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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
is an Iranian Iranian Principlists, principlist politician who served as the sixth
president of Iran The president of Iran ( fa, رئیس‌جمهور ایران, Rayis Jomhur-e Irān) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The president is the second highest-ranking official of Iran after the Supreme Leader. The president ...
from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a member of the
Expediency Discernment Council The Expediency Discernment Council of the System ( fa, مجمع تشخیص مصلحت نظام ''Majma'-e Taškhīs-e Maslahat-e Nezām'') is an administrative assembly appointed by the Supreme Leader and was created upon the revision to the Co ...
. He was known for his hardline views and nuclearisation of Iran. He was also the main political leader of the
Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran , successor = , headquarters = Tehran, Iran , ideology = , position = Right-wing , religion = Islam , national = Coordination Council of Islamic Revolution Forces , seats1_title = 2003 local election (Tehran) , seats1 = , seats2_titl ...
, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country, and served as
mayor of Tehran The Mayor of Tehran is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of 21 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Tehran. Since 2 September 2021, Alireza Zakani is the mayor of Tehran. Previously, the position was held b ...
from 2003 to 2005, reversing many of his predecessor's reforms. An engineer and teacher from a poor background,Biography of H.E. Dr. Ahmadi Nejad, Honourable President of Islamic Republic of Iran
Retrieved 27 January 2008.
ideologically shaped by thinkers such as
Navvab Safavi Sayyid Mojtaba Mir-Lohi ( fa, سيد مجتبی میرلوحی, 1924 – 18 January 1956), more commonly known as Navvab Safavi ( fa, نواب صفوی), was an Iranian Shia cleric and founder of the Fada'iyan-e Islam group. He played a role in ...
,
Jalal Al-e-Ahmad Seyyed Jalāl Āl-e-Ahmad ( fa, جلال آل‌احمد; December 2, 1923September 9, 1969) was a prominent Iranian novelist, short-story writer, translator, philosopher, socio-political critic, sociologist, as well as an anthropologist who wa ...
and
Ahmad Fardid Seyyed Ahmad Fardid ( fa, سید احمد فردید) (Born in 1910, Yazd – 16 August 1994, Tehran), born Ahmad Mahini Yazdi, was a prominent Iranian philosopher and a professor of Tehran University. He is considered to be among the philosop ...
, Ahmadinejad joined the Office for Strengthening Unity after the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
. Appointed a provincial governor in 1993, he was replaced along with all other provincial governors in 1997 after the election of President Mohammad Khatami and returned to teaching. Tehran's council elected him mayor in 2003. He took a religious hard line, reversing reforms of previous moderate mayors. Entekhab News. Retrieved 31 August 2006. His 2005 presidential campaign, supported by the
Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran , successor = , headquarters = Tehran, Iran , ideology = , position = Right-wing , religion = Islam , national = Coordination Council of Islamic Revolution Forces , seats1_title = 2003 local election (Tehran) , seats1 = , seats2_titl ...
, garnered 62% of the runoff election votes, and he became president on 3 August 2005. During his presidency, Ahmadinejad was a controversial figure both in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and worldwide. He has been criticized domestically for his economic policies and accused of disregard for
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
by organizations in North America and Europe. Outside of Iran, he has been criticized for his hostility towards countries including
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United States and other
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
and
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
states. In 2007, Ahmadinejad introduced a gasoline rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption and cut the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge.مدیریت و" برنامه‌ریزی منحل شد"
BBC Persian. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
He supports
Iran's nuclear program The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facili ...
. His election to a second term in 2009 was widely disputed and led to widespread protests domestically and criticism from Western countries. During his second term, Ahmadinejad experienced a power struggle with reformers and other traditionalists in parliament and the Revolutionary Guard and with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, over his dismissal of intelligence minister
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i ( fa, غلامحسین محسنی اژه‌ای, Ğolām-Hoseyn Mohseni Eže'i, ; born 29 September 1956) is an Iranian conservative politician, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of I ...
and his support for his controversial close adviser,
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei ( fa, اسفندیار رحیم‌مشایی; born 16 November 1960) is an Iranian conservative politician and former intelligence officer. As a senior Cabinet member in the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadineja ...
. On 14 March 2012, Ahmadinejad became the first president of the Islamic Republic of Iran to be summoned by the Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament) to answer questions regarding his presidency. Limited to two terms under the current
Iranian constitution The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Qanun-e Asasi-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran'') was adopted by referendum on 2 and 3 December 1979, and went into force replac ...
, Ahmadinejad supported Mashaei's campaign for president. In 2013 Hassan Rouhani was
elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...
as Ahmadinejad's successor. On 12 April 2017, Ahmadinejad announced that he intended to run for a third term in the 2017 presidential election, against the objections of Supreme Leader Khamenei. His nomination was rejected by the Guardian Council. During the 2017–18 Iranian protests, Ahmadinejad criticized the current government of Iran. He made a second attempt at registering to run for the 2021 presidential election, and was rejected again by the Guardian Council.


Early life

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was born on 28 October 1956 near
Garmsar Garmsar ( fa, گرمسار, also Romanized as Garmsār is a city in and the capital of Garmsar County, Semnan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 38,891, in 10,951 families. Garmsar is located about southeast of Tehran. It li ...
, in the village of Aradan, in Semnan province. His mother, Khanom, was a
Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhamma ...
a, an
honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...
title given to those believed to be direct bloodline descendants of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
. His father, Ahmad, was a Persian grocer and barber, and was a religious
Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...
who taught the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
. When Mahmoud was one year old, his family moved to
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
. Mahmoud's father changed their
family name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
from "Saborjhian" or "Sabaghian" to Ahmadinejad in 1960 to avoid discrimination when the family moved to the city. ''Sabor'' is Persian for thread painter, a once common occupation within the Semnan carpet industry. Ahmadinejad's uncle and his brother
Davoud Ahmadinejad Davoud Ahmadinejad (24 September 1952 in Aradan – 4 October 2017 in Tehran) was an Iranian politician and older brother of former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ah ...
have confirmed that the previous surname was "Sabbaghian" ( fa, صباغیان). Ahmadinejad is a composite name: Ahmadi Nejad. Ahmad was his father's name. The suffix ''Nejad'' in Persian means race, therefore the term Ahmadi Nejad means "the lineage of Ahmad". According to the interviews with the relatives of Ahmadi Nejad, his father who works in a small shop, sold his house in Tehran and bought a smaller house, giving the excess funds to charity and poor people. In 1976, Ahmadinejad took Iran's national university entrance examination. According to his autobiography, he was ranked 132nd out of 400,000 participants that year, and soon enrolled in the
Iran University of Science and Technology Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) ( fa, دانشگاه علم و صنعت ایران, ''Danushgah-e 'lâm vâ Sân't-e Iran'') is a research institution and university of engineering and science in Iran. The university is home to ...
(IUST), located at Tehran, as an undergraduate student of civil engineering. He would later earn his doctorate in 1997 in transportation engineering and planning from Iran University of Science and Technology as well, when he was the mayor of Ardabil Province, located at the north-west of the country.


