From the Streets of Tehran

A roundup of video, photo, and Twitter reports from the streets of Tehran. And a few comments from informed—and not so informed—Iran observers from around the web. At The Daily Beast, Reza Aslan points out that "bald-faced election fraud is a totally new phenomenon in Iran, which takes its election process very seriously. This is, after all, the only expression of popular sovereignty that Iranians enjoy." Christopher Hitchens upbraids the media for credulously calling them "elections": "Any newspaper referring to the subsequent proceedings as an election, sometimes complete with rallies, polls, counts, and all the rest of it, is the cause of helpless laughter among the ayatollahs. ("They fell for it? But it's too easy!")." Indeed, just last week Jon Stewart ripped those who fear the Mullahs, observing, in apparent seriousness, that Iran "appears to have one of the more vibrant democracies in the Middle East."

The Boston Globe has some amazing high-res photos of the protests here.

The government of Nicolas Sarkozy issued a clear statement of condemnation:

In Paris, Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier said Iran's ambassador had been summoned to hear French concerns over "the brutal repression of peaceful protests and the repeated attacks on the liberty of the press and freedom of speech."

Blogging at The Washington Post, Ezra Klein chimes in with this gem: "There are a couple things to say about this, all of them depressing. First, those of us who have long argued for the fundamental rationality of the Iranian regime have seen our case fundamentally weakened." Well, live and learn, young lad.

Incidentally, for those interested in knowing more of the history of the Iranian revolution, I, quite fortuitously, recently started reading a review copy of this new book by Daily Telegraph correspondent Con Coughlin, who last week chimed in on Iran's "potemkin election" in the Wall Street Journal.

From StopAhmedi's Twitter feed ("A dedicated Twitter account for Mousavi supporters"), who is reporting from Tehran:

"more than 100 motorbikers at Baseej headquerters in Iran street"
"reports of gun shots in Sadatabad too - we heard gunshots from that direction about 45 mins ago" #iranelection
NEWS: CONFIRMED Basiji central building put on fire today by ppl

Also recommended: IranNewsNow, PersianKiwi, and Mohamed Reza.

And this photo, which looks like a still from a live-action version of Persepolis:

Comments

[Jack Thread]

The danger liberalism poses to the American experiment comes from its disposition to deplete rather than replenish the capital required for self-government. Entitlement programs overextend not only financial but political capital. They proffer new "rights," goad people to demand and expand those rights aggressively, and disdain truth in advertising about the nature or scope of the new debts and obligations those rights will engender. The experiment in self-government requires the cultivation, against the grain of a democratic age, of the virtues of self-reliance, patience, sacrifice, and restraint. The people who have this moral and social capital understand and accept that there "will be many long periods when you put more into your institutions than you get out," according to David Brooks. Instead, liberalism promotes snarling but unrugged individualism, combining an absolute right "to the lifestyle of one's choice (regardless of the social cost) with an equally fundamental right to be supported at state expense," as the Manhattan Institute's Fred Siegel once described it. Finally, the capital bestowed by vigilance against all enemies, foreign and domestic, is squandered when liberals insist on approaching street gangs, illegal immigrants, and terrorist regimes in the hopeful belief that, to quote the political scientist Joseph Cropsey, "trust edifies and absolute trust edifies absolutely."

[Episiarch]

The complete photo is not showing, Michael. Dimension it or resize it.

So who thinks this could possibly blow up into civil war? Any possibility at all?

[hmm]

What? No coverage of the Laker's riot?

[Elemenope]

So who thinks this could possibly blow up into civil war? Any possibility at all?

Well, nobody can know that. On the other hand, the last time this happened in Iran (students taking to the streets by the thousands, rioting) some serious shit went down. 1979 was not, like, a long time ago.

[The Angry Optimist]

Caption Contest:

"I TOLD you to get off of my lawn."

[SugarFree]

"Oh? And what's so stinking about it?"

[hammeredHead]

Just hit the image URL to see the whole picture.

Link to pic

[BakedPenguin]

"Now that's a real shame when folks be throwin' away a perfectly good Persian girl like that."

[J sub D]

What? No coverage of the Laker's riot?

OK, you got me interested enough to google it up. Doesn't seem like big news for anywhere outside of southern California. But one of the comments in the article I linked to was worth noting

cops are choking emt workers, tazering old ladies, beating up ministers, and THIS is what people riot about???!!!?!?!?!?!

