Though Suppressed, Iran Election Protesters Not Defeated
Interview with Arang Keshavarzian, associate professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University, conducted by Scott Harris
After more than two weeks of turmoil following the disputed results of the June 12, Iranian presidential election, there is an air of uncertainty on where things will go next. On June 29, Iran's Guardian Council, made up of six senior clerics and six Islamic jurists, appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, certified the election victory by incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a second 4-year term. The Council dismissed charges of voting irregularities made by opposition, pro-reform opponents. The Council said it had certified the election after having done a random recount of 10 percent of the votes cast.
Former Iranian Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi, the main opposition presidential candidate, along with two other defeated candidates, had presented 646 specific charges of vote rigging they say favored Ahmadinejad. Moussavi has demanded a new election be held. Opposition protests erupted after the election certification was announced, but were broken up by the Basij pro-government militia and police. Earlier protests have resulted in at least 17 deaths, with hundreds injured and as many as 2,000 in jail. Ahmadinejad and his allies have charged that foreign governments, including the U.S. and Britain along with foreign press outlets are responsible for the unrest.
Between the Lines Scott Harris spoke with Arang Keshavarzian, associate professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University. Keshavarzian, who traveled to Iran to observe the presidential election campaign from May 28 to June 15, discusses the success of the government attempt to crush the opposition and President Obama's reaction to the Iranian election dispute.
Read professor Arang Keshavarzian and other articles covering Iran at the website of Middle East Report of www.merip.org
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