Tag Archives: ahmadinejad

Sep 21 2010

President Ahmadinejad calls capitalism a failed economic model

Anyone who has lived in Iran, and I have from the year 2000, will tell you that the state of the country’s economy and social climate is in serious turmoil.

For the past 30 years Iran’s resources have been depleted due in part to under investment and mismanagement, but more importantly, due to lost opportunities in bridging the country with a global economy that could have in return catapulted Iran to a far greater position on the world stage than its current standing today.

But beyond economics what has most Iranians in fury is the regimes rigidity and inflexibility on a political ideology that is out of step with the 21st century. As a benchmark one can simply look at the 240,000-a-year talent pool leaving the country en mass since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office as president in 2005.

And so, while Ahmadinejad attempts to offer a new geo-political prescription to a new world order and spends most of his time pointing finger at the United States and Europe as the main culprits of all economic and political ills of the globe, one has to ask him why is it that under his leadership Iran is on the verge of revolt?

What the president doesn’t seem to realize is that the worlds economic and political experts know that if the regime in Tehran takes away subsidies on key products such as petroleum, electricity and food essentials Iran’s economy will collapse.

Already the rental rates and income inbalance is breaking people’s backs, especially the young. Bank loans, which a lot of businesses are indebted with, have a 25 percent interest rate which means no SME in the country is profitable and those that are have created an underground economy by hiding their revenues from the state out of necessity.

In short, Ahmadinejad has a serious credibility problem and I am bewildered why world media is unable to ask the Iranian president the right set of question that brings the spotlight on his broken ideology and hot air rhetoric’s. What is the world media afraid of?

Aug 27 2010

Khamenei warms America and its allies

Khamenei warms America and Israel

Today in a televised broadcast on IRIB 1 that aired around 7:30pm Tehran time Ayatollah Khamenie addressed an elite group of leaders of the regime.   Amongst the upper echelons who attended the event were Ayatollah Rafsanjani, the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, President Ahmadinejad and the speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani.

The half hour or so speech focused predominantly on US  – Iran relations where the supreme leader made it clear that the Islamic regime has fundamental strategic differences with the United states.  To make his point clear he drew on the example of Israel’s right to exist where he said, “we do not recognize the legitimacy of Israel and think it is a false grown state in the Middle East and should not be there.”  He further added that “likewise we know that Israel opposes us and does not want an independent Islamic Iran to develop and expand”.

On the ideological front Ayatollah Khamenie touched on the term “global village” where he asserted that the idea of a global village the way it is defined by the west is nothing more than a lie. “This new global village or new global order is merely a myth.  It is a term that simply translated means that all countries should give up their rights and independence and allow two countries, the US and Israel, to run the world as they please.  On this issue we also have a fundamental difference”.

In conclusion of his talk, Ayatollah Khamenei tried to make the old case that the United States is an imperialistic state with a foreign policy objective to rule the world.  He stated that ”if anyone knows the United States will also know that the Americans are relentless in their methods to take what they want by force.”  However he made the assertion that America and Israel are at their weakest in 30 years and in all areas of political, economic and the social sphere and that hatred towards America has grown in many parts of the world.

Trying to make it clear that Iran will not negotiate out of fear he even took a jab at President Ahmadinejad when he said that “even if the president wanted to negotiate with the Americans our interest is not to do so under the current climate of intimidation where they, the Americans, expect us to conform to their will.”  He added that “This is American style bullyism. This is not deal making but rather negotiating with an agenda and pretext in getting their way.   This is not negotiation and the Islamic regime will stand its ground against this form of pressure.” 

What was alarming is the final point the Supreme leader made in reference to any plan of attack on Iran by America and its allies.  “If Iran is attacked then the war will no longer be limited to our boarders and I don’t think the Americans are that foolish.”

On the domestic front, and recognizing the impact of the international sanctions and the broken state of the Iranian economy Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered the control and better management of imports that has for the past 30 years hindered domestic industry and production. He also called for unity at the leadership level and stated that any differences should not create a rift in the Islamic system “nezam”.

May 3 2010

Iran says it is not attending NPT conference to assure the West anything

Upon his arrival to New York, President Ahmadinejad wasted no time in making his purpose for attending the NPT conference clear by telling reporters that, “we are not here to assure the West anything other than what the Islamic regime believes in and that is the NPT treaty has been a failure.”   

With this introduction my guess is that his speech tomorrow will sound less reassuring and more scolding.  To make his point I think he will touch on three key issues.    First the President will touch on the subject of  Israel’s nuclear capability in the Middle East region, its lack of transparency that has  caused great insecurity in the region, and he will express concern over Israel’s unwillingness to sign on to the NPT.     

Pushing on this subject he will most likely make the argument that if Israel has the right to such technology, as some experts estimate Israel of having over 100 nuclear warheads, then to level the playing field, other countries should abandon the NPT and pursue their own security interest as they see fit, both in the Middle East and around the world. 

To avoid this nuclear doom and gloom scenario the President’s second point will be to demand a TOTAL reduction of nuclear warheads and in doing so call on the United States to act in self interest and reduce its nuclear stockpile.  He will argue that no county can dictate to others what security means when they themselves are the bearers of insecurity.

And point three will be to recap points one and two, and accuse the United States of a double standard for having two sets of rules with regards to who can and can’t have access to weapons grade nuclear technology.   

This will certainly open the door for Iran to take a new stance on the issue of nuclear nonproliferation by suggesting that now that the treaty has failed to achieve its intended goals, every country has the right to pursue security measures on its own in order to deter regional and global threats either independently or in a new alliance formation.  And so with this speech his aim will be to push for the creation of a new none western lead global security alliance.

Personally, I DON’T have a problem with Iran acquiring nuclear technology nor do I have a problem with Iran having the bomb, however, where I do see a serious threat is in the caliber of people who have their finger on the trigger.  Ahmadinejad has time and time again made it clear that he is ready to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and has expressed his intentions openly and candidly to the world.  And to this point I think the free world should pay close attention to what will be said by the Islamic regime tomorrow.

Apr 18 2010

Ahmadinejad responds to Obama at the Tehran Disarmament & Non Proliferation Conference

Tehran Non Proliferation Conference

At the Tehran international conference on disarmament and non-proliferation today, president Ahmadinejad stated that “foreign forces must leave the Middle East region now in order to avoid conflict.” He was referring to the United States. 

This statement comes as a direct response to President Obama’s announcement at a similar venue late last week in Washington, DC where he made the statement that Iran and North Korea are on a nuclear hit list in the event that war ever broke out between his country and its allies against Iran and or North Korea.

Tehran has reacted to this announcement with great indignation.

Foreign Minister Mottaki lashed out at the United States during last week’s Friday prayer at Tehran University calling this statement an insult and a double standard.  “Why is it that those who shout the loudest about nuclear non proliferation are the same countries with thousands of nuclear war heads” he stated.  “Why is it that when other countries want to develop the same knowhow independently, the so called developed countries try everything in their power to stop them”.

Many people of the Arab world admire Iran and Ahmadinejad for standing up to the West given their own leaders incapacitated role to stand their ground given the oil ties and cheer him on behind closed doors.   This makes Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric’s even more potent across the region which is another reason why the Middle East can potentially become a volatile epicenter of instability and conflict, one that can spread around the world like a brushfire. 

Recognizing that the US administration is facing a serious challenge in the region neither being able to pull its troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan nor having much success in establishing peace in the region, Ahmadinejad went on to add that “if the president of the United States wants to resolve the present Middle East crisis and if he wants to see a second term in office, his only hope is to start talking to Iran”.

Something tells me the Obama administration is clueless in how to deal with IRAN and my great concern is that this inaction on the part of the United States will in fact further embolden the radicals in Iran and subsequently the region.

Apr 5 2010

The rise of the military junta in IRAN

The Rising Military Regime

This is an article I wrote on June 28th 2009 after the contested election in IRAN. It is worth reflecting on given the turn of events 10 months later.

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A week prior to Iran’s presidential election I was in Tehran and in my curiosity I wanted to know who Iranians, those that I had talked to, thought would become the next president. The kneejerk response by many was Ahmadinejad with the justification that since the 1979 revolution no president has ever served less than two consecutive terms in office. It therefore made sense that Ahmadinejad was a shoe-in for the top job, case closed. Or so everyone thought.

What Changed

In my opinion, the game changer that bucked the trend was the live televised debates, a first for the country and the establishment. It was a bold move that allowed the candidates namely the front runners, Ahmadinejad and Mousavi, to face off against each other and before the nation who was eager to know more about their respective positions predominantly on the economy, inflation and unemployment. Instead what they got was a one sided verbal offensive by the president on the other candidates. With a barrage of personal attacks Ahmadinejad went after Mousavi and Karoubi with strong accusations such as public theft from the treasury, taking bribes from business men, mismanaging the countries welfare, being puppet candidates to Rafsanjani who was also accused of grand theft of the nation’s wealth, and for not upholding the values of the Islamic revolution. The highlight of the smear tactic and intimidation came when Ahmadinejad went after Mousavi’s wife Zahra Rahnavard accusing her of falsifying her academic credentials and calling her unqualified. This is an absolute no no in Iranian culture so one had to wonder how could the president, this self-proclaimed humble servant of the Islamic Republic be so bold in going after some of the key figures who were instrumental in the establishment of the Islamic regime in Iran on air?

After it was all said and done Iranian state TV announced that over 80% of the population had watched the debates and that the choice was clear, a candidate that stood for change verses one that had a hidden agenda.

The GREEN Movement

We all know that Iran, a country of 70 million people, has one of the youngest demographics in the world with over 70% of the population under the age of 35 and more specifically with 40% between the ages of 18 and 35, of which 53% are women.

This voter block also has a relatively uniform profile and pattern of behavior irrespective of the classical class distinctions. It’s a segment of Iranian society I call “the generation AFTER”, in reference to the 1979 revolution. The Generation AFTER has many aspirations in common with their peers around the world, they want opportunity to grow as individuals, they want meaningful jobs and a better quality of life, they demand more social freedoms to express themselves, and they also share a common bond in having great pride in their country and want to see that pride be restored on the international stage. It is also important to mention that this generation is highly educated, is technologically savvy (as we now know in hindsight of what’s happening on twitter, facebook and YouTube) and they wish to engage with the rest of world as friends and as equals. They also have great respect for their traditions but would like to see these traditions updated with the times.

The video blogs on YouTube and CNN i-report clearly demonstrate the energy and hope this generation has brought to the political arena and more specifically to the Mousavi camp. So, the question again arises why did Ahmadinejad neglect to attract the first time voters, university students and the young professionals through any form of proactive campaigning (which is very different from busing people in for his rallies from out of town). Did he know something the rest of Iran didn’t?

The Counter GREEN Movement

So, while the June 12th 2009 election was initially embraced with great hope and enthusiasm it soon became overshadowed by the devastating announcement that came only a matter of hours after the voting stations had closed, Mir Hossein Mousavi had lost. And he had lost by a landslide margin.

Without repeating what has already been covered by world media about the Iranian electoral process, the scandalous result, the clashes on the streets that followed, the number of protestors killed mercilessly by plain clothed pressure groups known as the basij forces, and the current terror tactics being deployed to deter Iranians from engaging in any form of resistance such as intruding into homes and taking protestors away in the darkness of night, allow me to bring some clarity on the situation by addressing what is now blatantly obvious but no one seems to want to talk about.

From the leaked Ministry of Interior documents and the voter tabulated computer sheets it is conclusive and self-evident that an Islamic (candidate vetted) democracy was staged, an election was rigged and a presidency was stolen. It’s called a coup d’état and like all other coups in the world it needs no justification and it needs no forewarning. It simply happened because a powerful few plotted against the will of the many in a moment of opportunity. The conspirators in this case were the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRG) who seem to have other ideas in how to lead Iran in the 21st century.

So while political pundits, analysts and reporters are still pondering in their evaluation of what to call Iran’s political system today, allow me to be the first to label it as it is, a Military Regime to the likes of Argentina under the rule of Juan Peron between 1946 to 1955. And why do I make such a comparison? Well, like Peron who received a strict catholic upbringing, Ahmadinejad is a devout Shiite Muslim and a prodigy of Mesbah Yazdi a fundamentalist militant cleric who believes in Shia expansionism. Politically, Ahmadinejad is associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, ideologically is a staunch critic of the United States and Israel (its adversary in the Middle East), and backs strengthening relationships with countries such as Russia, China, Venezuela, and Syria (Syria for strategic interests in the Arab world). Peron on the other hand was fascinated by Benito Mussolini and Germany’s Adolf Hitler and therefore came to power and ruled Argentina with an Iron fist backed by the support of the military. And finally like Peron, Ahmadinejad values the importance of a centralized economic model and opposes the free market and privatization of industry.

The ramifications of this Coup D’état

Now that we know what kind of a man and political system we are dealing with it is important to assess the ramifications of having such a system exercising its soft and hard power first in a volatile Middle East and second around the world. Over the next few days and weeks Ahmadinejad will continue to silence the opposition with all means possible and demonstrate to the world that he is fully in control. Second, he will shrug off all attempts to engage the United States in a direct dialogue despite president Obama’s overtures and through its radical cohorts such as Hezbollah and Hamas will continue to antagonize Israel by undermining its legitimacy to exist as a sovereign nation in the Middle East. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has already made the announcement that everything in Iran will be normalized soon and that we shall continue the work ahead of us. Third, the regime will be in no mood to compromise on its nuclear project and or to comply with its NPT obligations. Iran will continue developing its nuclear capability with full speed. Fourth, with the oil and gas revenues at US $70 dollars a barrel the IRG will expand its presence around the world by investing in key markets of the Middle East, Europe, South East Asia and Latin America. This is an important step for the military regime to maintain its strategic interests in other countries and have leverage over their political decision making as well. On the domestic front, the economy will continue to stagnate as a result of isolationist policies and presumably further international sanctions that may be on the way. And as usual, the regime with blame the economic hardships on foreign powers, the United States and England. And finally fifth, with its coalition of allies Russia, China and Venezuela, Iran will showcase its military power in the Persian Gulf to demonstrate its regional dominance and superiority in the Middle East. This show of force serves two objectives, first to shame the Arab states including Egypt for their silence against Israel and second to challenge Israel into a direct confrontation.

