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| Sunday, 3 July 2005 |
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Iran's young in power Globescan by M.P. Muttiah Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be sworn in as President of Iran on August 4. With his election a younger generation of Iranians had taken over control of all levers of power in the country. Ahmadinejad belongs to the younger generation of Iranians who fought an eight-year war with Iraq in the eighties. He joined the elite force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in 1986. He is also a prominent member of the Abadgaran, the rising right-wing political force. Abadgaran rose to prominence when it won the Teheran Municipal Council elections and in April 2003, it appointed Ahmadinejad as the city's Mayor. It swept the February 2004 parliamentary elections, replacing reformers who dominated the parliament during Khatami's presidency. The victory of Ahmadinejad signifies the rise of a new generation of leadership which has gradually established its hold over all key institutions of the government with the support of the Guardian Council, comprising three clerics appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader. The President-elect said that his aim was to create a role model of a modern, advanced, powerful and Islamic society in the country. He said that the foreign policy of his government was justice, peace and co-existence and the expansion of just mutual relations. Ahmadinejad extended a hand of friendship to all nations, including India and China, that are friendly towards Iran, but warned the United States that Teheran could not establish relations with Washington until it changes its hostile attitude. He said Iran has the right to pursue its nuclear program and will never give up its legal rights under any circumstances. ``Iran would continue its talks with the European Union on the nuclear issue to show moderation in its foreign policy." The United States continued its illegal policy of regime change in Iran even before the elections. On the eve of the first round, President George W. Bush called on Iranians to stand for liberty. According to Scott Ritter, a former UN Weapons Inspector in Iraq, the CIA backed Mujahadeen-el Khalq or MEK began its terror bombing since June. Scott said that American over flights of Iranian soil were taking place, using pilotless drones and other sophisticated capabilities. President Bush who met German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, failed to win the support for his Iran policy. When US officials raised the prospects of UN sanctions against Iran, Schroder said that Europe had to weigh such action carefully since it highly depended on Mideast oil. He said ``Tehran could not be blocked from pursuing a peaceful nuclear power program even if some people were unhappy about this". Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country was ready to cooperate with Iran in the field of atomic energy, but would meet obligations to prevent nuclear proliferation. |
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