Top two candidates in Iran election beholden to same master

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/foreign-policy/331939-top-two-candidates-in-iran-election-beholden-to-same-master

Iran’s provocative actions threaten the United States, the region and the world,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned in a major speech last month. The mere possibility of Washington pushing back on Tehran’s transgressions and focusing not only on the mullahs’ nuclear program but also on “alarming and ongoing provocations that export terror and violence” has already sent shockwaves through the clerical establishment.

Tillerson said the Trump administration is reviewing America’s overall Iran policy, a welcome opportunity to end nearly 40 years of botched rapprochement. A good place to start is by recognizing two basic realities: The regime is vulnerable to a hostile population eager to overthrow it, and the notion that the mullocracy can “reform” itself is a dangerous illusion that prolongs past mistakes.

Iran's Presidential Election Will Render A Weaker Regime

https://www.forbes.com/sites/heshmatalavi/2017/05/05/irans-presidential-election-will-render-a-weaker-regime/#604aafac231c

The so-called presidential “election” that is scheduled for May 19^th in Iran is in far contrast to what is witnessed in today’s democratic countries. Polls in Iran under the mullahs’ regime are neither free nor fair, and the upcoming presidential election will weaken the regime in its entirety to an unprecedented scale.

What Tehran considers a constitution prevents any possible election based on internationally recognized standards. Candidates must prove their utter loyalty to the mullahs’ regime and the Supreme Leader. As a result, the word “opposition” has no meaning in Iranian politics. As a result any assertion of “moderates” facing off against “hardliners” in Iran is completely misleading. This is a regime of various factions, not different political parties.

Iran Election: The Prospects and Consequences of the Sham Election

https://themediaexpress.com/2017/05/05/iran-election-the-prospects-and-consequences-of-the-sham-election/

An online press conference, hosted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), was held on May 4, 2017, to discuss the impacts and implications of the “sham” election in Iran to be held later this month. The two main speakers were Ambassador Giulio Terzi, the former Foreign Minister of Italy and a former ambassador to the United States; and Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chairman of the NCRI Foreign Affairs Committee.

The opening remarks were made by Mohaddessin, who called the Iran election scheduled for May 19^th, totally different from the elections that occur in democratic countries. It is only an election if there is opposition, he noted, which is not the case in Iran. The only ones who can serve as candidates are already a part of the ruling regime.

“One has to keep in mind that elections are a modern concept, which is totally contradictory with this regime. It is a total contradiction of the absolute rule of the supreme leader that is a concept of the Middle Ages,” said Mohaddessin.

http://thediplomat.com/2017/05/what-does-the-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-want-out-of-irans-upcoming-elections/

Can the faction known as the “principalists” in Iran, loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, engineer the upcoming presidential elections‘ outcome in a manner similar to 2005 and 2009? Back then, this group resorted to fraud and vote-rigging to have their desired candidate selected. Is the Khamenei-allied faction even seeking to engineer the election outcome against the faction currently behind President Hassan Rouhani, who claim to be “reformists” or “moderates”? If the answer is yes, what measures have been taken so far?

The truth is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Khamenei’s inner circle have been planning these measures and plotting their steps for at least several months.

Their plan essentially relies on forcing the election into a second round, similar to the 2009 scenario when Ahmadinejad was selected from the ballot boxes. This time around, the Khamenei faction is seeking to have Ebrahim Raisi, a cleric known for his notorious role in the 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners, or Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, selected as president. Ghalibaf is a former IRGC member known to have undergone Airbus pilot training in France.

Iran is deceiving the US — this is Trump's way forward

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/foreign-policy/332152-iran-is-deceiving-t

he-us-this-is-trumps-way-forwar

The Story behind the Story

On Apr. 17, 2017, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson described the Iran nuclear deal as a failure but said Tehran was complying with its terms. Tillerson stopped short of threatening to abandon the 2015 accord brokered by the major powers or saying if the Trump administration would penalize Iran with new sanctions on ballistic missiles or state-sponsored terrorism. Tillerson announced the National Security Council (NSC) would review the accord.

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For Iran, being a state sponsor of international terrorism and proliferator of ballistic missiles since Jan. 1984 are two sides of the same coin. The State Department designated Iran as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984; Iran continued its terrorist-related activity through 2014, including support for Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza (Hamas), Lebanese Hezbollah, and various groups in Iraq and throughout the Middle East, which are a threat to allies like Israel and friends, such as Jordan and the Gulf States. Tehran also transferred short-and mid-range ballistic missiles to Hamas and Hezbollah.