Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "ImaNutjob" revels in Iran's new belligerence
By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor
Last Updated: 1:03PM BST 11/07/2008
Bombastic President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran terrifies the world ... but his career hangs in the balance
Of all the leaders who have cast a chill over the world with threats and bravado, only Iran's bombastic president can boast a doctorate in traffic management.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the "over-promoted municipal politician" – as one former envoy in Tehran calls him – once fretted over the pitiful state of the capital's clogged and grimy streets when he served as mayor.
Yet he will glory in his country's missile tests this week. Mr Ahmadinejad, revelling in his unofficial status as the world's leading firebrand, has previously claimed that Iran is the world's "number one power" and its very name means a "hard punch in the teeth" for America and her allies.
When it comes to verbal belligerence, no one can outdo him. Shortly after he became Iran's president in 2005, he achieved global fame by calling the Holocaust a "myth" and inviting a motley collection of deniers and anti-semites to a conference in Tehran.
His guests ranged from a former chief of the Ku Klux Klan to a raft of pseudo historians.
Most notoriously of all, Mr Ahmadinejad later told a cheering crowd that Israel should be "wiped off the map". His acolytes have since disputed this translation – although it was good enough for the official news agency, IRNA, when it reported his speech.
A more accurate rendition may be that Mr Ahmadinejad merely called for Israel to be "wiped from the pages of history". Phew. So no threat there then. What lies behind this outpouring of rage? Mr Ahmadinejad was born in 1956 to a humble family in rural Iran. Most accounts say that his father was a village blacksmith.
The son was bright enough to gain admission to the Science and Technology University in Tehran, where he arrived in 1976. Iran's Islamic revolutionaries were on the march against the increasingly unpopular Shah Reza Pahlavi. As a pious young man from a modest background, Mr Ahmadinejad was a natural recruit to their ranks.
He joined a revolutionary militia and played some part in the Shah's downfall in 1979. Exactly what Mr Ahmadinejad was up to during this crucial period is still disputed. He may have performed a leading role in the incident that seared Iran into the consciousness of the world – the storming of the US embassy and the abduction of its staff.
Three Americans who were among the 52 diplomats held for 444 days have testified that Mr Ahmadinejad was among the hostage-takers. A photograph has emerged showing a bearded youth, bearing some resemblance to Iran's president, standing beside a blindfolded American captive.
But the likeness is far from exact and the memories of the witnesses may have faded with the passing of almost 30 years. Whether or not Mr Ahmadinejad helped storm the US embassy, his ideological devotion to the cause was beyond doubt.
When Saddam Hussein's Iraq tried to strangle Iran's revolution at birth by invading in 1980 and starting an eight-year war, Mr Ahmadinejad was soon at the front as a soldier with the Revolutionary Guards. He joined a special forces unit and took part in at least one sabotage raid deep into Iraqi territory.
After the war, Mr Ahmadinejad went into politics, rising to become a provincial governor and mayor of Tehran. Yet few took him seriously. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran's president between 1989 and 1997, viewed him with disdain as a semi-educated ingénue with a shaky grasp of reality.
Moreover, Mr Ahmadinejad's views were hard-line even by the standards of Iran's leaders. He wanted no compromise with liberal reformers, however much popularity they commanded in a country where two thirds of the population of 70 million are below the age of 30.
As mayor of Tehran, Mr Ahmadinejad ordered the arrest of women wearing make-up and couples seen holding hands in the streets. He denounced burger bars as a symbol of Western decadence.
Yet he also won genuine popularity. In contrast to many of Iran's leaders, he was personally incorruptible and possessed the common touch. Mr Ahmadinejad would regularly walk to work or spend a day with Tehran's street cleaners. When ordinary people had complaints, he would see them personally.
During the presidential election of 2005, Mr Ahmadinejad came from nowhere to defeat Mr Rafsanjani, his key rival. Exactly why this happened is still mysterious.
The most powerful man in Iran is not the president but the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Whoever receives his favour is also likely to win a presidential election. It seems that Ayatollah Khamenei alighted on Mr Ahmadinejad as one of the few hardliners with some popular appeal.
In the shifting sands of Iranian politics, the president's true importance is open to debate. Under the Islamic Republic's labyrinthine constitution, he runs the government and makes key appointments.
But he has no power over Iran's armed forces or the Revolutionary Guard. They answer directly to the Supreme Leader. This week's missile tests were not ordered by Mr Ahmadinejad – although he would certainly have approved of them. Instead, they were certainly Ayatollah Khamenei's handiwork.
When it comes to foreign policy, the situation is less clear. Since Mr Ahmadinejad won power, Iran's stance has become more confrontational in substance as well as in rhetoric. The country began enriching uranium – the vital process that could be used to produce the essential material for a nuclear weapon – within a year of Mr Ahmadinejad's election victory.
The chief negotiator on the nuclear issue, Ali Larijani, was replaced by Saeed Jalili, a hard-line acolyte of the president. Former ministers have testified that Mr Ahmadinejad brooks no opposition in cabinet and rules with an authoritarian streak.
There seems little doubt that Mr Ahmadinejad has an independent power base – and so his fire-breathing belligerence does matter.
The central question is what the Supreme Leader thinks of his president. Ayatollah Khamenei's real opinions are the most important of Iran's many riddles. He has variously described Mr Ahmadinejad as the "best president" since the revolution – and chided him for mismanaging the economy and squandering the oil revenues.
The parliamentary elections this year saw Mr Ahmadinejad's hard-line critics win a bare majority. All this means that he may not be able to seek re-election when his term ends next year. On the other hand, if war looms larger on the horizon, Mr Ahmadinejad might be seen as just the man to rally Iranians – and petrify the world – with his own brand of threatening fervour.
Like peace in the Middle East, Mr Ahmadinejad's career hangs in the balance.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "ImaNutjob" revels in Iran's new belligerence
