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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born October 28, 1956) is the 6th and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He became president on 6 August 2005 after winning the 2005 presidential election. Ahmadinejad's current term will end in August 2009, but he will be eligible to run for one more term in office in 2009 presidential elections. Before becoming president, he was the Mayor of Tehran. He is the highest directly elected official in the country, but, according to Article 113 of Constitution of Iran, he has less total power than the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Iran and has the final word in all aspects of foreign and domestic policies.

Ahmadinejad is an outspoken critic of the George W. Bush Administration and supports strengthened relations between Iran and Russia (see Iran-Russia relations), Cuba, Venezuela (see Iran-Venezuela relations), Syria (see Iran-Syria relations) and the Persian Gulf states. He has supported Iran's nuclear program declaring it is for peaceful purposes in spite of contrary demands by the United Nations Security Council to end it. He was condemned internationally for calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map," and described the Holocaust as a "myth", leading to accusations of antisemitism. In response to these criticisms, Ahmadinejad said “No, I am not anti-Jew, I respect them very much.”

During his presidency, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched a gas rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption, dissolved the Management and Planning Organisation of Iran and cut the interest rate for private and public banking facilities.

Personal life and education

Ahmadinejad, the son of a blacksmith, was born in Garmsar, near Tehran on October 28, 1956. In 1976, he took Iran's national university entrance exams (konkoor) to gain admission into Iran's top universities. His test score ranked him 132nd among over 400,000 participants that year, landing him at the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) as an undergraduate student of civil engineering.

After the Iranian Revolution, he entered the Master of Science program for civil engineering in 1984. In 1989, he became a member of the Science faculty at the university where he had studied. In 1997, he received his Ph.D. in transportation engineering and planning from the Science and Technology University. Even after being elected President, Ahmadinejad continued living in a simple apartment flat and eating meals brought from home, in his office. Both of these traits contributed to his widespread support amongst the poorer classes of Iran.

Ahmadinejad is married with two sons and one daughter. One of his sons formerly studied at the Amirkabir University of Technology.

In August 2007, Ahmadinejad gave his approval for filmmaker Oliver Stone to make a biopic film on him.

Timeline

Early political career

Ahmadinejad was politically active as a student during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, and represented the University of Science and Technology in the Students Movement at the Central Committee for the “Office of Growth of Unity of the Students” where the plan for the embassy takeover was presented. Reportedly, he first opposed the take-over . or supported a larger plan that included the simultaneous take-over of the Soviet Union embassy until the Ayatollah Khomeni gave his approval of the US embassy take-over. Several former hostages and the former President of Iran have identified Ahmadinejad as one of the key individuals holding Americans inside the embassy. In a secret report specifically investigating this issue, the CIA declared this identification "Not proven".

Ahmadinejad served as Governor General of Ardabil Province from 1993 to 1997 but was not a nationally known figure when he was elected Mayor of Tehran by the second City Council of Tehran on May 3, 2003, after a 12% turnout led to the election of the conservative candidates of Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran in Tehran. During his mayorship, he reversed many of the changes put into effect by previous moderate and reformist mayors, putting religious emphasis on the activities of the cultural centers founded by previous mayors, going on the record with the separation of elevators for men and women in the municipality offices, and suggesting that the bodies of those killed in the Iran-Iraq War be buried in major city squares of Tehran. Such actions were coupled with an emphasis on charity, such as distributing free soup to the poor.

After two years as mayor, Ahmadinejad was shortlisted in a list of 65 finalists for World Mayor in 2005. Out of the 550 nominated mayors, nine were from Asia.

He was not much better known when he entered the presidential election campaign, although he had already made his mark for rolling back earlier reforms. After his election to the presidency, Ahmadinejad resigned from his post as the mayor of Tehran. His resignation was accepted on June 28, 2005.

He is a member of the Central Council of the Islamic Society of Engineers, but his key support is inside the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran (Abadgaran).

Presidency

Presidential campaign

Ahmadinejad generally sent mixed signals about his plans for his presidency, which some US-based analysts considered to have been designed to attract both religious conservatives and the lower economic classes. His campaign motto was, "It's possible and we can do it." (Template:Fa).

In his presidential campaign, Ahmadinejad took a populist approach, with emphasis on his own modest life, and compared himself with Mohammad Ali Rajai, the second president of Iran. Ahmadinejad said he had plans to create an "exemplary government for the people of the world" in Iran. He is a self-described "principlist"; that is, acting politically based on Islamic and revolutionary principles. One of his goals has been "putting the petroleum income on people's tables", referring to Iran's oil profits being distributed among the poor.

Ahmadinejad was the only presidential candidate who spoke out against future relations with the United States. In an interview with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting a few days before the elections, Ahmadinejad accused the United Nations of being "one-sided, stacked against the world of Islam." He has openly opposed the veto power given to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. In the same interview, he stated, "It is not just for a few states to sit and veto global approvals. Should such a privilege continue to exist, the Muslim world with a population of nearly 1.5 billion should be extended the same privilege." He has defended Iran's nuclear program and has accused "a few arrogant powers" of attempting to limit Iran's industrial and technological development in this and other fields.

After his election he proclaimed, "Thanks to the blood of the martyrs, a new Islamic revolution has arisen and the Islamic revolution of 1384 will, if God wills, cut off the roots of injustice in the world." He said, that "the wave of the Islamic revolution" would soon "reach the entire world."

During his campaign for the second round, he said, "We didn't participate in the revolution for turn-by-turn government.…This revolution tries to reach a world-wide government." Also he has mentioned that he has an extended program on fighting terrorism in order to improve foreign relations and has called for greater ties with Iran's neighbours and ending visa requirements between states in the region, saying that "people should visit anywhere they wish freely. People should have freedom in their pilgrimages and tours." Since his election to the presidency he has taken a tough stand on a number of foreign policy matters, in line with his hard-line background.

As confirmed by Ahmadinejad, Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a senior cleric from Qom, is President Ahmadinejad's ideological mentor and spiritual guide. Mesbah is the founder of Haghani School of thought in Iran. He and his team strongly supported Ahmadinejad's campaign during presidential election in 2005.

Election

Ahmadinejad became the 6th President of Iran on August 6, 2005, after winning 62% of the vote in the run-off poll, nearly twice that of ex-President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He received the presidential authorization from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on August 3, 2005. During the authorization ceremony he kissed Khamenei's hand in demonstration of his loyalty to him. Journalist Amir Taheri claims that Khamenei's eldest son Mujtaba acted as Ahmadinejad's campaign manager during the election.

Cabinet

Ahmadinejad was required to introduce his suggested ministers to Majlis for a vote of approval in fifteen days, after which Majlis would have one week to decide about the ministers. It was mentioned by Masoud Zaribafan, Ahmadinejad's campaign manager, that Ahmadinejad would probably introduce his cabinet on the same day of his vow, which did not happen, but the list was finally sent to the Majlis on August 14. The Majlis were set to vote on the suggested ministers by August 21.

The parliament had held a private meeting on August 5, when Ahmadinejad presented a shortlist of three or four candidates for each ministry, to know the opinion of Majlis about his candidates. The final list was officially sent to the Majlis on August 14, 2005.

