Mahmoud Ahmadinejad- the sixth President of the Iran
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad- the sixth President of the Iran
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad born 28 October 1956)[5][6] is the sixth and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country. Sony SVS13AA11L Battery
An engineer and teacher from a poor background,[7] Ahmadinejad joined the Office for Strengthening Unity[8] after the Islamic Revolution. Appointed a provincial governor, he was removed after the election of President Mohammad Khatami and returned to teaching.[9] Tehran's council elected him mayor in 2003.[1Sony SVS131A11L Battery
0] He took a religious hard line, reversing reforms of previous moderate mayors.[11] His 2005 presidential campaign, supported by the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, garnered 62% of the runoff election votes, and he became President on 3 August 2005.[12][1Sony SVS131B11L Battery
Ahmadinejad is a controversial figure both within Iran and internationally.[citation needed] He has been criticized domestically for his economic lapses[14] and disregard for human rights.[15] Internationally he is criticized for his hostility towards some countries, Sony SVS151A11L Battery
Sony PCG-41413L Batterymost notably Israel, United Kingdom, and the United States of America. In 2007, Ahmadinejad introduced a gas rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption, and cut the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge.[16][17][18] He supports Iran's nuclear program. Sony SVS151B11L Battery
Sony PCG-41412L BatteryHis election to a second term in 2009 was widely disputed[19][20] and caused widespread protests domestically and drew significant international criticism.[21]
During his second term (ending 3 August 2013), Sony SVS151G1GL Battery
Sony PCG-41411L Battery Ahmadinejad came under fire not from reformers but from traditionalists[22] in parliament and the Revolution Guard, and even from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,[23] over alleged corruption, Ahmadinejad's dismissal of Intelligence minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i,
Sony PCG-41218L Batteryand his support for his controversial close adviser Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei.[24] On 14 March 2012, Ahmadinejad became the first president of the Islamic Republic of Iran to be summoned by the Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament) to answer questions regarding his presidency.[2Sony PCG-4121DL Battery
Sony PCG-41217L Battery5][26] Limited to two terms under the current Iranian constitution, Ahmadinejad supports Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei's campaign for president.[22]
Ahmadinejad was born near Garmsar, in the village of Aradan, in Semnan province. His father, Ahmad, was a grocer, barber and religious Shia who taught the Quran.[27] His mother, Khanom, was a Sayyida, an honorific title given to those believed to be direct bloodline descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[ Sony PCG-4121EL Battery
Sony PCG-41215L Battery27] Ahmadinejad's father changed his name from "Saborjhian"[28] or "Sabaghian"[29] when Ahmadinejad was four years old to avoid discrimination when the family moved to Tehran. Sabor is Persian for thread painter,[30] a once common occupation within the Semnan carpet industry.
Sony PCG-41214L BatteryAhmadinejad was chosen as it means from the race of Ahmad, one of the names given to Muhammad. Known for his relatively short stature, Ahmadinejad's height is reported to be 152 cm (5'2 feet).[31] Sony PCG-4121FL Battery
In 1976, Ahmadinejad took Iran's national university entrance contests. According to his autobiography, he was ranked 132nd out of 400,000 participants that year,[3Sony PCG-4121GL Battery
2] and soon enrolled in the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) as an undergraduate student of civil engineering. He earned his PhD (1997) in transportation engineering and planning from Iran University of Science and Technology, Sony PCG-41211L Battery
Sony PCG-41212L Batterylocated at Tehran, when he was the Mayor of Ardabil Province, located at the north-west of the country.
Supporters of Ahmadinejad consider him a "simple man" who leads a "modest" life.[33] As president, he wanted to continue living in the same house in Tehran his family had been living in until his security advisers insisted that he should move. Sony SVS13AB1GL Battery
Ahmadinejad had the antique Persian carpets in the Presidential palace sent to a carpet museum, and opted instead to use inexpensive carpets. He is said to have refused the V.I.P. seat on the Presidential plane, and that he eventually replaced it with a cargo plane instead.[9][
Sony PCG-91211L Battery34] Also upon gaining Iran's presidency, Ahmadinejad held his first cabinet meeting in the Imam Reza shrine at Mashhad, an act perceived as "pious".[35]
Administrative and academic careers[edit] Sony SVS131C1DL Battery
Some details of Ahmadinejad's life during the 1980s are not publicly known, but it is known that he held a number of administrative posts in the province of West Azerbaijan, Iran.[9]
Many reports say that after Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Iran, Ahmadinejad joined the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution[10Sony SVS131E1DL Battery
Sony PCG-71914L Battery] and served in their intelligence and security apparatus,[10] but his advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi says, "He has never been a member or an official member of the Revolutionary Guards", having been a Basiji-like volunteer instead.[36] Sony SVS131G1DL Battery
Ahmadinejad was accepted to a Master of Science program at his alma mater in 1986. He joined the faculty there as a lecturer in 1989,[7][37] and in 1997 received his doctorate in civil engineering and traffic transportation planning.[7][10] Sony SVS151C1GL Battery
Embassy siege[edit]
Main article: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the 1979 hostage crisis
Ahmadinejad at age 19
Shortly after Ahmadinejad was elected president, some western media outlets published claims that he was among the students who stormed the US embassy in Tehran, sparking the Iran hostage crisis. This claim has been denied by the Iranian government, the Iranian opposition as well as a CIA investigation on the matter. Sony SVS151E1GL Battery
Early political career[edit]
After the Islamic Revolution, Ahmadinejad became a member of the Office for Strengthening Unity,[8] an organization developed to prevent students from sympathizing or allying with the budding Mojahedin-e Khalq.[8] Sony PCG-61A11L Battery
He first took political office as unelected governor to both Maku and Khoy in West Azarbaijan Province during the 1980s.[10] He eventually became an advisor to the governor general of Kurdistan Province for two years.[7][ Sony PCG-61A13L Battery
37] During his doctoral studies at Tehran, he was appointed governor general of newly formed Ardabil Province from 1993 until Mohammad Khatami removed him in 1997,[37] whereupon he returned to teaching.[10] Sony PCG-61A14L Battery
Mayor of Tehran[edit]
In 2003, a 12-percent turnout elected conservative candidates from the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran to the City Council of Tehran.[ Sony PCG-71C11L Battery
Sony PCG-71713L Battery7] The Council appointed Ahmadinejad mayor.[10]
As mayor, he reversed changes made by previous moderate and reformist mayors. He put religious emphasis on the activities of cultural centres they had founded, publicised the separation of elevators for men and women in the municipality offices,[1Sony PCG-71C12L Battery
1] and suggested that people killed in the Iran–Iraq War be buried in major city squares of Tehran. He also worked to improve the traffic system and put an emphasis on charity, such as distributing free soup to the poor.
After his election to the presidency, Ahmadinejad's resignation as the Mayor of Tehran was accepted on 28 June 2005. After two years as mayor, Ahmadinejad was one of 65 finalists for World Mayor in 2005, selected from 550 nominees, only nine of them from Asia.[ Sony PCG-61813L Battery
Sony PCG-61913L Battery38] He was among three strong candidates for the top-ten list, but his resignation made him ineligible.[38]
Presidency[edit]
Further information: Government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005–present)
2005 campaign[edit]
Ahmadinejad was not widely known when he entered the presidential election campaign as he had never run for office before, (he had been mayor of Tehran for only two years and had been appointed, not elected),[39Sony SVE141C11L Battery
] although he had already made his mark in Tehran for rolling back earlier reforms. He was/is a member of the Central Council of the Islamic Society of Engineers, but his key political support is inside the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran (Abadgaran or Developers).[4Sony SVE141D11L Battery
0] He was also helped by support from supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who some described Ahmadinejad as a "protege" of.[41] Sony SVE151E11L Battery
Ahmadinejad generally sent mixed signals about his plans for his presidency, perhaps to attract both religious conservatives and the lower economic classes.[42] His campaign slogan was: "It's possible and we can do it".[43] Sony SVE151G11L Battery
In the campaign, he took a populist approach. He emphasized his own modest life, and compared himself with Mohammad Ali Rajai, Iran's second president. Ahmadinejad said he planned to create an "exemplary government for the people of the world" in Iran. Sony SVE151G13L Battery
He was a "principlist", acting politically based on Islamic and revolutionary principles. One of his goals was "putting the petroleum income on people's tables", meaning Iran's oil profits would be distributed among the poor.[44] Sony SVE171C11L Battery
Ahmadinejad was the only presidential candidate who spoke out against future relations with the United States. He told Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting the United Nations was "one-sided, stacked against the world of Islam."[45] Sony SVE171E12L Battery
Sony PCG-71211L Battery He opposed the veto power of the UN Security Council's five permanent members: "It is not just for a few states to sit and veto global approvals. Should such a privilege continue to exist,
Sony PCG-71318L Battery the Muslim world with a population of nearly 1.5 billion should be extended the same privilege." He defended Iran's nuclear program and accused "a few arrogant powers" of trying to limit Iran's industrial and technological development in this and other fields.
In his second-round campaign, he said, "We didn't participate in the revolution for turn-by-turn government....This revolution tries to reach a world-wide government." He spoke of an extended program using trade to improve foreign relations, Sony SVE171G112 Battery
Sony PCG-71316L Battery and called for greater ties with Iran's neighbours and ending visa requirements between states in the region, saying that "people should visit anywhere they wish freely. People should have freedom in their pilgrimages and tours."[43] Sony PCG-61713L Battery
Ahmadinejad described Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a senior cleric from Qom, as his ideological and spiritual mentor. Mesbah founded the Haghani School of thought in Iran. He and his team strongly supported Ahmadinejad's 2005 presidential campaign.[46] Sony PCG-91111L Battery
2005 election[edit]
Main article: Iranian presidential election, 2005
Ahmadinejad won 62 percent of the vote in the run-off poll against Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei authorized his presidency on 3 August 2005.[12][13] Ahmedinejad kissed Khamenei's hand during the ceremony to show his loyalty.[47][48]
2005 cabinet appointments[edit]
from the parliament for his selection of ministers.[5Sony PCG-3H3L Battery
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Sony PCG-5N4L Battery0] Ahmadinejad presented a short-list at a private meeting on 5 August, and his final list on 14 August. The Majlis rejected all of his cabinet candidates for the oil portfolio and objected to the appointment of his allies in senior government office.[44] The Majlis approved a cabinet on 24 August.[5Sony PCG-91112L Battery
Sony PCG-71218L Battery1] The ministers promised to meet frequently outside Tehran and held their first meeting on 25 August in Mashhad, with four empty seats for the unapproved nominees.[52]
2006 Councils and Assembly of Experts election[edit] Sony PCG-71312L Battery
Main articles: Iranian councils election, 2006 and Iranian Assembly of Experts election, 2006
Ahmadinejad’s team lost the 2006 city council elections,[53] and his spiritual mentor, Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, was ranked sixth on the country's Assembly of Experts. Sony PCG-61211L Battery
[citation needed] In the first nationwide election since Ahmadinejad became President, his allies failed to dominate election returns for the Assembly of Experts and local councils. Results, with a turnout of about 60%, Sony PCG-61215L Battery
Sony PCG-3H3L Batterysuggested a voter shift toward more moderate policies. According to an editorial in the Kargozaran independent daily newspaper, "The results show that voters have learned from the past and concluded that we need to support.. moderate figures." An Iranian political analyst said that "this is a blow for Ahmadinejad and Mesbah Yazdi's list."[53] Sony PCG-61311L Battery
2009 presidential election[edit]
Main article: Iranian presidential election, 2009
Ahmadinejad in Yekaterinburg, Russia, 16 June 2009
On 23 August 2008, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced that he "sees Ahmadinejad as president in the next five years," a comment interpreted as indicating support for Ahmadinejad's reelection.[54] 39,165,191 ballots were cast in the election on 12 June 2009, Sony PCG-61312L Battery
Sony PCG-3H1L Batteryaccording to Iran's election headquarters. Ahmadinejad won 24,527,516 votes, (62.63%). In second place, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, won 13,216,411 (33.75%) of the votes.[55] The election drew unprecedented public interest in Iran.[citation needed]
2012 parliamentary elections[edit]
Ahmadinejad suffered a defeat in March/May 2012 parliamentary elections with Ayatollah Khamenei’s "Principalist" allies winning about three quarters of the parliaments 290 seats, and Ahmadinejad supporters far fewer.[56] Sony PCG-61315L Battery
2009 Iranian election protests[edit]
Main article: 2009 Iranian election protests
As of April 2011, the election results remained in dispute with both Mousavi and Ahmadinejad and their respective supporters who believe that electoral fraud occurred during the election. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formally endorsed Ahmadinejad as President on 3 August 2009, and Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term on 5 August 2009.[ Sony PCG-61316L Battery
57] Iran's Constitution stipulates term limits of two terms for the office of President.[58] Several Iranian political figures appeared to avoid the ceremony. Former presidents Mohammad Khatami, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Sony PCG-61317L Battery
Sony PCG-3F4L Batterywho is currently head of the Expediency Discernment Council, along with opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, did not attend the ceremony.[59] Opposition groups asked protesters on reformist websites and blogs to launch new street demonstrations on the day of the inauguration ceremony.[60] Sony PCG-3B1L Battery
Sony PCG-3F3L Battery On inauguration day, hundreds of riot police met opposition protesters outside parliament. After taking the oath of office, which was broadcast live on Iranian state television, Ahmadinejad said that he would "protect the official faith, the system of the Islamic revolution and the constitution."[ Sony PCG-3B2L Battery
Sony PCG-3F2L Battery57] France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States announced that they would not send the usual letters of congratulation.[57] Sony PCG-3B3L Battery
