Berita terkini mahmoud ahmadinejad biography

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

President of Iran from to

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad[c] (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian[5][d] on 28 October )[12][13] is an Iranian principlist and nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from to He is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council.

He was known for his hardline views and nuclearisation of Iran. He was also the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country, and served as mayor of Tehran from to , reversing many of his predecessor's reforms.

An engineer and teacher from a poor background,[14] he was ideologically shaped by thinkers such as Navvab Safavi, Jalal Al-e-Ahmad, and Ahmad Fardid.[15] After the Iranian Revolution, Ahmadinejad joined the Office for Strengthening Unity.[16] Appointed a provincial governor in , he was replaced along with all other provincial governors in after the election of President Mohammad Khatami and returned to teaching.[17][18]Tehran's council elected him mayor in [19] He took a religious hard line, reversing reforms of previous moderate mayors.[20] His presidential campaign, supported by the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, garnered 62% of the runoff election votes, and he became president on 3 August [21]

During his presidency, Ahmadinejad was a controversial figure both in Iran and worldwide.

He was criticized domestically for his economic policies,[23] and was accused of disregard for human rights by organizations in North America and Europe.[24] Outside of Iran, he was criticized for his hostility towards countries including Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United States and other Western and Arab states.

In , Ahmadinejad introduced a gasoline rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption and cut the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge.[25][26][27] He supports Iran's nuclear program. His election to a second term in was widely disputed,[28][29] and led to widespread protests domestically and criticism from Western countries.[30]

During his second term, Ahmadinejad experienced a power struggle with reformers and other traditionalists in Parliament and the Revolutionary Guard,[31] as well as with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,[32] over his dismissal of intelligence minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i and his support for his controversial close adviser, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei.[33] On 14 March , Ahmadinejad became the first president of the Islamic Republic of Iran to be summoned by the Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament) to answer questions regarding his presidency.[34][35] Limited to two terms under the current Iranian constitution, Ahmadinejad supported Mashaei's campaign for president.[31] In , Hassan Rouhani was elected as Ahmadinejad's successor.

On 12 April , Ahmadinejad announced that he intended to run for a third term in the presidential election, against the objections of Supreme Leader Khamenei.[36] His nomination was rejected by the Guardian Council.[37][38] During the –18 Iranian protests, Ahmadinejad criticized the current government of Iran.

He made a second attempt at registering to run for the presidential election, and was rejected again by the Guardian Council.[39] He registered as a candidate in the Iranian presidential election,[40] but was subsequently rejected.[41]

Early life and education

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was born on 28 October near Garmsar, in the village of Aradan, in Semnan province.

His mother, Khanom, was a Sayyida, an honorific title given to those believed to be direct bloodline descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[42] His father, Ahmad, was a Persian grocer and barber, and was a religious Shia Muslim who taught the Quran.[42]

When Mahmoud was one year old, his family moved to Tehran.

Mahmoud's father changed their family name from "Saborjhian"[43] or "Sabaghian"[e] to Ahmadinejad in to avoid discrimination when the family moved to the city.

Berita terkini mahmoud ahmadinejad biography Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [ c ] born Mahmoud Sabbaghian [ 5 ] [ d ] on 28 October [ 12 ] [ 13 ] is an Iranian principlist and nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from to He is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. He was known for his hardline views and nuclearisation of Iran. He was also the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran , a coalition of conservative political groups in the country, and served as mayor of Tehran from to , reversing many of his predecessor's reforms. An engineer and teacher from a poor background, [ 14 ] he was ideologically shaped by thinkers such as Navvab Safavi , Jalal Al-e-Ahmad , and Ahmad Fardid.

Sabor is Persian for thread painter,[f] a once common occupation within the Semnan carpet industry. Ahmadinejad's uncle and his brother Davoud Ahmadinejad have confirmed that the previous surname was "Sabbaghian" (Persian: صباغیان).[5] Ahmadinejad is a composite name: Ahmadi Nejad.