Bread and circuses.

[Episiarch]

"It's a stinking world because there's no law and order anymore!"

[Fluffy]

She actually looks kinda cute.

She's look even cuter shoving that cane up that old guy's ass.

[Matthew]

Well she is wearing jeans.
Clearly an agent of Satan.

[Episiarch]

Well she is wearing jeans.

And Chuck Taylors. Clearly an agent of skateboarding Satan.

"Let's get some new outfits. That's a great idea. You decided to rock jeans, for instance. I'm confused by that."

[Elemenope]

Well she is wearing jeans.
Clearly an agent of Satan.

Clearly you've confused Iran with Saudi Arabia.

[Tulpa]

"Smell this. Does it smell funny to you?"

[SugarFree]

Upside: more hot Persian chicks for America.

[shrike]

Bill-O is sucking cock right out now.

the fuckwad deserves to die for his fight-wing idiocy.

[Brandybuck]

Indeed, just last week Jon Stewart ripped those who fear the Mullahs, observing, in apparent seriousness, that Iran "appears to have one of the more vibrant democracies in the Middle East."

It fits his narrative, so it must be true.

[MNG]

"a few comments from informed-and not so informed-Iran observers"

How would a not so informed observer be able to tell who are the informed observers and who are the not so informed observers? Which is Moynihan on things Iranian?

So the above probably means "a few comments who confirm what I think and believe, and a few who don't and who make me upset, and are clearly wrong."

[MNG]

"appears to have one of the more vibrant democracies in the Middle East."

In Stewart's defense that is a mighty easy bar to jump...

[Tulpa]

I don't know, Brandybuck, there's a certain vibrancy to an electorate that takes to the streets when it thinks it's been cheated.

Sometimes I wish we had such an electorate here in the US.

[Tulpa]

Please unscramble the following letters: AAZG

[Elemenope]

In Stewart's defense that is a mighty easy bar to jump...

Israel and Turkey are not exactly slouches when it comes to democracy. Perfect? Of course not. But definitely a helluva lot more democratic than Iran, who it must be noted, is in turn a great deal more democratic than most of its neighbors to the south. (Iraq, being still occupied, does not count in either category I think.)

[Elemenope]

I don't know, Brandybuck, there's a certain vibrancy to an electorate that takes to the streets when it thinks it's been cheated.

This is also an excellent point. We're so used to being cheated (albeit usually in smaller ways) that we don't rise as one to slay someone.

[Remember the 80s]

I walked along the avenue.
I never thought Id meet a girl like you;
Meet a girl like you.
With auburn hair and tawny eyes;
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through;
Hypnotize me through.

And Iran, Iran's so far away.
Just Iran, Iran all night and day.
I couldn't get away.

Reached out a cane to touch your face;
You're slowly disappearing from my view;
Disappearing from my view.
Reached out a cane to try again;
Im floating in a beam of light with you;
A beam of light with you.

[J sub D]

"appears to have one of the more vibrant democracies in the Middle East."

In Stewart's defense that is a mighty easy bar to jump...
Iraq doesn't count till one election after the US troops leave. Israel, Lebanon and Turkey are all more "vibrant" democracies than Iran.

[Cabeza de Vaca]

"Upside: more hot Persian chicks for America."

I love Persian chics they are very passionate lovers. I'm lucky enough to know from experience.

[J sub D]

Screwed up those blockquote tags, didn't I?

"appears to have one of the more vibrant democracies in the Middle East."

In Stewart's defense that is a mighty easy bar to jump...

Iraq doesn't count till one election after the US troops leave. Israel, Lebanon and Turkey are all more "vibrant" democracies than Iran has ever been.

[Tulpa]

Turkey is technically the Near East, isn't it? Aside from the pervasive Islam, it's hard to think of Istanbul as being a Middle Eastern city.

[J sub D]

Hey, the middle of the alphabet guy and I pretty much agree. He forgot Lebanon though.

[tehdude]

It was very rational. They lost the election and forged the result to keep power. Rational and moral are different spheres.

[J sub D]

Turkey is technically the Near East, isn't it? Aside from the pervasive Islam, it's hard to think of Istanbul as being a Middle Eastern city.

