Iranian Political Protests and President Obama's Response

As Iranians take to the streets, protesting alleged irregularities in the national election a little more than a week ago, which led to nominal though disputed victory for incumbent President Ahmadinejad, fractures are appearing among the clerics and jurists composing Iran's Guardian Council. The world is watching.

News reports on the Iranian political protests are sparse, the country's government having revoked the press credentials of foreign journalists as the protests got underway and continued using proxies to block web postings, a practice initiated as the election neared. Leaked news, such as the widely viewed Neda video that show an alleged peaceful observer of the Iran political protests as she lay dying from a gunshot wound to the heart, undoubtedly tell but a small part of the story unfolding in Tehran.

Iran's Foreign Ministry has accused Western governments of seeking to undermine the country. The Financial reported that in a weekly press briefing, Iran Foreign Ministry representative Hossan Qashqawi blamed European governments and the United States for causing the political protests in Iran, chastizing France for calling for the annulment of Iran's election results. Qashqawi also is said to have accused the western press of hacking Iranian news sites in an effort to create distance between the Iranian government and its people.

Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has repeatedly urged restraint by Iranian authorities in response to the political protests. He is reported to have asked the Iranian courts to release protesters arrested during the demonstrations, while he himself is reportedly under house arrest.

Iran's Guardian Council is reviewing reports of election irregularities and is due to issue its final report on Wednesday.

President Obama has carefully avoided fueling Iran's accusations by refusing to take sides on Iran's election outcome. Instead, Obama has focused on the Iranian people's right to peaceful protest, rebuking the Ahmadinejad government for using violence against the political protesters who peacefully gather to challenge Iran's election results.

Some Republicans, including defeated Presidential candidate John McCain (R-Ariz.), Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chastized Obama in televised interviews this weekend for not taking a stronger stance. McCain praised French President Nicolas Sarkozy's condemnation of Iran's election process and German Chancellor Angel Merkel's call for a recount.

Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, backs Obama's approach, according to an Associated Press report.

Obama's caution appears to be warranted on multiple grounds. Despite his access to intelligence superior to press reports, the President nevertheless is likely to lack the quantity and quality of information that would be desirable in considering adoption of a controversial stance on the Iranian election results and political protests against them that is certain to generate a backlash.

The Republicans who contend that a stronger stance by Obama equates with leadership overlook the value of diplomacy. Bombastic pronouncements may draw press but rarely do they contribute to problem solving, instead creating even greater divides.

The accusation that Americans have meddled in Iranian internal affairs is unfortunately one with a ring of historical accuracy. Overcoming decades of suspicion and distrust is already a formidable challenge in U.S.-Iranian affairs. Denouncing the legitimacy of Iran's election results before Iran's Guardian Council has completed its review of alleged electoral regularities and determined whether the tally will stand would be premature, presumptuous and potentially dangerous. Obama is making the right call in avoiding this counterproductive posture.

Sources: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/06/irans_disputed_election.html; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090621/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election; http://news.antiwar.com/2009/06/21/the-wages-of-censorship-iranian-govt-unhappy-with-foreign-coverage-of-crackdown/; http://breakfornews.com/KarekarAveShooting090620.htm; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/06/15/DI2009061501546.html; http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=6596&edition=2&ttl=20090622183231; http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/17/obama-reaction-stirs-debate/; http://finchannel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40747&Itemid=56; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/22/MNRM18B764.DTL&type=politics; http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/06/22/2009-06-22_president_obama_criticized_by_republicans_for_being_too_timid_on_iran.html; http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iZfgLuKrg3QBRltJ0qQMIzgIohdQD98VECRG0; http://www.reuters.com/article/gc08/idUSTRE55L47E20090622; http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran23-2009jun23,0,4158764.story.