Administrative and academic careers

Some details of Ahmadinejad's life during the 1980s are not publicly known, but it is known that he held a number of administrative posts in the province of West Azerbaijan,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. Many reports say that after
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
ordered the invasion of Iran, Ahmadinejad joined the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
and served in their intelligence and security apparatus, but his advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi has said: "He has never been a member or an official member of the Revolutionary Guards", having been a
Basiji The Basij ( fa, بسيج, lit. "The Mobilization"), Niru-ye Moghāvemat-e Basij ( fa, نیروی مقاومت بسیج, "Resistance Mobilization Force"), full name Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin ( fa, سازمان بسیج مستضعفین, "The ...
-like volunteer instead. Ahmadinejad was accepted to a
Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
program at his alma mater in 1986. He joined the faculty there as a lecturer in 1989, and in 1997 received his
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in civil engineering and traffic transportation planning.


Early political career

After the Islamic Revolution, Ahmadinejad became a member of the Office for Strengthening Unity, an organization developed to prevent students from sympathizing or allying with the emerging militant Mojahedin-e Khalq organisation. Ahmadinejad first assumed political office as unelected governor to both Maku and
Khoy Khoy (Persian and az, خوی; ; ; also Romanized as Khoi), is a city and capital of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2012 census, its population was 200,985. Khoy is located north of the province's capital and largest city ...
in West Azarbaijan Province during the 1980s. He eventually became an advisor to the governor general of Kurdistan Province for two years. During his doctoral studies at Tehran, he was appointed governor general of newly formed Ardabil Province from 1993 until Mohammad Khatami removed him in 1997, whereupon he returned to teaching.


Mayor of Tehran

The 2003 mayoral race in Tehran elected
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
candidates from the
Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran , successor = , headquarters = Tehran, Iran , ideology = , position = Right-wing , religion = Islam , national = Coordination Council of Islamic Revolution Forces , seats1_title = 2003 local election (Tehran) , seats1 = , seats2_titl ...
to the
City Council of Tehran The Islamic City Council of Tehran ( fa, شورای اسلامی شهر تهران) is the directly elected council that presides over the city of Tehran, elects the mayor of Tehran in a mayor–council government system, and budgets of the M ...
. The Council appointed Ahmadinejad
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
. As mayor, he reversed changes made by previous
moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...
and
reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can ...
mayors. He put religious emphasis on the activities of cultural centres they had founded, publicised the separation of
elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
s for men and women in the municipality offices, and suggested that people killed in the
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...
be buried in major
city square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
s of Tehran. He also worked to improve the traffic system and put an emphasis on
charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...
, such as distributing free soup to the poor. After his election to the presidency, Ahmadinejad's resignation as the Mayor of Tehran was accepted on 28 June 2005. After two years as mayor, Ahmadinejad was one of 65 finalists for
World Mayor World Mayor is a biennial award organized by the City Mayors Foundation since 2004. It intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of c ...
in 2005, selected from 550 nominees, only nine of them from Asia. He was among three strong candidates for the top-ten list, but his resignation made him ineligible.


Presidency (2005–2013)


2005 campaign

Ahmadinejad was not particularly well known when he entered the presidential election campaign as he had never run for office before, (he had been mayor of Tehran for only two years and had been appointed, not elected), although he had already made his mark in Tehran for rolling back earlier reforms. He was/is a member of the Central Council of the Islamic Society of Engineers, but his key political support is inside the
Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran , successor = , headquarters = Tehran, Iran , ideology = , position = Right-wing , religion = Islam , national = Coordination Council of Islamic Revolution Forces , seats1_title = 2003 local election (Tehran) , seats1 = , seats2_titl ...
(''Abadgaran'' or ''Developers''). He was also helped by support from supreme leader Ali Khamenei, of whom some described Ahmadinejad as a protégé. Ahmadinejad was largely non-committal about his plans for his presidency, perhaps to attract both
religious conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...
s and the lower economic classes. His campaign slogan was: "It's possible and we can do it". In the campaign, he took a populist approach. He emphasized his own modest life, and compared himself with
Mohammad Ali Rajai Mohammad-Ali Rajai ( fa, محمدعلی رجائی; 15 June 1933 – 30 August 1981) was the second president of Iran from 2 to 30 August 1981 after serving as prime minister under Abolhassan Banisadr. He was also minister of foreign affairs fro ...
, Iran's second president. Ahmadinejad said he planned to create an "exemplary government for the people of the world" in Iran. He was a " principlist", acting politically based on Islamic and revolutionary principles. One of his goals was "putting the petroleum income on people's tables", meaning Iran's oil profits would be distributed among the poor. Ahmadinejad was the only presidential candidate who spoke out against future relations with the United States. He told
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB; fa, صدا و سيمای جمهوری اسلامی ايران, ''Sedā va Sīmā-ye Jomhūri-ye Eslāmi-ye Īrān'', , formerly called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian Rev ...
the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
was "one-sided, stacked against the world of Islam." He opposed the
veto power A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto pow ...
of the
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
's five permanent members: "It is not just for a few states to sit and veto global approvals. Should such a privilege continue to exist, the Muslim world with a population of nearly 1.5 billion should be extended the same privilege." He defended
Iran's nuclear program The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facili ...
and accused "a few arrogant powers" of trying to limit Iran's industrial and technological development in this and other fields. In his second-round campaign, he said, "We didn't participate in the revolution for turn-by-turn government. ... This revolution tries to reach a world-wide government." He spoke of an extended program using trade to improve foreign relations, and called for greater ties with Iran's neighbours and ending
visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...
requirements between states in the region, saying that "people should visit anywhere they wish freely. People should have freedom in their
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
s and tours." Ahmadinejad described
Ayatollah Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیت‌الله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Etymology The title is originally derived from ...
Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi Ayatollah Taqi Mesbah ( fa, تقی مصباح‌; born Taqi Givechi, fa, تقی گیوه‌چی), commonly known as Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi ( fa, محمدتقی مصباح‌ یزدی, 31 January 1935 – 1 January 2021) was an Iranian Shi' ...
, a senior cleric from Qom, as his ideological and spiritual mentor. Mesbah founded the Haghani School of thought in Iran. He and his team strongly supported Ahmadinejad's 2005 presidential campaign.


2005 presidential election

Ahmadinejad won 62% of the vote in the run-off poll against
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...
. Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Khamenei Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia '' marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president ...
authorized his presidency on 3 August 2005. Ahmadinejad kissed Khamenei's hand during the ceremony to show his loyalty. Shortly after Ahmadinejad was elected president, some
Western media outlets Western media is the mass media of the Western world. During the Cold War, Western media contrasted with Soviet media. Western media has gradually expanded into developing countries (often, non-Western countries) around the world. History ...
published claims that he was among the students who stormed the US embassy in Tehran, sparking the
Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...
. This claim has been denied by the Iranian government, the Iranian opposition, as well as an American investigation by the CIA.


2005 cabinet appointments

Iran's president is constitutionally obliged to obtain confirmation from the
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
for his selection of ministers. Ahmadinejad presented a short-list at a private meeting on 5 August, and his final list on 14 August. The Majlis rejected all of his cabinet candidates for the oil portfolio and objected to the appointment of his allies in senior government office. The Majlis approved a cabinet on 24 August. The ministers promised to meet frequently outside Tehran and held their first meeting on 25 August in Mashhad, with four empty seats for the unapproved nominees.


