities for campaigning."

Those who followed U.S. elections -- that I personally did -- would confirm this; there were some who were not supported by the Zionists, the bloodthirsty global capitalist network, so despite their attempts they were unable to enter election arena; they were made to spend a large sum for every second because they were deprived of any media & TV. In our country, candidates sit there equally in different TV programs for long hours talking to people without spending a single Rial. Where in the world is there such a thing?

This week, the popular "Asr-e Iran" website accused Iranian state television, which is under the direct control of Khamenei’s allies, of attempting to "impose" Jalili and of trying to give the impression that Jalili has more popular support than his rivals.

However, as expected, the supreme leader hasn’t publicly expressed support for any of the candidates. Some say that while Jalili is a solid contender to gain the establishment's backing, they aren't convinced yet. They say the perception that he is already the chosen one appears to have been inflated by his campaign.

"The Iranian embassy has made the necessary arrangements for the participation of Iranians residing in Syria in the 11th round of presidential election and their voting," Rao'uf Sheibani told reporters in Damascus on Wednesday.

"A polling station will be set up at the venue Islamic Republic of Iran's embassy and two mobile ballot boxes will receive our compatriots' votes in the shrines of Hazrat Zeinab (PBUH) and Hazrat Roqayyeh (PBUH) (the sister and daughter of Shiites' third Imam) in Damascus," he added.

"Despite radical rhetoric, Ahmadinejad did more than all his predecessors to (try to) advance rapprochement with Washington," a source familiar with Iran-U.S. contacts told Reuters. Other Western diplomats confirmed that view, which runs counter to the standard portrayal of the Iranian president as unwilling to compromise on the nuclear program.

On the sidelines of a 2009 meeting in Geneva, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili held bilateral talks with then-U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns, the highest level bilateral U.S.-Iranian meeting in three decades.

Since Ahmadinejad took office there have been "tens of covert meetings between Iranian officials and former U.S. officials in ... the Hague, Geneva, Vienna, Sweden, Tehran, Munich and New York," the source said. Most of those meetings have taken place since Obama arrived in the White House in 2009, sources familiar with them said.

RFE/RL: What is the end goal when dealing with Iran? Ending Iran's sensitive nuclear activities? Or regime change, as Iranian leaders seem to believe?

Crocker: Let me start with the last point. We've tried regime change once in Iran, as you know, with Prime Minister Mosadegh in 1953. That did not turn out well. And I think the seeds of the 1979 revolution were planted in '53. So I definitely do not recommend regime change as a policy for the U.S. or anyone else.

What we would like to see is a change in the policies and behavior of the regime. It's up to the Iranian people to make their own decisions on their government. Regime change imposed from outside through a coup did not work well for the West in Iran and sensitivities among Iranians -- not just the government but the population as well -- of foreign interference are very high, and we need to understand and respect that.