ImAnutJob's own topic/threat & Iran thread.

[Shammu]

 August 14, 2006 -- An exhibition of more than 200 cartoons about the Holocaust opened today in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Participants include cartoonists from Iran and foreign countries, such as the United States, Indonesia, and Turkey.

The Iranian newspaper "Hamshahri," which co-sponsored the event, says the exhibition is aimed at testing the West's tolerance for drawings about the killing of 6 million Jews by the Nazis during World War II.

The event is also designed as a response to the outrage caused among Muslims last year by Western caricatures of the Phophet Muhammad.

According to AP, the display is strongly influenced by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's negationist comments about the Holocaust.

Several Iranian intellectuals -- including Emadoddin Baghi, a journalist close to former President Mohammad Khatami -- have criticized the exhibition. 

The exhibition will run until September 13. It is being held at the Museum of Palestininian Contemporary Art.     

In other news, Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki met with Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem in Algiers today.

Iran's official IRNA news agency said the two men reviewed bilateral issues and the situation in Lebanon, and Belkhadem reportedly called for cooperation between Tehran and Algiers in the oil and gas sector.

Mottaki, who is on a regional tour of Middle Eastern and North African countries, was due to hand over a message from Iranian President Ahmadinejad to his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Iran Opens Controversial Holocaust Cartoon Exhibition

[Shammu]

Iran's Ahmadinejad warns against Israel supporters

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States of "blindly supporting" Israel against Hizbollah and President George W. Bush of seeking to "solve everything with bombs", in a television interview broadcast Sunday.

Ahmadinejad again denied seeking a nuclear bomb, questioned the US military presence in Iraq and gave the US network CBS an evasive answer when questioned about an alleged unit of suicide bombers in Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

Commenting on the Israeli-Hizbollah war, the conservative leader said US support for Israel "threatens the future of all peoples, including the American and European peoples.

"So we are asking, why the American government is blindly supporting this murderous regime."

Ahmadinejad has in the past said Israel should be wiped off the map and denied the existence of the Holocaust.

In this interview, he said through a translator that Israel is "a fabricated government" because he said it had been forced upon the Middle East after the Holocaust.

The US administration, Israel's main ally, has repeatedly accused Iran and Syria of giving military and financial support to Hizbollah.

But in the interview, recorded last Tuesday before the UN Security Council ordered a cessation of hostilities, Ahmadinejad said: "Hizbollah is a popular organisation in Lebanon. And they are defending their land."

CBS released excerpts from the interview earlier last week and the full transcript on Sunday.

Iran's Ahmadinejad warns against Israel supporters

[Shammu]

Iran says it's not worried over deadline

Mon Aug 28, 8:33 AM ET

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Monday it is not concerned about this week's U.N. deadline demanding it suspend a key part of its disputed nuclear program or face political and economic sanctions.

The U.N. Security Council has given Iran until Thursday to suspend a key part of its nuclear program — the enrichment of uranium, a process that can produce either fuel for a reactor or material for weapons.

But Iran has refused any immediate suspension, calling the deadline as illegal.

"Moving in the international framework is not a matter of concern for us," said government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham.

Iran last week responded to Western incentives package aimed at getting Tehran to roll back its nuclear program. Iranian officials said the Islamic country did not agree to halt enrichment — the key demand — before engaging in further talks. Other details have not been released.

Iran says its nuclear program is intended solely to generate electricity, while the United States and Europe contend it secretly aims to develop weapons.

Iran says it's not worried over deadline

[Shammu]

 Iran snubs Annan and rejects nuclear plea
By Alec Russell in Washington
(Filed: 04/09/2006)

Iran brushed aside Kofi Annan's efforts to mediate in the crisis over its nuclear ambitions yesterday even as Western powers struggled to maintain momentum for sanctions against the Islamic state.

The United Nations secretary-general left Teheran empty-handed after Iran's hardline president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, rejected his call to heed Security Council demands for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment.

In a further provocative move, timed to embarrass Mr Annan, Iranian officials said they would host a conference soon questioning the extent of the Holocaust.
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The announcement was a clear riposte to Mr Annan who had criticised a Teheran exhibition of cartoons about the Holocaust, saying the Nazi genocide was an "undeniable historical fact".

Mr Annan later sought to present his meeting in the best light. "On the nuclear issue, the president affirmed to me Iran's preparedness and commitment to hold negotiations," said Mr Annan. But he added that Mr Ahmadinejad "reiterated that he did not accept suspension before negotiations".

Mr Annan's emollient stance came 24 hours after European Union foreign ministers gave Teheran another fortnight to "clarify" its position. This underlined the difficulty that Washington and its allies face in trying to impose sanctions on Iran.

Senior US diplomats will meet their counterparts from Germany, France and Britain in Berlin on Thursday to seek agreement on a package of sanctions against Iran.

The plan is for a "graduating" programme in two or three stages, diplomats said. They know, however, that they face a dilemma in how to "hurt" the leadership without alienating the population.

The first stage would include the imposition of a visa ban on Iranian officials, a freeze on their assets and a ban on exports of nuclear-related materials to Iran. More severe measures including an economic embargo might follow.

But difficult negotiations lie ahead. Germany is said to want to rule out any chance of force being used to enforce the UN's will, a proposal resisted by America.

China and Russia, two of the five veto-wielding powers, have made clear they oppose retaliatory sanctions and punitive measures against Iran's leaders.

Teheran has shrugged off the threat, saying economic sanctions would hurt the West more than Iran as they would push up oil prices. But economists say curbs on access to European finance would badly hit Iran's economy.

US officials hope that sanctions would undermine Iran's regime at a time of high unemployment.

But US patience is running out. Diplomats say the earliest that the Security Council will consider sanctions is at the UN General Assembly in two weeks' time.

Christopher Shays, a US Republican congressman who has been critical of the Bush administration's foreign policy, said Iran had been strengthened by the stance of the UN and the EU. "The UN has showed itself to be somewhat impotent and Western Europe is tentative beyond measure," he told the CNN network.

John Bolton, America's hawkish ambassador to the UN, has an alternative strategy if the world body fails to toughen its stance. He is working on forging a "coalition of the willing" of US allies who could impose their own penalties.

It seemed that the only positive outcome of Mr Annan's visit to Teheran was a pledge by Mr Ahmadinejad that Iran would back UN resolution 1701 on Lebanon.

The resolution laid out the terms of the ceasefire ending the month-long war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hizbollah militia.

The Iranian president "agrees with me that we should do everything to strengthen the territorial integrity of Lebanon", said the UN chief.

Iran snubs Annan and rejects nuclear plea

[Shammu]

Iran capital’s gas line on fire – state television
Wed. 20 Sep 2006

Tehran, Iran, Sep. 20 – A major gas supply line in western Tehran has caught fire, state television reported on Wednesday.

The pipeline caught ablaze 14 kilometres down the old Tehran-Karaj Highway at 11. 27 am local time, the report said.

The cause of the fire had not yet been determined, it added.

The pipeline supplies gas to all of western Tehran.

Iran capital’s gas line on fire – state television

[Shammu]

EU's Solana to hold pivotal talks with Iran on nuclear crisis

Tue Sep 19, 4:12 AM ET

NEW YORK (AFP) - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana planned to meet Iran's top nuclear negotiator this week in New York, as the United States faced increasing reluctance among European allies to impose sanctions on Tehran.

Solana, who has been negotiating for the six major powers over Iran's uranium enrichment work, said Monday that he would meet Iran's Ali Larijani at an unspecified time during the week and that ongoing talks had produced progress.

"This meeting will be important, no doubt," Solana told reporters before holding talks with Bolivia's President Evo Morales on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

As world powers conferred on how to resolve the deadlock over Iran's nuclear program, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was due to arrive in New York on Tuesday to deliver a speech to the General Assembly, as was US President George W. Bush.

