Mashhad ( from , ‹Mašhad›, literally the place of martyrdom) is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its population was 2,427,316 at the 2006 population census.

After this event this place was called as Mashhad al-Rida (the place of martyrdom of Ali al-Rida). Shias started visiting there for pilgrimage of his grave. By the end of the 9th century a dome was built on the grave and many buildings and Bazaars sprang up around it. During more than a millennium it has been devastated and reconstructed several times.

It was not considered a great city until Mongol raids in 1220 which caused the destruction of many large cities in the Greater Khorasan territories, leaving Mashhad relatively intact. Thus the survivors of the massacres migrated to Mashhad. When the famous world traveller Ibn Battuta visited the town in 1333, he reported that it was a large town with abundant fruit trees, streams and mills. A great dome of elegant construction surmounts the noble mausoleum, the walls being decorated with colored tiles. killing dozens and injuring hundreds, and marking a final rupture between Shi'ite clergy and the Shah.

1994 Imam Reza shrine bombing

On June 20, 1994, an explosion from a bomb occurred in a prayer hall of the shrine of the Imam Reza The bomb that killed at least 25 people on June 20 in Mashhad exploded at Ashura. Mehdi Nahvi, a member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MKO), an Iraqi-based opposition group, claimed responsibility. The MKO stated that the bombing was carried out to commemorate the anniversary of the group's founding on June 20, 1981. Although government blamed the Mujahedin-e-Khalq in a TV show to avoid sectarian conflict between Shia and Sunni, the Pakistani daily "News" of March 27, 1995 reported, “Pakistani investigators have identified a 24-year-old religious fanatic Abdul Shakoor residing in Lyari in Karachi, as an important Pakistani associate of Ramzi Yousef. Abdul Shakoor had intimate contacts with Ramzi Ahmed Yousef and was responsible for the June 20, 1994, massive bomb explosion at the shrine Imam Reza in Mashhad.”

Climate

Mashhad features a steppe climate (Köppen BSk) with hot summers and cool winters. The city only sees about 250 mm of precipitation per year, some of which occasionally falls in the form of snow. Mashhad also has wetter and drier periods with the bulk of the annual precipitation falling between the months of December and May. Summers are typically hot and dry, with high temperatures sometimes exceeding 35°C. Winters are typically cool to cold and somewhat damper, with overnight lows routinely dropping below freezing. Mashhad enjoys on average just under 2900 hours of sunshine per year.

Religion

Today the holy shrine and its museum hold one of the most extensive cultural and artistic treasuries of Iran, in particular manuscript books and paintings. Several important theological schools are associated with the shrine of the Eighth Imam.

The second largest holy city in the world, Mashhad attracts more than 20 million tourists and pilgrims every year, many of whom come to pay homage to the Imam Reza shrine (the eighth Shi'ite Imam). It has been a magnet for travellers since medieval times.

Transportation

Airport

Mashhad is served by the Mashhad International Airport which handles domestic flights to Iranian cities and international flights, mostly to neighboring, Arab countries.

Metro

The Mashhad Urban Railway Corporation (MURCO) is constructing a metro system for the city of Mashhad which includes four lines with 77 km length . The first phase (line) of the metro is expected to be finished by 2010-2011 with 24 km length and 25 stations.

Rail

Mashhad is connected to three major rail lines: Tehran-Mashhad, Mashhad-Bafgh (running south), and Mashhad-Sarakhs at the border with Turkmenistan. Some freight trains continue from Sarakhs towards Uzbekistan and to Kazakhstan, but have to change bogies because of the difference in Rail gauge. A rail line is being constructed off the Mashhad-Bafgh line to connect Mashhad to Herat in Afghanistan, but has not yet been completed and one is planned to connect to the Gorgan railhead and the port of Bandar Torkaman on the Caspian Sea to the west. Passenger rail services are provided by the national company R.A.J.A. and all trains are operated by R.A.I., Rah-Ahan Iran, the national railway company.

Colleges and universities

Universities

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM)

Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Islamic Azad University of Mashhad

Payame Noor University of Mashhad

Imam Reza University

Razavi University of Islamic Sciences

Colleges

Salman Institute of Higher Education

Sadjad Institute of Higher Education

Iranian Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research, Mashhad Branch (Jahad Daneshgahi of Mashhad)

Toos Institute of Higher Education

Montazeri Technical College of Mashhad

Shahid Beheshti Teacher Training College

Shahid Khorshidi Teacher training College

Asrar Institute of Higher Education

Samen Institute of Higher Education

Khayyam Institute of Higher Education

Alzahra Girls Technical College of Mashhad

Bahar Institute of Higher Education

Binalood Institute of Higher Education

Eqbal Lahoori Institute of Higher Education

Khavaran Institute of Higher Education

Institute of Applied and Practical Sciences, Khorasan Razavi

Major sport teams

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ |- ! scope="col" | Club ! scope="col" | League ! scope="col" | Sport ! scope="col" | Venue ! scope="col" | Established ! scope="col" | Championships |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | FC Aboomoslem | Azadegan League | soccer | Samen Stadium | 1973 | 0 |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Payam Mashhad F.C. | Azadegan League | soccer | Takhti Stadium (Mashhad) | 1976 | 0 |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Elm o Adab | Iranian Futsal Super League | Futsal | | | |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Rahahan Khorasan W.C. | Iranian Premier Wrestling League | freestyle wrestling | Mohammad Ali Sahraei Hall | | |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Ferdowsi Club | | beach soccer | | | |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Mojhaye Abi | | swimming | Takhti Stadium (Mashhad) | | |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Persepolis Khorasan | Iranian Volleyball Super League | volleyball | Shahid Beheshti Sport Complex | | |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Basketball Khorasan Razavi | Iranian Basketball Super League | basketball | Mehran Hall | | |}

Mashhad as capital of Persia and Independent Khorasan

The following Shahanshahs had Mashhad as their capital:

Kianid Dynasty

Malek Mahmoud Sistani 1722–1726

Afsharid dynasty

Nadir Shah

Adil Shah

Ebrahim Afshar

Shah Rukh of Persia

Nadir Mirza of Khorasan

Safavid Dynasty

Soleyman II

Autonomous Government of Khorasan

Colonel Mohammad Taghi Khan Pessyan

Famous people from Mashhad and Tus

;Religious and political figures

Shaykh Tusi, 385–460 A.H.; prominent Persian scholar of the Shi'a Twelver Islamic belief

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, born February 1201 in Tūs, Khorasan – 26 June 1274 in al-Kāżimiyyah near Baghdad; Persian of the Ismaili and subsequently Twelver Shī‘ah Islamic belief

Seyyed Ali Khamenei, born 17 July 1939; former president and current supreme leader of Iran

Sheikh Ali Tehrani , brother-in-law of Seyyed Ali Khamenei, currently living in Iran Iraq. He is one of the oppositions of current Iranian government.

Nizam al-Mulk, 1018 – 14 October 1092; celebrated Persian scholar and vizier of the Seljuq Empire

Al-Hurr al-Aamili, Shia scholar and muhaddith

Al-Ghazali, 1058–1111; Islamic theologian, jurist, philosopher, cosmologist, psychologist and mystic of Persian origin

Ali al-Sistani, born approximately August 4, 1930; Twelver Shi'a marja residing in Iraq since 1951

Mohammad-Kazem Khorasani, 1839–1911; Twelver Shi'a Marja, Persian (Iranian) politician, philosopher, reformer

Hossein Vahid Khorasani, born in 1924; Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja

Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, born January 27, 1958; former Vice President of Iran and a close associate of former reformist President Mohammad Khatami

Abu Muslim Khorasani, c. 700–755; Abu Muslim Abd al-Rahman ibn Muslim al-Khorasani, Abbasid general of Persian origin

Manouchehr Eghbal, October 14, 1909 – November 25, 1977, a Prime Minister of Iran

Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty), August 20, 1377 – March 12, 1447; ruler of the eastern portion of the empire established by the Central Asian warlord Timur (Tamerlane)

Goharshad, Persian noble and wife of Shāh Rukh, the emperor of the Timurid Dynasty of Herāt

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, born August 23, 1961 in Torghabeh, near Mashhad; the current Mayor of Tehran, Iran

Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi, Conservative political strategist and popular television personality in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Hadi Khamenei, b. 1947; mid-ranking cleric who is a member of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics

Seyed Hassan Firuzabadi, current major general, Islamic Republic of Iran

Saeed Jalili, born 1965 in Mashhad; Iranian politician and the present secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council

;Writers and scientists

Ferdowsi, 935–1020 in Tus; a Persian poet

Abu-Mansur Daqiqi, 935/942–976/980

Abolfazl Beyhaqi, 995–1077; a Persian historian and author

Nasir Khusraw, 1004–1088; Persian poet, philosopher, Isma'ili scholar and traveler

Abusa'id Abolkhayr, December 7, 967 – January 12, 1049 / Muharram ul Haram 1, 357 – Sha'aban 4, 440 AH; famous Persian Sufi who contributed extensively to the evolution of Sufi tradition

Anvari, 1126–1189, one of the greatest Persian poets

Mehdi Akhavan-Sales, 1928, Mashhad, Iran – 1990, Tehran, Iran; a Persian poet

Mohammad-Taghi Bahar, November 6, 1884, Mashhad, Iran – April 22, 1951; Tehran, Iran

Asadi Tusi, born in Tus, Iranian province of Khorasan, died 1072 Tabriz, Iran; Persian poet of Iranian national epics

Emad Khorasani

Gholam Hosein Yousefi

Abū Ja'far al-Khāzin, 900–971; Persian astronomer and mathematician from Khorasan

Abū al-Wafā' Būzjānī, 10 June 940 – 1 July 998; Persian mathematician and astronomer

Sharaf al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī, 1135–1213; Persian mathematician and astronomer of the Islamic Golden Age (during the Middle Ages)

Jābir ibn Hayyān, c. 721 in Tus–c. 815 in Kufa; prominent polymath: a chemist and alchemist, astronomer and astrologer, engineer, geologist, philosopher, physicist, and pharmacist and physician

;Artists

Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, born September 23, 1940 in Mashhad, Iran; internationally and critically acclaimed Persian traditional singer, composer and Master (Ostad) of Persian music

Homayoun Shajarian, Mohammad-Reza Shajarian's son, born May 21, 1975; renowned Persian classical music vocalist, as well as a Tombak and Kamancheh player

Kayvan Saket, born in 1960 in Mashhad, Iran; Iranian composer, Radif-preserver, researcher, teacher, and excellent Tar and Setar instrumentalist and improvisor