Middle East Countries at a Glance
Worldatlas.com map
and the font of all internet knowledge, Wiki

So yeah Turkey is in the Middle East. Two of the three sources place Egypt in the Middle East as well. I think that's bullshit myself. I place Egypt in fucking Africa.

[Cabeza de Vaca]

"Turkey is technically the Near East, isn't it? Aside from the pervasive Islam, it's hard to think of Istanbul as being a Middle Eastern city."

It's both. Istanbul is a european city, but the eastern part of the country is middle eastern.

[Tulpa]

Ah, not only an arguer from authority, but a cafeteria-arguer from authority. Critical thinking is a good thing in today's complex world, sir.

[Tulpa]

Well the eastern part of Turkey is also where they have problems with rebels and such, so that doesn't go against the general rule for the Middle East. That's why it's so hard to investigate that supposed Noah's ark site, not that I give a water-treading polar bear about that.

[Elemenope]

Hey, the middle of the alphabet guy and I pretty much agree. He forgot Lebanon though.

I keep forgetting Lebanon. Somehow I can't think of them as much more than an extension of Syria and/or occupied by Israel (old habits, both).

[Hugh Akston]

Does anyone know why the vests and riot shields have POLICE written in English and not Arabic?

Did we loan out some of our narcotics/SWAT officers to protect and serve these demonstrators or just the surplus equipment?

[Elemenope]

So yeah Turkey is in the Middle East. Two of the three sources place Egypt in the Middle East as well. I think that's bullshit myself. I place Egypt in fucking Africa.

Wow, agree with me and Rev. Wright on the same day. You feel alright?

But seriously, on the Moyers interview, he talked about the Middle East being a sort of fictional eighth continent that defrayed the rightful cultural inheritance of both Africa and Asia. No matter how much a nut he may be, it made a great deal of sense. Egypt *is* in fucking Africa.

[BakedPenguin]

...it's hard to think of Istanbul as being a Middle Eastern city.

Perhaps that's because it was once Constantinople.

[Cabeza de Vaca]

Tulpa,

Look at a map. I've been to Istanbul the people who live there consider themselves europeans & will get pissed if you say otherwise. The bosphorus divides the city if half. Half the city is in europe the other half in the middle east.

[Elemenope]

Does anyone know why the vests and riot shields have POLICE written in English and not Arabic?

Now that's a good fucking question. Old loaners to the Shah, perhaps. They do have a rather large English-speaking population, esp. in the major cities.

[J sub D]

Tulpa, word and term definitions are determined by authority. But you knew that, right?

Here's what the nOObs at the CIA think.

Turkey is part of the Middle East.

[Tulpa]

But seriously, on the Moyers interview, he talked about the Middle East being a sort of fictional eighth continent that defrayed the rightful cultural inheritance of both Africa and Asia.

All the continents are fictional. The only reason it makes sense to group Zimbabwe and Egypt together (or Saudi Arabia and Korea) is because you can write a word across both of them without going through a large body of water.

I wonder if Moyers noticed that big swath of yellow going from the Atlantic to the Red Sea on satellite images of Africa. That might have something to do with keeping Egypt, et al, from having to do with Africa's cultural inheritance, whatever that means. I mean, we don't ever talk about North America's cultural inheritance -- might have something to do with the fact that it's harder to lump diverse cultures together when you actually live in one of them.

[Cabeza de Vaca]

"Does anyone know why the vests and riot shields have POLICE written in English and not Arabic?"

Persians don't speak Arabic they speak Farsi, but I found that unusual also.

[B]

"First, those of us who have long argued for the fundamental rationality of the Iranian regime have seen our case fundamentally weakened."

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Is joe actually Ezra Klein? The rationality of the Iranian regime? You have to be fucking kidding me.

[Tulpa]

Also note that Europe and Asia get separated along a very arbitrary line that has only a very tenuous cultural significance dating back to the Greek-Persian wars. There's far more justification for putting Greece and Turkey in the same continent than there is to do so with Morocco and Mozambique.

[shrike]

I am a total fucking idiot. All I can do is talk about Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. Man am I a douchebag.

[SugarFree]

Ya'll leave shrike alone. I completely supported Alice Bowie when she decided to transition and I still support him now.

[J sub D]

Tulpa, the definitions of what is or isn't a continent are all screwed up. Finding consensus is difficult if even possible. Plate tectonics is probably the best way to rationally deal with it. Of course this makes India seperate from Eurasia creating other problems.

