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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

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Is it possible for us to witness a world without America and Zionism? You should know that this slogan, this goal, can certainly be achieved.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born October 28, 1956) is an Iranian principlist and nationalist politician who was the sixth President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He became president on 6 August 2005 after winning the 2005 presidential election and left the post in August 2013. Previously he served as Mayor of Tehran.

Quotes

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We are confident that the Islamic logic, culture, and discourse can prove their superiority in all fields over all schools of thought and theories.
The establishment of the Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world.

2005

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Address to the United Nations General Assembly (17 September 2005)

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(Full text)

  • In the Name of the God of Mercy, Compassion, Peace, Freedom and Justice. Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Today we have gathered here to exchange views about the world, its future and our common responsibilities towards it.
  • The Islamic Republic of Iran is born out of a movement, based on the pure primordial nature of a people who rose up to regain their dignity, esteem and human rights. The Islamic Revolution toppled a regime which had been put in place through a coup, and supported by those who claim to be advocates of democracy and human rights thwarted the aspirations of the nation for development and progress for 25 years through intimidation and torture of the populace and submission and subservience to outsiders.
  • The Islamic Republic of Iran is the manifestation of true democracy in the region. The discourse of the Iranian nation is focused on respect for the rights of human beings and a quest for tranquility, peace, justice and development for all through monotheism
  • The Islamic Republic of Iran is a symbol of true democracy. All officials including the Leader, President, members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, city and village councils are elected through the vote of the citizens. The Islamic Republic of Iran has held 27 national elections in 27 years.
  • The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to provide full and comprehensive support to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan and their elected governments, and will actively help them in the establishment of order and security.
  • In Palestine, a durable peace will be possible through justice, an end to discrimination and the occupation of Palestinian land, the return of all Palestinian refugees, and the establishment of a democratic Palestinian state
  • Those hegemonic powers, who consider scientific and technological progress of independent and free nations as a challenge to their monopoly on these important instruments of power and who do not want to see such achievements in other countries, have misrepresented Iran's healthy and fully safeguarded technological endeavors in the nuclear field as pursuit of nuclear weapons. This is nothing but a propaganda ploy.
  • The Islamic Republic of Iran is presenting in good faith its proposal for constructive interaction and a just dialogue. However, if some try to impose their will on the Iranian people through resort to a language of force and threat with Iran, we will reconsider our entire approach to the nuclear issue.
  • From the beginning of time, humanity has longed for the day when justice, peace, equality and compassion envelop the world. All of us can contribute to the establishment of such a world. When that day comes, the ultimate promise of all Divine religions will be fulfilled with the emergence of a perfect human being who is heir to all prophets and pious men. He will lead the world to justice and absolute peace.

The World without Zionism, 2005

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From a speech at the Islamic Student Associations conference in Tehran (26 October 2005).
  • We need to examine the true origins of the issue of Palestine: is it a fight between a group of Muslims and non-Jews? Is it a fight between Judaism and other religions? Is it the fight of one country with another country? Is it the fight of one country with the Arab world? Is it a fight over the land of Palestine? I guess the answer to all these questions is 'No'.
  • The establishment of the occupying regime of Qods [Jerusalem] was a major move by the world oppressor [the United States] against the Islamic world. The situation has changed in this historical struggle. Sometimes the Muslims have won and moved forward and the world oppressor was forced to withdraw.
  • The Islamic world lost its last defenses in the past 100 years and the world oppressor established the occupying regime. Therefore the struggle in Palestine today is the major front of the struggle of the Islamic world with the world oppressor and its fate will decide the destiny of the struggles of the past several hundred years. The Palestinian nation represents the Islamic nation [Umma] against a system of oppression
  • Our dear Imam [Ayatollah Khomeini] said that the occupying regime must be wiped off the map and this was a very wise statement. We cannot compromise over the issue of Palestine. Is it possible to create a new front in the heart of an old front. This would be a defeat and whoever accepts the legitimacy of this regime [Israel] has in fact, signed the defeat of the Islamic world. Our dear Imam targeted the heart of the world oppressor in his struggle, meaning the occupying regime. I have no doubt that the new wave that has started in Palestine, and we witness it in the Islamic world too, will eliminate this disgraceful stain from the Islamic world.
  • They have invented a myth that Jews were massacred and place this above God, religions and the prophets. The West has given more significance to the myth of the genocide of the Jews, even more significant than God, religion, and the prophets, (it) deals very severely with those who deny this myth but does not do anything to those who deny God, religion, and the prophet. If you have burned the Jews, why don't you give a piece of Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to Israel? Our question is, if you have committed this huge crime, why should the innocent nation of Palestine pay for this crime?
    • Translation by CNN (December 2005)
  • If the Europeans are telling the truth in their claim that they have killed six million Jews in the Holocaust during the World War II - which seems they are right in their claim because they insist on it and arrest and imprison those who oppose it, why should the Palestinian nation pay for the crime. Why have they come to the very heart of the Islamic world and are committing crimes against the dear Palestine using their bombs, rockets, missiles and sanctions. [...] The same European countries have imposed the illegally-established Zionist regime on the oppressed nation of Palestine. If you have committed the crimes so give a piece of your land somewhere in Europe or America and Canada or Alaska to them to set up their own state there. Then the Iranian nation will have no objections, will stage no rallies on the Qods Day and will support your decision.
  • Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury.
  • There is no doubt that the new wave in Palestine will soon wipe off this disgraceful blot from the face of the Islamic world.
  • Is it possible for us to witness a world without America and Zionism? You should know that this slogan, this goal, can certainly be achieved.

2006

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  • The world is rapidly getting 'Ahmadinejadized,' if I'm allowed to make a joke.
    • Comment (20 November 2006), as cited in [1], [2]
  • I want to tell them (western countries) just as the Soviet Union was wiped out and today does not exist, so will the Zionist regime (in Israel) soon be wiped out.
  • My letter [Ahmadinejad's "letter to the American people"] had different aims and goals. Many American citizens in the messages and letters they sent requested that I bring up my points of view directly. Many of them said that the government of America doesn't let them receive my point of view in its entirety and without distortions. So I talked to them directly. The behavior of the American government has severely damaged the position of the United States. No country in the world looks upon America as a friend. When the U.S. is mentioned, people are reminded of war, aggression and bloodshed, and that's not a good thing. In other words, the American people are paying for something they don't believe in.
    • Source: Interview in Time magazine (December 2006) [4]
  • Anyone who is a Palestinian citizen, whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim, should decide together in a very free referendum. There is no need for war. There is no need for threats or an atom bomb either.
    • Source: Time magazine (December 2006) [5]
  • Everyone knows that the Zionist regime is a tool in the hands of the United States and British governments.
    • Source: Time magazine (December 2006) [6]
  • You can pass as many resolutions as you like but you cannot stop the progress of the Iranian people. We thank God that our enemies are idiots.
    We don't need you. It is you who need the Iranian people. This is the funniest decision I've seen.
  • They [Western countries] know that they are not capable of inflicting the slightest blow on the Iranian nation because they need the Iranian nation. They will suffer more and they are vulnerable. That is why if the Iranian nation and government steps back on nuclear energy today, the story will not end there and the Americans will make another pretext. (8 March 2006) [7]
  • We say that this fake regime (Zionist) cannot logically continue to live. (April 24, 2006) [8]
  • If (problems) are decided through the use of force, everything becomes double-complicated....He who sows the wind will reap a hurricane and this will be a very strong storm in the whole Middle East region, which will strike painfully....All questions on international security have to be settled only through dialogue because using force will not lead anywhere. (July 25, 2006) [9]
  • If all of you gather and also invite your ancestors from hell, you will still not be able to stop the Great Iranian nation.

2006 International Qods Conference address

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Source: IRNA Full text of President's address - Part One. IRNA. Retrieved on April 14, 2006.Full text of President's address - Part Two. IRNA. Retrieved on April 14, 2006.Full text of President's address - Part Three. IRNA. Retrieved on April 14, 2006.

  • How long can this situation last and be tolerated? When Imam Ali, Commander of the Faithful, heard that an anklet was forcefully removed from the feet of a Jewish woman by the invaders in one of the frontier cities under his rule, he said, "If a man dies from grief because of this act, he should not be reprimanded."
Today, even the children are not spared and are targeted by their bullets. Palestinian men and women are abducted and tortured in their fearsome prisons. People are shot dead in schools, on the streets and at markets.
  • The existence of the Zionist regime is tantamount to imposition of an unending and unrestrained threat so that none of the nations and Islamic countries of the region and beyond can feel secure from its threat. The closer these nations are to the epicenter of this threat, the more threatened they feel. The people of Palestine are at the very core of such a threat. They have not been able to spend a day with peace of mind for the past sixty years. Three generations of sons and daughters of Palestinians have lived and are presently living under these circumstances. The peoples of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the entire Middle East are essentially under similar situation.
  • The bullying powers use different excuses to prevent transfer of science and technology and progress of the nations of our region.
They regard our advancement as a threat to the corrupt Zionist regime. They do not allow the countries of the region to tread on the path to progress and advancement.
They even oppose indigenous technologies in the Islamic countries and interpret any scientific advancement as a threat to the security of Qods occupier regime.
  • Some Western powers admit that they have killed a large part of Jewish population in Europe and founded the occupied regime in order to put right the wrong they had committed.
With deference to all nations and followers of divine religions, we are asking if this atrocity is true, then why the people of the region should pay for it by occupation of Palestinian lands and unending suppression of Palestinian people, by homelessness of millions of Palestinians, by destruction of their cities and rural areas and agricultural lands.
Why should they pay by fire, bullets and imposition of forces? And why should they pay by tolerating occupation of Islamic lands? Are the consequences of the establishment of this regime less than the Holocaust you are claiming?
If there are doubts regarding the Holocaust, there is really no doubt regarding Palestinian disaster and Holocaust. The Holocaust in Palestine has persisted for more than sixty years.
  • The young tree of resistance in Palestine is blooming and blooms of faith and desire for freedom are flowering.
The Zionist regime is a decaying and crumbling tree that will fall with a storm. Today even the inhabitants of the occupied Palestine, especially the African and Asian settlers are living in [p]ain, poverty and discontent.

Letter to George W. Bush (2006)

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Wikisource
Wikisource
 Wikisource has an original copy of Ahmadinejad's letter
The letter was the first direct communication between Iran and the US since a break of diplomatic ties in 1980. It lists greviences of the Iranian government and questions current and past US foreign policy (8 May 2006).
  • Can one be a follower of Jesus Christ... and have countries attacked. The lives, reputations and possessions of people destroyed and on the slight chance of the presence of a few criminals in a village, city, or convoy for example, the entire village, city or convoy set ablaze.
    • Paragraph 2
  • Or because of the possibility of the existence of WMDs in one country, it is occupied, around one hundred thousand people killed, its water sources, agriculture and industry destroyed, close to 180,000 foreign troops put on the ground, sanctity of private homes of citizens broken, and the country pushed back perhaps fifty years. At what price?... On the pretext of the existence of WMDs, this great tragedy came to engulf both the peoples of the occupied and the occupying country. Later it was revealed that no WMDs existed to begin with.
    • Paragraphs 3-4
  • There are prisoners in Guantanamo Bay that have not been tried, have no legal representation, their families cannot see them and are obviously kept in a strange land outside their own country. There is no international monitoring of their conditions and fate. No one knows whether they are prisoners, POWs, accused or criminals. European investigators have confirmed the existence of secret prisons in Europe too.
    • Paragraphs 6-7
  • ...many questions about the phenomenon of Israel... Students are saying that sixty years ago such a country did not exist... I tell them to study the history of WWI and WWII. One of my students told me that during WWII, which more than tens of millions of people perished in, news about the war, was quickly disseminated by the warring parties. Each touted their victories and the most recent battlefront defeat of the other party. After the war they claimed that six million Jews had been killed. Six million people that were surely related to at least two million families. Again let us assume that these events are true. Does that logically translate into the establishment of the state of Israel in the Middle East or support for such a state? How can this phenomenon be rationalized or explained?
    • Paragraphs 8, 10-12
  • Why is it that any technological and scientific achievement reached in the Middle East region is translated into and portrayed as a threat to the Zionist regime? Is not scientific R&D one of the basic rights of nations? Can the possibility of scientific achievements being utilized for military purposes be reason enough to oppose science and technology altogether?
    • Paragraph 20
  • Don’t Latin Americans have the right to ask why their elected governments are being opposed and coup leaders supported? Poverty and hardship in large parts of Africa are preventing this from happening. Don’t they have the right to ask why their enormous wealth – including minerals – is being looted, despite the fact that they need it more than others?
    • Paragraph 23
  • The brave and faithful people of Iran too have many questions and grievances, including: the coup d’etat of 1953 and the subsequent toppling of the legal government of the day, opposition to the Islamic revolution, transformation of an Embassy into a headquarters supporting the activities of those opposing the Islamic Republic (many thousands of pages of documents corroborate this claim), support for Saddam in the war waged against Iran, the shooting down of the Iranian passenger plane, freezing the assets of the Iranian nation, increasing threats, anger and displeasure vis-à-vis the scientific and nuclear progress of the Iranian nation (just when all Iranians are jubilant and celebrating their country’s progress), and many other grievances that I will not refer to in this letter.
    • Paragraph 23
  • September eleven was not a simple operation. Could it be planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services—or their extensive infiltration?
    • Paragraph 24
  • Western media only intensified the climate of fear and insecurity
    • Paragraph 25
  • Do you not think that if all of us come to believe in and abide by these principles, that is, monotheism, worship of God, justice, respect for the dignity of man, belief in the Last Day, we can overcome the present problems of the world
  • I have been told that Your Excellency follows the teachings of Jesus (PBUH)

