[usconservative]

Ahmadinejad said "regional states" were being duped into buying billions of dollars worth of arms from "arrogant and imperial powers," driven, in part, by increasing speculation of an imminent war involving Iran and Israel, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

Such military purchases, he said, are unnecessary because there is no such war on the horizon.

Wow, surprised most folks on here have missed the point: Ahmadinejad just blinked. He's watching the arms build up happening around him and isn't liking what he's seeing. This is the first time Ahmadinejad is saying he has no plans for war, and has backed down on his threatening of Israel.

Calling them a "mosquito bite" is a dramatic change from "driving them into the sea" calling for their complete annihilation.

I wonder if the talking head's this Sunday morning are going to pick up on this. Better yet, wonder if oil markets are paying attention to this dramatic shift in rhetoric and the complete toning down of war mongering comint from Ahmadinejad.

[Eleutheria5]

Pay it no mind. They’re toning down their rhetoric for the moment, and they can stoke it back up again tomorrow. This is the old Byzantine game of “that was then; this is now.”