Controversies of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

On June 29, 2005, shortly after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the Iranian presidential election, several major western news outlets publicized various allegations against him. These include charges that he participated heavily in the 1979-1981 Iran Hostage Crisis, assassinations of Kurdish politicians in Austria, support of or involvement in terrorist activities, torture, interrogation and executions of political prisoners in the Evin prison in Tehran.

Ahmadinejad and his political supporters have denied these allegations. Additionally, a number of Ahmadinejad's political opponents in Iran have specifically denied allegations of his participation in the Iran Hostage Crisis. The Iranian government stated that the allegations circulating against Ahmadinejad in the Western media are merely part of a smear campaign orchestrated by the United States and what Iranian officials have referred to as "Zionist media," directed against Ahmadinejad in specific and Iran in general.

In July of 2005, US President George W. Bush declared that these charges were serious and must be investigated; as of the end of November 2005, the US government claims that it continues investigating the charges. As of July of 2005, no independent commission has surfaced to investigate these charges and pronounce its findings.

From before the second round of the election, in late July 2005, there have also been allegations of political corruption from Ahmadinejad's political opponents inside Iran, especially his opponents in the reformist party.

Early student activism

According to Iran Focus, soon after attending Elm-o Sanaat University in 1975 to study engineering, Ahmadinejad was caught up in the Islamic revolution of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Ahmadinejad founded the Islamic Student Association at his university. By 1979, he became a representative of Office for Strengthening of Unity Between Universities and Theological Seminaries, later known as OSU. The OSU was organized by Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, one of Khomeini's top advisors. Members of the OSU central council, including Ahmadinejad, Ibrahim Asgharzadeh, Mohsen (Mahmoud) Mirdamadi, Mohsen Kadivar, Mohsen Aghajari, and Abbas Abdi, were regularly received by Khomeini himself. The OSU leadership played a key role in the crackdown on dissident university professors and students during the Islamic Cultural Revolution of 1980. Many professors and students who did not support Khomeini were arrested and executed. [1]

In voting for storming the US embassy, Ahmadinejad objected, arguing that the protest ought to be directed at the Soviet embassy, but they were outvoted. Ahmadinejad has said that he did not support the embassy takeover until Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini endorsed it. The endorsement came late on November 4, 1979, the day the embassy was seized.[2]

According to al-Jazeera, when OSU leaders proposed taking over the US embassy in 1979, Ahmadinejad proposed taking over the Soviet embassy at the same time. [3]

Alleged involvement in the 1979 Hostage Crisis

Some have identified Ahmadinejad as the man in the military jacket on the hostage's left side. Others have identified Ahmadinejad as the man to his left in the jacket and turtleneck.

With Ahmadinejad's recent publicity, five former U.S. hostages Dr. William Daugherty (who worked for the CIA in Iran), Kevin Hermening, David Roeder, US Army Col. Charles Scott (Ret.), and US Navy Capt. Donald Sharer (Ret.) have alleged that Ahmadinejad was one of the leaders of the Iran Hostage Crisis at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, during their 444-day captivity starting on November 4 1979. All of the above-mentioned hostages have claimed that Ahmadinejad is the man whom they remember from their captivity. Other hostages, the CIA, and Ahmadinejad himself deny his involvement in the hostage crisis.

Col. Charles Scott, now seventy-three, recently told the Washington Times that "He was one of the top two or three leaders; the new president of Iran is a terrorist." Col. Scott claimed to recall an incident when Ahmadinejad berated a friendly Iranian guard who had allowed the two Americans to visit another U.S. hostage in a neighboring cell. Col. Scott, who understands Persian, said Ahmadinejad told the guard: "You shouldn't let these pigs out of their cells". Donald Sharer, a retired Navy captain who was for a time a cellmate of Col. Scott at the Evin prison in northern Tehran, remembered Ahmadinejad as "a hard-liner, a cruel individual". "I know he was an interrogator", said Capt. Sharer, now 64. Former hostages William Daugherty and Kevin Hermening also claim he was involved.

Scott and Roeder have also expressed certainty that Ahmadinejad was present at their interrogations. Scott asserted his certainty forcefully, stating: "This is the guy. There's no question about it. You could make him a blond and shave his whiskers, put him in a zoot suit and I'd still spot him." Both men, along with Sharer and Hermening, have stated their recollections of Ahmadinejad as an "extremely cruel" ringleader. Of the above men, only Hermening has expressed that he was not immediately sure that Ahmadinejad was involved in the Hostage Crisis.