The United States and its allies believe that Iran's nuclear program hides a bid to build a nuclear weapon. Iran has insisted its nuclear activity is entirely peaceful and designed to generate electricity.

Solana has recently expressed optimism about the possibility of a negotiated settlement with Iran, despite a US drive to impose sanctions.

Solana and Larijani last met on September 9-11 in Vienna, after Iran failed to adhere to a UN resolution 1696 that called on the country to halt uranium enrichment work by August 31 or face the prospect of sanctions.

Referring to resolution 1696, Solana said: "It would be reasonable not to have a new one (resolution) as long as the door to dialogue is open."

He added: "It would be contradictory to do so while we continue to negotiate."

Solana said there had recently been almost daily contacts with the Iranian authorities. "It is during this time that we have made the most progress since the start of negotiations several years ago."

Solana is negotiating with the Iranians for the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany to persuade Tehran to accept political and economic incentives in return for suspending its sensitive nuclear work.

Washington has argued for imposing sanctions but other world powers have been reluctant to proceed. France said on Monday negotiations could go ahead even if Tehran failed to halt uranium enrichment activities.

In a policy shift, US officials signalled Monday that they were willing to back European negotiations aimed at convincing Iran to at least temporarily freeze its program to enrich uranium, even though this will delay Washington's parallel drive for sanctions.

"It's a strategy, to try to do everything possible to convince Iran to take a positive pathway," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said of the approach.

"You have two activities that are going on here," he said, referring to Solana's negotiations and the US lobbying for sanctions at the Security Council.

Asked if sanctions against Iran could come before the end of the year, McCormack said: "Absent any change of behaviour or position from the Iranians, yes."

As recently as Friday, Bush criticised those arguing for further negotiations with Iran and said he would tell fellow leaders in New York this week that "stalling shouldn't be allowed."

But the Americans have found themselves increasingly isolated among the six-nation coalition facing off with Iran, which in the past has sought to divide the US and European governments.

In a sign of possible transatlantic discord, French President Jacques Chirac said that world powers should pursue talks with Iran without threatening sanctions, even though Tehran has failed to halt uranium enrichment work.

"I propose that, on the one hand, the six refrain from referring the issue to the Security Council, and that Iran renounce during the negotiation the enrichment of uranium," Chirac said.

Asked to comment on the emerging two-track approach, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would only say that it would be discussed Tuesday night at a foreign ministers' meeting of the six major powers plus Italy.

But she said that the Security Council was not expected to discuss a sanctions package this week, despite earlier assurances from Washington that sanctions would be in place by the end of the month.

Solana's talks this week with Larijani were expected to focus on a compromise formula that would involve Iran agreeing to a temporary suspension of its uranium enrichment program.

But it was unclear whether Iran's leadership, which is reportedly divided on the nuclear issue, would agree to even a temporary halt to its enrichment program.

Speaking in Caracas on Monday, the Iranian president said current negotiations should be finished before the United Nations becomes involved again.

Talks "are continuing, and I see no reason to speed them up," he told a press conference before flying to New York.

"Iran's nuclear program is very clear and very transparent," he said. "We have always said that we are willing to negotiate with any country."

EU's Solana to hold pivotal talks with Iran on nuclear crisis

[Shammu]

This is really creepy. Shiites believe that the 12th Imam, the Mahdi will reign on earth for SEVEN years.  But of course we know Jesus will rule earth for 1000 years. 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Iran leader's U.N. finale reveals apocalyptic view

Ahmadinejad evokes return of messianic Islamic 'madhi'

Posted: September 21, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

WASHINGTON – While most of the reporting and analysis of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the U.N. focused on what he had to say about the West and specifically the U.S., his chilling closing remarks were lost on most listeners – and apparently all reporters.

The last two paragraphs of his remarks revealed his steadfast and driving conviction, as previously reported in WND ,that a messianic figure, known as the "Mahdi" to Muslims, is poised to reveal himself after an apocalyptic holocaust on Earth that leaves most of the world's population dead.

"I emphatically declare that today's world, more than ever before, longs for just and righteous people with love for all humanity; and above all longs for the perfect righteous human being and the real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace and brotherhood on the planet," Ahmadinejad said. "Oh, Almighty God, all men and women are your creatures and you have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirsts for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by you, and make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause."

(Story continues below)

With Iran on the verge of producing nuclear weapons and already in possession of sophisticated medium-range missiles, mystical pre-occupation with the coming of a Shiite Islamic messiah is of particular concern because of Iran's potential for triggering the kind of global conflagration Ahmadinejad envisions will set the stage for the end of the world.

Ahmadinejad is on record as stating he believes he is to have a personal role in ushering in the age of the Mahdi. In a Nov. 16, 2005, speech in Tehran, he said he sees his main mission in life as to "pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance."

According to Shiites, the 12th imam disappeared as a child in the year 941. When he returns, they believe, he will reign on earth for seven years, before bringing about a final judgment and the end of the world.

Ahmadinejad is urging Iranians to prepare for the coming of the Mahdi by turning the country into a mighty and advanced Islamic society and by avoiding the corruption and excesses of the West.

All Iran is buzzing about the Mahdi, the 12th imam and the role Iran and Ahmadinejad are playing in his anticipated return. There's a new messiah hotline. There are news agencies especially devoted to the latest developments.

"People are anxious to know when and how will he rise; what they must do to receive this worldwide salvation," says Ali Lari, a cleric at the Bright Future Institute in Iran's religious center of Qom. "The timing is not clear, but the conditions are more specific," he adds. "There is a saying: 'When the students are ready, the teacher will come.'"

Ahmadinejad and others in Iran are deadly serious about the imminent return of the 12th imam, who will prompt a global battle between good and evil (with striking parallels to biblical accounts of "Armageddon"). Some interpretations of the events that precede his coming include a war that wipes out most of the world's population.

In Iran, an institute set up in 2004 for the study and dissemination of information about the Mahdi had a staff of 160 and influence in the schools and children's magazines earlier this year. Theologians there say end-times beliefs appeal to one-fifth of the population. And the Jamkaran mosque east of Qom, 60 miles south of Tehran, is where the link between devotees and the Mahdi is closest.

As of last year, Ahmadinejad's cabinet had given $17 million to Jamkaran.

Shiite writings describe events surrounding the return of the Mahdi in apocalyptic terms. In one scenario, the forces of evil would come from Syria and Iraq and clash with forces of good from Iran. The battle would commence at Kufa – the Iraqi town near the holy city of Najaf.

Even more controversial is Ahmadinejad's repeated invocation of Imam Mahdi, known as "the Savior of Times." According to Shiite tradition, Imam Mahdi will appear on Judgment Day to herald a truly just government.

Ahmadinejad made reference to the Mahdi in his first speech to the U.N., too. He called on the "mighty Lord" to hasten the emergence of "the promised one," the one who "will fill this world with justice and peace."

Who stands in the Mahdi's way?

A top priority of Ahmadinejad is "to challenge America, which is trying to impose itself as the final salvation of the human being, and insert its unjust state [in the region]," says Hamidreza Taraghi, head of the conservative Islamic Coalition Society.

Taraghi says the U.S. is "trying to place itself as the new Mahdi." This may mean no peace with Iran, he adds, "unless America changes its hegemonic ... thinking, doesn't use nuclear weapons, [or] impose its will on other nations."

After Ahmadinejad last spoke to the United Nations, in September 2005, he told Ayatollah Javadi-Amoli in Tehran, in a videotaped discussion, about a strange, paranormal experience he had while speaking.

He recounted how he found himself bathed in light throughout the speech. But this wasn't the light directed at the podium by the U.N. and television cameras. It was, he said, a light from heaven.

According to a transcript of his comments, obtained by WND last year, Ahmadinejad wasn't the only one who noticed the unearthly light. One of his aides brought it to his attention.

The Iranian president recalled being told about it by one of his delegation: "When you began with the words 'in the name of Allah,' I saw a light coming, surrounding you and protecting you to the end."

