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Ahmadinejad says Iran is nuclear, cannot be turned back
By Haaretz Service and News Agencies

Israel Radio reported Saturday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has released a statement saying Iran has become a nuclear nation and no one can cause the country to backtrack.

"Our enemies cannot harm us, not because they don't wish to, but because they cannot do so due to their difficult situation," Israel Radio quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

Ahmadinejad and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday defended a controversial fuel rationing plan in Iran, state-television IRIB reported.

According to Isral Radio, Ahmadinejad said the rationing of fuel has made Iran better able to withstand pressure from the international community. He was referring to sanctions placed on the country following its refusal to halt uranium enrichment as part of its nuclear program.

He said the enemies of Iran have acknowledged the fact that the rationing of fuel has made his country "undefeatable," the radio reported.

Khamenei said in a meeting with government officials that the surplus from the rationing plan and non-import of oil could be used for other development plans in the country.

Although Iran is a leading OPEC member and the world's fourth biggest oil producer with a daily oil production of 4.2 million barrels, the Islamic state must import more than 40 per cent of the country's oil needs and spend 5 - 8 billion dollars annually on imports due to a lack of refineries and a preference for oil exports.

Riots broke out in protest against the decision, and several gas stations were set on fire.

Ahmadinejad defended the plan as a complex decision that required national will to help the country gain invulnerability to international threats.

Iranian officials had earlier said the plan should also be regarded as a precautionary move in case of United Nations Security Council sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear projects.

Ahmadinejad further called for a switch from oil to natural gas in order to further decrease the necessity of oil imports.

The harsh protests confirmed the government's fears that the move would dent Ahmadinejad's popularity before parliamentary elections in March next year and even negatively affect his chances for re-election in 2009.

Report: IAEA team to visit Iran
A team from the UN nuclear watchdog will visit Iran on July 11-13 to discuss how to resolve questions about Tehran's disputed nuclear program, the ISNA news agency quoted an Iranian official as saying on Saturday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency last week said Iran had invited it to send a team after Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, agreed a "plan of action" for clearing up issues with IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei.

"A team consisting of the agency's deputy and some officials? will come to Tehran to study a working plan that will answer all the remaining issues in regard to Iran's nuclear program," Iran's IAEA envoy, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, told ISNA.

Ahmadinejad says Iran is nuclear, cannot be turned back (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/876643.html)

Ahmadinejad: It will be a 'hot' summer
JPost staff and AP, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 19, 2007

It's going to be a "hot" summer in the Middle East, said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad following a surprise meeting with Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah in Damascus on Thursday evening, Channel 10 reported.

Nasrallah allegedly entered Syria via an underground tunnel, the television channel said.

"We hope that the hot weather of this summer will coincide with similar victories for the region's peoples, and with consequent defeat for the region's enemies," Ahmadinejad added, in an apparent reference to Israel.

During his one-day trip to Damascus, Ahmadinejad held talks with counterpart Bashar Assad which focused on the Iraq situation, Palestinian territories and Lebanon, where both Teheran and Damascus wield influence.

"The enemies of the region should abandon plans to attack the interests of this region, or they would be burned by the wrath of the region's peoples," the hardline Iranian leader said at a joint press conference with Assad.

Ahmadinejad, accompanied by a high-level delegation, was greeted at Damascus airport by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem ahead of the official reception by Assad at the People's Palace. Assad was sworn in Tuesday for a second seven-year term.

He described Syrian-Iranian relations as "amicable, excellent and extremely deep," adding that the two countries have common stands on regional issues and face common enemies.

Assad said Ahmadinejad's visit came in the context of the continuous developing relations between the two nations whose "farsighted policies" have proven to be correct.

The Syrian leader said they also discussed "ways of restoring dialogue among all Palestinian factions." Syria also backed Iran's right to pursue a nuclear program and the two called for the "departure of all occupation forces" from Iraq - a reference to US troops.

Earlier, Ahmadinejad told Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ramdan-Abdullah Shalakh that Iran's role in the Middle East was "to support the armed struggle of the Palestinian people."
The Iranian president stressed the importance of unity between all Palestinian factions.

Ahmadinejad also called on all countries in the region to be vigilant of Israel's attempts to revive itself following its "failure" of the Second Lebanon War.

Ahmadinejad's visit posed a snub to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has called on Syria to cut its relations with Iran as a precondition to restart peace process, deadlocked since 2000.

Ahmadinejad: It will be a 'hot' summer (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1184766016694&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Ahmadinejad criticizes U.S. arms deal

By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer Fri Aug 3, 6:17 PM ET

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's president criticized the U.S. on Friday for its plan to increase weapons sales to several Arab countries and step up military aid to Israel, saying Washington was trying to impose its dominance on the Middle East.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments were sparked by Washington's announcement earlier this week that it would sell advanced weaponry to Persian Gulf nations worth at least $20 billion and provide new 10-year military aid packages to Israel and Egypt.

"All U.S. efforts are for the creation of differences among our brothers in the region to impose its ideas and hegemony," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying on his office's official Web site. "Americans feel their relations with regional (Mideast) countries are weakened, and under cover of this, the arms deal, they want to make relations warm."

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, also criticized the U.S. plan, accusing Washington of seeking to drown the Middle East in wars.

"The United States is bringing billions of dollars worth of arms to ignite wars in this region," Nasrallah said in a speech beamed through giant television screens to hundreds of thousands of supporters in eastern Lebanon's city of Baalbek. "The American administration is working on instigating sectarian strife and civil wars in Palestine, Iraq, the Gulf and ... between the countries of this region."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited U.S. allies in the Middle East this week to discuss the proposed military package, seen as a counterweight to Iran's rising influence in the region. Iran is one of Hezbollah's main backers.

Ahmadinejad also criticized U.S. support for Israel and Washington's efforts to promote Arab-Israeli peace.

"The U.S. plans to introduce Israel as a friend of the regional (Arab) countries," the Iranian leader said. "Instead, they want to portray the Iranian nation, brother and best friend of Arab nations, as their enemy."

The U.S. accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons and supporting Shiite militias in Iraq, charges Tehran denies.

The Sunni-led governments of the Middle East are also wary of Shiite Iran's growing power, and Israel views the country as its principal enemy. The U.S. hopes to capitalize on this fear to rally support for its efforts to isolate Iran.

During his visit, Gates said the U.S. "can't wait years" for Iran to change its policies and argued that more countries needed to support U.N. sanctions to put additional pressure on Iran.

Ahmadinejad called on Arab nations to spurn the U.S. weapons deal, arguing they should "spend the resources for progress and development of their countries."

Ahmadinejad criticizes U.S. arms deal (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070803/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_us_mideast;_ylt=AnwXtku7XZROCGZrc9fnUI0LewgF)

Ahmadinejad (Imanutjob) tells Israel to find a new home
August 05, 2007

LONDON, August 5 - Iran's outspoken President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Israel to "go find somewhere else" for its state and leave its territory for the creation of a Palestinian state, according to an interview published, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

"Our support (for the Palestinian people) is unconditional. As for the Israelis, let them go find somewhere else," Ahmadinejad told several Algerian newspapers ahead of an visit to Algiers that starts Monday.

Iran consistently refuses to recognise Israel's right to exist in the Middle East, and Ahmadinejad sparked outrage abroad by stating after coming to power in 2005 that Israel should be "wiped from the map."

He also provoked a storm in June by saying a "countdown" had begun that would end with Lebanese and Palestinian militants destroying Israel, and his government last year hosted a conference on the Holocaust questioning the German Nazis genocide of the Jews during World War II.

In his latest diatribe, the Iranian leader accused Israel of commiting "butchery" in the Palestinian territories.

Ahmadinejad said, too, that Iran wanted to cooperate with Algeria against terrorism. "Islam bans the assassination of innocent people wherever they are," he said.

"We reject all methods of terrorism, whatever the denomination or motive," Ahmadinejad declared.

He criticised what he called the "partial" view of human rights in Western countries.

He said there were "secret prisons" in Europe. "In the United States people's telephone conversations are listened to. In Britain, people are spied on using television cameras. In Palestine, Israel commits butchery. But no-one causes a scandal."

Ahmadinejad's visit to Algeria has not been officially confirmed by the authorities.

Ahmadinejad (Imanutjob) tells Israel to find a new home (http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=53346&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs)

Ahmadinejad (Imanutjob) accuses US of seeking ME dominance
Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 3, 2007

Iran's president criticized the US on Friday for its plan to increase weapons sales to several Arab countries and step up military aid to Israel, saying Washington was trying to impose its dominance on the Middle East, the president's office reported.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments were sparked by Washington's announcement earlier this week that it would sell advanced weaponry to Persian Gulf nations worth at least US$20 billion (€15 billion) and provide new 10-year military aid packages to Israel and Egypt.

"All US efforts are for the creation of differences among our brothers in the region to impose its ideas and hegemony," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying on his office's official Web site. "Americans feel their relations with regional (Middle East) countries are weakened, and under cover of this, the arms deal, they want to make relations warm."

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited its allies in the Middle East this week to discuss the proposed military package, seen as a counterweight to Iran's rising influence in the region.

The Iranian president also criticized US support for Israel and Washington's efforts to promote Arab-Israeli peace.

"The US plans to introduce Israel as a friend of the regional (Arab) countries," said Ahmadinejad. "Instead, they want to portray the Iranian nation, brother and best friend of Arab nations, as their enemy."

The US accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons and supporting Shi'ite militias in Iraq, charges Teheran denies.

The Sunni-led governments of the Middle East are also wary of Shieite Iran's growing power, and Israel views the country as its principal enemy. The US hopes to capitalize on this fear to rally support for its efforts to isolate Iran.

During his visit, Gates said the US "can't wait years" for Iran to change its policies and argued that more countries needed to support UN sanctions to put additional pressure on Iran.

Ahmadinejad was defiant on Friday, saying "Americans have faced a dead end" in their efforts to squeeze Iran.
"They will go nowhere with these primitive and weak movements," he added.

The Iranian president called on Arab nations to spurn the US weapons deal, arguing they should "spend the resources for progress and development of their countries."