However, former hostages USAF Col. Thomas E. Schaefer (Ret.), Paul Lewis (a former Marine embassy guard), and Barry Rosen (former embassy press attache) have expressed uncertainty regarding whether Ahmadinejad was actually involved. Schaefer stated that he does not recall Ahmadinejad by face or name, and Lewis expressed noticing a vague familiarity upon seeing Ahmadinejad's picture, but said that he could not be sure if Ahmadinejad was actually the same person as his captor. "My memories were more of the gun barrel, not the people behind it," stated Lewis. Rosen, while not claiming to personally recognize Ahmadinejad, professes to believe those who do claim to recognize the new Iranian President-elect. "When you're in a situation like that… it doesn't go away" Rosen stated.

In a September, 2005 interview of Ray Takeyh, a senior fellow on the Washington based Council on Foreign Relations, discussed his opinions on the above allegations, stating:

There is no evidence to suggest that Ahmadinejad was one of the captors during the 1979 hostage-taking at the U.S. embassy in Tehran; the CIA itself has suggested he was not part of it. But here you get into a tricky position because the Bush administration is unwilling to contradict the American hostages. Five of the hostages have claimed that Ahmadinejad was one of their captors. The CIA, after a laborious investigation, has not accepted that claim. But politically, it's difficult for the Bush administration to take a position different from those who suffered 444 days of captivity.

Many of the former hostage takers have stated unequivocally that Ahmadinejad was in no way involved in the Hostage Crisis. One of them, Bijan Abidi, said that Ahmadinejad "was not involved." He added, "There was no one by that name among the students who took part in the U.S. Embassy seizure." Mohsen Mirdamadi, one of the student leaders, and Masoumeh Ebtekar, the spokeswoman of the students who later became a Vice President under President Khatami, have also denied Ahmadinejad's involvement. Abbas Abdi, another leader of the 1979 embassy takeover, and a political opponent of Ahmadinejad, expressed certainty that Ahmadinejad was not involved. "Definitely he was not among the students who took part in the seizure," Abdi said. "He was not part of us. He played no role in the seizure, let alone being responsible for security [for the students]." Rosen has stated that Abdi lacks credibility on this issue. Rosen reported that Abdi told him personally during a 1998 meeting in Paris that Abdi, while heavily involved in the embassy takeover, was never actually inside the embassy building. "So he can't maintain that [Ahmadinejad] was or wasn't," Rosen stated.

An aide to Ahmadinejad, Meisam Rowhani, denied all claims that Ahmadinejad was involved in the Hostage Crisis. Rowhani stated that Ahmadinejad was asked during recent private meetings if he had a role in the hostage taking. Rowhani said he replied, "No. I believed that if we do that the world will swallow us." Although Ahmadinejad has publicly expressed support for the hostage taking, he has claimed that he only supported the embassy takeover after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini expressed support, and that he was never actually involved.

About the leadership of the takeover, Shargh has mentioned that the three main leaders of the takeover were Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, Mohsen Mirdamadi, and Habibollah Bitaraf (two of which have already denied Ahmadinejad's involvement). This has been confirmed by several sources involved in the takeover, including Ebtekar.

The Iran Focus photograph controversy

Iran Focus, one of numerous web outlets of the MKO terrorist group (based in Camp Ashraf, Iraq) originally claimed that they had obtained a photograph of a younger Ahmadinejad with a hostage, which was quickly published by the major Western news agencies AP, Reuters, and AFP. Publication of the photograph drew criticism because it was presented to the world without due investigation or verification.

In response to the publication Saeed Hajjarian, a reformist politician with a background in intelligence, denied that the picture is Ahmadinejad. Hajjarian told Associated Press and later ISNA that the person in the photograph is a student named Taghi Mohammadi.

Associated Press and other sources originally reported that Mohammadi was a militant, later turned into a dissident, was arrested for being connected to the MKO, was involved in the assassination of President Mohammad Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar, and committed suicide in jail.

It should be noted that Hajjarian's report contradicts that of Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, one of the spokesmen for the hostage-taking students. He identified as "Ranjbaran" the same person Asgharzadeh claims was hanged for being a spy for MKO. But both Asgharzadeh and Hajjarian have recognized the person standing on the other side of the hostage as "Jafar Zaker", who was killed during the Iran-Iraq War.

Maassouma Ebtekar, a spokeswoman for the hostage takers who was nicknamed "Sister Mary" by U.S. media during the crisis, said Ahmadinejad had actually been opposed to the takeover of the embassy.

Only July 2, 2005 the LA Times reported that "A U.S. official familiar with the investigation of Ahmadinejad's role said that analysts had found "serious discrepancies" between the figure depicted in the 1979 photo and images of the Iranian president. The discrepancies included differences in facial structure and features, the official said."

Additional studies of photos have identified a second man as Ahmadinejad. The second man is dressed in a sport jacket and turtleneck more suitable to a leader. [[4]] [[5]] To date, no official statement has come from the United States Department regarding this identification.

