Recount, But Not Annulment

Via Nico “Up at 4 a.m.” Pitney at Huffington Post, Iran’s Guardian Council — the appointed body that ensures that parliamentary decisions don’t get in the way of religious obligations — has agreed to recount disputed votes in the election. But it hasn’t agreed to annul the election, according to the BBC, as opposition candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has demanded. Moussavi and other opposition leaders appear likely to reject the offer — The New York Times explains that Moussavi doesn’t trust the Council — and if they do so, it’ll be because they consider themselves to be in a more commanding position than many westerners evidently assume. Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei’s decision to order a fraud inquiry might be a ruse, but the accumulated pressure of the protests and the desire for order could transform it into a face-saving way out of the crisis – a re-vote.

All of which explains why opposition figures aren’t taking the Guardian Council’s offer seriously. @Change_For_Iran tweets:

At the moment, the regime is banning foreign journalists from reporting on street demonstrations, and pro-Ahmadinejad forces, heavily represented by the Baseej militia, are holding a rally in Tehran. We know about this through Twitter, which, despite worries from friends of mine, is proving to be a vital tool for internal opposition organizing and external communication.