After a few days of heavy discussions in Majlis, which started on August 21, 2005, Ahmadinejad's cabinet was voted for on August 24, 2005, and became the first cabinet since the Iranian revolution in not winning a complete vote of approval. Four candidates, for the ministries of Cooperatives, Education, Petroleum, and Welfare and Social Security, all previous colleagues of Ahmadinejad in the Municipality of Tehran, were voted down, with the other candidates becoming ministers.

The list of suggested ministers and their votes went:

The new board of ministers held its first meeting on August 25 in Mashhad, promising to keep frequent meetings to cities other than the capital, Tehran. Temporary supervisors for two of the four ministries without new ministers were appointed by Ahmadinejad on August 27, Mohammad Nazemi Ardakani for the Ministry of Cooperatives and Davoud Madadi for the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security.

Domestic policy

Economy

Ahmadinejad submitted his first annual budget, covering April 2006–March 2007, to Iran’s parliament on January 15, 2006. The draft budget called for 1,956 trillion Rials (US$217.4 billion) in total spending, 27% more than in the fiscal 2005–06 budget. The oil-revenue projections, a significant portion of fiscal revenues, were based on a US$39.70/barrel price forecast for oil exports. The plan called on state-owned banks to allocate a larger portion of their resources to consumer loans for low-income families and small enterprises in underdeveloped regions. It also called for a visible increase in housing subsidies for low-income families, accounting for roughly US$1 billion in construction costs for those who are worse off.

Ahmadinejad is said to have devoted approximately 35 billion Rials (roughly US$3.5 million) to an NGO associated with Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, an increase of almost tenfold.

In June 2006, 50 Iranian economists wrote a letter to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, criticizing price interventions to stabilize prices of goods, cement, and government services, as well as a decree issued by the High Labor Council and the Ministry of Labor proposing an increase of workers' salaries by 40%. Ahmadinejad publicly responded harshly to the letter and denounced the accusations.

On January 25, 2007, The president called high petrol consumption as the main problem facing national economy.

“So far, this year (started March 21, 2006) the Oil Ministry has spent billions of dollars for importing petrol”, he noted. The government is trying to control the high petrol consumption, but it has no plan to sell the petrol at the market price, he stated. He also refused a gradual increase of petrol prices, saying after making necessary preparations such as a development of public transportation system the government will free up petrol prices after five years.

In July 2007, the Management and Planning Organisation of Iran was dissolved after a direct order of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The organization was a 60 years old, scientific planning body that had a supervisory role in addition to its responsibility to allocate the national budget. Although the MPO was a state body whose head was appointed by the president, it was relatively independent organisation. President Ahmadinejad, however, established a new budget planning body directly under his control, a move that may give him a freer hand to implement populist policies blamed for driving up prices. Economist Fariborz Raiis-Dana said that the decision dealt the coup de grace to the structure of the national management organization. Iranian MP Esmaeil Gramimoqaddam said that the president's directive is illegal and the parliament opposes his decision. "The president is not authorized to order an alteration or merger of an organization. This is the parliament's job," he added.

Family planning and population policy

In October 2006, President Ahmadinejad opposed encouraging families to limit themselves to just two children, stating that Iran could cope with 50 million more people than the current 70 million. In remarks that have drawn criticism, he told MPs he wanted to scrap existing birth control policies which discouraged Iranian couples from having more than two children. Critics reacted with alarm and said the president’s call was ill-judged at a time when Iran was struggling with surging inflation and rising unemployment, estimated at around 11%. Mr Ahmadinejad’s call for an increased birth rate is reminiscent of a demand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 1979. The policy was effective in increasing population growth, but was eventually reversed in response to the resultant economic strain.

Housing

The first legislation to emerge from his newly formed government was a 12 trillion Rial (US$1.3 billion) fund called "Reza's Compassion Fund" which was named after one of Shi'a Islam's Imams, Ali al-Rida. By tapping into Iran's oil revenues, Ahmadinejad's government says that this fund will be used to help young people to get jobs and to afford marriage, as well to assist in purchasing their own homes. The fund also sought charitable donations, and includes a boards of trustees in each of Iran's 30 provinces. The new plan is subject to the approval of the conservative-held Majlis, but is seen as unlikely to encounter strong opposition, given that deputies in the Majles have also shown an eagerness to focus on resolving economic problems. The legislation was in response to the costly housing in urban centres which is pushing up the national average marital age (currently around 25 years for women and 28 years for men). In 2006 the Iranian parliament rejected the fund. However, Ahmadinejad allegedly put his proposal into practice by ordering the administrative council to execute the plan.

Women's rights and hijab

On 24 April 2006, Ahmadinejad announced that a ruling which prevented women from watching men playing sports in stadiums would soon be reversed. A state television announcer reported that Ahmadinejad "ordered the head of the sports organization to provide facilities in the stadiums to watch national matches." Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying: "The best stands should be allocated to women and families in the stadiums in which national and important matches are being held." Two days earlier, Ahmadinejad had objected to punishment of women appearing in stadiums without proper hijab. His remarks angered some supporters. Soon after his remarks, several of the highest-ranking clerics and marjas including, Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi and Grand Ayatollahs Nouri Hamedani, Safi Golpaygani, Makarem Shirazi, Fazel Lankarani and Tabrizi announced their objection to his decision, urgently calling for cancellation of the order. In Qom, many clerics demonstrated against the president's letter. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reversed the decision, and at least 60,000 mullahs in sharia courts, ranging from grassroots levels to the national level, expressed concerns. A Shi'ite news agency quoted one of Ahmadinejad's advisors saying that the President's statement about the attendance of women in stadium was a political measure to defend the government against a US-led conspiracy. According to these reports, Ahmadinejad's government believed that the attendance of women in stadiums was against Sharia and therefore had to be banned, contrary to the earlier letter.

Some conservatives in Iran have been angered by a perceived deterioration in obedience to the republic's female Islamic dress code. Conservative MP Rafat Bayat has blamed Ahmadinejad for this, saying that observance of the required hijab has declined because Ahmadinejad is "not that strict on this issue". Ahmadinejad has been also accused of indecency by people close to Rafsanjani, after he publicly kissed the hand of a woman who used to be his school teacher.

In April 2007, the Tehran police which is under supervision of Khamenei, began a crackdown on women with "improper hijab". This resulted in harsh criticism from associates of President Ahmadinejad, who have noted the injudiciousness of this action and the negative impact the issue will have on the youth. It was further reported that the idea was proposed by Combatant Clergy Association, in which Akbar Rafsanjani -the main opponent of President Ahmadinejad- is a leading member. President Ahmadinejad has summoned the head of the police and has asked him to clarify the reasons for the act.

Universities

In 2006, the Ahmadinejad government reportedly forced numerous Iranian scientists and University professors to resign or to retire. It has been referred to as "second cultural revolution" after the Islamic Cultural Revolution earlier. The policy has been said to replace old professors with younger ones. Some university professors received letters indicating their early retirement unexpectedly. In November 2006, 53 university professors had to retire from Iran University of Science and Technology.

In 2006, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government applied a 50% quota for male students and 50% for female students in the University entrance exam for Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy. The plan was supposed to stop the growing presence of female students in the Universities. In a response to critics, Iranian minister of health and medical education, Kamran Bagheri Lankarani argued that there are not enough facilities such as dormitories for female students. Masoud Salehi, president of Zahedan University said that presence of women generates some problems with transportation. Also Ebrahim Mekaniki, president of Babol University of Medical Sciences stated that an increase in the presence of women will make it difficult to distribute facilities in a suitable manner. Bagher Larijani, the president of Tehran University of Medical Sciences made similar remarks. According to Rooz Online, the quotas lack a legal foundation and are justified as support for "family" and "religion."

Nuclear program

Ahmadinejad has been a vocal supporter of Iran's civilian nuclear program. On January 11, 2006, Ahmadinejad announced that Iran would have peaceful nuclear technology very soon. He also emphasized that building a nuclear bomb is not the policy of his government. He has said that there was no such policy and that such a policy was "illegal and against our religion."

He also added at a January 2006 conference in Tehran that a nation that had "culture, logic and civilisation" would not need nuclear weapons, but that countries which sought nuclear weapons were those which wanted to solve all problems by the use of force.

In April 2006, Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully refined uranium to a stage suitable for the nuclear fuel cycle. In a speech to students and academics in Mashad, he was quoted saying that Iran's conditions had changed completely as it became a nuclear state and could talk to other states from that stand.

On April 13, 2006, Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that the peaceful Iranian nuclear technology would not pose a threat to any party because "we want peace and stability and we will not cause injustice to anyone and at the same time we will not submit to injustice."

However, the office of the Iranian President is not responsible for nuclear policy. It is instead set by the Supreme National Security Council. The council includes two representatives appointed by the Supreme Leader, military officials and members of the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government (see eg. Ali Larijani), and reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons in 2005.

On November 15, 2006 the Iranian President announced that "Today the Iranian nation possesses the full nuclear fuel cycle." On October 12, 2007, Ahmadinejad ordered a full-scale assault on Israel using nuclear weapons. But before he could do that, Israeli forces were able to launch a preemptive strike on Iranian nuke facilities, destroying all of Irans nuclear capabilities. This, in turn, led to the total destruction of Iranian society.

Domestic criticism of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Some critics have alleged that President Ahmadinejad is becoming increasingly unpopular at home for spending too much time criticizing the United States and not enough time reforming the nation's stagnant economy.

At one point in 2006, vegetables prices tripled and housing prices doubled within a matter of months, leading to calls by Iranians for Ahmadinejad to focus on the economy rather than disputes with the West. His critics include some of the conservatives who helped him win the 2005 presidential elections. For instance, Mohammad Khoshchehreh, a member of Iranian parliament who campaigned for Ahmadinejad, said that his government "has been strong on populist slogans but weak on achievement."

It is claimed that Iran's increasing economic and diplomatic isolation, have pushed conservatives inside Iran to distance themselves from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. More than 50 parliamentary members signed a letter in January 2007, calling on Ahmadinejad to appear before parliament to explain himself. Some sources say that Ahmadinejad may be vulnerable as Khamenei is said to have voiced his displeasure with him and due to the fact that the latter has the authority to dismiss the president. Khamenei himself usually refrains from speaking in public but in what some claimed was his privately owned newspaper, he supposedly criticized the president's "personalization" of the nuclear issue. However, sources close to the President have said the article comes from Rafsanjani. Ahmadinejad’s team lost the 2006 City council elections and his spiritual mentor, Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi was ranked sixth on the country's Assembly of Experts. Later, a source denied any rift between the nation's top politician and Ahmadinejad.

While the campaign to summon Ahmadinejad to appear in the Majlis is gathering momentum, some Majlis deputies have threatened to impeach the ministers of interior and education. According to reports published by various news agencies, the bills to impeach Mostafa Pourmohammadi (Minister of the Interior) and Mahmoud Farshidi (Minister of Education) will be introduced in Majlis on 24 Jan 2006.

In January 2007, Hossein Ali Montazeri harshly criticized Ahmadinejad and accused him of harming the country. Montazeri, 85, is a senior theologian of the Shia Muslim faith. Also Mohammad Moussavian, a former nuclear negotiator who is currently in prison for espionage, has accused Ahmadinejad of lying to the people about the grave consequences of the penalties voted for by the Security Council. "Our advice to the president is to speak about the nuclear issue only during important national occasions, stop provoking aggressive powers like the United States and concentrate more on the daily needs of the people, those who voted for you on your promises," wrote the Islamic Republic.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who is a capitalist, has invoked the supreme leader, suggesting the leader was pained by the very slow pace of privatisation under Mr Ahmadinejad's government.

In 2005 Khamenei responded to President Ahmadinejad's alleged remark that Israel should be "wiped off the map" by saying that "the Islamic Republic has never threatened and will never threaten any country." Moreover Khamenei`s main advisor in foreign policy, Ali Akbar Velayati, refused to take part in Holocaust conference. In contrast to Ahmadinejad`s remarks, Velayati said that Holocaust was a genocide and a historical reality.

In June 2007, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was criticized by some Iranian parliament members over his remark about Christianity and Judaism. According to Aftab News Agency, President Ahmadinejad stated: "In the world, there are deviations from the right path: Christianity and Judaism. Dollars have been devoted to the propagation of these deviations. There are also false claims that these will save mankind. But Islam is the only religion that save mankind." Some members of Iranian parliament criticized these remarks as being fuels to religious war.

December 2006 Student protest

On December 11, 2006, some students disrupted a speech by Ahmadinejad at the Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran. According to the Iranian Student News Agency, students set fire to photographs of Ahmadinejad and threw firecrackers. The protesters also chanted "death to the dictator". It was the first major public protest against Ahmadinejad since his election. In a statement carried on the students' Web site, they announced that they had been protesting the growing political pressure under Ahmadinejad, also accusing him of corruption, mismanagement, and discrimination. "The students showed that despite vast propaganda, the president has not been able to deceive academia", the statement added. It was also reported that some students were angry about the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust.

In response to the students slogans, the president said: "We have been standing up to dictatorship so that no one will dare to establish dictatorship in a millennium even in the name of freedom. Given the scars inflicted on the Iranian nation by agents of the US and British dictatorship, no one will ever dare to initiate the rise of a dictator". It was reported that even though the protesters broke the TV cameras, and threw hand-made bombs at Ahmadinejad, the president asked the officials not to question or disturb the protesters. In his blog, Ahmadinejad described his reaction to the incident as "a feeling of joy" because of the freedom that people enjoyed after the revolution.

1,000 students also protested the day before to denounce the increasing pressure on the reformist groups at the university, newspapers reported. In the week prior, more than 2,000 students protested at Tehran University on the country's annual student day, with speakers saying there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.

An organization numbering 12,000 students led by student leader Abbas Fakhr-Avar, living in exile in the United States, opposes Ahmadinejad and hopes to topple his government.

2006 Councils and Assembly of Experts election

In the first nationwide election since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005, allies of the Iranian President failed to dominate election returns for the Assembly of Experts and local councils. Turnout of about 60 percent was reported, with the results suggesting a voter shift toward more moderate policies. "The results show that voters have learned from the past and concluded that we need to support . . . moderate figures", the independent daily newspaper Kargozaran said in an editorial. "This is a blow for Ahmadinejad and Mesbah-Yazdi's list", an Iranian political analyst was quoted as saying.

Parliamentary Opposition and vetoes by the Supreme Leader

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has had a number of struggles first of all on winning the Presidential election to get his nominations for official positions through parliament and to pass his legislation.

He was vetoed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei when he attempted to change the law to permit women to attend sporting events, and has been considered by some to be "not strict" on the issue of enforcement of Islamic dress codes.

His criticism of the West has been controversial among some members of Iranian Parliament, leading to attempts to compel him to go to the parliament to answer some questions, although impeachment is unlikely.

