An aide to the opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi claims that his candidate has won the 2009 Iranian presidential election. Exactly how accurate that claim is remains unclear, as exit polls and preliminary results aren’t due for hours yet.

If true, however, that would be good news for attempts to halt Iran’s nuclear program and ratchet-down tensions between Iran and the United States. Mousavi doesn’t deny the Holocaust (actually, he condemns the deaths of Jews during the Holocaust), supports more rights for women, and wants better relations with the west.

Update: State-run media now says that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has won re-election with a majority of the vote. Oy vey.