Ahmadinejad agreed that he sensed the same thing.

"On the last day when I was speaking, one of our group told me that when I started to say 'Bismillah Muhammad,' he saw a green light come from around me, and I was placed inside this aura," he says. "I felt it myself. I felt that the atmosphere suddenly changed, and for those 27 or 28 minutes, all the leaders of the world did not blink. When I say they didn't move an eyelid, I'm not exaggerating. They were looking as if a hand was holding them there, and had just opened their eyes – Alhamdulillah!"

[Shammu]

Iran’s leader challenges U.N. on Hezbollah
Thu. 21 Sep 2006

The New York Times

By WARREN HOGE

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 21 — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, refused to say today whether he would comply with a Security Council demand to withhold arms from Hezbollah, the Tehran-backed guerrilla group that fought a 34-day war with Israel in southern Lebanon.

“I’d like to say that Lebanon’s affairs are its own affairs, and we don’t want to interfere,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said at a news conference, when he was asked if Iran would favor disarming the group, as called for in the council resolution that ended the combat last month.

As for the measure’s call for an arms embargo to keep Hezbollah from rearming, he said that the United Nations charter gave people the right to defend themselves and that “we give spiritual support to all those who want to uphold their rights.”

Mr. Ahmadinejad spoke to reporters about a wide range of subjects in a packed United Nations conference hall, repeating Iran’s denial that it is trying to build a nuclear weapon and chastising Western countries for trying to curb the country’s pursuit of nuclear energy.

“They’re not concerned about the bomb, they want to stop the development of our country,” he said of the Western nations. “Iran considers the nuclear issue a political one.”

The United States and its European partners are urging Iran to suspend its enrichment of uranium and enter negotiations over a package of financial and commercial incentives the West has offered Tehran to drop its nuclear ambitions.

Iran missed a United Nations deadline for suspending the enrichment on Aug. 31, and the United States has been pushing for sanctions in response, including bans on travel by Iranian officials and freezes of their assets.

Washington has agreed to hold off for the moment, and allow about two more weeks for talks favored by countries like China and Russia that are .reluctant to impose sanctions.

Mr. Ahmadinejad said those talks were “moving on the right path,” but that Iran was seeking “guarantees” and an established “framework” because Iran had had “bitter experiences from the past” with unfulfilled promises by the West.

He held out a slight hope that Iran might agree at some point to a suspension of its nuclear activities, provided there was no threat of sanctions. “We have said that under fair conditions and just conditions, we will negotiate about it, under fair and just conditions,” he said. “We will tell you when the time arrives.”

He said: “The bottom line is, we do not need the bomb. Some think that bombs can be effective in international relations, but we know that these nuclear arsenals will not benefit anyone.”

Asked about his threat to wipe Israel off the map, he argued that his criticism of Israel had been misinterpreted as a rejection of Jews. “These Zionists are not Jews — this is the biggest deception we have faced,” he said. “They are a power group, a power party. We oppose any group that seeks raw power.”

He said Iran “loved everyone around the world — Jews, Christians, Muslims.” But returning to the subject of the Israelis, he said, “We announce and declare loudly that you will be condemned by the rest of the world if you displace people from their homes.”

Mr. Ahmadinejad’s attitude was less belligerent today than on Tuesday evening when he addressed the General Assembly. At the news conference today, he was dressed in what has become his signature outfit, a light grey windbreaker over an open-necked pink shirt. He smiled frequently, alluding to universal desires for love, justice, peace and happiness, and even apologizing to the New Yorkers he had seen out his car window, waiting for his motorcade to pass before they could cross the street.

As in his General Assembly address, he spoke of Iran as a growing country that is impatient with the current United Nations order, one that he said gave undeserved authority to the nations that won World War II and only limited respect to countries like Iran that had arisen since.

“When you look at the Security Council, we see that some members of the council are, in fact, party to many conflicts around the world,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said. Though those countries created the problems, he said, under current arrangements “they nevertheless sit in judgment of world affairs.”

