Basij

Iranians voted in fiercely-contested presidential polls on May 19, standing in long lines to choose between Hassan Rouhani, the incumbent who wants normal ties with the West, and a populist challenger backed by powerful security hawks.

According to OECD data, nearly 19 percent of Turkish youth are unemployed. Some 13.3 percent of men aged 15-19, 18.3 percent of men aged 20-24 and 47.6 percent of women aged 20-24 are unemployed, not getting training and not getting an education.

I am not the greatest fan of the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially with regards to its passionate support for Syria's bloody tyranny. Yet I also have respect for Iran's current president, Hassan Rouhani, for both his effort to open Iran to the world and, more importantly, his effort to introduce a more liberal approach to Islam.