Iran is moderating!
Iran is moderating!
Iran is moderating!

Sweet! Does that mean they're going to give up their nuclear program? No, actually the ostensible moderate is the guy who kicked off their Manhattan Project all the way back in 1987:

International Atomic Energy Agency documents revealed that Iran began a secret nuclear program during the tenure of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition leader running against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The documents, which Iran transferred to the IAEA several years ago, show that Tehran decided in 1987 to purchase the centrifuges it is using to enrich uranium. Mousavi, who is seen as a moderate candidate in the West, served as Iran's prime minister between 1981 and 1989, and while that position has since been eliminated from Iranian politics, it was an executive position that was similar in nature to the current presidential role.

One of the documents revealed that the then-head of Iran's atomic energy organization requested Mousavi's approval for purchasing the centrifuges on the black market. Iran subsequently acquired the centrifuges through the smuggling ring of Pakistani scientist Abd al-Qadir Khan. The document from March 1987, classified as secret, said that Iran's then-chief atomic energy official said Tehran's activities related to Khan must remain secret. The document appeared as part of a quarterly report the IAEA issues as part of its supervision of Tehran's nuclear program.

Well that sucks. And I had such high hopes this time around.

I mean, sure the Guardian Council has excluded so many moderates that even a Presidential transition won't much affect Iran's ideological posture. And sure they've put another thousand centrifuges online in the last few months. And sure they're blocking IAEA inspections And sure a prominent member of Iran's military establishment, which answers mostly to Khamenei and is insulated from the election, just threatened to destroy Israel with "one strike."

But Roger Cohen says that Iran is "teetering on the brink of change," justifying his months of abject apologism. How can something that's both smug and sniveling be wrong?

References and previously...