Iran’s leader challenges U.N. on Hezbollah

[Shammu]

22/09/2006            
Ahmadinejad: Iran could halt enrichment under right terms
By Haaretz Service and Reuters

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that talks with the European Union on Tehran's nuclear program were "on the right path" and said he would be willing to negotiate suspending his nuclear program under "fair and just conditions."

"We believe those negotiations are moving on the right path. Hopefully others will not disrupt the work - in small ways perhaps. It is a constructive path to take," he told a news conference at United Nations headquarters in New York.

Responding to UN Security Council demands, Ahmadinejad said Iran was prepared to negotiate on suspending uranium enrichment "under fair and just conditions" but he gave no time-frame for doing so.

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United States President George W. Bush says that he takes Ahmadinejad at his word when he declares that Israel should be wiped off the map.

"My judgment is you've got to take everybody's word seriously in this world," Bush said in an interview to CNN.

"You can't just hope for the best," he said. "You've got to assume that the leader, when he says that he would like to destroy Israel, means what he says. If you say, 'Well, gosh, maybe he doesn't mean it,' and you turn out to be wrong, you have not done your duty as a world leader."

The West has expressed concern over Iran's nuclear program, and the U.S. has said that it would be prepared to impose sanctions on the Islamic republic. Other nations, however, first want diplomacy to run its course.

Bush told CNN that the U.S. is ready for negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program "only if they verifiably suspended their enrichment program."

"He [Ahmadinejad] knows the options before him. I've made that very clear," he said. "In order for there to be effective diplomacy you can't keep changing your word."

Bush expressed concern that Tehran is "trying to buy time" regarding its atomic program, which it insists is for civilian purposes only, and warned that "time is of the essence."

In his own interview to CNN, the Iranian leader declined to repeat his frequent denials of the Holocaust, saying that, "Since I've talked a lot about this subject, I don't want to repeat myself."

Ahmadinejad has repeatedly expressed doubt over whether the Holocaust took place, and initiated a Tehran cartoon exhibition on the Holocaust in response to the Danish cartoons of Mohammed.

But he did say that the Holocaust was a "pretext for occupying Palestinian land" when the Palestinians had nothing to do with the genocide of Europe's Jews.

"If this event happened, where did it happen?" he asked. "The 'where' is the main question, and it was not in Palestine."

He also criticized what he called American politicians' sensitivity and bias toward Israel, saying that when Israel bombed Lebanon during its recent war with Hezbollah, "it doesn't seem to have created concern among American politicians. But when somebody questions or criticizes the Zionist regime, there is so much reaction."

Ahmadinejad also declined in the interview to repeat his belief that Israel has no right to exist, saying instead that he views it as "an occupying regime."

The Iranian leader said all the residents of Israel and the territories - Jews, Muslims and Christians - should be able to decide "what its fate should be."

In a Wednesday night denate, Ahmadinejad appeared with some of his most-prominent American critics to debate issues including Iran's nuclear program and his denial of the Holocaust.

The 90-minute closed event was hosted by the influential Council on Foreign Relations think tank and, the New York Times reported, boycotted by leaders of several Jewish groups.

The Times quoted Ahmadinejad as saying "The U.S. doesn't speak for the whole world" in its opposition to Iran's nuclear program. It also quoted Robert Blackwill, a former deputy national security adviser under George W. Bush, as wondering after the session whether negotiations with Ahmadinejad's government would ever be possible.

"If this man represents the prevailing government opinion in Tehran, we are headed for a massive confrontation with Iran," Blackwill said.

The meeting represented the highest-level recent attempt at an informal Iranian-American dialogue, even as the two governments exchange heated rhetoric over nuclear weapons, terrorism and Middle East security.

"My sense was that, in principle, he [Ahmadinejad] was open to a relationship [with the United States] but that he wanted the United States to take the initiative to bring it about," said Richard Haass, the council's president and a former senior U.S. State Department official under Bush.

Ahmadinejad "seemed to enjoy the give-and-take" of intellectually sparring with the group of 19 council members, Haass said. "A lot of the significance of the meeting is the fact that it happened," he said.

Ahmadinejad was asked about his persistence in describing the Holocaust as a myth, why Tehran insists on enriching uranium when it could have access to nuclear power without doing so, and why some Iranian newspapers have been closed.

The Times, whose reporter David Sanger attended as an invited member of the council, quoted Ahmadinejad as repeatedly questioning evidence of the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed. Noting the 60 million total death toll of World War Two, Ahmadinejad asked, "Why is such prominence given to a small portion of those 60 million?"

Participants said the group, besides Blackwill, included Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser in the administration of George H. W. Bush; former U.S. ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk and former senior Pentagon official Ashton Carter, both of whom served in the Clinton administration.

No currently serving U.S. officials attended, Haass said.

The United States and Iran have not had diplomatic relations since after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Since then, intermittent attempts to breach the divide have borne little fruit. The crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions has prompted new calls for dialogue.

Bush and Ahmadinejad have both expressed regard for each other's citizenry and urged people-to-people exchanges.

Earlier this month, the Bush administration gave former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, a moderate who preceded Ahmadinejad, an unrestricted visa to travel widely in the United States, where he gave speeches and held news conferences.

Last week, however, a senior Middle East researcher for the U.S. Congress was denied entry to Iran for a conference.

Ahmadinejad: Iran could halt enrichment under right terms

[Shammu]

Video: One-On-One With Ahmadinejad

Brian Williams (NBC) one-on-one interview with Iran's leader.

What exactly is going on in this interview?! Brian Williams acts like he has a new fondness for Ahmadinejad. He doesn't even answer the questions. And why on earth is it the first time in ages that we don't have warships in the waters near Iran??

The LEFT loves him! The LEFT loves anyone that is anti-American.

It's too bad it's from a "blog" but the NYT is annoyed that they can't show more mutilated, dead Americans fighting in Iraq. The number count is not enough for them. They want to SHOW YOU dead Americans - preferably mutilated before the family has been notified.

[nChrist]

    YEAH!

ImANutJob deserves his own thread, and I see that you have some great articles. I do see their thoughts about the Mahdi to be fascinating. Some of the things are similar because they were stolen from the Holy Bible and adapted for their use.

It is fascinating but not humorous. Many of the stolen parts were butchered, and CHRIST was blasphemed. Nearly everything was twisted and distorted beyond recognition. The additions were even worse, and they included senseless killing for just a warm-up. Regardless, the backbone of the false religion was stolen from the Holy Bible. GOD'S WORD was abased for the vanity and glory of only man. So, it ends up being one of the largest deceptions known to mankind. It's really sad that their road is downhill to hell. It's also a death sentence for anyone trying to get off that road. If it's all so great, why would anyone risk a death sentence to leave it? Don't we know? They discovered the TRUTH!

[Soldier4Christ]

From everything that I have read of this Mahdi from the koran it is just the opposite of the Bible. A sort of negative to the actual picture. What the Bible says is the beast and false prophet the koran calls the ones that will "save" them and put them in power.

[Shammu]

One thing we need to remember, allah kills, Jesus Saves!!

[nChrist]

Brothers,

It is a type of opposite, but it's fairly obvious that many of their ideas were stolen from the Holy Bible. They are even looking at similar periods of time. The Anti-Christ probably will fulfill many of their desires, but it will only be for a short period of time. Logic would tell most folks that Bible Prophecy in the Holy Bible already has a large number of fulfilled prophecies that are hard evidence that the Holy Bible is REAL and completely TRUE. In fact, many areas other than Bible Prophecy also serve as hard evidence. There is no other book that can even be compared to the Bible. Bluntly, GOD GAVE US AMPLE HARD EVIDENCE THAT THE HOLY BIBLE IS HIS WORD - GOD'S WORD! This HARD EVIDENCE THAT IS OVERWHELMING should be enough to convince any lost person to take another look at the Holy Bible. For Christians, THIS OVERWHELMING HARD EVIDENCE SHOULD STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH and motivate us to yield ourselves for GOD'S Use - big or small - even to the death.

I do think that all Christians should stop often and consider the big picture of GOD'S TRUTH and how it relates to us. If we made a list, that list would be AWESOME! It would cause us to seek HIS WILL, Praise HIM, Thank HIM, and Worship HIM. There is no doubt at all that HE is the CREATOR, THE GREAT I AM, ALMIGHTY GOD, THE KING OF KINGS. HE has furnished OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE even outside the Holy Bible that HE exists and is exactly WHO HE says that HE is. NO OTHER CAN BE THE GREAT I AM OF ETERNITY PAST AND FUTURE!

Love In Christ,
Tom

Christian Quotes 50 - If our greatest need had been information, God
would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology,
God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been
money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest
need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior. -- Max Lucado

[HisDaughter]

DW - I'm so glad you gave him his own thread.  It narrows down the places to post his insanity.


Ahmadinejad: Iran won't give up nuclear rights
Associated Press

TEHRAN,Iran - Iran will not give up "a single iota of its nuclear rights," the country's president said Saturday, rebuffing an informal deadline to stop expanding uranium enrichment or face more sanctions.
 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the remarks during discussions with Syrian President Bashar Assad, who arrived in Tehran Saturday for a two-day visit, the Iranian president's official Web site said.

Assad is in Tehran to discuss Iran's controversial uranium enrichment following a request from French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Tehran was given an informal two-week deadline, set July 19 by the U.N. Security Council's five permanent members plus Germany, to stop expanding uranium enrichment — at least temporarily — in exchange for their commitment to stop seeking new U.N. sanctions.

Ahmadinejad's stance signaled both a failure of Assad's mission and a rejection of the deadline, although his comments indicated he was not ruling out international talks on Iran's nuclear program.

While stating that the Iranian nation "will not give up a single iota of its nuclear rights," he also said any participation in international talks on the nuclear issue would be aimed at reinforcing those rights.

Assad, who has been seeking a more prominent Mideast role for Syria, promised Sarkozy during a visit to France in July to try to persuade Iran to offer proof to the West that it isn't developing nuclear weapons.

Syria is Iran's closest Arab ally — the two countries have had close relations since 1980, when Syria sided with Persian Iran against Iraq in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

Iran's claims that it only wants nuclear technology for the production of energy have failed to quell Western suspicions that it is seeking a pathway to an atomic bomb.

Meanwhile in Brussels, a European Union official said Saturday that the office of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana had not yet received an answer from Iran, but expected a reply "in the coming days" after the weekend deadline.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said EU nations and diplomats are not too concerned about Tehran's adherence to the exact deadline — but are keen for Iran to come back with a concrete reply that could form the basis of further negotiations.

Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged Iran to stop playing for time and deliver a "clear answer" to the latest initiative. "Stop dallying," Steinmeier was quoted as saying in an interview with the weekly Der Spiegel that was released Saturday.

Steinmeier said he expected "a clear signal for a mutual freeze: We would freeze our sanctions efforts and Iran the development of its centrifuges." He warned it would be "negligent" for Iran to pass on the opportunity and added that in case of Tehran's refusal, the six nations would consider increasing pressure on Iran "via sanctions."

The Security Council has slapped three sets of sanctions on Iran over its enrichment and reprocessing of uranium, which can produce the ingredients for a bomb but which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes only.

In Damascus, Syria's official news agency SANA reported on Assad's visit as having affirmed "identical views" of the two countries on major regional and international issues. The agency, which is a government mouthpiece, hailed the two nations' rejection of "foreign dictates" and stressed the need for a "timetable for a withdrawal of foreign forces from" Iraq — an allusion to U.S. troops there.

Assad's visit was also to focus on economic ties between Tehran and Damascus that have resulted in over a dozen projects in Syria, worth $896 million, SANA said, adding that both governments are "seriously seeking to increase the size of joint investments to more than $3 billion over the next years."