Kurdish-Austrian accusations

Peter Pilz, an Austrian politician and former spokesman of the Austrian Green Party, has alleged Ahmadinejad possibly had a hand in international assassinations ordered by the Iranian government against political opposition groups, including a 1989 assassination of exiled Kurdish leader Ebdulrehman Qasimlo and two of his associates in Vienna. After Ahmadinejad's election to presidency, in early July 2005, Pilz passed his documents about his claims to the Austrian Interior ministry, which "were then forwarded to the state prosecutor's office."

This allegation has been denied by several sources in Iran, including Saeed Hajjarian, a political opponent of Ahmadinejad. Also notable among the deniers, is Ali Rabiee, the intelligence advisor to the reformist President Khatami, who stated "during the mentioned accident happened, I was present in action regions of northwest and western Iran, and at that time Mr. Ahmadinejad was only involved at the civil construction work in the governing offices of Maku and the province". At the same time, the allegation has been echoed by a spokesman for the People's Mujahedin of Iran, an opposition group in exile.

Reuters has mentioned that information [Pilz] received from an "extraordinarily credible" informer, an Iranian journalist living in France who Pilz calls only "witness D". […] Witness D's information came from one of the alleged gunmen, who contacted Witness D in 2001 but later drowned, Pilz said. Supporters of Ahmadinejad have questioned the credibility of such information, have mentioned that Pilz is a Jew, and have called the media reporting these to be "Zionist media." Also, Hamid Reza Asefi, the spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that, "The charges are so self-evidently false they are not worthy of response. […] We advise the Europeans not to fall into the trap of the Zionist media and to separate their interests from America and the Zionist entity (referring to the state of Israel)."

Also, observers have been skeptical of Pilz's allegations after he refused to disclose any evidence claiming that it would endanger the life of the witness. Also, the accusations have died down after the presidential election, and no clear evidence has been provided that would support the accusations.

Alleged election fraud

During the Iranian presidential election of 2005, some people, including Mehdi Karroubi, a reformist candidate who ranked third in the election, alleged that a network of mosques, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and Basij militia forces, have been illegally used to generate and mobilize support for Ahmadinejad. Karroubi has explicitly alleged that Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, is involved. Ahmadinejad's supporters consider these to be false allegations. Furthermore, Khamenei has written to Karroubi stating that his allegations are "below his dignity" and "will result in a crisis"; in Iran, which he will not allow. As a reply, Karroubi resigned from all his political posts, including his positions as an advisor to the Supreme Leader and as a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, both of which he had been appointed to directly by Khamenei. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad's rival in the second round, has also pointed to what he claims are "organized and unjust" interventions conducted by "guiding" the votes, and has supported Karroubi's complaint. Rafsanjani also alleged a "dirty tricks" campaign had "illegally" propelled Ahmadinejad into the presidency, an allegation which he strongly denies. In the same statement, Rafsanjani stated that he would only appeal the election results to "God", and recommended accepting the results and "assisting" the new president-elect.

Some political groups, including the reformist party Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), allege that Ahmadinejad received illegal support and advertising activities from supervisors selected by the Guardian Council who should have remained nonpartisan according to the election law. Also, the reformist newspaper Shargh pointed out an announcement by Movahhedi Kermani, the official representative of the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, who was quoted as saying, "vote for a person who keeps to the minimum in his advertisements and doesn't lavish," which uniquely pointed to Ahmadinejad, whose supporters claimed is not wealthy.

Support for Navvab Safavi

On 10 January 2006, President Ahmadinejad declared that his government is following the "religious mission" initiated by Navvab Safavi, a Shi'a cleric who assassinated the historian and author Ahmad Kasravi in 1946 for "insulting Islam." In 2001, Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, Ahmadinejad’s ideological mentor, praised Safavi and encouraged Muslims in taking similar steps against the "enemies of Islam."

Support of terrorism

There have been allegations that Ahmadinejad was involved in terrorist activities during the Islamic Revolution (given the gaps in Ahmadinejad's official biography for that period), as well as criticism of his connections to various anti-Israeli terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah (specifically that he was connected to senior Hezbollah figure and terrorist, Imad Mughniyeh), Hamas, PIJ, and PFLP-GC .

9/11 Conspiracy

In a letter to George Bush, Ahmadinejad asks, "Could it be planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services – or their extensive infiltration? Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why aren’t those responsible and the guilty parties identified and put on trial?" [6]

Charges of fascism

Many reformist and independent political parties, including some of those who boycotted the first round of the presidential election, have called for an alliance against Ahmadinejad, calling it "a national alliance against fascism". For example, IIPF and the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization asked for people voting in the second round, to "prevent the danger of a rise of religious fascism". Critics, including some independent ones, have mentioned that while there are some similarities between the actions and rising of supporters of Ahmadinejad with those of fascism, the movement differs because it is neither nationalistic nor racist and lacks corporatism.