2006 councils and Assembly of Experts election

Ahmadinejad's team lost the 2006 city council elections. In the first nationwide election since Ahmadinejad became president, his allies failed to dominate election returns for the
Assembly of Experts The Assembly of Experts ( fa, مجلس خبرگان رهبری, majles-e khobregân-e rahbari), also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts, is the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme ...
and local councils. Results, with a turnout of about 60%, suggested a voter shift toward more moderate policies. According to an editorial in the Kargozaran independent
daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
, "The results show that voters have learned from the past and concluded that we need to support... moderate figures." An Iranian political analyst said that "this is a blow for Ahmadinejad and Mesbah Yazdi's list."


2009 presidential election

On 23 August 2008, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced that he "sees Ahmadinejad as president in the next five years," a comment interpreted as indicating support for Ahmadinejad's reelection. 39,165,191 ballots were cast in the election on 12 June 2009, according to Iran's election headquarters. Ahmadinejad won 24,527,516 votes, (62.63%). In second place,
Mir-Hossein Mousavi Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh ( fa, میرحسین موسوی خامنه, Mīr-Hoseyn Mūsavī Khāmené, ; born 2 March 1942) is an Iranian reformist politician, artist and architect who served as the forty-ninth and last Prime Minister of Ira ...
, won 13,216,411 (33.75%) of the votes.


2009 presidential election protests

The election results remained in dispute with both Mousavi and Ahmadinejad and their respective supporters who believe that electoral fraud occurred during the election. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formally endorsed Ahmadinejad as president on 3 August 2009, and Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term on 5 August 2009. Iran's Constitution stipulates term limits of two terms for the office of President. Several Iranian political figures appeared to avoid the ceremony. Former presidents Mohammad Khatami, and
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...
, who was then head of the
Expediency Discernment Council The Expediency Discernment Council of the System ( fa, مجمع تشخیص مصلحت نظام ''Majma'-e Taškhīs-e Maslahat-e Nezām'') is an administrative assembly appointed by the Supreme Leader and was created upon the revision to the Co ...
, along with opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, did not attend the ceremony. Opposition groups asked protesters on reformist websites and blogs to launch new street demonstrations on the day of the inauguration ceremony. On inauguration day, hundreds of riot police met opposition protesters outside parliament. After taking the oath of office, which was broadcast live on Iranian state television, Ahmadinejad said that he would "protect the official faith, the system of the Islamic revolution and the constitution." France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States announced that they would not send the usual letters of congratulation.


2009 cabinet appointments

Ahmadinejad announced controversial ministerial appointments for his second term.
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei ( fa, اسفندیار رحیم‌مشایی; born 16 November 1960) is an Iranian conservative politician and former intelligence officer. As a senior Cabinet member in the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadineja ...
was briefly appointed as first vice president, but opposed by a number of Majlis members and by the intelligence minister,
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i ( fa, غلامحسین محسنی اژه‌ای, Ğolām-Hoseyn Mohseni Eže'i, ; born 29 September 1956) is an Iranian conservative politician, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of I ...
. Mashaei followed orders to resign. Ahmadinejad then appointed Mashaei as chief of staff, and fired Mohseni-Eje'i. On 26 July 2009, Ahmadinejad's government faced a legal problem after he sacked four ministers. Iran's constitution (Article 136) stipulates that, if more than half of its members are replaced, the cabinet may not meet or act before the Majlis approves the revised membership. The vice chairman of the Majlis announced that no cabinet meetings or decisions would be legal, pending such a re-approval. On 4 September 2009, the Majlis approved 18 of the 21 cabinet candidates, and rejected three, including two women.
Sousan Keshavarz Sousan Keshavarz was the 2009 nominee of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Minister of Education. She was voted down by the Majlis of Iran on September 3, 2009 with 49 favoring, 209 opposing, and 28 abstaining votes. Career Keshavarz was pre ...
,
Mohammad Aliabadi Mohammad Aliabadi ( fa, محمد علی‌آبادی; born 2 December 1956 in Arak) is former Vice President and Head of Physical Education Organization of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called P ...
, and
Fatemeh Ajorlou Fatemeh Jazini ( fa, فاطمه آجرلو; born c. 1966) is a conservative ( principlist) female member of the Iranian parliament (Islamic Consultative Assembly) representing Karaj, near Tehran. She is Rapporteur of the Majlis Women Faction.http:/ ...
were not approved by Majlis for the Ministries of Education, Energy, and Welfare and Social Security, respectively. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi was the first woman approved by the Majlis as a minister in the Islamic Republic of Iran.


2012 parliamentary elections

Ahmadinejad suffered a defeat in March/May 2012 parliamentary elections with Ayatollah Khamenei's "Principalist" allies winning about three quarters of the parliaments 290 seats, and Ahmadinejad supporters far fewer.


Domestic policy


Economic policy

In Ahmadinejad's first four years as president, Iran's real GDP reflected growth of the economy. Inflation and unemployment also decreased under Ahmadinejad due to better economic management and ending the unsustainable spending and borrowing patterns of previous administrations . Ahmadinejad increased spending by 25% and supported
subsidies A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...
for food and
petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...
. He also initially refused a gradual increase of petrol prices, saying that after making necessary preparations, such as a development of
public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
system, the government would free up petrol prices after five years. Interest rates were cut by presidential decree to below the inflation rate. One unintended effect of this stimulation of the economy has been the bidding up of some urban real estate prices by two or three times their pre-Ahmadinejad value by Iranians seeking to invest surplus cash and finding few other safe opportunities. The resulting increase in the cost of housing hurt poorer, non-property owning Iranians, the putative beneficiaries of Ahmadinejad's populist policies. The Management and Planning Organisation, a state body charged with mapping out long-term economic and budget strategy, was broken up and its experienced managers were fired. In June 2006, 50 Iranian economists wrote a letter to Ahmadinejad that criticized his price interventions to stabilize prices of goods, cement, government services, and his decree issued by the High Labor Council and the Ministry of Labor that proposed an increase of workers' salaries by 40%. Ahmadinejad publicly responded harshly to the letter and denounced the accusations. Ahmadinejad called for "middle-of-the-road" compromises with respect to Western-oriented
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
and
socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
. Current political conflicts with the United States caused the central bank to fear increased
capital flight Capital flight, in economics, occurs when assets or money rapidly flow out of a country, due to an event of economic consequence or as the result of a political event such as regime change or economic globalization. Such events could be an increa ...
due to global isolation. These factors prevented an improvement of infrastructure and capital influx, despite high economic potential. Among those that did not vote for him in the first election, only 3.5% said they would consider voting for him in the next election. Mohammad Khoshchehreh, a member of the Iranian parliament that campaigned for Ahmadinejad, said that his government "has been strong on populist slogans, but weak on achievement." President Ahmadinejad changed almost all of his economic ministers, including oil, industry and economy, since coming to power in 2005. In an interview with Fars News Agency in April 2008, Davoud Danesh Jaafari who acted as minister of economy in Ahmadinejad's cabinet, harshly criticized his economic policy: "During my time, there was no positive attitude towards previous experiences or experienced people and there was no plan for the future. Peripheral issues which were not of dire importance to the nation were given priority. Most of the scientific economic concepts like the effect of liquidity on inflation were put in question." In response to these criticisms, Ahmadinejad accused his minister of not being "a man of justice" and declared that the solution to Iran's economic problem is "the culture of martyrdom". In May 2008, the petroleum minister of Iran admitted that the government illegally invested 2 billion dollars to import petrol in 2007. At Iranian parliament, he also mentioned that he simply followed the president's order. While his government had 275 thousand billion toman oil income, the highest in Iranian history, Ahmadinejad's government had the highest budget deficit since the Iranian revolution. During his presidency, Ahmadinejad launched a gasoline rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption. He also instituted cuts in the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge. He issued a directive that the Management and Planning Organization be affiliated to the government. In May 2011, Ahmadinejad announced that he would temporarily run the Oil Ministry.