Ahmadinejad (Imanutjob)accuses US of seeking ME dominance (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1186066373980&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

IRNA's programs should be global and international - Ahmadinejad
Tehran, Aug 9, IRNA

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Wednesday in a meeting with IRNA staff at Iran's official news agency central office, "Today our news society is idealist, benevolent, and noble."
He added, "IRNA, in particular, should have global programming, and be able to see far horizons."
According to IRNA Political Desk reporter, the president emphasized, "We need to oppose the hegemony of oppressors' mentality and the oppressors news networks," adding, "We do not want our news arrangement to have merely local usage, we need to expand the dimensions of our job and to work for the world nations."
Ahmadinejad reiterated, "We need to be the defenders of the oppressed around the globe and to help them materialize their rights by proper and transparent news broadcasting, reflecting their needs and the realities."
The president added, "There are many times when a good and appropriate news item can dismantle the huge plots hatched by enemies, and the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) should be the pioneer in that field."
Ahmadinejad went on to say, "Inside the country, too, IRNA should side by side with news dissemination, reflect various viewpoints systematically, and to act in a way that the important various issues related to all parts of Iran would be put on discussion, and different people's viewpoints would be reflected."
The president emphasized that the country belongs to the entire nation, not to any particular group, or faction, arguing, "The entire parts of the government, and all our officials need assistance in their proper decision making in order to construct our country." Ahmadinejad reiterated, "We all need to spend tremendous efforts to create jobs, provide security, and expand the dimensions of scientific and technological advancement in our country."
The president considered the media as a connection ring between people and their officials, adding, "The reporters are the assets of the country and proper news broadcasting equals presence at the frontline of a holy war."
Referring to the Supreme Leader's comments in inviting the people to express their viewpoints on social affairs, Ahmadinejad said, this is a field in need of IRNA's competent management, not permitting certain individuals and groups that have nothing to say but to reflect the viewpoint of their own particular factions and groups." The president pointed out that proper informing of the people is not playing with the words and pleasing the groups, factions, and bands, reiterating, "We need to fix our sight at reaching the peaks all the time."
Ahmadinejad thanked God for having hard working reporters present at all the scenes actively, bravely, and with love, that are all necessities for news work, particularly observed in performance of IRNA reporters.

The president at the end referred to the comments made by IRNA Managing Director Jalal Fayyazi on problems with which IRNA staff are entangled with, saying, "Seeing the building where you work truly oppressed me!"

IRNA's programs should be global and international - Ahmadinejad (http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-17/0708097640010646.htm)

President Ahmadinejad Says Iran Ready to Fill Power Vacuum in Iraq

Tuesday , August 28, 2007

TEHRAN, Iran —
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Tuesday that a power vacuum is imminent in Iraq and said that Iran was ready to help fill the gap.

"The political power of the occupiers is collapsing rapidly," Ahmadinejad said at a press conference in Tehran, referring to U.S. troops in Iraq. "Soon, we will see a huge power vacuum in the region. Of course, we are prepared to fill the gap, with the help of neighbors and regional friends like Saudi Arabia, and with the help of the Iraqi nation."

Although Ahmadinejad did not elaborate how Iran could fill a power gap, his bold remarks reflected what may be perceived as Iran's eagerness for an increasing role on its neighbor's political scene.

Earlier this month, during a visit here by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iranian leaders said that only a U.S. pullout would bring peace to Iraq and pledged their government would do its best to help stabilize the country.

Soon after al-Maliki's trip, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that Ahmadinejad had accepted an invitation to Baghdad by the Iraqi prime minister for a state visit. But the ministry added that a final decision on the trip had not been made.

Ahmadinejad accused the United States of interfering in Iraq's internal affairs, and dismissed U.S. criticism of al-Maliki's unsuccessful efforts to reconcile the country's Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.

"They rudely say (the Iraqi) prime minister and the constitution must change," Ahmadinejad said. "Who are you? Who has given you the right" to ask for such a change, he added, addressing the U.S. critics of al-Maliki, who is also a Shiite.

Ahmadinejad dismissed the possibility of any U.S. military action against Iran.

"I tell you resolutely that there is no possibility, whatsoever, of such a decision in the U.S.," Ahmadinejad told reporters. "Even, if they were to decide to do so, they would be unable to carry it out."

U.S. has accused Iran of being behind attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq — a claim the Iraqi government has only partially backed, saying Iran could have a role in the attacks. Iran has denied the accusations.

President Ahmadinejad Says Iran Ready to Fill Power Vacuum in Iraq (http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,294907,00.html)

God and Math Convince Ahmadinejad Iran is Safe

Sep. 3, 2007

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his calculations as an engineer and his belief in God convince him that Iran will not be attacked by Western powers trying to end its nuclear programme.

Iran is under pressure to halt work that the West believes is part of a covert bid to build nuclear warheads. Tehran's denials and refusal to stop have prompted increasingly tough rhetoric from Western leaders, including refusals by Washington to rule out military action.

Ahmadinejad, who regularly chides the West and talks proudly of his academic skills, brushed off the suggestion that force might be used.

"There were days when some inside the country were pressuring us to retreat, (saying) 'Otherwise there will be a war'," Ahmadinejad told students and academics on Sunday, according to the daily Etemad-e Melli.

"But I told them that I am an engineer and familiar with analysis and examination ... The enemies will not dare to fight us," he told the group.

"I give two reasons to those who have the same concern. First, I am an engineer, a master of calculation and tabulation. I write out hypotheses for hours, I reject and I prove them again. I make plans based on reason and proof ...

"They (Iran's enemies) are not able to make problems for Iran," he said. "Second, I believe in what God has said. God said those who move on the correct path will win."

Ahmadinejad, a former commander in the Revolutionary Guards who has a university doctorate, told a news conference last week that he would like to spend more time in academic work if his presidential duties allowed him the opportunity.

On that occasion he also dismissed prospects of a U.S. attack, saying U.S. power in Iraq and the region was waning.

Washington has said it wants diplomacy to end the nuclear row but has not ruled out military action if that fails. U.S. President George W. Bush said last week that Iran's atomic plans put the region "under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust".

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said last week that a diplomatic push was the only alternative to "an Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran".

Washington is pushing the U.N. Security Council to impose a third set of sanctions after previous rounds failed to persuade Iran to give up uranium enrichment -- which Iran insists is purely for power, although it could be used for nuclear weapons.

The French Foreign Ministry said on Monday that a recent agreement on cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency showed that Iran "understands the impact of the sanctions and the resulting isolation".

"International pressure must be increased so that Iran suspends its sensitive activities," spokeswoman Pascale Andreani told an online news conference.

God and Math Convince Ahmadinejad Iran is Safe (http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=3552961&page=1)

Ahmadinejad: Iran can help secure Iraq, Israel is 'cruel'
Sept 13 2007

Iran wants "peace and friendship for all," the country's president said Wednesday while again denying Western assertions his nation is pursuing nuclear weapons and trying to destabilize Iraq.

But Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took a hard line against Israel, calling it "an invader" and saying it "cannot continue its life."

Asked if Iran had launched a proxy war in Iraq -- something the U.S. ambassador and top military commander there both asserted this week -- Ahmadinejad said the United States is merely seeking a scapegoat for its failing campaign in Iraq.

"Forces have come into Iraq and destroyed the security, and many people are killed," the Iranian president told Britain's ITN during an interview in the garden of the Iranian presidential palace in Tehran.

"And there are some claims that may seem very funny and ridiculous. Those who have lots of weaponry and warfare and thousands of soldiers -- if they are defeated, they blame others. There is no way to escape for peace."

Iranians do not believe in war and consider it a "last resort," he said.

He further claimed that Tehran is a friend of Iraq -- maintaining "good relationships" with the Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish factions -- and "if Iraq is not secure, we are the first country that would be damaged."

He added, "Responsible people should understand this: that Iran is against any sort of insecurity and attacks, and Iraq is able to defend themselves." VideoWatch Ahmadinejad discuss issues affecting his country »

During the interview, Ahmadinejad struck a friendly tone toward Britain, saying he regretted that British soldiers have died in Iraq.

"We are sorry for your soldiers to be killed. We think peace should exist. Why should there be an invasion so that people will be killed?" he asked.

"We want friendship -- friendship to all. We love all nations and all human beings. Anyone who is killed, we are against it."

Ahmadinejad urged the United States and Britain to reconsider the invasion of Iraq. The two countries should "correct themselves," he said. If they don't, "the defeat would repeat."

The Islamic republic could help improve conditions in Iraq, but first coalition forces must leave, he said.

"We can help solve many problems in Iraq. We can help secure Iraq. We can help the attackers leave Iraq if the American government and British government correct themselves." he said.

Ahmadinejad has said in the past that Tehran would fill any power vacuum left by a withdrawal of coalition forces in Iraq.

The United States has cited the Iranian president's remarks as a reason to continue its efforts in Iraq.

As for allegations that Tehran is pursuing a nuclear weapon, Ahmadinejad said he resents the notion that Iran "has to obey whatever was put to us" and asked why there is no similar furor over American and British nuclear programs.

"Our bombs are dangerous, but American bombs are not dangerous?" he asked.

When the ITN interviewer asked if he could tour the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran, Ahmadinejad chuckled and asked him if he thought the United States or Britain would allow Iran to inspect their nuclear facilities.

"We do not need a bomb. We are against bombs, actually. There are many reasons we are against it," he said. "From a political point of view, it's not useful, we think."

The United Nations Security Council has so far imposed two rounds of limited sanctions against Iran for the country's refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment program.

Tehran has insisted the program is meant for peaceful energy production.

In regard to Israel, which Ahmadinejad has said should be politically "wiped off the map," the Iranian president said there is a way to deal with the Jewish state without violence.

Giving as an example the dissolution of the Soviet Union -- which he said came about "without war" -- Ahmadinejad suggested that "everything would be solved" if the Palestinian people were allowed to vote on their fate.

However, his hard-line rhetoric resurfaced when Ahmadinejad said Israel "cannot continue its life."

"Israel is an invader and is cruel, and it hasn't got a united public. All other nations are against it," he said. "We do not recognize them. They are attackers and illegal."

Ahmadinejad: Iran can help secure Iraq, Israel is 'cruel' (http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/12/ahmadinejad.itn/index.html#)

Mahdi Return Imminent, Says Ahmadinejad: Escalation in the Positions of Iranian President Ahmadinejad

Introduction

In several recent speeches, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad outlined Iran's nuclear policy and set forth his vision regarding the interrelationship between Iran and the West.

In a speech about Iran's nuclear program, Ahmadinejad declared that Iran has become a global power, and that it would place its nuclear technology at the service of those determined to confront the U.S. and other Western countries. He announced that Iran was now successfully operating over 3,000 centrifuges, continued to downplay the impact of the U.N. Security Council sanctions on Iran, and reiterated Iran's official stance of refusal to freeze its nuclear activity. Ahmadinejad also harshly censured senior Iranian officials who had called for compromise with the West on Iran's nuclear program out of fear of a possible U.S. attack on Iran, hinting that they were traitors.

In addition, Ahmadinejad declared that the world was now at an historic turning point. The history of the West, he said, had reached its end, and the appearance of the Hidden Imam, heralding the era of Islamic Shi'ite rule, was nigh. [1] Thus, he called on the nations of the world to rise up against the hegemony of the West, headed by the U.S., and predicted the imminent collapse of Israel, which he called "Satan's standard-bearer." [2]

Following are statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on various issues, from his recent speeches:
Iran's Nuclear Program

On several occasions, Ahmadinejad stressed that Iran would continue developing its nuclear program regardless of the sanctions. He noted that the sanctions were having no impact on progress in "the irreversible path of the nuclearization of the Iranian nation" [3] and denied Western reports of a slowdown in Iran's uranium enrichment. Ahmadinejad further promised to place Iran's nuclear technology "at the service of those who are determined to confront the bullying powers and aggressors [i.e., the Western countries, headed by the U.S.]..." [4] At a recent conference of Revolutionary Guards commanders, he also stated that "some violent powers [i.e., the West, headed by the U.S.] are now officially declaring that they want to cooperate with the Iranian nation, and that they acknowledge Iran's [status] as a regional power. However, they must know that Iran is a global power." [5]

In a report submitted in late August 2007 to the to the International Atomic Energy Agency Council of Governors, IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei stated that as of August 19, 2007, 1,968 centrifuges at the Natanz facility had been injected with UF6 gas and were in operation. However, in early September, 2007, Ahmadinejad stated: "When we opened [the uranium conversion facility] at Isfahan, they [i.e. the West, headed by the U.S.] threatened military action [against us]. But now, we are operating over 3,000 centrifuges, and every week [another] new [centrifuge] system is installed... They have not managed to do anything against [our] united and steadfast nation." [6] He added, "They thought that they could make the Iranian nation withdraw with each of the sanctions resolutions that they issued - but after each resolution, the Iranian nation showed further progress [in its nuclear] program." [7]

On another occasion, Ahmadinejad harshly condemned senior Iranian officials who had in recent months called for compromise with the West: "With regard to obtaining nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, unreliable individuals have spoken of compromising... No one would believe it if I mentioned the names of these individuals, who in several meetings spoke of the need for compromise, enumerating the enemy's strong points, and [raising the possibility that the West could launch] an all-out war... We have experienced days when we were pressured from a hundred different directions from within [Iran] to withdraw [and to halt uranium enrichment]... But I said that I was willing to guarantee them that it was impossible for [the U.S.] to launch a war against us..." [8]

Ahmadinejad went on to explain: "At some meetings, I told these friends that I was an engineer, and that I had analyzed the problems and presented proof, [and thus] I told them that the enemies do not have the courage to launch a war against us. Some doubted my words, but I presented them with two [pieces of] evidence. First, I told them, I am an engineer, I am deliberate, I make tables and write and examine hypotheses for hours. I present proof and put together plans based on it, and that is how I proceed. They [the U.S.] cannot pose a problem to Iran. They are stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they have problems there, and lack the ability [to act against Iran]. As further proof, I told them that I believe in the word of God. God said that those who act properly will triumph. Iran's Leader [Ali Khamenei] and the Iranian nation are steadfast in, attentive to, and agree with the word of God..." [9]

Ahmadinejad added, "I have documents [to prove] that some people, who [are supported by] newspapers that do nothing but malign [the government] on a daily basis, made every effort to ensure that sanctions were issued against Iran. They would provide [the West] with the latest updates [about Iran's nuclear program], and urge it to exert as much pressure as possible [on the Iranian government]. It was not one or two people, but at least eight or 10. Now, these people are turning to the Gulf states and telling them not to cooperate with the Iranian government." [10] In his speech to the Revolutionary Guards commanders, Ahmadinejad said, in a similar vein, "Unfortunately, some elements [in Iran] have encouraged some of the violent powers to increase the pressures on Iran." [11]

In a press conference during his August 21-22, 2007 visit to Azerbaijan, Ahmadinejad said that the West's attempts to stop Iran's nuclear program had been in vain, and that Iran had not changed its policy: "Thanks to the determined stance of the Iranian nation, which has stood united in defense of its right [to nuclear technology], Iran's enemies have not succeeded in preventing its progress, and in imposing their positions upon it, for Iran has [now] achieved a full nuclear fuel cycle... [The Western countries] know very well that their actions have no effect [on Iran], and that they will [eventually] be compelled to acknowledge its right [to develop this technology]... If these aggressive countries pay no heed to our friendly advice, their prestige in the world will suffer, and their situation will be more difficult...

"When I visited Baku last year, Iran was only at the halfway point on the winding and difficult path [to nuclear technology]. But today, with God's grace and thanks to the determined stand and resistance of the Iranian people, Iran has seen this narrow and difficult path through to its end... and now nobody can stop the progress of the Iranian nation [in the area of nuclear technology].

"There are countries whose attainment of nuclear technology did not bring about any change in the world. Iran's nuclearization, on the other hand, is the beginning of a very great change in the world, since its nuclear activities are in the service of peace, justice, and welfare for all the [world's] countries... You [i.e. the Western countries] have used the language of force, and have failed to realize [the greatness] of the Iranian nation. You thought that if you increased the pressure [i.e. the sanctions] on Iran, the Iranian nation would withdraw [from its position]... I said to these countries: You are wrong, and you are making fools of yourselves - for you cannot harm Iran in the slightest..." [12]

At an August 28, 2007 press conference at the presidential palace, Ahmadinejad said further: "As for the reports about [Iran] slowing down or accelerating its nuclear program, most of them are not grounded in reality. We are working to [enrich uranium]. This is a technical process, and any acceleration or deceleration [of the activities] has to do with technical circumstances and capabilities. Political decisions play no part in this... I hereby officially announce that, as far as Iran is concerned, the nuclear issue is closed. Those who thought that they could stop the Iranian nation through discriminatory political moves [i.e. sanctions], and by abusing their [power] in the international decision-making bodies, now realize that the path they took was wrong..." [13]

The Return of the Mahdi is Imminent; The West's Hegemony Has Come to an End

cont'd next post

In his speech at the annual International Seminar on the Doctrine of Mahdism, held in Tehran August 25-26, 2007, Ahmadinejad stated that Western dominance has come to an end, and called on the nations of the world to rebel against "the oppressive imperialist powers" in preparation for the coming of the Hidden Imam:

"The Hidden Imam is heir to everything that has been good and beautiful throughout history, and the call [to await his coming] is a call [to have faith] in the missions of the divine prophets, in monotheism, and in justice... In these days, humanity longs for monotheism and justice. With God's grace, the [preparations] for a flood of compassion, truth and justice will soon be complete...

"The message of Mahdism, which calls [to believe] in the Savior [i.e. the Hidden Imam], brings hope and joy to people [throughout the world]. [It is] a message of steadfastness and patience and of resisting the oppressors [i.e. the West, headed by America]; it is a message of submission [to God] and of the pursuit of justice and honor. The current situation in the world has led the nations to reject in disgust the rule of the oppressors. Now is the time to invite people to accept the rule of the righteous, and [especially that] of the most righteous of [rulers] - the Hidden Imam...

"Today's imperialist forces give humanity nothing by forcing wars [upon it], plundering its resources, violating [human] rights, issuing threats, trampling human dignity and [spreading] corruption, vice and insecurity... The oppressors and tyrants are responsible for all the difficulties and problems currently faced by the nations, and the only way to establish justice is through popular uprising and determined resistance in the face of these oppressors...

"[The day] of these aggressors... who are oppressing and controlling the nations, is now coming to an end. Those who [seek to] distract the people with materialistic philosophy of one kind or another, and who pursue materialism, have brought humanity nothing but despair and deception... The time of the righteous rulers will come, and the most righteous of rulers, [i.e. the Hidden Imam], will form a government and thereby instate the monotheism of Abraham [throughout the world]. That day is not far away...

"Our enemies naturally feel threatened by the call to [believe in] the Mahdi, for they do not want people to think about justice. But our reply to them is that the era of the aggressive [powers] has come to an end. We believe that it is time for the righteous to rule, and for humanity to be properly [re]born out of love, knowledge, and spirituality." [14]

In his speech at the opening of the fourth World Assembly of the Ahl Al-Beit Foundation, held in Tehran August 18-19, 2007, Ahmadinejad said: [15]

"Today we must prepare ourselves to discharge the responsibility [placed] upon us... which transcends the [boundaries of the] Muslim world... Islam is the truth. This truth was only partly revealed in Judaism and Christianity, but is fully revealed in Islam... Today, as ever, the world needs the Hidden Imam, [for] it is suffering under the yoke of dishonest [rulers]... Our mission transcends the geographical boundaries of the Muslim [world]. Our clerics have a responsibility to call upon humanity as a whole to [embrace] the [true] monotheism and the rule of monotheistic principles." [16]

In an August 28, 2007 speech, Ahmadinejad added, "The current problems faced by the world result from [the rule] of unworthy rulers. The ultimate solution is to replace these unworthy regimes and rulers, and to establish the rule of the Hidden Imam..." [17] "Those who are not versed in [the doctrine of Mahdism] believe that the return [of the Hidden Imam] will occur only in a very long time, but, according to the divine promise, [his return] is imminent..." [18]

On August 29, 2007, Ahmadinejad said, "The Iranian nation and the Islamic Revolution have a pivotal role in preparing the ground for the coming of the Hidden Imam... We must rapidly develop Iran in order to create the

conditions for his coming, and we must also help the rest of the world's nations [to prepare for his return], in order to precipitate this great event..." [19]

"The responsibility that currently rests on Iran's [shoulders] is very heavy; it is the kind of mission [with which] the divine prophets [were entrusted]. It does not permit us to rest or slumber even for a moment. Have you ever seen a prophet take a rest from the fulfillment of his mission?..." [20]

Israel Has No Right to Exist; Its Collapse is Imminent

Ahmadinejad's recent speeches have also been characterized by statements against the Zionists and against Israel, which he called "Satan's standard-bearer." [21]

At the August 28, 2007 press conference, he said: "[The Zionists] have no religion, for religion means having faith in others and maintaining friendly [relations] with [other] nations. But everywhere they exist there is war. They are responsible for much of the injustice in the world. The Zionists are a minority which numbers no more than a few tens of thousands, but they have formed clandestine organizations, because they do not want peace and friendship to prevail among the nations... They thrive on war and hatred. If peace [ever] prevails in the world, the people of the world will eradicate Zionism. If the [European] nations could have acted [freely], they would have thrown them out of Europe." [22]

In his speech at the Ahl Al-Beit assembly, Ahmadinejad said: "You also saw the outcome of the 33-day war in Lebanon [in the summer of 2006], and how Hizbullah stood fast against the Zionist regime. Can such a regime [conceivably] last? A regime whose entire philosophy and existence are founded upon lies is bound to collapse... The extent of the defeat of the world superpowers is reflected by the extent to which their ideology and reasoning have failed... [Israel] is the standard-bearer of aggression, occupation, and discrimination in the world. Considering all this, [how] can this regime [possibly] last?" [23]

In line with his view of Israel as a foreign body in the region, Ahmadinejad said, at a September 4, 2007 meeting with deposed Palestinian foreign minister Ziad Abu 'Amru: "The only way out of the crisis is through armed resistance by a united Palestinian nation, with determination and faith in God... It would be naïve of us to believe that America and certain European countries might take steps to help the Palestinian people - for the Zionist regime is their representative, and is flesh of their flesh... The Palestinian nation is now invincible... The Iranian nation and government believe in the Palestinian cause, and are interested in its fulfillment. [They] will continue to stand by the Palestinian people..." [24]

On the Situation in Iraq

In line with his view that the Western hegemony is coming to an end, Ahmadinejad stated that the depth of the West's defeat mirrors the depth of its ideological defeat. He predicted that the Coalition forces will soon be forced to withdraw from Iraq, and declared that Iran would be willing to fill the vacuum. [25]

In his speech at the Ahl Al-Beit assembly, he said: "The hegemony of America and its allies in Iraq has been shattered, and [the Americans] have suffered an historic defeat. The depth of the [military] defeat [suffered by] the Global Arrogance [i.e. America] mirrors [the depth of] their ideological defeat...

"The world is now at a historic turning point. This is apparent from the briefest glance at the global balance of power, which is rapidly tipping towards truth and away from falsehood... America and its allies in Iraq are now sinking in a quagmire, from which they... can escape only at great cost..." [26]

cont'd next post

On another occasion, Ahmadinejad said, "The aggressors have become entangled in Iraq. They attribute no importance to Iraqi lives... I hereby announce loud and clear that the occupier's political forces are facing defeat in Iraq... [and that] we will soon see a serious leadership vacuum in the region. I hereby announce that Iran is willing to fill this vacuum, with the help of its neighbors and friends in the region, including Saudi Arabia. With the help of the Iraqi people, we will fill this vacuum. This is already happening; we must open our eyes to see it...

"I advise the aggressors to stop their stubbornness and selfishness... Even if you stay in Iraq for another 50 years, not only will conditions fail to improve, they will deteriorate... Iraq is, in the present circumstances, [just] another example of the corrupt rule of the superpowers... We have announced [in the past] our willingness to extricate you from the Iraqi quagmire - but if you choose to stay there, you are welcome to do so!... Wait a few months, and [you will see] that under pressure, the [Al-Maliki] government will be defeated..." [27]

On Renewing Relations with Egypt

On August 28, 2007, Ahmadinejad reiterated that Iran was willing to renew relations with Egypt, [28] and added that both countries would benefit from this, as two dominant forces in the region.

"Iran and Egypt are both great and civilized nations, which [maintain] ties of mutual friendship. The truth is that the Egyptian nation is clearly interested in [relations] with Iran, and that the Iranian nation is interested in [relations] with Egypt. The two countries have many distinctive characteristics in common, such as a unique and ancient culture. Furthermore, both have significant influence in regional and global issues, and therefore, friendship between them will benefit the Muslim countries and the world [at large].

"[During my visit] to the UAE [in May 2007], I announced that if Egypt declares its willingness to renew the relations [with Iran], we would promptly dispatch an ambassador [to Cairo]. The deputy foreign ministers of the two countries are due to meet [to discuss this issue], and this [meeting] will be followed by a meeting between the foreign ministers [themselves] in order to prepare the foundations for [renewing] relations. I hope that these [plans] will be realized shortly..." [29]

On Human Rights in Iran

In the same speech, Ahmadinejad said that all citizens and groups in Iran enjoyed complete and full freedom, and can express their opinions freely. Addressing the issue of the Iranian-American academic Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, who was recently released from an Iranian prison after being detained for over three months, he stated that her case would be decided by the Iranian judiciary. [30]

* Y. Mansharof is a Research Fellow at MEMRI; A. Savyon is Director of MEMRI's Iranian Media Project.

[1] According to Shi'ite belief, the Twelfth Imam (known as the Mahdi, or the Hidden Imam) disappeared in 941 CE. Shi'ites are commanded to anticipate his reappearance, which will bring their redemption and the proof of the rightness of the Shi'ite belief. See MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 357, "The Doctrine of Mahdism: In the Ideological and Political Philosophy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad," May 31, 2007,

[2] IRNA (Iran), August 18, 2007.

[3] IRNA (Iran), August 25, 2007.

[4] IRNA (Iran), August 21, 2007.

[5] Kayhan (Iran), September 12, 2007.

[6] ISNA (Iran), September 2, 2007.

[7] Kayhan (Iran), September 3, 2007.

[8] Aftab (Iran), September 2, 2007.

[9] Etemad-e Meli (Iran), September 3, 2007. In its September 3, 2007 editorial, the reformist daily Etemad-e Meli - owned by former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi, who ran for president in 2005 but was forced to drop out of the race after he accused Ahmadinejad of election fraud - stated that, with all due respect to the president's Ph.D. in transportation engineering, there was no guarantee that Iran would not be attacked by the U.S., and that Ahmadinejad should be more realistic. Ahmadinejad was also criticized by the reformist daily Aftab-e Yazd in its August 19, 2007 editorial; the editorial condemned Ahmadinejad for failing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Kyrgyzstan in August 2007. The editorial stated: "Those who followed the news about the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Conference noticed the conspicuous absence of one significant report, [namely] a report about a meeting between Ahmadinejad and Putin." In an August 28, 2007 speech, Ahmadinejad claimed that he had, in fact, met with Putin during the conference, and that Putin had promised him that Russia would complete the construction of the Bushehr reactor. However, it was later confirmed by several Iranian media sources that no meeting had taken place.

[10] Rooz (Iran), September 3, 2007. According to another Rooz report, Ahmadinejad said: "More than there were Western pressures, there were pressures by cowardly circles within [Iran]... who called for compromise. But if we had withdrawn [from our position], the pressures would not have stopped. God told us [in the Koran] that we must stand fast, and that if we give in, even in the slightest, nothing would remain of our independence... In [certain] circles, there was an official who would pass intelligence to foreign agents, and who encouraged [the West] to increase the sanctions. This individual, from a [certain] faction within the government whose newspapers malign [the government] even today, held regular meetings with [foreign agents], passed information about disagreements [within the Iranian leadership], and opposed the issuing of [relatively] moderate sanctions against Iran. Now he has turned to the Gulf states, and, maligning the Iranian government, he has asked them not to cooperate with [Iran]." Rooz (Iran), September 3, 2007.

[11] Kayhan (Iran), September 12, 2007.

[12] ISNA (Iran), August 28, 2007.

[13] ISNA (Iran), August 28, 2007.

[14] IRNA (Iran), August 27, 2007.

[15] The term "Ahl Al-Beit" refers to the lineage of Ali Ibn Abi Talib and Fatima, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, whose descendents are regarded by the Shi'ites as the true heirs of the Prophet. The Ahl Al-Beit Foundation, founded in 1990, aims to promote the study and culture of Shi'ite Islam. Its members are religious and political figures from several Muslim countries.

[16] Kayhan (Iran), August 19, 2007.

[17] IRNA (Iran), August 28, 2007.

[18] ISNA (Iran), August 28, 2007.

[19] IRNA (Iran), August 30, 2007.

[20] Aftab-e Yazd (Iran), September 3, 2007.

[21] IRNA (Iran), August 18, 2007.

[22] ISNA (Iran), August 28, 2007.

[23] Kayhan (Iran), August 19, 2007.

[24] Mehr (Iran), September 4, 2007.

[25] At central Friday prayers on August 17, 2004, Council of Experts member Ahmad Khatami said that the Arab countries should remember that after the U.S. leaves Iraq, Iran will still be right there in the region.

[26] Kayhan (Iran), August 19, 2007.

[27] ISNA (Iran), August 28, 2007.

[28] For Ahmadinejad's statements on this topic from May 2007, and reactions to these statements, see MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 364, "Dispute in Iran over Renewing Relations with Egypt," June 15, 2007,

[29] ISNA (Iran), August 28, 2007.

[30] ISNA (Iran), August 28, 2007.

Journalist, Columbia graduate to rip diploma over Iran prez
'Tearing is a sign of mourning, indeed it is a day of mourning'

If noted journalist and Columbia University alumna Aliza Davidovit walks onto the campus of her alma mater today, it won't be to recall fond memories of her college days – it will be to rip up her diploma from Columbia to protest the appearance of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"I once prized my Columbia diploma and degree, and in my career as a journalist I've done much to make my alma mater proud. But today I am very, very ashamed. I have removed my diploma from the wall and if Ahmadinejad speaks, I will tear it in two, " Davidovit told WND.

"In Judaism, tearing is a sign of mourning. And indeed it is a day of mourning – a day when the integrity of freedom died a little."

Davidovit, who earned her master's degree in journalism from Columbia, is a writer, author, journalist and former TV producer. She is currently contributing editor at Lifestyles magazine and specializes in interviewing and writing about the world's most famous and influential people for cover stories. She worked at ABC News "20/20" for six years with Connie Chung and in the ABC News Terrorism/Investigations Unit with John Miller. She was also an associate producer and booker at the Fox News Channel.

(Story continues below) Today, in an exclusive WND commentary, Davidovit takes Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger to task for using the First Amendment to justify the university's decision to invite Ahmadinejad to speak on campus.

She writes: "Would he, in the name of free speech, advocate inviting pedophiles to speak at PTA meetings so parents could better understand why their kids should not be sent to playgrounds with no pants on.

"Would Columbia invite a world leader to speak who claims black slavery was a myth or who calls for all black people to be "wiped off the map"? The answer is certain. He wouldn't.

"If Bollinger wants his students, as he has said, 'to understand the world as it is and as it might be,' let him take his students on a field trip to the Walter Reid Medical Center where our troops our coming home without limbs and without faces because of Ahmadinejad. Let him bring them to the airports where families welcome home their loved ones in a wooden box. Let him take them to the Holocaust museum where they can view how university students their own age were turned into bars of soap and lampshades."

Minutemen's Gilchrist, no ... Ahmadinejad, yes
Columbia University retracted invitation to border activist before OK to Iran prez

Columbia University said it would welcome any notable figure visiting the United States — even Adolf Hitler himself — to speak to students and faculty at the Ivy League college.

But there are those who question what the New York college's standards are. They ask why a school that will not allow an ROTC program to be part of its curriculum would allow Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, one of America’s avowed enemies, onto its campus.

Critics wonder why the leader of a nation that exports terrorism is allowed to speak, but the leader of an American organization that seeks to secure U.S. borders was not.

On Monday, Columbia will play host to Ahmadinejad, who has called the Holocaust "a myth," encouraged the destruction of Israel and who leads a nation that has supported Hezbollah terrorists in the Middle East and insurgents in Iraq.

The Iranian president will address students and faculty at a forum only days after Columbia retracted a speaking invitation to the president of the Minuteman Project, a controversial citizens' group that seeks to secure America's borders from illegal immigrants, even going so far as to try building a fence along the border with Mexico.

Minuteman founder and president Jim Gilchrist said he now feels "sweet and sour" toward Columbia after an invitation to participate in an Oct. 4 talk was taken away last week. Gilchrist appeared at Columbia last year, but his speech was thwarted when students and other opponents stormed the stage as he took the podium.

"I've always respected Columbia, but I've relegated it to a gutter school after that incident," Gilchrist said in a phone interview. "They've stopped free speech. That's worse than killing people. With that, you can kill an entire nation."

But Gilchrist — an ardent supporter of the First Amendment — actually backs the university's decision to host Ahmadinejad.

"I'm defending his appearance," he said. "I think he should speak. To say no, he cannot speak, is to support exactly the same thing that happened to me."

Gilchrist added that he wouldn't back Ahmadinejad’s appearance if the United States were at war with Iran.