Noureddin Zarrinkelk, born 1937 in Mashhad, Iran; renowned Iranian animator, concept artist, editor, graphic designer, illustrator, layout artist, photographer, script writer and sculptor

Reza Kianian, born July 17, 1951 in Mashhad, Iran, Iranian actor

Hamid Motebassem, born 1958 in Mashhad, Iranian musician and tar and setar player

Reza Attaran, born 31 March 1968 in Mashhad; Iranian actor and director

Hamed Behdad, born 17 November 1973 in Mashhad, Iran; Iranian actor

Mahdi Bemani Naeini, born November 3, 1968; Iranian film director, cinematographer, TV cameraman and photographer

Rafi Pitts, born 1967 in Mashhad, Iran; internationally acclaimed Iranian film director

Iran Darroudi, born September 2, 1936 in Mashhad; Iranian artist

Mohsen Namjoo, born 1976 in Torbat-e-Jaam; Iranian singer-songwriter, author, musician, and setar player

Mitra Hajjar, born February 4, 1977; Iranian actress

Ovanes Ohanian, ?–1961 Tehran; Armenian-Iranian filmmaker who established the first film school in Iran

;Scientists

Abū al-Wafā' al-Būzjānī, 10 June 940 – 1 July 998; Persian mathematician and astronomer

Anousheh Ansari, born 12 September 1966; the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, Inc and a spaceflight participant with the Russian space program

;Sports figures

Heshmat Mohajerani, born January, 1936 in Mashhad, Iran; Iranian football coach, manager, and former player

Khodadad Azizi, born June 22, 1971 in Mashhad, Iran; retired professional football striker

Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht, born June 30, 1980 in Mashhad; Iranian professional football player

Hossein Badamaki, Iranian professional football player

Mohammad Mansouri, Iranian professional football player

Reza Enayati, Iranian professional football player

Mohsen Ghahramani, Iranain football refree

Mohsen Torki, Iranian football refree

Seyed Ali Akbarian, known as "father of Iran's mountaineering". Notorious for having ate human flesh while stranded on a hike in Zagros Mountains. Currently owns a Kabob restaurant in Westwood

Amir Reza Khadem, born February 10, 1970 in Mashhad

Rasoul Khadem, born February 17, 1972 in Mashhad

Mohammad Khadem

Amir Tavakkolian

Abbas Golmakani, World's wrestling champion during the 1950s

;Others

Ali Akbar Fayyaz,

Mahmoud Khayami, born 1930 in Mashhad, Iran; Iranian born industrialist and philanthropist, of French nationality

Hossein Sabet, Iranian businessman and Persian carpet dealer who owns Sabet International Trading Co.

Hesam Kolahan, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Sister cities

Milan, Italy Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (October 2006) Lahore, Pakistan Fresno, United States

Consulates

Active

Former

: British Consulate-General (1889–1947) : Russian Consulate-General (1889–1917) : Soviet Consulate-General (1917–1979?)

See also

The National Library of Astan Quds Razavi

Footnotes

References

External links

Municipality of Mashhad Official website (in Persian)

Astan Quds Razavi

e-Mashhad Mashhad Portal Official website (in Persian)

Imam Reza Network

http://www.razavi.ir/

Category:Cities in Iran Category:Populated places in Razavi Khorasan Province Category:Iranian provincial capitals Category:Populated places along the Silk Road Category:Shi'a holy cities

Category:765 births Category:818 deaths Category:Assassinated Shi'a imams Category:Deaths by poisoning Category:Family of Muhammad Category:Iranian Arab people Category:People of African descent Category:Twelver imams Category:People of Moroccan descent Category:Zaidi imams

Honorific-prefix	His Excellency
Name	Mahmoud Ahmadinejadمحمود احمدی‌نژاد
Office	President of Iran
Vicepresident	Parviz DavoodiEsfandiar Rahim MashaeiMohammad-Reza Rahimi
Term start	3 August 2005
Predecessor	Mohammad Khatami
Office2	Mayor of Tehran
Term start2	20 June 2003
Term end2	3 August 2005
Predecessor2	Hassan Malekmadani
Successor2	Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf
Office3	Governor of Ardabil
Term start3	1 May 1993
Term end3	28 June 1997
Predecessor3	Hossein Taheri(Governor of East Azerbaijan)
Successor3	Javad Negarandeh
Birth date	October 28, 1956
Birth place	Aradan, Iran
Party	Alliance of Builders (2003–present)Islamic Society of Engineers (1990–present)
Alma mater	University of Science and Technology of Iran
Profession	Civil engineer
Religion	Shi'a Islam
Spouse	Azam Farahi (1977–present)
Signature	Ahmadinajd Signature.jpg
Signature alt	Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Website	http://www.president.ir

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( Mahmūd Ahmadinezhād , ; born 28 October 1956) is the sixth and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country. An engineer and teacher from a poor background, Ahmadinejad joined the Office for Strengthening Unity after the Islamic Revolution. Appointed a provincial governor, he was removed after the election of President Mohammad Khatami and returned to teaching. Tehran's council elected him mayor in 2003. He took a religious hard-line, reversing reforms of previous moderate mayors. His 2005 presidential campaign, supported by the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, garnered 62% of the runoff election votes, and he became President on 3 August 2005.