Ahmad was his father's name. The suffix Nejad in Persian means race, therefore the term Ahmadi Nejad means "the lineage of Ahmad". According to the interviews with the relatives of Ahmadi Nejad, his father who works in a small shop, sold his house in Tehran and bought a smaller house, giving the excess funds to charity and poor people.[47]

In , Ahmadinejad took Iran's national university entrance examination.

According to his autobiography, he was ranked nd out of , participants that year,[48] and soon enrolled in the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), located at Tehran, as an undergraduate student of civil engineering.

Mahmoud ahmadinejad Iran mempercepat pelaksanaan pilpres menyusul kecelakaan helikopter yang menewaskan Ebrahim Raisi dan sejumlah pejabat senior lainnya pada 19 Mei Menurut Pasal Konstitusi Iran, jika presiden meninggal atau tidak mampu menjalankan tugasnya maka wakil presiden pertama akan mengambil alih jabatan tersebut hingga pemilu diadakan dalam jangka waktu maksimal 50 hari. Dalam hal ini, Mohammad Mokhber menjadi presiden sementara. Pendaftaran Ahmadinejad, seorang mantan pemimpin populis, dinilai memberikan tekanan pada Pemimpin Tertinggi Iran Ayatullah Ali Khamenei. Saat menjabat, Ahmadinejad secara terbuka menantang ulama berusia 85 tahun itu dan upayanya untuk mencalonkan diri pada tahun dilarang oleh pihak berwenang.

He would later earn his doctorate in in transportation engineering and planning from Iran University of Science and Technology as well, when he was the mayor of Ardabil Province, located at the north-west of the country.[citation needed]

Administrative and academic careers

Some details of Ahmadinejad's life during the s are not publicly known, but it is known that he held a number of administrative posts in the province of West Azerbaijan, Iran.[49]

Many reports say that after Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Iran, Ahmadinejad joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps[citation needed] and served in their intelligence and security apparatus,[citation needed] but his advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi has said: "He has never been a member or an official member of the Revolutionary Guards", having been a Basiji-like volunteer instead.[50]

Ahmadinejad was accepted to a Master of Science program at his alma mater in He joined the faculty there as a lecturer in ,[14][51] and in received his doctorate in civil engineering and traffic transportation planning.[14]

Early political career

After the Islamic Revolution, Ahmadinejad became a member of the Office for Strengthening Unity,[16] an organization developed to prevent students from sympathizing or allying with the emerging militant Mojahedin-e Khalq organisation.[16]

Ahmadinejad first assumed political office as unelected governor to both Maku and Khoy in West Azarbaijan Province during the s.[citation needed] He eventually became an advisor to the governor general of Kurdistan Province for two years.[14][51] During his doctoral studies at Tehran, he was appointed governor general of newly formed Ardabil Province from until Mohammad Khatami removed him in , whereupon he returned to teaching.[51]

Mayor of Tehran (–)

The mayoral race in Tehran elected conservative candidates from the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran to the City Council of Tehran.

The Council appointed Ahmadinejad mayor.[citation needed]

As mayor, he reversed changes made by previous moderate and reformist mayors. He put religious emphasis on the activities of cultural centres they had founded, publicised the separation of elevators for men and women in the municipality offices,[20] and suggested that people killed in the Iran–Iraq War be buried in major city squares of Tehran.

He also worked to improve the traffic system and put an emphasis on charity, such as distributing free soup to the poor.[citation needed]

After his election to the presidency, Ahmadinejad's resignation as the Mayor of Tehran was accepted on 28 June After two years as mayor, Ahmadinejad was one of 65 finalists for World Mayor in , selected from nominees, only nine of them from Asia.[52] He was among three strong candidates for the top-ten list, but his resignation made him ineligible.[52]

Further information: Presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Election

campaign

Ahmadinejad was not particularly well known when he entered the presidential election campaign as he had never run for office before, (he had been mayor of Tehran for only two years and had been appointed, not elected),[53]:&#;&#; although he had already made his mark in Tehran for rolling back earlier reforms.

