Following Iran's Jun. 12 election, the country remains in a state of shock and turmoil, attempting to come to grips with what happened.

The conviction held by a significant part of the electorate that the vote was stolen has led to protests and demonstrations in the streets, while the harsh response and clampdown by riot police and vigilante forces, particularly against university students, have created an atmosphere reminiscent of revolutionary days.

Already brewing fissures among the Iranian political elite have turned into irreconcilable differences, confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran with its most serious crisis since the early post-1979 period.