Ahmadinejad’s Challenge to the World

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed more religious fanaticism than any Iranian president since Khomeini’s revolution. His campaign promises included a pledge to close the stock exchange (it violates the Islamic prohibition of gambling) and during a speech before the UN, he claimed enlightenment. While his behavior may seem absurd, his increasingly inflammatory rhetoric worries Western politicians and Iranian clerics alike. In a televised speech last week, Ahmadinejad once again contested Israel’s right to exist, calling the Holocaust a myth created by the West. His speech angered European leaders, who are considering sanctions. The Israeli government was oddly quiet, prompting speculation that Israel is preparing a preemptive attack. Convinced that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, Israel has been supplying intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Even the mullahs have questioned Ahmadinejad’s intentions: Ayatollah Khamenei has warned him that he was “elected to solve the country’s social problems, not to go to war with Israel.” With the disapproval of the theocracy’s religious leaders, could Ahmadinejad’s days be numbered? – YaleGlobal