The election consisted of two rounds, pdq, which were held on June 17, 2005, with a run-off on June 24. The election had an almost 60 percent turnout. I don't know if the election was entirely free and clear or not, but Ahmadinejad's predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, was a moderate, and he managed to get elected, so I don't see how they could possibly be all that terribly controlled.

The US gov't can't support the more moderate leaders, the true power of the country lies with the mullahs and ayatollahs who continually disqualify any "moderate" from running.

This is not true, Chief Chaos. As I said above, Ahmadinejad's predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, was a moderate. He was the one who made the overtures to the US with his offers of unconditional negotiations, and by rebuffing that offer, the US undermined his position with his electorate. The US refused the offer of negotiations because the US wants Iran to be run by its most extreme elements. That way, they can justify their planned acts of aggression on that country. The more the US ratchets up its war rhetoric with regard to Iran, the more the US helps the more hardline elements in that country solidify their hold on power. Iran has quite a lot of pro-Western, pro-Democracy citizens and they are also saying that the US is undermining the more moderate elements in Iran. And they are saying that they wish we would stop doing that.