Widely criticized for muting its initial response to Iran’s 2009 crackdown on post-election protesters, President Barack Obama's administration has been quicker and harder off the mark this time while taking other steps to show its support for ordinary Iranians.

With voting still weeks away, Secretary of State John Kerry harshly chided Iran for its unusual system of vetting presidential candidates. In response to a question at a news conference in Israel on May 24, Kerry said, “I can’t think of anybody in the world looking at Iran’s election who wouldn’t be amazed by a process by which an unelected Guardian Council, which is unaccountable to the Iranian people, has actually disqualified hundreds of candidates, potential candidates, according to very vague criteria, which the Iranian people are not privileged to know or judge by.”

While Kerry went on to say that the Obama administration still hopes for a peaceful resolution of the nuclear dispute with Iran, the tough remarks suggest minimal US optimism that Iran will use the transition from the eight-year presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to pivot on the nuclear front.

Iran’s vetting process means that the June 14 presidential election is “highly unlikely … to represent the broad will of the Iranian people or represent a change of any legitimate kind,” Kerry said.