For beginners

[JW Gacy]

I think I speak for all of us when I thank shrike for his sudden and unexpected candor.

Three cheers for shrike! shrike we like!

[MNG]

J sub D
Your atlas has all the "stans" as the middle east too, and I clearly don't think that way. So, I can excuse Stewart for not thinking of Turkey as part of the Middle East.

Lebanon has some problems as a "vibrant" democracy" as well.
No fan of Stewart, but I get what he's saying...

[Colin]

There's some great video at (UK) Channel 4's website.

Wonderful Persepolis joke!

[Matt Osborne]

What we're seeing is not a "new" revolution, but a continuation of the one that began in 1978.

Popular discontent with clerical control of both politics and the economy has exploded as both of their social compacts -- "don't rock the boat and things will get better," "you can vote as long as we pick the candidates" -- have been utterly broken by Ahmadinejad and Khamenei.

[John]

The woman in the picture is cute. I would be nice if McHopey would you know have a meeting or something about this. Maybe say something in support of the protestors. But sadly I have a feeling I know how this is going to end. The mullahs are going to murder a bunch of people and Amaddinnerjacket or whatever that crazy fuck's name is will be President. And then Obama will tell us what a reasonable guy he is and how we just need to talk and pursue "diplomacy" whatever that means.

[Norbert Sluzewski]

In light of our docile posture in response to the recent opposition protests and general post election upheaval in that country, I have to say I am a little confused about our strategy and foreign policy toward Iran at this time. If we indeed want to be proactive and acknowledge our contribution to the present situation, then some follow through action would be necessary.

If on the other hand we want to see the situation play out on its own (or more realistically support it covertly), then such statement by the President are highly undesirable.

Sending overt signals with promises not backed up by action (or believable promises of action), only leads to resentment within, and alienation of the forces of potential change. As a result the enemy (dictatorial regime) becomes more emboldened while the spirit and trust in the US of the opposition forces are severely dampened.

Based on our current posture I am confused about which path the US is taking. History proves that the most dangerous decision a government can make is to not make one at all.

[The Angry Optimist]

And then Obama will tell us what a reasonable guy he is and how we just need to talk and pursue "diplomacy" whatever that means.

How much do you want to bet that he says that?

He might say the latter, but what irritates me is that this Administration is in a tough spot. What irritates me more is that you're willing to make political hay about it.

you really are the semi-literate version of j**.

[John C. Randolph]

The mullahs are going to murder a bunch of people and Amaddinnerjacket or whatever that crazy fuck's name is will be President.

There was a time when Mohammed Reza Pahlavi thought he could put down riots and hang on to power. We don't know how this is going play out; Iran could become a free country at last.

-jcr

[The Angry Optimist]

I mean, John, do you think an American president is going to get on television and say "this Ahmadinejad guy...SO REASONABLE!"

Only in your partisan dreams, my friend.

[Tulpa]

MNG,

Israel is still a pretty glaring omission on Stewart's part, don't you think? Though historically it was considered part of the Near East...a region that's been absorbed into the Middle East (which originally referred to what's now Iraq, Iran, Arabia, etc) in modern parlance, for better or worse.

[Tulpa]

Plate tectonics is probably the best way to rationally deal with it. Of course this makes India seperate from Eurasia creating other problems.

It also would mean the coast of California is in a different continent from the rest of the US. Then again, that may be more of a feature than a bug...

[Tulpa]

I guess ultimately you have to decide what to expect from continents. If they're defined by tectonic plates it's pretty silly to talk about the cultural heritage of a continent, for instance. Some geographic/geologic features do have an effect on the way cultures interact etcetera, but I wouldn't think that applies to tectonic plates, the existence of which was only settled in the 20th century. Well, so long as you're not a plate denier.

[Tulpa]

TAO,

Putin and Ahminejad are totally different animals. Putin's lunacy is a more quiet sort, so it's safer to praise him publicly. Also, Putin has nearly absolute power over a nuclear-armed nation, while Ahminejad has very little power over a non-nuclear nation.

[MNG]

"Israel is still a pretty glaring omission on Stewart's part, don't you think?"

Well, not if you're one of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians they rule but don't let participate in voting and such. I mean, if Syria declared the Southern half of Syria free and able to elect leaders but not the Northern half it would not really be a "vibrant democracy." Yes, Israeli citizens have a democracy that seems free and fair aplenty, but their occupied neighbors don't get to play at all. In that sense the South back under Jim Crow was a "vibrant democracy."

But it's bed time and I ain't getting sucked into any post on Israel-Palestinian, shit I argued for hours over health care today...Say what you will...

[The Angry Optimist]

Tulpa - um, OK. Due respect, but why are you talking about Russia? I'm very confused.

[The Angry Optimist]

MNG - see, Iran is a better democracy, because at least it lets everybody participate in its sham elections!

[Elemenope]

The rationality of the Iranian regime? You have to be fucking kidding me.

I don't know why this is so funny. In point of fact, I don't see how the current debacle is evidence they aren't; simply evidence they have miscalculated badly.

I wonder if Moyers noticed that big swath of yellow going from the Atlantic to the Red Sea on satellite images of Africa.

That yellow swath was much, much smaller three thousand years ago, which is when he was talking about, and FWIW, there was a great deal of cultural intercourse up the white Nile in those days, from present-day Ethiopia.

[Tulpa]

Well, not if you're one of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians they rule but don't let participate in voting and such.

Right. The Israelis just installed the Hamas majority in the Palestinian parliament cause they thought they were good, docile fellows.

Kidding aside, I assume you mean that Palestinians don't get to vote for Israel's own government. Which impugns the US too, since Puerto Ricans, Guamese, and Virgin Islanders don't get to vote in our elections despite having home rule.

[BlueBook]

Maybe we should return to the old "Fertile Crescent" terminology for the region. True, this would exclude some of the most productive and contentious oil fields, but access to those fields is still largely dominated by the people living in the more habitable adjacent lands.

[jr565]

Don't make any more sense Tulpa. You're liable to give MNG an aneurism.

[BlueBook]

I also noticed the curious English language police gear. One could argue that it doesn't make much difference. No matter where you are or what tongue you speak, the riot cops look the same: men in helmets and boots, carrying shields and batons and spraying tear gas or fire hoses. Not a whole lot of ambiguity there.

[Mr. Chartreuse]

This is probably going to be the most useless thread comment, but did anyone else notice how well dressed the protesters and government militia guys are? Who would have thought you could crack down on protests in a Brooks Brothers dress shirt and some pressed slacks.

[Hugh Akston]

Not a whole lot of ambiguity there.

Right. "We're here to help."

[Fred2]

So?
Should we go out and support the Iranian protesters? Perhaps with protests of our own?

[MNG]

TAO
I don't know, who had the more "vibrant democracy" in 1980, Russia now (Iran) or S. Africa in 1980 (Israel)?

Tulpa
Israel Population: 7,233,701
West Bank Pop: 2,461,267
Gaza Pop: 1,551,859

So Israel rules over a population a little less than half its own without letting them participate in its elections. So that's a little different than us and Guam. Oh, and here's another little difference: people in Guam are citizens of the U.S. with all the rights that entails. Not true for the Occupied Territories...So it's closer to S. Africa than the U.S. (for the record, I think our territories should be allowed representation)

Surely someone will crow: b-b-ut Israel gave them autonomy! So let's slap that down now to begin with...
1. This "autonomy" was "granted" by Israel about 25-30 years into their rule of these people...
2. This "autonomy" is nothing like what we would call autonomy. Israel retains the rights to control the borders totally, and to come into the areas at any time and "arrest" any PA "citizen." It collects duties "for" the PA. It appropriates the land there at will....There is a reason why Nibby won't even say the words "two state solution", he's said up front he hopes to "one day" give them "something like a state." I mean, the S. African's had limited local autonomy in their Bantustan's too...

[MNG]

I would say Iran's elections are less of a sham than Russia's, but worse than Turkeys for example.

They actually have international monitoring organizations which pronounce these elections "fair and free" or not. I imagine they've declared Iran's properly "not free."

[Tulpa]

1. This "autonomy" was "granted" by Israel about 25-30 years into their rule of these people...
2. This "autonomy" is nothing like what we would call autonomy. Israel retains the rights to control the borders totally, and to come into the areas at any time and "arrest" any PA "citizen." It collects duties "for" the PA. It appropriates the land there at will....

And MNG once again demonstrates his ignorance of US history. I don't think you want to go down this road.

