(Ynet News) Roee Nahmias - "In my opinion, these declarations have been made due to internal circumstances, a wish by Ahmadinejad to be treated as a leader in the sphere of external affairs, and not just on social affairs, on which his elections campaign was based," said Prof. David Menashri, head of Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University. Furthermore, "his declarations stem from a lack of experience," Menashri said. "It's important to remember that he is not the deciding factor, and that spiritual leader Khamenei is at the end of the day the one who ultimately approves the president's actions." The statements mark the flexing of the president's muscles - at times, a show that stems from the Iranian revolution's weakness - and Israel in this case is the victim "on which to take it out on." Menashri concludes: "This is a revolution that has failed, and it's good for it to have a distant enemy to focus its attention on. Hence, the revolution boosts its prestige by showing how Israel and America are frightened of it. In fact, Israel is used as the revolution's reason for living."
2005-12-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive