Predictably, however, Ahmadinejad eventually overstepped, and like each of his predecessors his personal ambitions proved no match for a system constructed to ensure its own preservation and the unchallenged prerogative of the supreme leader. For the past 18 months, Ahmadinejad has been increasingly marginalized within the Islamic Republic, reduced to playing a convenient foil for intra-elite skirmishing while Khamenei toys with the notion of simply eliminating the presidency altogether.
Although Tehran has secured new regional openings as a result of the Arab spring and has sought to maintain the pretense of international engagement through summit puffery, the Islamic Republic has few friends around the world today.
Still, it would be unwise to underestimate either the mercurial Ahmadinejad or the Iranian capacity for revival and reinvention. The history of the Islamic Republic has seldom followed a predictable narrative, and the expectations of even knowledgeable outside observers have typically proven incorrect. Today, Ahmadinejad himself has receded in relevance, but as the world contemplates the prospect of an even fiercer conflict with Iran over its nuclear program, we should remember that the political tendencies that he represents remain as powerful as ever.
Related Books. Bucharest Diary By Alfred H. Ahmadinejad also gave an interview to New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof in which he discussed the dispute over Iran's nuclear activities. If they give it to us according to international law, according to IAEA laws, without preconditions, we will cease domestic enrichment.
Many countries, including the United States, believe Iran is trying to create a nuclear weapons program, but Tehran insists its activities are only to provide energy for the country.
When asked about the uprising in Syria, Ahmadinejad told Kristof that the Syrian government, "just like any other country," should engage in dialogue.
They will be multiplied. Differences will be multiplied and magnified. And certainly foreigners must not intervene. Intervention of foreigners will only make the problem that much bigger, and will never solve it. After the elections that kept Ahmadinejad in office, Iranian forces launched a violent crackdown on street protests. The U. State Department human rights report on Iran says "scores of protesters and non-protesting bystanders were killed, especially during anti-government rallies.
Government sources reported the death toll at 37, opposition groups reported approximately 70 individuals died, and human rights organizations suggested as many as Ahmadinejad, in his interview with Kristof, painted a very different picture.
So they were a very, very small minority. Share this on:. Most Popular. You can find more information in our data protection declaration. His tirade against the West's misdeeds was true to form and delivered with a domestic audience in mind. The US delegation walked out when Ahmadinejad accused Washington and its allies of threatening anyone who questioned the Holocaust and the September 11 attacks with sanctions and military actions.
European Union delegations soon joined the exodus. A French source told the AFP news agency that the departure had been coordinated and was planned to take place if Ahmadinejad called into question European nations for their 'support of Zionism' or referred to the Holocaust.
The Iranian leader also accused the US of using the September 11, attacks as a pretext for launching wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, "displacing millions with the ultimate goal of bringing into its domination the Middle East and its oil resources.
The speech also contained more general condemnation of what he called the West's "hypocrisy and deceit. He claimed that the West condoned "drug trafficking and killing of innocent human beings" in pursuit of its "imperialistic goal.
He also made no mention of the pro-democracy uprisings that have swept the Arab world this year. The German delegation said it had left the assembly because of the "crude, anti-American, anti-Israeli and anti-West tirade by the Iranian president.
Mark Kornblau, spokesman for the US mission at the United Nations, condemned Ahamadinjad's remarks as "abhorrent anti-Semitic slurs and despicable conspiracy theories.
Before Ahmadinejad's speech, several hundred people protested against his presence at the General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting.
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