“Ahmadinejad: Iran too 'mighty' to attack”

Post by Emily Jacobson

In response to being snubbed from last week’s nuclear summit in Washington, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a warning letter to Obama, spoke out condemningly against the U.S. and the UN Security Council, and held his own retaliatory nuclear conference in Tehran. His seemingly oversized reaction reflects the seriousness of Iran’s intention to be seen as a high status power. Yet while Obama utilized the Washingtonian nuclear summit to pressure countries to support sanctions against Iran, Ahmadinejad repeated the overstated claim that Iranians are after energy not nukes.

"One of the greatest treasons by those that monopolize nuclear weapons is to equalize nukes with nuclear energy,” he asserted. And yet if Iran is only after nuclear energy, one should question why the president reacted so fiercely to being excluded from the conference.

Additionally, Ahmadinejad played the global good guy in his speech. He called the Security Council the “tool” of a few bullying nations and insisted that “Iran is a friend and brother of regional and independent nations and it wants peace, progress and security for all countries.” It may be time for Obama to shift his approach to Iran, especially if Scheuer can be credited when he named two other regional concerns that should take more priority over struggles with Iran. However, if Iran’s reaction to merely being excluded from a nuclear conference is any indication, we should be cautious in our approach with Iran. Especially as they complete their nuclear homework.

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