Iranian vote deals blow to US dialogue hopes as concerns increase

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's declared landslide win, which triggered riots by opposition supporters and furious complaints of cheating from his defeated rivals, will also complicate international efforts to halt Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, experts said.

Although Obama has said his outreach to arch-foe Iran does not depend on its leaders, he will have to deal with a man who has been hostile to the United States, intransigent on his controversial nuclear program and vowed to "wipe out" top U.S. ally Israel, AFP reported.

Obama’s young administration now faces a gamble: join the chorus of Ahmadinejad’s rivals who say votes were rigged and face criticism over interfering in Iran’s internal affairs, or contain its indignation and face the criticism of rights advocates.

The White House's initial reaction, a brief statement by spokesman Robert Gibbs, reflected the delicate balance Obama now faces.

The United States is "impressed by the vigorous debate and enthusiasm that this election generated" and continues "to monitor the entire situation closely, including reports of irregularities," AFP reported Gibbs as saying.

In a policy shift from his predecessor, opting for firm yet direct dialogue with the Islamic republic, Obama on Friday again reiterated that he would seek engagement with "whoever ends up winning the election in Iran."

DOUBTS ON LEGITIMACY

Political experts voiced doubts on the legitimacy of the results announced by Iranian officials, predicting a difficult road ahead.

"This is the worst result," Thomas Pickering, a former under secretary of state, told The New York Times as he commented on the vote outcome. "The U.S. will have to worry about being perceived as pandering to a president whose legitimacy is in question. It clearly makes the notion of providing incentives quite unappetizing."

But Obama will likely continue his efforts, having said he wants to see serious progress on his diplomatic outreach by the end of the year, albeit after a possible pause of several weeks to allow the dust to settle in Iran.

In his second term, experts said Ahmadinejad may show more willingness to negotiate on his country’s nuclear program, which Western powers suspect of concealing efforts to build atomic weapons, a charge Tehran vehemently denies.

But non-proliferation expert Joseph Cirincione said the Iranian president may approach those negotiations bolstered by his election victory.

"The good news is that Ahmadinejad has got his negotiating team in place and is ready to engage the Obama administration immediately," he said. "The bad news is that he is going to come back with a hard line and not be in the mood to compromise."

EU CONCERNS

The European Union has expressed concern over how Iran’s presidential elections have been conducted in a vote outcome disputed by Ahmadinejad’s reformist rival Mousavi.

The 27-nation bloc says it is "concerned about alleged irregularities" during Fridays vote and post-election violence that erupted after the release of results on Saturday, AP reported on Sunday.

The EU in a statement released late Saturday says it hopes the outcome of the elections will ease tensions between Iran and the international community over its nuclear program.