Why Khamenei did it

The Financial Times editorial board has an interesting (and unelaborated) take on why Khamenei and cohorts rigged the June 12 election:

Mr Khamenei and his entourage took such a costly risk at the elections because they fear the engagement tactics of Barack Obama. They trust only themselves to negotiate with him.

If that's true, the sequence of unintended consequences has been and will continue to be dizzying.