IRAN ON THE EDGE - AT 7:19 A.M. ET:  The tensions in Iran are smoldering.  AFP reports on the latest maneuver by the ruling crowd:

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran's election watchdog said on Tuesday it was ready for a recount in the hotly disputed presidential vote as the nation braced for further protests after seven people were killed in street battles.

The stage was set for possible further confrontations as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's camp and supporters of defeated rival Mir Hossein Mousavi both called for rallies in the biggest outpouring of public anger since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

In an apparent bid to quell the unrest, the Guardians Council election watchdog said it was prepared for a recount if irregularities were found in Friday's election, which gave Ahmadinejad a landslide win over Mousavi.

Seven people were killed in fighting in Tehran on Monday after a mass rally which saw Mousavi appear in public for the first time since polling day, and demonstrations have also spread to other major cities across the country.

COMMENT:  The recount will be a farce.  It will only be held if  "irregularities" are found in the election.  We know what the result will be.

The Obama administration's response to the Iran turbulence - very typically Carteresque - is to do nothing much and to continue plans for an "outreach" to the Iranian regime.  Must be awfully encouraging to the people in the streets.

Obama came to office saying he wanted Americans to feel proud of their country again.  Well, most of us never lost our pride.  But we can quickly lose our pride in this country's foreign policy with Mr. Obama guiding, or torpedoing, the ship of state.

June 16, 2009