Family planning and population policy

In October 2006, Ahmadinejad began calling for the scrapping of Iran's existing birth-control policies which discouraged Iranian couples from having more than two children. He told MPs that Iran could cope with 50 million more people than the current 70 million. In November 2010, he urged Iranians to marry and reproduce earlier: "We should take the age of marriage for boys to 20 and for girls to about 16 and 17." His remarks have drawn criticism and been called ill-judged at a time when Iran was struggling with surging inflation and rising unemployment, estimated at around 11%. Ahmadinejad's call was reminiscent of a call for Iranians to have more children made by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979. The policy had increased Iran's population by 16 million in seven years but had eventually been reversed in response to the resultant economic strain. In 2008, the government sent the "Family Protection Bill" to the Iranian parliament. Women's rights activists criticized the bill for removing protections from women, such as the requirement that a husband obtain his wife's consent before marrying a second wife. Women's rights in Iran are more religiously based than those in secular countries.


Housing

The first legislation to emerge from his newly formed government was a 12 trillion
rial Rial, riyal, or RIAL may refer to: * Rial (surname), a surname (and list of people with the name) * Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning, McGill University * Rial Racing, a former German Formula One team Various currencies named rial ...
(
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
1.3 billion) fund called ''"Reza's Compassion Fund"'', named after
Shi'a Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
Imam
Ali al-Rida Ali ibn Musa al-Rida ( ar, عَلِيّ ٱبْن مُوسَىٰ ٱلرِّضَا, Alī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā, 1 January 766 – 6 June 818), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan al-Thānī, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the e ...
. Ahmadinejad's government said this fund would tap Iran's oil revenues to help young people get jobs, afford marriage, and buy their own homes. The fund also sought charitable donations, with a
board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
in each of Iran's 30 provinces. The legislation was a response to the cost of urban housing, which is pushing up the national average marital age (currently around 25 years for women and 28 years for men). In 2006 the Iranian parliament rejected the fund; however, Ahmadinejad ordered the administrative council to execute the plan.


Human rights

According to a report by
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, "Since President Ahmadinejad came to power, treatment of detainees has worsened in Evin Prison as well as in detention centers operated clandestinely by the Judiciary, the Ministry of Information, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps." Human Rights Watch also has stated, "Respect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and assembly, deteriorated in 2006. The government routinely tortures and mistreats detained dissidents, including through prolonged solitary confinement." Human Rights Watch described the source of human rights violations in contemporary Iran as coming from the Judiciary, accountable to Ali Khamenei, and from members directly appointed by Ahmadinejad. Responses to dissent have varied. Human Rights Watch writes that "the Ahmadinejad government, in a pronounced shift from the policy under former president Mohammed Khatami, has shown no tolerance for peaceful protests and gatherings." In December 2006, Ahmadinejad advised officials not to disturb students who engaged in a protest during a speech of his at the
Amirkabir University of Technology Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) ( fa, دانشگاه صنعتی امیرکبیر), also called the Tehran Polytechnic, is a public technological university located in Tehran, Iran. Founded in 1928, AUT is the second oldest technical uni ...
in Tehran, although speakers at other protests have included among their complaints that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected. In April 2007, the Tehran police, which is under Khamenei's supervision, began a crackdown on women with "improper hijab." This led to criticism from associates of Ahmadinejad. In 2012, Ahmadinejad claimed that AIDS was created by the West in order to weaken poorer countries, and repeated a previous claim that homosexual Iranians did not exist. He has also described homosexuality as "ugly".


Universities

In 2006, the Ahmadinejad government reportedly forced numerous Iranian scientists and university professors to resign or to retire. It has been referred to as the " second cultural revolution". The policy has been said to replace old professors with younger ones. Some university professors received letters indicating their early retirement unexpectedly. In November 2006, 53 university professors had to retire from
Iran University of Science and Technology Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) ( fa, دانشگاه علم و صنعت ایران, ''Danushgah-e 'lâm vâ Sân't-e Iran'') is a research institution and university of engineering and science in Iran. The university is home to ...
. In 2006, Ahmadinejad's government applied a 50%
quota Quota may refer to: Economics * Import quota, a trade restriction on the quantity of goods imported into a country * Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture * Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe * Indi ...
for male students and 50% for female students in the university entrance exam for
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
,
dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...
and pharmacy. The plan was supposed to stop the growing presence of female students in the universities. In a response to critics, Iranian minister of health and medical education,
Kamran Bagheri Lankarani Kamran Bagheri Lankarani ( fa, کامران باقری لنکرانی; born 1965) is an Iranian physician and politician who was Minister of Health and Medical Education from 2005 until 2009. Born in 1965, he finished medical school at Shiraz U ...
argued that there are not enough facilities such as dormitories for female students. Masoud Salehi, president of Zahedan University said that presence of women generates some problems with transportation. Also, Ebrahim Mekaniki, president of Babol University of Medical Sciences, stated that an increase in the presence of women will make it difficult to distribute facilities in a suitable manner. Bagher Larijani, the president of
Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) ( fa, دانشگاه علوم پزشکی تهران, ''Danushgah-e 'lum Pezeshki-ye Tehran'') is the largest and most highly ranked medical university of Iran. In September 2008, Iran's Mini ...
made similar remarks. According to Rooz Online, the quotas lack a legal foundation and are justified as support for "family" and "religion."


December 2006 student protest

In December 2006, it was reported that some students were angry about the
International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust was a two-day conference in Tehran, Iran that opened on December 11, 2006. Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the conference sought "neither to deny nor prove t ...
, which they saw as promoting
Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...
. In response to the students' slogans, the president said: "We have been standing up to dictatorship so that no one will dare to establish dictatorship in a millennium even in the name of freedom. Given the scars inflicted on the Iranian nation by agents of the US and British dictatorship, no one will ever dare to initiate the rise of a dictator." It was reported that even though the protesters broke the TV cameras and threw hand-made bombs at Ahmadinejad, the president asked the officials not to question or disturb the protesters. In his blog, Ahmadinejad described his reaction to the incident as "a feeling of joy" because of the freedom that people enjoyed after the revolution. One thousand students also protested the day before to denounce the increased pressure on the reformist groups at the university. One week prior, more than two thousand students protested at Tehran University on the country's annual student day, with speakers saying that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.


Nuclear program

Ahmadinejad has been a vocal supporter of
Iran's nuclear program The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facili ...
, and has insisted that it is for peaceful purposes. He has repeatedly emphasized that building a nuclear bomb is not the policy of his government. He has said that such a policy is "illegal and against our religion." He also added at a January 2006 conference in Tehran that a nation with "culture, logic and civilization" would not need nuclear weapons, and that countries that seek nuclear weapons are those that want to solve all problems by the use of force. In April 2006, Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully refined
uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
to a stage suitable for the
nuclear fuel cycle The nuclear fuel cycle, also called nuclear fuel chain, is the progression of nuclear fuel through a series of differing stages. It consists of steps in the ''front end'', which are the preparation of the fuel, steps in the ''service period'' in w ...
. In a speech to students and academics in Mashhad, he was quoted as saying that Iran's conditions had changed completely as it had become a nuclear state and could talk to other states from that stand. On 13 April 2006, Iran's news agency,
Islamic Republic News Agency The Islamic Republic News Agency ( fa, خبرگزاری جمهوری اسلامی, ''Xebergâzari-ye Jimhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye''), or IRNA, is the official news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Founded on 13 November 1934 as Pars News Agency ...
(IRNA), quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that the peaceful Iranian nuclear technology would not pose a threat to any party because "we want peace and stability and we will not cause injustice to anyone and at the same time we will not submit to injustice." Nevertheless, Iran's nuclear policy under Ahmadinejad's administration received much criticism, spearheaded by the United States and Israel. The accusations include that Iran is striving to obtain nuclear arms and developing long-range firing capabilities—and that Ahmadinejad issued an order to keep UN inspectors from freely visiting the nation's nuclear facilities and viewing their designs, in defiance of an
IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...
resolution. Following a May 2009 test launch of a long-range
missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocke ...
, Ahmadinejad was quoted as telling the crowd that with its nuclear program, Iran was sending the West a message that "the Islamic Republic of Iran is running the show." Despite Ahmadinejad's vocal support for the program, the office of the Iranian president is not directly responsible for nuclear policy. It is instead set by the Supreme National Security Council. The council includes two representatives appointed by the Supreme Leader, military officials, and members of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government, and reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons in 2005. Khamenei has criticized Ahmadinejad's "personalization" of the nuclear issue. Ahmadinejad vowed in February 2008 that Iran will not be held back from developing its peaceful nuclear program. In October 2009, the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
proposed a U.N.-drafted deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program, in an effort to find a compromise between Iran's stated need for a nuclear reactor and the concerns of those who are worried that Iran harbors a secret intent of developing a nuclear weapon. After some delay in responding, on 29 October, Ahmadinejad seemed to change his tone towards the deal. "We welcome fuel exchange, nuclear co-operation, building of power plants and reactors and we are ready to co-operate," he said in a live broadcast on state television. He added that Iran would not retreat "one iota" on its right to a sovereign nuclear program.


Domestic criticism and controversies


Accusations of corruption

According to Brussels-based NGO International Crisis Group, Ahmadinejad has been criticized for attacking private "plunderers" and "corrupt officials," while engaging in "cronyism and political favouritism". Many of his close associates were appointed to positions for which they have no obvious qualifications, and "billion dollar no-bid contracts" were awarded to the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
(IRGC), an organization with which he is strongly associated. According to Najmeh Bozorgmehr of the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
'', "Iran has a long history of cronyism and corruption under its monarchies and the Islamic Republic. But the scale of corruption under Mr. Ahmadinejad was of a different order, according to both reform-minded and conservative politicians."


Other statements

In June 2007, Ahmadinejad was criticized by some Iranian parliament members over his remark about
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
and
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
. According to Aftab News Agency, Ahmadinejad stated: "In the world, there are deviations from the right path: Christianity and Judaism. Dollars have been devoted to the propagation of these deviations. There are also false claims that these eligionswill save mankind. But Islam is the only religion that ansave mankind." Some members of Iranian parliament criticized these remarks as being fuels to religious war. Conservative MP Rafat Bayat has accused Ahmadinejad for a decline in observance of the required hijab for women, calling him "not that strict on this issue". Ahmadinejad was also accused of indecency by people close to
Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...
, after he publicly kissed the hand of a woman who used to be his school teacher.


The UN and football stadiums

There are two statements that led to criticism from some religious authorities. One concerns his speech at the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, and the other concerns the attendance of women at football matches. During a visit to group of Ayatollahs in Qom after returning from his 2005 speech to the
UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
, Ahmadinejad stated he had "felt a halo over his head" during his speech and that a hidden presence had mesmerized the unblinking audience of foreign leaders, foreign ministers, and ambassadors. Ahmadinejad closed his speech with a call for the "mighty Lord" to "hasten the emergence" of
Imam Mahdi The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad wh ...
. According to Iranian-American journalist
Hooman Majd Hooman Majd (born 1957) is an Iranian-born American journalist, author, and political commentator who writes on Iranian affairs. He is based in New York City, and regularly travels to Iran. Early life Hooman Majd was born in 1957 in Tehran, Ira ...
, the response given to Ahmadinejad at the assembly was offensive to the conservative religious leaders because an ordinary man cannot presume a special closeness to God or any of the
Imams Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...
, nor can he imply the presence of the Mahdi. In another statement in 2006, Ahmadinejad proclaimed (without consulting the clerics beforehand), that women be allowed into football stadiums to watch male football clubs compete. This proclamation "was quickly overruled" by clerical authorities, one of whom, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani "refused for weeks to meet with President Ahmadinejad" in early 2007.


Constitutional conflict

In 2008, a serious conflict emerged between the Iranian President and the head of parliament over three laws approved by the Iranian parliament: "the agreement for civil and criminal legal cooperation between Iran and Kyrgyzstan", "the agreement to support mutual investment between Iran and Kuwait", and "the law for registration of industrial designs and trademarks". The conflict was so serious that the Iranian leader stepped in to resolve it. Ahmadinejad wrote a letter to the parliamentary speaker
Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel ( fa, غلامعلی حداد عادل, born 9 May 1945) is an Iranian philosopher, conservative and principlist politician and former chairman of the Parliament. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Counci ...
, furiously denouncing him for the "inexplicable act" of bypassing the presidency by giving the order to implement legislation in an official newspaper. Ahmadinejad accused the head of parliament of violating Iranian constitutional law. He called for legal action against the parliament speaker. Haddad-Adel responded to Ahmadinejad accusing him of using inappropriate language in his remarks and letters.


Ali Kordan

In August 2008, Ahmadinejad appointed
Ali Kordan Ali Kordan (23 October 1958 – 22 November 2009) was an Iranian conservative politician who served in the Revolutionary Guards, the judiciary and as deputy oil minister, before becoming interior minister of Iran in 2008 for just 90 days. He was ...
as interior minister. Kordan's appointment was heavily criticized by Iranian parliamentarians, media and analysts after it came to light that a doctoral degree purportedly awarded to Kordan was fabricated, and that the putative issuer of the degree,
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, had no record of Kordan receiving any degree from the University. It was also revealed that he had been jailed in 1978 for moral charges. In November 2008, Ahmadinejad announced that he was against impeachment of Kordan by Iranian parliament. He refused to attend the parliament on the impeachment day. Kordan was expelled from office by Iranian parliament on 4 November 2008. 188 MPs voted against him. An impeachment of Kordan would push Ahmadinejad close to having to submit his entire cabinet for review by parliament, which was led by one of his chief political opponents. Iran's constitution requires that step if more than half the cabinet ministers are replaced, and Ahmadinejad replaced nine of 21 until that date.


