Two Candidates For The Iranian Presidency Are Wanted By Interpol

Former Iranian Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian seems to be in favor of dropping the country's nuclear program and improving ties with the United States.

Wanted by Interpol, Iran’s Ex-Intelligence Minister To Run For President -- Radio Free Europe

One of the most feared figures of Iran’s Islamic establishment has announced his candidacy in the country's June 14 presidential vote.

Ali Fallahian, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts who served as intelligence minister under former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, has been accused of involvement in the killings of Iranian dissidents and is on Interpol’s wanted list for alleged participation in the 1995 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.

He announced his candidacy on February 19 in Birjand. “People’s requests to me have reached a threshold; my candidacy in the presidential vote is definite,” Fallahian said.

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My Comment: A thug who now wants to be Iran's next President .... and he is not the worst candidate.

Iran Holds Parliamentary Election Run-Off

Iran Holds Parliamentary Election Run-Offs -- BBC

Iranians are voting in a second round of parliamentary elections which are expected to see opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad make further gains.

State TV said 130 candidates were competing in run-off votes for 65 seats in the 290-seat Majlis, including 25 of the 30 seats in the capital, Tehran.

Conservative opponents of the president won a majority in March's first round.

The parliament lacks executive power but will play a part in choosing his successor before next year's election.

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More News On Iran's Parliamentary Election Run-Offs

Iran holds run-off parliamentary election -- Reuters
Iranians vote in parliamentary runoff elections -- AP
Iran holds parliamentary election run-off -- AFP
Iranians Vote in Runoff Parliamentary Election -- New York Times
Iranians vote in parliamentary election runoff -- L.A. Times
Khamenei’s clerics set to trounce Ahmadinejad camp in Iran vote -- National Post/Reuters

My Comment: In the battle of the hardliners .... the hardline faction is expected to win.

Iran's Hard Liners Are Being Challenged Again

In Iran, A New Challenge To Hard-Liners -- Washington Post

TEHRAN — A rapid succession of challenges directed at Iran in recent days has reignited a debate in Tehran over how to deal with the rest of the world.

Iran’s rulers, led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, continue to refuse any negotiations in which they would have to compromise. But an influential faction is now pushing for back-channel talks with the United States as a step toward lowering the tensions raised by U.S. allegations about an Iranian assassination plot.

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My Comment: The hard-line mullahs are going to win this challenge. They have the media, police and security apparatus, money, and government in their pockets. The above Al Ajzeera interview with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gives a small insight into what is happening in Iran today.

Did Iranian President Ahmadinejad Narrowly Escape An Assassination Attempt?

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a May 9 news conference in Istanbul. (Murad Sezer, Reuters)

Did Ahmadinejad Narrowly Escape Assassination Attempt? Explosion As President Goes To Open Iran's Largest Oil Refinery -- The Daily Mail

An explosion at Iran's largest oil refinery shortly before a visit by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the country's president, was due to a 'gas leak', officials have claimed.

But differing reports of the sequence of events surrounding the blast, in Abadan, southwest Iran, have sparked suspicions that the controversial leader may have been the target of an assassination attempt.

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More News On Today's Explosion At Iran's Largest Refinery When Iranian President Ahmadinejad Was Scheduled To Be There

Explosion hits Iranian refinery just before Ahmadinejad speech -- L.A. Times
At least 4 killed in blast before Ahmadinejad dedicates refinery -- Washington Post
Blast hits Iran refinery as Ahmadi-Nejad visits -- Financial Times
Blast at Iran gas plant before Ahmadinejad visit -- CBS
Iran refinery blast caused by gas leak - Mehr -- Reuters
Iran refinery blast not sabotage - lawmaker -- Reuters

My Comment: Talk about coincidences. You arrive .... and there is an explosion. If I was responsible for Iranian President Ahmadinejad's security detail .... I would be very suspicious.

Internal Political Strife In Iran Becomes Public

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Press TV

Iran's Supreme Leader And President Wrestle For Power -- L.A. Times

The dispute between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ignites concern inside the nation that the infighting weakens Iran's ability to project power internationally amid historic instability across the Mideast.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wanted to send his onetime protege Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an unmistakable message: You're replaceable.

The Iranian president had been skipping Cabinet meetings, apparently over Khamenei's decision to overrule his firing of the country's intelligence chief. So Khamenei asked a conservative lawmaker to begin assembling a caretaker Cabinet, just in case the president resigned or had to be removed, said an Iranian official close to the politician.

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My Comment: This all theater .... when push comes to shove Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will win out.