Iran certifies Ahmadinejad win

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wins! Again.

Iran’s Guardian Council Monday performed a recount of a random sampling of 10 percent of the ballots cast in the June 12 presidential election.

The result: No irregularities.

None.

"The Guardian Council approval of the vote negates the possibility of an election re-run," Iran's English-language Press TV reported on its website.

Mir Hossein Mousavi, the main challenger to President Ahmadinejad’s reelection, had sought that the council annul the vote because of widespread doubts over the legitimacy of the results. The official results showed Ahmadinejad won 63 percent of the vote, and mr. Mousavi got 34 percent.

The recount results weren’t a surprise. As Scott Peterson reported earlier today, Iran's state news agency gave a big clue as to which way the recount was headed: In one district, Ahmadinejad got even more votes than he had on June 12.

The Guardian Council was scheduled to certify the election results last week, but extended the deadline. The recount fig leaf may have bought the regime some time, time for protesters to reconsider their street demos, and for some of the other presidential candidates, who have been vocal about the election results, to reconsider their positions.

What's Mousavi's next move?