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West is warily awaiting Ahmadinejad’s next move
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08.14.2009 |
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - In a speech to officially begin his second term last week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran gave what amounted to the regime’s official world view: Iran deserves respect as a globe-shaping power and can withstand any pressures the West can apply.
But what he left out were any hints of how Iran’s global strategies will cope with the backwash from the internal political tempests, a backwash that has left Ahmadinejad hobbled, the ruling theocracy feeling uncomfortably challenged, and opposition groups digging in for a long battle.
Few expect Iran to significantly retool its foreign policies in the aftermath of the disputed June 12 elections. But specialists say the country will be closely watched for telltale signs of shifts, including whether Ahmadinejad adopts less confrontational tones in international affairs and whether Iran tries to buy time on Washington’s latest offer to open talks.
Ahmadinejad plans to be on President Obama’s home turf next month for the United Nations General Assembly, possibly his first major international trip since the election.
He may still carry the outward swagger as in his past annual stops in New York. This time, though, he also will probably try for damage control to his image.
“The Iranian leaders are all checking their wounds,’’ said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a professor of political science at Emirates University.
Certainly Ahmadinejad has been left bruised and diminished by the election, which millions say he stole through clumsily rigged results. Even some conservatives are turning their backs on his apparent support for a merciless crush-or-be-crushed strategy against the opposition.
But Ahmadinejad has pushed back rather than retreat.
On Sunday he ousted four more senior Intelligence Ministry officials in an ongoing purge of those perceived as failing his allegiance test. The move further cements his control over Iran’s main spy agency - a vital tool in battling dissent - and could also provide a possible character study for the bumpy times ahead.
Ahmadinejad has shown no hesitation to flex his authoritarian clout in the early moments of his second term. The pretext of an ongoing political crisis could give him even more room to test his limits, along with his powerful backers in the Revolutionary Guard.
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Source:www.boston.com |
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