Ahmadinejad is a controversial figure both within Iran and internationally. He has been criticized domestically for his economic lapses and disregard for human rights. He launched a gas rationing plan in 2007 to reduce the country's fuel consumption, and cut the interest rates private and public banking facilities could charge. He supports Iran's nuclear energy program. His election to a second term in 2009 was widely disputed and caused widespread protests domestically and drew significant international criticism. Major opposition parties, traditional clerical circles and influential Iranian politicians questioned the legitimacy of his presidency.

Ahmadinejad is an outspoken critic of the United States, Israel, and United Kingdom. He abides by Iran's long-standing policy of refusing to recognize Israel as a legitimate nation.

Background

Ahmadinejad was born near Garmsar in the village of Aradan, in Semnan province, the fourth of seven children. His father, Ahmad, was an ironworker, grocer, barber, blacksmith, and religious Shi'a who taught the Qur'an. His mother, Khanom, was a Seyyede, an honorific title given to those believed to be direct bloodline descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. or "Sabaghian" when Ahmadinejad was four years old to avoid discrimination when the family moved to Tehran, as the rural name indicated a lowly social standing. Sabor is Persian for thread painter, a once common occupation within the Semnan carpet industry. Ahmadinejad was chosen as it means from the race of Ahmad, one of the names given to Muhammad.

In 1976, Ahmadinejad took Iran's national university entrance contests. According to his autobiography, he was ranked 132nd out of 400,000 participants that year, and soon enrolled in the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) as an undergraduate student of civil engineering. He earned his PhD (1997) in transportation engineering and planning from Iran University of Science and Technology, located at Tehran, when he was the Mayor of Ardabil Province, located at the north-west of the country.

Supporters of Ahmadinejad consider him a "simple man" that leads a "modest" life. As president, he wanted to continue living in the same house in Tehran his family had been living in, until his security advisers insisted that he move. Ahmadinejad had the antique Persian carpets in the Presidential palace sent to a carpet museum, and opted instead to use inexpensive carpets. He is said to have refused the V.I.P. seat on the Presidential plane, and that he eventually replaced it with a cargo plane instead. Also upon gaining Iran's presidency, Ahmadinejad held his first cabinet meeting in the Imam Reza shrine at Mashhad, an act perceived as "pious".

Ahmadinejad is married with two sons and a daughter. One of his sons formerly studied at the Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic).

Administrative and academic careers

Some details of Ahmadinejad's life during the 1980s are not publicly known, but it is known that he held a number of administrative posts in the province of West Azerbaijan, Iran.

Ahmadinejad was accepted to a Master of Science program at his alma mater in 1986. He joined the faculty there as a lecturer in 1989, and in 1997 received his doctorate in civil engineering and traffic transportation planning.

Presidency

2005 Campaign

Ahmadinejad was not widely known when he entered the presidential election campaign as he had never run for office before, (he had only been mayor of Tehran for two years and had been appointed not elected), although he had already made his mark in Tehran for rolling back earlier reforms. He is a member of the Central Council of the Islamic Society of Engineers, but his key political support is inside the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran (Abadgaran or Developers).

Ahmadinejad generally sent mixed signals about his plans for his presidency, perhaps to attract both religious conservatives and the lower economic classes. His campaign slogan was: "It's possible and we can do it".

Ahmadinejad was the only presidential candidate who spoke out against future relations with the United States. He told Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting the United Nations was "one-sided, stacked against the world of Islam." He opposed the veto power of the UN Security Council's five permanent members: "It is not just for a few states to sit and veto global approvals. Should such a privilege continue to exist, the Muslim world with a population of nearly 1.5 billion should be extended the same privilege." He defended Iran's nuclear program and accused "a few arrogant powers" of trying to limit Iran's industrial and technological development in this and other fields.

In his second round campaign, he said, "We didn't participate in the revolution for turn-by-turn government....This revolution tries to reach a world-wide government." He spoke of an extended program using trade to improve foreign relations, and called for greater ties with Iran's neighbours and ending visa requirements between states in the region, saying that "people should visit anywhere they wish freely. People should have freedom in their pilgrimages and tours."

Ahmadinejad described Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a senior cleric from Qom as his ideological and spiritual mentor. Mesbah founded the Haghani School of thought in Iran. He and his team strongly supported Ahmadinejad's 2005 presidential campaign.

2005 Election

Ahmadinejad won 62 percent of the vote in the run-off poll against Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei authorized his presidency on 3 August 2005.

2005 Cabinet Appointments

Iran's President is constitutionally obliged to obtain confirmation from the parliament for his selection of ministers. Ahmadinejad presented a short-list at a private meeting on 5 August, and his final list on 14 August. The Majlis rejected all of his cabinet candidates for the oil portfolio and objected to the appointment of his allies in senior government office. The ministers promised to meet frequently outside Tehran and held their first meeting on 25 August in Mashhad, with four empty seats for the unapproved nominees.

2006 Councils and Assembly of Experts election

Ahmadinejad’s team lost the 2006 city council elections, In the first nationwide election since Ahmadinejad became President, his allies failed to dominate election returns for the Assembly of Experts and local councils. Results, with a turnout of about 60%, suggested a voter shift toward more moderate policies. According to an editorial in the Kargozaran independent daily newspaper, "The results show that voters have learned from the past and concluded that we need to support.. moderate figures." An Iranian political analyst said that "this is a blow for Ahmadinejad and Mesbah Yazdi's list."