The catastrophe

With a religiously charged cold war mindset still prevalent amongst many generals and brigadiers within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard that surround Ahmadinejad, Iran is likely to engage in regional adventurism making life extremely difficult for America to maintain its presence in the Middle East. It’s number one objective will be to push America and its allies as far away from the region as possible thus creating a power vacuum that only Iran can fill.  This policy if allowed to expand will ultimately lead the Middle East towards the imminent threat of a low level regional war and in its escalated form I believe could trigger off World War III.

The Historic Crossroad

What I have just described is a scenario that is playing itself out at its initial stages before our very eyes, however, this bleak version of reality could be altered if, first, Mir Hossein Mousavi comes to the forefront and takes the role of a national leader ready to protect the interest of the Iranian voters in a more visible manner. Second, a group of military men from within the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard who are made aware of the short, medium and long term threats of this coup break away from the pack of conspirators and join Mousavi both to protect him and to create a military defensive unit on the side of the people in the event the IRG was to bring out heavier guns to the streets. Third, to exert international pressure on Ahmadinejad by declaring his government illegitimate thus closing all chances of international maneuvering. And last but not least to stage an all out protest by the masses that encompasses a nationwide strike.

With these steps set into motion and by coming out in support of a nation whose votes were stolen and their dreams shattered, the world community will not only have averted a regional and potentially global catastrophe, but more importantly, it will have strengthened the will, desire and determination of “Generation AFTER” with the belief and hope of establishing an everlasting Democratic system of government in sync with the free world. I personally like this latter version of history a lot more, don’t you?

Mar 26 2010

Ahmadinejad government says Muslims must act decisively over Jerusalem

The Ahmadinejad government attacked Israel’s settlement plans in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday, saying Muslims around the world needed to take decisive action.

Announcements by Israel’s right-wing government of new building projects in East Jerusalem - which the Jewish state seized in a 1967 war — have spoiled U.S. plans to get Palestinians and Israelis back into peace negotiations.

“Expansion of Israeli settlements, destruction of Islamic and Christian sites and wide-scale construction of new synagogues show the Zionist plans to accelerate Judaisation of East Jerusalem and unfortunately it is approved by American officials,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in comments reported on Iranian state radio.

“This has raised the alarm for all people around the world and doubled the need for Muslim and other countries to act seriously,” he said, adding that the 22-nation Arab League should take a strong stance at its meeting in Libya this weekend.

U.S. officials have sought to coax Israel into suspending further East Jerusalem projects and discussing core issues such as borders and the status of Jerusalem as part of indirect talks with the Palestinians that have been blessed by the Arab League.

Iran is locked in dispute with the United States and its allies, including Arab states, over its nuclear energy program which they fear will allow Tehran to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says it has no such intention.

Israel says it considers a nuclear Iran as an existential threat and analysts say Israel, itself regarded as a nuclear power, could carry out raids on Iranian sites.

Iran, a major oil and gas producer, sees itself as the main champion of the Palestinian cause among Muslim countries.

Mar 16 2010

Iran warns GCC over U.S. presence in the Persian Gulf

TEHRAN – This past week Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Persian Gulf countries against the U.S. presence in the region, saying Washington aimed to dominate their energy resources in the name of fighting terrorism.

Iran opposes the U.S. military presence on its borders in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf, saying western military intervention is the root of insecurity in the region.

“We warn the countries in the region over the presence of bullying powers … they have not come here to restore security or to counter drug trafficking,” Ahmadinejad said in a speech during a visit to the southern province of Hormuzgan.

The hardline president accused the West of planning to dominate energy resources in the Gulf and said: “People in the region will cut off their hands from the Persian Gulf’s oil.”

Tension between Iran and the West has risen over the Islamic state’s nuclear programme, with Western powers calling for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions over Tehran’s refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

The West suspects Iran is seeking nuclear weapons. Tehran says it plans only civilian nuclear facilities.

Washington and its western allies say they want a diplomatic solution but have not ruled out military action against the Islamic republic.

“Iran’s message to the countries in the region is nothing but the message of friendship and brotherhood,” Ahmadinejad told a crowd in the provincial capital, Bandar Abbas.