President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president of Iran on August 6, 2005. He is the sixth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His campaign motto, in short, was "It's possible and we can do it." During his election campaign and time in office, he has been outspoken about his distrust of the United States. Before becoming president, he was the mayor of Tehran from 2003 until 2005. He was also a professor in Tehran from 1997 to 2003. While he was a college student, he was rumored to have been involved in the Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979. Although he was at one point a member of the student union responsible for the hostage crisis, his involvement in the actual event has never been proven.
Recently, the president's stubborn personality led to the resignation of Iran's nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani. The president is adament that he will not negotiate on his nuclear position, while Larijani wanted to keep communication lines open. His replacement, Saeed Jalili, holds President Ahmadinejad's hard line stance.
The Controversial Statements
Ahmadinejad’s presidency has not been well accepted by the international community especially due to his notoriously controversial comments and eccentric personality. The following statements are among the president's most well known.
Holocaust is a “myth”
In December 2005, President Ahmadinejad stated his disbelief of the Holocaust on live television. Since then, he has changed his argument saying that he would like the subject of the Holocaust to be more thoroughly researched before he agrees that it did occur.
Sixteen year old producing nuclear energy in her home
He proudly claimed that a teenage Iranian girl was creating nuclear energy within her home. His points include that Iranian children are brilliant and that nuclear power is something the people want and can easily make.
“In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country”
The president’s domestic policy has been documented as oppressive for certain groups including homosexuals. If an Iranian individual is found guilty of taking part in a homosexual act, he or she may face the death penalty. These dangerous repercussions result in much more secrecy where topics like homosexuality are concerned.
“Israel must be wiped off the map”
There is debate over the exact translation of this quote, but the Iranian president has been open with his dislike for the state of Israel. Before this infamous statement, he has publicly made numerous anti-Semitic comments. He claims to not hate the jewish people only the jewish state of Israel sighting that Iran is home to a Jewish population of its own.
Check out BBC's short video on President Ahmadinejad: BBC Video
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