US skeptical of Iranian election results
US officials tell Fox News analysts find it 'not credible' that Mousavi lost balloting in his home town, but see no prospect of full-scale attempt to topple Ahmadinejad's regime
Washington – American officials are casting doubt over the results of Iran's election, in which the government declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner Saturday, FOX News reported.
Fox News quoted a senior US official as saying that analysts find it "not credible" that challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi would have lost the balloting in his hometown or that a third candidate, Mehdi Karoubi, would have received less than 1 percent of the total vote.
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Asked by Fox News if the turnout figures should be considered suspect, given the "not credible" counts for Mousavi and Karoubi, the official said the turnout clearly was questionable.
As for the reports of violence outside Mousavi's campaign headquarters and of huge demonstrations for both sides in central Tehran, analysts claim that even if widespread violence occurs, they see no prospect that this event would lead to a full-scale attempt at revolution or the toppling of the regime, said the report.
The dominant view among Obama administration officials, Fox News reported, is that the regime will look so bad as a result of whipping up Iranian hopes for democracy and then squelching them that the regime may feel compelled to show some conciliatory response to Obama's gestures of engagement.
