Iran aftermath continues…

I find the Iran Tracker site very useful in tracking the big picture with regard to Iran.    The site is updated several times daily,  and as situations warrant.

That said,  we need to remember that there were originally some 476 presidential candidates,  which the ruling clerics whittled down to only four.    Since the clerics are the true power in Iran,  backed up by the various military forces,  one can safely assume they expect to control the winner.    It may depend on whether they find the incumbent a liability,  which the initial announcement of his landslide victory doesn’t seem to suggest.     Several sources have reported that the primary challenger,  Mousavi,  met with the ayatollahs yesterday,  but what they said is anyone’s guess.

The news that Mousavi has called for a general strike,  to be accompanied by flowers instead of guns,  prompts me to wonder if the clerics think they have found a way to allow the population to vent,  perhaps giving them an illusion of more freedom.    They’ve been rather effective at shutting down communications,  with the glaring exception of Twitter,  which has provided a storm of inconvenient content.

Would the Grand Ayatollah go so far as to make Mousavi the winner?     I rather doubt it,  but he has given himself a few days to decide by declaring a  “limited investigation”  into possible election irregularities.

Michael Rubin reminds us of the good work by his colleague,  Ali Alfoneh,  and links to some enlightening pieces.    Also read Rubin’s own update,  here,  and Mark Steyn’s take.