Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wrapped up his visit to New York on September 21 by expressing a desire for Iran to become a "different kind of superpower."
Ahmadinejad repeatedly made headlines while in New York with his spirited defense of Iranian national interests, coupled with verbal attacks on the United States. He demonstrated a penchant for making provocative comments, and, in engaging in rhetorical jousts with critics, he showed that he could maintain a sense of calm under pressure.
A reception for Iranian émigrés, held on the evening of September 21 just prior to his departure, offered Ahmadinejad one last chance to court controversy. He didn't pass it up. He flatly denied Iran sought to develop nuclear arms, but insisted on the country's right to conduct nuclear research. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "They [the United States and European Union] know if we develop our technology we will become a superpower," Ahmadinejad said. "But a different kind of superpower not one that attacks others. Iran is a country with the power of love and peace, and they [the rest of the international community] are afraid of that power."
Ahmadinejad left many members of the US policy-making establishment shaking their heads, and more determined than ever to undertake measures to prevent the possibility of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. One such policy maker is Maurice R. Greenberg, chairman of the Washington, DC,-based Nixon Center. In an interview posted by the National Interest Online website, he characterized Ahmadinejad as "crazy like a fox" during an exchange with members of the Council on Foreign Relations. [For the full text of the interview click here].
"How a man like this came to power. He's very clever. He responds in an oblique way: never directly to the question," Greenburg told the National Interest, adding that it would be difficult to deal with the Iranian leader as long as he adhered to his existing views, including questioning whether the Holocaust occurred. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].
"I think it's almost impossible to do business with him as long as he has those views," Greenberg continued. "He says: "Why should the Palestinians suffer even if there was a Holocaust? What does one have to do with the other?" I mean, they have nothing to do with each other. We don't link them together. And we discussed that. They're not linked."
Meanwhile, an Iranian diplomat expressed displeasure with the behavior of many Council members during the session. "They interrogated him with their questions," the diplomat complained to a EurasiaNet correspondent. "They didn't respect him as a president of a large country like Iran."
Gary Sick, an Iran expert and senior research scholar at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, said Ahmadinejad enjoyed "rock star status" in New York. "If all publicity is good publicity, he got lots of it," Sick said. "He came across as in interesting person who had a point of view, and who represented that point of view effectively."
Sick stressed that Ahmadinejad, though Iran's chief executive, is not necessarily responsible for determining the country's security policy. Describing Ahmadinejad's New York behavior as "slightly off the wall," Sick added that the Iranian president was speaking "for himself" and not the entire government. Indeed, the Iranian press is full of reports that Ahmadinejad is facing increasing pressure from political factions back in Tehran to moderate his public comments and behavior. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Ahmadinejad's actions in New York likely hurt Iran's foreign investment prospects, and made life more difficult for Iranian nuclear negotiators. But that may have been the point. His behavior may have been calibrated with an eye on enhancing his domestic political position.
The visit "didn't help Iran's position, but it did help his position," Sick said. "He reached a wider audience than he ever has."
Editor's note:
EurasiaNet contributor Camelia Entakhabi-Fard contributed material to this report.