Foreign policy

Iran-United States relations

On May 8, 2006, Ahmadinejad sent a personal letter to United States President George Bush to propose "new ways" to end Iran's nuclear dispute. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley both reviewed the letter and dismissed it as a negotiating ploy and publicity stunt that did not address U.S. concerns about Iran's nuclear program. A few days later at a meeting in Jakarta, Ahmadinejad said, "the letter was an invitation to monotheism and justice, which are common to all divine prophets."

On August 8, 2006, he gave a television interview to Mike Wallace, a correspondent for 60 Minutes.

In mid 2006, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad invited President George W.Bush to a debate at the United Nation General Assembly which was to take place on September 19 2006. The debate was to be about Iran's right to enrich uranium. The invitation was promptly rejected by White House spokesman Tony Snow who said "There's not going to be a steel-cage grudge match between the President and Ahmadinejad."

On November 29, 2006, Ahmadinejad wrote an open letter to the American people , representing some of his anxieties and concerns. He stated that there is an urgency to have a dialog because of the activities of the US administration in the Middle East, and their concealing the truth about current realities. The letter criticized many policies of the US administration, and stated that the American people "showed their discontent in the recent elections." In the letter, he also states that Iran condemns all terrorism. The current U.S. administration considers Iran to be the world's leading state supporter of terrorism and Iran has been on the United States' state sponsors of terrorism list since 1984.

During his presidency, Iran and US had the most high-profile contact in almost 30 years. Iran and US froze diplomatic relations in 1980 and had no direct diplomatic contact until May 2007.

Iran-Russia relations

Ahmadinejad has moved to strengthen relations with Russia, setting up an office expressly dedicated to the purpose in October 2005. He has worked with Vladimir Putin on the nuclear issue, and both Putin and Ahmadinejad have expressed a desire for more mutual cooperation on issues involving the Caspian Sea. However, Western intelligence officials recently accused Ahmadinejad of sanctioning the training and funding of Chechen rebels, who are fighting against Russia, inside Iran.

Anti-Israel statements

On October 26, 2005 Ahmadinejad gave a speech at a conference in Tehran entitled "World Without Zionism". According to widely published translations, he agreed with a statement he attributed to Ayatollah Khomeini that the "occupying regime" had to be removed, and referred to it as a "disgraceful stain the Islamic world" that must be "wiped off the map."

Ahmadinejad's comments were condemned by major Western governments, the European Union, Russia, the United Nations Security Council and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Egyptian, Turkish and Palestinian leaders also expressed displeasure over Ahmadinejad's remark. Canada's then Prime Minister Paul Martin said, “this threat to Israel's existence, this call for genocide coupled with Iran's obvious nuclear ambitions is a matter that the world cannot ignore.”

The translation of his statement has been disputed. Iran's foreign minister stated that Ahmadinejad had been "misunderstood": "He is talking about the regime. We do not recognise legally this regime." Some experts state that the phrase in question is more accurately translated as "eliminated" or "wiped off" or "wiped away" from "the page of time" or "the pages of history", rather than "wiped off the map". Reviewing the controversy over the translation, New York Times deputy foreign editor Ethan Bronner observed that "all official translations" of the comments, including the foreign ministry and president's office, "refer to wiping Israel away".

Ahmadinejad has compared Israel's actions in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict to Adolf Hitler's actions during World War II saying that "Just like Hitler, the Zionist regime is just looking for a pretext for launching military attacks" and "is now acting just like him."

On August 8, 2006, he gave a television interview to Mike Wallace, a correspondent for 60 Minutes, in which he questioned American support of Israel's "murderous regime" and the moral grounds for Israel's invasion of Lebanon.

On December 2, 2006, Ahmadinejad met with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah in Doha, Qatar. At that meeting, he said that Israel "was created to establish dominion of arrogant states over the region and to enable the enemy to penetrate the heart Muslim land." He called Israel a "threat" and said it was created to create tensions in and impose US and UK policies upon the region.

On December 12, 2006, Ahmadinejad addressed the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust, and made comments about the future of Israel. He said, "Israel is about to crash. This is God's promise and the wish of all the world's nations." He continued, "Everyone must know that just as the U.S.S.R. disappeared, this will also be the fate of the Zionist regime, and humanity will be free."

According to Gawdat Bahgat, Director of Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, "the fiery calls to destroy Israel are meant to mobilize domestic and regional constituencies" and that "Rhetoric aside, most analysts agree that the Islamic Republic and the Jewish state are not likely to engage in a military confrontation against each other."

Holocaust denial and accusations of antisemitism

In December 2005 Ahmadinejad made several controversial statements about the Holocaust, calling it "a myth", and criticizing European laws against Holocaust denial. In a May 30 2006 interview with Der Spiegel Ahmadinejad again questioned the Holocaust several times, insisting there were "two opinions" on it. When asked if the Holocaust was a myth, he responded "I will only accept something as truth if I am actually convinced of it".

In response to these statements and actions, a variety of sources, including the U.S. Senate, have accused Ahmadinejad of antisemitism. On December 11, 2006 the "International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust" opened, to widespread condemnation. The conference, called for by and held at the behest of Ahmadinejad, was widely described as a "Holocaust denial conference" or a "meeting of Holocaust deniers", though Iran maintained that it is not a Holocaust denial conference.

Human rights

Some human rights organizations and many Western governments say the current human rights situation in Iran under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is poor; for example, the Canadian government listed Iran as one of the thirteen worst abusers of human rights in 2006. According to Amnesty International, dissidents who oppose the government non-violently face harassment, torture and execution and the election of Ahmadinejad signaled the defeat of "pro-reform" supporters. According to Human Rights Watch, "espect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and assembly, deteriorated in 2006. The government routinely tortures and mistreats detained dissidents, including through prolonged solitary confinement."

Human Rights Watch described the source of human rights violations in contemporary Iran as coming from on the one hand the Judiciary, accountable to Ali Khamenei, and on the other to members directly appointed by Ahmadinejad. Again according to Human Rights Watch, "ince President Ahmadinejad came to power, treatment of detainees has worsened in Evin prison as well as in detention centers operated clandestinely by the Judiciary, the Ministry of Information, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."

Tolerance of public protest varies under Ahmadinejad. Human Rights Watch writes that "he Ahmadinejad government, in a pronounced shift from the policy under former president Mohammed Khatami, has shown no tolerance for peaceful protests and gatherings."

In January 2006 security forces attacked striking bus drivers in Tehran and detained hundreds. The government refused to recognize the drivers’ independent union or engage in collective bargaining with them. In February government forces attacked a peaceful gathering of Sufi devotees in front of their religious building in Qum to prevent its destruction by the authorities, using tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. In March police and plainclothes agents charged a peaceful assembly of women’s rights activists in Tehran and beat hundreds of women and men who had gathered to commemorate International Women’s Day. In June as women’s rights defenders assembled again in Tehran, security forces beat them with batons, sprayed them with pepper gas, marked the demonstrators with sprayed dye, and took 70 people into custody.

Responses to dissent vary. In December 2006, Ahmadinejad advised officials not to disturb students who engaged in a rowdy protest during a speech of his at the Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran., although speakers at other protests have included among their complaints that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.

