In Mein Kampf, Hitler observed: “... and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.”

So it has proved with Iran’s presidential elections, which have defied expectations of a close race or a defeat for President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad. It is tempting to think the results are merely indicative of the voter unpredictability seen since the surprise landslide victory of Mohammad Khatami in 1997, but this time elements in Iran may have planned the first truly organised election theft in the Islamic Republic’s brief history.