Ahmadinejad announced controversial ministerial appointments for his second term. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei was briefly appointed as first vice president, but opposed by a number of Majlis members and by the intelligence minister, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i. Mashaei followed orders to resign. Ahmadinejad then appointed Mashaei as chief of staff, and fired Mohseni-Eje'i.[61]
On 26 July 2009, Ahmadinejad's government faced a legal problem after he sacked four ministers. Iran's constitution (Article 136) stipulates that, if more than half of its members are replaced, the cabinet may not meet or act before the Majlis approves the revised membership.[6Sony PCG-3B4L Battery
Sony PCG-3D4L Battery2] The vice chairman of the Majlis announced that no cabinet meetings or decisions would be legal, pending such a re-approval.[63]
The main list of 21 cabinet appointments was announced on 19 August 2009.[64] On 4 September, the Majlis approved 18 of the 21 candidates, Sony PCG-3C2L Battery
and rejected three, including two women. Sousan Keshavarz, Mohammad Aliabadi, and Fatemeh Ajorlou were not approved by Majlis for the Ministries of Education, Energy, and Welfare and Social Security, respectively. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi was the first woman approved by the Majlis as a minister in the Islamic Republic of Iran.[65] Sony PCG-3C3L Battery
In Ahmadinejad's first four years as president, Iran's real GDP reflected growth of the economy. Inflation and unemployment have also decreased under Ahmadinejad due to better economic management and ending the unsustainable spending and borrowing patterns of previous administrations .[66][ Sony PCG-5T3L Battery
67] Ahmadinejad increased spending by 25 percent and supported subsidies for food and petrol. He also initially refused a gradual increase of petrol prices, saying that after making necessary preparations, such as a development of public transportation system, the government would free up petrol prices after five years.[ Sony PCG-9Z1L Battery
68] Interest rates were cut by presidential decree to below the inflation rate. One unintended effect of this stimulation of the economy has been the bidding up of some urban real estate prices by two or three times their pre-Ahmadinejad value by Iranians seeking to invest surplus cash and finding few other safe opportunities. Sony PCG-9Z2L Battery
The resulting increase in the cost of housing hurt poorer, non-property owning Iranians, the putative beneficiaries of Ahmadinejad's populist policies.[6Sony PCG-7151L Battery
Sony PCG-8141L Battery] The Management and Planning Organisation, a state body charged with mapping out long-term economic and budget strategy, was broken up and its experienced managers were fired.[70] Sony PCG-7152L Battery
In June 2006, 50 Iranian economists wrote a letter to Ahmadinejad that criticized his price interventions to stabilize prices of goods, cement, government services, and his decree issued by the High Labor Council and the Ministry of Labor that proposed an increase of workers' salaries by 40 percent. Sony PCG-7153L Battery
Sony PCG-7185L Battery Ahmadinejad publicly responded harshly to the letter and denounced the accusations.[71][7
Sony PCG-7184L Battery2] Ahmadinejad called for "middle-of-the-road" compromises with respect to Western-oriented capitalism and socialism. Current political conflicts with the United States caused the central bank to fear increased capital flight due to global isolation. These factors prevented an improvement of infrastructure and capital influx, Sony PCG-7161L Battery
despite high economic potential.[66] Among those that did not vote for him in the first election, only 3.5 percent said they would consider voting for him in the next election.[7Sony PCG-7171L Battery
Sony PCG-7183L Battery3] Mohammad Khoshchehreh, a member of the Iranian parliament that campaigned for Ahmadinejad, said that his government "has been strong on populist slogans, but weak on achievement."[74] Sony PCG-7172L Battery
President Ahmadinejad changed almost all of his economic ministers, including oil, industry and economy, since coming to power in 2005. In an interview with Fars News Agency on April 2008, Davoud Danesh Jaafari who acted as minister of economy in Ahmadinejad’s cabinet, harshly criticized his economic policy: Sony PCG-7173L Battery
Sony PCG-7181L Battery "During my time, there was no positive attitude towards previous experiences or experienced people and there was no plan for the future. Peripheral issues which were not of dire importance to the nation were given priority. Most of the scientific economic concepts like the effect of liquidity on inflation were put in question."[7Sony PCG-41112L Battery
Sony PCG-81411L Battery5] In response to these criticisms, Ahmadinejad accused his minister of not being "a man of justice" and declared that the solution to Iran’s economic problem is "the culture of martyrdom".[76
Sony PCG-81314L Battery] In May 2008, the petroleum minister of Iran admitted that the government illegally invested 2 billion dollars to import petrol in 2007. At Iranian parliament, he also mentioned that he simply followed the president's order.[77] Sony PCG-51111L Battery
While his government had 275 thousand billion toman oil income, the highest in Iranian history, Ahmadinejad’s government had the highest budget deficit since the Iranian revolution.[78] Sony PCG-51211L Battery
During his presidency, Ahmadinejad launched a gasoline rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption. He also instituted cuts in the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge.[16][1Sony PCG-51311L Battery
7][79] He issued a directive that the Management and Planning Organization be affiliated to the government.[80] In May 2011, Ahmadinejad announced that he would temporarily run the Oil Ministry.[81] Sony PCG-51312L Battery
Family planning and population policy[edit]
See also: Family planning in Iran
In October 2006, Ahmadinejad began calling for the scrapping of Iran's existing birth-control policies which discouraged Iranian couples from having more than two children. He told MPs that Iran could cope with 50 million more people than the current 70 million. In November 2010, Sony PCG-51411L Battery
Sony PCG-81312L Battery he urged Iranians to marry and reproduce earlier, "We should take the age of marriage for boys to 20 and for girls to about 16 and 17."[8Sony PCG-51412L Battery
Sony PCG-81311L Battery2] His remarks have drawn criticism and been called ill-judged at a time when Iran was struggling with surging inflation and rising unemployment, estimated at around 11 percent. Ahmadinejad’s call was reminiscent of a call for Iranians to have more children made by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979. Sony PCG-51511L Battery
The policy increased Iran's population by 16 million in seven years[83] but was eventually reversed in response to the resultant economic strain.[84] Sony PCG-61412L Battery
In 2008, the government sent the "Family Protection Bill" to the Iranian parliament. Women's rights activists criticized the bill for removing protections from women, such as the requirement that a husband obtain his wife's consent before bringing another wife into the family. Women's rights in Iran are more religiously based than those in secular countries.[85] Sony PCG-81111L Battery
Housing[edit]
See also: Construction industry of Iran#Mehr Housing Scheme
The first legislation to emerge from his newly formed government was a 12 trillion rial (US$1.3 billion) fund called "Reza's Compassion Fund",[8Sony PCG-81112L Battery
Sony PCG-81114L Battery6] named after Shi'a Imam Ali al-Rida. Ahmadinejad's government said this fund would tap Iran's oil revenues to help young people get jobs, afford marriage, and buy their own homes.[87] The fund also sought charitable donations, Sony VPCF115FM battery
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with a board of trustees in each of Iran's 30 provinces. The legislation was a response to the cost of urban housing, which is pushing up the national average marital age (currently around 25 years for women and 28 years for men). In 2006 the Iranian parliament rejected the fund. However, Ahmadinejad ordered the administrative council to execute the plan.[88] Sony VPCF11MFX battery
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Human rights[edit]
See also: Human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Ahmadinejad speaking at Columbia University
According to a report by Human Rights Watch, "Since President Ahmadinejad came to power, treatment of detainees has worsened in Evin Prison as well as in detention centers operated clandestinely by the Judiciary, the Ministry of Information, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."[89] Again according to Human Rights Watch, Sony VPCF113FX battery
Dell Latitude E5510 Battery "Respect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and assembly, deteriorated in 2006. The government routinely tortures and mistreats detained dissidents, including through prolonged solitary confinement." Sony VPCF11LFX battery
Dell Latitude E5410 Battery Human Rights Watch described the source of human rights violations in contemporary Iran as coming from the Judiciary, accountable to Ali Khamenei, and from members directly appointed by Ahmadinejad. Sony VPCF11DGX battery
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Responses to dissent have varied. Human Rights Watch writes that "the Ahmadinejad government, in a pronounced shift from the policy under former president Mohammed Khatami, has shown no tolerance for peaceful protests and gatherings." In December 2006, Ahmadinejad advised officials not to disturb students who engaged in a protest during a speech of his at the Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran,[90] Sony VPCF112FX battery
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Dell Latitude E5500 Battery [91] although speakers at other protests have included among their complaints that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.[92]
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In April 2007, the Tehran police, which is under Khamenei's supervision, began a crackdown on women with "improper hijab." This led to criticism from associates of Ahmadinejad.[93]
In 2012, Ahmadinejad claimed that AIDS was created by the West in order to weaken poorer countries, and repeated a previous claim that homosexual Iranians did not exist. Sony VPCF11CGX battery
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[94] He has also described homosexuality as "ugly".[95]
Universities[edit]
See also: Higher education in Iran
In 2006, the Ahmadinejad[96] government reportedly forced numerous Iranian scientists and university professors to resign or to retire. It has been referred to as the "second cultural revolution".[97
Sony VPCF11PFX battery][98] The policy has been said to replace old professors with younger ones.[99] Some university professors received letters indicating their early retirement unexpectedly.[100] In November 2006, 53 university professors had to retire from Iran University of Science and Technology.[101] Sony VPCF111FX battery
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In 2006, Ahmadinejad's government applied a 50-percent quota for male students and 50-percent for female students in the university entrance exam for medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. The plan was supposed to stop the growing presence of female students in the universities. In a response to critics, Iranian minister of health and medical education,
Sony VPCF11BFX battery Kamran Bagheri Lankarani argued that there are not enough facilities such as dormitories for female students. Masoud Salehi, Sony VPCF11GGX battery
Sony VPCF11AFX battery president of Zahedan University said that presence of women generates some problems with transportation. Also, Ebrahim Mekaniki, president of Babol University of Medical Sciences, stated that an increase in the presence of women will make it difficult to distribute facilities in a suitable manner. Sony VPCF11NFX battery
Bagher Larijani, the president of Tehran University of Medical Sciences made similar remarks. According to Rooz Online, the quotas lack a legal foundation and are justified as support for "family" and "religion." Sony VPCF119GX battery
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December 2006 student protest[edit]
On 11 December 2006, some students disrupted a speech by Ahmadinejad at the Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) in Tehran. According to the Iranian Student News Agency, students set fire to photographs of Ahmadinejad and threw firecrackers. The protesters also chanted "death to the dictator." Dell latitude e6500 Battery
It was the first major public protest against Ahmadinejad since his election. In a statement carried on the students' Web site,[citation needed] they announced that they had been protesting the growing political pressure under Ahmadinejad, also accusing him of corruption, mismanagement, and discrimination. Dell Latitude E6400 ATG Battery
The statement added that "the students showed that despite vast propaganda, the president has not been able to deceive academia." It was also reported that some students were angry about the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust.[102] Dell Latitude E6400 XFR Battery
In response to the students' slogans, the president said: "We have been standing up to dictatorship so that no one will dare to establish dictatorship in a millennium even in the name of freedom. Given the scars inflicted on the Iranian nation by agents of the US and British dictatorship, no one will ever dare to initiate the rise of a dictator."[10Dell Latitude E6410 ATG Battery
3] It was reported that even though the protesters broke the TV cameras and threw hand-made bombs at Ahmadinejad,[104] the president asked the officials not to question or disturb the protesters.[105][10Dell Precision M4400 Battery
6] In his blog, Ahmadinejad described his reaction to the incident as "a feeling of joy" because of the freedom that people enjoyed after the revolution.[107] Dell Precision M4500 Battery
One thousand students also protested the day before to denounce the increased pressure on the reformist groups at the university. One week prior, more than two thousand students protested at Tehran University on the country's annual student day, with speakers saying that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.[102][108Dell Latitude E4310 Battery
Nuclear program[edit]
See also: Nuclear program of Iran
Ahmadinejad has been a vocal supporter of Iran's nuclear program, and has insisted that it is for peaceful purposes. He has repeatedly emphasized that building a nuclear bomb is not the policy of his government. He has said that such a policy is "illegal and against our religion."[ Dell Latitude E4320 Battery
Dell Latitude E5220 Battery109][110] He also added at a January 2006 conference in Tehran that a nation with "culture, logic and civilization" would not need nuclear weapons, and that countries that seek nuclear weapons are those that want to solve all problems by the use of force.[1
Dell Latitude E6530 Battery11] In a 2008 interview Ahmadinejad elaborated that countries striving to obtain nuclear weapons are not politically progressive nations and those who possess them and continually make new generations of such bombs are "even more backward".[112] Dell Latitude E4200 Battery
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In April 2006, Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully refined uranium to a stage suitable for the nuclear fuel cycle. In a speech to students and academics in Mashhad, he was quoted as saying that Iran's conditions had changed completely as it had become a nuclear state and could talk to other states from that stand.[11Dell Latitude E4300 Battery
3] On 13 April 2006, Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that the peaceful Iranian nuclear technology would not pose a threat to any party because "we want peace and stability and we will not cause injustice to anyone and at the same time we will not submit to injustice."[11
