(Times of Israel) Saeed Ghasseminejad - Ayatollah Khamenei's closest advisors and followers are obsessed with the idea of Mahdi's reappearance. The Mahdi is the "hidden Imam" prophesied to dominate the world and cleanse it of sin and sinners. Khamenei's appointee at the Iranian Revolution Guard Corp, Ayatollah Ali Saeedi, regularly mentions this notion in his speeches to IRGC officers. While many experts tell us Iran is a rational, pragmatic regime like any other in the world, all the facts shout that it is not. A large number of Iranian officials and decision makers have deeply rooted apocalyptic beliefs. Underestimating this radical ideology even as the Iranian regime is on its way to building a nuclear bomb can lead to dangerously wrong conclusions. The suggestion taking hold of late that a nuclear armed Iran is not the end of the world may unfortunately be dead wrong.
2013-06-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive