Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to George W. Bush
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On May 8, 2006,
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 ...
ian
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
sent a
missive A letter is a written message conveyed from one person (or group of people) to another through a medium. Something epistolary means that it is a form of letter writing. The term usually excludes written material intended to be read in its origina ...
directly to then United States President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
that proposed "new ways" to end the dispute over the
Islamic Republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a theoretical form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been u ...
's development of nuclear power.


2006 missive

U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...
and
National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...
Stephen Hadley Stephen John Hadley (born February 13, 1947) is an American attorney and senior government official who served as the 20th United States National Security Advisor from 2005 to 2009. He served under President George W. Bush during the second term ...
both reviewed the letter and considered it to be a broad, historic look at the U.S.-Iranian relationship. It was the first direct contact between the American and Iranian heads of state since April 9, 1980. During his joint press conference with then- United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair at the White House in May 2006, Bush said, "Well, I read the letter of the President and I thought it was interesting. It was, like, 16 or 17 single-spaced typed pages of -- but he didn't address the issue of whether or not they're going to continue to press for a nuclear weapon. That's the issue at hand." The letter achieved more positive
press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a famil ...
coverage, particularly in non-Iranian media, than President Ahmadinejad had received before. With Western powers unable to reach agreement about a United Nations Security Council resolution on Iran's nuclear program, '' The Washington Post'' said Ahmadinejad's 18-page letter (originally in Persian) promoted the idea that Iran was open to compromise at a time when the rest of the world was divided. The letter, the first written communication between the leaders of the two countries in 27 years, criticized Bush for the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, detainee abuse in U.S.-run facilities at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
detention center A detention center, or detention centre, is any location used for detention. Specifically, it can mean: * A jail or prison, a facility in which inmates are forcibly confined and denied a variety of freedoms under the authority of the state as a ...
and Iraq's
Abu Ghraib prison Abu Ghraib prison ( ar, سجن أبو غريب, ''Sijn Abū Ghurayb'') was a prison complex in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, located west of Baghdad. Abu Ghraib prison was opened in the 1950s and served as a maximum-security prison with torture, weekly exe ...
, and his support of Israel. In his letter, Ahmadinejad repeatedly praised Jesus, as well as other figures considered by Muslims to be prophets. He also referred respectfully twice to
Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
. He stated his belief that one who claims to follow the teachings of Jesus should not be waging war. Ahmedinejad also questioned whether Bush could claim to follow Jesus and at the same time invade and occupy countries, kill people, and destroy their homes in the name of democracy. At one point Ahmadinejad rhetorically asks whether there was infiltration of security services in the
terrorist attacks The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people. Definitions of terrori ...
of September 11, 2001, and why aspects have been kept secret (paragraph 28). The letter received various reactions. "Regardless of the content of Ahmadinejad's letter ... such a communication could lead the two sides to direct talks," the centrist ''
Shargh ''Shargh'' ( fa, شرق, lit=East) is one of the most popular Reformist newspapers in Iran. History and profile ''Shargh'' was founded in 2003. The daily is managed by Mehdi Rahmanian. Its chief editor was Mohammad Ghouchani in its first period ...
'' newspaper said somewhat optimistically. "Whatever its content, the letter crosses the red line of non-negotiation. If Ahmadinejad's letter gets a positive response, a new chapter could open and then we could say it is possible to talk and get results in the shadow of war," it said. The Iranian newspaper ''Siasat-e Rooz'' compared the letter with the historical letter by
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
to
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
in which he suggested conversion to
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. '' The New York Sun'', in thei
May 11, 2006 editorial
pointed out that the letter followed the format of an Islamic missionary (''
Da'wa Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات). Etymology The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...
'') message, including the traditional ending used by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in his Da'wa messages to the Byzantine Empire's leaders and the nomadic polytheist Arab tribes. The newspaper translated this phrase ("''Wasalam Ala Man Ataba'al hoda''") as "peace only unto those who follow the true path", and interpreted it as a threat of violence. The phrase is more directly translated as "and peace to whoever follows the path" and is traditional with any Da'wa. The letter also included many references to Jesus as a Muslim prophet, a common signature of Da'wa letters directed towards Christians. The Islamic Republic News Agency says President Ahmadinejad confirmed that the letter was intended as a Da'wa invitation in a press conference.


2003 missive

According to
Mohammad Khatami Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to ...
, in his interview with BBC News, the Iranian government sent a letter to the
U.S. government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
after the fall of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but it was ignored. This may have been a retaliation to President Bill Clinton's missive on October 20, 2000, that was ignored. In fact, this was Clinton's second letter to Khatami. The letter from Iranian authorities in 2003 was confirmed by Lawrence Wilkerson, the chief of staff of Secretary of State
Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...
.BBC NEWS , Middle East , Washington 'snubbed Iran offer'
/ref>


See also

*
Correspondence between Barack Obama and Ali Khamenei Correspondence between Barack Obama and Ali Khamenei started with direct and confidential letters sent by US President Barack Obama to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei aimed at persuading him to negotiate. Ali Shamkhani, Representative of the Supr ...
*
Deportation of the Iranian students at US airports Deportations of Iranian students at US airports were a series of events that began in 2019 and continued until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began. In this series of events, Iranian students, despite having a valid student visa, were detained ...
*
Academic relations between Iran and the United States Academic relations between Iran and the United States are a branch of cultural relations between the two countries that became widespread, especially during the Pahlavi dynasty era. Higher education in Iran in the modern era generally begins w ...
*
Phone conversation between Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani The telephone call between Hassan Rouhani and Barack Obama took place on September 27, 2013 during Hassan Rouhani's first visit to New York, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. This historic 15-minute telephone conversatio ...
* United States Cultural Diplomacy in Iran *
Hybrid warfare against Iran Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two di ...
*
Iran Mission Center The establishment of the Iran Mission Center was proposed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in June 2017. This new center was established with the mission of collecting and analyzing information related to the country of Iran. The center ...


References and notes


External links


English translation by Le Monde
* Mohammad Ganjidoost:
A Soft Power, Noopolitik Approach: President Ahmadinejad's Letter to President Bush
" USC Center on Public Diplomacy, July 24, 2006. {{Iran–United States relations Letters (message) 2006 documents 2006 in Iran History of the Islamic Republic of Iran Iran–United States relations Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Presidency of George W. Bush Nuclear energy in Iran Nuclear program of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's foreign policy Presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad