Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday April 11th, 2006
declared that it has gained ticket to join global nuclear club by having successfully
produced 3.5 percent enriched uranium, a technological leap in the process for
nuclear power plant construction
Since the presidential elections in Iran, many bizarre stories and rumors have circulated
about Ahmadinejad. Many of them are related to his devotion to the 12th Imam, also known
as Imam Mahdi, who according to Muslims has disappeared and will return at the end of time
to lead an era of Islamic justice. During his September speech at the UN, Ahmadinejad
called for the reappearance of the 12th Imam. In mid-November, during a speech to Friday
prayers leaders from across Iran, Ahmadinejad said that the main mission of the revolution
is to pave the way for the reappearance of the 12th Imam. In recent weeks, the president's
aides have denied a rumor that he ordered his cabinet to write a pact of loyalty with the
12th Imam and throw it down a well near the holy city of Qom, where some believe the Imam
is hiding.
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad says that when he delivered his speech at the UN
General Assembly in September, he felt there was a light around him and that the attention
of the world leaders in the audience was unblinkingly focused upon him. The claim has
caused a stir in Iran, as a transcript and video recording of Ahmadinejad's comments have
been published on an Iranian website, baztab.com. There are also reports that a CD showing
Ahmadinejad making the comments also has been widely distributed in Iran. Is the Iranian
president claiming to be divinely inspired?
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accepted an invitation to visit Cuba
from President Fidel Castro, in gratitude for Cuba's support of Iran's nuclear program,
the official Granma newspaper said on Tuesday.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has described the Holocaust as "a
myth" and suggested that Israel be moved to Europe, the United States,
Canada or Alaska.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has openly called for Israel to be wiped off
the map. "The establishment of the Zionist regime was a move by the world
oppressor against the Islamic world," the president told a conference in Tehran on
Wednesday, entitled The World without Zionism.
"The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny. The outcome of
hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land,"
he said. "As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map," said Ahmadinejad,
referring to Iran's revolutionary leader Ayat Allah Khomeini.
His comments were the first time in years that such a high-ranking Iranian official has
called for Israel's eradication, even though such slogans are still regularly used at
government rallies.
Call for unity
Addressing about 4000 students gathered in an Interior Ministry conference hall,
Ahmadinejad also called for Palestinian unity, resistance and a point "where the
annihilation of the Zionist regime will come". Khatami was in favour of 'dialogue
among civilisations' "The Islamic umma (community) will not allow its historic
enemy to live in its heartland," he said in the fiery speech that centred on a
"historic war between the oppressor and the world of Islam".
The term "oppressor" is used by the clerical government to refer to the United
States.
"We should not settle for a piece of land," he said of Israel's pullout from the
Gaza Strip.
"Anyone who signs a treaty which recognises the entity of Israel means he has signed
the surrender of the Muslim world," Ahmadinejad said.
"Any leaders in the Islamic umma who recognise Israel face the wrath of their own
people."
Major change
Ahmadinejad, a veteran of Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards, took office in August
after scoring a landslide win in a June presidential election. His tone represents a major
change from that of former president Mohammad Khatami, whose favoured topic was
"dialogue among civilisations" and who led an effort to improve Iran's relations
with the West.
But Ahmadinejad instead spoke of a "historic war". "It dates backs hundreds
of years. Sometimes Islam has advanced. Sometimes nobody was winning. Unfortunately over
the past 300 years, the world of Islam has been in retreat," he lamented.
"The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny.
The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land"
"One hundred years ago the last trench of Islam fell, when the oppressors went
towards the creation the Zionist regime. It is using it as a fort to spread its aims in
the heart of the Islamic world."
In September, Bahrain announced it was ending a decades-old law banning trade ties with
Israel. Earlier this month, Qatar said it was donating US$6 million to help build a soccer
stadium for a mixed Arab-Jewish team, the first such financial assistance by an Arab state
for any town inside Israel.
Unprecedented steps
The modest but unprecedented steps were seen as a response to Israel's withdrawal from the
Gaza Strip in September. Nevertheless, Ahmadinejad said, "There is no doubt that the
new wave (of attacks) in Palestine will soon wipe off this disgraceful blot (Israel) from
the face of the Islamic world."
"Ahmadinejad has clearly declared the doctrine of his government. He is returning
Iran to the revolutionary goals it was pursuing in the 1980s," said Mohammad Sadeq
Hosseini, an expert on Middle Eastern affairs.
"By these comments, Ahmadinejad is committing himself to those goals. He is also
sending the message that his government won't back down."
Israeli response
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev issued a vague response. "Today,
Israelis heard two extremists speak openly about destroying the Jewish state. One was the
new president of Iran, and the other was the leader of Hamas, Mahmoud Zahar.
"And it appears the problem with these extremists is that they followed through on
their violent declarations with violent actions."
The United States said Ahmadinejad's remarks proved the accuracy of Washington's fears
about Iran's contentious nuclear programme.
"I think it reconfirms what we have been saying about the regime in Iran. It
underscores the concerns we have about Iran's nuclear intentions,"
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
Ebrahim Yazdi, a former Iranian foreign minister, said Ahmadinejad's remarks harmed Iran.
"Such comments provoke the international community against us. It's not to Iran's
interests at all. It's harmful to Iran to make such a statement," he said.
He said the comments gave Israel justification for urging the world to take a tougher
stand against Iran and refer its nuclear programme to the UN Security Council for possible
sanctions. |