[R C Dean]

In light of our docile posture in response to the recent opposition protests and general post election upheaval in that country, I have to say I am a little confused about our strategy and foreign policy toward Iran at this time.

The need to be seen engaging in "dialogue" and "engagement" trump all other considerations, including the nature of the regime we are "engaged" with. That this serves to legitimize and entrench a repellent and hated regime matters not. To a Community Organizer in Chief, dialogue, process, engagement, outreach, all that is an end in itself, and, indeed, the most important end.

Thus, the almost complete radio silence from the White House on this. They want to get their goddam dialogue going already, no preconditions, and all these protests are in the way.

[Fluffy]

The Israelis just installed the Hamas majority in the Palestinian parliament cause they thought they were good, docile fellows.

Actually, when Hamas won the Gaza elections, the first thing the US and Israel did was try to arm and fund Fatah to launch a coup in Gaza and blow Hamas away.

When that didn't work, Israel put a blockade in place around Gaza to try to starve the Gazans out to punish them for electing Hamas.

And when residents of Gaza started firing rockets into Israel in response to the blockade, Israel re-invaded the Gaza strip and blew up anything that moved and any building with any economic value.

So, yeah, that's kind of like what the US does to Puerto Rico and Guam. Although I don't recall the news reports where we blockaded and bombed Guam when we didn't like the way a home rule election turned out. Then again, I don't know if you can really say that an area has "home rule" in the first place where voting for the wrong people results in the metropolitan power inciting civil war and starting a blockade. That's an odd type of home rule.

In any event, even humoring you to contrast the two implies that I endorse the history of the US territorial empire following the Spanish-American war, and I don't. So it's not really up to me to defend it or its legacy political arrangements.

[R C Dean]

When that didn't work, Israel put a blockade in place around Gaza to try to starve the Gazans out to punish them for electing Hamas.

I was under the impression that the 2007 blockade was preceded by attacks from Gaza. Its hard to find reliable information, though. Any links?

[Solana]

I've been getting some pretty great updates (a lot of amazing photos) from @Madyar. You guys should follow him(her?) if you're interested in all of this.

[Fluffy]

http://www.webcitation.org/5hQ1yt77u

The Washington Post reported that the border was sealed as of June 18, 2007, which is the very day that Fatah abandoned Gaza. The blockade was never lifted after that.

It was actually fairly reasonable for the Israelis - and the Egyptians - to seal the border while actual fighting was taking place within Gaza between the different Palestinian factions. What's objectionable is that the blockade was left in place because the wrong side [the side that had won the election and was resisting a US and Israeli sponsored coup] won the battle.

[EDM]

Cute shoes.

--Ed

[R C Dean]

Thanks, Fluffy.

What's objectionable is that the blockade was left in place because the wrong side [the side that had won the election and was resisting a US and Israeli sponsored coup] won the battle.

Would a blockade be acceptable as a response to terrorist attacks, shelling, and rockets from Gaza?

[Andy]

And we thought the Lakers riots were bad.. it was mentioned on Hardball that doesn't it seem odd that there appears to be more freedom in Iran, a so-called "axis of evil" by Bush, than in Saudi Arabia, supposedly one of our closest allies? There were Saudi hijackers on 9/11 - no Iranian hijackers.

BTW, there are lots of hot Persian women here in LA..not that I'm encouraging any of you to come here.

[Fluffy]

Would a blockade be acceptable as a response to terrorist attacks, shelling, and rockets from Gaza?

That depends on what had proceeded the terrorist attacks, shelling, and rockets.

[Douglas Gray]

According to Reuters, Mousavi was losing to Aj. in the polls by about a 2-1 margin three weeks or so prior to the elections. Of course, the polls could have been rigged too, but it is possible that Aj. won legitimately. Hard to tell. Also, I have heard that Mousavi's wife wears the pants in the family and that he is really not all that much liked.

[what]

How can anyone win "legitimately" when only 4 hand picked candidates were allowed to run in the first place?

[Helper]

I hope that guy in the picture is trying to help that girl up with his stick. If not, he's a real dick.

The biggest takeaway from the last few days has been that Iran is full of uppity punk rock kids. They are doing alright.

Let them work that shit out while wearing their Chucks and shadors or whatever.

Everybody knows that there are more of these cool young people in Iran than any other age group. I'm happy to see that they look like cool people.