Iran Unplugged
Its radical President taunts the world, then tries a bit of charm-but offers no substantive concessions
"A teacher, not a murderer." Last week, however, Ahmadinejad muted his comments about the Holocaust, saying "If it's a historical event, let everybody research it." He complained that western media have been manipulated to portray him in a harsh light. "I'm not a murderer; I'm a teacher," said Ahmadinejad, 49, a former mayor of Tehran who holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering. Allied with the hard-line Revolutionary Guards and the Basij morality police, he was elected last year on the strength of a populist, anticorruption appeal that outflanked more senior politicians. Still, even as president, Ahmadinejad ranks behind the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Ahmadinejad dismissed Bush's calls for Iranian democracy, insisting that Iran already enjoys one that "is actually very sublime." He made no direct references to the jailing of dissidents, closure of opposition newspapers, and seizure of TV satellite dishes bringing in outside information. And he suggested that Americans are likelier to land in jail for criticizing their government than are Iranians. "His defense is, 'Look at all the faults in your society,'" said Gary Sick, a Columbia University professor and U.S. official during the Iran Embassy hostage crisis who also attended the meeting. "I think he has a very limited understanding of what goes on politically in the United States."
The Iranian leader also argued that the U.S. military role in Iraq and administration policies generally in the Mideast were undermining America's position. "All the people of the region are beginning to hate the U.S. government," he said. Ahmadinejad pledged Iranian support for stabilizing the Iraqi government. The Pentagon charges that Iran is doing just the opposite, supplying violent Shiite militias in Iraq with weaponry-along with arming the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
"America can be a friend of Iran. Why are you an enemy?" Ahmadinejad mused. Americans are still wondering the same thing about Iran.
Blacksmith's Son Breaks Bread in New York
NEW YORK-In the West, he's often condemned as a menace; in parts of the Islamic world, though, he's hailed as the man who defies America. In person, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad exudes something like serenity as he fends off questions-scratching his salt-and-pepper beard and flashing a wry smile that suggests an almost breezy confidence, or even cockiness.
At an unusual meeting in midtown Manhattan last week attended by U.S. News, this son of the Islamic Revolution strode into the room with a broad smile and a wave, then sat quietly, sipping tea and barely touching his breakfast. Ahmadinejad seemed determined to use a series of meetings with foreign-policy specialists, journalists, and religious figures to shave some of the edges off his hard-line image. He posed for a few pictures and shook hands-though not with women, as Islamic custom dictates.
Up close. A pious Muslim, though not a cleric like his predecessor, Ahmadinejad cited verses from the Koran and often returned to Islamic references. He spoke in an informal, colloquial style of Farsi-one facet of the populist appeal this son of a blacksmith has used to advantage with the Iranian public. His outward calm reflects "a Sufi-like detachment from desire," William Beeman, a Brown University anthropologist, said after the meeting. "This plays fantastically in Iran."
Ahmadinejad is also a veteran of the brutal Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, a seminal experience for many poor but zealous followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He grew most animated when recalling the vast losses Iran suffered-and its willingness to sacrifice for "our sacred defense." It is a fervor, he seemed to be suggesting, that remains alive should Iran ever be attacked again.
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