I am sure most of you already heard about this or read it somewhere. Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad, in one instance, destroys everything Khatemi was trying to achieve in the past few years in strengthening ties with the European Union countries! Khatemi’s efforts in international relations and his attempts in creating economic and political relations with countries all over the world took many years and seemed to work to a certain extent.

The best example of the benefits of his efforts is how Iran barely survived the nuclear reactor issue, with alot of help from the European Union!

During a speech in an anti-Israel rally, Nejad said that Israel “must be wiped off the map”!

How stupid was that remark? Not only does he lose any allies Iran made in recent years, but the worldwide reaction against Iran made them even more isolated, with the UN condemning the remarks and the president’s rashness!

With the amount of pressure the Bush administration is putting on Iran, Nejad basically gave them an excuse to do what they want, and gave any other country a excuse to support the US! This was a direct threat to destroy another country!! What’s worse is that if a country like Yemen or Kuwait said that, it would cause a minor problem, but would be forgotten, but if a country like Iran says it, then it is a real threat knowing that they have the nuclear technology to do so!

On the other hand….

Maybe this was going through Nejad’s head and it wasn’t just a remark that came out without thinking ….

Even though it has always been presented as an option, military action on Iran is difficult realistically! The US wont even consider it now that the situation in Iraq is taking much longer than before, and especially with Syria being the next probable target after the whole Hariri situation, Iran is not an option even if they wanted to attack, not enough resources, money, or even support from his people for the country to be in three wars instead of one!

Also, another reason that may give him a bit more confidence in talking with that attitude is that he knows that attacking Iran will lose the US any support it has from many Shiites in Iraq, which is the last thing the US needs at the moment!

I still can’t decide wether its a stupid mistake, or a calculated remark! For some reason I am leaning towards option 1…. I doubt he will be saying stuff like that after more years in the spotlight!

As a side note, what would happen if some of the Friday prayer speeches concerning Jews (not even Israel as a country) in Kuwait were publicized to the international media?!