DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In a speech to officially begin his second term, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave what amounted to the regime’s official world view: Iran deserves respect as a globe-shaping power and can withstand any pressures the West can apply.
But what he left out last week were any hints of how Iran’s global strategies will cope with the backwash from the internal political tempests — which has left Ahmadinejad hobbled, the ruling theocracy feeling uncomfortably challenged and opposition groups digging in for a long battle.
