Mahmoud Ahmadinejad // Current

Iran's Ahmadinejad congratulates Obama

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama on his success - the first time an... more

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ElBaradei: Iran far from acquiring nuclear weapon

Babak Yektafar: ElBaradei's statement will not change minds of those who want to confront Iran. International Atomic... more

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Documents Say Iran Aids Militias From Iraq

WASHINGTON: They wake before dawn, with time to exercise, eat and pray before the first class of the day in firing Kalashnikov... more

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HuffingtonPost: America's Secret War

There's been a lot of talk about whether the U.S. and Iran are going to war. But the real question may be whether the U.S.... more

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Iran Releases Iranian Converts

Iran has reportedly released two Iranian Christians from Muslim backgrounds who could have received the death penalty on charges of apostasy.

The well-informed Italian news agency Adnkronos said Mahmoud Matin Azad, 52, and Arash Basirat, 44, were released Tuesday, September 30, after a tribunal ruled that charges of "offense to Islam" and "diffusion of falsities" were "invalid", apparently after international pressure.

Both men were detained in May by intelligence officials in the city of Shiraz, in southwestern Iran during a meeting with 13 other who were later interrogated and released. The prosecution requested the death penalty for Azad and Basirat, according to documents obtained by Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN), which has close contacts with Christians in Iran.

Their release followed a statement last Friday, September 26, by the European Union saying it was "very worried" about the apparent deterioration of religious freedom in Iran, following the arrests of Christians as well as followers of the Baha'i religion and Sunni and Sufi Muslims.

CHURCH LEADERS

German-based evangelical news agency IDEA quoted well-informed observers as saying that a meeting between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and church officials last week in New York also contributed to the release of both Christians.

However at least some 43 other 'converts' remain jailed in Iran, Adnkronos quoted unidentified sources as saying. Many of them are believed to be Christians and there have been international concerns about their situation.

Several converts have in the past died in mysterious situations, or were sentenced to death, including evangelical pastor Hossein Soudmand, who was hanged in 1986 in Mashad prison.

CONTROVERSIAL PROPOSAL

The government of Iranian President Ahmadinejad recently presented to parliament a proposal to modify the penal code and include in it the crime of abandonment of Islam, which could carry the death penalty.

About 99 percent of Iran's 65 million people are Muslims, while a quarter of a million Muslims converted to Christianity, according to conservative estimates. Other sources suggest that the number of Christian converts in Iran is much higher and rising, adding to concerns among Muslim leaders.

There are also at least some 150 Armenian and Assyrian Christians, church observers said.
Iran has reportedly released two Iranian Christians from Muslim backgrounds who could have received the death penalty on charges... more

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1 month ago

Ahmadinejad talks to Democracy Now

It's a great achievement for grass roots media when people like Ahmadinejad will grant an interview. Here, Amy Goodman talks... more

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1 month ago

Ahmadinejad says "American empire is reaching its end"

It's interesting to get an international perspective on America. Read this article to read more on Iranian President Mahmoud... more

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1 month ago

Ahmadinejad Blasts America at UN Speech

"American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road, and its next rulers must limit their interference to their own borders," Ahmadinejad said.
He accused the U.S. of starting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to win votes in elections and blamed a "few bullying powers" for trying to undermine Iran's nuclear program.
Ahmadinejad's hardline rhetoric came as no surprise and offered little in the way of compromise at the U.N., where he faces a new round of sanctions if no agreement is reached on limiting Iran's nuclear capabilities.
While he reiterated that the country's nuclear program is purely peaceful, the U.S. and others fear it is aimed at producing enriched uranium to make nuclear weapons.
Iran already is under three sets of sanctions by the U.N. Security Council for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. Washington and its Western allies are pushing for quick passage of a fourth set of sanctions to underline the international community's resolve, but are likely to face opposition from Russia.
"A few bullying powers have sought to put hurdles in the way of the peaceful nuclear activities of the Iranian nation by exerting political and economic pressures against Iran," he said.
Ahmadinejad also lashed out at Israel on Tuesday, saying "the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse, and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters."
The Iranian president is feared and reviled in Israel because of his repeated calls to wipe the Jewish state off the map, and his aggressive pursuit of nuclear technology has only fueled Israel's fears.
Ahmadinejad accused "a small but deceitful number of people called Zionists ... (of) dominating an important portion of the financial and monetary centers as well as the political decision-making centers of some European countries and the U.S."
Israeli President Shimon Peres reacted angrily to Ahjmadinejad's criticism. "It is again a repetition of the darkest accusations in the name of Hitler and almost anti-Semitism," Peres later told journalists.
In discussing the U.S. war in Iraq, Ahmadinejad said, "Millions have been killed or displaced, and the occupiers, without a sense of shame, are still seeking to solidify their position in the ... region and to dominate oil resources."
He suggested that the presence of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan has contributed to a sharp rise in terrorism and a huge increase in the production of narcotics.
He predicted that the alliance would not be successful.
"Throughout history every force that has entered Afghanistan has left in defeat," Ahmadinejad said.
His speech came just hours after President Bush made his eighth and final appearance before the U.N. General Assembly, urging the international community to stand firm against the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.
"A few nations, regimes like Syria and Iran, continue to sponsor terror," Bush said. "Yet their numbers are growing fewer, and they're growing more isolated from the world. As the 21st century unfolds, some may be tempted to assume that the threat has receded. This would be comforting. It would be wrong."
At one point during Bush's 22-minute speech, Ahmadinejad turned to Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and gave a thumb's down"American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road, and its next rulers must limit their interference to their own... more

