Biden has doubts about Ahmadinejad win

Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday cast serious doubt over Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s surprisingly easy reelection win over the weekend.

“We don’t have all the details, but it sure looks like the way they’re suppressing speech, the way they’re suppressing crowds, the way in which people are being treated, that there’s some real doubt about that,” Biden said on NBC’s "Meet the Press" with David Gregory. “I don’t think we’re in a position to say.”

At the same time, Biden called Ahmadinejad’s reported share of the vote – more than 62 percent – “surprising” and admitted his own doubts.

“I have doubts, but we’re going to withhold comment until we have a thorough review of whole process and how they acted in the aftermath,” Biden said.

Pressed further, Biden sought more caution.

“I’m getting a little ahead of myself here,” he said. “We have to see what the results were, we have to have an analysis of it."

Biden declined to say Ahmadinejad is not the president of Iran.

“That’s what they’re announcing,” he said. “We have to accept that for the time being. But there’s an awful lot of question about how this election was run.”

Biden said nothing that has happened in recent days changes the Obama administration's commitment to meeting with whoever leads Iran.

Obama has pledged to meet with foreign leaders like Ahmadinejad without preconditions.

"Talks with Iran are not a reward for good behavior," Biden said. "They're only a consequence, if the president makes a judgment that's in the best interest of the United States of America -- our national security interests -- to talk with the Iranian regime."

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