100,000s gather in Azadi Square to challenge the disputed Presidential election, June 15, 2009, Tehran, Iran
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s President from 2005 to 2013, grants an interview to Golnaz Esfandiari of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, an outlet funded by the US Government.
But Ahmadinejad balks at acknowledging the mass protests after the disputed 2009 election which he “won”, and lies that he complained at the time when scores of demonstrators were killed by security forces.
He does not make a specific comment on the 115-month house arrests of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi — who may have been the real winner of the 2009 election — Mehdi Karroubi, or Zahra Rahnavard. And he does not accept the harassment of journalists, with threats against their families.
With Esfandiari seeking answers, the former President retreats into complaint: “You don’t let me [speak], you interrupt any sentence I say. This is out of the norm for interviewers.”
Does he have any regrets? “No, why should I have regrets?”, he replies.
“Thanks again for confirming that Iran’s intelligence services were effectively running operations — and thus affecting policy — with the President ignorant of the situation.”
I am not a government spokesman and | cannot confirm anything. I just pointed out that not every judicial and intelligence case falls within the purview of presidential oversight. You really are the most annoying liberal redneck I have encountered.
Rastgoo,
You said Ahmadinejad, purportedly a President, did not know of the intelligence services’ harassment of journalists and threats against their families.
I am happy to take you at your word. May I also presume that he did not know of the torture, sometimes to death, of detainees in prisons?
The Liberal Redneck
In actual fact, he stated he was not aware of the “harassment” of Radio Farda (a U.S-funded propaganda station) “journalists”, and he was probably right – just too minor a thing to be aware of. He also stated he was not happy at the deaths of anyone. Note that Esfandiari claimed 60 deaths in 2009 and not the 80 offered by the Green movement or the 110 provided by Muhammad Sahimi. The official tally was 44.
Rastgoo,
So the President of Iran is unaware of the work of the country’s intelligence services? Noted.
S.
Typical perversion of what I meant. The President is not aware of every intelligence operation in existence. He is not aware of every judicial case either. That is true for Iran as it is for the United States, France etc. I seriously doubt that Ahmadinejad was even made aware of the case of RF journalists.
Rastgoo,
Thanks again for confirming that Iran’s intelligence services were effectively running operations — and thus affecting policy — with the President ignorant of the situation.
S.