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1 month ago

Ahmadinejad states: American empire nearing its end; talks to CNNs Larry King

In a blistering speech before the United Nations General Assembly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed "a few bullying powers" for creating the world's problems and said the "American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road."

And while he insisted Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful, Ahmadinejad blamed the same powers for seeking to hinder it "by exerting political and economic pressures on Iran, and threatening and pressuring" the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Those powers, meanwhile, are building or maintaining nuclear stockpiles themselves, unchecked by anyone, he said.

He accused the United States of oppressing Iraqis with six years of occupation, saying Americans were "still seeking to solidify their position in the political geography of the region and to dominate oil resources."

Meanwhile, he said, Palestinians have undergone "60 years of carnage and invasion ... at the hands of some criminal and occupying Zionists."

Hours before Ahmadinejad's speech, Bush told the General Assembly that Iran was among the nations that "continue to sponsor terror."

"Yet their numbers are growing fewer, and they're growing more isolated from the world," Bush said.

Before Ahmadinejad spoke to the U.N., he told CNN's Larry King that he is willing to meet with presidential candidates Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama -- even in front of the media -- to discuss world issues and debate. But he has no preference between the two, he said in the interview that aired Tuesday night on "Larry King Live."

And decisions pertaining to that must be made by the American people. And it's not important to us either," Ahmadinejad said. "What matters essentially is that the president that is chosen by the American people should adopt a path and a policy approach and for us to observe the policy approach.

"This is the campaign period, anyone can say anything. So we disregard that. What matters is that once someone is in office, we have to watch and see if that person will bring about some changes in policy or continue the same old path."

Asked whether he fears a U.S. attack, Ahmadinejad told King that attacking Iran would be the "worst thing the U.S. government can do ... I think that in the United States, there are enough reasonable people, smart people, who would not allow the U.S. government to make such a big mistake."

Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, meanwhile, would be "the best scenario," Ahmadinejad said. "But I think that it needs a timetable ... the presence of the United States there has not reduced tension and it has not limited terrorism either. In fact, it has increased terrorism."

In a blistering speech before the United Nations General Assembly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed "a few... more

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1 month ago

US empire nearing end?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has criticized the administration of George Bush, the US president, saying the... more

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1 month ago

Ahmadinejad: 'Who Exactly Is The Provocateur?' -- INTERVIEW

Morning Edition, September 23, 2008 · Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to criticize the U.S. during an... more

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1 month ago

Palin Disinvited from Anti-Iran Rally

The first political event to feature both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sarah Palin will now have neither.

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2 months ago

Clinton pulls out of anti-Iran event over Palin

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has pulled out of a New York rally set for next week after organizers blindsided her by inviting... more

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2 months ago

Five former U.S. state secretaries urge Iran talks

Five former U.S. secretaries of state said on Monday the next American administration should talk to Iran, a foe President George W. Bush has generally shunned as part of an "axis of evil."

Engaging Iran is important because Washington's military options against Tehran are unsatisfactory, said the diplomats, who worked for Republican and Democratic administrations.

The five -- Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright, Warren Christopher, James Baker and Henry Kissinger -- all said they favored talking to Iran as part of a strategy to stop Tehran's development of a nuclear weapons program.

Dealing with Iran has become an issue in the November U.S. presidential election campaign, with Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain sparring over Obama's stated readiness to talk to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other U.S. adversaries if elected president.

McCain has criticized Obama's stand, saying it shows naivete and inexperience.

The United States cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 1980, a year after an Islamic revolution toppled U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and months after militant students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held its staff hostage.

Iran has been on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism for years. Bush has been calling Iran a part of an axis of evil since 2002, and has refused to rule out using military force to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear bombs. Washington also accuses Iran of arming, financing and training Shi'ite militants killing U.S. forces in Iraq.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and blames the U.S. occupation for the violence in Iraq.

In July, the Bush administration shifted tactics and sent an envoy to multilateral nuclear talks with Iran for the first time, seeking to underline Washington's stated position that it wants a diplomatic solution to the impasse.

Baker, who worked for former President George H.W. Bush -- the current president's father -- said talking to the Iranians might be one way to get the message across that the United States could always aim its strategic nuclear arsenal at Iran if Iran developed nuclear weapons and aimed them at the United States or Israel.

"They would understand that, I think," Baker said.Five former U.S. secretaries of state said on Monday the next American administration should talk to Iran, a foe President George... more