2009 Presidential Election

, Russia, 16 June 2009]] On 23 August 2008, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced that he "sees Ahmadinejad as president in the next five years," a comment interpreted as indicating support for Ahmadinejad's reelection. 39,165,191 ballots were cast in the election on 12 June 2009, according to Iran's election headquarters. Ahmadinejad won 24,527,516 votes, (62.63%). In second place, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, won 13,216,411 (33.75%) of the votes. The election drew unprecedented public interest in Iran.

2009 Iranian Election Protests

, the election results remain in dispute with both Mousavi and Ahmadinejad and their respective supporters who believe that electoral fraud occurred during the election. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formally endorsed Ahmadinejad as President on 3 August 2009, and Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term on 5 August 2009. Opposition groups asked protesters on reformist websites and blogs to launch new street demonstrations on the day of the inauguration ceremony. On inauguration day, hundreds of riot police met opposition protesters outside parliament. After taking the oath of office, which was broadcast live on Iranian state television, Ahmadinejad said that he will "protect the official faith, the system of the Islamic revolution and the constitution".

2009 Cabinet Appointments

Ahmadinejad announced controversial ministerial appointments for his second term. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei was briefly appointed as first vice president, but opposed by a number of Majlis members and by the intelligence minister, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i. Mashaei followed orders to resign. Ahmadinejad then appointed Mashaei as chief of staff, and fired Mohseni-Eje'i.

On July 26, 2009, Ahmadinejad's government faced a legal problem after he sacked four ministers. Iran's constitution (Article 136) stipulates that, if more than half of its members are replaced, the cabinet may not meet or act before the Majlis approves the revised membership. The Vice Chairman of the Majlis announced that no cabinet meetings or decisions would be legal, pending such a re-approval.

The main list of 21 cabinet appointments was announced on August 19, 2009. On September 4, Majlis approved 18 of the 21 candidates, and rejected three, including two women. Sousan Keshavarz, Mohammad Aliabadi, and Fatemeh Ajorlou were not approved by Majlis for the Ministries of Education, Energy, and Welfare and Social Security respectively. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi is the first woman approved by Majlis as a minister in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Domestic policy

Economic policy

In Ahmadinejad's first four years as president, Iran's real GDP reflected growth of the economy. Inflation and unemployment have also decreased under Ahmadinejad due to better economic management and ending the unsustainable spending and borrowing patterns of previous administrations . Ahmadinejad has increased spending by 25 percent and has supported subsidies for food and gasoline. He also initially refused a gradual increase of petrol prices, saying that after making necessary preparations, such as a development of public transportation system, the government will free up petrol prices after five years. Interest rates were cut by presidential decree to below the inflation rate. One unintended effect of this stimulation of the economy has been the bidding up of some urban real estate prices by two or three times their pre-Ahmadinejad value by Iranians seeking to invest surplus cash and finding few other safe opportunities. The resulting increase in the cost of housing has hurt poorer, non-property owning Iranians, the putative beneficiaries of Ahmadinejad's populist policies. The Management and Planning Organisation, a state body charged with mapping out long-term economic and budget strategy, was broken up and its experienced managers were fired.

In June 2006, 50 Iranian economists wrote a letter to Ahmadinejad that criticized his price interventions to stabilize prices of goods, cement, government services, and his decree issued by the High Labor Council and the Ministry of Labor that proposed an increase of workers' salaries by 40 percent. Ahmadinejad publicly responded harshly to the letter and denounced the accusations. Ahmadinejad has called for "middle-of-the-road" compromises with respect to Western-oriented capitalism and socialism. Current political conflicts with the United States have caused the central bank to fear increased capital flight due to global isolation. These factors have prevented an improvement of infrastructure and capital influx, despite high economic potential. Mohammad Khoshchehreh, a member of Iranian parliament that campaigned for Ahmadinejad, said that his government "has been strong on populist slogans, but weak on achievement." President Ahmadinejad has changed almost all of his economic ministers, including oil, industry and economy, since coming to power in 2005. In an interview with Fars News Agency on April 2008, Davoud Danesh Jaafari who acted as minister of economy in President Ahmadinejad’s cabinet, harshly criticized Ahmadinejad’s economic policy: “During my time, there was no positive attitude towards previous experiences or experienced people and there was no plan for the future. Peripheral issues which were not of dire importance to the nation were given priority. Most of the scientific economic concepts like the effect of liquidity on inflation were put in question." In response to these criticisms, Ahmadinejad accused his minister of not being "a man of justice" and declared that the solution to Iran’s economic problem is "the culture of martyrdom". In May 2008, the Petroleum minister of Iran admitted that the government illegally invested 2 billion dollars to import petrol in 2007. At Iranian parliament, he also mentioned that he simply followed the president's order.

While his government had 275 thousand billion toman oil income, the highest in Iranian history, Ahmadinejad’s government had the highest budget deficit since the Iranian revolution.

During his presidency, Ahmadinejad launched a gas rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption. He also instituted cuts in the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge. He issued a directive, according to which the Management and Planning Organization be affiliated to the government.

