Philippe Bolopion in New York explains that the UN chief Ban Ki-moon “can’t afford to get in a fight” with certain heavyweight permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – namely Russia and China – which may endorse the declared result of the Iranian election.

Bolopion adds that another reason why the UN Security Council is not planning a meeting on the Iranian elections is that “Barack Obama is trying to extend a hand to Iran.”

Frédéric Simon in Brussels says the European Union has been “relatively low key”, but nevertheless on Monday was “leading the international condemnation of the violence which was taking place in Tehran, using much stronger words than the United States”.

Still, he explains, the EU is unlikely to add more pressure unless specific countries like France or Germany “really push for harsher diplomatic action”.

Romain Goguelin in Moscow reports that contrary to EU and US condemnations, “Russia has congratulated Ahmadinejad for his re-election.”

He adds that “democratic issues are not among the top priorities of Russian diplomacy”, explaining that the Russian-Iranian bond is grounded in common nuclear and oil interests.