He believes Columbia's administrators are good about fostering free speech but give too much power to "radical" groups in determining who gets a forum on campus.

A student and faculty group called the Columbia Political Union initially voted to ask Gilchrist back this year, but it was ultimately the organization that reversed the vote and rescinded his invitation. The CPU was apparently not a key factor in the Ahmadinejad visit, which is sponsored by Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs and is part of the university's annual World Leaders Forum.

The CPU explained its decision not to go forward with the Gilchrist appearance in a statement issued on its Web site on Sept. 18.

"We had hoped that it might be possible to have him and others involved in the events of last October on the same stage, engaged in a civil but challenging discussion," the CPU said. "It has become clear that this event cannot take the form we had originally hoped it would and could not effectively accomplish the goals we had hoped it might.

"The CPU Executive Board voted last night not to go forward with this event."

University officials did not return calls from FOXNews.com seeking comment on the school's public-speaking policies and decisions.

But John Coatsworth, the dean of the School of International and Public Affairs, said in a weekend interview with FOX News that just about anyone would be welcome to speak at the university — except the leaders of countries the United States is at war with.

As for Hitler, he said, prior to the invasion of Poland in 1939, “if Hitler were in the United States and wanted a platform from which to speak, he would have plenty of platforms to speak in the United States. If he were willing to engage in a debate and discussion, and be challenged by Columbia students and faculty, we would certainly invite him.”

Columbia University President Lee Bollinger issued a lengthy statement defending the school's decision to host Ahmadinejad and said that during his introduction to the event, he would challenge the Iranian president on the following:

—the Iranian president's denial of the Holocaust;

—his public call for the destruction of Israel;

—his reported support for international terrorism that targets innocent civilians and American troops;

—Iran's pursuit of nuclear ambitions in opposition to international sanctions;

—his government's widely documented suppression of civil society and particularly women's rights;

—his government's imprisoning of journalists and scholars, including one of Columbia's own alumni, Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh.

"Columbia, as a community dedicated to learning and scholarship, is committed to confronting ideas," Bollinger said in his statement. "On occasion this will bring us into contact with beliefs many, most or even all of us will find offensive and even odious. ...

"It should never be thought that merely to listen to ideas we deplore in any way implies our endorsement of those ideas, or the weakness of our resolve to resist those ideas or our naiveté about the very dangers in such ideas."

Bollinger said that the "faith in freedom" is "our nation's most potent weapon against repressive regimes everywhere in the world. This is America at its best."

Gilchrist, for his part, praised Columbia's administrators and faculty but expressed disdain for students who have been able to sway the school not to invite certain visitors of whom they don't approve.

"The administration is very much for free speech. I have to commend the administration," Gilchrist said. "It's the caveman mentalities on campus that have seized control about what will be tolerated and what will not be tolerated. ... I'm ashamed of the student body there. They're showing very poor leadership."

Angry welcome awaits Ahmadinejad in NYC
Big protests expected as Iran's leader visits Columbia University

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday that Iran would not launch an attack on Israel or any other country, and he does not believe the U.S. is preparing for war against Iran.

“Iran will not attack any country,” Ahmadinejad told The Associated Press. Iran has always maintained a defensive policy, not an offensive one, he said, and has “never sought to expand its territory.”

Asked whether he beleved the U.S. is preparing for war, he responded: “That is not how I see it ... I believe that some of the talk in this regard arises first of all from anger. Secondly, it serves the electoral purposes domestically in this country. Third, it serves as a cover for policy failures over Iraq.”
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In a 30-minute interview at a hotel near the United Nations, where he will address then General Assembly on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad struck a soothing tone. He said Iranian foreign policy was based on humanitarian concerns and seeking justice.

He reiterated his call for a debate at the United Nations on world issues with President Bush.

Referring to fears of a military campaign against Iran, he said: “We don’t think you can compensate for one mistake by committing more mistakes.”

The Iranian president, in what is believed to be his first comments on a reported attack Sept. 6 by Israeli bombers inside Syria, said the attack stemmed from Israeli expansionism and “it had nothing to with Iran.”

Columbia controversy
Ahmadinejad's visit to New York drew tabloid headlines calling him "evil" and a "madman," and stirred debate about free speech ahead of his appearance at Columbia University.

Columbia President Lee Bollinger has promised to grill Ahmadinejad on subjects such as human rights, the Holocaust and Iran's disputed nuclear program. The Iranian leader previously has called the Holocaust "a myth" and called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

Bollinger said Monday it was a question of free speech and academic freedom.

"It's extremely important to know who the leaders are of countries that are your adversaries. To watch them to see how they think, to see how they reason or do not reason. To see whether they're fanatical, or to see whether they are sly," he told ABC's "Good Morning America."

The New York Daily News' front page on Monday read: "THE EVIL HAS LANDED." The New York Post called Ahmadinejad the "Madman Iran Prez" and a "guest of dishonor."

Tensions are high between Washington and Tehran over U.S. accusations that Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons, as well as helping Shiite militias in Iraq that target U.S. troops — claims Iran denies.

"Well, you have to appreciate we don't need a nuclear bomb. We don't need that. What need do we have for a bomb?" Ahmadinejad said in a "60 Minutes" interview that aired Sunday, taped earlier in Iran. "In political relations right now, the nuclear bomb is of no use. If it was useful it would have prevented the downfall of the Soviet Union."

He also said that: "It's wrong to think that Iran and the U.S. are walking toward war. Who says so? Why should we go to war? There is no war in the offing."

Before leaving Iran, Ahmadinejad said the American people have been denied "correct information," and his visit will give them a chance to hear a different voice, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Ahmadinejad has appealed to the American people before, distinguishing between the population and their government. Recently, he told a television show that Iran wants peace and friendship with America. Since coming to power in 2005, Ahmadinejad also has sent letters to the American people criticizing President Bush's policies in the Middle East.

Iran leader condemned by university host
Ahmadinejad calls remarks at Columbia 'an insult,' addresses Holocaust

As hundreds protested outside, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the stage at Columbia University on Monday after a blistering introduction from the school's president, who said the hard-line leader was a dictator with preposterous beliefs.

Ahmadinejad smiled as Columbia President Lee Bollinger took him to task over Iran's human-rights record and foreign policy, as well as Ahmadinejad's statements denying the Holocaust and calling for the disappearance of Israel.

"Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger said, to loud applause.
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He said Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust might fool the illiterate and ignorant. "When you come to a place like this it makes you simply ridiculous," Bollinger said. "The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history."

“You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated,” Bollinger told Ahmadinejad about the leader’s Holocaust denial. “Will you cease this outrage?”

Bollinger, who had been criticized for allowing Ahmadinejad to speak, also described him as having a "fanatical mindset" for making statements like wanting Israel to be “wiped off the map.”

"Do you plan on wiping us off the map too?" Bollinger asked.

Bollinger also raised questions of academic freedom in Iran and asked, "Can you tell them and us why Iran is fighting a proxy war in Iraq?"

Stating his "revulsion at all you stand for" as Ahmadinejad sat nearby, Bollinger concluded by saying that "I doubt that you will have the intellectual courage to answer these questions — but your avoidance will be meaningful to us."

Bollinger ended his remarks to strong applause from the audience.

Iran leader's response
Ahmadinejad rose, also to applause, and after a religious invocation said Bollinger's opening was "an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here."

"There were insults and claims that were incorrect, regretfully," Ahmadinejad said, accusing Bollinger of offering "unfriendly treatment" under the influence of the U.S. press and politicians.

He did not address all of Bollinger’s accusations directly, instead launching into a long religious discursion laced with quotes with the Quran before turning to criticism of the Bush administration and past American governments, from warrantless wiretapping to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"We are a peace-loving nation," he said to boos and cheers.

On the Holocaust, Ahmadinejad said he simply wanted more research about it, saying that chapter in history was abused as a justification for Israeli mistreatment of the Palestinians.

“Why is it that the Palestinian people are paying the price for an event they had nothing to do with?” Ahmadinejad asked. He closed his prepared remarks with a terse smile, to applause and boos, before taking questions from the audience.

Ahmadinejad was asked about whether Iran sought the destruction of Israel.

"We love all nations. We are friends with the Jewish people," he said, adding that Palestinians must be allowed to determine their own statehood.

Asked by a moderator for a yes or no answer, Ahmadinejad said he should be free to answer as he wished.

On another question, Ahmadinejad appeared agitated and denied he was questioning the existence of the Holocaust. "Granted this happened, what does it have to do with the Palestian people?" he said.

But then he said he was defending the rights of European scholars, an apparent reference to a small number who have been prosecuted under national laws for denying or minimizing the Holocaust.

"There's nothing known as absolute," he said.

'Iran will not attack'
Earlier Monday, Ahmadinejad said Iran would not launch an attack on Israel or any other country, and he does not believe the U.S. is preparing for war against Iran.

“Iran will not attack any country,” Ahmadinejad told The Associated Press. Iran has always maintained a defensive policy, not an offensive one, he said, and has “never sought to expand its territory.”

Asked whether he beleved the U.S. is preparing for war, he responded: “That is not how I see it ... I believe that some of the talk in this regard arises first of all from anger. Secondly, it serves the electoral purposes domestically in this country. Third, it serves as a cover for policy failures over Iraq.”

In a 30-minute interview at a hotel near the United Nations, where he will address then General Assembly on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad struck a soothing tone. He said Iranian foreign policy was based on humanitarian concerns and seeking justice.

He reiterated his call for a debate at the United Nations on world issues with President Bush.

Referring to fears of a military campaign against Iran, he said: “We don’t think you can compensate for one mistake by committing more mistakes.”

The Iranian president, in what is believed to be his first comments on a reported attack Sept. 6 by Israeli bombers inside Syria, said the attack stemmed from Israeli expansionism and “it had nothing to with Iran.”

Ahmadinejad questions 9/11, Holocaust

By NAHAL TOOSI, Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 24, 7:29 PM ET

NEW YORK - Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended Holocaust deniers and raised questions about who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks in a tense showdown Monday at Columbia University where the school's head introduced the visitor by calling him a "petty and cruel dictator."
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Ahmadinejad, appearing shaken by what he called "insults" from his host, sought to portray himself as an intellectual and argued that his regime had respect for reason and science. But the former engineering professor soon found himself drawn into the type of rhetoric that has alienated American audiences in the past.

He provoked derisive laughter by responding to a question about Iran's execution of homosexuals by saying: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country ... I don't know who's told you that we have this."

At times, however, he drew audience applause, such as when he bemoaned the plight of the Palestinians.

But his first stab was at Columbia's president, Lee Bollinger, who said in his introduction of Ahmadinejad: "Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator."

Ahmadinejad said Bollinger's opening was "an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here."

"There were insults and claims that were incorrect, regretfully," Ahmadinejad added, accusing Bollinger of falling under the influence of the hostile U.S. press and politicians.

Appearing agitated at times, Iran's president often declined to offer the simple answers the audience sought, responding instead with his own questions or long discursions about history and justice.

Bollinger opened by aggressively taking on Ahmadinejad's past statements about the Holocaust.

