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To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (65094)	6/16/2005 6:55:59 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Election here tomorrow: For its future, Iran looks to its past Former president is the front-runner in Friday's election By Brian Murphy The Associated Press Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, second from right, was Iran's president from 1989 to 1997 and is favored in Friday's presidential elections. His policy with the U.S., he says, is one of relaxed tensions. (Kamran Jebreili/The Associated Press) TEHRAN, Iran - The system has been good to Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani. His connections and cunning since the 1979 Islamic Revolution have brought him wealth, power and privilege. Now, as the front-runner in Friday's presidential elections, another chapter could open in the Iranian equivalent of a blockbuster: a chance to regain the presidency he held in 1989-97. Rafsanjani's backers joined in a blitz of distributing fliers and posters Wednesday before the formal end of campaigning. Young supporters chanted his name like cheerleaders. Girls on roller skates buzzed around Tehran with Rafsanjani stickers on their knee-length tunics. But no one really needs reminding. Rafsanjani has been a staple of debates since he began his ascent through the order created by the Islamic revolution of 1979. It has led him to the heights of political and business power. His family empire runs an airline, the construction contract to expand the Tehran subway and the largest chunk of Iran's $400 million pistachio export business. Iranian newspapers say the 70-year-old turban-wearing tycoon is the most likely candidate to win the presidency - which he left in 1997 because the law did not permit him to run three times in succession. ''He is the most powerful man in Iran,'' said Muqtedar Khan, a professor of Islamic political studies at Adrian College in Michigan. ''He is both a king and a king-maker. He's often been called the power behind the throne.'' That is because of his close ties to both the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founding father of the revolution, and his successor as supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final word on every important matter in Iran. Some analysts say Rafsanjani may be one of the few politicians capable of challenging Khamenei, who staunchly opposes dialogue with the United States. The outgoing president, Mohammad Khatami, failed to get Khamenei to approve his major reforms. ''I am going for a policy of relaxation of tensions and detente, and this is a policy I will apply toward the United States as well,'' Rafsanjani said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday.

To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (65094)	6/16/2005 11:01:36 AM
From: energyplay	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

Re: Iran -India pipleine - still a long way from any money moving. Besides continuing efforts to put pressure on iran. I also think (my opinion / guess) there is a US preference to make sure China gets their energy needs met first. Large US FDI in China is one reason - an energy shortage hurts those investments. Also a trade off for various foreign policy objectives, like containing North Korea. Unocal's Asia assets may be a bargaining chip in this.