Sometimes the bear eats you and sometimes Mesbah Yazdi and the Hojatieh bite the big one

Election returns in Tehran come across like this:
"This is a blow for Ahmadinejad and Mesbah-Yazdi's list," said one political analyst, who declined to be quoted by name.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's allies failed to dominate elections for a powerful Iranian clerical body and local councils, early results showed on Sunday, in what analysts said was a setback to the president's standing.

Friday's twin elections for the clerical Assembly of Experts and local councils, the first nationwide vote since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005, will not directly impact policy.

But turnout of around 60 percent and Ahmadinejad's close identification with some candidates, particularly in Tehran, suggested a shift toward more moderate policies and away from the president's ultra-conservative line.

Although not
Iran's most powerful figure, Ahmadinejad's anti-
Israel and anti-Western statements alarm the West, which fears Iran is seeking an atomic bomb despite Tehran's denials.

"The results show that voters have learned from the past and concluded that we need to support ... moderate figures," the daily Kargozaran said in an editorial.

Kargozaran is close to former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a moderate cleric who state media said led the count in Tehran for the Assembly of Experts. Rafsanjani lost to Ahmadinejad in the 2005 presidential race.

Now before we get too excited, the moderate cleric....Rafsanjani

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