"In a December 2005 state television broadcast, you described the Holocaust as the fabricated legend," he said. "One year later, you held a two-day conference of Holocaust deniers."

Bollinger said that might fool the illiterate and ignorant.

"When you come to a place like this, it makes you simply ridiculous. The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history," he said.

Ahmadinejad denied he had questioned the existence of the Holocaust.

"Granted this happened, what does it have to do with the Palestinian people?" he said.

But Ahmadinejad went on to say that he was defending the rights of European scholars, an apparent reference to a small number who have been prosecuted under national laws for denying or minimizing the Holocaust.

"There's nothing known as absolute," he said.

Asked why he had asked to visit the World Trade Center site — a request denied by New York authorities — Ahmadinejad said he wanted to express sympathy for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Then he appeared to question whether al-Qaida was responsible, saying more research was needed.

"If the root causes of 9/11 are examined properly — why it happened, what caused it, what were the conditions that led to it, who truly was involved, who was really involved — and put it all together to understand how to prevent the crisis in Iraq, fix the problem in Afghanistan and Iraq combined," Ahmadinejad said.

Bollinger drew strong criticism for inviting Ahmadinejad to Columbia and had promised tough questions in his introduction. But the stridency of his attack on the Iranian leader took many by surprise.

"You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated," Bollinger told Ahmadinejad about the leader's Holocaust denial. "Will you cease this outrage?"

Bollinger's introduction was "very harsh," said Hamid Dabashi, a professor of Iranian studies at Columbia University.

"Inviting him and then turning around and alienating and insulting an entire nation whose representative this man happens to be is simply inappropriate," Dabashi said.

In Iran, Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia could be seen on Arabic satellite channels and state television's Arabic-language service, but it did not appear on channels that broadcast in Farsi, the language of Iran.

During his prepared remarks, the Iranian president did not address Bollinger's accusations directly, instead launching into quotes with the Quran and criticism of the Bush administration and past American governments, from warrant-less wiretapping to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

He said the Holocaust has been abused as a justification for Israeli mistreatment of the Palestinians.

"Why is it that the Palestinian people are paying the price for an event they had nothing to do with?" Ahmadinejad asked.

He closed his prepared remarks with a terse smile, to applause and boos, before taking questions from the audience.

Ahmadinejad claimed women have tremendous rights in Iran and insisted his country does not believe in nuclear weapons.

Asked about his country's nuclear intentions, he insisted the program is peaceful, legal and entirely within Iran's rights, despite attempts by "monopolistic," "selfish" powers to derail it. "How come is it that you have that right, and we can't have it?" he added.

President Bush said Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia "speaks volumes about, really, the greatness of America."

He told Fox News Channel that if Bollinger considered Ahmadinejad's visit an educational experience for Columbia students, "I guess it's OK with me."

But conservatives on Capitol Hill were critical. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, said he thought the invitation to Ahmadinejad was a mistake "because he comes literally with blood on his hands."

Thousands of people jammed two blocks of 47th Street across from the United Nations to protest Ahmadinejad's visit to New York for the opening of the U.N. General Assembly session. Organizers claimed a turnout of tens of thousands. Police did not immediately have a crowd estimate.

The speakers, most of them politicians and officials from Jewish organizations, proclaimed their support for Israel and criticized the Iranian leader for his remarks questioning the Holocaust.

"We're here today to send a message that there is never a reason to give a hatemonger an open stage," New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said.

Hundreds of protesters also assembled at Columbia. Dozens stood near the lecture hall where Ahmadinejad was scheduled to speak, linking arms and singing traditional Jewish folk songs about peace and brotherhood. A two-person band nearby played "You Are My Sunshine."

Signs in the crowd displayed a range of messages, including one reading: "We refuse to choose between Islamic fundamentalism and American imperialism."

Ahmadinejad questions 9/11, Holocaust (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070924/ap_on_re_us/iran_us)

Excerpts from Ahmadinejad interview

By The Associated Press Mon Sep 24, 8:15 PM ET

• On international pressure to halt Iran's uranium enrichment program:

The problem relates to the point of view that a select group of countries have about the issue, which happen to be in an absolute minority, but they do possess political and military power, and they impose their opinion on international organizations. ... I'm referring to certain elements within the U.S. administration and one or two European countries perhaps, but the vast majority of the countries around the world have recognized our right (to peaceful nuclear energy) and have also supported it.

• On attacking Israel:

Iran will not attack any country. Our defensive strategy is not one that is offensive and based on attacks. ... Iran is a country that has resided in peace for over hundreds of years with its neighbors, and in fact it has never sought to expand its territory and to dominate other regions and areas. ... Most certainly, Iran is well qualified to protect itself and its territorial integrity but it will never attack another country.

• On the future of Israelis and Palestinians:

We believe that the future of Palestine should be decided by the people there. That is why our proposal is based on having, holding free elections, sort of a referendum collecting the votes of the people. That is to allow the Palestinian people to choose for themselves.

• On accusations that Iran provides weapons to Iraq and Afghanistan:

Why would we want to do that? Is our weapons the reason for the dispute over U.S. policies in Iraq? This would really be inappropriate for the U.S. We're friends with both Iraq and Afghanistan. Insecurity in Iraq and Afghanistan undermines our own initial security.

• On prospects for a change in Iraq after U.S. presidential elections:

We believe that there is a humane way of approaching the problem in Iraq, and fixing it in a quick fashion, and we're ready to support that. It doesn't matter who the other side is. What matters are the Iraqi people who are losing their lives.

• On Iraqi and American casualties in Iraq:

It saddens us that people lose their lives in Iraq. We also regret that American troops are losing their lives there. We think that these are all as a result of misguided policies. Those who are standing against the Iraqi people, and blame others for their own failures, whose policies are wrong.

• On meeting U.S. officials:

Anything is possible. ... I have suggested that I debate president Bush. I think that the United Nations provides a suitable forum for this. All of the heads of state can sit down. The world can watch for itself, independently. We will offer our proposals for resolving world problems and restoring peace, and allow everyone to think for themselves and decide which one is right.

• On Israeli incursion into Syrian airspace:

We believe that it comes down to the roots of the expansionist policies of the Zionist regime. It's an aimless policy in a way, just a show of power, and has nothing to do with Iran. Syria is an independent state It pursues its own policies.

• On foreign policy:

We seek peace and viable security for the whole world and believe viable peace and security ... can happen based on the belief in a single god and based on the belief in the establishment of justice for all.

• On the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war:

Had it not been for the support and provocation of some Western states, Saddam would never have attacked Iran, and there never would have been a war.

Excerpts from Ahmadinejad interview (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070925/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ahmadinejad_interview_excerpts;_ylt=AvYmgM219rSL2zWo4Y633x1vaA8F)

Think about this...................

A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War Two owned a number of large industries and estates.

When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward "today's" fanaticism.

"Very few people were true Nazis", he said, "but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of our world had come......my family lost everything.....I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories."

Today, we are told again and again by "experts" and "talking heads" that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace......
Although, this unqualified opinion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the truth about the "fanatics" rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.

The fact is that the "fanatics" rule Islam at this moment in history.....
-It is the fanatics who march......
-It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide.......
-It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave.......
-It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor kill.....
-It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque......
-It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals.......
.
The hard quantifiable facts are that the "peaceful majority" or the "silent majority" are just that...."SILENT", cowed and extraneous.

Communist Russia comprised Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant..because they were "silent".

China's huge population, it was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War 2 was not a war mongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel and bayonet.

And, who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were "peace loving"?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points: "Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence...."

Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany, they will awake one day and find that the "fanatics" own them, and the end of their world will have begun......

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.

As for us who watch this all unfold; we must pay very close attention to the only group that counts; the "fanatics" who threaten our way of life.....and we

"CAN'T BE SILENT"!!

Ahmadinejad sets out his vision of a world without Israel

David Horovitz
THE JERUSALEM POST
Sep. 25, 2007

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to unveil a vision of a world without Israel, in which America and Europe would be freed of what he said was Zionist oppression.

Culminating a concerted assault on what he described as the injustices and oppressions practiced by the "big powers" since World War II, he said that the ungodly era of lewdness and violence was coming to a close and that "the age of monotheism has commenced."

The world was "nearing the sunset of the time of empires," he said, and urged the dominant world powers to eschew their "obedience to Satan" and "submit to the will of god." If they did so, "they will be saved." If not, "calamities will befall them."

But whether or not these powers chose to reform themselves, he said, the day was fast approaching when "occupied lands will be freed. Palestine and Iraq will be liberated from the domination of the occupiers." And the people of America and Europe would be liberated from Zionist oppression. "This is the promise of god," he said. "Therefore it will be fulfilled."

Earlier in his address, the Iranian president insisted again that his country's nuclear program was peaceful and transparent, and repeated and elaborated on the charges he had levelled at Columbia University on Monday against Israel - which he did not mention by name, but rather called "the illegal Zionist regime."

He told the assembled world leaders that the people of Palestine had been punished for 60 years for what had happened in Europe. They had been held "under occupation of the illegal Zionist regime," he said. "The Palestinian people have been displaced," he went on, "incarcerated under abhorrent conditions." They were being deprived of water and medicine "for the sin of asking for freedom."

Ahmadinejad accused Israel of terrorism and castigated "the brutal Zionists" for carrying out targeted assassinations.

He also described immigration to Israel as the gathering "of Jews from around the world" with false promises, and their enforced settlement "in the occupied territories" where there were induced "to malevolence against the Palestinian people."

He spoke of a range of global injustices being rooted in the domination by the victors of World War II over the vanquished, and being perpetuated by the skewed composition of the permanent membership of the UN Security Council. The big powers, he said, had "put themselves in the position of god" and lost "their respect for the dignity of humans."

As a remedy, he proposed the formation of "a coalition for peace," guided by "monotheism, justice and compassion for humans," and the reforming of the Security Council based on justice and democracy.

On the nuclear issue, he said Iran's activities were "completely peaceful and transparent" and castigated the "illegal" sanctions initiatives against his country. But "the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed," he said, however, indicting that Iran had prevailed, thanks to the "resistance of the Iranian people."

Ahmadinejad sets out his vision of a world without Israel (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411489739&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Terrorist: Columbia invite
big boost for Iran 'power'
Leader says Ahmadinejad appearance
reveals questions on reality of Holocaust

The decision by Columbia University officials to allow Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to address students yesterday demonstrates some Americans accept Iran is a "great power" and are beginning to question whether the Holocaust actually occurred, according to the spokesman of an Iranian-backed terrorist organization speaking to WND.

"This invitation proves that when Muslims and Arabs come from a position of power to the West they receive more respect and consideration to their causes and to their conditions and to their insisting on their sovereignty," stated Abu Mosaab, an Islamic Jihad spokesperson and leader in the Gaza Strip.

"The fact that one of the American universities invited the Iranian president to raise whether the Holocaust happened proves that in the American people and leadership there is a hidden will to raise a serious discussion about these Zionists lies and propaganda," Abu Mosaab stated.