See also

• Politics of Iran
• Haghani Circle
• Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi
• 2006 Iranian sumptuary law controversy
• Holocaust denial

References

1. IPA: [mæhˈmud æhmædineˈʒɒd]. His name transliterates into Persian as Template:Fa Maḥmūd Aḥmadīnezhād, and can be transcribed into English as Mahmud or Mahmood, Ahmadinezhad, Ahmadi-Nejad, Ahmadi Nejad, or Ahmady Nejad.
2. http://www.missiledefenseadvocacy.org/index/Iran2006.html
3. SalamIran - IRI's Constitution - see Article 113.
4. Chomsky, Noam (March 9, 2007). "A Predator Becomes More Dangerous When Wounded". Comment Is Free. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2007-03-20. Retrieved 2007-03-28. It is also necessary to demonise the leadership. In the west, any wild statement by President Ahmadinejad is circulated in headlines, dubiously translated. But Ahmadinejad has no control over foreign policy, which is in the hands of his superior, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The US media tend to ignore Khamenei's statements, especially if they are conciliatory. It's widely reported when Ahmadinejad says Israel shouldn't exist - but there is silence when Khamenei says that Iran supports the Arab League position on Israel-Palestine, calling for normalisation of relations with Israel if it accepts the international consensus of a two-state settlement. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Dehghanpisheh, Babak (2001), "Bear Hugs", World Press Review, vol. 48, no. 6, retrieved 2007-05-03
6. "Oiling the axis - Iran and Venezuela develop closer ties", Jane's Information Group, 2007, retrieved 2007-07-29
7. "Broader ties among Persian Gulf states in region's interest - Ahmadinejad", IRNA, 2007, retrieved 2007-07-29
8. "Iran president 'ready for talks'", BBC News, February 12, 2007.
9. ^
   • “International condemnation has greeted comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Nazi Holocaust was ‘a myth’.” "Holocaust comments spark outrage", BBC News, December 14 2005.
   • "Iranians visit Israel's Holocaust Web site". Reuters. January 302007. Retrieved 2007-01-31. Jews are alarmed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who since coming to power in 2005 has drawn international condemnation by describing the Holocaust as "a myth" and calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map." {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
   • "Iranians say Israel spat is really about nukes". MSNBC. October 302005. Retrieved 2006-10-18. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remark on Wednesday that Israel should be 'wiped off the map' sparked international condemnation, including a rebuke from the U.N. Security Council. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
   • "The European Union and Russia have joined condemnation of the Iranian president's public call for Israel to be 'wiped off the map'." "Iran leader's comments attacked", BBC News, October 27, 2005.
   • "Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad -- who in October called for Israel to be 'wiped off the map' -- has now questioned the extent of the Holocaust and suggested that the Jewish state be moved to Europe. Ahmadinejad's comments, made on the sidelines of a summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), have again sparked international condemnation." Golnaz Esfandiari. "Iran: President's Latest Comments About Israel Spark Further Condemnation", Radio Free Europe, December 9 2005.
   • "Leaders around the world on Thursday condemned a call by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Israel be 'wiped off the map,'... In a joint statement, the E.U. leaders 'condemned in the strongest terms' the Iranian president's call..." Mary Jordan and Karl Vick. World Leaders Condemn Iranian's Call to Wipe Israel 'Off the Map', Washington Post, October 28 2005
   • "In unusually strong language, the National Council of Churches USA has condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s call for the obliteration of Israel and his claim that the Holocaust was “a myth.”" NCC Condemns Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust Statement, National Council of Churches, December 16 2005.
   • "Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was condemned in the West when he called the Holocaust a myth." Michael Slackman. In Tehran, a riposte to the Danish cartoons The New York Times, August 24 2006.
   • "In October 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was condemned for calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and followed up with comments downplaying the Holocaust." Israel planning tactical nuclear strike on Iran, Daily News Sri Lanka, January 8 2007.
   • "Ahmadinejad has been widely condemned for describing the Holocaust as a "myth" and calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map" Germans Protest Against Ahmadinejad, Racism As Cup Opens, Deutsche Welle, June 11 2006.
   • "Ahmadinejad has been condemned internationally after denying the Holocaust, and calling for Israel to be 'wiped off the map.'" Sharon's absence from world stage prompts conflicting views, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, January 5 2006
   • "Mr Ahmadinejad has been condemned for calling for Israel's destruction and saying the Nazi Holocaust was a 'myth'." Bayern Munich deny backing Iran, BBC News, January 13 2006.
10. ^
    • Fathi, Nazila (October 30, 2005). "Text of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Speech". Week in Review. The New York Times. Retrieved 2006-10-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
    • "Iran vote seen as referendum on Ahmadinejad". The Boston Globe. December 15, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-27. To the outside world, Ahmadinejad (pronounced ah-MAHDI-ne-JAD) is best known for spurring confrontation with the West -- restarting the uranium enrichment program that the United States believes is aimed at making a nuclear bomb; denying the Holocaust and calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map"; and declaring that Iranian influence should replace American sway in the Middle East. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
    • "Ahmadinejad: Why so sensitive about Israel?". CNN. September 21, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-18. Ahmadinejad has said in the past that Israel should be wiped off the map. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
11. ^ "When Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks out candidly — as is his habit — he scares a lot of people. He has said more than once that Israel should be wiped off the map, and that the Holocaust is an overblown fairytale.…‘Israel, you have said time and again, Israel must be wiped off the map. Please explain why. And what is Iran doing about that?’ Wallace asked.…Then Wallace tried to get the president back to his most inflammatory statement regarding Israel. ‘You are very good at filibustering,’ Wallace remarked. ‘You still have not answered the question. You still have not answered the question. Israel must be wiped off the map. Why?’
    ‘Well, don't be hasty sir,’ the president said. ‘I'm going to get to that. I think that the Israeli government is a fabricated government.’" "Iranian Leader Opens Up:Ahmadinejad Speaks Candidly With Mike Wallace About Israel, Nukes, Bush", 60 Minutes, CBS News, August 13, 2006. Accessed 2006-10-18 Cite error: The named reference "MA 60 Minutes" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
12. • "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has again caused international outcry by repeating his view that the Holocaust was a myth. In a speech broadcast live on state television on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad told a crowd in the southern city of Zahedan: 'They have fabricated a legend under the name Massacre of the Jews, and they hold it higher than God himself, religion itself and the prophets themselves. If somebody in their country questions God, nobody says anything, but if somebody denies the myth of the massacre of Jews, the Zionist loudspeakers and the governments in the pay of Zionism will start to scream." "Ahmadinejad: Holocaust a myth", Al Jazeera, December 15, 2005.
    • "'They have invented a myth that Jews were massacred and place this above God, religions and the prophets,' Ahmadinejad said in a speech to thousands of people in the Iranian city of Zahedan, according to a report on Wednesday from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. 'The West has given more significance to the myth of the genocide of the Jews, even more significant than God, religion, and the prophets,' he said. '(It) deals very severely with those who deny this myth but does not do anything to those who deny God, religion, and the prophet.'". "Iranian leader: Holocaust a 'myth'", CNN, December 14, 2005.
13. • "Iran's Football team will be met with a series of protests across Germany during their World Cup campaign as anger mounts against the country's viciously anti-semitic President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." "Iran team face mass protest", The Guardian, June 11 2006.
    • "The current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is a bit of a loose cannon, spouting anti-Semitic and anti-Israel vitriol and vehemently denying that the Holocaust ever occurred." Keeble Mcfarlane. "Is the Bush League gearing up for war with Iran?", The Jamaica Observer, February 17 2007.
