“Candidate Muhsin Rizai of the conservatives in Iran’s presidential elections, a former revolutionary Guards leader, criticizes Ahmadinejad and calls for opening to America….”

Of course, he gets worse flak from the candidate of the reformists. Maybe the mullahs want to get rid of the man; maybe the past four years have been turbulent for them also. Maybe they worry about the impact of the economy on voters. Or maybe they know most Iranians would like improved relations with the United States. At least all those I have met in the Middle East do. The caveat is: most those people I have talked to, even opponents and severe critics of the regime, support independence and toughness on the nuclear issue. Which means that no candidate, no matter what his leanings, will agree to Western demands on this issue. Which really complicates any prospect for a deal. Which is what is making many Arab government nervous, because they know all this as well as I do, if not better. Which might explain all the talk of nuclear reactors in weird places like Jordan.

Cheers