He was/is a member of the Central Council of the Islamic Society of Engineers, but his key political support is inside the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran (Abadgaran or Developers).[54] He was also helped by support from supreme leader Ali Khamenei, of whom some described Ahmadinejad as a protégé.[55]

Ahmadinejad was largely non-committal about his plans for his presidency, perhaps to attract both religious conservatives and the lower economic classes.[56] His campaign slogan was: "It's possible and we can do it".[57]

In the campaign, he took a populist approach.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Wikipedia: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is an Iranian political leader who served as president of Iran (–13). His tenure was notable for his unsuccessful power struggle with Iran’s supreme leader and for the country’s growing economic difficulties.

He emphasized his own modest life, and compared himself with Mohammad Ali Rajai, Iran's second president. Ahmadinejad said he planned to create an "exemplary government for the people of the world" in Iran.[citation needed] He was a "principlist", acting politically based on Islamic and revolutionary principles.

One of his goals was "putting the petroleum income on people's tables", meaning Iran's oil profits would be distributed among the poor.[58]

Ahmadinejad was the only presidential candidate who spoke out against future relations with the United States. He told Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting the United Nations was "one-sided, stacked against the world of Islam."[59] He opposed the veto power of the UN Security Council's five permanent members: "It is not just for a few states to sit and veto global approvals.

Should such a privilege continue to exist, the Muslim world with a population of nearly billion should be extended the same privilege." He defended Iran's nuclear program and accused "a few arrogant powers" of trying to limit Iran's industrial and technological development in this and other fields.[citation needed]

In his second-round campaign, he said, "We didn't participate in the revolution for turn-by-turn government.

This revolution tries to reach a world-wide government." He spoke of an extended program using trade to improve foreign relations, and called for greater ties with Iran's neighbours and ending visa requirements between states in the region, saying that "people should visit anywhere they wish freely. People should have freedom in their pilgrimages and tours."[57]

Ahmadinejad described AyatollahMohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a senior cleric from Qom, as his ideological and spiritual mentor.

Mesbah founded the Haghani School of thought in Iran. [citation needed] He and his team strongly supported Ahmadinejad's presidential campaign.[60]

Main article: Iranian presidential election

Ahmadinejad won 62% of the vote in the run-off poll against Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Supreme LeaderAyatollah Khamenei authorized his presidency on 3 August [21] Ahmadinejad kissed Khamenei's hand during the ceremony to show his loyalty.[61][62]

Shortly after Ahmadinejad was elected president, some Western media outlets published claims that he was among the students who stormed the US embassy in Tehran, sparking the Iran hostage crisis.

This claim has been denied by the Iranian government, the Iranian opposition, as well as an American investigation by the CIA.[63]

cabinet appointments

Iran's president is constitutionally obliged to obtain confirmation from the parliament for his selection of ministers.[65] Ahmadinejad presented a short-list at a private meeting on 5 August, and his final list on 14 August.

The Majlis rejected all of his cabinet candidates for the oil portfolio and objected to the appointment of his allies in senior government office.[58] The Majlis approved a cabinet on 24 August.[66] The ministers promised to meet frequently outside Tehran and held their first meeting on 25 August in Mashhad, with four empty seats for the unapproved nominees.[67]

councils and Assembly of Experts election

Main articles: Iranian councils election and Iranian Assembly of Experts election,

Ahmadinejad's team lost the city council elections.[68] In the first nationwide election since Ahmadinejad became president, his allies failed to dominate election returns for the Assembly of Experts and local councils.

Results, with a turnout of about 60%, suggested a voter shift toward more moderate policies. According to an editorial in the Kargozaran independent daily newspaper, "The results show that voters have learned from the past and concluded that we need to support moderate figures." An Iranian political analyst said that "this is a blow for Ahmadinejad and Mesbah Yazdi's list."[68]

Main article: Iranian presidential election

On 23 August , Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced that he "sees Ahmadinejad as president in the next five years," a comment interpreted as indicating support for Ahmadinejad's reelection.[69] 39,, ballots were cast in the election on 12 June , according to Iran's election headquarters.

Ahmadinejad won 24,, votes, (%). In second place, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, won 13,, (%) of the votes.[70]

Main article: Iranian election protests

The election results remained in dispute with both Mousavi and Ahmadinejad and their respective supporters who believe that electoral fraud occurred during the election.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formally endorsed Ahmadinejad as president on 3 August , and Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term on 5 August [71] Iran's Constitution stipulates term limits of two terms for the office of President.[72] Several Iranian political figures appeared to avoid the ceremony.