    • "Each time the White House issues threats against Iran, it strengthens the crude, anti-semitic prime minister Mahmoud Ahmadinejad". Gary Younge. "Once George Bush has got hold of a bad idea he just can't let it go", The Guardian, February 19 2007.
    • "Ahmadinejad's recent anti-Semitic statements have added to fears in Israel that Iran's nuclear program is intended to produce weapons that could be used against that country." The Associated Press. "Eurovision may ban Israeli entry due to lyrics on nuclear war", Haaretz, 02/03/2007.
    • "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent anti-Semitic remarks may have dealt a fatal blow to the already fragile negotiation process due to restart next week over Iran's nuclear program, German experts have said." Stefan Nicola. "German Experts Worried By Iranian Nukes", United Press International, December 16 2005.
    • "Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks calling the Holocaust into question have disappointed Muslims in Germany, who do not share his anti-Semitic views." "Iran's Rhetoric on Holocaust Anger German Muslims", Deutsche Welle, February 18 2006.
    • "Of course Ahmadinejad is an anti-Semite, and anyone who doubts it is either a knave or a fool." Bret Stephens. "Anti-Anti-Semitism defended", The New Republic', February 12 2007.
    • "Ahmadinejad is an easy target — a simplistic, rambling, blustering anti-Semite — in pop culture terms, he's "Borat" with a mandate and political clout." "We won't be fooled again", The News Leader, February 15 2007.
    • "Mr. Ahmadinejad's anti Semitism is a true face of the Iranian government." Ghassem Namazi. "We should be sorry", Iranian.com, February 1 2006.
    • "That's why it is of vital importance for the U.S. to find a way to eradicate Khomeinism that fuels Ahmadinejad's anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism without alienating the Shia." Sayyed, Tashbih The Bane Of Jihad, Muslim World Today, January 26 2007.
    • "Iran's highly unpleasant President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad started uttering anti-Semitic screeds." Molly Ivins. "Ivins: Wow! Some real diplomacy!", CNN, June 8 2006.
    • "German Chancellor Angela Merkel also took issue with Iran's anti-Semitic remarks of late, even saying that the Holocaust could've been avoided if people weren't so complacent, according to Reuters. "Looking back to German history in the early 1930s when National Socialism was on the rise, there were many outside Germany who said, 'It's only rhetoric -- don't get excited,' " Merkel said, according to Reuters. She added: "A president who questions Israel's right to exist, a president who denies the Holocaust, cannot expect to receive any tolerance from Germany."" "Iran: Nuclear talks still possible", CNN, February 5 2006.
    • "Making a reference to Ahmadinejad and his remarks, Norbert Lammert, president of the Bundestag, the German parliament, said the "last weeks have shown how much we are in need of this commemoration day, and not only us Germans. "With dismay we have had to note that today, even presidents insist on describing the Holocaust as a 'fairy tale' and go so far as to make anti-Semitic remarks."" "German legislator, at ceremony, takes shot at Iranian leader's stance on Holocaust", CNN, January 28 2006.
    • "The remarks by Ahmadinejad coincided with a month-long protest against Israel called "World Without Zionism" and with the approach of Jerusalem Day... Ottawa also issued a strong rebuke, with Canadian Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew saying: "We cannot tolerate comments of such hatred, such anti-Semitism, such intolerance. These comments are all the more troubling given that we know of Iran's nuclear ambitions."" "Annan: 'Dismay' over Iranian comments on Israel", CNN, October 27 2005.
    • "The far-right has said it will support Iran for the anti-Semitic comments of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." Laura Smith-Spark. "Racism fears dog World Cup build-up", BBC News, May 26 2006.
    • "The German parliament speaker, Norbert Lammert, said the last few weeks had shown "not only us Germans how very much we need this day of commemoration". "It is with consternation that we have realised that even today heads of state describe the Holocaust as a myth and even go as far as making anti-Semitic statements," he said." "Annan condemns Holocaust denial", BBC News, January 27 2006.
    • ""Fair play for an anti-Semite?" reads a front-page headline in Germany's DIE TAGESZEITUNG. The daily describes the Iranian president as a "Holocaust denier and enemy of Israel"." "European press review", BBC News, April 10 2006.
    • "He was defeated by the even more hard-line and anti-Semitic Mahmoud Ahmadinejad...". Joel C. Rosenberg. Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2006, p. 109, ISBN 1414311354
    • "Israel Wants West to Deal More Urgently With Iran". The New York Times. January 13, 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-17. Israel is also being careful not to react too strongly to the violently anti-Semitic comments of the Iranian president, Mr. Ahmadinejad. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
    • "THE WORLD; How Iran's Leader Keeps the West Off Balance". The New York Times. December 17, 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-17. Other voices in Washington deplored the idea. Many Israelis, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, liken Mr. Ahmadinejad to Hitler and the Islamic Republic to the Third Reich, and Mr. Ahmadinejad often seems to validate the comparison by playing to the anti-Semitic gallery. Last week, Tehran hosted Holocaust deniers from around the world, and he repeated his threat that Israel would soon disappear. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
    • "President Ahmadinejad’s invective that the Holocaust never happened is a sobering reminder of the corrosive power of ignorance, desperation, and hatred. It is no accident that among the first protests of the Iranian president’s statement were those of German leaders, whose parents were witnesses of the horrible reality of the Holocaust. Anti-Semitism’s most vociferous manifestation is the “Big Lie” now coming from Tehran." NCC Condemns Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust Statement, National Council of Churches, December 16 2005.
14. "Iranian leader 'not anti-Semite'". BBC. September 21, 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-08. 'Some people think if they accuse me of being anti-Jew they can solve the problem. No, I am not anti-Jew,' he said. 'I respect them very much.' {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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18. http://www.president.ir/eng/ahmadinejad/bio/
19. http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/review/people_full_story.asp?service_id=8893
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23. “Details of the plan for the takeover of American Embassy in Tehran were revealed for the first time. The names of the “nucleus” students who are the followers of Imam’s Line”, 14 Feb 1999, Aria, as reported and translated on Making Sense of Jihad
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25. Secor, Laura (28 January 2007). "Whose Iran?". New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
26. Al Jazeera Biography of Ahmadinejad says "Ahmadinejad attended planning meetings for the US Embassy takeover and at these meetings lobbied for a simultaneous takeover of the Soviet Embassy."
27. http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200510/iran-president-ahmadinejad
28. MSNBC, July 2, 2005, "Ex-agent: Iranian leader wasn’t a hostage-taker".
29. Ex-Hostages Demand CIA Release Its Report on Iranian President
30. Council on Foreign Relations - Takeyh: Iranian-U.S. Relations at New Low Point (interview).
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32. vom Hove, Tann (2005). "More than 87,000 took part in the World Mayor 2005 project". World Mayor Award. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
33. The 2005 World Mayor finalists
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35. ""Hard Line Figure in Iran Runoff"".
36. ""Iran and the art of crisis management"".
37. Brea, Jennifer. "Profile: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran". About.com. Retrieved 2006-08-31.
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44. http://tofoiran.packdeal.com/clips/DrIman/20060906-DrIman-CNN-225.asx
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46. "Ahmadinejad's cabinet declared" (in Template:Fa icon). Presidency of The Islamic Republic of Iran. Retrieved 2006-10-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
47. Habibi, Nader (2006). "Iran's 2006–07 Budget Puts More Emphasis on Economic Justice". Perspectives. GLOBAL INSIGHT. Retrieved 2006-08-31.
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49. Daily Star - Iranian economists lash out at Ahmadinejad's policies.
50. USA TODAY - Geopolitics casts pall on hobbled Iranian economy.
51. Times, Tehran (January 25, 2007). "Iran trying to prevent another UN resolution: president". Tehran Times. Retrieved 2007-01-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