Letter to Angela Merkel (2006)

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This letter was sent from Ahmadinejad to German Chancellor Angela Merkel in July 2006. Source: Fars News Agency
  • I have no intention of arguing about the Holocaust. But, does it not stand to reason that some victorious countries of World War II intended to create an alibi on the basis of which they could continue keeping the defeated nations of World War II indebted to them. Their purpose has been to weaken their morale and their inspiration in order to obstruct their progress and power. In addition to the people of Germany, the peoples of the Middle East have also borne the brunt of the Holocaust. By raising the necessity of settling the survivors of the Holocaust in the land of Palestine, they have created a permanent threat in the Middle East in order to rob the people of the region of the opportunities to achieve progress.

2007

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  • The Soviet Union died peacefully but that does not have any affect on what will happen in there [Israel]. The Zionist regime will either go two ways. They will peacefully be disbanded and the Holy Land will become a democracy like our good friend Russia. Or the country will forcefully take on itself like Romania. He [Referring to Nicolae Ceauşescu] did not seem to know (or care) what was happening to the Romanians and the people got sick and tired of this to the point they got rid of the fake regime [Ahmadinejad Denounces Communism] by force. We do not want this option. We want a peacefully let the people choose what they truly want and everything will go right.
    • Undated interview with Russian news agency.
  • In principle, the Zionists lack any religion. They are lying when they say that they are Jews. They have no religion. They are against religion, because religion means friendship, brotherhood, peace, and justice. Religion means to respect the divine prophets. Note this. Religion means to respect others. It means friendship between peoples. Note that wherever the Zionists are, there is war, and wherever there is war, they are the ones behind it. As a matter of fact, if you examine American society, you will see that they oppress the Americans. They oppress the Europeans, even though they are a minority. They infiltrated in an organized manner...
  • Why should it be insulting? … Something happened there which led to other events. Many innocent people were killed there. Some of those people were American citizens obviously. We obviously are very much against any terrorist action and any killing. And also we are very much against any plots to sow the seeds of discord among nations. Usually you go to these sites to pay your respects. And-- also to perhaps to air your views about the root causes of such incidents. I think that when I do that, I will be paying, as I said earlier, my respect to the American nation.
  • I'm not anti-Jew. Jews are respected by everyone, like all human beings, and I respect them very much.
  • In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country. […] In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have this.
  • They [the US] get our oil and give us a worthless piece of paper.

2008

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  • The world powers established this filthy bacteria, the Zionist regime [Israel], which is lashing out at the nations in the region like a wild beast.
  • It is the American practice to present others as guilty wherever they are defeated. Is it not funny that those with 160,000 forces in Iraq accuse us of interference?"

2009

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  • Today too, the most important issue in the world is Palestine. If a war breaks out in Iraq, we believe it is due to the provocation of the Zionists. If it happens in Afghanistan, it is because of their provocation. If Sudan is oppressed, it is due to Zionist seduction. We consider all the arrogant, colonialist schemes to be inspired by the Zionists.
    • September 18, 2009. [12]

2010

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  • Almost all governments and known figures strongly condemned this incident [the September 11 attacks]. But then a propaganda machine came into full force; it was implied that the whole world was exposed to a huge danger, namely terrorism, and that the only way to save the world would be to deploy forces into Afghanistan. Eventually Afghanistan, and, shortly thereafter, Iraq were occupied.… In identifying those responsible for the attack, there were three viewpoints: (1) That a very powerful and complex terrorist group, able to successfully cross all layers of the American intelligence and security, carried out the attack. This is the main viewpoint advocated by American statesmen. (2) That some segments within the U.S. government orchestrated the attack to reverse the declining American economy and its grips on the Middle East in order also to save the Zionist regime. The majority of the American people as well as other nations and politicians agree with this view. (3) It was carried out by a terrorist group but the American government supported and took advantage of the situation. Apparently, this viewpoint has fewer proponents.

2011

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  • Who had used the mysterious September 11 incident as a pretext to attack Afghanistan and Iraq, killing, injuring and displacing millions of people. Whose military spending exceeded $1,000 billion dollars annually — more than the military budgets of all countries in the world combined? Who dominated the policy-making establishments of the world’s economy, as well as the Security Council, which was ostensibly responsible for safeguarding international security? Do these arrogant Powers really have the competence and ability to run or govern the world? “Can the flower of democracy bloom from [North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s] missiles, bombs and guns?
  • Last year, when the need to form a fact-finding team to undertake a thorough investigation concerning the hidden elements involved in September 11 incident was brought up; an idea also endorsed by all independent governments and nations as well as by the majority in the United States, my country and myself came under pressure and threat by the government of the United States. Instead of assigning a fact-finding team, they killed the main perpetrator and threw his body into the sea. Would it not have been reasonable to bring to justice and openly bring to trial the main perpetrator of the incident in order to identify the elements behind the safe space provided for the invading aircraft to attack the twin world trade towers? Why should it not have been allowed to bring him to trial to help recognize those who launched terrorist groups and brought wars and other miseries into the region? Is there any classified information that must be kept secret?
    • Speech to the United Nations General Assembly (22 September 2011).[13]
  • Show me one European or American president who has not traveled to Libya or has not signed an agreement (with Gaddafi), some people said they killed this gentleman to make sure he would not be able to say anything, just like what they did to bin Laden. Any decision that would strengthen the presence, domination or influence of foreigners would be contrary to the Libyan nation's interests. The expectation of the world of the Libyan nation is that they stand and run the country themselves.
    • Addressing Gaddafi's death, saying that the west is going to plunder Libya's wealth, so it's better for Libyans to stand up and defend their country. October 25, 2011. [14]
  • Approximately, three billion people of the world live on less than 2.5 dollars a day, and over a billion people live without having even one sufficient meal on a daily basis. Forty-percent of the poorest world populations only share five percent of the global income, while twenty percent of the richest people share seventy-five percent of the total global income. More than twenty thousand innocent and destitute children die every day in the world because of poverty.
    What is the justification for the presence of hundreds of US military and intelligence bases in different parts of the world...? An assembly of people in contradiction with the inner human instincts and disposition who also have no faith in God and in the path of the divine prophets, replace their lust for power and materialistic ends with heavenly values. To them, only power and wealth prevail, and every attempt must bring into focus these sinister goals...
  • The creation of a supreme and ideal society with the arrival of a perfect human being who is a true and sincere lover of all human beings, is the guaranteed promise of Allah. He will come alongside with Jesus Christ to lead the freedom and justice lovers to eradicate tyranny and discrimination, and promote knowledge, peace, justice freedom and love across the world. He will present to every single individual all the beauties of the world and all good things which bring happiness for humankind.