Former presidents Mohammad Khatami, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was then head of the Expediency Discernment Council, along with opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, did not attend the ceremony.[73] Opposition groups asked protesters on reformist websites and blogs to launch new street demonstrations on the day of the inauguration ceremony.[74] On inauguration day, hundreds of riot police met opposition protesters outside parliament.

After taking the oath of office, which was broadcast live on Iranian state television, Ahmadinejad said that he would "protect the official faith, the system of the Islamic revolution and the constitution."[71] France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States announced that they would not send the usual letters of congratulation.[71]

cabinet appointments

Ahmadinejad announced controversial ministerial appointments for his second term.

Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei was briefly appointed as first vice president, but opposed by a number of Majlis members and by the intelligence minister, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i. Mashaei followed orders to resign. Ahmadinejad then appointed Mashaei as chief of staff, and fired Mohseni-Eje'i.[75]

On 26 July , Ahmadinejad's government faced a legal problem after he sacked four ministers.

Iran's constitution (Article ) stipulates that, if more than half of its members are replaced, the cabinet may not meet or act before the Majlis approves the revised membership.[76] The vice chairman of the Majlis announced that no cabinet meetings or decisions would be legal, pending such a re-approval.[77]

On 4 September , the Majlis approved 18 of the 21 cabinet candidates, and rejected three, including two women.

Mahmoud ahmadinejad holocaust Father: Ahmad Saborjhian, a blacksmith. Several of the 52 Americans held hostage during the Islamic Revolution claim Ahmadinejad was one of their captors. Former hostage takers in the incident deny he was involved. April 11, — Announces that Iran has produced low-grade enriched uranium that can be used for nuclear power. September 19, — One of two featured speakers on the opening day of the United Nations General Assembly.

Sousan Keshavarz, Mohammad Aliabadi, and Fatemeh Ajorlou were not approved by Majlis for the Ministries of Education, Energy, and Welfare and Social Security, respectively. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi was the first woman approved by the Majlis as a minister in the Islamic Republic of Iran.[78]

parliamentary elections

Ahmadinejad suffered a defeat in March/May parliamentary elections with Ayatollah Khamenei's "Principalist" allies winning about three quarters of the parliaments seats, and Ahmadinejad supporters far fewer.[79]

Domestic policy

Economic policy

See also: Economy of Iran

In Ahmadinejad's first four years as president, Iran's real GDP reflected growth of the economy.

Inflation and unemployment also decreased under Ahmadinejad due to better economic management and ending the unsustainable spending and borrowing patterns of previous administrations .[80] Ahmadinejad increased spending by 25% and supported subsidies for food and petrol. He also initially refused a gradual increase of petrol prices, saying that after making necessary preparations, such as a development of public transportation system, the government would free up petrol prices after five years.[81] Interest rates were cut by presidential decree to below the inflation rate.

One unintended effect of this stimulation of the economy has been the bidding up of some urban real estate prices by two or three times their pre-Ahmadinejad value by Iranians seeking to invest surplus cash and finding few other safe opportunities.

  • The resulting increase in the cost of housing hurt poorer, non-property owning Iranians, the putative beneficiaries of Ahmadinejad's populist policies.[82] The Management and Planning Organisation, a state body charged with mapping out long-term economic and budget strategy, was broken up and its experienced managers were fired.[83]

    In June , 50 Iranian economists wrote a letter to Ahmadinejad that criticized his price interventions to stabilize prices of goods, cement, government services, and his decree issued by the High Labor Council and the Ministry of Labor that proposed an increase of workers' salaries by 40%.

    Ahmadinejad publicly responded harshly to the letter and denounced the accusations.[84][85] Ahmadinejad called for "middle-of-the-road" compromises with respect to Western-oriented capitalism and socialism. Current political conflicts with the United States caused the central bank to fear increased capital flight due to global isolation.

    These factors prevented an improvement of infrastructure and capital influx, despite high economic potential.[80] Among those that did not vote for him in the first election, only % said they would consider voting for him in the next election.[86]Mohammad Khoshchehreh, a member of the Iranian parliament that campaigned for Ahmadinejad, said that his government "has been strong on populist slogans, but weak on achievement."[87]

    President Ahmadinejad changed almost all of his economic ministers, including oil, industry and economy, since coming to power in In an interview with Fars News Agency in April , Davoud Danesh Jaafari who acted as minister of economy in Ahmadinejad's cabinet, harshly criticized his economic policy: "During my time, there was no positive attitude towards previous experiences or experienced people and there was no plan for the future.

    Peripheral issues which were not of dire importance to the nation were given priority. Most of the scientific economic concepts like the effect of liquidity on inflation were put in question."[88] In response to these criticisms, Ahmadinejad accused his minister of not being "a man of justice" and declared that the solution to Iran's economic problem is "the culture of martyrdom".[89] In May , the petroleum minister of Iran admitted that the government illegally invested 2&#;billion dollars to import petrol in At Iranian parliament, he also mentioned that he simply followed the president's order.[90]

    While his government had thousand billion toman oil income, the highest in Iranian history, Ahmadinejad's government had the highest budget deficit since the Iranian revolution.[91]

    During his presidency, Ahmadinejad launched a gasoline rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption.

    He also instituted cuts in the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge.[25][26][92] He issued a directive that the Management and Planning Organization be affiliated to the government.[93] In May , Ahmadinejad announced that he would temporarily run the Oil Ministry.[94]

    Family planning and population policy

    See also: Family planning in Iran

    In October , Ahmadinejad began calling for the scrapping of Iran's existing birth-control policies which discouraged Iranian couples from having more than two children.

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  • He told MPs that Iran could cope with 50&#;million more people than the current 70&#;million. In November , he urged Iranians to marry and reproduce earlier: "We should take the age of marriage for boys to 20 and for girls to about 16 and "[95] His remarks have drawn criticism and been called ill-judged at a time when Iran was struggling with surging inflation and rising unemployment, estimated at 11%.

    Ahmadinejad's call was reminiscent of a call for Iranians to have more children made by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in The policy had increased Iran's population by 16&#;million in seven years[53]:&#;&#; but had eventually been reversed in response to the resultant economic strain.[96]

    In , the government sent the "Family Protection Bill" to the Iranian parliament.

    Women's rights activists criticized the bill for removing protections from women, such as the requirement that a husband obtain his wife's consent before marrying a second wife. Women's rights in Iran are more religiously based than those in secular countries.[97]

    Housing

    See also: Construction industry of Iran §&#;Mehr Housing Scheme

    The first legislation to emerge from his newly formed government was a 12&#;trillion rial (US$&#;billion) fund called "Reza's Compassion Fund",[98] named after Shi'aImamAli al-Rida.

    Ahmadinejad's government said this fund would tap Iran's oil revenues to help young people get jobs, afford marriage, and buy their own homes.[99] The fund also sought charitable donations, with a board of trustees in each of Iran's 30 provinces. The legislation was a response to the cost of urban housing, which is pushing up the national average marital age (currently around 25 years for women and 28 years for men).

    In the Iranian parliament rejected the fund; however, Ahmadinejad ordered the administrative council to execute the plan.[98]

    Human rights

    See also: Human rights in Iran

    According to a report by Human Rights Watch, "Since President Ahmadinejad came to power, treatment of detainees has worsened in Evin Prison as well as in detention centers operated clandestinely by the Judiciary, the Ministry of Information, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."[]:&#;&#; Human Rights Watch also has stated, "Respect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and assembly, deteriorated in The government routinely tortures and mistreats detained dissidents, including through prolonged solitary confinement."[]:&#;&#; Human Rights Watch described the source of human rights violations in contemporary Iran as coming from the Judiciary, accountable to Ali Khamenei, and from members directly appointed by Ahmadinejad.[citation needed]

    Responses to dissent have varied.

