US hopes Iran vote will end holding pattern

Whatever the outcome of Iran's June 12 presidential election, the Obama administration hopes Tehran will then end months of stalling and respond to Washington's overtures for better relations. Whether the winner is firebrand anti-American incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or his more moderate key rival, former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi, the prevailing view is that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls the shots.

Ultimately, the most important decisions on where this goes will be made by the Ayatollah and not the new (Iranian) president," said a senior US official, who asked not to be named as Washington does not want to be seen as interfering in the election, which could result in a run-off on June 19.

But experts say a win by Mousavi could improve the climate for either bilateral talks or those between major powers and Tehran to settle disputes over its nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at building a bomb. Tehran says the program is for peaceful purposes to produce much-needed power.