Conflict with Parliament

In February 2009, after
Supreme Audit Court of Iran The Supreme Audit Court of Iran (SAC) (Persian: دیوان محاسبات کشور) is a government agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Located in Tehran, it is supervised by the Iranian Parliament and dates back to 1906. Articles 54 and 55 ...
reported that $1.058 billion of surplus oil revenue in the (2006–2007) budget hadn't been returned by the government to the national treasury, Tensions between Larijani and Ahmadinejad continued into 2013. Ahmadinejad criticized the National Audit Office for what he called its "carelessness", saying the report "incites the people" against the government. In May 2011, several members of parliament threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against Ahmadinejad after his merger of eight government ministries and the firing of three ministers without parliament's consent. According to the Majles news website, MP Mohammad Reza Bahonar stated, "legal purging starts with questions, which lead to warnings and end with impeachment." On 25 May, parliament voted to investigate another allegation, that Ahmadinejad had committed election irregularities by giving cash to up to nine million Iranians before the 2009 presidential elections. The vote came within hours after the allegations appeared in several popular conservative news sites associated with supreme leader Ali Khamenei, suggesting the supreme leader supported the investigation. The disputes were seen as part of the clash between Ahmadinejad and other conservatives and former supporters, including supreme leader Khamenei, over what the conservatives see as Ahmadinejad's confrontational policies and abuse of power.


Relations with Supreme Leader of Iran

Early in his presidency, Ahmadinejad was sometimes described as "enjoy ngthe full backing" of the Supreme Leader , and even as being his "protege." In Ahmadinejad's 2005 inauguration the supreme leader allowed Ahmadinejad to kiss his hand and cheeks in what was called "a sign of closeness and loyalty," and after the 2009 election fully endorsed Ahmadinejad against protesters; however, as early as January 2008, signs of disagreement between the two men developed over domestic policies, and by the period of 2010–11 several sources detected a "growing rift" between them. The disagreement was described as centered on
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei ( fa, اسفندیار رحیم‌مشایی; born 16 November 1960) is an Iranian conservative politician and former intelligence officer. As a senior Cabinet member in the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadineja ...
, a top adviser and close confidant of Ahmadinejad and opponent of "greater involvement of clerics in politics", who was first vice president of Iran until being ordered to resign from the cabinet by the supreme leader. In 2009, Ahmadinejad dismissed Intelligence Minister
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i ( fa, غلامحسین محسنی اژه‌ای, Ğolām-Hoseyn Mohseni Eže'i, ; born 29 September 1956) is an Iranian conservative politician, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of I ...
, an opponent of Mashaei. In April 2011, another Intelligence minister,
Heydar Moslehi Heydar Moslehi (born 1957 in Isfahan) is an Iranian cleric and politician who served as the minister of intelligence from 2009 to 2013. Early life and education Moslehi was born in Shahreza in the Isfahan province, Iran, in 1957. He was a stud ...
, resigned after being asked to by Ahmadinejad, but was reinstated by the supreme leader within hours. Ahmadinejad declined to officially back Moslehi's reinstatement for two weeks and in protest engaged in an "11-day walkout" of cabinet meetings, religious ceremonies, and other official functions. Ahmadinejad's actions led to angry public attacks by clerics, parliamentarians and military commanders, who accused him of ignoring orders from the supreme leader. Conservative opponents in parliament launched an "impeachment drive" against him, four websites with ties to Ahmadinejad reportedly were "filtered and blocked", and several people "said to be close" to the president and Mashaei (such as Abbas Amirifar and
Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh (born in Zabul city, Sistan and Baluchistan province) is a former Vice President of Iran who served as the head of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and H ...
) were arrested on charges of being "magicians" and invoking
djinn Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...
s. On 6 May 2011, it was reported that Ahmadinejad had been given an ultimatum to accept the leader's intervention or resign, and on 8 May, he "apparently bowed" to the reinstatement, welcoming back Moslehi to a cabinet meeting. The events have been said to have "humiliated and weakened" Ahmadinejad, though the president denied that there had been any rift between the two, and according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency, he stated that his relationship with the supreme leader "is that of a father and a son." In 2012, Khamenei ordered a halt to a parliamentary inquiry into Ahmadinejad's mishandling of the Iranian economy. In 2016, Khamenei advised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his former ally with whom his relationship was strained after Ahmadinejad accused his son
Mojtaba Khamenei Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید مجتبی حسینی خامنه‌ای; born 8 September 1969) is a son of Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran. He served in the Iran–Iraq War from 1987 to 1988. He is considered by Euro ...
of embezzling from the state treasury, to not run for president again.


Hugo Chávez's funeral

Ahmadinejad was criticised by the religious and political groups in Iran for photographs taken of him embracing Elena Frias de Chávez, the mother of recently deceased Venezuelan president
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
, at his funeral. In the image, Ahmadinejad was thought to be holding her hands and in a cheek-to-cheek embrace; such an act, touching an unrelated woman, is considered
haraam ''Haram'' (; ar, حَرَام, , ) is an Arabic term meaning 'Forbidden'. This may refer to either something sacred to which access is not allowed to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowle ...
(forbidden) in some interpretations of Islam. Iranian government officials responded by stating that the image was a fake, then released a second photo showing Ahmadinejad in the same pose, but in this case hugging a man. This later photograph was debunked when it was discovered that the other man was Egyptian opposition leader
Mohamed ElBaradei Mohamed Mustafa ElBaradei ( ar, محمد مصطفى البرادعي, Muḥammad Muṣṭafá al-Barādaʿī, ; born 17 June 1942) is an Egyptian law scholar and diplomat who served as the vice president of Egypt on an interim basis from 14 July ...
, who had not been at the funeral.


Nepotism

One of the most frequent criticisms about Ahmadinejad was the
nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...
in his governments. Nepotism was one of his habits in appointing senior government officials. His elder brother, Davoud, was appointed chief inspector at the presidency in 2005 and was in office until 2008. His sister, Parvin, served at the presidential's women's center. His nephew,
Ali Akbar Mehrabian Ali Akbar Mehrabian ( fa, علی‌اكبر محرابيان, born 1969) is an Iranian politician who is the current Minister of Energy. He was the minister of industries and mines from 2 November 2007 to 15 May 2011. In 2011, it was announced ...
, served as the mining and industry minister in his cabinet. His daughter's father-in-law,
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei ( fa, اسفندیار رحیم‌مشایی; born 16 November 1960) is an Iranian conservative politician and former intelligence officer. As a senior Cabinet member in the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadineja ...
, served at several senior positions. His brother-in-law,
Masoud Zaribafan Masoud Zaribafan ( fa, مسعود زريبافان) is an Iranian conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The centra ...
, served as cabinet secretary.


Foreign relations

During Ahmadinejad's tenure as President of Iran the foreign policy of the country took a different approach from the previous administration. Relations with
developed countries A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...
generally soured while relations with less-developed countries, including those in Africa and Latin America, rose. In light of the calls for sanctions on Iran for its nuclear weapons programme, Ahmadinejad and his foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, traveled extensively throughout the two regions, as well as hosted other leaders. Relations with the
ALBA ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scottish people, Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed i ...
states, and
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
,
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, and
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
, in particular, were most strengthened. Relations with America during the Bush administration and Israel deteriorated further. Ahmadinejad is an outspoken critic of the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.
and is often criticized for his hostility towards the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and other Western nations.,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...


