Posted on 01/19/2007 3:31:47 AM PST by shrinkermd
TEHRAN, Jan. 18 — Iran’s outspoken president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appears to be under pressure from the highest authorities in Iran to end his involvement in its nuclear program, a sign that his political capital is declining as his country comes under increasing international pressure.
Just one month after the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Iran to curb its nuclear program, two hard-line newspapers, including one owned by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on the president to stay out of all matters nuclear.
In the hazy world of Iranian politics, such a public rebuke was seen as a sign that the supreme leader — who has final say on all matters of state — might no longer support the president as the public face of defiance to the West.
It is the first sign that Mr. Ahmadinejad has lost any degree of Ayatollah Khamenei’s confidence, a potentially damaging development for a president who has rallied his nation and defined his administration by declaring nuclear power Iran’s “inalienable right.”
It was unclear, however, whether this was merely an effort to improve Iran’s public image by lowering Mr. Ahmadinejad’s profile or was signaling a change in policy.
The presidency is a relatively weak position with no official authority over foreign policy, the domain of the supreme leader. But Mr. Ahmadinejad has used his post as a bully pulpit to insert himself into the nuclear debate...
While Iran remains publicly defiant, insisting that it will move ahead with its nuclear ambitions, it is under increasing strain as political and economic pressures grow. And the message that Iran’s most senior officials seem to be sending is that Mr. Ahmadinejad, with his harsh approach and caustic comments, is undermining Iran’s cause and its standing.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It isn't over till it is over but we are approaching a change in the Mid-East.
At least that's how I interpreted what little of the article I read...
Yes, but the first step is to give up "nukes" as a requirement. Once this is done, it is possible to talk and deal. They do need nuclear power.
All things come in time if one has a vision and patience.
the timing of this is the news, and the fact that it is reported by the nyslimes.
this disinformation is meant to deflect the US buildup which is taking place right now. if the Iranians want to stop building nuclear weapons, they can do so whenever they wish - they do not wish to do so.
in honor of muhammed ali's 65th birthday, this is just a case of rope a dope...
NY Times.
Covering for the enemy.
This could be disinformation, IMHO.
It says the mullahs don't want Nutjob in charge of the nukes. Is that, perchance, because he is entirely too noisy about something they would rather keep a bit under the radar until they are ready to zap Israel?
They need nuke power?
Why do you think they would manage something far more complicated than your basic refinery which they can't handle now? They are extremely energy rich with oil - but they can't even manage to refine gasoline or generate electricity with it to even remotely meet their needs. Yet nuclear power is going to better do that for them?
I don't think so.
It all comes down to weapons and projecting power (real power).
"Modified limited hang out is a phrase first spoken by John Ehrlichman and captured in the Watergate tapes. Frequently cited as evoking the Nixon administration's strategy of admitting only what it was compelled to admit, the phrase has also become a political catchphrase used to describe any grudging partial release of information."
They would not release or take such actions simply to deceive. Their population is well aware of these statements and actions and undoubtedly approve. To deceive them would be folly the Mullahs would not survive.
Watch and wait. It is good you are skeptical. More support for Iranians to prove their good intentions.
When I used to teach psychiatric residents periodically I would remind a minority that, "a tall good looking woman is not a phallic symbol." By that I meant you can over analyze things to the point were nothing means anything except as it fits some preconceived theory.
They don't need nuclear power. Iran sits on the largest natural gas reserves in the world. They need 10,000 megawatts of additional power of which 20 gas-fired power plants can easily generate. And gas-fired power plants generate low amounts of CO2 and are considered the cleanest of all traditional energy sources.
Their oil is "running down" because they can't develop new fields - just like they can't develop and refine their own oil. It is incompetence, not a lack of natural resources.
Nuclear power is not cheaper when you are floating in oil, especially when they can't even develop and maintain conventional means of generating power.
Invariably when dictators nationalize oil production and steal its profits, production falls. Hugo is on his way down the same path.
As always with Muslims, I don't believe it. They always allege strength when they're weak, and they always show weakness when they are strong... until they attack. This tells me that they want to stay the sole power in the region, and not press other gulf states to copy thei program to compete with them for supremacy in 15 years.
US firm on nuclear condition for Iran talks 42 minutes ago
(Yahoo)
The United States stuck by its demand that Iran freeze sensitive nuclear activity before any bilateral talks, after Iraq's president said Tehran was ready to discuss several key disputes.
"As soon as the Iranians stop their nuclear enrichment and reprocessing activities, the United States will sit down with them for discussions," US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe told AFP.
Earlier, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in remarks published in the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat that Iran was ready to reach an understanding with the United States on issues ranging from Afghanistan to Lebanon.