52. Dr. Bakhtiar, Abbas (January 25, 2007). "Ahmadinejad's Achilles Heel". Payvand. Retrieved 2007-01-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
56. ^ Tait, Robert (October 23, 2006). "Ahmadinejad urges Iranian baby boom to challenge west". Guardian Unlimited. The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-05-03. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called for a baby boom to almost double the country's population to 120 million and enable it to threaten the west. In remarks that have drawn criticism, he told MPs he wanted to scrap existing birth control policies which discouraged Iranian couples from having more than two children. Women should work less and devote more time to their "main mission" of raising children, Mr Ahmadinejad said....Mr Ahmadinejad's call for a higher birth rate echoes a similar demand by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the triumph of Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
57. ""Reza's Compassion Fund" project archived" (in Template:Fa icon). Rooz. Retrieved 2006-10-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
58. "Reza's Compassion Fund; a political fund with 530 billion budget" (in Template:Fa icon). Rooz. Retrieved 2006-10-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
59. • Reuters (April 24, 2006). "Iran president says let women into sports stadiums". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2006-10-17. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday women should be allowed into sports stadiums for the first time, reversing the Islamic Republic's code preventing them watching men playing sports in big venues {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
    • "An unexpected order" (in Template:Fa icon). Rooz. Retrieved 2006-10-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
    • Iran split over female soccer fans CNN
60. "The problem of Women and the pressures of religious groups on Ahmadinejad" (in Template:Fa icon). BBC Persian. Retrieved 2006-10-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
61. • "Religious leaders protest with the presence of women in the football stadiums" (in Template:Fa icon). BBC Persian. Retrieved 2006-10-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
    • "Ayatollah Noori Hamedani: "The attendance of women in the men's sport clubs are against the islamic laws". ILNA" (in Template:Fa icon). Gooya. Retrieved 2006-10-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
    • "Clergies and religious students of Howze Elmie Qom gather in Feyzie school in protest with Ahmadinejad's order on women's liberty to go to staduims. ILNA" (in Template:Fa icon). Gooya. Retrieved 2006-10-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
    • "Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: "What is the importance of women's presence at the insecure atmosphere of the stadiums?" ISNA" (in Template:Fa icon). Gooya. Retrieved 2006-10-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
    • "Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi protests harshly against Ahmadinejad's order on giving liberty to woman to attend stadiums. ISNA" (in Template:Fa icon). Gooya. Retrieved 2006-10-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
62. "Iran to keep stadium ban on women". Al Jazeera. May 20, 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-16. Iran's supreme leader has vetoed a decision by the president to allow women into sports stadiums. A government official said on Monday that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei opposed the move by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to allow women on to the stands - a suggestion which caused a furore in the clerical establishment. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
63. "The clerical councilor of the president explains about Ahmadinejad's order on women's attendance to the stadiums" (in Template:Fa icon). Baztab. Retrieved 2006-10-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
64. Harrison, Frances (January 2, 2007). "Iran police move into fashion business". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-04-16. 'Observance of hijab has got worse since the new government because Mr Ahmadinejad is not that strict on this issue,' complains Mrs Bayat. 'Mr Ahmadinejad thinks we should not use force when acting on this issue so as a result hijab has become weaker' she says. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
65. http://www.ansarnews.com/?usr=news/detail&nid=993
67. "Ahmadinejad's adviser criticizes hijab enforcement issue" (in Template:Fa icon). Baztab. Retrieved 2007-4-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
68. "مبارزه با بدحجابي، قرباني آرزوهاي سياسي مسئولان؟" (in Template:Fa icon). Baztab. Retrieved 2007-4-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
69. "Protest against the second cultural revolution" (in Template:Fa icon). Rooz. Retrieved 2006-10-18. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
70. Irani, Hamed (June 23, 2006). "Cleansing in the Name of Retirement". Rooz. Retrieved 2006-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
71. "Khoshchehreh (MP) protests against the unwanted retirement of university professors" (in Template:Fa icon). Aftab news. Retrieved 2006-10-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
72. "Different aspects of the unwanted retirement of university professors" (in Template:Fa icon). Aftab news. Retrieved 2006-10-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
75. "Ahamadinejad: "We will reach the nuclear energy in near future."" (in Template:Fa icon). BBC Persian. Retrieved 2006-10-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
76. "Excerpts: Ahmadinejad conference". BBC News. January 14, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
77. "Ahmadinejad: Iran can now talk to world from vantage point of a nuclear state". Arabicnews.com. April 13, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
78. "Ahmadinejad: Iran nuke right non-negotiable". UPI. April 13, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |orgurl= ignored (help)
79. Recknagel, Charles (June 27, 2005). "Iran: Election Of Ahmadinejad Unlikely To Affect Nuclear Negotiations". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 2006-10-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
80. "Ahmadi Nejad: Iran Completes Nuclear Cycle". The Media Line. November 15, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
82. Dareini, Ali Akbar (January 17, 2007). "Iran's Discontent With Ahmadinejad Grows". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-08-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
84. ^ "Khamenei calls for moderating national stance on nukes". Israel Insider. January 21, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
86. http://www.rajanews.com/News/?5625
88. Top Iranian denies rift over atomic policy 31 Jan 2007 Reuters
92. Edalat, Abbas (2007-04-05). "The US can learn from this example of mutual respect". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-04-30. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
96. ^ Theodoulou, Michael (December 12, 2006). "Protesters condemn Holocaust conference". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2007-05-06. A onference of the world's most prominent Holocaust deniers opened in Iran yesterday amid international condemnation and protests by dozens of Iranian students, who burned pictures of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and chanted 'death to the dictator.' Never has the hardline leader, who was giving a speech at a university in Tehran yesterday, faced such open hostility at home. One student said the crowd was protesting against the 'shameful' Holocaust conference - which was organised after Mr Ahmadinejad described the murder of six million Jews by Nazis a 'myth' invented to justify the occupation of Palestinian land - and the 'fact that many activists with student movements have not been allowed to attend university.' {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
100. Ahmadinejad's English Blog - see post entitled Freedom and Liberty.
102. Nazila Fathi (December 12, 2006). "Students disrupt speech by Iran chief". New York Times News Service. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
103. Iranian student leader: Ayatollahs will run if Iran attacked
104. Edmund Blair (December 18, 2006). "Results in Iranian Vote Seen as Setback for Ahmadinejad". Reuters. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
105. Iran women sports ruling vetoed BBC News, 8 May 2006
106. Iran police move into fashion business BBC News, 02 January 2007
107. Growing pressure on Ahmadinejad BBC News, 16 January 2007
108. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/09_05_06ahmadinejadletter.pdf
109. "Timeline: US-Iran ties". BBC News. May 31, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
110. Vick, Karl (May 9, 2006). "No Proposals in Iranian's Letter to Bush, U.S. Says". The Washington Post. pp. A18. Retrieved 2006-10-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
