[size=18]Ahmadinejad elected president of Iran[/size]Iran's interior minister has declared Mahmood Ahmadinejad winner of Friday's presidential runoff election.
The ultra-conservative Tehran mayor was earlier reported by officials to be sweeping towards a stunning presidential election victory over veteran cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani with the backing of Iran's religious poor.
Political analysts say Ahmadinejad's win can spell an end to the fragile social reforms made under outgoing President Mohammad Khatami and harden Iran's foreign policy towards the West, particularly over its nuclear programme.
[url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/612E09C6-EAAD-4C82-B55F-A4995728A...
I smell something fishy.
Now the US has more of a reason to invade.
Something fishy? He won by a large margin, so it was not rigged.
Or do you mean that stench of hypocrisy floating in from washington?
I admire the conviction of the Iranian people. Lets hope for their sake Dubya has sufficient doubts to not invade.
IMO USA will not attack a country once it is percieved strong enough to defend itself, so Iran better have a strong defensive arsenal.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
Something went very wrong somewhere along the line.
This guy came from almost nowhere to win handsomely (no pun intended).
Rafsanjani should have won. He was the best candidate for Iran. With him as president they would have avoided a war with the US, or at least would have coped better in the face of an attack.
Half the Iranian population is under 25. The youth are a massive constituency. This Ahmadinejad dude represents the dilapedated old guard. There is no way he could have got the youth vote.
Either the US engineered a win for Ahmadinejad so that they could then attack Iran claiming that it was run as a totalitarian state or the hardliners engineered a win for him so that they could hang on to power for as long as possible in the face of a rebellious ballooning demographic.
Nah the US only 'fixed' it by ridiculing the whole process and trying to meddle to aid some of the 'reformists'.
Under 25's are not stupid. They are volatile though. It was probably a backlash due to US attempts to meddle.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
oh CUM ON irfan!! since wen did u start spinning conspiracy theories... honestly. :roll: (sorry if that sounds harsh but ur post was bordering on the ridiculous, and thats quite unusual for u). i think its important to remember our opinions are based solely on the news coverage we recieve here, which i feel is very biased when it comes to Iran.
apparently Ahmadinejad won the votes of the poor... btw he doesnt look like much of an 'ultra-conservative' as everyone here is describing him - he isn't even a cleric (for a change)!
[size=9]I NEVER WORE IT BECAUSE OF THE TALIBAN, MOTHER. I LIKE THE [b]MODESTY[/b] AND [b]PROTECTION[/b] IT AFFORDS ME FROM THE EYES OF MEN.[/size] [url=http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Dust.html]Dust, X-Men[/url]
[url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6830DE01-529E-4C89-A987-9889868B4...
Now, Rafsanjani is not one for conspiracy theories. He is a well respected international statesman. Furthermore, he's been president before, so he knows how the system works.
Ahmedinejad may not be a cleric, but it was clerics who financed his campaign. This makes him a puppet of the clerics. Also, he was so out of step with the previous president that he was banned from sitting in cabinet even though it was his right as mayor of Tehran.
He just seems like a sore loser to me.
After all did he not say he would only stand in the elections if he had the support of the Ayatollahs? Now he is saying these same ayatollahs who supported him fought a schizophrenic election where they undermined him?
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
Maybe the ayatollahs realised that he wasn't going to be their lackey and that he might be the guy who could succeed where Khatami had failed.
Nah I doubt that.
From what I have reda elsewhere, the new guy fought his campaign based on eliminating poverty. Rafsanjani was seen as a rich (and corrupt, and a proven liar... but that is a different point) person, and thus not able to fight poverty as well.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
Iran's new President says he will not shake hands with United States.
Tough guy !!
The Independent - Monday 27 June 2005
No need for ties with Washington, says Iran's hardline new President
By Angus McDowall in Tehran
In his first statements since a landslide election victory on Friday, Iran's new hardline President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, defended his government's right to a nuclear programme and said that the country had "no significant need" for ties with the United States.
The former mayor of Tehran also sought to assuage domestic fears that he would crack down on social and political freedoms, saying in a press conference that "no extremism will be acceptable in popular government".
Mr Ahmadinejad's triumph has been greeted with dismay in Western capitals, which fear a newly confrontational approach from Tehran after months of tortuous negotiations over Iran's uranium-enrichment programme, which it claims is only intended to satisfy domestic energy needs. But although he was dismissive of American claims that the election was flawed and illegitimate, Mr Ahmadinejad was more conciliatory towards Europe, which has led the nuclear negotiations.
"Preserving national interests and emphasising the right of the Iranian nation for using peaceful nuclear technology," said the new President, "we will continue the talks," adding that they should be concluded "quickly". With America however, it appears that Mr Ahmadinejad is prepared to let relations go into a deep freeze. His defeated opponent, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, made improved dialogue with the US a pillar of his election campaign. But, asked yesterday about Washington's persistent criticism of poll arrangements, the president-elect angrily replied: "In the democratic elections in our country, the people have chosen their president. Those who defend dictatorships cannot pass judgement on us."
Sitting behind a large bank of microphones and surrounded by bunches of flowers, the already slight new leader looked smaller still. A modest suit reflected his preferred image as a common man and he wore no tie, seen in post-revolutionary Iran as a symbol of capitalist oppression.
Mr Ahmadinejad was relaxed, responding to hecklers with humour. "I'd like to welcome criticism, even when it comes in the form of shouting," he said, when an angry journalist loudly protested against his answer to a question about freedom of speech.
The former mayor, who came to power promising more social justice and a fairer distribution of Iran's huge oil earnings, insisted he would promote foreign investment and support Iran's burgeoning stock exchange, but was vague about specific policies. However, he reiterated a pledge to tackle oil-sector corruption. "Fighting bureaucratic corruption in all sectors, including oil, is part of a definite policy for our government," he said.
Street reaction to the election results was mixed, with even many of his voters declaring themselves sceptical that the new President would deliver. "I voted for the first time after 26 years," said Ali Reza, a taxi driver at a main transport hub in central Tehran. "But we still don't know much about this man. This is their last chance and we want to see what they do."
The conservative press hailed Mr Ahmadinejad's victory, attributing it to his modest campaign. "He sent a message to the poor and oppressed that I am one of you and know you well," said the daily Resalat. Kayhan, which has close ties to the office of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said his election would seriously challenge US policy in the Middle East.
Mr Rafsanjani angrily questioned the legitimacy of Mr Ahmadinejad's victory, accusing his supporters of using dirty tricks including a smear campaign that painted him as corrupt. He said state bodies had taken part unfairly in the election, and thereby "weakened the revolution".
"All the means of the regime were used in an organised and illegal way to intervene in the election," he said in a statement to the state broadcaster.
But Mr Rafsanjani will not appeal against the result. He said the country's judiciary, widely seen as allied to hardline conservatives, was either unwilling or unable to address his claims. Given that eight million votes separated him from his successful rival, there was in any case no suggestion that he might otherwise have won the poll.