In June, Iran elected Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad to be its new president. Largely unknown outside Iran (reportedly,
he has never even traveled outside the country), he's being called "an ultra-conservative."
The White House immediately expressed its skepticism about the honesty of
the election.
Spokesman Scott McClellan
also relayed Washington's doubts that Britain, France and Germany would be
able to succeed in dissuading Iran from its pursuit of nuclear weapons technology.
Prime Minister Blair promised to continue a firm approach with Tehran.
For its part, Tehran tried
to allay international concerns following Ahmadinejad's election. Who is he?
Why do Western nations look on him as a hardliner?
He is a 49-year-old man of
humble beginnings, the son of a blacksmith. His commitment to the Islamic
cause began with his university days when he was drawn to the Khomeini revolution
against the shah. He was the university student's representative in the OSU,
an organization set up by Khomeini's principal confidant to organize Islamic
students.
"The OSU played a major role
in the seizure of the U.S. Embassy and its diplomats in Iran in November 1979,"
reported UPI's Claude Salhani in "Analysis: Who Is Ahmadinejad?" published
June 27, 2005. The hostages were held for 444 days.
As we go to press, a story
is breaking on the possibility that Ahmadinejad was one of the hostage takers,
if not one of the leaders. Former hostage Charles Scott, 73, told The Washington
Times, "The new president of
Iran is a terrorist" (Joyce Howard Price and David R. Sands, "Iran Leader
Linked to '79 Embassy Crisis," June 30, 2005).
Salhani said Ahmadinejad
assisted Khomeini in cracking down on universities, purging dissident lecturers
and students, many of whom were arrested and later executed. Ahmadinejad then
worked in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corp's Internal Security, where he "earned
notoriety as a ruthless interrogator and torturer."