111. "President says his letter to President Bush was invitation to Islam". Islamic Republic News Agency. May 11, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-29. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Thursday that his letter to President George W. Bush did not concern the nuclear dossier, but rather was an invitation to Islam and the prophets culture. "We act according to our laws and our activities are quite clear. We are rather intent on solving more fundamental global matters. The letter was an invitation to monotheism and justice, which are common to all divine prophets. If the call is responded positively, there will be no more problems to be solved", added the president. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
112. "No 'steel-cage, grudge match' between Bush, Ahmadinejad". CNN. Thursday, September 07, 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
113. http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11/29/ahmadinejad.letter/
114. "Message of H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad President of the Republic of Iran to the American People" (PDF). Foxnews. November 29, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
115. Richard L. Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State (November 28, 2003). "U.S. Policy and Iran. Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2006-12-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
116. R. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs (November 30, 2005). "U.S. Policy and Iran. Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2006-12-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
117. "State Sponsors of Terrorism". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
118. US Ready For Another Meeting With Iran
119. "Ahmadinejad: Special Hq to be formed for Tehran-Moscow cooperation". Islamic Republic News Agency. October 26, 2005. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
120. "Teheran 'secretly trains' Chechens to fight in Russia". The Telegraph. November 27, 2005. Retrieved 2006-04-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
121. "Annan 'dismayed' by Iran remarks". BBC News. October 28, 2005. Retrieved 2006-10-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
122. "UN raps Iran's anti-Israel rant". BBC News. October 28, 2005. Retrieved 2006-10-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
123. Martin, Paul (November 15, 2005). "Prime Minister Martin Speaks Before Jewish Leaders in Toronto". Carolyn Bennett. Retrieved 2006-10-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
124. "Ahmadinejad misunderstood, says Iran". DailyTimes.com Pakistan. February 22, 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
125. Steele, Jonathan (June 14, 2006). "Lost in translation". The Guardian. Retrieved 2006-12-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
126. Bronner, Ethan (June 11, 2006). "Just How Far Did They Go, Those Words Against Israel?". New York Times. Retrieved 2006-06-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
127. "Ahmadinejad compares Israel to Hitler". IndiaeNews.com. July 16, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
128. "President Ahmadinejad, Palestinian PM meet in Doha". IRNA. December 2, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
129. "Iran students rebel over Holocaust denial". UPI. December 12, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
130. Nuclear Proliferation: The Islamic. Republic of Iran. G. AWDAT. B. AHGAT, Iranian Studies, volume 39, number 3, September 2006
131. "Iranian leader: Holocaust a 'myth'", CNN, December 14, 2005.
132. [http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,418660,00.html "We Are Determined": Spiegel interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad], Der Speigel, May 30, 2006.
133. Condemning antisemitic Statements of the President of Iran
134. "Iran hosts Holocaust conference". CNN. December 11, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
135. "Iran: Holocaust Conference Soon in Tehran". Adnkronos International (AKI). January 5, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
136. *"Holocaust denial outrages Europe", The Washington Times, December 13, 2006.
     • "Holocaust deniers gather in Iran", Edmonton Journal, December 13, 2006.
     • "Holocaust deniers rebuked". Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2006.
     • "Canadian prof attends Tehran's gathering of Holocaust deniers", The Globe and Mail, December 13, 2006.
     • "THE CONFERENCE for Holocaust deniers hosted by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a transparent polemical stunt." "Iran's great pretender", The Boston Globe, December 13, 2006.
     • "WHAT'S THE perfect way to top off a Holocaust denial conference featuring input from the likes of such scholars as former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke?" "Holocaust denial can be dangerous", Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2006.
     • "Across Europe, outrage over meeting of holocaust deniers", Zee News, December 13, 2006.
     • "World reacts with outrage over meeting of Holocaust deniers in Iran", Calgary Sun, December 13, 2006.
     • "Holocaust deniers' meeting spurs outrage", Houston Chronicle, December 12, 2006.
     • "Across Europe, outrage over meeting of Holocaust deniers in Iran", International Herald Tribune, December 12, 2006.
     • "Holocaust deniers gather in Iran for 'scientific' conference", The Guardian, December 12, 2006.
     • "Revisionist fringe gathers for Iran's Holocaust denial jamboree", The Independent, December 12, 2006.
     • "Holocaust Denied at Iran Forum to `Research' Nazis", Bloomberg Television, December 11, 2006.
     • "Holocaust Deniers and Skeptics Gather in Iran", The New York Times, December 11, 2006.
     • "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking at a Tehran conference denying the existence of the Holocaust, said Israel will disappear like the Soviet Union." "Iran students rebel over Holocaust denial", United Press International, December 12, 2006.
     • "Some are treating this week's Holocaust denial conference in Iran - initiated by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - as an extraordinary occurrence." "There's no denying Arabs' Holocaust lies", New York Daily News, December 12, 2006.
     • "Israel could not catch a break even during a week where the two big Mideast stories were (a) the Holocaust denial conference sponsored by Iran's president and (b) Fatah and Hamas gunning each other down in the Palestinian territories in a bid to seize control of a government in which they're theoretically partners." "Ever heard of terrorism?", Toronto Sun, December 21, 2006.
     • "A Swedish schoolteacher has been suspended for participating at a holocaust denial conference in Teheran organized by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." Swedish teacher at Holocaust denial conference, The Local, 14 December 2006.
     • "Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr comments on the recent Holocaust denial conference hosted and sponsored by the Iranian government in Tehran." "Iran Further Isolates Itself with 'Holocaust Denial'", Weekend Edition, National Public Radio, December 17, 2006.
     • CAIR "Condemns Iranian Holocaust Denial Conference", Council on American-Islamic Relations, December 13, 2006.
     • "Statement on Holocaust Denial Conference Sponsored by Iranian Regime", The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, December 12, 2006.
137. "Berlin Counters Holocaust Conference". Spiegel Online. December 11, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
138. Canada criticized in UN after speaking out on human rights abuses
142. Nazila Fathi (December 12, 2006). "Students disrupt speech by Iran chief". New York Times News Service. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
143. MICHAEL THEODOULOU (December 12, 2006). "Protesters condemn Holocaust conference". The Scotsman. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Template:Incumbent succession box

v t e Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Member of Expediency Discernment Council (2013–present) Ex officio member at Presidency Era • 6th President of Iran (2005–2013) • Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces (2005–2013) • 53rd Mayor of Tehran (2003–2005) • 1st Governor of Ardabil Province (1993–1997) •28th Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement (2012–2013) • Chairperson of the ECO (2009–2010) • Chairperson of the Group of 15 (2006–2010)
Life and politics	Electoral history 2000 legislative election 2005 presidential election 2009 presidential election Presidency First Cabinet Second Cabinet Mehr Housing plan Gasoline rationing plan Riots Subsidy reform plan Foreign policy Controversies Deviant current Israel 1979 hostage crisis Letter to George W. Bush International Conference to Review the Holocaust 10th ECO Summit International Conference on Non-Proliferation 14th G-15 summit 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement 2017 presidential election
Political parties	Office for Strengthening Unity (1979–1980) Islamic Society of Engineers (1988–present; inactive since 2005) Society of Devotees (1999–2011) Alliance of Builders (2003–2005)
Related articles	Council for Spreading Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Thoughts Durban Review Conference
Family	Azam al-Sadat Farahi (wife) Davoud Ahmadinejad (brother) Parvin Ahmadinejad (sister) Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (co-fathers-in-law)
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