Some dissident groups also accuse him of being a ruthless interrogator and torturer in the 1980s.

Denying the Holocaust

Main article: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel

In December 2005 Ahmadinejad made several controversial statements regarding the Holocaust and the State of Israel, at one point referring to the Holocaust as a "myth" and criticizing European laws against Holocaust denial. He said that although he does not know whether or not nor to what extent the Holocaust occurred, if it had in fact occurred, European countries should make amends to the Jewish people by giving them land to establish a state in "Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska" instead of making "the innocent nation of Palestine pay for this crime" . The statements were condemned by many world leaders.

The head of Iran's Jewish community, Haroun Yashayaei, sent a letter to Ahmadinejad in early 2006 that read, in part, "How is it possible to ignore all of the undeniable evidence existing for the exile and massacre of the Jews in Europe during World War Two? Challenging one of the most obvious and saddening events of 20th-century humanity has created astonishment among the people of the world and spread fear and anxiety among the small Jewish community of Iran."

In February 2006, Former President Mohammad Khatami clearly rejected Ahmadinejad's remarks by calling Holocaust a historic fact.

Accusations of anti-Semitism

Criticism of the "anti-Semitic statements of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad" "of hate and animosity toward all Jewish people of the world" has come from the U.S. Senate, which passed a unanimous resolution condemning his "harmful, destructive, and anti-Semitic statements." Identification of Ahmadinejad with antisemitism has come from a variety of sources. [7][8] [9]

The Iranian government has responded that "the Western media empire is trying to portray Iran as an anti-Semitic country" and alternate translations have been cited to contradict the accusations.

Banning of Western music

In December 2005 President Ahmadinejad banned Western and "offensive" music from state-run radio and television stations. The ban follows a ruling in October by the Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council to ban Western songs from Iranian airwaves.

Relations with the foreign press

On 16th January 2006, Cable News Network (CNN) was banned in Iran by the Iranian Ministry of Culture, after misreporting the remarks by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made during a press conference held on 14th January 2006. The president, talking to domestic and foreign reporters, said the peaceful use of nuclear energy is a right which Iran cannot be denied. However, a CNN interpreter incorrectly quoted Ahmadinejad as saying "the use of nuclear weapons is Iran's right." CNN later apologised for its mistake.

President Ahmadinejad allowed CNN to resume broadcasting on 17th January 2006 after the apology. In his letter to the Minister of Culture, he wrote 'We believe that accurate dissemination of news and information is necessary for political growth and awareness as well as effective interaction among nations in today's world.

Since the Iranian Revolution, no Iranian reporters have been allowed to enter the United States or take part in a press conference of the US President. Reporters employed by the state-run IRIB have only been allowed to cover UN events and are only able to travel within a 17 mile radius of New York City. For this reason several IRIB reporters criticised President Ahmadinejad on his support for CNN.

Membership in Hojjatieh Society

Ahmadinejad is believed by many to belong, or to have once belonged, to the anti-Bahai and anti-Sunni clandestine society known as Hojjatieh. An Islamic society to which Ahmadinejad belonged when he attended Alm-u Sanat University was, according to an article that appeared in the Asia Times Online, an extreme, traditional, and fundamentalist group that maintained close links with Hojjatieh. Three members of Ahmadinejad's cabinet are said to have Hojjatieh backgrounds, including Hojatoleslam Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejehyi, the intelligence chief who graduated from the Haqqani theological school, founded by Hojjatieh. Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, a Shi'ite cleric closley associated with the school, issued a fatwa urging two million members of the bassij Islamic militia to vote for Ahmadinejad in the 2005 presidential elections.

Eschatology

Ahmadinejad's religious beliefs in the imminent return of the "occulted" Shi'a Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi have alarmed some Western commentators . In particular, remarks reportedly made after his speech before the United Nations General Assembly have created concern (translated):

On the last day when I was speaking before the assembly, one of our group told me that when I started to say "In the name of God the almighty and merciful," he saw a light around me, and I was placed inside this aura. I felt it myself.

I felt the atmosphere suddenly change, and for those 27 or 28 minutes, the leaders of the world did not blink. When I say they didn't bat an eyelid, I'm not exaggerating because I was looking at them. And they were rapt.

It seemed as if a hand was holding them there and had opened their eyes to receive the message from the Islamic republic.

Former CIA officer Robert Baer said, in the context of evaluating a nuclear strike on Iran, that Ahmadinejad and others in the Iranian government are "apocalyptic Shiites... These guys are nuts and there's no reason to back off."

Some have conjectured that his actions are strictly a means of bolstering his standing among Islamic fundamentalists.

See also

• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
• Mahdaviat