The White House also took a dim view of proposed legislation, backed by lawmakers of both major US political parties, requiring US President George W. Bush to get congressional approval for using military force against Iran.
"I'm puzzled about that," said spokeswoman Dana Perino. "There seems to be fanning of flames where there's no fire."
US officials have made clear that "our focus is on Iraq, that if there is targeting or intelligence that says that there will be harm to our troops or to Iraqi civilians or Iraqi troops by Iranian influence, that we are going to deal with that," she said. "We'll deal with that inside of Iraq."
Talabani told Al-Hayat that, during a visit to Tehran last November, Iranian officials "said they are prepared to reach an understanding with America from Afghanistan to Lebanon and they are ready to talk in order to arrive at results satisfactory to both sides."
Talabani, who met Iran's supreme leader and its president during the visit, said he was continuing efforts to broker meetings between US and Iranian officials to resolve differences over Iraq after two such attempts failed.
"Obviously, we do not wish US-Iranian relations to degenerate into a conflict played out on Iraq's territory," he said.
Talabani, currently in Syria, said both Tehran and Damascus "have started to help the Iraqi government in a good way" to curb the sectarian violence plaguing the country.
The United States, whose forces are battling insurgents in Iraq, accuses both Iran and Syria of fomenting violence there. It also suspects Iran is secretly trying to build a nuclear bomb, but Tehran rejects the charges.
Hands up if you've lost the plot
By Gethin Chamberlain, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:02am GMT 21/01/2007
First, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad alienated the rest of the world with his religious extremism, nuclear ambitions and global grandstanding. Now, due to domestic failures and economic incompetence, he is doing the same to ordinary Iranians
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been blamed for Iran's woes
Imagine you are the president of Iran. You awake to discover that a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is heading in your direction, as is a new anti-missile defence system to protect your neighbours from the missiles you plan to point at them.
A bad week? Not really, because you have just taken delivery of a new missile system of your own. You have Iraq in the palm of your hand and you have just returned from a nice jaunt to South America, where you made new friends who share your loathing of the Great Satan.
You are ready to bask in the warm glow of admiration. And then you discover that the price of tomatoes has trebled in a month and your supporters have deserted you.
Had Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spent less time goading the Americans, and more time studying their democratic process, he might have picked up the lesson that George W Bush's father learnt the hard way from Bill Clinton in 1992: "It's the economy, stupid."
advertisementAhmadinejad came to power in 2005 promising to use oil money to cut the gap between rich and poor. If he has succeeded, it is only because both groups are now struggling to make ends meet.
Had he nailed the economics, his critics might have had more stomach for his political grandstanding and nuclear brinkmanship. Instead, while the Iranians are at the Americans' throats throughout the region, internal inflation and unemployment are running at 30 per cent and rents and property prices are 40 per cent higher than six months ago. Even former supporters are questioning whether turning the entire United Nations Security Council against Iran was a bright idea.
Last week, 150 parliamentarians — just over half of Iran's 290 MPs — took the extraordinary step of signing a letter blaming Ahmadinejad for the country's woes and accusing him of planning to squander the country's oil earnings, which account for about 80 per cent of its revenues, in next year's budget. "The government's efforts must be focused on decreasing spending and cutting its dependence on oil revenues," the MPs wrote.
It was a sure sign that what limited backing Ahmadinejad had from Iran's supreme leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had evaporated. The hard-line conservative newspaper Jomhouri Islami, a reliable indicator of Khamenei's thinking, spelled it out. "Speak about the nuclear issue only during important national occasions, stop provoking aggressor powers like the United States and concentrate more on the daily needs of the people," it wrote.
The warning signs were already there. Last month, the former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, a wily opponent of the current incumbent, came out on top in elections to the council of experts, the body responsible for choosing Iran's supreme leader. And while Ahmadinejad's sister, Parvin, picked up a seat in local elections, other supporters of the president were routed, securing just 20 per cent of the votes. The elections were regarded as a referendum on the president's first 18 months in power.
Iranian economists say that Ahmadinejad's domestic problems stem from his devotion to the khodkafai economic model of Iranian self-sufficiency, rather than the alternative Chinese model — favoured by Rafsanjani — which embraces markets and international trade. "He believes the economy should be subservient to his political aims," said Amir Taheri, a prominent Iranian-born journalist and author. "He believes international trade is a bad thing because it will pollute our economy and culture."
Ahmadinejad is an ascetic. He lives in a small house, drives an old car and does not bother with such fripperies as a dishwasher. When elected mayor of Tehran he ordered the removal of advertising hoardings featuring David Beckham and George Clooney. He believes Iranians should be frugal and reduce their dependence on the outside world. And the middle class hates him for it. "He is going for self-sufficiency and this has created inflationary tendencies, and the fear of war has led to the freezing of business activity....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.