Family planning and population policy

In October 2006, Ahmadinejad began calling for a scrapping of Iran's existing birth control policies which discouraged Iranian couples from having more than two children. He told MPs that Iran could cope with 50 million more people than the current 70 million. In November 2010 he urged Iranians to marry and reproduce earlier, “We should take the age of marriage for boys to 20 and for girls to about 16 and 17.” His remarks have drawn criticism and been called ill-judged at a time when Iran was struggling with surging inflation and rising unemployment, estimated at around 11 percent. Ahmadinejad’s call was reminiscent of a call for Iranians to have more children made by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979. The policy increased Iran's population by 16 million in seven years but was eventually reversed in response to the resultant economic strain.

In 2008, the government sent the "Family Protection Bill" to the Iranian parliament. Women's rights activists criticized the bill for removing protections from women, such as the requirement that a husband obtain his wife's consent before bringing another wife into the family.

Housing

The first legislation to emerge from his newly formed government was a 12 trillion rial (US$1.3 billion) fund called "Reza's Compassion Fund", named after Shi'a Imam Ali al-Rida. Ahmadinejad's government said this fund would tap Iran's oil revenues to help young people get jobs, afford marriage, and buy their own homes. The fund also sought charitable donations, with a board of trustees in each of Iran's 30 provinces. The legislation was a response to the cost of urban housing, which is pushing up the national average marital age (currently around 25 years for women and 28 years for men). In 2006 the Iranian parliament rejected the fund. However, Ahmadinejad ordered the administrative council to execute the plan.

Human rights

]] According to a report by the group Human Rights Watch, "Since President Ahmadinejad came to power, treatment of detainees has worsened in Evin Prison as well as in detention centers operated clandestinely by the Judiciary, the Ministry of Information, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps." Again according to Human Rights Watch, "Respect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and assembly, deteriorated in 2006. The government routinely tortures and mistreats detained dissidents, including through prolonged solitary confinement." Human Rights Watch described the source of human rights violations in contemporary Iran as coming from the Judiciary, accountable to Ali Khamenei, and from members directly appointed by Ahmadinejad.

Responses to dissent have varied. Human Rights Watch writes that "the Ahmadinejad government, in a pronounced shift from the policy under former president Mohammed Khatami, has shown no tolerance for peaceful protests and gatherings." In December 2006, Ahmadinejad advised officials not to disturb students who engaged in a protest during a speech of his at the Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran, although speakers at other protests have included among their complaints that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.

In April 2007, the Tehran police, which is under Khamenei's supervision, began a crackdown on women with "improper hijab." This led to criticism from associates of Ahmadinejad.

Universities

In 2006, the Ahmadinejad government reportedly forced numerous Iranian scientists and university professors to resign or to retire. It has been referred to as "second cultural revolution". The policy has been said to replace old professors with younger ones. Some university professors received letters indicating their early retirement unexpectedly. In November 2006, 53 university professors had to retire from Iran University of Science and Technology.

In 2006, Ahmadinejad's government applied a 50 percent quota for male students and 50 percent for female students in the university entrance exam for medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. The plan was supposed to stop the growing presence of female students in the universities. In a response to critics, Iranian minister of health and medical education, Kamran Bagheri Lankarani argued that there are not enough facilities such as dormitories for female students. Masoud Salehi, president of Zahedan University said that presence of women generates some problems with transportation. Also, Ebrahim Mekaniki, president of Babol University of Medical Sciences, stated that an increase in the presence of women will make it difficult to distribute facilities in a suitable manner. Bagher Larijani, the president of Tehran University of Medical Sciences made similar remarks. According to Rooz Online, the quotas lack a legal foundation and are justified as support for "family" and "religion."

December 2006 student protest

On 11 December 2006, some students disrupted a speech by Ahmadinejad at the Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) in Tehran. According to the Iranian Student News Agency, students set fire to photographs of Ahmadinejad and threw firecrackers. The protesters also chanted "death to the dictator." It was the first major public protest against Ahmadinejad since his election. In a statement carried on the students' Web site, they announced that they had been protesting the growing political pressure under Ahmadinejad, also accusing him of corruption, mismanagement, and discrimination. The statement added that "the students showed that despite vast propaganda, the president has not been able to deceive academia." It was also reported that some students were angry about the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust.

In response to the students' slogans, the president said: "We have been standing up to dictatorship so that no one will dare to establish dictatorship in a millennium even in the name of freedom. Given the scars inflicted on the Iranian nation by agents of the US and British dictatorship, no one will ever dare to initiate the rise of a dictator." It was reported that even though the protesters broke the TV cameras and threw hand-made bombs at Ahmadinejad, the president asked the officials not to question or disturb the protesters. In his blog, Ahmadinejad described his reaction to the incident as "a feeling of joy" because of the freedom that people enjoyed after the revolution.

One thousand students also protested the day before to denounce the increased pressure on the reformist groups at the university. One week prior, more than two thousand students protested at Tehran University on the country's annual student day, with speakers saying that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.

Nuclear program

Ahmadinejad has been a vocal supporter of Iran's nuclear program, and has insisted that it is for peaceful purposes. He has repeatedly emphasized that building a nuclear bomb is not the policy of his government. He has said that such a policy is "illegal and against our religion." He also added at a January 2006 conference in Tehran that a nation with "culture, logic and civilization" would not need nuclear weapons, and that countries that seek nuclear weapons are those which want to solve all problems by the use of force. In a 2008 interview Ahmadinejad elaborated that countries striving to obtain nuclear weapons are politically backward nations and those who possess them and continually make new generations of such bombs are "even more backward".