The terror leader told WND Ahmadinejad's address to Columbia "put on the American faces the question of what is your historical proof that this Holocaust happened?

"Doesn't the Zionist version of what happened deserve to be challenged and questioned and doubted?" exclaimed Abu Mosaab.

Abu Mosaab's Islamic Jihad terror group took responsibility together with the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror organization for every suicide bombing in Israel the past three years. The group is heavily backed and financed by Iran, according to Israel. Its overall leader, Ramadan Shallah, lived in Damascus and travels often to Tehran.

The Islamic Jihad spokesman applauded Columbia's invitation to Ahmadinejad as "proving that in spite its power and influence there are some Americans, proud Americans, who are not afraid to go against the Zionist lobby threats and pressure."

In his speech yesterday, Ahmadinejad said further study of the Holocaust was necessary as an academic pursuit and suggested that he had never denied its existence.

In response to one question, Ahmadinejad rejected the contention he was questioning the existence of the Holocaust: "What does it have to do with the Palestinian people?" he asked.

But then he defended the rights of "scholars" to question whether the Holocaust happened.

"There's nothing known as absolute," he said.

He also cast doubt on the official version of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, smiling at first during his appearance, but appearing agitated later as Columbia President Lee Bollinger and others accused him of being a "petty and cruel dictator."

About Sept. 11, he asked, "Why did this happen? What caused it? What conditions led to it?" he said. "Who truly was involved? Who was really involved and put it all together?"

In Washington, there was criticism of Columbia for arranging the appearance. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., said the invitation was wrong because Ahmadinejad "comes literally with blood on his hands."

The Iranian chief also said Iran is "friends with the Jewish people. There are many Jews living in Iran with security."

Listen to Ahmadinejad
Dan Gardner, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, September 26, 2007

The world is indebted to Lee Bollinger, the president of Columbia University. By allowing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to address the university yesterday, Bollinger not only gave us a revealing look at the character of this dangerous man, he gave us a powerful demonstration of why censorship is foolish.

"It should never be thought that merely to listen to ideas we deplore in any way implies our endorsement of those ideas," Bollinger said in his opening remarks, "or the weakness of our resolve to resist those ideas or our naiveté about the very real dangers inherent in such ideas. It is a critical premise of freedom of speech that we do not honour the dishonorable when we open the public forum to their voices. To hold otherwise would make vigorous debate impossible."

Bollinger then moved from the abstract to the particular, citing evidence of a growing crackdown on dissent in Iran, including the public hanging of up to 30 people this summer. "Let's, then, be clear at the beginning, Mr. President," Bollinger said, turning to Ahmadinejad, "you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator."

When Ahmadinejad took the podium, he opened with a prayer to Allah for the return of the Mahdi and then complained that Bollinger's greeting was "unfriendly."

This was followed by a rambling story about the Almighty, angels, Adam and the prophets. Quotations from the Koran abounded. So did references to science, scientists and the nature of man.

It soon became apparent that what Ahmadinejad wished his audience to know is that science and theology are indivisible. "Science is a divine gift," he said repeatedly, "and therefore, it must remain pure. God is aware of all reality. All researchers and scholars are loved by God. So I hope there will be a day where these scholars and scientists will rule the world and God himself will arrive with Moses and Christ and Muhammad to rule the world and to take us toward justice."

Now, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not a stupid man. He knew he was speaking a subway ride away from where the World Trade Center once stood. He knew most Americans believe him to be as fanatical and dangerous as the men who destroyed the twin towers. He knew the deeply unpopular president of the United States is seriously considering pounding much of Iran's infrastructure into rubble. And he knew his invitation to Columbia was an opportunity to speak directly to Americans that is not likely to come again. If ever there was a time to smile sweetly and say what the audience wanted to hear, it was then.

And yet, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad chose to open his speech with a lengthy epistemological rumination of the sort that was popular in Europe during the era which we rather tellingly call the Dark Ages.

This man is a fanatic. A religious zealot. A bug-eyed lunatic. He could not have demonstrated this fact more plainly, not even if he had paraphrased the famous line of George H.W. Bush and declared to the audience, "Message: I'm nuts."

Ahmadinejad got slightly cagier -- very slightly -- when it came time to answer questions from a moderator. "Do you or your government seek the destruction of the state of Israel as a Jewish state?" he was asked. "We love all nations," Ahmadinejad helpfully replied. "We are friends with the Jewish people. There are many Jews in Iran, living peacefully, with security."

