A few days before the June 12 vote, the following text message was circulating among Iranians: “In order to speed up the vote-counting process, the Interior Ministry has already begun counting the votes. From the election headquarters of the Interior Ministry.”
But no more wry text messages are emerging from Iran. The country’s SMS infrastructure has been blocked since election day.
Instead, e-mails and social networking sites offer an insight into Iranians’ mood.
One e-mail from Iran reads: “It’s a day of mourning today. Helpless Iranians are in mourning.”
Another refers to “the death of democracy and hope.”
Another: “I offer my condolences to the people for the June 12 coup d’etat and the transformation of the Islamic Republic [of Iran] into the Islamic [dictatorship]”
Also by e-mail: “This was a selection.”
On Facebook: “Where is my vote?”
From Twitter: “Iranians’ hopes have joined the kingdom of heaven.”
And on the ground in Iran, Radio Farda reports, protesters were chanting "Mahmud, get lost!", “Death to the Dictator”, and “Musavi, Musavi, give us back our vote.”
-- Golnaz Esfandiari