Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke with SPIEGEL about what he expects from US President Barack Obama, why America's new Afghanistan strategy is wrong and why Iran should have a spot on the UN Security Council.
SPIEGEL: Mr. President, so far you have traveled to the United States four times to attend the General Assembly of the United Nations. What is your impression of America and the Americans?
Ahmadinejad: In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, I am pleased to be able to welcome you to Tehran once again, after our extensive conversation almost three years ago
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Very German and Zionist sympathiser?????
by anonymous fish on Tue Apr 14, 2009 04:45 PM PDTare you insane? do you spout this crap just because it makes you feel better? do you realize how unlikely that could be or are you just stupid?
correct me if i'm wrong...
by anonymous fish on Tue Apr 14, 2009 04:39 PM PDTwere the hostages taken before or after the iran-iraq war from September 1980 to August 1988?
Ahmadinejad: We have been under pressure for the past 30 years, unfairly and without fault on our part. We have done nothing…
SPIEGEL: …according to you. The Americans see things quite a bit differently. The 444-day hostage crisis during which 50 US citizens were held from late 1979 until early 1981 in the US Embassy in Tehran is still a collective American trauma today.
Ahmadinejad: But think of the things that were done to Iranians! We were attacked by Iraq. Eight years of war. America and some European countries supported this aggression. We were even attacked with chemical weapons and your country, among others, aided and abetted those attacks. We did not inflict an injustice on anyone. We did not attack anyone, nor did we occupy other countries. We have no military presence in Europe and America. But troops from Europe and America are stationed along our borders.
Mahmood is by far the most honest in spite of being an idiot
by Reality sucks (not verified) on Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:37 AM PDTAhmadinejad is BY FAR the most honest when you look at Khatami, Moussavi, Karrubi, and all the other mullahtariat's thugs running the country.
He showed the world the true face of the Islamic Republic.
Mir Hossein Moussavi got Khamenei's endorsement already
by Perpetuating misery (not verified) on Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:32 AM PDTI believe he will be "s"elected to replace Ahmadi in order to prolong the misery of Iran and Iranians.
The only thing that remains to be done is for the gullible people to show up en masse like the movie extras in front of foreign journalists' cameras.
What a disgusting charlatan!
by shameoniriapologists (not verified) on Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:31 AM PDTNext time the interviewer should be tougher and expose the sob's lies and half-truths. His gov't is more brutal and inhumane than the Bush ever was. I don't understand why journalists treat thim with kid gloves...
My Only Wish
by Kaveh Nouraee on Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:02 AM PDTis that this interview were longer.
But of course, that won't happen, as this monkey's handlers know that the longer he is out on that proverbial limb, the more likely he will fall.
But this particlular interview probably has been the most effective that I have read, that demonstrates this degenerate SOB's arrogance, ignorance and sense of entitlement.
The obstinance he denies having consumes Iran. And he is indeed gullible if he thinks for even a moment that people cannot see him for the filthy little charletan he is.
That is how an interviewer should be
by David ET on Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:02 PM PDTTough, right to the point and demanding direct answers instead of just playing along with the subject. That was how Oriana Fallaci was, That is what true journalism is.
Ahmadinejad is lucky that interviewer did not question Iran's internal affairs with data to back it up in areas such as human rights violations, economic failures of Ahmadinejad etc etc. Historically he has always given dumbest nonesense answers and totallt denied facts , so whats the point of asking someone who answers " we have no gays in Iran" just as in this interview he totally denied any role of Islamic Regime in hostilities with others and Iran's isolation for years. He is the leader that noone wanted to stand next to in the UN photo !
"der Spiegel always has been critical of those momentarily in power - be it the right or of the left. In fact, politicians of all stripes who had to deal with the magazine's attention often voiced their disaffection for it."
The last three sentences summarized the interview and Ahmadinejad very well: He hears and says what he wants and totally ignoring the rest.
Great eding :
SPIEGEL: If you are reelected, will you be the first president of the Islamic Republic of Iran to shake the hand of an American president?
Ahmadinejad: What do you mean?
SPIEGEL: Mr. President, thank you for the interview.
Tough, arrogant, rude, anti-Iranian racist& angry interviewer!
by gol-dust on Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:00 PM PDTVery German and Zionist sympathiser! He must have been working on behalf of sombody. I don't care for ahmaghi-nejad, but he ansewered him much smarter than the interviewer who sounded as he had his own agenda! Well, president too! But, interviewers are supposed to not have one, but they do!
I am not a fan of Ahmadinejad but...
by Bavafa on Mon Apr 13, 2009 09:49 PM PDThis interviews are always interesting to watch, rather smart or smarter then the mass media lead us to believe and very logical. Of course if you think America and/or Europe is the world and our masters, then naturally you will disagree, but if you believe in just and fairness, he is right on the money.
Mehrdad
A required reading for anybody who thinks AhmadiNejad is stupid
by Evening Jack (not verified) on Mon Apr 13, 2009 08:39 PM PDTThis is an excellent interview by a journalist who knows how to push his points to eek out an answer from Iran's president. I just quote a few of his answers to Spiegal:
1. "Ahmadinejad: But think of the things that were done to Iranians! We were attacked by Iraq. Eight years of war. America and some European countries supported this aggression. We were even attacked with chemical weapons and your country, among others, aided and abetted those attacks. We did not inflict an injustice on anyone. We did not attack anyone, nor did we occupy other countries. We have no military presence in Europe and America. But troops from Europe and America are stationed along our borders."
2. "Ahmadinejad: Look, more than $250 billion (€190 billion) has been spent on the military campaign in Afghanistan to date. With a population of 30 million, that comes to more than $8,000 a person, or close to $42,000 for an average family of five. Factories and roads could have been built, universities established and fields cultivated for the Afghan people. If that had happened, would there have been any room left for terrorists? One has to address the root of the problem, not proceed against its branches. The solution for Afghanistan is not military, but humanitarian."
3. "Ahmadinejad: I am telling you now that Obama's new policy is wrong. The Americans are not familiar with the region, and the perceptions of the NATO commanders are mistaken. I am telling you this as a trained teacher: This is wrong. As far as the $250 billion is concerned: If the money had been spent in America, perhaps it would have solved the problem of unemployment, at least in part. And perhaps there would be no economic crisis today."
4. "Ahmadinejad: Allow me to make two final observations regarding the nuclear dispute. First, as long as there is no justice, there can be no solution. One cannot measure the world with a double standard -- that was Mr. Bush's big mistake. The Americans should not make the same mistake again. We say: We are willing to cooperate under fair conditions. The same conditions, and on a level playing field. The second observation concerns the warmongers and Zionists …whose existence thrives on tension and who have become rich through war. And then there is a third group, the intolerant, those who are only interested in power. Mr. Obama's biggest problem has to do with domestic policy. On the one hand, America needs Iran and must newly realign itself. On the other hand, the new US president is under pressure from these groups. Courageous decisions are needed, and the ball is in Obama's court."
Does anybody disagree with these position?
Thanks for posting this interview.
Great questions
by David ET on Mon Apr 13, 2009 08:34 PM PDTSpiegel has always been a master in interviews. American Media should learn from them.
US interviewers usually do not show deep knowledge. Their previous interviews of Ahmadinejad were so weak