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Don't Be Fooled by Iran's Charming New Leader

(Bloomberg) Jeffrey Goldberg - Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran, is a moderate only in comparison to his predecessor, the unhinged Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Rouhani has been a superior soldier for Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and an anti-American propagandist for much of his professional life. (Rouhani blamed 9/11 on the "wrongs and mistakes of American policies," and argued that the U.S. Air Force shot down Flight 93 which crashed in Pennsylvania.) There's no reason to think that Rouhani, who is acting on Khamenei's behalf, is ready to shut down his country's nuclear program. In 2007, Rouhani said, "We should talk carefully so as not to provoke the enemy, we should not give them any excuses." Who is the enemy? The U.S. is the enemy. Rouhani wrote in 2003: "The fundamental principle in Iran's relations with America - our entire focus - is national strength. Strength in politics, culture, economics, and defense - especially in the field of advanced technology - is the basis for the preservation and overall development of the System, and will force the enemy to surrender."
2013-10-01 00:00:00
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