Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service
The majority of Iranians say they will vote to reelect  incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to a nationwide poll conducted across Iran before the June 12, 2009 Iranian Presidential elections. The poll conducted by Terror Free Tomorrow also says that Iranians overwhelmingly continue to favor better relations with the United States and would like to directly elect their Supreme Leader in a free vote.

Iranians envision their country’s future as being more Democratic and having better trade relations, said Ken Ballen, President of Terror Free Tomorrow. Even if Ahmadinejad is re-elected it “doesn’t mean they don’t support these goals... If he is re-elected its not on his policies...its on a new mandate.”

According to the poll report: "Over the past two years, 77 percent of Iranians back
normal relations and trade with the United States. 68 percent also favor Iran
working with the United States to help resolve the Iraq war, while 60 percent
back unconditional negotiations with the U.S. For more than six in ten Iranians, the most important steps the U.S. could take that would improve opinions of America are: a free trade treaty between Iran and the U.S.; the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, and increasing visas for
Iranians to study and work in the United States."

The poll also says that 62 percent of Iranians oppose any peace treaty recognizing the State of Israel. The majority Iranians also support Muslims continuing "to fight until there is no State of Israel in the Middle East," the poll said.

And positive diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Iran may come at a price. "Iranians also continue to support the idea of Western investment and aid to Iran. Seventy percent favor Western investment; 80 percent medical, education and humanitarian assistance from Western countries," the poll report said. However, "60 percent of Iranians also support the government of Iran providing military and financial assistance to Iraqi Shiite militias (33 percent oppose), while 62
percent back such assistance to Hezbollah in Lebanon (31 percent oppose). Again, however, as part of a deal with the United States, 54 percent of Iranians would endorse the Iranian government ending support for Iraqi militias,"the report said.

This is Terror Free Tomorrow's third poll in a series over the past two years. It was conducted by telephone inside Iran over May 11 to May 20, 2009, with 1,001 interviews proportionally distributed and covering all 30 provinces of Iran, with a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent.