The Iranians Mullahs new clothes.

(Tehran)  As we all know Iran has been getting a lot of bad press for the last few years. Be it its nuclear ambitions ,hanging gays,murdering women, deporting Afghans, supplying the Taliban or even promoting dissent with the neighbours (Lebanon, Iraq,Yemen,Gaza). The public face of the Iranian Government likes to present this viewpoint that everything is hunky dory within its borders and that the will of the people prevails.

Which is how the state broadcaster, IRIB decided to air a public vote to show the world that the Iranian people stand behind their Mullahs. After much deliberation they decided the question to ask the plebs was how did they feel about European sanctions and what should they do about it.

Unfortunately for the Mullahs the peoples of Iran aren't as stupid as they would like to think they are when after 2 days IRIB aired the results of their little poll which showed that 63% of respondents in favour of suspending uranium enrichment in exchange for the gradual easing of sanctions.

TV bosses quickly stopped the poll and replaced it with one seeking viewers' opinions on an Iranian parliament proposal to close the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically vital waterway in the Persian Gulf that is the passageway for about one-fifth of the world's oil supplies.

But that too appeared to backfire when 89% of respondents opposed closing the strait. It was subsequently replaced by another survey about the popular Iranian football club, Persepolis.