AL JAZEERA

Iran on the Brink?

The moment is crucial for Iran. After the recount, if Ahmedinejad were to come to power, it would mean a weakening of reformist forces. However, it should also be kept in mind that “Moussavi is no liberal” and his policies will be “within the mainstream of Iran’s clerical culture”. Iran may soon be headed towards a “Tiananmen moment”, but it certainly cannot follow China’s path, writes Mark LeVine. For while the Communist Party in China was willing to liberalise culturally, in Iran a “cultural perestroika” is what Ahmedinejad would want to prevent. Though the election and the protests can be viewed as the release of a “host of pent-up forces”, the author has no exaggerated hopes of the Islamic Republic being replaced by a “more secularly-defined” one.

COUNTERPUNCH

The Myth of the ‘Obama Effect’

As Moussavi supporters speak openly of “change” and “reform”, Rannie Amiri wonders if this enthusiasm can be a reflection of the “Obama effect”. But he concludes, “There was never an ‘Obama Effect’ and the mere suggestion of one is the epitome of arrogance and an insult to Iranian voters.”