Facts, News, Trends, Analysis
President Ahmadinejad has publicly conceded that the continued drop in oil prices is hurting the economy. This admission comes at a difficult time–close to next year’s election, and when his approval ratings have already declined. Oil prices have plummeted and the effect this has had on Iran, whose main export is oil, is a serious [...]
Iran claims to have successfully tested-fired a new missile that would greatly improve the accuracy of current Iranian defenses. These new missiles have been named “Sajjil” after a story in the Koran where God sends a flock of birds to defend Mecca from an enemy army. These “Sajjil” use the technology of solid fuel, which [...]
In what is speculated to be an effort to silence his critics before the upcoming presidential elections, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shut down an Iranian reformist publication, Shahrvand-e Emrouz (Today’s Citizen), for an article published about President-elect Barack Obama. The Iranian paper featured a picture of the President-elect and asked the question, “Why doesn’t Iran [...]
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad welcomed U.S. Preisdent-elect Barack Obama in a statement today, suggesting a possible improvement of U.S.-Iranian relations. No Iranian leader has offered such positive comments to a U.S. president-elect since the 1979 establishment of Iran as an Islamic Republic. Despite recent tensions with Iran regarding their nuclear program and refusal to stop [...]
A top Iranian minister appointed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier this year is facing a motion of no confidence today on charges that he tried to bribe members of Parliament not to impeach him. The attempt to impeach Interior Minister Ali Kordan came after an investigation led to the discovery that Kordan’s Ph.D. from Oxford [...]
The New York Times reports that former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami held a high-profile conference in Tehran on the topic of “Religion in the Modern World” on Monday, which some are construing could be his way of attempting to re-enter the political realm in order to run against President Ahmadinejad in next year’s elections. Khatami’s [...]
During Friday night’s first U.S. presidential debate, Republican U.S. presidential candidate McCain shifted on his policy regarding negotiating with Iran. This represents an attempt to narrow the gap between his foreign policy and that of his rival presidential hopeful, Democratic candidate Barack Obama, and to widen that between himself and U.S. president George Bush, who [...]
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continues to blame U.S. policies for the many problems plaguing the world today, with specific reference to the war in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Russian situation with Georgia. He makes sure it is understood that his insults are directed at Washington and politicians, stating that he believes the American people are [...]
At a commemoration of the start of the Iran-Iraq war, President Ahmadinejad told bystanders that Iran would stop its enemies before they could “pull the trigger.” This no doubt is a response to U.S., but especially Israeli, threats to preemptively attack Iran’s nuclear facilities if it does not cease its nuclear program. The parade included [...]
The New York Times reports that Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has denied rejection of the Israeli people, saying that he is actually a friend to the Israeli community. In the past and even now he and his cabinet have been heavily opposed to the Zionist regime; however, despite his dislike of Zionism, he claims to [...]