I am very pleased to announce that Press TV has joined Livestation as of yesterday 2 June 2009.

Press TV offers a very distinctive view of international news and it broadcasts from Tehran in English 24/7.

Tonight we have the exclusive opportunity to bring you the first ever Iranian presidential debate live between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (profile here) and his challenger in the forthcoming election Mir-Hossein Mousavi (profile here).

You can read more on the elections on the Press TV site here

The debate will be translated live and the chat room on the Press TV channel on the Livestation player will be available for viewers who want to share their views. We are hoping to have someone from Press TV in the room as well.

Press TV’s producer, Alireza Hajhosseini, will be on location getting firsthand reactions from Iranian Candidates’ advisors and forwarding them to Press TV’s Election Blogger, Farhod Family, during the exclusive live chat at Press TV on Livestation.com.

Join the conversation tonight at 1800GMT (2130 Tehran time) on the Livestation player on Press TV or watch on the website.

Livestation viewers watching a live debate between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his challenger in the forthcoming election Mir-Hossein Mousavi voted in favour of the challenger during and at the end of the 90 minutes event.

Thousands watched the debate live on Livestation and hundreds of viewers took part in a live, instant chat as the two candidates set out their position. Half way through the debate, Press TV producers took a poll of how the candidates had fared.

In the first poll, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad polled 31% of the vote with Mir-Hossein Mousavi winning 47%, with 22% undecided.

In the second poll, as the debate drew to a close, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad polled 38% of the vote with Mir-Hossein Mousavi winning 49%, leaving 13% undecided.

Press TV is the latest channel to join Livestation. You can download the Livestation player free of charge at www.livestation.com

On Friday, Iran’s 46 million voters go to the polls to choose their next president. Will the incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, remain in office or be pushed out by one of three other contenders? Former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi is running a close race and has surged in popularity during the two-week official campaign period – but will it be enough for him to win?

What are the issues facing the country? And what is at stake for the rest of the world?

On Thursday 11 June 2009, Riz discusses the potential scenarios with Hooman Majd, President Ahmadinejad’s former translator and author of the book, “The Ayatollah Begs To Differ.”

You can join the conversation on Livestation. Watch the show live at 2030gmt, with repeats the next day at 0030gmt, 0530gmt and 1130gmt.

Those currently watching the Iranian election through the eyes of Western media now have an alternative perspective that offers a unique insight into the significance of the historic event.

Press TV, broadcast live from Tehran, is now streamed 24 hours a day and seven days a week on Livestation, the destination for live TV over broadband.

With a couple of clicks you can download the Livestation player, absolutely free of charge and totally safe, and be watching the election from an Iranian point of view.

Not only that, but the Livestation player comes packed with a host of interactive features which enables any viewer to engage in real-time live chat about the TV output and take part in instant polls.

Livestation has already streamed the key Iranian presidential debates when hundreds packed the chat room and were polled on who they thought had fared the best.

The Livestation player can be minimised in widget form to sit neatly in the corner of your computer screen set to always on top to enable you to get on with other stuff while you keep an eye on the news.

And you can flick through the current Livestation channel list of official partner channels, such as BBC World, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, France 24, Russia Today, and of course, Press TV, or one of the hundreds of user-added channels that pop up in the player. And yes, you can add any of your favourite legal web streams for your own personal use.

So download now and watch this internationally-significant election from a wide range of perspectives.