In April 2006, Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully refined uranium to a stage suitable for the nuclear fuel cycle. In a speech to students and academics in Mashhad, he was quoted as saying that Iran's conditions had changed completely as it had become a nuclear state and could talk to other states from that stand. On 13 April 2006, Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that the peaceful Iranian nuclear technology would not pose a threat to any party because "we want peace and stability and we will not cause injustice to anyone and at the same time we will not submit to injustice." Nevertheless, Iran's nuclear policy under Ahmadinejad's administration has received much criticism, spearheaded by the United States and Israel. The accusations include that Iran is striving to obtain nuclear arms and developing long-range firing capabilities, and that Ahmadinejad issued an order to keep UN inspectors from freely visiting the nation's nuclear facilities and viewing their designs, a move which would be in defiance of an IAEA resolution. Following a May 2009 test launch of a long-range missile, Ahmadinejad was quoted as telling the crowd that with its nuclear program, Iran was sending the West a message that “the Islamic Republic of Iran is running the show.”

Despite Ahmadinejad's vocal support for the program, the office of the Iranian president is not directly responsible for nuclear policy. It is instead set by the Supreme National Security Council. The council includes two representatives appointed by the Supreme Leader, military officials, and members of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government, and reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons in 2005. Khamenei has criticized Ahmadinejad's "personalization" of the nuclear issue.

Ahmadinejad vowed on February 2008, that Iran will not be held back from developing its peaceful nuclear program and has stated that at least 16 different peaceful uses for nuclear technology have so far been identified.

In October 2009 the United States, France and Russia proposed a U.N.-drafted deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program, in an effort to find a compromise between Iran's stated need for a nuclear reactor and the concerns of those who are worried that Iran harbors a secret intent on developing a nuclear weapon. After some delay in responding, on October 29, Ahmadinejad seemed to changed his tone towards the deal. "We welcome fuel exchange, nuclear co-operation, building of power plants and reactors and we are ready to co-operate," he said in a live broadcast on state television. However, he added that Iran would not retreat "one iota" on its right to a sovereign nuclear program.

Domestic criticism and controversies

Alleged corruption

Ahmadinejad has been criticized for attacking private “plunderers” and “corrupt officials,” while engaging in "cronyism and political favouritism". Many of his close associates have been appointed to positions for which they have no obvious qualifications, and "billion dollar no-bid contracts" have been awarded to the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), an organization with which he is strongly associated.

Other statements

, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] In June 2007, Ahmadinejad was criticized by some Iranian parliament members over his remark about Christianity and Judaism. According to Aftab News Agency, Ahmadinejad stated: "In the world, there are deviations from the right path: Christianity and Judaism. Dollars have been devoted to the propagation of these deviations. There are also false claims that these [religions] will save mankind. But Islam is the only religion that [can] save mankind." Some members of Iranian parliament criticized these remarks as being fuels to religious war.

Conservative MP Rafat Bayat has blamed Ahmadinejad for a decline in observance of the required hijab for women, calling him "not that strict on this issue". Ahmadinejad has been also accused of indecency by people close to Rafsanjani, after he publicly kissed the hand of a woman who used to be his school teacher.

The UN and football stadiums

Two statements that have brought criticism from some religious authorities concern his speech at the United Nations, and the attendance of women at football matches. In a visit to group of Ayatollahs in Qom after returning from his 2005 speech to the UN General Assembly, Ahmadinejad stated he had "felt a halo over his head" during his speech and that a hidden presence had mesmerized the unblinking audience of foreign leaders, foreign ministers, and ambassadors. According to at least one source (Hooman Majd), this was offensive to the conservative religious leaders because an ordinary man cannot presume a special closeness to God or any of the Imams, nor can he imply the presence of the Mahdi.

In another statement the next year, Ahmadinejad proclaimed (without consulting the clerics beforehand), that women be allowed into football stadiums to watch male football clubs compete. This proclamation "was quickly overruled" by clerical authorities, one of whom, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani "refused for weeks to meet with President Ahmadinejad" in early 2007. President Ahmadinejad accused the head of parliament of violating Iranian constitutional law. He called for legal action against the Parliament speaker. Haddad-Adel responded to Ahmadinejad accusing him of using inappropriate language in his remarks and letters.

Ali Kordan

In August 2008, Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appointed Ali Kordan as Iran's interior minister. Kordan's appointment has been criticized by Iranian parliamentarians, media and analysts after it came to light that a doctoral degree allegedly awarded to Ali Kordan was fabricated, and that the putative issuer of the degree, Oxford University, had no record of Ali Kordan receiving any degree from the University. It was also revealed that he had been jailed in 1978 for moral charges. Fabrication of legal documents is punishable in Iranian law with one to three years of imprisonment and in the case of government officials, the maximum sentence (three years) is demanded.

In November 2008, President Ahmadinejad announced that he was against impeachment of Ali Kordan by Iranian parliament. He refused to attend the parliament on the impeachment day. Ali Kordan was expelled from Iranian interior ministry by Iranian parliament on 4 November 2008. 188 MPs voted against Ali Kordan. An impeachment of Kordan would push Ahmadinejad close to having to submit his entire cabinet for review by parliament, which is led by one of his chief political opponents. Iran's constitution requires that step if more than half the cabinet ministers are replaced, and Ahmadinejad has replaced nine of 21.

