Their supporters view the other side with deep suspicion and animosity.

Yet the return of Ahmadinejad to Iranian politics could be good news for Rouhani.

Sounds counter intuitive?

Read below to find out why it could make sense.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/iran-ahmadinejad-return-politics.html

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei made a mistake by choosing and backing Ahmadinejad in the 2009 elections.

Based on his goals, challenges and experiences, my latest article explains the criteria which he is likely to use to choose Iran’s next president.

 http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/iran-presidential-elections-khamenei-candidates.html

http://thediplomat.com/2012/10/05/how-politics-nuked-irans-economy/

My latest article explains why:

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2012/al-monitor/in-iran-anti-semitic-outbursts-r.html

As expected, its unlikely that he or his allies will do well in these elections.

However there are already signs of possible fraud.

It has been reported that Ahmadinejad’s sister Parvin was defeated for the parliament seat for the city of Garmsar, in Iran’s Semnan province.

This seat is considered to be their home seat as the Ahmadinejad family are originally from the village of Aradan, a small village 26 kilometers east of Garmsar.

In Iran, locals are usually fiercely loyal to high ranking representatives from their area, even if their local politician is unpopular at national level.

This is especially true when it comes to poor, regional areas such as the Semnan province. In such remote areas, when it comes to voting, local loyalties are usually one of the most important criterias for voters.

Although Ahmadinejad is not a popular politician, the very fact that his sister was defeated in Garmsar is a valid possible sign of fraud.

Nobody expected these elections to be free or fair. However such actions by the regime show that when it comes to protecting its own interests through questionable activities, it has little regard for subtlety.

Worst still for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is how his fortune has changed. He won by fraud in 2009. Now he could lose the little power that he has by being a victim of fraud.

Just how much can Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offer at these talks?

http://the-diplomat.com/2012/01/21/iran-between-u-s-and-a-hard-place/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/27/iran-ahmadinejad-resign-moslehi-ayatollah

Are Iran’s leaders messianic?

What would be the consequences for Israel, if Iran becomes armed with a nuclear bomb?

These questions are addressed by two Israel based experts (Meir Javedanfar and Efraim Inbar from Bar Ilan University) after the screening of the movie “Iranium” at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center
in Jerusalem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMNlMWYp8jg

With thanks to Hadar Israel Foundation for arranging the evening and discussions.

]]> http://middleeastanalyst.com/2011/04/12/debating-iranium/feed/ 1 http://middleeastanalyst.com/2011/01/05/stirring-up-antisemitism-in-iran/ Wed, 05 Jan 2011 07:52:28 +0000 http://middleeastanalyst.com/?p=224 On December 14 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the first senior Iranian politician to deny the Holocaust.

His government achieved another first recently, by officially allowing the propagation of the fake “Iranian holocaust” story. In this story, two Jewish saints ordered the massacre of more than 70,000 Iranians.

The propagation of such antisemitic narrative by the government is unprecedented in Iranian history.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/dec/27/iranian-antisemitism-graves-jewish-saints

However a recent kiss between two people has started jaws wagging.

A friendly beso, or is there more to it?

http://the-diplomat.com/2010/09/21/when-two-ayatollahs-kiss/