Listen to Ahmadinejad (http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=85dc4876-2871-4fc8-8b23-676c1d135bee)
~~~~~~~~

I thought this was well thought out, and written. :D :D

Iran opposition: Blistering speech boosted Ahmadinejad
Says Columbia president strengthened him back home, made radical supporters more determined

One of Iran's top politicians said Wednesday that demonizing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- such as in this week's forum at Columbia University in New York -- only strengthens hard-liners' hand as Iranians rally around their otherwise unpopular leader.

Mohsen Mirdamadi, who leads Iran's largest pro-reform party and is working to make a comeback after being forced from power by hard-liners, said Ahmadinejad should have little chance of re-election in two years because of increasing criticism that he has failed to fix the economy and because his inflammatory rhetoric has hurt Iran on the world stage. But sharp criticism such as what he ran into this week in New York boosts his popularity, Mirdamadi said in an interview.

"The blistering speech against Ahmadinejad only strengthened him back home and made his radical supporters more determined," Mirdamadi said.

Columbia University President Lee Bollinger gave a tough introduction to Ahmadinejad, including telling him that he resembles a "petty and cruel dictator."

"You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated," Bollinger told the Iranian president about his Holocaust denial. "Will you cease this outrage?"

Many Iranians found the comments insulting, particularly because in Iranian traditions of hospitality, a host should be polite to a guest, no matter what he thinks of him. Hard-liners praised his calm demeanor during the event, saying Bollinger was spouting a "Zionist" line.

The chancellors of seven Iranian universities issued a letter to Bollinger saying his "insult, in a scholarly atmosphere, to the president of a country with ... a recorded history of 7,000 years of civilization and culture is deeply shameful."

They invited Bollinger to Iran, adding, "You can be assured that Iranians are very polite and hospitable toward their guests."

Ahmadinejad was asked about his reaction to the confrontation at Columbia.

"I think the meeting at the university was sufficiently loud enough to speak for itself. I'm an academic myself," he said in Farsi, which was translated by the U.N, where he addressed the General Assembly on Tuesday. "I think the authorities and officials of the university should practice a little more listening to other points of view and listen to things they don't like to hear."

Although Ahmadinejad's popularity at home has been suffering, in the eyes of many Iranian critics and supporters alike, he looked like the victim this week. "Our president appeared as a gentleman. He remained polite against those who could not remain polite," said Ahmad Masoudi, a customer at a grocery store.

Quote from: airIam2worship on September 28, 2007, 12:23:22 PM

Brother Bob I wonder why they left out the part where he said that there are no homosexuals in Iran?

The Slaughter of 4,000 Gays
By Robert Spencer
Tuesday, October 02, 2007

At Columbia University on Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared: “We don’t have homosexuals like in your country. 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.”

If there were any truth to this – and there is none – it would be because because the Islamic regime in Iran had killed them, since homosexuality can be a capital crime in that country. One notorious case occurred on July 19, 2005, when two teenage boys, Mahmoud Asgari, 14, and Ayaz Marhoni, 16, were hanged in a particularly brutal manner in Iran for the crime of homosexual activity. Although Iranian officials insisted that the death sentence was for the rape of a third boy, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, has said otherwise. But Asgari and Marhoni were not alone. According to the Iranian gay and lesbian rights group Homan, the Iranian government has put to death an estimated 4,000 homosexuals since 1980. According to Scott Long, director of the Human Rights Watch Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program, Iranians who are suspected of being gay commonly face torture. Hossein Alizadeh of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said Iran gays live with “constant fear of execution and persecution and also social stigma associated with homosexuality.”

This is true not only in Iran, but in all too many areas of the Islamic world. The Qur’an characterizes those who “practice your lusts on men in preference to women” as “transgressing beyond bounds” (7:81). A hadith pronounces “the curse of Allah” upon those who engage in homosexual activity. A contemporary Muslim writer, Shaykh Abdul-Azeez Al-Fawzaan, called homosexuality “one of the most sinful acts known to humankind” and said that it was “evidence of perverted instincts, total collapse of shame and honor, and extreme filthiness of character and soul.”

Legal views on punishment vary. Among the Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madhahib), the Hanafi school mandates a severe beating for the first offense, and the death penalty for a repeat offender. The Shafi’i school calls for 100 lashes for an unmarried homosexual, death by stoning for a married one. The Hanbali school requires stoning across the board. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, directed his followers to “kill the one who sodomizes and the one who lets it be done to him” (‘Umdat al-Salik, p17.3).

In many areas these injunctions are still followed. The Islamic Penal Law Against Homosexuals in Iran calls for the death penalty for sodomy and one hundred lashes for lesbianism for the first three offenses, with death for the fourth offense. Homosexuality is a capital offense not only in Iran, but also in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen and Mauritania. In Malaysia, it can draw a twenty-year prison sentence, and is illegal also in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan, among others.

Of course, Afghanistan under the Taliban regime drew international attention for killing gays by toppling walls onto them. Pakistani law mandates two years in prison for homosexual activity, but the traditional Islamic penalties of lashing and stoning are still widely popular. When authorities in the United Arab Emirates arrested twenty-six men whom they accused of participating in a mass gay wedding – with twelve dressed as grooms and twelve as brides, plus a disc jockey and a man who was to perform the wedding ceremony – in November 2005, they announced plans to subject the men not only to lashings and jail time, but also to hormone treatments.

In light of all this, the silence of campus gay rights groups and the so-called “progressive” Left generally about the global efforts by Islamic jihadists to impose Islamic Sharia law is appallingly short-sighted. While they attack Christians, who are not calling for gays to be imprisoned or killed under any circumstances, they say nothing about a genuine threat to their survival. While they attack Israel, a gay-friendly country, they are silent about the murder of gays in Islamic Iran.

The late columnist Cathy Seipp recounted a telling incident in March 2006, when a friend of hers went into San Francisco’s City Lights bookstore and asked for a copy of the late and much-missed Oriana Fallaci’s The Force of Reason. “We don’t carry books by fascists,” sniffed the clerk, prompting Seipp to muse: “Strangest of all is the scenario of such a person disliking an author for defending Western civilization against radical Islam -- when one of the first things those poor, persecuted Islamists would do, if they ever (Allah forbid) came to power in the U.S., is crush suspected homosexuals like him beneath walls.”

The Slaughter of 4,000 Gays (http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=FBC2142D-4A38-4B4C-9C0B-4B0AA4CF3822)

Ahmadinejad: Let Jews move their country to Europe or Alaska

Millions of Iranians attended nationwide rallies Friday in support of the Palestinians, while the country's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel's continued existence was an "insult to human dignity."

"The creation, continued existence and unlimited (Western) support for this regime is an insult to human dignity," Ahmadinejad said. "The occupation of Palestine is not limited to one land. The Zionist issue is now a global issue."

Ahmadinejad's remarks came as millions of Iranians held rallies across Iran to protest Israel's continued control of Jerusalem.

The demonstrations for "Al-Quds Day" - Al-Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem - also spilled over into anti-American protests because of US support for Israel.

In the capital Teheran, hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets as they chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." Some protesters also burned American and Israeli flags.

State television reported similar large rallies in all other provincial capitals and smaller towns across Iran.

The Iranian president once again said Palestinians should not pay any price because Europeans committed crimes against Jews in World War II. He said they could give a part of their own land in Europe or Alaska so that the Jews can establish their country.

"I ask European governments supporting Zionists and the American people that will you allow occupation of part of your land under a pretext and then talk about a two-state solution?," Ahmadinejad said after the rallies.

Ahmadinejad said a "free referendum" was the solution to the Palestinian issue, saying Jews, Muslims and Christians as well as five million Palestinian refugees should take part in a vote to determine their own fate.

Ayatollah Mahould Hashemi Shahroudi, Iran's judiciary chief, said Friday's rallies was "a good start for the destruction of the Zionist regime."

Parliamentary speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel said the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands was a "blatant oppression" and warned that the relationship between the Islamic world and the West won't improve as long as Palestinians are not allowed to determine their fate in a referendum.

Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran has observed the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan as "Al-Quds Day," as a way of expressing support to the Palestinians and emphasizing the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims.

Jerusalem is the third holiest city in Islam after the Saudi Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina.

Meanwhile, thousands of Gazans marched from Beit Lahiya to Jabalya to commemorate "Al-Quds Day." The protesters burned, Israeli, US and British flags.

Also, on Israel's northern border, Hizbullah activists and Lebanese Shi'ites held an anti-Israel protest next to the border fence.

Lebanese troops manned the rally and prevented the protesters from approaching the border.

IDF troops in the North were instructed to raise their level of alert.

Ahmadinejad wants 'all Palestine liberated'
AFP

October 5, 2007

TEHRAN -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Friday that Iran would work until "all of Palestine is liberated" from Israel's hands, and repeated his deeply-controversial questioning of the Holocaust.

"The Palestinian people are standing firm. The Iranian people and other peoples will not stop until all of Palestinian territory is liberated," Ahmadinejad said in a speech broadcast on state radio to mark Quds day.

"They [world powers] should not think that the Iranian nation and other nations in the region will take off their hands off the throat of the Zionists and their supporters."

Ahmadinejad provoked an international outcry shortly after his election in 2005 when he called for Israel to be "wiped from the map," and also described the Holocaust as a "myth."

In his speech at Tehran university, the culmination of Iran's annual day in support of the Palestinians, the president also repeated his questioning of the scale of the Holocaust.

"The Iranian nation hates killing and considers Hitler and the executioners of the World War II as black-and-dark figures," he said.

"But the Iranian nation has a question, and as long as there is no clear-and-reasonable response to this question, it will remain."

Ahmadinejad also reaffirmed his opinion that "Zionists" should move to empty lands in Europe or North America, and out of the Middle East entirely.

"Europeans can not tolerate the Zionists in their region and country, but they want to impose them on the people of the region ... Give these vast lands of Canada and Alaska to them to create a country for themselves."

Israel, widely believed to be the only nuclear armed power in the Middle East, has expressed alarm over Iran's nuclear drive, which the Jewish state and its main ally the United States believe is aimed at making an atomic bomb.

The Islamic republic, however, insists that its nuclear program is solely aimed at generating electricity for a growing population whose giant oil-and-gas reserves will eventually run out.

Israel was an ally of the imperial regime of last Iranian shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, developing close military-and-economic ties, but all this changed when he was ousted by the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Iranian officials, however, insist they would never initiate any military attack, and say their policy has always been to let all the occupants of "Palestine" - including refugees - decide their future in a referendum.

Ahmadinejad wants 'all Palestine liberated' (http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20071005-051603-2758r)

The Iranian leadership believes that they are now entering the Apocalyptic Age

Speaking at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the renown scholar and historian Bernard Lewis told his audience that Iranian President Ahmadinejad and the leadership of Iran believe they are now entering the Apocalyptic Age which will result in the triumph of their messianic figure.

Lewis said that Iran is a mortal threat and reminded those attending his lecture that Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, has an End Times scenario reminding them that holy war is a part of the Islamic religion and part of holy law. Lewis then added that the threat of many Iranians perishing in a war did not deter the Iranian leadership. They believe that death this way would give Iranians a free pass to the Islamic heaven.

The thinking by the Iranian leadership that they are now entering the Apocalyptic Age actually conforms to the End Times scenario that is found in Bible prophecy.

The statement by the renown scholar and historian, Bernard Lewis, that Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Iran's leadership believe they are entering the Apocalyptic Age is evidence that the Islamic world does have an eschatology, a theology that has an End Times scenario. The outdated concepts of M.A.D (Mutually Assured Destruction) prevalent during the Cold War years, are irrelevant when it comes to Iran and its leadership. The Iranian president and his circle see such a scenario as an incentive, not a deterrent.

This apocalyptic desire of the radical Shiite Muslim is at the center of much of what's happening in the Middle East today and does fit into Bible prophecy. The ancient, Jewish, New Testament Prophet John wrote the book entitled, "The Apocalypse", or better known as the book of Revelation which describes the End Time Apocalyptic Age. Revelation 4:2 - 19:10 describes the seven year period of massive judgment on the face of the Earth. Revelation 19 describes the "Mother of all battles", "the Apocalyptic War", the Battle of Armageddon.

Ahmadinejad is correct, we are indeed entering the Apocalyptic Age.

Ahmadinejad: Ground Zero like Holocaust 'false idol'
Says 9/11 already used as pretext to kill 'hundreds of thousands' of people

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks already have been used as the reason to attack and kill "hundreds of thousands" of people, according to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said he worries the attack will become another "false idol" like the Holocaust.

The comments came in a video statement on Iran's television news channel on Sept. 20, and were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute's program to monitor television transmissions.

Ahmadinejad a year ago had been unable to visit the site where about 3,000 innocent Americans died when Islamic terrorists flew hijacked jets into the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

So during his recent visit to the United States to address the United Nations and accept a speaking invitation to Columbia University he asked for permission to visit the site of the terrorist attacks in 2001, but was denied permission.

Then Ahmadinejad, who has proclaimed the Holocaust a hoax in the past, was asked by the television interview: "You were supposed to visit the site of the Twin Towers, but this aroused controversy and many objections in their media. What do you think of this?"

"I decided to visit there this year to pay my respect to the casualties and convey my sympathy to the families," Ahmadinejad said.

"I also wanted to raise several questions and express my views. I wanted to say that in my opinion, this incident is the result of the mismanagement of the world, and the result of the inhuman management of the world. Why did such an incident take place? We need to get to the root causes," he said.

Iran's president said, "We don't want them to turn this incident, in 20 years' time, into another false idol like the Holocaust, which they would use as a pretext to kill peoples, and to prevent anybody from opening this box and examining what really happened in this incident.

He continued, "They might turn 9/11 into something sacred, and whoever does not accept it would be considered an infidel, whereas whoever accepts it would have to accept all the ensuing crimes.

"In any event, we must express our views. I believe that this way, we would have formed cordial relations with the American people, and could have opened this issue up for discussion. Well, this is exactly what they want to prevent," he said.

He covered several other issues in his response, starting with a portrayal of himself as being victimized by the world's media.

"As you know, by spreading lies and by portraying me… For example, they show my picture next to a picture of bin Laden, or next to tanks and cannons firing and killing people. This is psychological warfare," he said.

As WND reported, Middle East terror leaders reported after Ahmadinejad visited Columbia that the event means Americans now are accepting Iran as a "great power" and are reconsidering their belief in the Holocaust.

"This invitation proves that when Muslims and Arabs come from a position of power to the West they receive more respect and consideration to their causes and to their conditions and to their insisting on their sovereignty," stated Abu Mosaab, an Islamic Jihad spokesperson and leader in the Gaza Strip.

"The fact that one of the American universities invited the Iranian president to raise whether the Holocaust happened proves that in the American people and leadership there is a hidden will to raise a serious discussion about these Zionists lies and propaganda," Abu Mosaab stated.

The terror leader told WND Ahmadinejad's address to Columbia "put on the American faces the question of what is your historical proof that this Holocaust happened?"

"Doesn't the Zionist version of what happened deserve to be challenged and questioned and doubted?" exclaimed Abu Mosaab.

In his speech, Ahmadinejad encouraged further study of the Holocaust. He responded to one question by rejecting the contention he questioned the existence of the Holocaust, but responded, "What does it have to do with the Palestinian people?"

He went on to defend the rights of "scholars" to question its existence, noting, "There's nothing known as absolute."

In Washington, there was criticism of Columbia for arranging the recent appearance. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., said the invitation was wrong because Ahmadinejad "comes literally with blood on his hands."

WND also reported earlier an adviser to Ahmadinejad said Adolph Hitler was Jewish, was working for powerful Jews and wanted to create a new Jewish state.

Mohammad Ali Ramin said Hitler acted in cooperation with Britain, since the latter shared Hitler's desire to force the Jews out of Europe and into a new Jewish state.

Although Hitler's exact lineage is disputed – his father was illegitimate and there is some question about who his grandfather was – virtually no historians conclude the Nazi leader was Jewish.

Ironically, Ramin was recently appointed secretary-general of the new "world foundation for Holocaust Studies" established at the Iranian Holocaust Denial Conference in December. That conference was attended by notorious former Ku Klux Klan leader and later Louisiana state representative David Duke.

In that interview, Ramin said: "My suggestion was to establish an NGO, in Iran or elsewhere, that would reexamine this issue and investigate it with the help of international forums. But after making enquiries, we saw that nobody in the world had the courage to raise this issue and investigate it. Anyone who speaks or publishes anything about it is silenced immediately, before [the issue] can be examined. [That is why] we got the idea of organizing a non-governmental conference with the support of the Iranian government, but we [subsequently] discovered that nobody in the world would respond to it, and that it was totally ignored in the news.

Naturally, I do not want us to take a one-sided view of the Holocaust, and to deny it out of hand, since we do not have sufficient and complete information about it. The purpose of the conference was to question the order that the West has imposed upon us in this manner ...," he said.

As WND reported, at the Holocaust denial conference, Duke said: "I love my country and my people, but I know that the Zionist extremists lead my country to catastrophe in the Mideast and elsewhere around the world. I know that the Palestinian people, the Lebanese people, even the American people have been sacrificed on the altar of the Holocaust. It is the chronic media and government playing of the Holocaust that has blinded our eyes to new holocausts and new outrages.

MEMRI is a non-profit that monitors statements in the Middle East and translates them in order to bridge the language gap between the West and Middle East.

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Theology => Prophecy - Current Events => Topic started by: Shammu on June 30, 2007, 02:36:07 PM