Conflict with Parliament

On February 2009 after Supreme Audit Court of Iran reported that $1.058 billion of surplus oil revenue in the (2006–2007) budget hasn't been returned by the government to the national treasury, Ali Larijani – Iran's parliamentary speaker – called for further investigations in order to make sure the missing funds are returned to the treasury as soon as possible. Ahmadinejad criticized the National Audit Office for what he called its "carelessness", saying the report "incites the people" against the government. The head of the parliament Energy Commission, Hamidreza Katouzian, reported: The government spent $5 billion to import fuel, about $2 billion more than the sum parliament had authorized. Katouzian quoted Iran's Oil Minister, Gholam-Hossein Nozari, as saying that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had ordered the extra purchase. On February 2009 parliamentary research centre report Iran faces a budget deficit of 44 billion dollars in the financial year starting in March.

"Earthquake Saferoom"

Ahmadinejad was allegedly involved in a fraud in which he along with Ali Akbar Mehrabian and Mousa Mazloum in 2005 published an invention by Farzan Salimi, claiming it as their own. The idea for an "earthquake saferoom"—a design for a fortified room in homes in case of disaster was owned by Farzan Salimi, an Iranian researcher and engineer. In July 2009, the general court of Tehran convicted Industry Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian and Mousa Mazloum but kept silent about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's involvement, according to Etemad-Melli daily. According to the BBC, Ahmadinejad is named as an author on the cover of the book in which the fraudulent claim was made.

Foreign relations

in Baku.]] in Tehran.]]

During Ahmadinejad's tenure as President of Iran the foreign policy of the country took a different approach from the previous administration. Relations with the West generally soured while relations with other parts of the world, including Africa and Latin America, were on the ascendance. In light of the calls for sanctions on Iran for its nuclear weapons programme, Ahmadinejad and his foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, traveled extensively throughout the two regions, as well as hosted other leaders. Relations with the ALBA states, and Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, in particular, were most strengthened. Relations with America during the Bush administration and Israel were weakened.

He was embroiled in controversy in regards to statements he made about the Holocaust and for commenting that "the occupying regime" should, according to various translations, be eliminated from or "vanish from the pages of time." Some news sources misinterpreted this as a call for the destruction of the State of Israel when the phrase was mistakenly translated as "wiped off the map,". Experts say the word "map" doesn't even appear in the quote.

He advocates "free elections" for the region, and believes Palestinians need a stronger voice in the region's future. Criticism of him in the West has been coupled with accusations of describing the Holocaust as a myth and of statements influenced by "classic anti-Semitic ideas," which has led to accusations of anti-Semitism, though he has denied these accusations, saying that he "respects Jews very much" and that he was not "passing judgment" on the Holocaust.

In September 2010 he caused yet-another controversy at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly by claiming that most people believed the United States government was behind the 9/11 attacks and later called for an inquiry, stating: "The fact-finding mission can shed light on who the perpetrators were, who is al-Qaeda... where does it exist? Who was it backed by and supported? All these should come to light." The speech triggered a mass walkout, and the U.S. president Barack Obama described the claims as "inexcuseable", "offensive" and "hateful". In 2010, Ahmadinejad reiterated the 9/11 conspiracy, and wrote:

"Establishing an independent and impartial committee of investigation, which would determine the roots and causes of the regrettable event of 9/11, is the demand of all the peoples of the region and the world. [...] Any opposition to this legal and human demand means that 9/11 was premeditated in order to achieve the goals of occupation and of confrontation with the nations.

On al-Quds Day in September 2010 criticized the Palestinian Authority over its' president's decision to renew direct peace talks with Israel saying the talks are "stillborn" and "doomed to fail", urging the Palestinians to continue armed resistance to Israel. He said that Mahmoud Abbas had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, fired back, saying, Ahmadinejad "does not represent the Iranian people,..., is not entitled to talk about Palestine, or the President of Palestine"

In October 2010, Ahmadinejad will visit Lebanon. Ahmadinejad plans to throw a rock towards Israel "to demonstrate his hatred". Hizbullah operatives will provide him with security throughout his visit. According to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa Syrian, President Bashar Assad advised Ahmadinejad not to visit southern Lebanon. In response, Ahmadinejad expounded the "strategic importance for him because southern Lebanon is Iran's border with Israel".

See also

Politics of Iran

Haghani Circle

Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi

Advisors to the president: Hamid Mowlana, Mohammad-Ali Ramin, Ali Akbar Javanfekr

2006 Iranian sumptuary law controversy

References

Further reading

"Referral of Iranian President Ahmadinejad on the Charge of Incitement to Commit Genocide" by Justus Reid Weiner, Esq., with Amb. Meir Rosenne, Prof. Elie Wiesel, Amb. Dore Gold, Irit Kohn, Adv., Amb. Eytan Bentsur, and MK Dan Naveh

External links

Official website of the President of Iran

Blog of President Ahmadinejad

Biography by CIDOB Foundation

Video Archive of President Ahmadinejad

Collected news and commentary at The New York Times

Interview with Ahmadinejad in TIME Magazine

The Results As They Came In:

|- |- |- |-

Category:1956 births Category:Antisemitism Category:Current national leaders Category:Holocaust deniers Category:9/11 conspiracy theorists Category:Iranian governors Category:Iranian anti-communists Category:Living people Category:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Category:Mayors of Tehran Category:Presidents of Iran Category:Shi'a politicians Category:Iranian civil engineers Category:Islamic Society of Engineers politicians Category:Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran politicians