Iranian President Angers the World

According to latest reports, Iran has decided to take on the world as its president steps on as many toes as he can reach.

First and foremost, Israel:

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that the Holocaust was a myth, triggering a fresh wave of international condemnation.

Ahmadinejad had first suggested that the killing of six million Jews by the Nazis was a legend last week, drawing a rebuke from the United Nations Security Council.
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Ahmadinejad, a former Revolutionary Guardsman who was elected president in June, in October called Israel a "tumor" which must be "wiped off the map"...

But insulting one's fiercest enemy is child's play. How about the Western world, or even your own allies?

Ahmadinejad provoked an angry reaction from the United States, Europe and even Russia, an ally of Iran, when he told reporters in Saudi Arabia on Thursday that Israel should be moved to Europe if the West wants to make up for the Holocaust.

And how about one's neighbor, the richest nation in the area?

The comment also infuriated the Saudis as it was made on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference that was dedicated to showing the moderate face of Islam.

And last, but not least, one's own countrymen:

But he has alienated even some conservative allies in Iran, who fear he is hurting the country's image. Moderate Iranians have called on the ruling Islamic establishment to rein in the president.

[But] Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has ultimate say on all matters, has backed Ahmadinejad's calls for Israel's elimination.

Unfortunately, this man calling for wiping Israel from the map is the elected leader of the same Iran that is reportedly closing in on the production of nuclear weapons. The Independent (Online Edition) recently reported:

Talks between Iran and the European Union, which has been leading negotiations aimed at preventing the Iranians from building a nuclear bomb, broke down in August, when the Iranians resumed nuclear-related activities at their Isfahan plant.

Global Security warns that Iran is currently involved in an active race toward nuclear armament.

Despite severe economic distress, Iran's use of limited funds to procure new conventional weapons and develop weapons of mass destruction reveals a commitment to achieve Gulf preeminence.

Iran has aggressively pursued nuclear technology from both Western and Eastern sources. Russia and China provided assistance in developing nuclear energy capabilities. Since the early 1990's Iranians has been purchasing dual-use nuclear equipment from Europe, China, Russia and third world countries. Some of this equipment could be used to enrich uranium which could be used for nuclear weapon development. Iran has also made extensive efforts in training nuclear personnel in Iran itself and in western universities.

In an April 2004 speech, John R. Bolton, the Bush Administration's primary policymaker on weapons of mass destruction, said: "If we permit Iran's deception to go on much longer, it will be too late. Iran will have nuclear weapons."

And on top of that, Iranian officials have recently announced their goals for building a world class space program.

Iran has major ambitions in space, looking to show off its technological abilities, monitor its neighborhood -- where the United States has hundreds of thousands of troops -- and establish itself as a regional superpower.

Others are concerned about the program's military applications, particularly Israel, whose existence is opposed by the hard-line Islamic regime in Iran. Iran's Shahab-3 missile, with a range of 1,240 miles, already can reach Israel as well as U.S. forces across the Middle East.

And while they assert that the space program's goals are totally innocent in nature, with no military purpose...

Iranian officials point to America's use of space to monitor Afghanistan and Iraq before invading them and say they need similar abilities for their country's security.

A bit of a mixed signal there, if you ask me. Just what we need: a religiously agressive nuclear power in space, run by a pair of madmen. Not quite the air of stability we were looking for in the Middle East...