• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Karim Sadjadpour"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Middle East",
    "Iran"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

Aftermath of Iran's Presidential Elections

The surprise announcement that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won outright the first round of Iran’s presidential election has been met with widespread allegations of fraud and domestic unrest.

Link Copied
By Karim Sadjadpour
Published on Jun 14, 2009
Program mobile hero image

Program

Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

Learn More

Source: CSPAN's Washington Journal

The surprise announcement that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won outright the first round of Iran’s presidential election has been confronted with widespread allegations of fraud within Iran and domestic unrest. Karim Sadjadpour discusses the results of the Iranian elections and the role of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, "Presidential elections are not for the most powerful post in Iran. The most powerful post is held by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. That is an unelected position and Khamenei has held this position for twenty years now, so he's going to have to be the major arbiter in this situation but it's widely believed, and I think it's correctly believed, that Ayatollah Khamenei essentially selected Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president. Ahmadinejad is a Khamenei man. So he's not exactly an objective arbitrator in this situation."

About the Author

Karim Sadjadpour

Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Karim Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Iran and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.

    Recent Work

  • Q&A
    Iran Wanted to Survive the War. Now What?

      Suzanne Maloney, Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour

  • Q&A
    What’s Keeping the Iranian Regime in Power—for Now

      Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour, Robin Wright

Karim Sadjadpour
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Karim Sadjadpour
Political ReformForeign PolicyMiddle EastIran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Hands holding up a book on a beach
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Carnegie’s Summer Beach Reads

    Carnegie experts recommend the books that kept them turning pages—and learning along the way.


      • Steve Feldstein
      • +8

      Sophia Besch, Eric Ciaramella, Steve Feldstein, …

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Taking the Pulse: Enough with the Annual NATO Summits, Already?

    Over the past ten years, NATO has held almost as many summits as it did during the entirety of the Cold War. Are they still useful, or is it time to stop holding annual meetings?

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz, ed.

  • exterior of a building
    Commentary
    Emissary
    What’s Driving the Trump Administration’s Push to Dismantle the ICC?

    The move is an escalation of its war on multilateralism.

      Stewart Patrick

  • Europe from Scratch: Visions for a New European Order
    Report
    Europe from Scratch: Visions for a New European Order

    As the EU confronts profound challenges, several leaders have called for fundamental reform to the union’s model—but only modest, superficial changes have resulted. What if Europe really could be reimagined from zero today: What should such a redesigned European order look like?

      Richard Youngs, ed.

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    European Sycophancy Worked on Trump

    Nearly a year and a half after Europeans leaned into sucking up to Trump, the strategy has produced some benefits when it comes to Ukraine.

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.