Dell Latitude E6430S Battery4] Nevertheless, Iran's nuclear policy under Ahmadinejad's administration has received much criticism, spearheaded by the United States and Israel. The accusations include that Iran is striving to obtain nuclear arms and developing long-range firing capabilities—and that Ahmadinejad issued an order to keep UN inspectors from freely visiting the nation's nuclear facilities and viewing their designs, in defiance of an IAEA resolution.[115][11
Dell Latitude E6430-ATG Battery6][117][118] Following a May 2009 test launch of a long-range missile, Ahmadinejad was quoted as telling the crowd that with its nuclear program, Iran was sending the West a message that "the Islamic Republic of Iran is running the show."[119] Dell Latitude E5520 Battery
Despite Ahmadinejad's vocal support for the program, the office of the Iranian president is not directly responsible for nuclear policy. It is instead set by the Supreme National Security Council. The council includes two representatives appointed by the Supreme Leader, Dell Latitude E6420 Battery
Dell Latitude E6420-ATG Battery military officials, and members of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government, and reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons in 2005.[120] Khamenei has criticized Ahmadinejad's "personalization" of the nuclear issue.[121] Dell Latitude E6520 Battery
Ahmadinejad vowed in February 2008 that Iran will not be held back from developing its peaceful nuclear program[122] and has stated that at least 16 different peaceful uses for nuclear technology have so far been identified.[112Dell Latitude E5530 Battery
Dell Latitude E6330 Battery] Ahmadinejad has stressed the importance of the right to peaceful nuclear development. Iranian opposition leader, Mousavi, has even stated that giving up the country's nuclear program would be "irreparable" and that the Iranian people support the nuclear program. "No one in Iran will accept suspension, Dell Latitude E6120 Battery
Dell Latitude E6230 Battery" Mousavi has said, adding that if elected, his policy would be to work to provide "guarantees" that Tehran's nuclear activities would never divert to non-peaceful aims.[123] Dell Latitude E6510 Battery
In October 2009, the United States, France and Russia proposed a U.N.-drafted deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program, in an effort to find a compromise between Iran's stated need for a nuclear reactor and the concerns of those who are worried that Iran harbors a secret intent of developing a nuclear weapon. After some delay in responding, on October 29, Dell XPS 14 Battery
Ahmadinejad seemed to change his tone towards the deal. "We welcome fuel exchange, nuclear co-operation, building of power plants and reactors and we are ready to co-operate," he said in a live broadcast on state television.[124Dell XPS 14D Battery
] However, he added that Iran would not retreat "one iota" on its right to a sovereign nuclear program.[125]
Domestic criticism and controversies[edit]
Alleged corruption[edit]
According to Brussels-based NGO International Crisis Group, Ahmadinejad has been criticized for attacking private "plunderers" and "corrupt officials," while engaging in "cronyism and political favouritism".Dell XPS 14D-L401X Battery
Dell XPS L502X Battery Many of his close associates have been appointed to positions for which they have no obvious qualifications, and "billion dollar no-bid contracts" have been awarded to the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), an organization with which he is strongly associated.[126]
Other statements[edit] Dell XPS 15 Battery
Participants of the second Caspian Summit. From left to right: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Dell XPS 15D Battery
In June 2007, Ahmadinejad was criticized by some Iranian parliament members over his remark about Christianity and Judaism. According to Aftab News Agency, Ahmadinejad stated: "In the world, there are deviations from the right path: Dell XPS 15-L501X Battery
Dell XPS 17-L702X Battery Christianity and Judaism. Dollars have been devoted to the propagation of these deviations. There are also false claims that these [religions] will save mankind. But Islam is the only religion that [can] save mankind." Some members of Iranian parliament criticized these remarks as being fuels to religious war.[127][12Dell XPS 15-L502X Battery
Conservative MP Rafat Bayat has accused Ahmadinejad for a decline in observance of the required hijab for women, calling him "not that strict on this issue".[129] Ahmadinejad has been also accused of indecency by people close to Rafsanjani, Dell XPS 15Z Battery
Dell XPS L702X Battery [130] after he publicly kissed the hand of a woman who used to be his school teacher.[131]
The UN and football stadiums[edit]
Two statements that have brought criticism from some religious authorities concern his speech at the United Nations, and the attendance of women at football matches. In a visit to group of Ayatollahs in Qom after returning from his 2005 speech to the UN General Assembly, Dell Inspiron 14V Battery
Dell Inspiron 14R BatteryAhmadinejad stated he had "felt a halo over his head" during his speech and that a hidden presence had mesmerized the unblinking audience of foreign leaders, foreign ministers, and ambassadors. Dell Inspiron N4020 Battery
Dell Inspiron 13R Battery According to at least one source (Hooman Majd), this was offensive to the conservative religious leaders because an ordinary man cannot presume a special closeness to God or any of the Imams, nor can he imply the presence of the Mahdi.[132] Dell Inspiron N4030 Battery
In another statement the next year, Ahmadinejad proclaimed (without consulting the clerics beforehand), Dell Inspiron N7010D Battery
Dell Inspiron N5010 Battery that women be allowed into football stadiums to watch male football clubs compete. This proclamation "was quickly overruled" by clerical authorities, one of whom, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani "refused for weeks to meet with President Ahmadinejad" in early 2007.[132] Dell Inspiron N7110 Battery
Iran constitution conflict[edit]
In 2008, a serious conflict emerged between the Iranian President and the head of parliament over three laws approved by Iranian parliament: "the agreement for civil and criminal legal cooperation between Iran and Kyrgyzstan", "the agreement to support mutual investment between Iran and Kuwait",Dell Inspiron N5110 Battery
Dell Inspiron N5010D Battery and "the law for registration of industrial designs and trademarks". The conflict was so serious that the Iranian leader stepped in to resolve the conflict. Ahmadinejad wrote a letter to parliament speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, furiously denouncing him for an "inexplicable act" in bypassing the presidency by giving the order to implement legislation in an official newspaper.[1Dell Inspiron N5030 Battery
Dell Inspiron 15R Battery33] President Ahmadinejad accused the head of parliament of violating Iranian constitutional law. He called for legal action against the Parliament speaker.[134][135] Haddad-Adel responded to Ahmadinejad accusing him of using inappropriate language in his remarks and letters.[136] Dell Inspiron N5010R Battery
Ali Kordan[edit]
Main article: Ali Kordan
In August 2008, Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appointed Ali Kordan as Iran's interior minister. Kordan's appointment has been criticized by Iranian parliamentarians, media and analysts after it came to light that a doctoral degree allegedly awarded to Ali Kordan was fabricated, and that the putative issuer of the degree, Dell Inspiron N3010R Battery
Dell Inspiron N7010 Battery Oxford University, had no record of Ali Kordan receiving any degree from the University.[13
Dell Inspiron N4010R Battery7] It was also revealed that he had been jailed in 1978 for moral charges.[138][139] Fabrication of legal documents is punishable in Iranian law with one to three years of imprisonment and in the case of government officials, the maximum sentence (three years) is demanded.[citation needed] Dell Inspiron N3010 Battery
In November 2008, President Ahmadinejad announced that he was against impeachment of Ali Kordan by Iranian parliament. He refused to attend the parliament on the impeachment day.[14Sony SVE1511A1EW battery
0] Ali Kordan was expelled from Iranian interior ministry by Iranian parliament on 4 November 2008. 188 MPs voted against Ali Kordan. An impeachment of Kordan would push Ahmadinejad close to having to submit his entire cabinet for review by parliament, Sony SVE1511F1E battery
Sony SVE1513C4E battery which is led by one of his chief political opponents. Iran's constitution requires that step if more than half the cabinet ministers are replaced, and Ahmadinejad has replaced nine of 21.[141][142] Sony SVE1511K1E battery
Conflict with Parliament[edit]
In February 2009, after Supreme Audit Court of Iran reported that $1.058 billion of surplus oil revenue in the (2006–2007) budget hadn't been returned by the government to the national treasury,[143][144] Ali Larijani, Sony SVE1511L1E battery
Sony SVE1512K1E battery Iran's parliamentary speaker, called for further investigations to make sure the missing funds are returned to the treasury as soon as possible.[145] Tensions between Larijani and Ahmadinejad continued into 2013.[146Sony SVE1511M1E battery
Sony SVE1512J1E battery Ahmadinejad criticized the National Audit Office for what he called its "carelessness", saying the report "incites the people" against the government.[147] The head of the parliament Energy Commission, Hamidreza Katouzian, Sony SVE1511P1E battery
Sony SVE1512C6E battery reported: The government spent $5 billion to import fuel, about $2 billion more than the sum parliament had authorized. Katouzian quoted Iran's Oil Minister, Gholam-Hossein Nozari, as saying that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had ordered the extra purchase.[148]
In May 2011, several members of parliament threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against Ahmadinejad after his merger of eight government ministries and the firing of three ministers without parliament’s consent. Sony SVE1511Q1E battery
Sony SVE1511V1E batteryAccording to the Majles News Web site, MP Mohammad Reza Bahonar stated, "legal purging starts with questions, which lead to warnings and end with impeachment." On May 25, parliament voted to investigate another allegation, that Ahmadinejad had committed election irregularities by giving cash to up to nine million Iranians before the 2009 presidential elections.
The vote came within hours after the allegations appeared in several popular conservative news sites associated with supreme leader Ali Khamenei, suggesting the supreme leader supported the investigation.[149Sony SVE1513C5E battery
Sony SVE15 battery] The disputes were seen as part of the clash between Ahmadinejad and other conservatives and former supporters, including supreme leader Khamenei, over what the conservatives see as Ahmadinejad's confrontational policies and abuse of power.[149][15
Relations with Supreme Leader of Iran[edit]
Early in his presidency, Ahmadinejad was sometimes described as "enjoy[ing] the full backing" of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,[1Sony SVE1513D1E battery
Sony SVE14A1S1E battery51] and even as being his "protege."[152] In Ahmadinejad's 2005 inauguration the supreme leader allowed Ahmadinejad to kiss his hand and cheeks in what was called "a sign of closeness and loyalty,"[15Sony SVE1513E9E battery
Sony SVE14 battery3] and after the 2009 election fully endorsed Ahmadinejad against protesters.[154] However as early as January 2008 signs of disagreement between the two men developed over domestic policies,[15Sony SVE1513H1E battery
Sony SVE1511W1ESI battery1] and by 2010–11 several sources detected a "growing rift" between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei.[23] The disagreement has been described as centering on Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, a top adviser and close confidant of Ahmadinejad[24] and opponent of "greater involvement of clerics in politics",[155Sony SVE1513Q1E battery
] who was First Vice President of Iran until being ordered to resign from the cabinet by the supreme leader. In 2009 Ahmadinejad dismissed Intelligence minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, an opponent of Mashaei. Sony SVE1711F1E battery
In April 2011, another Intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, resigned after being asked to by Ahmadinejad, but was reinstated by the supreme leader[152] within hours.[156] Ahmadinejad declined to officially back Moslehi's reinstatement for two weeks and in protest engaged in an "11-day walkout" of cabinet meetings, Sony SVE1711X1E battery
Sony SVE1511V1EW batteryreligious ceremonies, and other official functions.[23][156] Ahmadinejad's actions led to angry public attacks by clerics, parliamentarians and military commanders, who accused him of ignoring orders from the supreme leader.[ Sony SVE1712Q1E battery
Sony SVE1511R9ESI battery24] Conservative opponents in parliament launched an "impeachment drive" against him,[155] four websites with ties to Ahmadinejad reportedly were "filtered and blocked",[
Sony SVE1511Q1EB battery152] and several people "said to be close" to the president and Mashaei (such as Abbas Amirifar and Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh) were arrested on charges of being "magicians" and invoking djinns.[23Sony SVE1712Z1E battery
Sony SVE14A1S1EP battery] On 6 May 2011 it was reported that Ahmadinejad had been given an ultimatum to accept the leader's intervention or resign,[157] Sony SVE1713C5E battery
Sony SVE14A1S1EB battery and on 8 May he "apparently bowed" to the reinstatement, welcoming back Moslehi to a cabinet meeting.[24] The events have been said to have "humiliated and weakened" Ahmadinejad, though the president has denied that there was any rift between the two,[ Sony SVE1713S1E battery
Sony SVE1511A1EB battery24] and according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency stated that his relationship with the supreme leader "is that of a father and a son."[155]
In 2012, Khamenei ordered a halt to a parliamentary inquiry into Ahmadinejad's mishandling of the Iranian economy.[158] Sony SVE1511R9E battery
Hugo Chavez's funeral[edit]
Ahmedinejad was criticised by the religious and political groups in Iran for photographs taken of him embracing Elena Frias de Chavez, the mother of recently-deceased Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, at his funeral. In the image, Ahmedinejad was thought to be holding her hands and in a cheek-to-cheek embrace; such an act, touching an unrelated woman, is considered haraam (forbidden) in Islam.[159][ Sony SVE1512X9E battery
Sony VPCCB3 battery160] Iranian government officials responded by stating that the image was a fake, then released a second photo showing Ahmadinejad in the same pose, but in this case hugging a man.[1
Sony VPCCB2S1E battery61] This later photograph was debunked when it was discovered that the other man was Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, who had not been at the funeral.[161] Sony SVE1513A4E battery
Foreign relations[edit]
Demonstration against the president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the RIO+20 conference
During Ahmadinejad's tenure as President of Iran the foreign policy of the country took a different approach from the previous administration. Relations with developed countries generally soured while relations less-developed countries, Sony SVE1513B1E battery
Sony VPCCB2M0E batteryincluding Africa and Latin America, rose. In light of the calls for sanctions on Iran for its nuclear weapons programme, Ahmadinejad and his foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, traveled extensively throughout the two regions, as well as hosted other leaders. Relations with the ALBA states, Sony SVE1513M1E battery
Sony VPCCB2 batteryand Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, in particular, were most strengthened. Relations with America during the Bush administration and Israel were weakened.
