Morning Joe: June 10, 2009

The Closing Days of the Iranian Elections

Stories we're following today:

Iran Awakens Yet Again - Roger Cohen in The New York Times [link]

• Iran, its internal fissures exposed as never before, is teetering again on the brink of change.
• Iran’s democracy is incomplete, but vigorous to the point of unpredictability. Nobody knows who will triumph in an election that chooses the second most powerful figure in Iran under the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but some things are already clear...

 Tauscher Starts Senate Confirmation hearing - San Fransisco Chronicle [link]

• If confirmed by the Senate as expected to become the nation's top arms-control official, the Walnut Creek Democrat will face a daunting array of problems: a freshly provocative North Korea that conducted a second nuclear test amid a leadership succession drama, instability in nuclear-armed Pakistan, nuclear ambitions in Iran and a rising threat of non-state actors obtaining weapons of mass destruction.
• As a senior presidential adviser, Rep. Ellen Tauscher will be central to the Obama administration's efforts to restart arms-control efforts in a radically changing world.

Russia Military Says Needs 1,500 Warheads - Reuters [link]

• "In this contract on a new strategic forces treaty, Russia must not have less than 1,500 nuclear warheads, but this decision is up to the political authorities of the country," Solovtsov [commander of Russia's Strategic Nuclear Forces] told Interfax.

Iran's New Revolution - Cameron Abadi in Foreign Policy [link]

• Ahmadinejad’s crowds are scarily big -- but it’s unlikely rock star Mousavi who’s got the kids screaming.
• Meanwhile, the students are hoping for a Mousavi victory, though they predict hard times no matter who comes out on top. The dangers of another term for Ahmadinejad are obvious. But if Mousavi prevails, most Iranians anticipate that conservatives entrenched in the government bureaucracies will feel compelled to flex their muscles, as they did during the administration of Mohammed Khatami, Iran's previous reformist president.

Presidential Power in Iran - Backgrounder from CFR.org [link]

• Some experts suggest that despite the president's lack of absolute authority in Iran, the political leaning of the office holder can shape, albeit subtly, the direction of regime policies.

Man Behind Iran Policy Faces Big Task - Washington Post[link]

• Ross Is Seeking Engagement With Pressure.
• As one of the main architects of the Obama administration's Iran policy, Ross is crafting a way to reach out to Iran to persuade its leaders to abandon any plan to develop nuclear weapons. President Obama says this effort will have to show results by the end of the year.

N. Korea's Belligerence Seen as Succession Drama - Washington Post [link]

• he top defense official in South Korea told troops this week that North Korea is launching missiles, testing nuclear devices and whipping up global tension so that its ailing leader, Kim Jong Il, can create conditions for a "hereditary transfer of power."

Views from Iran

Photo Essay: Ahmadi Bye-Bye in Iran? - Foreign Policy [link]