The Iranian elections, held last Friday, have been hailed by many observers in the West as a victory for “moderates,” with some even going so far as to claim the results as evidence of the success of American diplomatic outreach in producing a more friendly Islamic Republic. However, Eyal Zisser explains, such an analysis is deeply flawed:
Tens of millions of Iranians—many of whom badly want a new revolution to replace the Islamic Revolution that ruined all the good things in their homeland—flocked to some 53,000 polling stations across the country to express support for moderate candidates belonging to the reformist camp led by President Hassan Rouhani. And indeed, the initial results, which were most certainly fixed here and there as is the custom in Iran, revealed that Rouhani and his fellow reformist camp leader, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, did well. . . .
But we should question the meaning of this celebration of democracy, and we should wonder whether the results of the election . . . will really change the way Iran operates in the regional arena and with regard to Israel. Moreover, we should ask if these results mark the beginning of a countdown to the end of the ayatollahs’ regime. The answer to that question is “no.”
After all, there were thousands of candidates demanding real change who were banned from participating in this celebration of democracy in Tehran.
Read more on Israel Hayom: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=15381