Ahmadinejad is an outspoken critic of the United States, Israel, and the United Kingdom.[162][163] Sony SVE1513V1E battery
Israel[edit]
Main article: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel
Ahmadinejad abides by Iran's long-standing policy of refusing to recognize Israel as a legitimate state, and wants the Jewish people who immigrated to Israel to return to their "fatherlands"(translated).[164] Sony SVE17 battery
In a 2005 speech Ahmadinejad praises the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei for demanding that "... the regime that occupies Jerusalem must vanish from the pages of time" [165] [166]
Criticism of him in the West has been coupled with accusations of describing the Holocaust as a myth[167] and of statements influenced by "classic anti-Semitic ideas,"[168] which has led to accusations of anti-Semitism,[169] though he has denied these accusations, saying that he "respects Jews very much" and that he was not "passing judgment" on the Holocaust.[163][170][171][172] Sony VPCCA1C5E battery
Palestine[edit]
He advocates "free elections" for the region, and believes Palestinians need a stronger voice in the region's future.[173] On Quds Day in September 2010 Ahmadinejad criticized the Palestinian Authority over its president's decision to renew direct peace talks with Israel saying the talks are "stillborn" and "doomed to fail", urging the Palestinians to continue armed resistance to Israel.[174][ Sony VPCCB4X1E battery
175] He said that Mahmoud Abbas had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians.[176][177] Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, fired back, saying, Ahmadinejad "does not represent the Iranian people,..., is not entitled to talk about Palestine, or the President of Palestine"[178][179] Sony VPCCA3E1E battery
United States[edit]
In September 2010, Ahmadinejad caused yet another controversy at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly by claiming that most people believe the United States government was behind the 9/11 attacks and later called for an inquiry, stating: "The fact-finding mission can shed light on who the perpetrators were, who is al-Qaeda.. Sony SVS13A1X9E battery
. where does it exist? Who was it backed by and supported? All these should come to light."[180][181] The speech triggered some countries' U.N. representatives to walk out, and the U.S. president Barack Obama described the claims as "inexcusable," "offensive" and "hateful."[18Sony SVS1312P9E battery
Sony VPCSB4X9E battery2] In 2010, Ahmadinejad reiterated the 9/11 conspiracy, and wrote:
"Establishing an independent and impartial committee of investigation, which would determine the roots and causes of the regrettable event of 9/11, is the demand of all the peoples of the region and the world. [Sony SVS1312S9E battery
Sony VPCSB4M9E battery...] Any opposition to this legal and human demand means that 9/11 was premeditated in order to achieve the goals of occupation and of confrontation with the nations.[183]
------------------------
Government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the current government of Iran, and the 9th and 10th government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His administration began in August 2005 after his election as the 6th president of Iran and continues after his re-election in 2009. Sony SVS1313C5E battery
In Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government has seen controversy over policies such as his 2007 Gas Rationing Plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption, and cuts in maximum interest rates permitted to private and public banking facilities;[2][3][4] his widely disputed and protested election to a second term in 2009; Sony SVS1313S9E battery
Sony VPCSB3X9E battery [5][6] and over the presence of a so-called "deviant current" among his aides and supporters that led to the arrest of several of them in 2011.[7Sony SVS1511S9E battery
Sony VPCSB3T9E battery] Abroad, his dismissal of international sanctions against Iran's nuclear energy program, and his call for an end of the state of Israeli and description of the Holocaust as a myth, has drawn criticism.[8] Sony SVS1512X9E battery
Ahmadinejad was not widely known when he entered the presidential election campaign, although he had already made his mark in Tehran for rolling back earlier reforms. He is a member of the Central Council of the Islamic Society of Engineers, but his key political support is inside the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran (Abadgaran or Developers).[9] Sony SVS13 battery
Ahmadinejad generally sent mixed signals about his plans for his presidency, perhaps to attract both religious conservatives and the lower economic classes.[10] His campaign slogan was: "It's possible and we can do it".[11] Sony SVS1511S3R battery
In the campaign, he took a populist approach. He emphasized his own modest life, and compared himself with Mohammad Ali Rajai, Iran's second president. Ahmadinejad said he planned to create an "exemplary government for the people of the world" in Iran. Sony VPCSA battery
Sony VPCSB3N9E battery He was a "principlist", acting politically based on Islamic and revolutionary principles. One of his goals was "putting the petroleum income on people's tables", meaning Iran's oil profits would be distributed among the poor.[12] Sony VPCSA3T9E battery
Ahmadinejad was the only presidential candidate who spoke out against future relations with the United States. He told Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting the United Nations was "one-sided, stacked against the world of Islam."[13Sony VPCSB1Z9E battery
] He opposed the veto power of the UN Security Council's five permanent members: "It is not just for a few states to sit and veto global approvals. Should such a privilege continue to exist, the Muslim world with a population of nearly 1.5 billion should be extended the same privilege.
Sony VPCSB3L9E battery" He defended Iran's nuclear program and accused "a few arrogant powers" of trying to limit Iran's industrial and technological development in this and other fields.
In his second round campaign, he said, "We didn't participate in the revolution for turn-by-turn government.…This revolution tries to reach a world-wide government." He spoke of an extended program using trade to improve foreign relations, Sony VPCSB2C5021B battery
and called for greater ties with Iran's neighbours and ending visa requirements between states in the region, saying that "people should visit anywhere they wish freely. People should have freedom in their pilgrimages and tours."[11] Sony VPCSB2C5023W battery
Ahmadinejad described Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a senior cleric from Qom as his ideological and spiritual mentor. Mesbah founded the Haghani School of thought in Iran. He and his team strongly supported Ahmadinejad's 2005 presidential campaign.[14] Sony VPCSE1E1E battery
2005 election[edit]
Main article: Iranian presidential election, 2005
Ahmadinejad won 62 percent of the vote in the run-off poll against Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei authorized his presidency on 3 August 2005.[15][16] Ahmedinejad kissed Khamenei's hand during the ceremony to show his loyalty.[17][ Sony VPCSE1J1E battery
2006 Councils and Assembly of Experts election[edit]
Main articles: Iranian councils election, 2006 and Iranian Assembly of Experts election, 2006
Ahmadinejad’s team lost the 2006 city council elections,[19] and his spiritual mentor, Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, Sony VPCSE1V9E battery
Sony VPCSA4W9E batterywas ranked sixth on the country's Assembly of Experts.[citation needed] In the first nationwide election since Ahmadinejad became President, his allies failed to dominate election returns for the Assembly of Experts and local councils. Results, with a turnout of about 60%,
Sony VPCSA3Z9E batterysuggested a voter shift toward more moderate policies. According to an editorial in the Kargozaran independent daily newspaper, "The results show that voters have learned from the past and concluded that we need to support.. moderate figures." An Iranian political analyst said that "this is a blow for Ahmadinejad and Mesbah Yazdi's list."[19] Sony VPCSE1Z9E battery
2009 presidential election[edit]
Ahmadinejad in Yekaterinburg, Russia, 16 June 2009
Main article: Iranian presidential election, 2009
On 23 August 2008, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced that he "sees Ahmadinejad as president in the next five years," a comment interpreted as indicating support for Ahmadinejad's reelection.[20] 39,165,191 ballots were cast in the election on 12 June 2009, Sony VPCSE2J9E battery
Sony VPCSA3S9E batteryaccording to Iran's election headquarters. Ahmadinejad won 24,527,516 votes, (62.63%). In second place, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, won 13,216,411 (33.75%) of the votes.[21] The election drew unprecedented public interest in Iran. Sony VPCSE2L9E battery
2009 Iranian election protests[edit]
Main article: 2009 Iranian election protests
The election results were strongly disputed by both Mousavi and Ahmadinejad and their respective supporters who believed that electoral fraud occurred during the election. Street protests commenced the day after the election and continued off and on into 2010.
Sony VPCSA3M9E battery Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a "divine assessment,"[2Sony VPCSE2M9E battery
Sony VPCSB1V9E battery2] and formally endorsed Ahmadinejad as President on 3 August 2009. Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term on 5 August 2009.[23Sony VPCSB1A9E battery
Sony VPCSB1S1E battery] Several Iranian political figures appeared to avoid the ceremony. Former presidents Mohammad Khatami, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who is currently head of the Expediency Discernment Council, along with opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, did not attend the ceremony.[2Sony VPCSE2S1E battery
Sony VPCSB1S1E battery4] Opposition groups asked protesters on reformist websites and blogs to launch new street demonstrations on the day of the inauguration ceremony.[25] Sony SVS13A1V9E battery
Sony VPCSA2Z9E battery On inauguration day, hundreds of riot police met opposition protesters outside parliament. After taking the oath of office, which was broadcast live on Iranian state television, Ahmadinejad said that he will "protect the official faith, the system of the Islamic revolution and the constitution".[Sony SVS13A1Y9E battery
23] France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States announced that they would not send the usual letters of congratulation.[23] While addressing the 11th scientific and research meeting of university professors on July 31, 2009, president Ahmadinejad concluded: Sony SVS13A1Z9E battery
The June 12 presidential election ruined the dominance of wealth, political party system and media as tools of the hegemonic system and presented a new role model to the human race.[26]
Domestic policy[edit]
Economic policy[edit]
See also: Economy of Iran
Ahmadinejad's economic policies have been described as populist, one of his campaign promises being to share out Iran's oil wealth more fairly.[27] Sony SVS1311F3E battery
Sony vgp-bps24 battery He's also condemned global capitalism as an immoral system,[28] and proclaimed that the "era of capitalist thinking" is over.[29][ Sony SVS1311G4E battery
Sony VPCSE2E1E battery30] However in December 2010 his administration embarked on a "sweeping reform" of state subsidies in place since the beginning of the Islamic Republic. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has called 2011 a "year of economic jihad", and the program has been applauded by the International Monetary Fund.[28] Sony SVS1311K9E battery
In Ahmadinejad's first four years as president, unemployment decreased due to a rise in income from oil exports as oil price rose on world markets.[31][32] His critics have charged that government spending has been inflationary.[3Sony SVS1311N9E battery
Sony VPCSE1X9E battery1] Ahmadinejad increased spending by 25 percent and has supported subsidies for food and gasoline. He also initially refused a gradual increase of petrol prices, saying that after making necessary preparations, such as a development of public transportation system, the government will free up petrol prices after five years.[3Sony SVS1311Q9E battery
Sony SVS1511X9E battery3] Interest rates were cut by presidential decree to below the inflation rate. One unintended effect of this stimulation of the economy has been the bidding up of some urban real estate prices by two or three times their pre-Ahmadinejad value by Iranians seeking to invest surplus cash and finding few other safe opportunities. Sony SVS1311S9E battery
Sony SVS1511V9E batteryThe resulting increase in the cost of housing has hurt poorer, non-property owning Iranians, the putative beneficiaries of Ahmadinejad's populist policies.[34] As of mid-2011, economic growth has been called "sluggish", up 3.5% in 2010, a rate insufficient to lower the unemployment rate of close to 15%.[28] Sony SVS1313P9E battery
In June 2006, 50 Iranian economists wrote a letter to Ahmadinejad that criticized his price interventions to stabilize prices of goods, cement, government services, and his decree issued by the High Labor Council and the Ministry of Labor that proposed an increase of workers' salaries by 40 percent.
Sony SVS1511S2C battery Ahmadinejad publicly responded harshly to the letter and denounced the accusations.[35][36] The Management and Planning Organisation, a state body charged with mapping out long-term economic and budget strategy, was broken up and its experienced managers were fired.[37] Sony SVS1511L3E battery
Ahmadinejad has called for "middle-of-the-road" compromises with respect to Western-oriented capitalism and socialism. Current political conflicts with the United States have caused the central bank to fear increased capital flight due to global isolation. HP MU06 Battery
HP HA06 Battery These factors have prevented an improvement of infrastructure and capital influx, despite high economic potential.[31] Among those that did not vote for him in the first election, only 3.5 percent said they would consider voting for him in the next election.[ HP MU09 Battery
38] Former supporter of Ahmadinejad who have criticized his policies include Mohammad Khoshchehreh, a member of parliament who campaigned for Ahmadinejad, but in 2007 complained his government "has been strong on populist slogans, but weak on achievement;"[3HP RS06 Battery
HP HA03 Battery9] and economist and former adviser Hossein Raghfar, who has cited the decline in the price for human kidneys (which has dropped from $10,000 to $2,000 as more poor people sell their organs for cash), HP BS06 Battery
HP MT06 Batteryas evidence of increased poverty under the administration.[40] President Ahmadinejad has changed almost all of his economic ministers, including oil, industry and economy, since coming to power in 2005. HP VE06 Battery
HP BX06 BatteryIn an interview with Fars News Agency on April 2008, Davoud Danesh Jaafari who acted as minister of economy in President Ahmadinejad’s cabinet, harshly criticized Ahmadinejad’s economic policy: HP VE12 Battery
“During my time, there was no positive attitude towards previous experiences or experienced people and there was no plan for the future. Peripheral issues which were not of dire importance to the nation were given priority. Most of the scientific economic concepts like the effect of liquidity on inflation were put in question."[ HP GA08 Battery
HP PT06 Battery41] In response to these criticisms, Ahmadinejad accused his minister of not being "a man of justice" and declared that the solution to Iran’s economic problem is "the culture of martyrdom".[42]
HP MN06 Battery In May 2008, the Petroleum minister of Iran admitted that the government illegally invested 2 billion dollars to import petrol in 2007. At Iranian parliament, he also mentioned that he simply followed the president's order.[43][44] HP MO06 Battery
While his government had 275 thousand billion toman oil income, the highest in Iranian history, Ahmadinejad’s government had the highest budget deficit since the Iranian revolution.[45] HP MO09 Battery
During his presidency, Ahmadinejad launched a gas rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption. He also instituted cuts in the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge.[2][3][46] He issued a directive, according to which the Management and Planning Organization should be affiliated to the government.[47] HP EV06 Battery
Family planning and population policy[edit]
See also: Family planning in Iran
In October 2006, Ahmadinejad opposed encouraging families to limit themselves to just two children, stating that Iran could cope with 50 million more people than the current 70 million. In remarks that have drawn criticism, Sony VAIO VPCSB490S battery
he told MPs he wanted to scrap existing birth control policies which discouraged Iranian couples from having more than two children. Critics said his call was ill-judged at a time when Iran was struggling with surging inflation and rising unemployment, Sony VAIO VPCSE25FD battery
Sony VAIO SVS15127CDB batteryestimated at around 11 percent. Ahmadinejad’s call for an increased birth rate is reminiscent of a call Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini made in 1979. The policy was effective in increasing population growth, but was eventually reversed in response to the resultant economic strain.[4Sony VAIO SVS13A15GDB battery
Sony VAIO SVS15117FDB battery8]
In 2008, the government sent the "Family Protection Bill" to the Iranian parliament. Women's rights activists criticized the bill for removing protections from women, such as the requirement that a husband obtain his wife's consent before bringing another wife into the family.[49]
Housing[edit]
See also: Construction industry of Iran#Mehr Housing Scheme
The first legislation to emerge from his newly formed government was a 12 trillion rial (US$1.3 billion) fund called "Reza's Compassion Fund",Sony VAIO SVS13115FDB battery
Sony VAIO SVS13135CDB battery [50] named after Shi'a Imam Ali al-Rida. Ahmadinejad's government said this fund would tap Iran's oil revenues to help young people get jobs, afford marriage, and buy their own homes.[51]
Sony VAIO SVS13125CDR battery The fund also sought charitable donations, with a board of trustees in each of Iran's 30 provinces. The legislation was a response to the cost of urban housing, which is pushing up the national average marital age
Sony VAIO SVS13125CDB battery (currently around 25 years for women and 28 years for men). In 2006 the Iranian parliament rejected the fund. However, Ahmadinejad ordered the administrative council to execute the plan.[52] Sony VAIO SVS13A290S battery
Human rights[edit]
See also: Human rights in Islamic Republic of Iran
According to a report by the group Human Rights Watch, "Since President Ahmadinejad came to power, treatment of detainees has worsened in Evin Prison as well as in detention centers operated clandestinely by the Judiciary, the Ministry of Information, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."[5Sony VAIO SVS13115FDB battery
Sony VAIO SVS13115FDS battery3] Again according to Human Rights Watch, "Respect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and assembly, deteriorated in 2006. The government routinely tortures and mistreats detained dissidents, Sony VAIO SVS131190S battery
including through prolonged solitary confinement." Human Rights Watch described the source of human rights violations in contemporary Iran as coming from the Judiciary, accountable to Ali Khamenei, and from members directly appointed by Ahmadinejad.
Responses to dissent have varied. Human Rights Watch writes that "the Ahmadinejad government, in a pronounced shift from the policy under former president Mohammed Khatami, has shown no tolerance for peaceful protests and gatherings." In December 2006, Ahmadinejad advised officials not to disturb students who engaged in a protest during a speech of his at the Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran,[54][ Sony VAIO SVS131290S battery
Sony VAIO SVE15113FD battery55] although speakers at other protests have included among their complaints that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.[56]
In April 2007, the Tehran police, which is under Khamenei's supervision, began a crackdown on women with "improper hijab." This led to criticism from associates of Ahmadinejad.[57]
Universities[edit] Sony VAIO SVS151190S battery
See also: Higher Education in Iran
In 2006, the [Ahmadinejad][58] government reportedly forced numerous Iranian scientists and university professors to resign or to retire. It has been referred to as "second cultural revolution".[59][ Sony VAIO SVS151290S battery
Sony VAIO SVE14A390S battery60] The policy has been said to replace old professors with younger ones.[61] Some university professors received letters indicating their early retirement unexpectedly.[62] In November 2006, 53 university professors had to retire from Iran University of Science and Technology.[63] Sony VAIO VPCSA41GD battery
In 2006, Ahmadinejad's government applied a 50 percent quota for male students and 50 percent for female students in the university entrance exam for medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. The plan was supposed to stop the growing presence of female students in the universities. Sony VAIO VPCSB41FD battery
Sony VAIO SVE14A190 batteryIn a response to critics, Iranian minister of health and medical education, Kamran Bagheri Lankarani argued that there are not enough facilities such as dormitories for female students. Masoud Salehi, president of Zahedan University said that presence of women generates some problems with transportation. Also, Sony VAIO SVE14A15FDH battery
Sony VAIO SVE14A37CDH battery Ebrahim Mekaniki, president of Babol University of Medical Sciences, stated that an increase in the presence of women will make it difficult to distribute facilities in a suitable manner.
Sony VAIO SVE14A27CDH batteryBagher Larijani, the president of Tehran University of Medical Sciences made similar remarks. According to Rooz Online, the quotas lack a legal foundation and are justified as support for "family" and "religion."[64] Sony VAIO SVE14A15FDP battery
December 2006 student protest[edit]
On 11 December 2006, some students disrupted a speech by Ahmadinejad at the Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) in Tehran. According to the Iranian Student News Agency, students set fire to photographs of Ahmadinejad and threw firecrackers. The protesters also chanted "death to the dictator." Sony VAIO SVE14A15FDW battery
Sony VAIO SVE14A25CDW batteryIt was the first major public protest against Ahmadinejad since his election. In a statement carried on the students' Web site,[citation needed] they announced that they had been protesting the growing political pressure under Ahmadinejad, also accusing him of corruption, mismanagement, and discrimination. Sony VAIO SVE14A23CDH battery
The statement added that "the students showed that despite vast propaganda, the president has not been able to deceive academia." It was also reported that some students were angry about the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust.[65] Sony VAIO SVE14A23CDS battery
In response to the students' slogans, the president said: "We have been standing up to dictatorship so that no one will dare to establish dictatorship in a millennium even in the name of freedom. Given the scars inflicted on the Iranian nation by agents of the US and British dictatorship, no one will ever dare to initiate the rise of a dictator."[6Sony VAIO SVE15123CDS battery
Sony VAIO VPCCA36FA battery6] It was reported that even though the protesters broke the TV cameras and threw hand-made bombs at Ahmadinejad,[67] Sony VAIO SVE15127CDS battery
Sony VAIO SVE14115FDW battery the president asked the officials not to question or disturb the protesters.[68][dead link][69][dead link] In his blog, Ahmadinejad described his reaction to the incident as "a feeling of joy" because of the freedom that people enjoyed after the revolution.[70]
One thousand students also protested the day before to denounce the increased pressure on the reformist groups at the university. One week prior, more than two thousand students protested at Tehran University on the country's annual student day, with speakers saying that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.[65][7
Sony VAIO SVPCEH33FD battery1]
Nuclear program[edit]
See also: Nuclear program of Iran
Ahmadinejad has been a vocal supporter of Iran's nuclear program, and has insisted that it is for peaceful purposes. He has repeatedly emphasized that building a nuclear bomb is not the policy of his government. He has said that such a policy is "illegal and against our religion."[72Sony VAIO SVE17115FDB battery
Sony VAIO VPCEH31FD battery][73] He also added at a January 2006 conference in Tehran that a nation with "culture, logic and civilization" would not need nuclear weapons, and that countries that seek nuclear weapons are those which want to solve all problems by the use of force.[74Sony VAIO SVE17125CDB battery
Sony VAIO VPCEG35FD battery] In a 2008 interview Ahmadinejad elaborated that countries striving to obtain nuclear weapons are politically backward nations and those who possess them and continually make new generations of such bombs are "even more backward".[75]
In April 2006, Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully refined uranium to a stage suitable for the nuclear fuel cycle. In a speech to students and academics in Mashhad, he was quoted as saying that Iran's conditions had changed completely as it had become a nuclear state and could talk to other states from that stand.[76] Sony VAIO SVE151190SR battery
Sony VAIO SVE14115FDP battery On 13 April 2006, Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that the peaceful Iranian nuclear technology would not pose a threat to any party because "we want peace and stability and we will not cause injustice to anyone and at the same time we will not submit to injustice."[7Sony VAIO SVE14115FDB battery
7] Nevertheless, Iran's nuclear policy under Ahmadinejad's administration has received much criticism, spearheaded by the United States and Israel. The accusations include that Iran is striving to obtain nuclear arms and developing long-range firing capabilities, Sony VAIO SVE15123CDW battery
Sony VAIO SVE14115FDB batteryand that Ahmadinejad issued an order to keep UN inspectors from freely visiting the nation's nuclear facilities and viewing their designs, a move which would be in defiance of an IAEA resolution.[78][79][8Sony VAIO VPCCA36FW Battery
Sony VAIO VPCCA36FH Battery0][81] Following a May 2009 test launch of a long-range missile, Ahmadinejad was quoted as telling the crowd that with its nuclear program, Iran was sending the West a message that “the Islamic Republic of Iran is running the show.”[82] Sony VAIO VPC CA Battery
Despite Ahmadinejad's vocal support for the program, the office of the Iranian president is not directly responsible for nuclear policy. It is instead set by the Supreme National Security Council. The council includes two representatives appointed by the Supreme Leader, military officials, Sony VAIO VPCCA15FA Battery
Sony VAIO VPCCA36FA Battery and members of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government, and reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons in 2005.[83] Khamenei has criticized Ahmadinejad's "personalization" of the nuclear issu
Ahmadinejad vowed on February 2008, that Iran will not be held back from developing its peaceful nuclear program[85] and has stated that at least 16 different peaceful uses for nuclear technology have so far been identified. e.[84] Sony VAIO VPCCA15FF Battery
Sony VAIO VPCCA3AJ Battery [75] In a 2009 interview, when asked by reporter Ann Curry whether he would rule out an Iranian nuclear bomb in the future, he responded: "We have no need for nuclear weapons." When Curry retorted, "So, may I assume, then, your answer to that question is 'no'?" Ahmadinejad repeated his answer, adding "Without such weapons, Sony VAIO VPCCA15FH Battery
Sony VAIO VPCCA35FW Battery we are very much able to defend ourselves." Curry then warned Ahmadinejad that "people will remark that you did not say no." To which Ahmadinejad responded, "You can take from this whatever you want, madam."[86] Sony VAIO VPCCA15FW Battery
In October 2009 the United States, France and Russia proposed a U.N.-drafted deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program, in an effort to find a compromise between Iran's stated need for a nuclear reactor and the concerns of those who are worried that Iran harbors a secret intent on developing a nuclear weapon. After some delay in responding, Sony VAIO VPCCA16FG Battery
Sony VAIO VPCCA35FN Battery on October 29, Ahmadinejad seemed to changed his tone towards the deal. "We welcome fuel exchange, nuclear co-operation, building of power plants and reactors and we are ready to co-operate," he said in a live broadcast on state television.[8Sony VAIO VPCCA16FH Battery
7] However, he added that Iran would not retreat "one iota" on its right to a sovereign nuclear program.[88]
Domestic criticism and controversies[edit]
Alleged corruption[edit]
Ahmadinejad has been criticized for attacking private “plunderers” and “corrupt officials,” while engaging in "cronyism and political favouritism".Sony VAIO VPCCA16FW Battery
Sony VAIO VPCCA35FH Battery Many of his close associates have been appointed to positions for which they have no obvious qualifications, and "billion dollar no-bid contracts" have been awarded to the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), an organization with which he is strongly associated.[89]
"Wiped off the map"[edit]
Main article: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel
It has been widely alleged in the media that Ahmadinejad, during a 2005 speech, stated that Israel should be "wiped off the map".[90][91] This phrase is an English idiomatic expression which implies physical destruction.[92]
According to Juan Cole, a University of Michigan Professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History, Ahmadinejad's statement was inaccurately translated;[90] Cole suggests that a more accurate translation would be: Sony VAIO VPCCA17FX Battery
The Imam said that this regime occupying Jerusalem (een rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods) must [vanish from] from the page of time (bayad az safheh-ye ruzgar mahv shavad).[90]
In a June 11, 2006 analysis of the translation controversy, New York Times deputy foreign editor and Israeli resident Ethan Bronner argued that Ahmadinejad had called for Israel to be wiped off the map. After noting the objections of critics such as Cole, Bronner stated: Sony VAIO VPCCA36FH Battery
But translators in Tehran who work for the president's office and the foreign ministry disagree with them. All official translations of Mr. Ahmadinejad's statement, including a description of it on his website, refer to wiping Israel away. Sony VAIO VPCCB15FF Battery
Sony VAIO VPCCB48FJ Battery Sohrab Mahdavi, one of Iran’s most prominent translators, and Siamak Namazi, managing director of a Tehran consulting firm, who is bilingual, both say “wipe off” or “wipe away” is more accurate than "vanish" because the Persian verb is active and transitive.[9Sony VAIO VPCCB15FG Battery
3]
Despite these differences, Ethan Bronner does agree with Professor Cole that Ahmadinejad did not use the word "Israel" (but rather "regime over Jerusalem") and also did not use the word "map" (but rather "page(s) of time").[90] Sony VAIO VPCCB15FH Battery
Sony VAIO VPCC47FDB Battery [93] Emphasizing these points of agreement, Jonathon Steele from The Guardian concludes that "experts confirm that Iran's president did not call for Israel to be 'wiped off the map'".[94] Furthermore, Steele cites a source at the BBC, as well as the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), supporting the following translation: Sony VAIO VPCCB15FW Battery
This regime that is occupying Jerusalem must be eliminated from the pages of history.[94]
While this translation is quite similar to Professor Cole's version, it does use the word "eliminated" rather than "vanish", which is consistent with Bronner's suggestion that an "active" verb would more accurately reflect the original Persian.[93] Sony VAIO VPCCB17FX Battery
In a speech on June 2, 2008, the Iranian presidential website quotes Ahmadinejad as saying
"the Zionist Regime of Israel faces a deadend and will under God's grace be wiped off the map." and "the Zionist Regime that is a usurper and illegitimate regime and a cancerous tumor should be wiped off the map."[95] Sony VAIO VPCCB28FJ Battery
The statements were translated by Reuters as
"The Zionist regime is in a total dead end and, God willing, this desire will soon be realized and the epitome of perversion will disappear off the face of the world." Sony VAIO VPCCB2AFX Battery
and "You should know that the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime which has 60 years of plundering, aggression and crimes in its file has reached the end of its work and will soon disappear off the geographical scene"[96] Sony VAIO VPCCB3AFX Battery
Other statements[edit]
In June 2007, Ahmadinejad was criticized by some Iranian parliament members over his remark about Christianity and Judaism. According to Aftab News Agency, Ahmadinejad stated: "In the world, there are deviations from the right path: Sony VAIO VPCCB3AJ Battery
Sony VAIO VPCCB45FN Battery Christianity and Judaism. Dollars have been devoted to the propagation of these deviations. There are also false claims that these [religions] will save mankind. But Islam is the only religion that [can] save mankind." Some members of Iranian parliament criticized these remarks as being fuels to religious war.[97][98] Sony VAIO VPCCB32FDB Battery
Conservative MP Rafat Bayat has blamed Ahmadinejad for a decline in observance of the required hijab for women, calling him "not that strict on this issue".[99] Ahmadinejad has been also accused of indecency by people close to Rafsanjani,[100] after he publicly kissed the hand of a woman who used to be his school teacher.[101] Sony VAIO VPCCB35FG Battery
The UN and football stadiums[edit]
Two statements that have brought criticism from some religious authorities concern his speech at the United Nations, and the attendance of women at football matches. In a visit to group of Ayatollahs in Qom after returning from his 2005 speech to the UN General Assembly,
Ahmadinejad stated he had "felt a halo over his head" during his speech and that a hidden presence had mesmerized the unblinking audience of foreign leaders, foreign ministers, and ambassadors. According to at least one source (Hooman Majd), Sony VAIO VPCCB36FG Battery
this was offensive to the conservative religious leaders because an ordinary man cannot presume a special closeness to God or any of the Imams, nor can he imply the presence of the Mahdi.[10Sony VAIO VPCCB36FW Battery
In another statement the next year, Ahmadinejad proclaimed (without consulting the clerics before hand), that women should be allowed into football stadiums to watch male football clubs compete.
This proclamation "was quickly overruled" by clerical authorities, one of whom, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani "refused for weeks to meet with President Ahmadinejad" in early 2007.[102] Sony VAIO VPCCB37FDD Battery
Iran constitution conflict[edit]
In 2008, a serious conflict emerged between the Iranian President and the head of parliament over three laws approved by Iranian parliament: "the agreement for civil and criminal legal cooperation between Iran and Kyrgyzstan", HP Pavilion DV6-6B75CA Battery
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"the agreement to support mutual investment between Iran and Kuwait", and "the law for registration of industrial designs and trademarks". The conflict was so serious that the Iranian leader stepped in to resolve the conflict. Ahmadinejad wrote a letter to parliament speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, furiously denouncing him for an "inexplicable act" in bypassing the presidency by giving the order to implement legislation in an official newspaper.[1
HP Pavilion DV6-6193CA Battery03] President Ahmadinejad accused the head of parliament of violating Iranian constitutional law. He called for legal action against the Parliament speaker.[104][105] Haddad-Adel responded to Ahmadinejad accusing him of using inappropriate language in his remarks and letters.[106] HP Pavilion DV6-6B83CA Battery
Ali Kordan[edit]
Main article: Ali Kordan
In August 2008, Ahmaghinejad, nominated Ali Kordan for Iran's interior minister. Kordan's nomination was criticized by Iranian parliamentarians, media and analysts after it came to light that a doctoral degree allegedly awarded to Ali Kordan was fabricated, and that the putative issuer of the degree, Oxford University, HP Pavilion DV6-6C40CA Battery
HP Pavilion DV6-6188CA Battery had no record of Kordan receiving any degree from the University.[107]It was also revealed that he had been jailed in 1978 for moral charges.[108] Fabrication of legal documents is punishable in Iranian law with one to three years of imprisonment and in the case of government officials, the maximum sentence (three years) is demanded.[citation needed] HP Pavilion DV6-6C50CA Battery
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In November 2008, President Ahmadinejad announced that he was against impeachment of Ali Kordan by Iranian parliament. He refused to attend the parliament on the impeachment day.[109] Ali Kordan was expelled from Iranian interior ministry by Iranian parliament on 4 November 2008.
HP Pavilion DV6-6178CA Battery188 MPs voted against Ali Kordan. An impeachment of Kordan would push Ahmadinejad close to having to submit his entire cabinet for review by parliament, which is led by one of his chief political opponents. Iran's constitution requires that step if more than half the cabinet ministers are replaced, and Ahmadinejad has replaced nine of 21.[110][111HP Pavilion DV6-6C51CA Battery
HP Pavilion DV6-6175CA Battery]
Conflict with Parliament[edit]
On February 2009 after Supreme Audit Court of Iran reported that $1.058 billion of surplus oil revenue in the (2006–2007) budget hasn't been returned by the government to the national treasury,[112][11
HP Pavilion DV6-6155CA Battery3] Ali Larijani – Iran's parliamentary speaker – called for further investigations to make sure the missing funds are returned to the treasury as soon as possible.[114HP Pavilion DV6-6C73CA Battery
HP Pavilion DV6-6153CA Battery] Ahmadinejad criticized the National Audit Office for what he called its "carelessness", saying the report "incites the people" against the government.[115HP Pavilion DV6-6040CA Battery
HP Pavilion DV6-6148CA Battery] The head of the parliament Energy Commission, Hamidreza Katouzian, reported: The government spent $5 billion to import fuel, about $2 billion more than the sum parliament had authorized. Katouzian quoted Iran's Oil Minister, Gholam-Hossein Nozari, as saying that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had ordered the extra purchase.[116]
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In May 2011 several members of parliament threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against Ahmadinejad after his merger of eight government ministries and the firing of three ministers without parliament’s consent. HP Pavilion DV6-6104CA Battery
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HP Pavilion DV6-6145CA BatteryAccording to the Majles News Web site, MP Mohammad Reza Bahonar stated, “legal purging starts with questions, which lead to warnings and end with impeachment.” On May 25 parliament voted to investigate another allegation, that Ahmadinejad had committed election irregularities by giving cash to up to nine million Iranians before the 2009 presidential elections.
HP Pavilion DV6-6135CA Battery The vote came within hours after the allegations appeared in several popular conservative news sites associated with supreme leader Ali Khamenei, suggesting the supreme leader supported the investigation.[11HP Pavilion DV6-6124CA Battery
HP Pavilion DV6-6130CA Battery7] The disputes were seen as part of the clash between Ahmadinejad and other conservatives and former supporters, including supreme leader Khamenei, over what the conservatives see as Ahmadinejad's confrontational policies and abuse of power.[117][
HP Pavilion G6-1B79CA Battery118]
The March–April 2012 parliamentary election has been described "as a contest between" Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,[119] which hardliner supporters of Khamenei won, gaining a strong majority in parliament.[120HP Pavilion G4-1021CA Battery
HP Pavilion G6-1B75CA Battery] Following the first round of elections Ahmadinejad was summoned to testify before parliament on issues such as his economic policies, his views on the obligatory Islamic head scarves for Iranian women and his relations with the supreme leader. HP Pavilion G4-1022CA Battery
It was the first time a president had been summoned before the Iranian parliament and one commentator (Thomas Erdbrink) described it as "a serious blow" to Ahmadinejad's "standing",[12
HP Pavilion G6-1B74CA Battery0] though Ahmadinejad is said to have spent much of the session "deflecting lawmakers’ questions with jokes and mockery",[120] and the whole incident is reported to have been a sign that Ahmadinejad’s "dispute with Khamenei had been resolved," and there would be no impeachment of the president.[120] HP Pavilion G4-1137CA Battery
"Earthquake Saferoom"[edit]
Ahmadinejad was involved in a fraud in which he along with Ali Akbar Mehrabian and Mousa Mazloum in 2005 published an invention by Farzan Salimi, claiming it as their own. The idea for an "earthquake saferoom"—a design for a fortified room in homes in case of disaster was owned by Farzan Salimi, an Iranian researcher and engineer.[121] HP Pavilion G4-12664CA Battery
In July 2009, the general court of Tehran convicted Industry Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian and Mousa Mazloum but kept silent about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's involvement, according to Etemad-Melli daily.[121HP Pavilion G6-1B35CA Battery
HP Pavilion G6-1B37CA Battery][122] According to the BBC, Ahmadinejad is named as an author on the cover of the book in which the fraudulent claim was made.[123]
Relations with Supreme Leader[edit] HP Pavilion dm4-1050ca Battery
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Early in his presidency, Ahmadinejad was sometimes described as "enjoy[ing] the full backing" of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,[124] and even as being his "protege."[125] In Ahmadinejad's 2005 inauguration the supreme leader allowed Ahmadinejad to kiss his hand and cheeks in what was called "a sign of closeness and loyalty,"[126HP Pavilion dm4-1150ca Battery
HP Pavilion dm4-3070ca Battery] and after the 2009 election fully endorsed Ahmadinejad against protesters.[127] However as early as January 2008 signs of disagreement between the two men developed over domestic policies,[124] and by 2010-11 several sources detected a "growing rift" between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei.[1HP Pavilion dm4-1273ca Battery
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28] The disagreement has been described as centering on Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, a top adviser and close confidant of Ahmadinejad[129] and opponent of "greater involvement of clerics in politics",[
HP Pavilion dm4-2058ca Battery130] who was First Vice President of Iran until being ordered to resign from the cabinet by the supreme leader. In 2009 Ahmadinejad dismissed Intelligence minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, an opponent of Mashaei. In April 2011, another Intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, HP Pavilion dm4-2053ca Battery
HP Pavilion dm4-2055ca Battery resigned after being asked to by Ahmadinejad, but was reinstated by the supreme leader[125] within hours.[131] Ahmadinejad declined to officially back Moslehi's reinstatement for two weeks and in protest engaged in an "11-day walkout" of cabinet meetings, religious ceremonies, and other official functions.[12Sony SVS13AA11L Battery
Sony PCG-41414L Battery8][131] Ahmadinejad's actions led to angry public attacks by clerics, parliamentarians and military commanders, who accused him of ignoring orders from the supreme leader.[129] Conservative opponents in parliament launched an "impeachment drive" against him,[130] Sony SVS131A11L Battery
Sony PCG-41413L Battery four websites with ties to Ahmadinejad reportedly were "filtered and blocked",[125] and several people "said to be close" to the president and Mashaei were arrested on charges of being "magicians" and invoking djinns.[128] Sony SVS131B11L Battery
Sony PCG-41412L Battery On 6 May 2011 it was reported that Ahmadinejad had been given an ultimatum to accept the leader's intervention or resign,[132] and on 8 May he "apparently bowed" to the reinstatement, welcoming back Moslehi to a cabinet meeting.[12Sony SVS151A11L Battery
Sony PCG-41411L Battery9] The events have been said to have "humiliated and weakened" Ahmadinejad, though the president has denied that there was any rift between the two,[129] and according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency stated that his relationship with the supreme leader "is that of a father and a son."[130] Sony SVS151B11L Battery
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Foreign relations[edit]
Relations with the United States[edit]
See also: United States-Iran relations
During Ahmadinejad's presidency, Iran and the US have had the most high-profile contact in almost 30 years. Iran and the US froze diplomatic relations in 1980 and had no direct diplomatic contact until May 2007.[133] Sony SVS151G1GL Battery
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While the U.S has linked its support for a Palestinian state to acceptance of Israel's "right to exist," Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has retorted that Israel should be moved to Europe instead,[134] Sony PCG-4121DL Battery
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Sony PCG-41216L Battery reiterating Muammar al-Gaddafi's 1990 statement.[135] The U.S. has sent signals to Iran that its posturing against Israel's right to exist is unacceptable in their opinion, leading to increased speculation of a U.S. led attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Even though Iran has denied involvement in Iraq, then-President Bush warned of "consequences," sending a clear message to Iran that the U.S may take military action against it.[1
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Sony PCG-41215L Battery34] The Bush administration considered Iran to be the world's leading state supporter of terrorism. Iran has been on the U.S. list of state sponsors of international terrorism since 1984,[136][137][138] a claim that Iran and Ahmadinejad have denied. Sony PCG-4121GL Battery
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On 8 May 2006, Ahmadinejad sent a personal letter to then-President Bush to propose "new ways" to end Iran's nuclear dispute.[139] U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley both reviewed the letter and dismissed it as a negotiating ploy and publicity stunt that did not address U.S. concerns about Iran's nuclear program.[ Sony PCG-41211L Battery
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Sony PCG-41213L Battery140] A few days later at a meeting in Jakarta, Ahmadinejad said, "the letter was an invitation to monotheism and justice, which are common to all divine prophets."[141]
Ahmadinejad invited Bush to a debate at the United Nations General Assembly, Sony SVS13AB1GL Battery
Sony PCG-91311L Battery which was to take place on 19 September 2006. The debate was to be about Iran's right to enrich uranium. The invitation was rejected by White House spokesman Tony Snow, who said "There's not going to be a steel-cage grudge match between the President and Ahmadinejad."[142]
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On November 2006, Ahmadinejad wrote an open letter to the American people,[143] representing some of his anxieties and concerns. He stated that there is an urgency to have a dialog because of the activities of the US administration in the Middle East, and that the US is concealing the truth about current realities.[144] Sony SVS131C1DL Battery
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The United States Senate passed a resolution warning Iran about attacks in Iraq. On 26 September 2007, the United States Senate passed a resolution 76–22 and labeled an arm of the Iranian military as a terrorist organization. Sony SVS131C24L Battery
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In September 2007 Ahmadinejad visited New York to address the General Assembly of the United Nations. On the same trip, Columbia University invited Ahmadinejad to visit and participate in a debate. The invitation was a controversial one for the university, Sony SVS131E1DL Battery
Sony PCG-71912L Batteryas was university president Lee Bollinger's introduction in which he described the Iranian leader as a "cruel and petty dictator" and his views as "astonishingly uneducated."[
Sony PCG-71911L Battery145] Taking questions from Columbia faculty and students who attended his address, Ahmadinejad answered a series of questions, including a query about the treatment of gays in Iran by saying: "We don't have homosexuals like in your country. Sony SVS131G1DL Battery
Sony PCG-71811L Battery We don't have that in our country. We don't have this phenomenon; I don't know who's told you we have it." An aide later claimed that he was misrepresented and was actually saying that "compared to American society, we don't have many homosexuals".[146] Sony SVS151C1GL Battery
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In a speech given in April 2008, Ahmadinejad described the September 11, 2001 attacks as a "suspect event." He minimized the attacks by saying all that had happened was, "a building collapsed."
Sony PCG-61913L Battery He claimed that the death toll was never published, that the victims' names were never published, and that the attacks were used subsequently as pretext for the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.[147] Sony SVS151C2DL Battery
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In October 2008, President Ahmadinejad expressed his happiness of 2008 global economic crisis and what he called "collapse of liberalism". He said the West has been driven to deadend and that Iran was proud "to put an end to liberal economy".[14Sony SVS151E1GL Battery
Sony PCG-61911L Battery8] Ahmadinejad used a September 2008 speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations to assert the American empire is soon going to end without specifying how. "The American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road, and its next rulers must limit their interference to their own borders," Ahmadinejad said.[149] Sony PCG-61A11L Battery
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On November 6, 2008 (two days after the 2008 US Presidential Election), President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad congratulated Barack Obama, the newly elected President of the United States, and said that he "Welcomes basic and fair changes in U.S. policies and conducts, Sony PCG-61A13L Battery
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I hope you will prefer real public interests and justice to the never-ending demands of a selfish minority and seize the opportunity to serve people so that you will be remembered with high esteem". It is the first congratulatory message to a new elected President of the United States by an Iranian President since the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis.[150] Sony PCG-71C11L Battery
Relations with Israel[edit]
Main article: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel
See also: Iran–Israel relations
On 26 October 2005 Ahmadinejad gave a speech at a conference in Tehran entitled "World Without Zionism".Sony PCG-71C12L Battery
Sony PCG-61714L Battery According to widely published translations, he agreed with a statement he attributed to Ayatollah Khomeini that the "occupying regime" had to be removed, and referred to it as a "disgraceful stain [on] the Islamic world", that needed to be "wiped from the pages of history."[151] Sony SVE141C11L Battery
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Ahmadinejad's comments were condemned by major Western governments, the European Union, Russia, the United Nations Security Council and then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.[152] Egyptian, Turkish and Palestinian leaders also expressed displeasure over Ahmadinejad's remark.[15
Sony PCG-61316L Battery3] Canada's then Prime Minister Paul Martin said, “this threat to Israel's existence, this call for genocide coupled with Iran's obvious nuclear ambitions is a matter that the world cannot ignore.”[154] Sony SVE141D11L Battery
The translation of his statement has been disputed. Iran's foreign minister stated that Ahmadinejad had been "misunderstood": "He is talking about the regime. We do not recognise legally this regime."[15Sony SVE141L11L Battery
Sony PCG-61315L Battery5] Some experts state that the phrase in question (بايد از صفحه روزگار محو شود) is more accurately translated as "eliminated" or "wiped off" or "wiped away" (lit. "should disappear") from "the page of time" or "the pages of history", rather than "wiped off the map".[156] Sony SVE151E11L Battery
Sony PCG-61312L Battery Reviewing the controversy over the translation, New York Times deputy foreign editor Ethan Bronner observed that "all official translations" of the comments, including the foreign ministry and president's office, "refer to wiping Israel away".[1Sony SVE151G11L Battery
Sony PCG-61311L Battery57] Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum, an Israel-based professor with ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, in a paper for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, examined the language that President Ahmadinejad has used when discussing Israel. Using Persian translations from Dr. Denis MacEoin, Sony SVE151G13L Battery
Sony PCG-61215L Batterya former lecturer in Islamic studies in the United Kingdom, Teitelbaum wrote that "the Iranian president was not just calling for “regime change” in Jerusalem, but rather the actual physical destruction of the State of Israel, Sony SVE151J11L Battery
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" and asserted that Ahmadinejad was advocating the genocide of its residents as well. Teitelbaum said that in a speech given on 26 October 2005, Ahmadinejad said the following about Israel: "Soon this stain of disgrace will be cleaned from the garment of the world of Islam, and this is attainable."
Sony PCG-61211L Battery Teitelbaum said that this type of dehumanizing rhetoric is a documented prelude to genocide incitement. Dr. Juan Cole, a professor of modern Middle Eastern and South Asian history at the University of Michigan, has argued that Ahmadinejad was not calling for the destruction of Israel, Sony SVE171E11L Battery
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“Ahmadinejad did not say he was going to wipe Israel off the map because no such idiom exists in Persian.” Dr. Stephen Walt, a professor of international affairs at Harvard University has said “I don’t think he is inciting to genocide."[15Sony SVE171G112 Battery
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8] According to Gawdat Bahgat of the National Defense University, "the fiery calls to destroy Israel are meant to mobilize domestic and regional constituencies" and that "Rhetoric aside, most analysts agree that the Islamic Republic and the Jewish state are not likely to engage in a military confrontation against each other."[159] Sony PCG-91111L Battery
In July 2006, Ahmadinejad compared Israel's actions in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict to Adolf Hitler's actions during World War II saying that "like Hitler, the Zionist regime is just looking for a pretext for launching military attacks" and "is now acting just like him."[16Sony PCG-91112L Battery
Sony PCG-71216L Battery0] On 8 August 2006, he gave a television interview to Mike Wallace, a correspondent for 60 Minutes, in which he questioned American support of Israel's "murderous regime" and the moral grounds for Israel's invasion of Lebanon.[ Sony PCG-71312L Battery
Sony PCG-71215L Battery161] On 2 December 2006, Ahmadinejad met with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah in Doha, Qatar. At that meeting, he said that Israel "was created to establish dominion of arrogant states over the region and to enable the enemy to penetrate the heart Muslim land." Sony PCG-71311L Battery
Sony PCG-71212L Battery He called Israel a "threat" and said it was created to create tensions in and impose US and UK policies upon the region.[162Sony PCG-71218L Battery
Sony PCG-71211L Battery] On 12 December 2006, Ahmadinejad addressed the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust, and made comments about the future of Israel. He said, "Israel is about to crash. This is God's promise and the wish of all the world's nations."[163]
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When CNN's Larry King asked Ahmadinejad "does Israel remain Israel" in his version of the Middle East, Ahmadinejad suggested that throughout the Palestinian territories free elections for all be conducted under the supervision of international organizations. Sony PCG-71217L Battery
Sony PCG-71317L BatteryAhmadinejad suggested that "...we must allow free elections to happen in Palestine under the supervision of the United Nations. And the Palestinian people, the displaced Palestinian people, or whoever considers Palestine its land, can participate in free elections. And then whatever happens as a result could happen."[164] Sony PCG-71313L Battery
Relations with Russia[edit]
Ahmadinejad with President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on 28 August 2008.
Ahmadinejad with then president of Russia Vladimir Putin in Tehran on 16 October 2007.
See also: Iran-Russia relations
Ahmadinejad has moved to strengthen relations with Russia, setting up an office expressly dedicated to the purpose in October 2005. Sony PCG-71315L Battery
Sony PCG-71316L Battery He has worked with Vladimir Putin on the nuclear issue, and both Putin and Ahmadinejad have expressed a desire for more mutual cooperation on issues involving the Caspian Sea.[165] More recently, Iran has been increasingly pushed into an alliance with Moscow due to the controversy over Iran's nuclear program. By late December 2007, Sony PCG-9Z1L Battery
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Russia began to deliver enriched batches of nuclear fuel to Iran as a way of persuading Iran to end self-enrichment.
Relations with Venezuela[edit]
See also: Iran-Venezuela relations
Ahmadinejad has sought to develop ties with other world leaders that are also opposed to U.S. foreign policy and influence like Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.[166] Venezuela voted in favor of Iran's nuclear program before the United Nations,[16Sony PCG-9Z2L Battery
Sony PCG-8141L Battery7] and both governments have sought to develop more bilateral trade.[168] As of 2006, the ties between the two countries are strategic rather than economic;[166] Venezuela is still not one of Iran's major trading partners.[169] Sony PCG-7142L Battery
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Regional relations[edit]
Immediately after the Islamic Revolution, Iran's relations with most of its neighbors, particularly those with large Shi'a minorities, were severely strained.[170] Ahmadinejad's priority in the region has been to improve ties with most of Iran's neighbors in order to strengthen Iran's status and influence in both the Middle East and Greater Muslim World. [171] Sony PCG-7151L Battery
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Turkey has always been important in the region due to its ties to the West through NATO, Israel,[172] and its potential entry into the European Union. Ahmadinejad visited Ankara to reinforce relations with Turkey immediately after the 2007 NIE report was released.[ Sony PCG-7152L Battery
Sony PCG-7184L Battery173] Relations were briefly strained after President Abdullah Gul had stated that he wants the atomic threat to be eliminated from the region, perhaps a hint to Iran;[174] however, business has remained cordial between the two countries.[17Sony PCG-7153L Battery
5] Despite US disapproval, they signed a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline deal in late 2007.[175][176]
Iran's relations with the Arab states have been complex, partly due to the Islamic Revolution[170] of decades ago, as well as more recent efforts by the United States to establish a united front against Iran over the nuclear issue and War on Terror.[177] Sony PCG-7154L Battery
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Ahmadinejad has sought reconciliation with the Arab states by encouraging bilateral trade and posturing for Iranian entry into the Gulf Cooperation Council.[178] Outside the Persian Gulf, Ahmadinejad has sought to reestablish relations with other major Arab states, most notably Egypt.[179] As of 2007, Iran did not have an open embassy there.[179] Sony PCG-7162L Battery
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Iran's ties to Syria have been most notable in the West. Both nations have had to deal with international and regional isolation.[180Sony PCG-7171L Battery
Sony PCG-7182L Battery] Both have cordial ties to the militant group, Hezbollah,[181] and concerns over Iran-Syria relations were further exacerbated following the 2006 Lebanon War,[182] which both Ahmadinejad and President Assad claimed as a victory over Israel.[181] Sony PCG-7172L Battery
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Ahmadinejad has also tried to develop stronger, more intimate ties with both Afghanistan and Pakistan, to ensure "regional stability."[183] In particular, Ahmadinejad is interested in more bilateral talks between Iran and both Afghanistan and Pakistan.[ Sony PCG-7173L Battery
Sony PCG-7174L Battery183] His administration has helped establish the "peace pipeline" from Iran that will eventually fuel both Pakistan and India. In theory, the plan will help to integrate South Asian economies, and, thus to calm tensions between Pakistan and India.[184] Sony PCG-31311L Battery
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Ahmadinejad met foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan to discuss increased cooperation between the two nations.[185] Mammadyarov also expressed desire to expand the North-South corridor between Iran and Azerbaijan and to launch cooperative projects for power plant construction.[185Sony PCG-51113L Battery
] Iran has also redoubled efforts to forge ties with Armenia; during Ahmadinejad's visit in October 2007 the discussions were focused on developing energy ties between the two countries.[186]
Afghanistan[edit] Sony PCG-51211L Battery
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Due to the similar culture and language Iran has with Afghanistan, the two countries have historically been close and, even though the US has a military presence in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan maintains he wants Iran to be one of its closest allies.[187][ Sony PCG-51312L Battery
Sony PCG-81314L Battery188] At Camp David in August 2007, Karzai rejected the U.S. claim that Iran backs Afghan militants. Karzai described Iran as "a helper and a solution," and "a supporter of Afghanistan", both in "the fight against terror, and the fight against narcotics". He called relations between Afghanistan and Iran "very, very good, very, very close ".[Sony PCG-51411L Battery
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189] Iran is also the largest regional donor to Afghanistan. Al-Arabiya television, considered by many Western sources as a more neutral Middle Eastern media network, said "Shi'a Iran has close ethnic and religious ties with Afghanistan."[190] Sony PCG-51511L Battery
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Iraq[edit]
Ahmadinejad was the first Iranian president to visit Iraq.[191] Ahmadinejad, in Baghdad 2 March 2008 for the start of a historic two-day trip, said that "visiting Iraq without the dictator Saddam Hussein is a good thing."[19Sony PCG-51513L Battery
Sony PCG-81312L Battery2] Heading home after a two-day visit to Iraq, Ahmadinejad again touted his country's closer relations with Iraq and reiterated his criticism of the United States.[193]
United Nations[e dit]
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On September 23, 2009, Ahmadinejad gave a speech to the UN General Assembly which focused on accusing Western powers of spreading "war, bloodshed, aggression, terror and intimidation" in the Middle East and Afghanistan. He also promised that Tehran was "prepared to warmly shake all those hands which are honestly extended to us".Sony PCG-61412L Battery
Sony PCG-81214L Battery But he accused the West of hypocrisy - saying it preached democracy yet violated its fundamental principles - and added that it was time for the world to respond.
"The awakening of nations and the expansion of freedom worldwide will no longer allow them to continue their hypocrisy and vicious attitudes," he said.[194] Sony PCG-71111L Battery
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He also spoke out against Israel for its "barbaric" attack on the Gaza Strip, "inhuman policies" in the Palestinian territories and what he called its domination of world political and economic affairs.the end of which focused largely on the plight of the people of Palestine and a blaming of Israel, though without mentioning the nation or Jews, referring only to "the occupiers" and "the Zionist regime".
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"How can the crimes of the occupiers against defenseless women and children... be supported unconditionally by certain governments," Ahmadinejad asked. "And at the same time, the oppressed men and women be subject to genocide and heaviest economic blockade being denied their basic needs, food, water and medicine?" Sony PCG-81111L Battery
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"It is no longer acceptable that a small minority would dominate the politics, economy and culture of major parts of the world by its complicated networks," he added. And he accused the so-called Zionist regime of seeking to "establish a new form of slavery, Dell XPS 14 Battery
and harm the reputation of other nations, even European nations and the US, to attain its racist ambitions." His remarks culminated in France leading a walkout of a dozen delegations, including the United States in protest. "It is disappointing that Mr Ahmadinejad has once again chosen to espouse hateful,
Dell XPS L502X Battery offensive and anti-Semitic rhetoric," Mark Kornblau, spokesman to the US mission to the United Nations, said in a statement. Delegations from Argentina, Australia, Britain, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Dell XPS 14D Battery
New Zealand and the United States left the room as Ahmadinejad began to rail against Israel. Israel had already called for a boycott of the speech, and was not present when the Iranian leader began his address. Canada had already said it would heed the boycott call.[195][196]
Allegations of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism[edit]
Main article: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel
Controversies[edit]
On 14 December 2005, Ahmadinejad made several controversial statements about the Holocaust, repeatedly referring to it as a "myth," as well as criticizing European laws against Holocaust denial. According to a report from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Ahmadinejad said, referring to Europeans, "Today, Dell XPS 14D-L401X Battery
Dell XPS 17-L702X Battery they have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion and the prophets."[197] The quote has also translated as "They have created a myth today that they call the massacre of Jews and they consider it a principle above God, religions and the prophets."[198] Dell XPS 15 Battery
In a 30 May 2006 interview with Der Spiegel, Ahmadinejad insisted there were "two opinions" on the Holocaust. When asked if the Holocaust was a myth, he responded "I will only accept something as truth if I am actually convinced of it." Dell XPS 15D Battery
Dell XPS L702X BatteryHe also said, "We are of the opinion that, if a historical occurrence conforms to the truth, this truth will be revealed all the more clearly if there is more research into it and more discussion about it". He then argued that "most" scholars who recognized the existence of the Holocaust are "politically motivated," stating that: Dell XPS 15-L501X Battery
"...there are two opinions on this in Europe. One group of scholars or persons, most of them politically motivated, say the Holocaust occurred. Then there is the group of scholars who represent the opposite position and have therefore been imprisoned for the most part."[199] Dell XPS 15-L502X Battery
In August 2006, the Iranian leader was reported to have again cast doubt on the existence of the Holocaust, this time in a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, where he wrote that the Holocaust may have been invented by the Allied powers to embarrass Germany.[2Dell Latitude E4200 Battery
Dell Latitude E6410 ATG Battery00] During the same month, in a public speech that aired on the Iranian News Channel (IRINN), Ahmadinejad reportedly implied that Zionists may not be human beings, saying “They have no boundaries, limits, Dell Latitude E4300 Battery
Dell Latitude E6400 XFR Battery or taboos when it comes to killing human beings. Who are they? Where did they come from? Are they human beings? ‘They are like cattle, nay, more misguided.’”[201]
On 11 December 2006 the "International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust" was held in Iran.[20Dell Latitude E5400 Battery
2] The conference was called for by and held at the request of Ahmadinejad.[203] Western media widely condemned the conference and described it as a "Holocaust denial conference" or a "meeting of Holocaust deniers",Dell Latitude E5420 Battery
Dell Latitude E6400 ATG Battery [204] though Iran maintained that it was not a Holocaust denial conference, commenting the conference was meant to "create an opportunity for thinkers who cannot express their views freely in Europe about the Holocaust".[205] Dell Latitude E5500 Battery
In his September 2007 appearance at Columbia University, Ahmadinejad stated "I'm not saying that it didn't happen at all. This is not judgment that I'm passing here"[206] and that the Holocaust should be left open to debate and research like any other historical event.[207] Dell Latitude E5520 Battery
At the 18 September 2009 Quds Day ceremonies in Tehran, he stated that "the pretext for establishing the Zionist regime is a lie, a lie which relies on an unreliable claim, a mythical claim, (as) the occupation of Palestine has nothing to do with the Holocaust".[208Dell Latitude E6120 Battery
Dell Latitude E6500 Battery] He also referred to the Holocaust as a sealed "black box" asking why western powers refuse permission for the claim to be "examined and surveyed". — what the New York Times considered "among his harshest statements on the topic,"[2Dell Latitude E6220 Battery
Dell Latitude E6420 ATG Battery09] and one immediately condemned by the US, UK, French and German governments.[ Dell Latitude E6400 Battery
Dell Latitude E6410 Battery210] Widely interpreted as referring to the Holocaust, the media have been criticized for lack of objectivity by reporting the quote without context as it could equally be interpreted as referring to Israel's Biblical claims to the land of Palestine.[211] Dell Latitude E6320 Battery
In response to some of Ahmadinejad's controversial statements and actions, a variety of sources, including the U.S. Senate,[212] have accused Ahmadinejad of anti-Semitism. Ahmadinejad's September 2008 speech to the UN General Assembly, Dell Latitude E6210 Battery
Dell Latitude E6530 Batteryin which he dwelled on what he described as Zionist control of international finance, was also denounced as "blatant anti-Semitism" by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.[213] Dell Latitude E6230 Battery
American President Barack Obama posed a direct challenge to Ahmadinejad during his June 2009 visit to Buchenwald concentration camp, saying that Ahmadinejad "should make his own visit" to the camp and that "[t]his place is the ultimate rebuke to such thoughts, a reminder of our duty to confront those who would tell lies about our history".[214] Dell Latitude E6330 Battery
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In October 2008, Ahmadinejad's statements on the Holocaust were criticized within Iran by cleric and presidential hopeful Mahdi Karroubi.[215][216] Dell Latitude E5520 Battery
Khamenei's main adviser in foreign policy, Ali Akbar Velayati, refused to take part in Ahmadinejad's Holocaust conference. In contrast to Ahmadinejad's remarks, Velayati said that the Holocaust was a genocide and a historical reality.[217] Dell Latitude E5420M Battery
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Response to allegations[edit]
Ahmadinejad has denied allegations of Holocaust denial[218] and acknowledged that it seems the West is right in its claim of the Holocaust:
"If the Europeans are telling the truth in their claim that they have killed six million Jews in the Holocaust during the World War II – which seems they are right in their claim because they insist on it and arrest and imprison those who oppose it, Dell Latitude E5430 Battery
why the Palestinian nation should pay for the crime. Why have they come to the very heart of the Islamic world and are committing crimes against the dear Palestine using their bombs, rockets, missiles and sanctions.[219] Dell Latitude E5530 Battery
Ahmadinejad has said he respects Jews and that "in Palestine there are Muslims, Christians and Jews who live together". He added, "We love everyone in the world – Jews, Christians, Muslims, non-Muslims, non-Jews, non-Christians. Sony PCG-3B1L Battery
.. We are against occupation, aggression, killings and displacing people – otherwise we have no problem with ordinary people."[220Sony PCG-3B2L Battery
Sony PCG-5T3L Battery] Ahmadinejad has further said the Jewish community in Iran has its own independent member of parliament. Ahmadinejad has argued Zionists are "neither Jews nor Christians nor Muslims", and has asked "How can you possibly be religious and occupy the land of other people?"[164] Sony PCG-3B3L Battery
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Shiraz Dossa, a professor at St. Francis Xavier University, in Nova Scotia, Canada, argued in June 2007 that
Ahmadinejad has not denied the Holocaust or proposed Israel’s liquidation; he has never done so in any of his speeches on the subject (all delivered in Persian). As an Iran specialist, I can attest that both accusations are false. Sony PCG-3C2L Battery
Sony PCG-5T1L Battery.. What Ahmadinejad has questioned is the mythologizing, the sacralization, of the Holocaust and the “Zionist regime’s” continued killing of Palestinians and Muslims. He has even raised doubts about the scale of the Holocaust. His rhetoric has been excessive and provocative. Sony PCG-3C3L Battery
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Sony PCG-5S3L BatteryAnd he does not really care what we in the West think about Iran or Muslims; he does not kowtow to western or Israeli diktat.[221]
Dossa was criticized in Canadian media, by university president Sean Riley, and by 105 professors[222] at his university for his attendance at Tehran's Holocaust conference.[223] Dossa replied he did not know Holocaust deniers would be in attendance, that he has "never denied the Holocaust, Sony PCG-3D4L Battery
Sony PCG-5S2L Batteryonly noted its propaganda power", and that the university should respect his academic freedom to participate.[224]
Cabinet members[edit]
Iran's President is constitutionally obliged to obtain confirmation from the parliament for his selection of ministers.[2Sony PCG-3E3L Battery
Sony PCG-5S1L Battery25] Ahmadinejad presented a short-list at a private meeting on 5 August, and his final list on 14 August. The Majlis rejected all of his cabinet candidates for the oil portfolio and objected to the appointment of his allies in senior government office.[12] The Majlis approved a cabinet on 24 August.[22Sony PCG-3F1L Battery
Sony PCG-5P4L Battery6] The ministers promised to meet frequently outside Tehran and held their first meeting on 25 August in Mashhad, with four empty seats for the unapproved nominees.[227] Sony PCG-3F2L Battery
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Ahmadinejad announced controversial ministerial appointments for his second term. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei was briefly appointed as first vice president, but opposed by a number of Majlis members and by the intelligence minister, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i. Mashaei followed orders to resign. Ahmadinejad then appointed Mashaei as chief of staff, and fired Mohseni-Eje'i.[228] Sony PCG-3F3L Battery
On 26 July 2009, Ahmadinejad's government faced a legal problem after he sacked four ministers. Iran's constitution (Article 136) stipulates that, if more than half of its members are replaced, the cabinet may not meet or act before the Majlis approves the revised membership.[22Sony PCG-3B1L Battery
Sony PCG-5R2L Battery9] The Vice Chairman of the Majlis announced that no cabinet meetings or decisions would be legal, pending such a re-approval.[230] Sony PCG-3F4L Battery
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The main list of 21 cabinet appointments was announced on 19 August 2009.[231] On 4 September, Majlis approved 18 of the 21 candidates, and rejected three, including two women. Sousan Keshavarz, Mohammad Aliabadi, Sony PCG-3G3L Battery
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Sony PCG-5R1L Batteryand Fatemeh Ajorlou were not approved by Majlis for the Ministries of Education, Energy, and Welfare and Social Security respectively. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi was the first woman approved by Majlis as a minister in the Islamic Republic of Iran.[2Sony PCG-3H1L Battery
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Sony PCG-5P2L Battery32] During the second term of Ahmedinejad, nine cabinet member were dismissed by the Majlis until February 2013.[233]