The people of Iran just elected Hassan Rohani, the presidential candidate who least resembles current hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. See a Reuters article on the Yahoo News website for details.
As the article points out, this will not have any immediate effects on military and foreign affairs. These are controlled by "Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei" in Iran's "hybrid clerical-republican system."
COTTonLINE believes almost all governments exist with a substantial degree of public support, even those thought to be dictatorships. The people of Iran just sent a very unambiguous message to their government.
Their clear message is this: Ahmadinejad had it wrong, change course. Even Ayatollah Khamenei must pay some attention, however much he would rather not.
It is possible Iran will become a less belligerent member of the family of nations in the years going forward. At least if it happens, COTTonLINE will not be entirely surprised.