Israel

Ahmadinejad abides by Iran's long-standing policy of refusing to recognize
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
as a legitimate state, and wants the Jewish people who immigrated to Israel to return to their "fatherlands" (''translated''). In 2005, Ahmadinejad, in a speech praising the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, was translated by Iranian state-run media as saying that "Israel must be wiped off the map." A controversy erupted over the translation, with specialists such as
Juan Cole John Ricardo Irfan "Juan" Cole (born October 23, 1952) is an American academic and commentator on the modern Middle East and South Asia. Dead link; no archive located. He is Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University ...
of the University of Michigan and Arash Norouzi of the Mossadegh Project pointing out that the original statement in
Farsi Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken an ...
did not say that Israel should be wiped off the map, but instead that it would collapse. The words 'Israel', 'map', and 'to wipe off' are non-existent in the Iranian speech's original. According to another IRNA translation, on the occasion of a commemoration of the anniversary of Khomeini's death on 3 June 2008, Ahmadinejad stated that "The corrupt element will be wiped off the map." Contextually, Ahmadinejad was quoting Khomeini's words about the imminent disappearance of the Soviet Union and the Shah's regime, and tacked on his remarks concerning Israel. In Katajun Amirpur's analysis, there is no implication in the text that Iran intended destroying Israel or annihilating the Jewish people, any more than Khomeini was suggesting with his words that the Russians, or the Iranian people themselves under the Shah would be extinguished. Ahmadinejad is on the record as stating that Iran had no plans to attack Israel. The statement itself was in fact a citation, with a minute verbal variation, of a remark made by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, which had created no furor at the time, but did so when Ahmadinejad quoted them in 2005. Dan Meridor, Israel's minister of intelligence and atomic energy said during an
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
interview that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had repeatedly said "that Israel is an unnatural creature, it will not survive. They didn't say, 'We'll wipe it out,' you're right, but, 'It will not survive.'" adding "If Iran says this, and continues to pile up uranium that they enrich, and build missiles in big numbers, and have a nuclear military plan—if you put all this together, you can't say, they don't really mean it." ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''s fact-checker editor Glenn Kessler says the interpretation gets murkier when Ahmadinejad's quote is set against other Iranian propaganda. Karim Sadjadpour, an Iranian specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, cites proof that the Iranian government releases propaganda that clearly says Israel should be "wiped off." Joshua Teitelbaum of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs discovered pictures of Iranian propaganda banners that clearly say in English: "Israel should be wiped out of the face of the world." In March 2016, Iran tested a ballistic missile painted with the phrase "Israel should be wiped off the Earth" in Hebrew. The missile is reported to be capable of reaching Israel. The Official Web site of the
President of Iran The president of Iran ( fa, رئیس‌جمهور ایران, Rayis Jomhur-e Irān) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The president is the second highest-ranking official of Iran after the Supreme Leader. The president ...
quoted Ahmadinejad as saying on 15 May 2011 "The reason for our insistence that the Zionist regime should be wiped out and vanished is that the Zionist regime is the main base for imposing oppression and harbors the main terrorists of the world."


Holocaust denial controversy

He was strongly criticized after claiming that the Jews invented the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

"Holocaust comments spark outrage"
BBC News, Retrieved 14 December 2005.
"Iran leader's comments attacked"
BBC News, Retrieved 27 January 2008. * Esfandiari, Golnaz

Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 28 January 2008. *

.
National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the Un ...
. Retrieved 16 December 2007. * Slackman, Michael
"In Tehran, a riposte to the Danish cartoons"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved 24 September 2007.
"Germans Protest Against Ahmadinejad, Racism As Cup Opens"
'' Deutsche Welle'', Retrieved 11 June 2006.
"Annan: 'Dismay' over Iranian comments on Israel"
CNN. Retrieved 27 September 2007. * Fathi, Nazila

''The New York Times''. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
"Iran vote seen as referendum on Ahmadinejad"
''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
''. Retrieved 27 December 2006. *
"Ahmadinejad misunderstood, says Iran"
. ''The Daily Times of Pakistan''. Retrieved 22 February 2006.
and making other statements influenced by "classic anti-Semitic ideas," which has led to accusations of
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
.* *
"Iran's Rhetoric on Holocaust Anger German Muslims"
'' Deutsche Welle''. Retrieved 18 February 2007. * Smith-Spark, Laura
"Racism fears dog World Cup build-up"
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
. Retrieved 26 May 2006.
"Annan condemns Holocaust denial"
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
. Retrieved 27 January 2006. * *
"NCC Condemns Ahmadinejad's Holocaust Statement"
, National Council of Churches. Retrieved 16 December 2005.
Ahmadinejad denied that he was an antisemite, saying that he "respects Jews very much" and that he was not "passing judgment" on the Holocaust. Later, Ahmadinejad claimed that promoting Holocaust denial was a major achievement of his presidency; he stated that "put
ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...
it forward at the global level ... broke the spine of the Western capitalist regime". The comments appeared on the Arabic but not on the English version of Fars News Agency's website.
Gregory Stanton Gregory H. Stanton is the former Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention at the George Mason University in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. He is best known for his work in the area of genocide studies. He is the founder a ...
, the founder of
Genocide Watch Gregory H. Stanton is the former Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention at the George Mason University in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. He is best known for his work in the area of genocide studies. He is the founder a ...
, has labelled Ahmadinejad's remarks on Israel to be
Incitement to Genocide Incitement to genocide is a crime under international law which prohibits inciting (encouraging) the commission of genocide. An extreme form of hate speech, incitement to genocide is considered an inchoate offense and is theoretically subject t ...
, comparing Iran's Regime to
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Stanton added that he believes Iran is undergoing the Seventh Stage (Preparation) of the
Ten stages of genocide The ten stages of genocide is an academic tool and a policy model which was created by Gregory Stanton, the founding president of Genocide Watch, in order to explain how genocides occur. The stages of genocide are not linear, and as a result, seve ...
.


Palestine

Ahmadinejad advocates "free elections" for the region, and believes
Palestinians Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
need a stronger voice in the region's future. On
Quds Day Quds Day (), officially known as International Quds Day ( fa, روز جهانی قدس, Ruz Jahâni Quds), is an annual pro-Palestinian event held on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to express support for Palestinians a ...
in September 2010 he criticized the Palestinian Authority over its president's decision to renew direct peace talks with Israel saying the talks are "stillborn" and "doomed to fail", urging the Palestinians to continue armed resistance to Israel. He said that Mahmoud Abbas had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, fired back, saying, Ahmadinejad "does not represent the Iranian people, ..., is not entitled to talk about Palestine, or the President of Palestine"


United States

In September 2010, Ahmadinejad made a contentious assertion at the 65th session of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...
by claiming that most people believe the United States government was behind the
9/11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...
and later called for an inquiry, stating: "The fact-finding mission can shed light on who the perpetrators were, who is al-Qaeda ... where does it exist? Who was it backed by and supported? All these should come to light." The speech triggered many countries'
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
representatives to walk out, and US President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
described the claims as "inexcusable," "offensive" and "hateful." In 2010, Ahmadinejad reiterated the 9/11 conspiracy, and wrote: He made similar comments at the 66th session in September 2011.


Venezuela

Ahmadinejad is said to have "forged a close public friendship" with Venezuelan president
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
. On Chavez's death in March 2013, Ahmadinejad posted a condolence message on his website stating, "I have no doubt that he havezwill
return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...
alongside
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
and
Mahdi The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...
to establish peace and justice in the world".


