Iran Chooses Acceptable Candidates for President

From top left: Karrubi, Ahmadinejad, Rezaie and Mousavi

Iran announced today that four current and former officials have been approved from a long list of candidates to run for president in the 12 June elections.

• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the sitting president
• Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a former premier
• Mehdi Karrubi, a former speaker of Majlis
• Mohsen Rezaie, a former IRGC commander

The irony of the announcement could not be overlooked: the Islamic Republic is empowering its citizens to choose the head of their government, but the very same government first must approve who can run for presidency! Another sad day for the proponents of democracy in Iran.