2012

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  • The period and era of using nuclear weapons is over ... Nuclear bombs are not anymore helpful and those who are stockpiling nuclear weapons, politically they are backward, and they are mentally retarded
  • The Iranian nation is not seeking an atomic bomb, nor do they need to build an atomic bomb ... For defending ourselves we do not need a nuclear weapon

2013

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  • They accuse Iran, like all nations that seek to rapidly find their way out of the current domination. We don't need an atom bomb. ... And besides, it is not atom bombs that threaten the world, but Western morals and culture declining in values... Colonialist thinking has not yet disappeared. Only the method has changed, but the system is still there. To save their economy, they impose war everywhere to cover their failure, the failure of the capitalist system. We are a sovereign state and will deal with who we want... Our uranium, our oil, we are going to sell them to who we want.


2017

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  • In the name of God. Peace be upon all the freedom loving people of the world
  • The merciful creator created all human beings from the essence of love. Let's all love each other.
    • Twitter 6 Mar 2017
  • Whoever believes they are better than others and imposes their beliefs on others; they are against freedom and justice.
    • Twitter 3 Jul 2017
  • War brings destruction, annihilation, and elimination; the pioneers of warmongering will be the victims of their own greed. #ArmsDeal #Saudi
    • Twitter 11 Aug 2017

2018

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  • Although the ruling establishment reacts less harshly against its dissidents, it has expanded the sphere of its confrontation with the people. I mean, comparing with the past (during the Constitutional Monarchy), the situation with freedom is much worse today... [The Islamic Republic's] prisons are currently crowded with the critics of the heads of the three branches of power, the judiciary, the Majlis (parliament), and the executive administration... We were truly unaware of the unjustifiable actions by the judiciary at the time (of our eight years in power). We really did not know but later we were informed [of many facts]... As you are not aware of many facts for the moment, we were also unaware of many cases and kept in the dark at the time.
  • When power is in the hands of the elites it will lead to corruption and inequality.
  • The main problem in the world is that power, and wealth is in the hands of a few elite.
    • Twitter 22 Aug 2018
  • Power and wealth must be in the hands of all, this occurrence needs capable and just managers.
    • Twitter 21 Aug 2018
  • The great Iranian Nation, especially the Khuzestanis and particularly the Arabs, will defeat this conspiracy and overcome this challenge,thanks to their intelligence,faith and solidarity.
    • Twitter 24 Sep 2018
  • One of the main objectives of the #BlackPantherParty was feeding the hungry; which did not sit well with the #UnitedStatesGovernment .
    • Twitter 15 Oct 2018
  • Every year $1.5 trillion is spent on weapons and military which the majority of it, is related to the United States. If this money was spent to end poverty, would there be any poor people left in the world? They got money for wars But can't feed the poor
    • Twitter 4 Dec 2018
  • I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. May, 2019 be full of happiness, prosperity, and peace for everybody. Jesus loved everyone and wanted us to love all. God Bless
    • Twitter 24 Dec 2018

2019

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  • When wealth,power, and media are monopolized by a minority, how can they speak about freedom and justice? The capitalist systems can never grant freedom and justice.
  • Will the constant bickering between the Democrat and Republican parties result in an internal struggle? Or is it just a game to distract us all from the real issues?
    • Twitter 20 Feb 2019
  • All the Messengers of God were sent to free people from poverty, injustice, oppression, and tyranny. Despite their claims, is there any government today that can prove to be similar to the Prophets?
    • Twitter 6 Apr 2019
  • It is unfortunate to hear about the shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. Is this the lifestyle and management the United States leadership wants to introduce to the world?
    • Twitter Aug 5, 2019
  • Superiority and self-centeredness is the starting point of human disintegration, and the root of all problems.
    • Twitter 14 Aug 2019
  • Is the destruction of the Amazon a natural occurrence or the result of the world management ? Shouldn't we all do our best to protect our existence? #AmazonFires
    • Twitter 28 Aug 2019
  • What sin have the people of Kashmir, Libya, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and the people of the Ninth Ward and those of the South Side of Chicago committed to live under such an inhuman world system of governance?
    • Twitter 17 Oct 2019
  • After decades, with the people’s will the Berlin Wall fell. Hope for the day that all walls that separate the nations fall through people’s unity and determination.
    • Twitter Nov 10, 2019



Misattributed

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  • The menacing threat has been repeated endlessly in U.S. corporate media in recent years: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for Israel to be “wiped off the map.” “Iran,” “Israel” and “wipe” in one form or another occur together in more than 17,000 articles in the Nexis news database over the last seven years. It plays a critical role in the case for pre-emptive war against Iran. There’s just one problem: It never happened.

Quotes about Ahmadinejad

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  • The precise reason for Hitchens’ theft and publication of my private mail is that I object to the characterization of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as having “threatened to wipe Israel off the map.” I object to this translation of what he said on two grounds. First, it gives the impression that he wants to play Hitler to Israel’s Poland, mobilizing an armored corps to move in and kill people. But the actual quote, which comes from an old speech of Khomeini, does not imply military action, or killing anyone at all. The second reason is that it is just an inexact translation. The phrase is almost metaphysical. He quoted Khomeini that “the occupation regime over Jerusalem should vanish from the page of time.” It is in fact probably a reference to some phrase in a medieval Persian poem. It is not about tanks.
  • I don't think he's a “mad man.” He's an individual who is very committed to his view and ideology. There's almost a sort of apocalyptic mentality that reigns here and he's not alone in it. Unfortunately, there are a few people who may sign up for that kind of a point of view. The problem is that we have this kind of regime represented by such individuals who have taken, first-and-foremost, the Iranian people hostage for the past 30 years and who are completely uninterested about the state of our own citizens. They are only interested to use Iran as a base from which to launch what was from the very beginning the exploitation of a theocracy and Islamic ideology across the planet as a challenge to the rest of the world... I think you should take him very seriously. The last time the world was not quite sure about the final threat was at the time of Hitler in Nazi Germany and we know the rest of the story. If we look at these kind of regimes that have been completely merciless vis-à-vis their own population; who have been brutally shooting our youth on the streets simply because they ask for their freedom; and are willing to stop at nothing to intimidate the whole world to submit to their demand, I think we should take it very seriously.
  • [H]e is a fervent believer in the imminent reappearance of the 12th Imam, Shi'ism's version of the Messiah. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been reported as saying in official meetings that the end of history is only two or three years away. He reportedly told an associate that on the podium of the General Assembly last September, he felt a halo around him and for "those 27 or 28 minutes, the leaders of the world did not blink … as if a hand was holding them there and it opened their eyes to receive" his message. He believes that the Islamic revolution's raison d'être is to prepare the way for the messianic redemption, which in his eschatology is preceded by worldwide upheaval and chaos.
  • We have to confront the Iranian revolution immediately. There is no way to stabilize the Middle East today without defeating the Iranian regime. The Iranian nuclear program must be stopped. [...] We have to consider killing him [President Ahmadinejad]. All options must be considered.
  • Since his election as president of Iran in June 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has caused something of a sensation by, among other things, questioning the reality of the Holocaust and suggesting that Israel be moved in Europe or Alaska. His outrageous speeches have been good theatre for both his supporters and for foreign opponents who want to demonize him. However, his power is actually quite limited. For example, even with the support of the Iranian legislature, he cannot make law, and he is not the commander-in-chief of the Iranian armed forces. Above the elected government in Iran is an unelected twelve-man Guardian Council of mullahs, headed by Ayatollah Khamenei, who has ruled the nation since the death of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. Khamenei is the leader of the military, and the Guardian Council has the right to veto any law passed by the elected government. Since 2001, Khamenei has undone the reforms that had been gradually changing the face of Iran.
    • David Wallechinsky, Tyrants: The World's 20 Worst Living Dictators (2006), p. 2
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