    Human Rights Watch writes that "the Ahmadinejad government, in a pronounced shift from the policy under former president Mohammed Khatami, has shown no tolerance for peaceful protests and gatherings." In December , Ahmadinejad advised officials not to disturb students who engaged in a protest during a speech of his at the Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran,[][] although speakers at other protests have included among their complaints that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.[]

    In April , the Tehran police, which is under Khamenei's supervision, began a crackdown on women with "improper hijab".

    This led to criticism from associates of Ahmadinejad.[]

    In , Ahmadinejad claimed that AIDS was created by the West in order to weaken poorer countries, and repeated a previous claim that homosexual Iranians did not exist.[] He has also described homosexuality as "ugly".[][]

    Universities

    See also: Higher education in Iran

    In , the Ahmadinejad[] government reportedly forced numerous Iranian scientists and university professors to resign or to retire.

    It has been referred to as the "second cultural revolution".[][] The policy has been said to replace old professors with younger ones.[] Some university professors received letters indicating their early retirement unexpectedly.[] In November , 53 university professors had to retire from Iran University of Science and Technology.[]

    In , Ahmadinejad's government applied a 50% quota for male students and 50% for female students in the university entrance exam for medicine, dentistry and pharmacy.

    The plan was supposed to stop the growing presence of female students in the universities. In a response to critics, Iranian minister of health and medical education, Kamran Bagheri Lankarani argued that there are not enough facilities such as dormitories for female students.[citation needed] Masoud Salehi, president of Zahedan University said that presence of women generates some problems with transportation.[citation needed] Also, Ebrahim Mekaniki, president of Babol University of Medical Sciences, stated that an increase in the presence of women will make it difficult to distribute facilities in a suitable manner.[citation needed] Bagher Larijani, the president of Tehran University of Medical Sciences made similar remarks.[citation needed] According to Rooz Online, the quotas lack a legal foundation and are justified as support for "family" and "religion".[citation needed]

    December student protest

    In December , it was reported that some students were angry about the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust, which they saw as promoting Holocaust denial.[]

    In response to the students' slogans, the president said: "We have been standing up to dictatorship so that no one will dare to establish dictatorship in a millennium even in the name of freedom.

    A populist hardliner, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has often courted controversy since becoming the sixth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran in His strong rhetoric against the United States and Israel and unbending stance on Iran's nuclear programme has proved popular at home but has enraged the West. In , international criticism intensified when his re-election caused his country's worst political unrest since the Islamic Revolution. The results, disputed by defeated reformists and moderates who demanded a rerun, led to violent anti-government protests. They were crushed but a deep rift was left within Iran's political and clerical elite.

    Given the scars inflicted on the Iranian nation by agents of the US and British dictatorship, no one will ever dare to initiate the rise of a dictator."[] It was reported that even though the protesters broke the TV cameras and threw hand-made bombs at Ahmadinejad,[] the president asked the officials not to question or disturb the protesters.[][] In his blog, Ahmadinejad described his reaction to the incident as "a feeling of joy" because of the freedom that people enjoyed after the revolution.[]

    One thousand students also protested the day before to denounce the increased pressure on the reformist groups at the university.

    One week prior, more than two thousand students protested at Tehran University on the country's annual student day, with speakers saying that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.[][]

    Nuclear program

    See also: Nuclear program of Iran

    Ahmadinejad has been a vocal supporter of Iran's nuclear program, and has insisted that it is for peaceful purposes.

    He has repeatedly emphasized that building a nuclear bomb is not the policy of his government. He has said that such a policy is "illegal and against our religion".[][] He also added at a January conference in Tehran that a nation with "culture, logic and civilization" would not need nuclear weapons, and that countries that seek nuclear weapons are those that want to solve all problems by the use of force.[]

    In April , Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully refined uranium to a stage suitable for the nuclear fuel cycle.

    In a speech to students and academics in Mashhad, he was quoted as saying that Iran's conditions had changed completely as it had become a nuclear state and could talk to other states from that stand.[] On 13 April , Iran's news agency, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that the peaceful Iranian nuclear technology would not pose a threat to any party because "we want peace and stability and we will not cause injustice to anyone and at the same time we will not submit to injustice."[]