Ahmadinejad allies fail to sweep Iran vote
Ultra-conservatives close to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have failed to sweep twin Iranian elections with embattled moderate forces recording a respectable performance, initial results have showed. Centrist cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani appeared to have sprung a surprise by reaping by far the most votes and beating a hardline rival in the election for the Assembly of Experts, the body that chooses the supreme leader.
Ahmadinejad's grip on power is not as solid as some seem to believe, nor is Iran of one mind on their foreign relations and future path.
Citizen SMASH and Paul Silver both pointed last week to this article in the Arab News that provides some good background on the current Iranian political situation.
UPDATE: For anyone who doubts the nature of the current Tehran regime, here's some extra reading.
[Cross-posted to Stubborn Facts.]