After presidency

Ahmadinejad left his office at Pasteur st. on 3 August 2013 and returned to his private house in
Narmak Narmak ( fa, نارمک) is a neighbourhood in north-east Tehran, the capital of Iran. Located in the 4th and 8th regions, it has 100 little squares named by numbers like "Meidan 68" (68th Square) which some of them are big squares like Haft Ho ...
. In an interview with
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, Ahmadinejad said that, after the end of his presidency, he would return to the university and retire from politics; however, Ahmadinejad announced from Russia on the sidelines of an OPEC summit on 2 July 2013 that he might stay involved with politics by creating a new party or non-governmental organization. In late July, ''Mehr news agency'' reported that Ahmadinejad obtained permission from the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council to launch a university for post-graduate studies in Tehran. On 5 August 2013, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued a decree appointing Ahmadinejad as a member of the Expediency Council. On 15 June 2015, a number of Ahmadinejad's cabinet ministers established a new political party, called YEKTA Front. The party published list for 2016 Iranian legislative election, 2016 legislative election and some of Ahmadinejad's cabinet members (like Hamid-Reza Haji Babaee, Sadeq Khalilian, Mohammad Abbasi and Mahmoud Bahmani) registered for the election, but Ahmadinejad did not support any list in the election.


2017 presidential election

It was rumored that Ahmadinejad would run for presidency again in 2017 Iranian presidential election, 2017 after he did not deny plans when questioned by the media in 2015. Ahmadinejad remained mostly out of the public eye since leaving office, but his Anti-Western sentiment, anti-Western rhetoric and combative style remained popular among many Iranian Principlists, and he was widely viewed as among the most formidable political figures capable of unseating Hassan Rouhani. In December 2015, it was reported that he had begun his presidential campaign by appointing his campaign's chiefs. He also began provincial travels in April 2016 by traveling to Amol. Travels were continued until September 2016, when he traveled to Gorgan. Ahmadinejad's advisors said his travels were not electoral and he only delivered speeches due to public demand. In September 2016, it was rumored that Ahmadinejad had asked Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, for permission to run for the office and was rejected by Khamenei, who said that it was not in the best interests of Iran. On 26 September 2016, Ayatollah Khamenei confirmed the news, stated that it was only advice, not an order. It was the first time since Khamenei's election as Supreme Leader in 1989 that he advised a person to not run for election. Formerly, some candidates had asked him for advice (former president
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...
for his campaign in 2005 Iranian presidential election, 2005 and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani presidential campaign, 2013, 2013), but Khamenei chose to not give his opinion on those occasions. The following day, Ahmadinejad officially announced he will not run in the upcoming 2017 presidential election. He later supported Hamid Baghaei's candidacy. However, Ahmadinejad registered as presidential candidate on 12 April 2017. He was disqualified by the Guardian Council on 20 April 2017, making him the second person after
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...
to be barred from running the office for a third term.


2017–18 Iranian protests

During the 2017–18 Iranian protests Ahmadinejad criticized the current government of Iran and later supreme leader Ali Khamenei.


2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 2 March 2022, Ahmadinejad expressed his support for Ukraine and the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Twitter, he stated that Iran stands with Ukraine and expressed his admiration of the Ukrainian resistance, while claiming that "the resistance uncovered the Satanic plots of enemies of mankind." He also warned the President of Russia Vladimir Putin that if he fails to stop the invasion, he would have "no achievement" to show for it, only remorse. Ahmadinejad's views on the Russian invasion are in stark contrast to the official pro-Russian stance of the Government of Iran, which blamed NATO and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
for instigating the war.


Party affiliation

Ahmadinejad has been an active and prominent member of the right-wing Islamic Society of Engineers since its establishment until 2005. As of 2014, he is still a member of the party but is not active since 2005. He was also a founding member of the Society of Devotees of the Islamic Revolution, but left in 2011. Since 2005, Ahmadinejad has introduced himself as non-partisan, even anti-party and did not try to gain support of political parties despite being supported by the Iranian Principlists, conservative camp. A National Democratic Institute report published in 2009 states that Ahmadinejad is self-described "Iranian Principlists, Principlist".


Public image

Ahmadinejad is known for his vulgarism, undiplomatic language and usage of slang terms. He is active on Twitter, where he engages his followers primarily in English and tweets about sports, the United States, and current events. According to a poll conducted by Information and Public Opinion Solutions LLC (iPOS) in March 2016, Ahmadinejad was the least popular political figure in Iran. He had 57% approval and 39% disapproval ratings, thus a +18% net popularity. Polls conducted by University of Maryland School of Public Policy, Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and IranPoll with ±3.2% margin of error shows his approval rating as follows:


Electoral history


Personal life

Ahmadinejad is married, and has one daughter and two sons. His elder son married a daughter of
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei ( fa, اسفندیار رحیم‌مشایی; born 16 November 1960) is an Iranian conservative politician and former intelligence officer. As a senior Cabinet member in the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadineja ...
in 2008.Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei: Iran's Next President?
Kourosh Rahimkhani PBS 31 March 2011
Supporters of Ahmadinejad consider him a simple man who leads a modest life. As president, he wanted to continue living in the same house in Tehran his family had been living in until his security advisers insisted that he should move. Ahmadinejad had the antique Persian carpets in the Presidential palace sent to a carpet museum, and opted instead to use inexpensive carpets. He is said to have refused the VIP seat on the Presidential plane, and that he eventually replaced it with a cargo plane instead. Upon gaining Iran's presidency, Ahmadinejad held his first cabinet meeting in the Imam Reza shrine at Mashhad, an act perceived as "pious". He also used to lay an extra place for the 12th Imam at his weekly cabinet briefings.


See also

* 2006 Iranian sumptuary law controversy * Advisors to the president: Hamid Mowlana, Mohammad-Ali Ramin, Ali Akbar Javanfekr * Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi * Politics of Iran * Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel * Electoral history of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad * Foreign policy of the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad administration


References


Notes


Further reading

* ''Encyclopedia of World Biography: Supplement #27'' (Thomson-Gale, 2007) pp 7–9 *
"Referral of Iranian President Ahmadinejad on the Charge of Incitement to Commit Genocide"
by Justus Reid Weiner, Esq., with Amb. Meir Rosenne, Prof. Elie Wiesel, Amb. Dore Gold, Irit Kohn, Adv., Amb. Eytan Bentsur, and MK Dan Naveh * Ali Rahnema
''Superstition as Ideology in Iranian Politics: From Majlesi to Ahmadinejad''
Cambridge University Press, 2011 (Reviewed i
The Montréal Review


External links


Blog of Former President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Biography
at CIDOB Foundation
Video Archive of Ahmadinejad during his presidency
at ''Irannegah.com'' * *
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Telegram

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Instagram
* * * * * *

''Time (magazine), Time'', 16 December 2006
The Results As They Came In
Andrew Sullivan, ''The Atlantic'', 13 June 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 1956 births Living people 9/11 conspiracy theorists Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran politicians Anti-Americanism Antisemitism in Iran Anti-Zionism Governors of Ardabil Province Iran University of Science and Technology alumni Iran University of Science and Technology faculty Iranian campaign managers Iranian civil engineers Iranian Holocaust deniers Iranian Islamists Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel of the Iran–Iraq War Islamic Society of Engineers politicians Mayors of Tehran Members of the Expediency Discernment Council Office for Strengthening Unity members People from Semnan Province Populism in Iran Presidents of Iran Secretaries-General of the Non-Aligned Movement Society of Devotees of the Islamic Revolution politicians Transport engineers