Ali Khamenei's election ruling
How will protesters react to a declaration by Iran's supreme leader that last week's election was fair?
What happened
Iran's supreme leader on Friday ruled out fraud in last week's elections, saying that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won a "definitive" re-election victory. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned hundreds of thousands taking part in peaceful protests against the result to go home. He also accused foreign leaders and media of exploiting Iran's political differences and trying to destabilize the Islamic Republic. (Los Angeles Times)
What the commentators said
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ali Khamenei's speech was clearly meant as a threat, said Al-Jazeera. "He basically said: 'Enough is enough—from now on, no more street protests.'" He didn't offer anything, not even dialogue, to the quarter of a million people the world has watched demonstrating in the streets. That's a clear sign that if the uprising continues "it is going to be put down very ruthlessly indeed."
This warning from Ali Khamenei puts "huge pressure" on opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi to end the massive protests, said Parisa Hafezi in Reuters. Mousavi, prime minister during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, "is unlikely to go against the interests of the Islamic republic following the leader's speech." So the most likely next step is for Mousavi to bow to Ali Khameini's demand and push his claim that he was the real election winner "through judicial channels."
"The reform the Iranian demonstrators seek" is something the U.S. should be supporting, said Paul Wolfowitz, a deputy defense secretary in the Bush administration, in The Washington Post. President Obama mustn't appear neutral just to avoid being criticized for meddling. "It would be a cruel irony if, in an effort to avoid imposing democracy, the United States were to tip the scale toward dictators who impose their will on people struggling for freedom."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Hamas and Fatah sign unity agreement in Beijing
Speed Read China brokered a reconciliation deal between the rival Palestinian factions
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
The Earth just saw its hottest day on record
Speed Read July 21, 2024 was the hottest day in recorded global history
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Bob Menendez to resign after corruption conviction
Speed Read The New Jersey senator submitted to resignation pressure following charges of federal bribery and corruption
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published