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{{Short description|President of Iran from 2005 to 2013}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
| native_name = {{no bold|محمود احمدینژاد}}
| image = Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 2019 02.jpg<!-- Please do not change without prior talk page consensus -->
| caption = Ahmadinejad in 2019
| office = Member of [[Expediency Discernment Council]]
| term_start = 3 August 2013<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.azernews.az/region/57787.html|title=Ex-Iranian President appointed to new post|date=5 August 2013|website=Azernews.az|access-date=9 July 2022}}</ref>
| term_end =
| predecessor = [[Hassan Rouhani]]
| appointer = [[Ali Khamenei]]
| 1blankname = Chairman
| 1namedata = [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]]<br />[[Ali Movahedi-Kermani]] (acting)<br />[[Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi]]<br />[[Sadeq Larijani]]
| office1 = 6th [[President of Iran]]
| 1blankname1 = {{nowrap|Supreme Leader}}
| 1namedata1 = [[Ali Khamenei]]
| 2blankname1 = Vice President
| 2namedata1 = [[Mohammad Reza Aref]]<br />[[Parviz Davoodi]]<br />[[Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei]]<br />[[Mohammad Reza Rahimi]]
| term_start1 = 3 August 2005
| term_end1 = 3 August 2013
| predecessor1 = [[Mohammad Khatami]]
| successor1 = [[Hassan Rouhani]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin|[[Acting (law)|Acting]] ministerial offices}}
| office2 = [[Ministry of Petroleum (Iran)|Minister of Petroleum]]<br /><small>Acting</small><ref>{{cite web|first=Matt|last=Smith |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/05/25/iran.politics/|title=Ahmadinejad losing ground in Iran power struggle, analysts say|date=16 May 2011|access-date=3 June 2016|publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref>
| term_start2 = 16 May 2011
| term_end2 = 2 June 2011
| president2 = ''Himself''
| predecessor2 = [[Masoud Mir-Kazemi]]
| successor2 = [[Mohammad Aliabadi]] (acting)
| office3 = [[Ministry of Intelligence (Iran)|Minister of Intelligence]]<br /><small>Acting</small><ref>{{cite magazine|author-link=Abbas Milani|first=Abbas |last=Milani |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/407/inside-the-civil-war-thats-threatening-the-iranian-regime|title=Inside The Civil War That's Threatening The Iranian Regime|date=3 August 2009|access-date=3 June 2016|magazine=[[The New Republic]]}}</ref>
| term_start3 = 25 July 2009
| term_end3 = 3 September 2009
| president3 = ''Himself''
| predecessor3 = [[Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i]]
| successor3 = [[Heydar Moslehi]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
| office4 = 42nd [[List of mayors of Tehran|Mayor of Tehran]]
| term_start4 = 20 May 2003<ref>{{cite news|title=New Mayor of Tehran appointed|url=https://images.hamshahrionline.ir/hamnews/1382/820231/news/shari.htm#s37230|number=3055|newspaper=[[Hamshahri]]|date=21 May 2003|language=fa}}</ref>
| term_end4 = 28 June 2005
| predecessor4 = [[Mohammad-Hossein Moghimi]] (acting)
| successor4 = [[Ali Saeedlou]] (acting)
| office5 = 1st [[List of current Iran governor-generals|Governor General]] of [[Ardabil Province|Ardabil]]
| president5 = [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]]
| term_start5 = 28 November 1993
| term_end5 = 29 October 1997
| predecessor5 = ''Province created''
| successor5 = [[Seyyed Hamid Tahayi]]
| office6 = Secretary-General of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]]
| term_start6 = 30 August 2012
| term_end6 = 3 August 2013
| predecessor6 = [[Mohamed Morsi]]
| successor6 = [[Hassan Rouhani]]
| birth_name = Mahmoud Sabbaghian<ref name= Sabbaghian>{{cite journal|url=http://www.asemanweekly.com/article/772/%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%88%D8%AF--%D9%88-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%E2%80%8C%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF-%DA%86%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%E2%80%8C%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D8%AE%D9%86%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%85%D9%8A%E2%80%8C%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%9F|script-title=fa:داستان داوود و محمود: داوود احمدینژاد چرا عليه محمود احمدینژاد سخنرانی میكند؟|trans-title=The Story of Davoud and Mahmoud: Why Davoud Ahmadinejad Speaks Against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?|language=fa|date=19 November 2011|access-date=11 July 2016|journal=Aseman Weekly|number=7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820143612/http://www.asemanweekly.com/article/772/%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%88%D8%AF--%D9%88-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%E2%80%8C%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF-%DA%86%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%E2%80%8C%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D8%AE%D9%86%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%85%D9%8A%E2%80%8C%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%9F|archive-date=20 August 2013}}</ref>
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|10|28|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Aradan, Iran|Aradan]], [[Pahlavi Iran|Imperial State of Iran]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = {{plainlist|
* [[Society of Devotees of the Islamic Revolution|Society of Devotees]] (1999–2011)
* [[Islamic Society of Engineers]] (1988–present; inactive since 2005)
}}
| otherparty = {{plainlist|
* [[Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran|Alliance of Builders]] (2003–2005)
* [[Office for Strengthening Unity]] (1979–1980)
}}
| spouse = {{Marriage|[[Azam al-Sadat Farahi]]|1980}}
| children = 3
| relatives = {{plainlist|
* [[Davoud Ahmadinejad]] (brother)
* [[Parvin Ahmadinejad]] (sister)
}}
| residence = Square 72, [[Narmak]], [[Tehran]]<ref>{{cite web|first= Scott |last= Lucas|url=http://eaworldview.com/2015/01/iran-feature-another-sign-ahmadinejad-comeback/|title=Iran Feature: Signs of an Ahmadinejad Comeback & a Hard-Line Challenge to Speaker of Parliament Larijani|date=5 January 2015|access-date=3 June 2016|publisher=[[EA WorldView]]}}</ref>
| alma_mater = [[Iran University of Science and Technology]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]], [[PhD]])
| occupation = University professor
| profession = Engineer
| nickname =
| signature = Mahmoud Ahmadinejad signature.svg
| allegiance = {{armed forces|Iran}}
| branch = {{flag|Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|name=Revolutionary Guards}}
| serviceyears = 1986–1988<ref name="Peterson Swords"/><ref name="Rise of">{{Citation|last1=Ehteshami|first1=Anoushiravan |last2=Zweiri|first2=Mahjoob |title=Iran and the Rise of Its Neoconservatives: The Politics of Tehran's Silent Revolution|publisher=I.B.Tauris|year=2007|isbn=978-0857713674|page=55}}</ref>
| rank = ''None''{{efn|At the time, Revolutionary Guards rejected official ranks for its members and commanders were simply referred to with honorifics such as "brother" or "''pasdar''" (guard).<ref>{{cite book|title=Vanguard of the Imam: Religion, Politics, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards|author=Afshon Ostovar|year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0190491703|pages=124}}</ref>}}
| unit = Hamzeh Headquarters<ref name="Peterson Swords">{{cite book|first=Scott |last=Peterson|year=2010|title=Let the Swords Encircle Me: Iran: A Journey Behind the Headlines|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781416597285 |url-access=registration |publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1416597391|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781416597285/page/279 279–280]}}</ref>
| commands = Combat engineering Unit, 6th Special Division<ref name="Rise of" />
| battles = {{tree list}}
* [[Iran–Iraq War]]
** [[Operation Fath 1]]
{{tree list/end}}
| module = {{Infobox academic
| child = yes
| thesis1_title = Study of comprehensive transportation plan in Kurdistan
| thesis1_url = http://dl.iust.ac.ir/dl/search/default.aspx?Term=1443&Field=0&dtc=6
| thesis1_year = 1988
| thesis2_title = Assessment of subway for passengers transportation (A case study of Tehran)
| thesis2_url = http://dl.iust.ac.ir/dl/search/default.aspx?Term=8787&Field=0&dtc=6
| thesis2_year = 1997
| doctoral_advisor = [[Hamid Behbahani]]
| academic_advisors = Ali Mansour Khaki<br />Gholamreza Shirazian<br />Jalil Shahi
| discipline = [[Civil engineering]]
| sub_discipline = [[Traffic engineering (transportation)|Traffic engineering]]
| workplaces = [[Iran University of Science and Technology]]
}}
| native_name_lang = fa
}}
{{Contains special characters|Perso-Arabic}}
'''Mahmoud Ahmadinejad'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|m|uː|d|_|ˌ|ɑː|m|ə|ˈ|d|ɪ|n|ɪ|ʒ|ɑː|d}} {{respell|mə|MOOD|_|AH|mə|DIN|izh|ahd}}; {{langx|fa|محمود احمدینژاد|Mahmud Ahmadinezhâd}}, {{IPA|fa|mæhˈmuːd(e) ʔæhmæˌdiːneˈʒɒːd|pron|Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Clean.ogg}}.{{efn|name=ezafe|The -{{IPA|[e]}} is the [[ezafe]], which is a grammatical marker linking two words together. It is not indicated in writing, and is not part of the name itself, but is pronounced in Persian language when a first and last name are used together.}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forvo.com/search/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AF+%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF/|title=Pronunciations for محمود احمدینژاد (from محمود احمدینژاد to احمدینژاد)|first=Forvo|last=Team|website=Forvo.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0g8n9mmnjKgC&pg=PA145 |title= Persian Grammar: History and State of Its Study| first= Gernot| last= Windfuhr| publisher= Walter de Gruyter| year= 1979| quote= ... stress is word-final in simple, derived, and compound nouns and adjectives ...|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131028134018/https://books.google.com/books?id=0g8n9mmnjKgC&lpg=PA145 |page=145|archive-date=28 October 2013 |isbn= 9789027977748}}</ref>}} ({{Né|'''Sabbaghian'''}};{{efn|{{langx|fa|محمود صباغیان|Mahmud Sabbâghiyân|links=no}}, {{IPA|fa|mæhˈmuːd(e) sæbɒːɢiːˈjɒːn|pron}}.{{efn|name=ezafe}}}} 28 October 1956)<ref name="EABTDO">{{Cite web|url=https://www.anenemywecreated.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127185318/http://www.anenemywecreated.com/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=27 January 2011|title=An Enemy We Created|website=www.anenemywecreated.com}}</ref><ref name=EABFB>{{cite web|title=Mahmoud Ahmedinejad on Facebook|publisher=[[Facebook]]|date=24 July 2001 |url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mahmud-Ahmedinejad/8613283977?v=info&viewas=0|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121217065904/http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mahmud-Ahmedinejad/8613283977?v=info&viewas=0|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 December 2012|access-date=27 July 2009}}</ref> is an Iranian politician who served as the sixth [[president of Iran]] from 2005 to 2013. Ideologically a [[Iranian principlists|principlist]] and [[Iranian nationalism|nationalist]], he is currently a member of the [[Expediency Discernment Council]] and a strong supporter of [[Iran's nuclear programme]]. 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 2003 to 2005, reversing many of his predecessor's reforms.
An engineer and teacher from a poor background,<ref name="bioIR">{{Cite web |title=Biography of H.E. Dr. Ahmadi Nejad, Honourable President of Islamic Republic of Iran |url=http://www.president.ir/eng/ahmadinejad/bio/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241114123031/https://president.ir/eng/ahmadinejad/bio/ |archive-date=14 November 2024 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.president.ir |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> he was ideologically shaped by thinkers such as [[Navvab Safavi]], [[Jalal Al-e-Ahmad]], and [[Ahmad Fardid]].<ref>Avideh Mayville, "The Religious Ideology of Reform in Iran" in [[J. Harold Ellens]] (ed.), ''Winning Revolutions: The Psychosocial Dynamics of Revolts for Freedom, Fairness, and Rights [3 volumes]'', ABC-CLIO (2013), p. 311</ref> After the [[Iranian Revolution]], Ahmadinejad joined the [[Office for Strengthening Unity]].<ref name="bioIC">{{cite web|title=Mahmoud Ahmadinejad|publisher=Iran Chamber Society
| url = http://www.iranchamber.com/history/mahmadinejad/mahmoud_ahmadinejad.php|access-date=28 July 2009}}</ref> Appointed a provincial governor in 1993, he was replaced along with all other provincial governors in 1997 after the election of President [[Mohammad Khatami]] and returned to teaching.<ref>{{Cite book|last=McCormick|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qLjwQdJnov4C&pg=PA520|title=Comparative Politics in Transition|date=3 February 2009|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-495-56852-0|pages=520|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Axworthy|first=Michael|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0YSDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA372|title=Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic|date=10 March 2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-046896-5|language=en}}</ref> [[Tehran]]'s council elected him mayor in 2003.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tait |first=Robert |date=2005-06-19 |title=Hardline mayor with a humble man-of-the-people image |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jun/20/iran.roberttait |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> He took a religious hard line, reversing reforms of previous moderate mayors.<ref name=entekhab2006>{{cite web|url=http://entekhab.ir/display/?ID=2648 |title=Ahamd Bozorgian (MP): 'The Separation of men and women's elevators is an advantageous policy. It would help to grow.' |access-date=20 June 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060114020232/http://entekhab.ir/display/?ID=2648 |archive-date=14 January 2006 }} Entekhab News. Retrieved 31 August 2006.</ref> His 2005 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 2005.<ref name="Voice Of America">{{cite news|title=Ahmadinejad Sworn in as Iran's New President|date=6 August 2005|work=Voice Of America|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-08/2005-08-06-voa8.cfm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129182648/http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-08/2005-08-06-voa8.cfm|archive-date=29 January 2009|access-date=23 December 2008}}</ref><ref name="Iran hardliner becomes president">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4740441.stm|title=Iran hardliner becomes president|access-date=6 December 2006|date=3 August 2005|work=BBC}}</ref>
During his presidency, Ahmadinejad was a controversial figure both in [[Iran]] and worldwide. He was criticized domestically for his economic policies,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Influential Iran cleric slams Ahmadinejad on economy |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-economy-cleric-idUSHAF34205520080813 |access-date=13 August 2008 |website=Reuters}}</ref> and was accused of disregard for [[human rights]] by organizations in North America and Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/2010/09/activists-warn-of-rights-crisis-ahead-of-ahmadinejad-visit/|title=Activists Warn of Rights Crisis Ahead of Ahmadinejad Visit {{!}} Inter Press Service|last=Memarian|first=Omid|date=17 September 2010|website=Ipsnews.net|publisher=[[Inter Press Service]]|access-date=4 March 2020|quote=The event was organised by two New York-based rights groups, the [[International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran]] and [[Human Rights Watch]], as well as the [[Nobel Women's Initiative]]. ... His group, "[[Amnesty International]] ...}}</ref> Outside of Iran, he was criticized for his hostility towards countries including [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel|Israel]], Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United States and other [[Western world|Western]] and [[Arab world|Arab]] states. In 2007, Ahmadinejad introduced a [[2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran|gasoline rationing plan]] to reduce the country's fuel consumption and cut the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Tait |first=Robert |date=2007-05-25 |title=Iran interest rate cut sparks panic selling |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/may/25/iran.internationalnews |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=مدیریت و" برنامهریزی منحل شد" |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2007/07/070710_ka-mpo.shtml%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817164633/http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2007/07/070710_ka-mpo.shtml |archive-date=17 August 2007 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=175959|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912183345/http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=175959|archive-date=12 September 2008|title=Assembly of Experts to study economic reform plan: Rafsanjani|access-date=23 August 2008|date=23 August 2008|language=fa|work=Tehran Times}}</ref> He supports [[Iran nuclear program|Iran's nuclear program]]. His [[2009 Iran presidential election|election to a second term in 2009]] was widely disputed,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8134904.stm|title=Iran clerics defy election ruling|work=BBC News|date=5 July 2009|access-date=18 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2009/07/090704_op_brief_majma_qom.shtml|title=Is this government legitimate?|publisher=BBC|date=7 September 2009|access-date=18 June 2011}}</ref> and led to widespread [[2009 Iranian presidential election protests|protests domestically]] and criticism from Western countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jSWPwBGmOByDmvG6OPfqesxJ2O7Q|title=G8 calls on Iran to halt election violence|last=Landry|first=Carole|date=25 June 2009|publisher=[[Agence France-Presse|AFP]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303113954/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jSWPwBGmOByDmvG6OPfqesxJ2O7Q|archive-date=3 March 2014|access-date=18 June 2011|quote=The West has expressed alarm over Tehran's crackdown ... The Group of Eight leading powers on Friday deplored post-election violence in Iran ... Divergences appeared when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that isolating Iran was the "wrong approach" ...}}</ref>
During his second term, Ahmadinejad experienced a power struggle with reformers and other traditionalists in Parliament and the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Revolutionary Guard]],<ref name=ERDBRINK /> as well as with Supreme Leader [[Ali Khamenei]],<ref name=rift /> over his dismissal of intelligence minister [[Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i]] and his support for his controversial close adviser, [[Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei]].<ref name=accept /> On 14 March 2012, 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2012/mar/14/iran-ahmadinejad-appears-parliament |title=Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad summoned to parliament|work=The Guardian |date=14 March 2012| access-date=18 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-06-05 |title=Ahmadinejad critic Larijani re-elected Iran speaker |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18328882 |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> Limited to two terms under the current [[Iranian constitution]], Ahmadinejad supported Mashaei's campaign for president.<ref name="ERDBRINK">{{cite news|last=Erdbrink|first=Thomas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/world/middleeast/ahmadinejad-of-iran-reshapes-image-ahead-of-june-vote.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&|title=Power Struggle Is Gripping Iran Ahead of June Election|date=3 April 2013|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=4 April 2013|quote=It is all part of a power struggle ahead of the June election between Mr. Ahmadinejad's faction and a coalition of traditionalists, including many Revolutionary Guards commanders and hard-line clerics.}}</ref> In 2013, [[Hassan Rouhani]] was [[2013 Iranian presidential election|elected]] as Ahmadinejad's successor.
On 12 April 2017, Ahmadinejad announced that he intended to run for a third term in the [[2017 Iranian presidential election|2017 presidential election]], against the objections of Supreme Leader Khamenei.<ref name=Hard-Line>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/04/12/world/middleeast/ap-ml-iran-elections.html?_r=0 |title=Hard-Line Ex-Leader Ahmadinejad Stuns Iran With Election Bid|work=The New York Times|date=12 April 2017}}</ref> His nomination was rejected by the [[Guardian Council]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ahmadinejad 'disqualified' from running in Iran poll |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/4/20/mahmoud-ahmadinejad-disqualified-from-iran-elections |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-20 |title=Iran's Ahmadinejad disqualified from running for president |url=https://www.euronews.com/2017/04/20/iranian-president-hassan-rouhani-and-hardline-rival-ebrahim-raisi-cleared-to |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=euronews |language=en}}</ref> During the [[2017–18 Iranian protests]], Ahmadinejad criticized the current government of Iran. He made a second attempt at registering to run for the [[2021 Iranian presidential election|2021 presidential election]], and was rejected again by the Guardian Council.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Motamedi|first=Maziar|title=Iran approves 7 for presidential vote; bars reformists|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/25/irans-guardian-council-disqualifies-most-presidential-candidates|access-date=2021-07-26|website=Aljazeera.com|language=en}}</ref> He registered as a candidate in the [[2024 Iranian presidential election]],<ref name=registration>{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/iran-election-president-ahmadinejad-helicopter-crash-3820e4b824a09c2922feccbb0b064d66|work=AP News|date=2 June 2024 |title=Iran's hard-line former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registers for June 28 presidential election }}</ref> but was subsequently rejected.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |date=2024-06-09 |title=Iran announces six candidates approved for June 28 presidential election |url=https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20240609-iran-announces-six-candidates-approved-for-june-28-presidential-election |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=[[France 24]] |language=en}}</ref>
==Early
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was born on 28 October 1956 in the village of [[Aradan, Iran|Aradan]], near [[Garmsar]], [[Semnan province]]. His mother, Khanom, was a [[Sayyid]]a, an [[honorific]] title given to those believed to be direct bloodline descendants of the Islamic prophet [[Muhammad]].<ref name="bookref1"/> His father, Ahmad, was a Persian grocer and barber, and was a religious [[Shia Islam|Shia Muslim]] who taught the [[Quran]].<ref name="bookref1">{{cite book|last1=Melman|first1=Yossi|first2=Meir|last2=Javedanfar|title=The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran|publisher=Basic Books|year=2007|pages=[https://archive.org/details/nuclearsphinxoft00melm/page/1 1–3]|isbn=9780786718870|url=https://archive.org/details/nuclearsphinxoft00melm/page/1}}</ref>
When Mahmoud was one year old, his family moved to [[Tehran]]. Mahmoud's father changed their [[family name]] from "Saborjhian"<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tait |first=Robert |date=2005-07-01 |title=A humble beginning helped to form Iran's new hard man |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/02/iran.roberttait |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> or "Sabbaghian" ({{langx|fa|صباغیان}}){{efn|Kasra Naji says that the name was 'Sabaghian,' which means 'dye-masters' in [[Persian language|Persian]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Kasra|last=Naji|title=Ahmadinejad: The Secret History of Iran's Radical Leader|url=https://archive.org/details/ahmadinejadsecre00naji_785|url-access=limited|publisher=University of California Press |year=2008|isbn=9781845116361|page=[https://archive.org/details/ahmadinejadsecre00naji_785/page/n18 4]}}</ref>}}<ref name="Sabbaghian" /> to Ahmadinejad in 1960 to avoid discrimination when the family moved to the city.<ref name="Sabbaghian" /> ''Sabor'' is Persian for thread-painter,{{efn|In 2009, some media reports claimed that Sabourjian is a common Iranian Jewish name, and that ''Sabor'' is the name for the Jewish [[tallit]] (prayer shawl) in Persia.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Daily Telegraph]]|date=3 October 2009|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/6256173/Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-revealed-to-have-Jewish-past.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/6256173/Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-revealed-to-have-Jewish-past.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed to have Jewish past}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Meir Javedanfar]], a blogger at ''The Guardian'', disputed this claim, citing experts.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=5 October 2009|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/oct/05/mahmoud-ahmadinejad-jewish-family |title=Ahmadinejad has no Jewish roots|access-date=10 January 2017}}</ref>}} a once common occupation within the Semnan carpet industry. ''Ahmadinejad'' is a composite of ''Ahmadi'' and ''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, at that point working as a shopkeeper, sold his house in Tehran and bought a smaller house, giving the excess funds to charity and poor people.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Anoushiravan|last1=Enteshami |first2=Mahjoob|last2=Zweiri |title=Iran and the rise of Neoconservatives, the politics of Tehran's silent Revolution|year=2007 |page=53|publisher=I. B. Tauris}}</ref>
In 1976, Ahmadinejad took Iran's national university entrance examination. According to his autobiography, he was ranked 132nd out of 400,000 participants that year,<ref name=EABBBC20060814 >{{cite news|title=Iran's president launches weblog |publisher=BBC|date=14 August 2006|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4790005.stm|access-date=28 July 2009}}</ref> and soon enrolled in the [[Iran University of Science and Technology]] (IUST), located at Tehran, as an undergraduate student of civil engineering. He would later earn his doctorate in 1997 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|date=August 2019}}
==Administrative and academic careers==
Some details of Ahmadinejad's life during the 1980s are not publicly known, but it is known that he held a number of administrative posts in the province of [[West Azerbaijan]], [[Iran]].<ref name="JLAnderson">{{cite web|url=https://newyorker.com/reporting/2009/04/13/090413fa_fact_anderson|title=Can Iran Change? High stakes in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's reelection campaign|last=Lee|first=Jon|date=7 January 2009|work=New Yorker|access-date=18 June 2011}}</ref>
Many reports say that after [[Saddam Hussein]] ordered the invasion of Iran, Ahmadinejad joined the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]]{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} and served in their intelligence and security apparatus,{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} 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.<ref name=EABFT20080530>{{cite news| first=Najmeh |last=Bozorgmehr|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3c04bcbc-2d9e-11dd-b92a-000077b07658,dwp_uuid=be75219e-940a-11da-82ea-0000779e2340.html?nclick_check=1|title=Interview transcript: Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi|access-date=28 July 2009|date=30 May 2008|work=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref>
Ahmadinejad was accepted to a [[Master of Science]] program at his alma mater in 1986. He joined the faculty there as a lecturer in 1989,<ref name="bioIR" /><ref name="bioSenate">{{cite web|first=Hussein D.|last=Hassan|title=Profile and Statements of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|date=16 January 2007|url=http://brownback.senate.gov/public/legissues/foreignpol_crsreportiranprofilestateofpres.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106163238/http://brownback.senate.gov/public/legissues/foreignpol_crsreportiranprofilestateofpres.pdf|archive-date=6 January 2010 |access-date=28 July 2009}}</ref> and in 1997 received his [[doctorate]] in civil engineering and traffic transportation planning.<ref name="bioIR" />
==Early political career==
After the [[Islamic Revolution]], Ahmadinejad became a member of the [[Office for Strengthening Unity]],<ref name="bioIC" /> an organization developed to prevent students from sympathizing or allying with the emerging militant [[People's Mujahedin of Iran|Mojahedin-e Khalq]] organisation.<ref name="bioIC" />
Ahmadinejad first assumed political office as unelected governor to both [[Maku, Iran|Maku]] and [[Khoy]] in [[West Azarbaijan Province]] during the 1980s.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} He eventually became an advisor to the governor general of [[Kurdistan province (Iran)|Kurdistan Province]] for two years.<ref name="bioIR" /><ref name="bioSenate" /> During his doctoral studies at Tehran, he was appointed governor general of newly formed [[Ardabil Province]] from 1993 until [[Mohammad Khatami]] removed him in 1997, whereupon he returned to teaching.<ref name="bioSenate" />
==Mayor of Tehran (2003–2005)==
[[File:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - May 22, 2003.png|thumb|left|Ahmadinejad in 2003]]
The 2003 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 of Tehran|mayor]].{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}
As mayor, he reversed changes made by previous [[moderate]] and [[reformism|reformist]] mayors. He put religious emphasis on the activities of cultural centres they had founded, publicised the separation of [[elevator]]s for men and women in the municipality offices,<ref name="entekhab2006" /> and suggested that people killed in the [[Iran–Iraq War]] be buried in major [[city square]]s of Tehran. He also worked to improve the traffic system and put an emphasis on [[Charity (virtue)|charity]], such as distributing free soup to the poor.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
After his election to the presidency, Ahmadinejad's resignation as the Mayor of Tehran was accepted on 28 June 2005. After two years as mayor, Ahmadinejad was one of 65 finalists for [[World Mayor]] in 2005, selected from 550 nominees, only nine of them from Asia.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=World Mayor: World Mayor 2005 finalists |url=http://www.worldmayor.com/results05/worldmayor_finalists05.html |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.worldmayor.com}}</ref> He was among three strong candidates for the top-ten list, but his resignation made him ineligible.<ref name=":2" />
==Presidency (2005–2013)==
{{further|Presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad}}
===Election===
====2005 campaign====
[[File:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - June 21, 2005.png|thumb|right|Ahmadinejad in 2005]]
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),<ref name=RWDreams>{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Robin|title=Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East|url=https://archive.org/details/dreamsshadowsfut00wrig|url-access=registration|publisher=Penguin Press|year=2008 |isbn=9781101202760}}</ref>{{rp|315}} although he had already made his mark in Tehran for rolling back earlier reforms. He was/is a member of the [[Islamic Society of Engineers|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'').<ref>Aneja, Atul (2006). He was also known as tir khalas zan before becoming president.{{cite web|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2326/stories/20070112001105500.htm |title=New Dynamics. |access-date=5 February 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016202546/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2326/stories/20070112001105500.htm |archive-date=16 October 2007 }} Frontline. Retrieved 28 July 2007.</ref><!-- This material no longer available at the URL stated 20090802 --> He was also helped by support from supreme leader [[Ali Khamenei]], of whom some described Ahmadinejad as a protégé.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Dehghan |first1=Saeed Kamali |last2=Borger |first2=Julian |date=2011-05-19 |title=Ahmadinejad's enemies scent blood in Iran power struggle |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/19/ahmadinejad-iran-power-struggle |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
Ahmadinejad was largely non-committal about his plans for his presidency, perhaps to attract both [[religious conservative]]s and the lower economic classes.<ref name=WP20050619>{{cite news|first=Karl |last=Vick|title=Hard-Line Figure In Iran Runoff|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=19 June 2005|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061801226_pf.html |access-date=28 July 2009}}</ref> His campaign slogan was: "It's possible and we can do it".<ref name=PersMirror2005/>
In the campaign, he took a populist approach. 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|date=January 2020}} 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.<ref name=AT20060119>{{cite news |first= S. |last= Moubayed|title=Iran and the art of crisis management|newspaper=Asia Times |date=19 January 2006|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HA19Ak03.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060220060411/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HA19Ak03.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=20 February 2006|access-date=28 July 2009}}</ref>
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."<!-- This material no longer available at the URL stated 20090802 --> He opposed the [[UN Security Council Veto Power|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 1.5 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|date=August 2019}}
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 (document)|visa]] requirements between states in the region, saying that "people should visit anywhere they wish freely. People should have freedom in their [[pilgrimage]]s and tours."<ref name=PersMirror2005>{{cite web|first=Babnet |last=Tunisia |title=More on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |work=Persian Mirror |year=2005 |url=http://persianmirror.com/community/2005/opinion/MahmoudAhmadinejad.cfm |access-date=2 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626204105/http://persianmirror.com/community/2005/opinion/MahmoudAhmadinejad.cfm |archive-date=26 June 2009 }}</ref>
Ahmadinejad described [[Ayatollah]] [[Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi]], a senior cleric from [[Qom]], as his ideological and spiritual mentor. Mesbah founded the [[Haghani Circle|Haghani]] School of thought in Iran. {{Citation needed|date=January 2020}} He and his team strongly supported Ahmadinejad's 2005 presidential campaign.<ref name=Prospect20060625>{{cite web|first=Nazenin|last=Ansari|title=Divide and empower|work=Prospect Magazine|date=25 June 2006|url=http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7487 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207110527/http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7487 |archive-date=7 December 2008|access-date=2 August 2009}}</ref><!-- Available to subscribers only -->
====2005 presidential election====
{{Main|2005 Iranian presidential election}}
Ahmadinejad won 62% of the vote in the [[runoff election|run-off poll]] against [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]]. [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]] [[Ayatollah Khamenei]] authorized his presidency on 3 August 2005.<ref name="Voice Of America"/><ref name="Iran hardliner becomes president"/> Ahmadinejad kissed Khamenei's hand during the ceremony to show his loyalty.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/world/africa/08iht-khamenei.2748833.html|title=Behind Ahmadinejad, a Powerful Cleric| access-date=11 January 2017 |date=8 September 2006|work=The New York Times|first=Michael|last=Slackman}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tofoiran.packdeal.com/clips/DrIman/20060906-DrIman-CNN-225.asx |title=Clip DrIman CNN – at Tofoiran |date=6 September 2006 |access-date=18 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715032350/http://tofoiran.packdeal.com/clips/DrIman/20060906-DrIman-CNN-225.asx |archive-date=15 July 2011 }}</ref>
Shortly after Ahmadinejad was elected president, some [[Western media outlets]] published claims that he was among the students who [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the 1979 hostage crisis|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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ahmadinejad: The Secret History of Iran's Radical Leader|last=Kasra|first=Naji|publisher=University of California Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0520256637|___location=Berkeley|pages=20–23}}</ref>
====2005 cabinet appointments====
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:10px; float:right;"
|-
! Ministry
! Minister
|-
| Agriculture || [[Mohammad Reza Eskandari]]
|-
| Commerce || [[Masoud Mir Kazemi]]
|-
| Communication and Information Technology || [[Mohammad Soleimani]]
|-
| [[Ministry of Cooperatives (Iran)|Cooperatives]]|| [[Mohammad Abbasi]]
|-
| [[Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance|Culture and Islamic Guidance]] || [[Hossein Saffar Harandi]]
|-
| [[Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics|Defense and Armed Forces Logistics]] || [[Mostafa Mohammad Najjar]]
|-
| Economy and Financial Affairs || Hossein Samsami
|-
| [[Ministry of Education (Iran)|Education]] || [[Alireza Ali Ahmadi]]
|-
| Energy || [[Parviz Fattah]]
|-
| [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iran)|Foreign Affairs]] || [[Manoucher Mottaki]]
|-
| [[Ministry of Health and Medical Education|Health and Medical Education]] || [[Kamran Bagheri Lankarani]]
|-
| Housing and Urban Development || [[Mohammad Saeedikia]]
|-
| Industries and Mines || [[Aliakbar Mehrabian]]
|-
| [[Ministry of Intelligence of Iran|Intelligence]] || [[Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejehei]]
|-
| [[Ministry of Interior (Iran)|Interior]] || [[Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7735947.stm|title=New Iran interior chief approved|work=BBC News|date=18 November 2008|access-date=21 June 2009}}</ref>
|-
| [[Ministry of Justice (Iran)|Justice]] || [[Gholam Hossein Elham]]
|-
| Labour and Social Affairs || [[Mohammad Jahromi]]
|-
| [[Ministry of Petroleum of Iran|Petroleum]] || [[Gholam Hossein Nozari]]
|-
| Roads and Transportation || [[Hamid Behbahani]]
|-
| Science, Research, and Technology || [[Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi]]
|-
| Welfare and Social Security || [[Abdolreza Mesri]]
|}
Iran's president is constitutionally obliged to obtain confirmation from the [[Iranian Parliament|parliament]] for his selection of ministers.<ref name=ir-const-art113>{{cite web|title=Article 133|work=[[Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran]] |url=http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/ir00000_.html#A133_|publisher=International Constitutional Law|year=1992|access-date=2 August 2009}}</ref> 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.<ref name=AT20060119/> The Majlis approved a cabinet on 24 August.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://president.ir/ahmadinejad/cronicnews/1384/06/02/index-f.htm|title=اخبار رياست جمهوري|date=11 January 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060111212405/http://president.ir/ahmadinejad/cronicnews/1384/06/02/index-f.htm |access-date=9 July 2022|archive-date=11 January 2006 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=KT20050826>{{cite news|title=Depleted Iran cabinet meets after rejection of four by parliament |url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2005/August/middleeast_August739.xml§ion=middleeast&col= |work=Khaleej Times Online |date=26 August 2005 |access-date=2 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608214526/http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data%2Fmiddleeast%2F2005%2FAugust%2Fmiddleeast_August739.xml§ion=middleeast&col= |archive-date=8 June 2011 }}</ref>
====2006 councils and Assembly of Experts election====
{{Main|2006 Iranian councils election|Iranian Assembly of Experts election, 2006}}
Ahmadinejad's team lost the 2006 city council elections.<ref name=WP20061217/> 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 [[Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi|Mesbah Yazdi's]] list."<ref name=WP20061217>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/17/AR2006121700772.html|title=Results in Iranian Vote Seen as Setback for Ahmadinejad|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=18 December 2006|access-date=18 June 2011|first=Edmund|last=Blair}}</ref>
====2009 presidential election====
{{Main|2009 Iranian presidential election}}
On 23 August 2008, 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.memri.org/reports/renewed-power-struggle-iran-presidential-elections-approach-part-i-%e2%80%93-ahmadinejads| title=Renewed Power Struggle in Iran as the Presidential Elections Approach: Part I – Ahmadinejad's Revolutionary-Messianic Faction vs. Rafsanjani–Reformist Alliance|first1=Y. |last1=Mansharof|first2=A. |last2=Savyon|publisher=The Middle East Media Research Institute |date=26 December 2008|access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref> 39,165,191 ballots were cast in the election on 12 June 2009, according to Iran's election headquarters. Ahmadinejad won 24,527,516 votes, (62.63%). In second place, [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]], won 13,216,411 (33.75%) of the votes.<ref name=leads>{{cite news |publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8098305.stm|date=13 June 2009|access-date=13 June 2009|title=Ahmadinejad 'leads in Iran election'}}</ref>
====2009 presidential election protests====
{{Main|2009 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 2009, and Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term on 5 August 2009.<ref name=BBC20090805/> Iran's Constitution stipulates [[term limits]] of two terms for the office of President.<ref name="photius2">{{cite web |url=http://www.photius.com/countries/iran/government/iran_government_the_presidency.html|title=Iran The Presidency |website=Photius.com |access-date=18 June 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8180811.stm| title=Iran poll critics shun ceremony|access-date=5 August 2009|date=3 August 2009|publisher=BBC}}</ref> Opposition groups asked protesters on reformist websites and blogs to launch new street demonstrations on the day of the inauguration ceremony.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Iran's opposition calls for inauguration protests|url=http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/523324/Iran-s-opposition-calls-for-inauguration-protests.html|agency=Associated Press|date=4 August 2009|access-date=5 August 2009|archive-date=17 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217062002/http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/523324/Iran-s-opposition-calls-for-inauguration-protests.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> On inauguration day, hundreds of riot police met opposition protesters outside parliament. After taking the oath of office, which was broadcast live on [[Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting|Iranian state television]], Ahmadinejad said that he would "protect the official faith, the system of the Islamic revolution and the constitution."<ref name=BBC20090805/> France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States announced that they would not send the usual letters of congratulation.<ref name=BBC20090805>{{Cite news|date=5 August 2009|access-date=5 August 2009|title=Defiant Iran president takes oath|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8184240.stm}}</ref>
{{clear|right}}
====2009 cabinet appointments====
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:10px; float:right;"
|-
! Minister
|-
| [[Agriculture in Iran|Agriculture]] || [[Sadeq Khalilian]]
|-
| [[Ministry of Commerce (Iran)|Commerce]] || [[
|-
| [[Communications in Iran|Communication and Information Technology]] || [[
|-
| [[Ministry of Cooperatives (Iran)|Cooperatives]] || [[
|-
| [[Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance
|-
| [[Ministry of Defense and
|-
| [[Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance (Iran)|Economy and Financial Affairs]] || [[Shamseddin Hosseini]]
|-
| [[Ministry of Education (Iran)|Education]] || [[Hamid-Reza Haji Babaee]]
|-
| [[Energy in Iran|Energy]] || [[Majid Namjoo]]
|-
| [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iran)|Foreign Affairs]] || [[Manouchehr Mottaki]]
|-
| [[Ministry of Health and Medical Education
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| [[Construction in Iran|Housing and Urban Development]] || [[
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| [[Industry of Iran|Industries and Mines]] || [[
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| [[Ministry of Intelligence of Iran|Intelligence]] || [[
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| [[Ministry of Interior (Iran)|Interior]] || [[Mostafa Mohammad Najjar]]
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| [[Ministry of Justice (Iran)|Justice]] || [[Morteza Bakhtiari]]
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| [[Labor and tax laws in Iran|Labour and Social Affairs]] || [[
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| [[Ministry of Petroleum of Iran|
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| [[Transport in Iran|Roads and Transportation]] || [[
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| [[Science and technology in Iran|Science, Research, and Technology]] || [[
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| [[Economy of Iran#Labor and welfare|Welfare and Social Security]] || [[
|}
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.<ref name=clashes727>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jul-27-fg-iran27-story.html|title=Iran president clashes with conservatives|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=27 July 2009|access-date=18 June 2011|first1=Borzou|last1=Daragahi|first2=Ramin |last2=Mostaghim}}</ref>
On 26 July 2009, Ahmadinejad's government faced a legal problem after he sacked four ministers. Iran's constitution (Article 136) 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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Deshmukh|first=Jay |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jYm2jkM3p-MmD8B1Oh9ZDxXNG6xw |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524062050/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jYm2jkM3p-MmD8B1Oh9ZDxXNG6xw |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2012 |title=Ahmadinejad 'sacks four Iran ministers'|date=26 July 2009|access-date=7 September 2010}}</ref> The vice chairman of the Majlis announced that no cabinet meetings or decisions would be legal, pending such a re-approval.<ref>{{cite news |title=آفتاب – باهنر: جلسات دولت نهم از این پس غیرقانونی است |trans-title=Aftab – Bahonar: The sessions of the ninth government are illegal from now on. |url=http://aftabnews.ir/vdchzinw.23nzmdftt2.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225034858/http://www.aftabnews.ir/vdchzinw.23nzmdftt2.html |archive-date=25 December 2010 |access-date=7 September 2010 |work=Aftab News}}</ref>
[[File:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 2009.jpg|thumb|Ahmadinejad 2009]]
On 4 September 2009, the Majlis approved 18 of the 21 cabinet candidates, and rejected three, including two women. [[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.<ref name="first">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8235264.stm|title=Iran backs first woman minister|date=3 September 2009|publisher=BBC|access-date=28 November 2009}}</ref>
===
Ahmadinejad suffered a defeat in [[2012 Iranian legislative election|March/May 2012 parliamentary elections]] with Ayatollah Khamenei's "Principalist" allies winning about three quarters of the parliaments 290 seats, and Ahmadinejad supporters far fewer.<ref>{{Cite news |last=MacFarquhar |first=Neil |date=2012-03-05 |title=Elections in Iran Favor Ayatollah's Allies, Dealing Blow to President and His Office |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/world/middleeast/iran-elections-deal-blow-to-ahmadinejad-and-the-presidency.html |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
===Domestic
====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 .<ref name="entre">{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/iran-unemployment-idINDAH13987520080331|title=Iran's unemployment falls to 10.3 pct -minister|work=Reuters|date=31 March 2008|access-date=18 June 2011|archive-date=18 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118075910/http://in.reuters.com/article/iran-unemployment-idINDAH13987520080331|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ahmadinejad increased spending by 25% and supported [[subsidy|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ahmadinejad's Achilles Heel: The Iranian Economy |url=http://www.payvand.com/news/07/jan/1295.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405020541/http://www.payvand.com/news/07/jan/1295.html |archive-date=5 April 2023 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.payvand.com |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Letter from Tehran, The rationalist|first=Laura|last=Secor |page=31|magazine=The New Yorker|date=2 February 2009}}</ref> 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.<ref name="donkey">{{cite news|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/economy/2008/09/iran-economic-ahmadinejad |title=Economics is for donkeys|work=New Statesman|date=11 September 2008|access-date=21 June 2009}}</ref>
[[File:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 2012.jpg|thumb|right|Ahmadinejad at the [[United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development]] in 2012]]
In June 2006, 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Middle-East/2006/Jun-16/72571-iranian-economists-lash-out-at-ahmadinejads-policies.ashx|title=Iranian economists lash out at Ahmadinejad's policies|newspaper=Daily Star|___location=Libya|date=16 June 2006|access-date=18 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/world/2006-09-04-iran-economy-usat_x.htm |title=Geopolitics casts pall on hobbled Iranian economy|date=5 September 2006|first=David J.|last=Lynch|___location=Tehran|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=26 January 2008}}</ref> 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 [[Sanctions against Iran|global isolation]]. These factors prevented an improvement of infrastructure and capital influx, despite high economic potential.<ref name=entre /> Among those that did not vote for him in the first election, only 3.5% said they would consider voting for him in the next election.<ref>Sanati, Kimia. [https://archive.today/20120718075722/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IH24Ak03.html "Ahmadinejad held to election promises"]. ''Asia Times''. Retrieved 1 February 2008.</ref> [[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."<ref name=discontent>{{cite news|last=Dareini|first=Ali Akbar|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/17/AR2007011701335.html |title=Iran's Discontent With Ahmadinejad Grows|newspaper=The Washington Post|agency=Associated Press|date=17 January 2007|access-date=28 August 2007}}</ref>
President Ahmadinejad changed almost all of his economic ministers, including oil, industry and economy, since coming to power in 2005. In an interview with Fars News Agency in April 2008, [[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."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jPjMFDWR5wix280l0R7irdv5THEg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303113931/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jPjMFDWR5wix280l0R7irdv5THEg|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2014|title=Ahmadinejad slammed by outgoing economy minister|work=AFP|date=22 April 2008|access-date=21 June 2009}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jelVVHDZfukEAiK80qF88B6Q1Tpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303113944/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jelVVHDZfukEAiK80qF88B6Q1Tpg|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2014|title=Martyrdom would solve Iran's economic woes: Ahmadinejad|work=AFP|date=24 April 2008 |access-date=21 June 2009}}</ref> In May 2008, the petroleum minister of Iran admitted that the government illegally invested 2 billion dollars to import petrol in 2007. At Iranian parliament, he also mentioned that he simply followed the president's order.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alef.ir/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018132405/http://www.alef.ir/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26085&Itemid=99999999|url-status=dead|title=جامعه خبری تحلیلی الف|archivedate=18 October 2014|access-date=9 July 2022}}</ref>
While his government had 275 thousand billion [[Iranian toman|toman]] oil income, the highest in Iranian history, Ahmadinejad's government had the highest budget deficit since the Iranian revolution.<ref>{{cite news|last=Leyne|first=Jon |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7687107.stm|title=Iran economy facing 'perfect storm'|work=BBC|date=24 October 2008| access-date= 21 June 2009}}</ref>
During his presidency, Ahmadinejad launched a [[2007 Gas Rationing Plan in Iran|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.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=175959 |title=Assembly of Experts to study economic reform plan: Rafsanjani |access-date=23 August 2008 |date=23 August 2008 |newspaper=Tehran Times |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912183345/http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=175959 |archive-date=12 September 2008 }}</ref> He issued a directive that the [[Management and Planning Organisation of Iran|Management and Planning Organization]] be affiliated to the government.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.payvand.com/news/06/oct/1192.html|title=Iran: Debate heats up over restructuring of Management and Planning Organization|access-date=27 April 2009|date=18 October 2006|newspaper=Payvand|archive-date=20 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120052220/http://www.payvand.com/news/06/oct/1192.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In May 2011, Ahmadinejad announced that he would temporarily run the Oil Ministry.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/05/16/iran.ahmadinejad.oil/index.html?hpt=Sbin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217124024/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/05/16/iran.ahmadinejad.oil/index.html?hpt=Sbin|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 December 2013|work=CNN|title=Iran's leader taking over Oil Ministry temporarily, news agency says|date=16 May 2011}}</ref>
===
{{See also|Family planning in Iran}}
In October 2006, Ahmadinejad began calling for the scrapping of Iran's existing birth-control policies which discouraged Iranian couples from having more than two children. He told [[Member of Parliament|MPs]] that Iran could cope with 50 million more people than the current 70 million. In November 2010, 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 17."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Ahmadinejad calls on Iranian girls to marry at 16 |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/1122/Ahmadinejad-calls-on-Iranian-girls-to-marry-at-16 |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=Christian Science Monitor |issn=0882-7729}}</ref> 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 1979. The policy had increased Iran's population by 16 million in seven years<ref name=RWDreams/>{{rp|321}} but had eventually been reversed in response to the resultant economic strain.<ref name="Guard-Child">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/oct/23/iran.roberttait |first=Robert|last=Tait|___location=Tehran|date=23 October 2006|title=Ahmadinejad urges Iranian baby boom to challenge West|work=The Guardian|access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref>
In 2008, 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 [[polygamy|marrying a second wife]]. Women's rights in Iran are more religiously based than those in secular countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/ebadi-protests-against-iran-s-polygamy-bill/article1-328872.aspx|title=Ebadi protests against Iran's polygamy bill|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|access-date=21 June 2009|date=4 August 2008|archive-date=8 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208204301/http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/ebadi-protests-against-iran-s-polygamy-bill/article1-328872.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
====Housing====
{{See also|Construction industry of Iran#Mehr Housing Scheme}}
The first legislation to emerge from his newly formed government was a 12 trillion [[Iranian rial|rial]] ([[US$]]1.3 billion) fund called ''"Reza's Compassion Fund"'',<ref name=rooz06>{{cite web|url=http://roozonline.com/01newsstory/012137.shtml|title="Reza's Compassion Fund" project archived|access-date=17 October 2006|work=[[Rooz]]|language=fa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021113903/http://roozonline.com/01newsstory/012137.shtml|archive-date=21 October 2006}}</ref> named after [[Shi'a Islam|Shi'a]] [[Shi'a Imam|Imam]] [[Ali 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://irannegah.com/Video.aspx?id=593 |title=Video of Imam Reza Love Fund|website=IranNegah.com |access-date=18 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306113836/http://irannegah.com/Video.aspx?id=593 |archive-date=6 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The fund also sought charitable donations, with a [[trustee|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 2006 the Iranian parliament rejected the fund; however, Ahmadinejad ordered the administrative council to execute the plan.<ref name=rooz06/>
[[File:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.jpg|thumb|Ahmadinejad speaking at [[Columbia University]], September 2007]]
====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."<ref name=WR2007>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1UbK1st63cgC&q=%22Since+President+Ahmadinejad+came+to+power%22%2C+%22treatment+of+detainees+has+worsened%22&pg=PA464 |title=World Report 2007: Events of 2006|author=Human Rights Watch|publisher=Seven Stories Press|date=2011|isbn=9781583229583}}</ref>{{rp|464}} Human Rights Watch also has stated, "Respect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and assembly, deteriorated in 2006. The government routinely tortures and mistreats detained dissidents, including through prolonged solitary confinement."<ref name=WR2007 />{{rp|463}} 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|date=January 2017}} 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 2006, 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,<ref name="Raja3739">{{cite news|url=http://www.rajanews.com/News/?3739 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307115938/http://www.rajanews.com/News/?3739 |archive-date=7 March 2008|script-title=fa:گزارش اختصاصي رجانيوز از حاشيه هاي مراسم امروز دانشگاه اميركبير|trans-title=Exclusive report from the margins of today's ceremony Amir Kabir University|website=Rajanews.com |date=7 March 2008 |url-status=dead|language=fa|access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="Raja3737" /> although speakers at other protests have included among their complaints that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fathi|first=Nazila|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650214386/Students-disrupt-speech-by-Iran-chief.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707095352/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650214386/Students-disrupt-speech-by-Iran-chief.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 July 2012 |title=Students disrupt speech by Iran chief|work=Deseret News|agency=The New York Times News Service |date=12 December 2006 |___location=Tehran|access-date=12 December 2006}}</ref> In April 2007, 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.baztab.com/news/65372.php |script-title=fa:انتقاد مشاور رئيسجمهور از طرح مبارزه با بدحجابي|trans-title=Ahmadinejad's adviser criticizes hijab enforcement issue|work=Baztab.com|access-date=23 April 2007|url-status=dead|language=fa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207120901/http://www.baztab.com/news/65372.php |archive-date=7 December 2008 }}</ref> In 2012, 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.<ref name="Telegraph 18.01.2012">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9023777/HIV-created-by-West-to-enfeeble-third-world-claims-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9023777/HIV-created-by-West-to-enfeeble-third-world-claims-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=HIV created by West to enfeeble third world, claims Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |first=Ahmad |last=Vahdat |date=18 January 2012|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=19 January 2012|___location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He has also described homosexuality as "ugly".<ref>{{cite web|title=Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on homosexualty|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt_xxqMT2JY| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211103/qt_xxqMT2JY| archive-date=2021-11-03 | url-status=live|website=YouTube| date=23 September 2012 |publisher=CNN|access-date=14 April 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/09/24/president-ahmadinejad-gays-are-ugly-and-are-like-thieves/|title=President Ahmadinejad: Gays are ugly and are like thieves|date=24 September 2012|first=James|last=Park|website=pinknews.co.uk|access-date=28 September 2012}}</ref>
====Universities====
{{See also|Higher education in Iran}}
In 2006, the Ahmadinejad<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neyous.com |title=neYous Social Headline News Aggregator |website=Neyous.com |access-date=7 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019060335/http://www.neyous.com/ |archive-date=19 October 2010 }}</ref> government reportedly forced numerous Iranian scientists and university professors to resign or to retire. It has been referred to as the "[[Islamic Cultural Revolution|second cultural revolution]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://roozonline.com/01newsstory/016196.shtml |title=Protest against the second cultural revolution. |access-date=21 October 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021111440/http://roozonline.com/01newsstory/016196.shtml |archive-date=21 October 2006 }} Rooz. Retrieved 18 October 2006.</ref><ref>Irani, Hamid. [http://roozonline.com/english/016235.shtml "Cleansing in the Name of Retirement"]. Retrieved 18 October 2006. {{Failed verification|date=October 2010}} {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021093546/http://roozonline.com/english/016235.shtml |date=21 October 2006 }}</ref> The policy has been said to replace old professors with younger ones.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aftabnews.ir/vdcco4q2boqe0.html |title=Khoshchehreh (MP) protests against the unwanted retirement of university professors. |access-date=2 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224051511/http://www.aftabnews.ir/vdcco4q2boqe0.html |archive-date=24 February 2012 }} Aftab News. Retrieved 18 October 2006.</ref> Some university professors received letters indicating their early retirement unexpectedly.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aftabnews.ir/vdcdnf0yt509o.html |title=Different aspects of the unwanted retirement of university professors. |access-date=2 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004224951/http://www.aftabnews.ir/vdcdnf0yt509o.html |archive-date=4 October 2006 }} Aftab News. Retrieved 18 October 2006.</ref> In November 2006, 53 university professors had to retire from [[Iran University of Science and Technology]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927221850/http://news.gooya.eu/politics/archives/2006/11/055304.php "صدور حکم بازنشستگی برای ۵۳ استاد دانشگاه علم و صنعت، ادوار نيوز"] Gooya. Retrieved 26 January 2008.</ref>
In 2006, Ahmadinejad's government applied a 50% [[Racial quota|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|date=July 2017}} Masoud Salehi, president of Zahedan University said that presence of women generates some problems with transportation.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} 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|date=July 2017}} Bagher Larijani, the president of [[Tehran University of Medical Sciences]] made similar remarks.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} According to [[Rooz|Rooz Online]], the quotas lack a legal foundation and are justified as support for "family" and "religion".{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}
=====December 2006 student protest=====
In December 2006, 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]].<ref name="students" >{{cite web |last1=Theodoulou |first1=Michael| url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/world/protesters-condemn-holocaust-conference-1-733917 |title=Protesters condemn Holocaust conference |work=The Scotsman |access-date=1 February 2016}}</ref>
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. 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irna.com/en/news/view/line-17/0612111551150517.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102830/http://www.irna.com/en/news/view/line-17/0612111551150517.htm|archive-date=29 September 2007|title=President: Students are pioneers of revolutionary movements – Irna}}</ref> It was reported that even though the protesters broke the TV cameras and threw hand-made bombs at Ahmadinejad,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://peyvast.blog.com/1353199/ |title=Films of yesterday protest in Iran are leaking out « Connections پیوست |publisher=Peyvast.blog.com |date=12 December 2006 |access-date=21 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913232130/http://peyvast.blog.com/1353199/ |archive-date=13 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the president asked the officials not to question or disturb the protesters.<ref name=Raja3739 /><ref name=Raja3737>{{cite news|url=http://www.rajanews.com/News/?3737 |url-status=dead|script-title=fa:مشروح سخنان بسيار مهم احمدي نژاد در دانشگاه اميركبير|trans-title=Detailed critical remarks of Ahmadinejad at Amir Kabir University|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307115933/http://www.rajanews.com/News/?3737 |archive-date=7 March 2008|language=fa|access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/en/freedom/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430185511/http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/en/freedom/|archive-date=30 April 2013|title=Freedom and Liberty|publisher=Ahmadinejad's English Blog}}</ref>
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.<ref name="students" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650214386/Students-disrupt-speech-by-Iran-chief.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707095352/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650214386/Students-disrupt-speech-by-Iran-chief.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 July 2012 |title=Students disrupt speech by Iran chief |first=Nazila |last=Fathi |work=Deseret News|agency=New York Times News Service |date=12 December 2006}}</ref>
====Nuclear program====
{{See also|Nuclear program of Iran}}
Ahmadinejad has been a vocal supporter of [[Nuclear program of Iran|Iran's nuclear program]], and has insisted that it is for peaceful purposes. He has repeatedly emphasized that building a [[nuclear weapon|nuclear bomb]] is not the policy of his government. He has said that such a policy is "illegal and against our religion".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ahamadinejad: We will reach the nuclear energy in near future. |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2006/01/060111_mj-ir-nuke-ahmadinejad.shtml |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.bbc.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-02-02 |title=Ahmadinejad Claims Iran Has 3,000 Centrifuges |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1078476.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217082817/http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1078476.html |archive-date=17 December 2013 |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |language=en}}</ref> He also added at a January 2006 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2006-01-14 |title=Excerpts: Ahmadinejad conference |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4613644.stm |access-date=2025-05-17 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
In April 2006, 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/060413/2006041301.html |title=Ahmadinejad: Iran can now talk to world from vantage point of a nuclear state |website=ArabicNews.com |access-date=29 October 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060422084214/http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/060413/2006041301.html |archive-date=22 April 2006 }}</ref> On 13 April 2006, 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."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2006/04/13/AhmadinejadIran-nuke-right-non-negotiable/UPI-84261144938178/ |title=Ahmadinejad: Iran nuke right non-negotiable |publisher=UPI|date=13 April 2006 |access-date=12 June 2006}}</ref> Nevertheless, Iran's nuclear policy under Ahmadinejad's administration received much criticism, spearheaded by the United States and Israel. The accusations include that Iran is striving to obtain nuclear arms and developing long-range firing capabilities—and that Ahmadinejad issued an order to keep [[UN]] inspectors from freely visiting the nation's nuclear facilities and viewing their designs, in defiance of an [[IAEA]] resolution.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ravid |first=Barak|url=https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/sources-un-watchdog-hiding-evidence-on-iran-nuclear-program-1.282217 |title=Sources: UN watchdog hiding evidence on Iran nuclear program.|newspaper=Haaretz|date=12 June 2011|access-date=18 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/05/AR2006020500877.html |title=Nuclear Inspections Are Curbed by Iran |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Ali Akbar |last=Dareini |agency=Associated Press |date=6 February 2006 |___location=Tehran |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/iran/nuclear_program/index.html |title=Iran's Nuclear Program |work=The New York Times }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/09/26/mahmoud-ahmadinejad-nuclear-issue-iran-is-now-closed/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824074013/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/09/26/mahmoud-ahmadinejad-nuclear-issue-iran-is-now-closed/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 August 2014 |title=Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 'Nuclear Issue of Iran Is Now Closed' |publisher=Fox News |agency=Associated Press |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref> Following a May 2009 test launch of a long-range [[missile]], Ahmadinejad was quoted as telling the crowd that with its nuclear program, Iran was sending the West a message that "the Islamic Republic of Iran is running the show."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/world/middleeast/21iran.html?_r=1 |title=Iran Test-Fires Missile With 1,200-Mile Range |work=The New York Times |first1=David E. |last1=Sanger |first2=Nazila |last2=Fathimay |date=20 May 2009 |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref>
Despite Ahmadinejad's vocal support for the program, the office of the Iranian president is not directly responsible for nuclear policy. It is instead set by the [[Supreme National Security Council]]. The council includes two representatives appointed by the [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]], military officials, and members of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government, and reports directly to Supreme Leader [[Ali Khamenei]], who issued a [[fatwa]] against nuclear weapons in 2005.<ref>{{cite news |last=Recknagel |first=Charles |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1059517.html |title=Iran: Election Of Ahmadinejad Unlikely To Affect Nuclear Negotiations |publisher=[[Radio Free Europe]] |date=27 June 2005 |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref> Khamenei has criticized Ahmadinejad's "personalization" of the nuclear issue.<ref name=moderating>{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Iran-rebukes-its-prez-over-N-policy/articleshow/1319950.cms |title=Iran rebukes its prez over N-policy |work=[[The Times of India]] |date=19 January 2007 |access-date=26 January 2008}}</ref>
Ahmadinejad vowed in February 2008 that Iran will not be held back from developing its peaceful nuclear program.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/02/23/iran.jealous/index.html |title=Ahmadinejad: Nations jealous of nuclear progress |publisher=CNN |date=11 February 2008 |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref>
In October 2009, the [[United States]], [[France]], and [[Russia]] proposed a U.N.-drafted deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program, in an effort to find a compromise between Iran's stated need for a nuclear reactor and the concerns of those who are worried that Iran harbors a secret intent of developing a nuclear weapon. After some delay in responding, on 29 October, Ahmadinejad seemed to change his tone towards the deal. "We welcome fuel exchange, nuclear co-operation, building of power plants and reactors and we are ready to co-operate," he said in a live broadcast on state television.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2009/10/2009102984633409448.html|title=Iran 'ready for nuclear agreement' – Middle East |publisher=Al Jazeera|date=29 October 2009|access-date=7 September 2010}}</ref> He added that Iran would not retreat "one iota" on its right to a sovereign nuclear program.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-idUSLT25626120091029|work=Reuters |title=Iran proposes big changes to draft atom deal: report|date=29 October 2009}}</ref>
===Domestic criticism and controversies===
====Accusations of corruption====
{{see also|2011 Iranian embezzlement scandal|Iran Insurance embezzlement case}}
According to Brussels-based NGO [[International Crisis Group]], Ahmadinejad has been criticized for attacking private "plunderers" and "corrupt officials", while engaging in "cronyism and political favouritism". Many of his close associates were appointed to positions for which they have no obvious qualifications, and "billion dollar no-bid contracts" were awarded to the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]] (IRGC), an organization with which he is strongly associated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4647&l=1|title=Iran: Ahmadi-Nejad's Tumultuous Presidency |publisher=International Crisis Group|date=6 February 2007|access-date=21 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709030746/http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4647&l=1|archive-date=9 July 2008}}</ref>
According to Najmeh Bozorgmehr of the ''[[Financial Times]]'', "Iran has a long history of cronyism and corruption under its monarchies and the Islamic Republic. But the scale of corruption under Mr. Ahmadinejad was of a different order, according to both reform-minded and conservative politicians."<ref name="Financial Times">{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8df9c092-ca2f-11e3-bb92-00144feabdc0.html|title=Iran: Rogue trader|work=Financial Times|date=5 June 2014 |access-date=20 March 2015|last1=Bozorgmehr|first1=Najmeh}}</ref>
====Other statements====
[[File:Vladimir Putin in Iran 16-17 October 2007-9.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Participants of the second Caspian Summit in October 2007. From left to right: President of Azerbaijan [[Ilham Aliev]], President of Turkmenistan [[Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow]], President of Kazakhstan [[Nursultan Nazarbaev]], President of Russia [[Vladimir Putin]] and President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.]]
In June 2007, Ahmadinejad was criticized by some Iranian parliament members over his remark about [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]]. According to Aftab News Agency, Ahmadinejad stated: "In the world, there are deviations from the right path: Christianity and Judaism. Dollars have been devoted to the propagation of these deviations. There are also false claims that these [religions] will save mankind. But Islam is the only religion that [can] save mankind." Some members of Iranian parliament criticized these remarks as being fuels to religious war.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/CWN/121605iran.aspx |title=Iran's President Threatens Crackdown on Christianity |access-date=5 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080504173742/http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/CWN/121605iran.aspx |archive-date=4 May 2008 }} ''CBN News''. Retrieved 27 January 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=7 June 2007 |script-title=fa:دفاع از اظهارات احمدینژاد عليه مسيحيت و يهود، آفتاب |url=http://news.gooya.eu/politics/archives/2007/06/060469.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070619174926/http://news.gooya.eu/politics/archives/2007/06/060469.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 June 2007 |publisher=[[Gooya]] |language=fa |access-date=31 May 2009}}</ref>
Conservative MP Rafat Bayat has accused Ahmadinejad for a decline in observance of the required [[hijab]] for women, calling him "not that strict on this issue".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2007-01-02 |title=Iran police move into fashion business |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6213854.stm |access-date=2025-05-17 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Ahmadinejad was also accused of indecency by people close to [[Rafsanjani]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diese Website steht zum Verkauf! |url=http://www.ansarnews.com/?usr=news/detail&nid=993 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160906185207/http://www.ansarnews.com/?usr=news/detail&nid=993 |archive-date=6 September 2016 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.ansarnews.com |url-status=live }}</ref> after he publicly kissed the hand of a woman who used to be his school teacher.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2007-05-03 |title=Ahmadinejad accused of indecency |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6619077.stm |access-date=2025-05-17 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
====The UN and football stadiums====
There are two statements that led to criticism from some religious authorities. One concerns his speech at the [[United Nations]], and the other concerns the attendance of women at football matches. During a visit to group of Ayatollahs in [[Qom]] after returning from his 2005 speech to the [[UN General Assembly]], Ahmadinejad stated he had "felt a halo over his head" during his speech and that a hidden presence had mesmerized the unblinking audience of foreign leaders, foreign ministers, and ambassadors. Ahmadinejad closed his speech with a call for the "mighty Lord" to "hasten the emergence" of [[Imam Mahdi]].<ref name=bgreg8>{{cite news|last=Bruno|first=Greg|title=The Iranian political structure |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Iranian+political+structure.-a0182127664|access-date=3 August 2013|newspaper=Iran Times International|date=11 July 2008|___location=Washington DC}}</ref> According to Iranian-American journalist [[Hooman Majd]], the response given to Ahmadinejad at the assembly was offensive to the conservative religious leaders because an ordinary man cannot presume a special closeness to God or any of the [[Imamah (Shi'a doctrine)|Imams]], nor can he imply the presence of the Mahdi.<ref name=majd2008p79>{{cite book |author-link=Hooman Majd |last=Majd |first=Hooman |title=The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran |publisher=Doubleday |year=2008 |isbn=978-0767928014 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ayatollahbegstod00hoom/page/79 79] |url=https://archive.org/details/ayatollahbegstod00hoom/page/79 }}</ref>
In another statement in 2006, Ahmadinejad proclaimed (without consulting the clerics beforehand), that women be allowed into football stadiums to watch male football clubs compete. This proclamation "was quickly overruled" by clerical authorities, one of whom, Grand Ayatollah [[Mohammad Fazel Lankarani]] "refused for weeks to meet with President Ahmadinejad" in early 2007.<ref name=majd2008p79/>
====Constitutional conflict====
In 2008, a serious conflict emerged between the Iranian President and the head of parliament over three laws approved by the Iranian parliament: "the agreement for civil and criminal legal cooperation between Iran and Kyrgyzstan", "the agreement to support mutual investment between Iran and Kuwait", and "the law for registration of industrial designs and trademarks". The conflict was so serious that the Iranian leader stepped in to resolve it. Ahmadinejad wrote a letter to the parliamentary speaker [[Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel]], furiously denouncing him for the "inexplicable act" of bypassing the presidency by giving the order to implement legislation in an official newspaper.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} Ahmadinejad accused the head of parliament of violating Iranian constitutional law. He called for legal action against the parliament speaker.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iran-press-service.com/ips/articles-2008/april-2008/ahmadinejad-attacks-haddad-adel.shtml|title=Ahmadinejad Attacks Haddad Adel|work=Iran-Press-Service.com|date=April 2008|access-date=21 June 2009|archive-date=12 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512215127/http://www.iran-press-service.com/ips/articles-2008/april-2008/ahmadinejad-attacks-haddad-adel.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> Haddad-Adel responded to Ahmadinejad accusing him of using inappropriate language in his remarks and letters.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=پاسخ رئیسمجلس به رئیسجمهور |url=http://old.alef.ir/vdcg3z9x.ak9nt4prra.html?25046 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018125358/http://www.alef.ir/vdcg3z9x.ak9nt4prra.html?25046 |archive-date=18 October 2014 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=پایگاه خبری الف}}</ref>
====Ali Kordan====
{{Main|Ali Kordan}}
In August 2008, Ahmadinejad appointed [[Ali Kordan]] as interior minister. Kordan's appointment was heavily criticized by Iranian parliamentarians, media and analysts after it came to light that a doctoral degree purportedly awarded to Kordan was fabricated, and that the putative issuer of the degree, [[Oxford University]], had no record of Kordan receiving any degree from the university.<ref name="oxfordstatement">{{cite news|url=http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2008/080815.html |title=Statement: Mr Ali Kordan |date=15 August 2008 |access-date=17 August 2008 |publisher=The University of Oxford |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080817131229/http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2008/080815.html |archive-date=17 August 2008 }}</ref> It was also revealed that he had been jailed in 1978 for moral charges.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.roozonline.com/archives/2008/08/post_8726.php|title=سوابق اخلاقي|date=14 August 2008|access-date=14 August 2008|work=[[Rooz|Rooz online]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822005850/http://www.roozonline.com/archives/2008/08/post_8726.php|archive-date=22 August 2008}}</ref>
In November 2008, Ahmadinejad announced that he was against impeachment of Kordan by Iranian parliament. He refused to attend the parliament on the impeachment day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.africasia.com/services/news/newsitem.php?area=mideast&item=081104102917.yxb25ese.php |title=News |work=Africasia |access-date=21 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207134205/http://www.africasia.com/services/news/newsitem.php?area=mideast&item=081104102917.yxb25ese.php |archive-date=7 December 2008}}</ref> Kordan was expelled from office by Iranian parliament on 4 November 2008. 188 MPs voted against him. An impeachment of Kordan would push Ahmadinejad close to having to submit his entire cabinet for review by parliament, which was led by one of his chief political opponents. Iran's constitution requires that step if more than half the cabinet ministers are replaced, and Ahmadinejad replaced nine of 21 until that date.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/03/AR2008110301757.html?hpid=moreheadlines |title=Scandal, Fistfight Erupt Over Impeachment Move in Iran|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=4 November 2008|access-date=21 June 2009|first=Thomas|last=Erdbrink}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7707963.stm |title=Iran minister sacked over forgery|work=BBC News|date=4 November 2008|access-date=21 June 2009}}</ref>
====Conflict with Parliament====
[[File:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the Iranian Majlis (1).jpg|thumb|250px|Ahmadinejad speaking in the Majlis, Chairman [[Ali Larijani]] is also pictured]]
In February 2009, after [[Supreme Audit Court of Iran]] reported that $1.058 billion of surplus [[oil revenue]] in the (2006–2007) budget hadn't been returned by the government to the national treasury,<ref name="international1">{{cite news |url=http://www.upi.com/Energy_Resources/2009/02/16/Iran_examines_missing_oil_revenue/UPI-25891234800966/|title=Iran examines missing oil revenue|date=16 February 2009|work=United Press International|access-date=23 February 2009
}}</ref> Tensions between Larijani and Ahmadinejad continued into 2013.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Erdbrink |first=Thomas |date=2013-02-04 |title=Top Iranian Politicians Exchange Accusations |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/world/middleeast/high-level-feud-bares-tensions-in-iran.html |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
Ahmadinejad criticized the National Audit Office for what he called its "carelessness", saying the report "incites the people" against the government.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.payvand.com/news/09/feb/1229.html#s364827|title=Oil Money Report Rejected|date=21 February 2009|work=Iran newspaper|access-date=23 February 2009|archive-date=11 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311004645/http://www.payvand.com/news/09/feb/1229.html#s364827|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In May 2011, several members of parliament threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against Ahmadinejad after his merger of eight government ministries and the firing of three ministers without parliament's consent. According to the Majles news website, MP [[Mohammad Reza Bahonar]] stated, "legal purging starts with questions, which lead to warnings and end with impeachment." On 25 May, parliament voted to investigate another allegation, that Ahmadinejad had committed election irregularities by giving cash to up to nine million Iranians before the 2009 presidential elections. The vote came within hours after the allegations appeared in several popular conservative news sites associated with supreme leader [[Ali Khamenei]], suggesting the supreme leader supported the investigation.<ref name=wayout>{{cite web |url=http://www.insideiran.org/domestic-relations/is-ahmadinejad-on-his-way-out/ |title=Is Ahmadinejad on His Way Out? |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725083453/http://www.insideiran.org/domestic-relations/is-ahmadinejad-on-his-way-out/ |archive-date=25 July 2011 |website=InsideIran.org |date=25 May 2011 |first=Shayan |last=Ghajar |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref> The disputes were seen as part of the clash between Ahmadinejad and other conservatives and former supporters, including supreme leader Khamenei, over what the conservatives see as Ahmadinejad's confrontational policies and abuse of power.<ref name="wayout"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ayatollah-irans-president-bewitched-by-senior-aide/2011/05/15/AF7vOG4G_story.html |title=Ayatollah: Iran's president 'bewitched' by senior aide |first=Thomas |last=Erdbrink |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=15 May 2011 |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref>
====Relations with Supreme Leader of Iran====
[[File:5th International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada, Tehran (1).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Ahmadinejad with [[Ali Khamenei]], [[Ali Larijani]] and [[Sadeq Larijani]] in 2011]]
<!-- This section is transcluded on Ali Khamenei. -->
Early in his presidency, Ahmadinejad was sometimes described as "enjoy[ing] the full backing" of the [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]] {{no selflink|Ali Khamenei}},<ref name="nyt-favor">{{cite news|last=Fathi |first=Nazila |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/world/africa/07iht-tehran.4.9063096.html |title=Ahmadinejad loses favor with Khamenei, Iran's top leader |work=The New York Times |date=7 January 2008 |access-date=18 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629111911/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/world/africa/07iht-tehran.4.9063096.html |archive-date=29 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> and even as being his "protege".<ref name=Abdo /> In Ahmadinejad's 2005 inauguration the supreme leader allowed Ahmadinejad to kiss his hand and cheeks in what was called "a sign of closeness and loyalty",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ahmadinejad gets key endorsement as Iran president |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-08/04/content_8513716.htm |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.chinadaily.com.cn}}</ref> and after the 2009 election fully endorsed Ahmadinejad against protesters.
However, as early as January 2008, signs of disagreement between the two men developed over domestic policies,<ref name="nyt-favor"/> and by the period of 2010–11 several sources detected a "growing rift" between them.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5576925/Ayatollah-Ali-Khamenei-backs-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-in-address-at-Friday-prayers.html Ayatollah Ali Khamenei backs Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in address at Friday prayers], ''The Telegraph'', Damien McElroy, 19 June 2009</ref><ref name=rift>{{cite news|first=Saeed Kamali |last=Dehghan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/05/ahmadinejad-allies-charged-with-sorcery |title=Ahmadinejad allies charged with sorcery |work=The Guardian |date=5 May 2011|access-date=18 June 2011 |___location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510144655/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/05/ahmadinejad-allies-charged-with-sorcery |archive-date=10 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The disagreement was described as centered on [[Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei]], a top adviser and close confidant of Ahmadinejad<ref name=accept>{{cite news |first=Ali Akbar |last=Dareini |url=http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/GB/20110420/CP01/304209937/-1/sag0806/iranian-lawmakers-warn-ahmadinejad-to-back-intelligence-chief-as&template=cpArt |title=Iranian lawmakers warn Ahmadinejad to accept intelligence chief as political feud deepens |agency=Associated Press |work=StAlbertGazette.com |date=20 April 2011 |access-date=11 January 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217073724/http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/GB/20110420/CP01/304209937/-1/sag0806/iranian-lawmakers-warn-ahmadinejad-to-back-intelligence-chief-as%26template%3DcpArt |archive-date=17 December 2013 }}</ref> and opponent of "greater involvement of clerics in politics",<ref name= weakens /> who was first vice president of Iran until being ordered to resign from the cabinet by the supreme leader.
In 2009, Ahmadinejad dismissed Intelligence Minister [[Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i]], an opponent of Mashaei. In April 2011, another Intelligence minister, [[Heydar Moslehi]], resigned after being asked to by Ahmadinejad, but was reinstated by the supreme leader within hours.<ref name=Abdo>{{cite news |first=Geneive |last=Abdo |url=https://huffingtonpost.com/geneive-abdo/clash-over-mashaei-reveal_b_853329.html|title=Clash Over Mashaei Reveals Fissures Within the Iranian Regime |work=The Huffington Post |date=26 April 2011 |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref><ref name=csm090511/> Ahmadinejad declined to officially back Moslehi's reinstatement for two weeks and in protest engaged in an "11-day walkout" of cabinet meetings, religious ceremonies, and other official functions.<ref name=rift/><ref name=csm090511>{{cite news |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0509/Iran-s-Ahmadinejad-survives-worst-storm-of-his-presidency |title=Iran's Ahmadinejad survives worst storm of his presidency |work=The Christian Science Monitor |first=Scott |last=Peterson |date=9 May 2011 |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref> Ahmadinejad's actions led to angry public attacks by clerics, parliamentarians and military commanders, who accused him of ignoring orders from the supreme leader.<ref name=accept />
Conservative opponents in parliament launched an "impeachment drive" against him,<ref name=weakens /> four websites with ties to Ahmadinejad reportedly were "filtered and blocked",<ref name=Abdo/> and several people "said to be close" to the president and Mashaei (such as [[Abbas Amirifar]] and [[Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh]]) were arrested on charges of being "magicians" and invoking [[djinn]]s.<ref name=rift/> On 6 May 2011, it was reported that Ahmadinejad had been given an ultimatum to accept the leader's intervention or resign,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/06/iran-supreme-leader-ahmadinejad-minister |title=Iran's supreme leader tells Ahmadinejad: accept minister or quit |first=Saeed Kamali |last= Dehghan |work=The Guardian |date=6 May 2011}}</ref> and on 8 May, he "apparently bowed" to the reinstatement, welcoming back Moslehi to a cabinet meeting.<ref name=affirms>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/irans-ahmadinejad-affirms-khamenei-decision-tensions-remain/2011/05/08/AFpK82QG_print.html |title=Iran's Ahmadinejad affirms Khamenei decision, tensions remain |first=Thomas |last=Erdbrink |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=8 May 2011}}</ref> The events have been said to have "humiliated and weakened" Ahmadinejad, though the president denied that there had been any rift between the two,<ref name=accept /> and according to the semiofficial [[Fars News Agency]], he stated that his relationship with the supreme leader "is that of a father and a son".<ref name=weakens>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/health/la-xpm-2011-may-02-la-fg-iran-intelligence-20110502-story.html |title=Spy flap weakens Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2 May 2011 |___location=Beirut |first=Borzou |last=Daragahi |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref>
In 2012, Khamenei ordered a halt to a parliamentary inquiry into Ahmadinejad's mishandling of the Iranian economy.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/2012112119588529396.html |title=Iran calls off Ahmadinejad parliament probe|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=21 November 2012|access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref> In 2016, Khamenei advised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his former ally with whom his relationship was strained after Ahmadinejad accused his son [[Mojtaba Khamenei]] of embezzling from the state treasury,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/15/188461.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=18 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826030859/https://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/15/188461.html |archive-date=26 August 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to not run for president again.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/09/mahmoud-ahmadinejad-khamenei-candidacy-letter.html|title=Khamenei puts stop to Ahmadinejad's return|date=27 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/iran-s-ayatollah-khamenei-blocks-ahmadinejad-s-comeback-1.2807835|title=Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei blocks Ahmadinejad's comeback|work=Irish Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2016/sep/28/ahmadinejad-blocked-running-iran-presidential-elections-ali-khamenei|title=Ahmadinejad blocked from running in Iran presidential elections|first=Saeed Kamali|last=Dehghan|date=28 September 2016|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aawsat.com/2016/09/article55359128/ahmadinejad-prohibited-run-presidential-elections-based-khameneis-orders|title=Ahmadinejad Prohibited to Run for President ... based on Khamenei's Orders|work=Asharq Al-awsat|date=27 September 2016|access-date=1 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018083743/http://english.aawsat.com/2016/09/article55359128/ahmadinejad-prohibited-run-presidential-elections-based-khameneis-orders|archive-date=18 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2016/09/26/Ahmadinejad-told-stay-out-of-election.html | title=Ahmadinejad vows to follow Khamenei's order not to run| date=26 September 2016}}</ref>
====Hugo Chávez's funeral====
Ahmadinejad was criticised by the religious and political groups in Iran for photographs taken of him embracing [[Elena Frías de Chávez|Elena Frias de Chávez]], the mother of recently deceased Venezuelan president [[Hugo Chávez]], at his funeral. In the image, Ahmadinejad was thought to be holding her hands and in a cheek-to-cheek embrace; such an act, touching an unrelated woman, is considered [[haraam]] (forbidden) in some interpretations of Islam.<ref name="National Post, 'Lost control:' Iran's Ahmadinejad under fire ...">{{cite news |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/irans-ahmadinejad-under-fire-from-conservative-critics-for-picture-of-him-consoling-hugo-chavezs-mother|work=National Post|title='Lost control:' Iran's Ahmadinejad under fire from conservative critics for picture of him consoling Hugo Chavez's mother|author=National Post Staff and The Associated Press |date=11 March 2013|access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="NBC mother">{{cite news|url=http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/11/17272211-ahmadinejads-scandalous-moment-with-hugo-chavezs-mother?lite |title=NBC News, Ahmadinejad's scandalous moment with Hugo Chavez's mother |date=11 March 2013 |access-date=17 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314004548/http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/11/17272211-ahmadinejads-scandalous-moment-with-hugo-chavezs-mother?lite |archive-date=14 March 2013 }}</ref> Iranian government officials responded by stating that the image was a fake, then released a second photo showing Ahmadinejad in the same pose, but in this case hugging a man.<ref name=hug>{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/13/opinion/gmez-chavez-ahmadinejad-america/index.html|publisher=CNN|title=Ahmadinejad's hug and the future of Chavez's alliance|date=13 March 2013|access-date=17 March 2013}}</ref> This later photograph was debunked when it was discovered that the other man was Egyptian opposition leader [[Mohamed ElBaradei]], who had not been at the funeral.<ref name=hug />
====Nepotism====
One of the most frequent criticisms about Ahmadinejad was the [[nepotism]] in his governments. Nepotism was one of his habits in appointing senior government officials.<ref name=rfeur09>{{cite news|title=Ahmadinejad's 'Family Justice'|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/Ahmadinejads_Family_Justice/1749454.html|access-date=28 July 2013|newspaper=Radio Free Europe|date=8 June 2009}}</ref><ref name=hints>{{cite news|last=Williams|first=Carol J.|title=Iran president-elect hints at need for nuclear sanctions relief |url=https://latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-iran-rouhani-nuclear-sanctions-20130715,0,7966474.story|access-date=28 July 2013|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=15 July 2013}}</ref> His elder brother, [[Davoud Ahmadinejad|Davoud]], was appointed chief inspector at the presidency in 2005 and was in office until 2008.<ref name=mraa>{{cite news|title=Iran Presidential Election Round Up|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/181567/iran-presidential-election-round/michael-rubin|access-date=28 July 2013|work=National Review |date=10 May 2009|first1=Michael |last1=Rubin|first2=Ali |last2=Alfoneh}}</ref><ref name=fp14may/> His sister, [[Parvin Ahmadinejad|Parvin]], served at the presidential's women's center.<ref name=rfeur09/> His nephew, [[Ali Akbar Mehrabian]], served as the mining and industry minister in his cabinet.<ref name=rfeur09/> His daughter's father-in-law, [[Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei]], served at several senior positions.<ref name=fp14may>{{cite web|last=Hannun|first=Marya|title=Wait, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's brother is running for president of Iran? |url=http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/05/13/mahmoud_ahmadinejads_brother_davood_is_running_for_president_of_iran|work=Foreign Policy|access-date=28 July 2013|date=14 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Molavi|first1=Reza|first2=K. Luisa |last2=Gandolfo|title=Who Rules Iran?|journal=The Middle East Quarterly|date=Winter 2010 |volume=XVII|issue=1|pages=61–68|url=http://www.meforum.org/2586/who-rules-iran|access-date=14 August 2013}}</ref> His brother-in-law, [[Masoud Zaribafan]], served as cabinet secretary.<ref name=mraa/>
===Foreign relations===
{{Main|Foreign policy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad}}
[[File:IRAN PresidentMahmoud AhmadinejadPresidential Trips.png|thumb|Countries visited by President Ahmadinejad during his terms in office]]
During Ahmadinejad's tenure as President of Iran the foreign policy of the country took a different approach from the previous administration. Relations with [[developed country|developed countries]] generally soured while relations with [[Developing country|less-developed countries]], including those in Africa and Latin America, rose. In light of the calls for sanctions on Iran for its nuclear weapons programme, Ahmadinejad and his foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, traveled extensively throughout the two regions, as well as hosted other leaders. Relations with the [[Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas|ALBA]] states, and [[Venezuela]], [[Bolivia]], and [[Ecuador]], in particular, were most strengthened. Relations with America during the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]] and Israel deteriorated further.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
Ahmadinejad is an outspoken critic of the [[Western world]] and is often criticized for his hostility towards the [[United States]], [[Israel]], the [[United Kingdom]] and other Western nations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/International/Ahmadinejad-blames-West-for-AIDS|title=Ahmadinejad blames West for AIDS|publisher=Associated Press |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|date=29 July 2008}}</ref><ref name="President Ahmadinejad, Part 2">{{YouTube|QW1DltEt5z4|President Ahmadinejad, Part 2}}, [[CBS]]</ref>
====Israel====
{{main|Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel}}
[[File:Dmitry Medvedev in Azerbaijan 18 November 2010-4.jpeg|thumb|right|Ahmadinejad with leaders of the [[Caspian sea]] bordering nations]]
Ahmadinejad abides by Iran's long-standing policy of refusing to recognize [[Israel]] as a legitimate state, and wants the Jewish people who immigrated to Israel to return to their "fatherlands".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/24/iran.nuclear/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD |title=Iran president says UN sanctions unlikely |publisher=CNN|date=24 April 2006}}</ref>
In 2005, Ahmadinejad, in a speech praising the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, was translated by Iranian state-run media as saying that "[[Destruction of Israel in Iranian policy|Israel must be wiped off the map]]."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213903/http://www.iribnews.ir/Full_en.asp?news_id=200247 "Ahmadinejad: Israel must be wiped off the map"], IRIB News, 26 October 2005.</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Nazeela|first=Fathi|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/27/world/middleeast/irans-new-president-says-israel-must-be-wiped-off-the-map.html |title=Iran's New President Says Israel 'Must Be Wiped Off the Map'|work=The New York Times|date=27 October 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4378948.stm |title=Iran leader's comments attacked |publisher=BBC |date=27 October 2005 |access-date=22 July 2015}}</ref> A controversy erupted over the translation, with specialists such as [[Juan Cole]] of the University of Michigan and Arash Norouzi of the Mossadegh Project pointing out that the original statement in [[Persian language|Farsi]] did not say that Israel should be wiped off the map, but instead that it would collapse.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kessler |first1=Glenn |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/did-ahmadinejad-really-say-israel-should-be-wiped-off-the-map/2011/10/04/gIQABJIKML_blog.html |title=Did Ahmadinejad really say Israel should be 'wiped off the map'? |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=5 October 2011 |access-date=22 July 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Uri |url=http://www.thewire.com/global/2011/10/debating-every-last-word-ahmadinejads-wipe-israel-map/43372/ |title=Debating Every Last Word of Ahmadinejad's 'Wipe Israel Off the Map' |work=The Wire |date=5 October 2011 |access-date=22 July 2015 |archive-date=22 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722225210/http://www.thewire.com/global/2011/10/debating-every-last-word-ahmadinejads-wipe-israel-map/43372/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Steele|first=Jonathan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/jun/14/post155|title=Lost in translation|work=The Guardian|date=14 June 2006}}</ref> The words 'Israel', 'map', and 'to wipe off' are non-existent in the Iranian speech's original. According to another IRNA translation, on the occasion of a commemoration of the anniversary of Khomeini's death on 3 June 2008, Ahmadinejad stated that "The corrupt element will be wiped off the map."<ref name=Amirpur>{{cite journal|author-link=Katajun Amirpur|first=Katajun |last=Amirpur|title=Iran's Policy towards Jewish Iranians and the State of Israel. Is the Present Iranian State Islamofascist? |journal=[[Die Welt des Islams]]|volume=52|issue=3/4|year=2012|page=387|doi=10.1163/15700607-201200a6 | issn=0043-2539 }}</ref> Contextually, Ahmadinejad was quoting Khomeini's words about the imminent disappearance of the Soviet Union and the Shah's regime, and tacked on his remarks concerning Israel. In [[Katajun Amirpur]]'s analysis, there is no implication in the text that Iran intended destroying Israel or annihilating the Jewish people, any more than Khomeini was suggesting with his words that the Russians, or the Iranian people themselves under the Shah would be extinguished.<ref name="Amirpur" /> Ahmadinejad is on the record as stating that Iran had no plans to attack Israel.<ref name="Amirpur" /> The statement itself was in fact a citation, with a minute verbal variation, of a remark made by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, which had created no furor at the time, but did so when Ahmadinejad quoted them in 2005.<ref name =Hooglund>{{cite book|first=Eric |last=Hooglund|chapter=Decoding Ahmadinejad's rhetoric on Israel|editor-first1=Eric |editor-last1=Hooglund|editor-first2=Leif |editor-last2=Stenberg|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YNzFBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT206 |title=Navigating Contemporary Iran: Challenging Economic, Social and Political Perceptions|publisher=Routledge |year=2013|pages=198–206|isbn=9781136488375}}</ref>
[[File:Lula e Ahmadinejad 2010.jpg|thumb|left|Ahmadinejad meeting with [[Brazilian president]] [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva]] in [[Tehran]]]]
[[Dan Meridor]], Israel's minister of intelligence and atomic energy said during an [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]] interview that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had repeatedly said "that Israel is an unnatural creature, it will not survive. They didn't say, 'We'll wipe it out,' you're right, but, 'It will not survive.'" adding "If Iran says this, and continues to pile up uranium that they enrich, and build missiles in big numbers, and have a nuclear military plan—if you put all this together, you can't say, they don't really mean it."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=3984|title=Meridor: Ahmadinejad didn't say, 'Wipe Israel off the map'|date=17 April 2012|website=Israel Hayom}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]''{{'}}s fact-checker editor Glenn Kessler says the interpretation gets murkier when Ahmadinejad's quote is set against other Iranian propaganda. Karim Sadjadpour, an Iranian specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, cites proof that the Iranian government releases propaganda that clearly says Israel should be "wiped off". Joshua Teitelbaum of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs discovered pictures of Iranian propaganda banners that clearly say in English: "Israel should be wiped out of the face of the world."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/17/israeli-minister-agrees-ahmadinejad-never-said-israel-must-be-wiped-off-the-map/?_r=0 |title=Israeli Minister Agrees Ahmadinejad Never Said Israel 'Must Be Wiped Off the Map' |work=The New York Times |date=17 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/did-ahmadinejad-really-say-israel-should-be-wiped-off-the-map/2011/10/04/gIQABJIKML_blog.html |title=Did Ahmadinejad really say Israel should be 'wiped off the map'? |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=4 October 2011}}</ref> In March 2016, Iran tested a ballistic missile painted with the phrase "Israel should be wiped off the Earth" in Hebrew. The missile is reported to be capable of reaching Israel.<ref name=marked>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/03/09/reports-iran-fires-missiles-marked-israel-must-wiped-out/81517488/ |title=Reports: Iran fires missile marked with 'Israel should be wiped' |work=USA Today |date=9 March 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/world/middleeast/iran-israel-un-missile-tests.html |title=Israel Calls on U.N. to Punish Iran for Missile Tests |date=14 March 2016 |work=The New York Times |first= Rick |last=Gladstone }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/440377/iran-nuclear-arms-dangerous |title=Unthinking the Thinkable: Iran and the Bomb |website=National Review |first=Spencer |last=Case |date=26 September 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-ballistic-missile-test-launch-nuclear-deal-israel-middle-east/ |title=Iran tests missile capable of reaching Israel |publisher=CBS News |agency=Associated Press |date=9 May 2016 |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref>
[[File:Ahmadinejad and Putin Shanghai 2012.jpeg|thumb|Ahmadinejad meeting with [[Russian president]] [[Vladimir Putin]] in [[Beijing]]]]
The Official Web site of the [[President of Iran]] quoted Ahmadinejad as saying on 15 May 2011 "The reason for our insistence that the Zionist regime should be wiped out and vanished is that the Zionist regime is the main base for imposing oppression and harbors the main terrorists of the world."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.president.ir/en/28177 |title=President Calls Zionist Main Terrorist Hub in World |access-date=26 February 2015 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722225325/http://www.president.ir/en/28177 |archive-date=22 July 2015 }} Access date 30 July 2016. Both this link and the corresponding Farsi page have been removed from the official web site of the Iranian President. The Farsi original has not been re-discovered.</ref>
=====Holocaust denial controversy=====
He was strongly criticized after claiming that the Jews [[Holocaust denial|invented]] the [[Holocaust]]<ref name="InternationalList1">* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4529198.stm "Holocaust comments spark outrage"], BBC News, Retrieved 14 December 2005.
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4378948.stm "Iran leader's comments attacked"], BBC News, Retrieved 27 January 2008.
* Esfandiari, Golnaz. [http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1063690.html "Iran: President's Latest Comments About Israel Spark Further Condemnation"]. Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
* {{cite news |last1=Vick |first1=Karl |first2=Mary |last2=Jordan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102702221.html |date=28 October 2005 |title=World Leaders Condemn Iranian's Call to Wipe Israel 'Off the Map' |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=11 January 2017 }}
* [http://www.ncccusa.org/news/051216Ahmadinejad.html "NCC Condemns Ahmadinejad's Holocaust Statement"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417214619/http://www.ncccusa.org/news/051216Ahmadinejad.html |date=17 April 2009 }}. [[National Council of Churches]]. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
* Slackman, Michael. [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/world/africa/24iht-iran.2585075.html "In Tehran, a riposte to the Danish cartoons"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 24 September 2007.
* [http://www.dw.de/germans-protest-against-ahmadinejad-racism-as-cup-opens/a-2051820-1 "Germans Protest Against Ahmadinejad, Racism As Cup Opens"]. ''[[Deutsche Welle]]'', Retrieved 11 June 2006.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080726023233/http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/27/ahmadinejad.reaction/ "Annan: 'Dismay' over Iranian comments on Israel"]. CNN. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
* Fathi, Nazila. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/30/weekinreview/30iran.html?ex=1161230400&en=26f07fc5b7543417&ei=5070 "Text of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Speech"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
* [http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2006/12/15/iran_vote_seen_as_referendum_on_ahmadinejad/ "Iran vote seen as referendum on Ahmadinejad"]. ''[[The Boston Globe]]''. Retrieved 27 December 2006.
* {{cite news |last=Bronner |first=Ethan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/weekinreview/11bronner.html?ex=1307678400&en=efa2bd266224e880&ei=5088 |title=Just How Far Did They Go, Those Words Against Israel? |work=The New York Times |date=10 June 2006 |access-date=11 June 2006 }}
* [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C02%5C22%5Cstory_22-2-2006_pg4_15 "Ahmadinejad misunderstood, says Iran"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930180643/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C02%5C22%5Cstory_22-2-2006_pg4_15 |date=30 September 2007 }}. ''The Daily Times of Pakistan''. Retrieved 22 February 2006.</ref> and making other statements influenced by "classic anti-Semitic ideas",<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomats-walk-out-as-ahmadinejad-rails-against-israel-in-un-1.7322 |title=Diplomats walk out as Ahmadinejad rails against Israel in UN|publisher=[[Haaretz]]|date=24 September 2009}}</ref> which has led to accusations of [[antisemitism]].<ref name="AntisemitismList1">* {{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jun/11/worldcup2006.iran |title=Iran team face mass protest |work=The Guardian |first1=Luke |last1=Harding |first2=Denis |last2=Campbell |date=10 June 2006 |access-date=11 June 2007 }}
* {{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/eurovision-may-ban-israeli-entry-due-to-lyrics-on-nuclear-war-1.214448 |title=Eurovision may ban Israeli entry due to lyrics on nuclear war |agency=Associated Press |work=[[Haaretz]] |date=1 March 2007 |access-date=11 January 2017 }}
* [http://www.dw.de/irans-rhetoric-on-holocaust-anger-german-muslims/a-1907670-1 "Iran's Rhetoric on Holocaust Anger German Muslims"], ''[[Deutsche Welle]]''. Retrieved 18 February 2007.
* Smith-Spark, Laura. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5012182.stm "Racism fears dog World Cup build-up"]. [[BBC News]]. Retrieved 26 May 2006.
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4653666.stm "Annan condemns Holocaust denial"]. [[BBC News]]. Retrieved 27 January 2006.
* {{cite book |quote=He was defeated by the even more hard-line and anti-Semitic Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ...|author-link=Joel C. Rosenberg |first=Joel C. |last=Rosenberg |title=Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future |publisher=Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. |year=2006 |page=109 |isbn=9781414311357}}
* {{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/13/international/middleeast/13israel.html |first=Steven |last=Erlanger |title=Israel Wants West to Deal More Urgently With Iran |work=The New York Times |date=13 January 2006 |___location=Tel Aviv |access-date=28 March 2008 }}
* [http://www.ncccusa.org/news/051216Ahmadinejad.html "NCC Condemns Ahmadinejad's Holocaust Statement"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417214619/http://www.ncccusa.org/news/051216Ahmadinejad.html |date=17 April 2009 }}, National Council of Churches. Retrieved 16 December 2005.</ref> Ahmadinejad denied that he was an antisemite, saying that he "respects Jews very much" and that he was not "passing judgment" on the Holocaust.<ref name="President Ahmadinejad, Part 2"/><ref>{{cite news|last=Namiech |first=Ophelie |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/nice-jewish-girl-met-iranian-madman-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-article-1.381816 |title=How a nice Jewish girl met Iranian madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |work=Daily News |date=2 October 2009 |access-date=7 September 2010 |___location=New York}}</ref><ref name="Ahmadinejad_Columbia">{{cite web |url=http://ahmadinejadspeech.blogspot.com/2007/09/ahmadinejads-speech-columbia.html |title=Ahmadinejad's speech @ Columbia university – a transcript |access-date=2 February 2009 |date=25 September 2007}}</ref><ref name="MA_respect_Jews">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5368458.stm |title=Iranian leader 'not anti-Semite' |access-date=8 April 2007 |date=21 September 2006 |publisher=BBC |quote='Some people think if they accuse me of being anti-Jew they can solve the problem. No, I am not anti-Jew. I respect them very much.'}}</ref> Later, Ahmadinejad claimed that promoting Holocaust denial was a major achievement of his presidency; he stated that "put[ting] it forward at the global level ... broke the spine of the Western capitalist regime". The comments appeared on the Arabic but not on the English version of [[Fars News Agency]]'s website.<ref>*{{cite journal |last1=Davidovitch |first1=Nitza |last2=Dana |first2=Nissim |title=The Holocaust paradox: Holocaust denial and its use in the Arab world |journal=Israel Affairs |date=28 February 2017 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=411–426 |doi=10.1080/13537121.2016.1274507 |s2cid=151730193 |language=en |issn=1353-7121}}
* {{cite news |author1=[[Jewish Telegraph Agency]], staff |date=8 July 2013 |title=Ahmadinejad says Holocaust denial was his major achievement |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/ahmadinejad-says-holocaust-denial-was-his-major-achievement/ |access-date=3 September 2018 |work=[[Times of Israel]] }}
* {{cite news |last1=Winograd |first1=Zoe |date=9 July 2013 |title=Ahmadinejad: my main achievement was Holocaust denial |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/world/ahmadinejad-my-main-achievement-was-holocaust-denial-1.46683 |access-date=3 September 2018 |work=[[The Jewish Chronicle]] }}
* {{cite news |last1=Rubin |first1=Michael |title=Iran to Host Holocaust Cartoon Contest - Commentary Magazine |url=https://www.commentarymagazine.com/foreign-policy/middle-east/iran/iran-host-holocaust-cartoon-contest/ |access-date=3 September 2018 |work=Commentary Magazine |date=19 January 2015 |archive-date=4 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904084620/https://www.commentarymagazine.com/foreign-policy/middle-east/iran/iran-host-holocaust-cartoon-contest/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
====Palestine====
[[File:Demonstration against Ahmadinejad in Rio.jpg|thumb|Demonstration against Ahmadinejad during the [[United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development|Rio+20]] conference in [[Brazil]] ]]
Ahmadinejad advocates "free elections" for the region, and believes [[Palestinian people|Palestinians]] need a stronger voice in the region's future.<ref>{{cite news|title=UN Scrutiny Won't Make Iran Quit Nuclear Effort, President Says|first=Naila|last=Fathi|work=The New York Times|date=15 January 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/15/international/middleeast/15tehran.html?ex=1294981200&en=aa775eeb6ae97fbd&ei=5088|access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref> On [[Quds Day]] in September 2010 he criticized the [[Palestinian National Authority|Palestinian Authority]] over its president's decision to renew direct peace talks with Israel saying the talks are "stillborn" and "doomed to fail", urging the Palestinians to continue armed resistance to Israel.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/03/ahmadinejad-middle-east-talks-fail|title=Middle East peace talks are 'doomed to fail', says Ahmadinejad |work=The Guardian|first=Ian|last=Black|date=3 September 2010|access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref><ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-israel-palestinians-idUSTRE6821EX20100903 Iran's Ahmadinejad calls on Palestinians to fight on]. Reuters. Retrieved on 3 February 2011.</ref> He said that [[Mahmoud Abbas]] had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jeremy |last=Bowen |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11175834 |title=Mid-East talks doomed, says Iranian leader Ahmadinejad |publisher=BBC |date=3 September 2010 |access-date=18 June 2011}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100907041210/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/7980335/Ahmadinejad-pours-scorn-on-Middle-East-peace-talks.html Video: Ahmadinejad pours scorn on Middle East peace talks]. Telegraph (3 September 2010). Retrieved on 2011-02-03.</ref> Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, fired back, saying, Ahmadinejad "does not represent the Iranian people, ..., is not entitled to talk about Palestine, or the President of Palestine".<ref>{{cite news |author= |date=5 September 2010 |title=Iran continues back-and-forth barbs with Palestinians over peace talks |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/09/05/iran.west.bank.comments/index.html |access-date=11 January 2017 |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/progress-of-middle-east-peace-talks-a-surprise/story-e6frg6so-1225914498801 |title=Progress of Middle East peace talks 'a surprise'|work=The Australian |first=John |last=Lyons|date=6 September 2010|access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref>
====United States====
{{See also|Iran–United States relations during the G.W. Bush administration|Iran–United States relations during the Obama administration}}
In September 2010, Ahmadinejad made a contentious assertion at the 65th session of the [[United Nations]] [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly]] by claiming that [[September 11 attacks opinion polls|most people believe]] the [[9/11 conspiracy theories|United States government was behind]] the [[September 11 attacks|9/11 attacks]] and later called for an inquiry, stating: "The fact-finding mission can shed light on who the perpetrators were, who is al-Qaeda ... where does it exist? Who was it backed by and supported? All these should come to light."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4phNuwx8Hs| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211103/k4phNuwx8Hs| archive-date=2021-11-03 | url-status=live|title=YouTube: Full speech by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at UN|date=23 September 2010|publisher=[[RT (TV network)|Russia Today]]|access-date=24 September 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="9/11 insight">{{cite web|last=O'Brien|first=Michael|title=Iranian leader wants 'fact-finding mission' into causes of 9/11 attacks|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/71101-iranian-leader-wants-fact-finding-mission-into-causes-of-9-11-attacks/|work=The Hill|access-date=23 February 2013|date=24 September 2010}}</ref> The speech triggered many countries' [[United Nations]] representatives to walk out, and US President [[Barack Obama]] described the claims as "inexcusable", "offensive" and "hateful".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11407326|title=Barack Obama condemns Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's UN speech|publisher=BBC|access-date=24 September 2010 |date=25 September 2010}}</ref> In 2010, Ahmadinejad reiterated the 9/11 conspiracy, and wrote:
{{blockquote|Establishing an independent and impartial committee of investigation, which would determine the roots and causes of the regrettable event of 9/11, is the demand of all the peoples of the region and the world. ... Any opposition to this legal and human demand means that 9/11 was premeditated in order to achieve the goals of occupation and of confrontation with the nations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4681.htm|title=In Beirut, Iranian President Ahmadinejad Reiterates 9/11 Conspiracy, Accuses the West in Al-Hariri Assassination|publisher=The Middle East Media Research Institute. Special Dispatch No. 3304|date=October 18, 2010|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629142027/http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4681.htm|archive-date=29 June 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>}}
He made similar comments at the 66th session in September 2011.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cohen|first=Dudi|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4086816,00.html |title=Iranian president questions Holocaust, 9/11|website=Ynetnews.com|date= 25 June 2011|access-date=25 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/28/al-qaeda-ahmadinejad-end-911-theories_n_985265.html |title=Al Qaeda Calls On Mahmoud Ahmadinejad To End 'Ridiculous' 9/11 Conspiracy Theories |website=Huffington Post |date=28 September 2011|access-date=21 November 2011 |first=Mark |last=Hanrahan}}</ref>
====Venezuela====
Ahmadinejad is said to have "forged a close public friendship" with Venezuelan president [[Hugo Chávez]]. On Chavez's death in March 2013, Ahmadinejad posted a condolence message on his website stating, "I have no doubt that he [Chavez] will [[raj'a|return]] alongside [[Jesus Christ]] and [[Mahdi]] to establish peace and justice in the world".<ref>{{cite news|title=Iran's Ahmadinejad criticised over Chavez remarks|date=8 March 2013|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-ahmadinejad-chavez-idUKBRE9270TR20130308|access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref>
Ahmad Khatami a senior Iranian cleric said that Ahmadinejad went "too far" with his comments. Hossein Rouhaninejad of Iran's Islamic development organisation said the president's remarks were against Shia Islam beliefs. Another senior cleric, Seyed Mahdi rebuke Ahmadinejad saying his comments were "legally and religiously wrong".<ref>{{Cite news|title=Ahmadinejad's claim that Chávez will be resurrected with Jesus 'went too far'|website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=7 March 2013 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2013/mar/07/ahmadinejad-chavez-resurrected-too-far|last1=Dehghan |first1=Saeed Kamali }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Iran's Ahmadinejad criticised over Chavez remarks|website=[[Reuters]] |date=8 March 2013 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-ahmadinejad-chavez-idINDEE9270D820130308}}</ref>
==Post-presidency (2013–present)==
[[File:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his office as former President of Islamic Republic of Iran 01.jpg|thumb|Ahmadinejad in his [[Museum|presidential museum]], known as Office of the Former President of Islamic Republic of Iran]]
Ahmadinejad left his office at Pasteur St. on 3 August 2013 and returned to his private house in [[Narmak]].<ref>[http://www.tabnak.ir/fa/news/336282/%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%BE%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B1-%D8%B4%D8%AF News] ''Tabnak''</ref>
In an interview with [[CNN]], Ahmadinejad said that, after the end of his presidency, he would return to the university and retire from politics; however, Ahmadinejad announced from Russia on the sidelines of an [[OPEC]] summit on 2 July 2013 that he might stay involved with politics by creating a new party or [[non-governmental organization]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/301621/احمدی-نژاد-در-سیاست-باقی-می-مانم-دو-سال-قبل-به-اردوغان-گفتم|title=احمدی نژاد: در سیاست باقی میمانم/ دو سال قبل به اردوغان گفتم میتوان مسئله سوریه را حل کرد|date=2 July 2013|website=خبرآنلاین}}</ref> In late July, ''Mehr news agency'' reported that Ahmadinejad obtained permission from the [[Supreme Cultural Revolution Council]] to launch a university for post-graduate studies in Tehran.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nasseri|first=Ladane|title=Iran's Ahmadinejad to Set Up University After Exit From Office|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-28/iran-s-ahmadinejad-to-set-up-university-after-exit-from-office.html|access-date=29 July 2013|agency=Bloomberg|date=29 July 2013}}</ref> On 5 August 2013, the Supreme Leader [[Ali Khamenei]] issued a decree appointing Ahmadinejad as a member of the [[Expediency Council]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Ahmadinejad in new appointment|url=http://www.albawaba.com/news/ahmadinejad-new-appointment-512025|access-date=5 August 2013|newspaper=Albawaba|date=5 August 2013|agency=FNA|___location=Tehran}}</ref> On 15 June 2015, a number of Ahmadinejad's cabinet ministers established a new political party, called [[YEKTA Front]]. The party published list for [[2016 Iranian legislative election|2016 legislative election]] and some of Ahmadinejad's cabinet members (like [[Hamid-Reza Haji Babaee]], [[Sadeq Khalilian]], [[Mohammad Abbasi]] and [[Mahmoud Bahmani]]) registered for the election, but Ahmadinejad did not support any list in the election.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
===2017 presidential election===
[[File:Ahmadinejad Registering for 2021 presidential election.jpg|thumb|right|Ahmadinejad in 2021]]
It was rumored that Ahmadinejad would run for president again in [[2017 Iranian presidential election|2017]] after he did not deny plans when questioned by the media in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.entekhab.ir/fa/news/261022|title=احمدی نژاد کاندیداتوری اش در انتخابات ریاست جمهوری را رد نکرد / "سال 96 همه همدیگر را خواهیم دید"|date=15 January 1395|website=Entekhab.ir|access-date=9 July 2022}}</ref> Ahmadinejad remained mostly out of the public eye after leaving office, but his [[Anti-Western sentiment|anti-Western]] rhetoric and combative style remained popular among many [[Iranian Principlists]], and he was widely viewed as among the most formidable political figures capable of unseating [[Hassan Rouhani]]. In December 2015, it was reported that he had begun his presidential campaign by appointing his campaign's chiefs. He also began provincial travels in April 2016 by traveling to [[Amol]]. Travels were continued until September 2016, when he traveled to [[Gorgan]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.fardanews.com/fa/news/570920/%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%A2%D8%AE%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%AF|title=سفرهای انتخاباتی احمدینژاد به ایستگاه آخر رسید|newspaper=پایگاه خبری تحلیلی فردا | Farda News|date=24 September 2016 |access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref> Ahmadinejad's advisors said his travels were not electoral and he only delivered speeches due to public demand.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.shohadayeiran.com/fa/news/74736/%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%AE%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA |title=سفرهای اخیر احمدینژاد انتخاباتی نیست |access-date=13 July 2022 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308121944/http://shohadayeiran.com/fa/news/74736/%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%AE%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA |url-status=dead }}</ref> In September 2016, it was rumored that Ahmadinejad had asked [[Ali Khamenei]], [[Supreme Leader of Iran]], for permission to run for the office and was rejected by Khamenei, who said that it was not in the best interests of Iran.<ref name="LA Times not to run again">{{cite web|url=https://latimes.com/world/la-fg-iran-ahmadinejad-20160926-snap-story.html|title=Iran's supreme leader tells former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not to run again|first=Ramin Mostaghim and Shashank|last=Bengali|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=26 September 2016|access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/irans-leader-ahmadinejad-too-divisive-for-political-comeback/2016/09/26/0ea4e1e8-83da-11e6-ac72-a29979381495_story.html|title=Iran's top leader tells Ahmadinejad not to run for president again|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref> On 26 September 2016, Khamenei confirmed the news, but stated that it was only advice, not an order.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/world/middleeast/iran-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-mahmoud-ahmadinejad.html|title=Iran's Supreme Leader Advises Ahmadinejad Not to Run for President|date=27 September 2016|access-date=14 January 2017|work=The New York Times}}</ref> It was the first time since Khamenei's election as Supreme Leader in 1989 that he advised a person to not run for election. Formerly, some candidates had asked him for advice (former president [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]] for his campaign in [[2005 Iranian presidential election|2005]] and [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 2013 presidential campaign|2013]]), but Khamenei chose to not give his opinion on those occasions. The following day, Ahmadinejad officially announced he would not run in the upcoming 2017 presidential election.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dolatebahar.ir/view-314639.html|title=دکتر احمدی نژاد در نامه ای خطاب به مقام معظم رهبری اعلام کرد: برنامه ای برای حضور در عرصه رقابت های انتخاباتی سال آینده ندارم + تصویر نامه -|website=دولت بهار :: هواداران دکتر محمود احمدی نژاد|access-date=27 January 2020|archive-date=27 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127122618/http://www.dolatebahar.ir/view-314639.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> He later supported [[Hamid Baghaei]]'s candidacy.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.isna.ir/news/95122918012/%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A8%D9%82%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AA-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF|title=احمدینژاد از بقایی حمایت کرد|date=20 March 2017}}</ref> However, Ahmadinejad registered as presidential candidate on 12 April 2017.<ref name=Hard-Line/> He was disqualified by the Guardian Council on 20 April 2017, making him the second person after [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]] to be barred from running for a third presidential term.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/20/iran-disqualifies-ahmadinejad-from-bid-to-regain-presidency|title=Iran disqualifies Ahmadinejad from bid to regain presidency|work=The Guardian|date=20 April 2017}}</ref>
===2017–18 Iranian protests===
During the [[2017–18 Iranian protests]], Ahmadinejad criticized the current government of Iran and later supreme leader [[Ali Khamenei]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Faghihi |first1=Rohollah |title=The Reincarnation of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/10/the-reincarnation-of-mahmoud-ahmadinejad/ |access-date=13 October 2018 |work=[[Foreign Policy]] |language=en}}</ref>
===2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine===
On 2 March 2022, Ahmadinejad expressed his support for Ukraine and the [[President of Ukraine]] [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]] during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]]. On [[Twitter]], he stated that Iran stands with Ukraine and expressed his admiration of the Ukrainian resistance while claiming that "the resistance uncovered the Satanic plots of enemies of mankind." He also warned the [[President of Russia]] [[Vladimir Putin]] that if he failed to stop the invasion, he would have "no achievement" to show for it, only remorse. Ahmadinejad's views on the Russian invasion are in stark contrast to the official pro-Russian stance of the [[Government of Iran]], which blamed [[NATO]] and the [[United States]] for instigating the war.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/03/former-iranian-president-ahmadinejad-praises-ukraines-resistance-rebukes-islamic|title=Former Iranian president Ahmadinejad praises Ukraine's 'resistance,' rebukes Islamic Republic's support for Russia|first=Adam|last=Lucente|newspaper=Al-Monitor|date=2022-03-03 |access-date= July 21, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/2022-03-14/ty-article/.highlight/tehran-supports-putin-but-some-iranians-admire-ukraines-resistance/00000180-5b8d-d97e-a7fb-7bdf11cf0000|title=Tehran Supports Putin, but Some Iranians Admire Ukraine's Resistance|first=Jonathan|last=Harounoff|newspaper=Haaretz|date=2022-03-14|access-date= July 21, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2022/03/06/former-iranian-president-defies-regime-expresses-support-for-ukraine-calls-on-russia-to-end-war/|title=Former Iranian president defies regime, expresses support for Ukraine, calls on Russia to end war|first=Shahar|last=Klaiman|newspaper=Israel Hayom|date=2022-03-06|access-date= July 21, 2022}}</ref>
===2024 presidential election===
On 2 June, Ahmadinejad expressed interest in running in the election and applied to be considered as a candidate.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-06-02 |title=Iran's hardline former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registers for presidential election |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-02/mahmoud-ahmadinejad-registers-iranian-election-helicopter-crash/103925472 |access-date=2024-06-08 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref> However, he was disqualified from running on 9 June.<ref name="auto"/>
===U.S. sanctions===
On 19 August 2023, following a prisoner swap between Iran and the United States, the [[United States Department of the Treasury]] sanctioned Ahmadinejad under [[Executive Order 14078]] in September for his involvement in detaining several U.S. citizens.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us-iran-ties-remain-adversarial-door-nuclear-diplomacy-remains-open-us-says-2023-09-18/|title=US-Iran ties remain adversarial but door for nuclear diplomacy remains open, US says|work=Reuters|date=18 September 2023|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref> According to the Treasury Department, Ahmadinejad had provided material support to the [[Ministry of Intelligence (Iran)|Ministry of Intelligence and Security]] and during his presidency was involved with the [[Disappearance of Robert Levinson|detention of Robert Levinson]] and [[2009–2011 detention of American hikers by Iran|three U.S. hikers]] by appointing [[Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i]] and [[Heydar Moslehi]] in 2005 and 2009 as the Minister of Intelligence respectively, who oversaw the detention of U.S. citizens during their tenures. Ahmadinejad was also being considered for further sanctions under [[Executive Order 13599]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1739|title=Treasury Designates Former President of Iran|work=United States Department of the Treasury|date=18 September 2023|access-date=18 November 2023}}</ref>
==Party affiliation==
{{see also|Deviant current}}
{{Conservatism in Iran|Politicians}}
Ahmadinejad has been an active and prominent member of the right-wing [[Islamic Society of Engineers]] since its establishment until 2005.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Hossein|last1=Asayesh|first2=Adlina Ab. |last2=Halim|first3=Jayum A.|last3=Jawan|first4=Seyedeh Nosrat|last4=Shojaei |url=http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jpl/article/download/9606/6898|title=Political Party in Islamic Republic of Iran: A Review|journal=Journal of Politics and Law|volume=4|number=1|pages=221–230|date=March 2011|doi=10.5539/jpl.v4n1p221|issn=1913-9047|doi-access=free}}</ref> As of 2014, he is still a member of the party but is not active since 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alef.ir/vdcb5ab58rhbsgp.uiur.html?254021|script-title=fa:"جامعه اسلامی مهندسین"؛ حزبی که پس از انحلال حزب جمهوری اسلامی ایجاد شد|trans-title="Islamic Society of Engineers", a party established arter dissolution of Islamic Republican Party|language=fa|date=27 March 2014 |access-date=11 July 2016|publisher=Young Journalists Club}}</ref> He was also a founding member of the [[Society of Devotees of the Islamic Revolution]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rferl.org/a/1062727.html|title=Iran: A Rising Star In Party Politics|author=Bill Samii|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=7 November 2005|access-date=1 March 2017}}</ref> but left in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alef.ir/vdcb5ab58rhbsgp.uiur.html?254021|script-title=fa:جايگزين احمدي نژاد در جمعيت ايثارگران مشخص شد|trans-title=Ahmadinejad's replacement in Society of Devotees anticipated|language=fa|date=28 December 2014 |access-date=11 July 2016|publisher=Alef}}</ref>
Since 2005, Ahmadinejad has introduced himself as non-partisan, even anti-party and did not try to gain support of political parties despite being supported by the [[Iranian Principlists|conservative camp]].{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} A [[National Democratic Institute]] report published in 2009 states that Ahmadinejad is a self-described "[[Iranian Principlists|principlist]]".<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.ndi.org/es/node/5495|title=Presidential Candidates|work=National Democratic Institute|date=21 May 2009|access-date=8 June 2017|archive-date=26 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826071114/https://www.ndi.org/es/node/5495|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Awards and honors==
*{{flag|Iran}}:
**[[File:Islamic_Revolution_Ribbon_Bar.svg|30px]] [[Order of Islamic Revolution]] (2005) (automatic upon taking presidential office)
*{{flag|Benin}}:
**[[File:BEN_National_Order_of_Dahomey_-_Grand_Cross_BAR.png|60px]] Grand Cross of the [[National Order of Benin]] (2013)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.mehrnews.com/news/54817/Ahmadinejad-receives-highest-national-honor-of-Benin|title=Ahmadinejad receives highest national honor of Benin|newspaper=Mehr News Agency|date=2013-04-15|access-date=2025-06-22}}</ref>
*{{flag|Cuba}}:
**[[File:Decoration_without_ribbon_-_en.svg|60px]] Honorary doctorate in political science from [[University of Havana]] (2012)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4174770,00.html|title=Ahmadinejad receives honorary doctorate from University of Havana|newspaper=Ynet news.com|date=2012-12-01|access-date=2025-06-22}}</ref>
*{{flag|Lebanon}}:
**[[File:Decoration_without_ribbon_-_en.svg|60px]] Honorary doctorate in political science from [[Lebanese University]] (2010)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/iranian-president-receives-honorary-doctorate-in-lebanon|title=Iranian president receives honorary doctorate in Lebanon|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=2010-10-14|access-date=2025-06-22}}</ref>
*{{flag|Nicaragua}}:
**[[File:Orden_Sandino_1.svg|60px]] {{ill|Order of Augusto César Sandino|es|Orden Augusto César Sandino}}, Batalla de San Jacinto, 1st Class (2007)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/iranian-president-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-is-decorated-by-news-photo/72998558?adppopup=true|title=Managua, NICARAGUA: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (l) is decorated by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega with the "Order Augusto Cesar Sandino", 14 January 2007, during a visit to a workers' neigbourhood called "Cuba Libre" in Managua, Nicaragua. Ahmadinejad, on a Latin American tour to round up anti-US allies, promised on Sunday closer ties to Nicaragua, led by a one-time anti-US foe, President Ortega. "Rest assured that we will improve our relations to the point of fulfilling every wish and thing that we desire. It is our will to walk hand in hand," Ahmadinejad said through a translator after meeting Ortega. Ortega said Ahmadinejad's visit was "not merely a matter of protocol." The Iranian president came from Venezuela, where he signed business agreements with President Hugo Chavez, an outspoken critic of US President George W. Bush. Each proclaimed the other an ideological "brother." AFP PHOTO/Miguel ALVAREZ (Photo credit should read MIGUEL ALVAREZ/AFP via Getty Images)|newspaper=Getty Images|date=2007-01-14|access-date=2025-06-22}}</ref>
**[[File:NI_Ribbon_bar_of_the_Grand_Cross_of_the_Order_of_Rubén_Dario.png|60px]] [[Order of Rubén Darío]] (2007)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hudson.org/node/35565|title=Qadaffi's Man in Managua|newspaper=Hudson Institute|date=2011-05-10|access-date=2025-06-22}}</ref>
*{{flag|Venezuela}}:
**[[File:VEN_Order_of_the_Liberator_-_Grand_Cordon_BAR.png|60px]] Collar of the [[Order of the Liberator]] (2006)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nacla.org/news/problematic-brothers-ch%C3%A1vez-and-ahmadinejad|title=Problematic Brothers: Chávez and Ahmadinejad|newspaper=North American Congress on Latin America|first=Nasrin|last=Alavi|date=2008-03-13|access-date=2025-06-22}}</ref>
==Public image==
Ahmadinejad is known for his [[vulgarism]], undiplomatic language and usage of [[slang]] terms.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/The_Language_Of_Ahmadinejad_The_Boogeyman_Snatched_The_Boob/2125263.html|title=The Language of Ahmadinejad: 'The Bogeyman Snatched the Boob'|author=Golnaz Esfandiari|date=11 August 2010|access-date=1 August 2017|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty}}</ref> He is active on [[Twitter]], where he engages his followers primarily in English and tweets about sports, the United States, and current events.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/ahmadinejad-twitter/|title=Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can't stop responding to tweets today|date=16 October 2018|work=The Daily Dot|access-date=16 October 2018|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/The-curious-case-of-woke-Ahmadinejad-569537 |title=The curious case of 'woke' Ahmadinejad|work=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=16 October 2018}}</ref>
According to a poll conducted by Information and Public Opinion Solutions LLC (iPOS) in March 2016, Ahmadinejad was the least popular political figure in Iran. He had 57% approval and 39% disapproval ratings, thus a +18% net popularity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipos.me/polls/2016/05/24/zarif/ |script-title=fa:ظریف محبوبترین چهره سیاسی ایران |publisher=Information and Public Opinion Solutions LLC|date=24 May 2016|access-date=24 May 2016|language=fa}}</ref>
Polls conducted by [[University of Maryland School of Public Policy|Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland]] (CISSM) and IranPoll with ±3.2% [[margin of error]] shows his approval rating as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cissm.umd.edu/sites/default/files/Iranian%20Attitudes%20in%20the%20Trump%20Era%20-%20Questionnaire%20-%20FINAL.pdf|title=Iranian Public Opinion on Key National and International Issues|publisher=Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) & IranPoll.com|date=January 2017|access-date=4 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409125601/http://www.cissm.umd.edu/sites/default/files/Iranian%20Attitudes%20in%20the%20Trump%20Era%20-%20Questionnaire%20-%20FINAL.pdf|archive-date=9 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Date !! {{small|Very favorable}} !! {{small|Somewhat favorable}} !! {{small|Somewhat unfavorable}} !! {{small|Very unfavorable}} !! {{small|Don't [[Name recognition|recognize the name]]}} !! {{small|DK/NA}}
|-
|July 2014||34%||33%||14.0%||16.0%||1.0%||3.0%
|-
|August 2015||27.5% {{decrease}}||33.5% {{increase}}||13.0% {{decreasepositive}}||22.8% {{increasenegative}}||0.2%||3.0%
|-
|January 2016||24.2% {{decrease}}|| 32.8% {{decrease}}||15.0% {{increasenegative}}||23.9% {{increasenegative}}||0.4%||3.7%
|-
|June 2016||28.0% {{increase}}|| 37.3% {{increase}}||14.9% {{decreasepositive}}||16.1% {{decreasepositive}}||0.4%||3.3%
|-
|December 2016||27.2% {{decrease}}|| 33.6% {{decrease}}||13.9% {{decreasepositive}}||19.5% {{increasenegative}}||0.4%||5.4%
|}
==Electoral history==
{{main|Electoral history of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad}}
[[File:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad casting his vote in 2016 election.jpg|thumb|Ahmadinejad casting his vote in [[2016 Iranian legislative election|2016 elections]]]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Year !! Election !!Votes !! % !! Rank !! Notes
|-
|1999||[[1999 Tehran City Council election|City Council of Tehran]]||||||
|{{Lost}}
|-
|2000||[[Iranian legislative election, 2000 (Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr)|Parliament]]||280,046||9.55||68th
|{{Lost}}
|-
|rowspan="2"|2005||[[2005 Iranian presidential election|President]] ||5,711,696||19.43||2nd
|{{partial success|Went to run-off}}
|-
||[[2005 Iranian presidential election|President]] <small>run off</small>||{{increase}} 17,284,782||{{increase}} 61.69||'''1st'''
|{{Won}}
|-
|2009||[[2009 Iranian presidential election|President]]||{{increase}} 24,527,516||{{increase}} 62.63||'''1st'''
|{{Won}}
|-
|2017||[[2017 Iranian presidential election|President]]
!colspan="3" {{n/a}}
|{{terminated|Disqualified}}
|-
|2021||[[2021 Iranian presidential election|President]]
!colspan="3" {{n/a}}
|{{terminated|Disqualified}}
|-
|2024||[[2024 Iranian presidential election|President]]
!colspan="3" {{n/a}}
|{{terminated|Disqualified}}
|-
|}
==Personal life==
Ahmadinejad is married, and has one daughter and two sons.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961353570&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |title=Bio: Ahmadinejad |work=JPost |date=16 May 2006 |access-date=18 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718232931/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961353570&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-date=18 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His elder son married a daughter of [[Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei]] in 2008.<ref name=pbs>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/03/esfandiar-rahim-mashaei-irans-next-president.html#ixzz1c6ojsZKf Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei: Iran's Next President?] Kourosh Rahimkhani PBS 31 March 2011</ref><ref name=maj2010>{{cite journal|title=A loyal liability|journal=The Majalla|date=22 December 2010|url=http://www.majalla.com/eng/2010/12/article55220236|access-date=29 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021151324/http://www.majalla.com/eng/2010/12/article55220236|archive-date=21 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Supporters of Ahmadinejad consider him a simple man who leads a modest life.<ref>{{cite web|agency= AFP |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hJCaIeo2jqxiNDPX4-zKk3baqpog|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026052834/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hJCaIeo2jqxiNDPX4-zKk3baqpog|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 October 2011|title=Khamenei offers implicit support to Ahmadinejad |date=12 May 2009|access-date=7 September 2010}}</ref> As president, he wanted to continue living in the same house in Tehran his family had been living in until his security advisers insisted that he should move. Ahmadinejad had the antique Persian carpets in the Presidential palace sent to a carpet museum, and opted instead to use inexpensive carpets. He is said to have refused the VIP seat on the presidential plane, and that he eventually replaced it with a cargo plane instead.<ref name= JLAnderson /><ref>{{cite news|title=Africa can Learn from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad|url=http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=4368|work=The African Executive|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707101117/http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=4368|archive-date=7 July 2011}}</ref> Upon gaining Iran's presidency, Ahmadinejad held his first cabinet meeting in the [[Imam Reza shrine]] at Mashhad, an act perceived as "pious".<ref>{{cite news| first= Pepe| last= Escobar| title= Travels in Ahmadinejadland|url= http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GI15Ak02.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20051213234500/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GI15Ak02.html |url-status= unfit |archive-date= 13 December 2005 | work= [[Asia Times]]| date= 15 September 2015}}</ref> He also used to lay an extra place for the [[12th Imam]] at his weekly cabinet briefings.<ref>{{cite news|title=A modern history of Iran|url=https://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21731375-abbas-amanat-looks-role-cultural-literary-and-intellectual-ideas-have-played|access-date=18 November 2017|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=18 November 2017}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Portal|Iran|Biography}}
* [[2006 Iranian sumptuary law controversy]]
* Advisors to the president: [[Hamid Mowlana]], [[Mohammad-Ali Ramin]], [[Ali Akbar Javanfekr]]
* Ayatollah [[Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi]]
* [[Politics of Iran]]
* [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel]]
* [[Electoral history of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]]
* [[Foreign policy of the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad administration]]
* [[Controversies of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
== Further reading ==
* ''Encyclopedia of World Biography: Supplement #27'' (Thomson-Gale, 2007) pp 7–9
* {{citation |author-link=David Harris (protestor) |last=Harris |first=David |title=The Crisis: the President, the Prophet, and the Shah—1979 and the Coming of Militant Islam |publisher=Little, Brown |year=2004 |___location=New York |isbn=978-0-316-32394-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/crisispresidentp00harr }}
* [http://www.jcpa.org/text/ahmadinejad-incitement.pdf "Referral of Iranian President Ahmadinejad on the Charge of Incitement to Commit Genocide"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115092246/http://www.jcpa.org/text/ahmadinejad-incitement.pdf |date=15 November 2012 }} by Justus Reid Weiner, Esq., with Amb. Meir Rosenne, Prof. Elie Wiesel, Amb. Dore Gold, Irit Kohn, Adv., Amb. Eytan Bentsur, and MK Dan Naveh
* Ali Rahnema, [http://www.themontrealreview.com/2009/Superstition-as-Ideology-in-Iranian-Politics-From-Majlesi-to-Ahmadinejad-by-Ali-Rahnema.php ''Superstition as Ideology in Iranian Politics: From Majlesi to Ahmadinejad''], Cambridge University Press, 2011 (Reviewed in [http://www.themontrealreview.com/2009/Superstition-as-Ideology-in-Iranian-Politics-From-Majlesi-to-Ahmadinejad-by-Ali-Rahnema.php The Montréal Review]) {{ISBN|978-0-521-18221-8}}
==External links==
{{sister project links|c=Category:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad|d=yes|q=yes|n=yes|s=yes|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|species=no}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071003013439/http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/ Blog of Former President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]
* [http://www.cidob.org/es/documentacion/biografias_lideres_politicos/asia/iran/mahmoud_ahmadinejad Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201005411/http://www.cidob.org/es/documentacion/biografias_lideres_politicos/asia/iran/mahmoud_ahmadinejad |date=1 December 2007 }} {{in lang|es}} at [[CIDOB Foundation]]
* [http://www.irannegah.com/video_browse.aspx?keyword=ahmadinejad Video Archive of Ahmadinejad during his presidency] at ''Irannegah.com''
* {{C-SPAN|1016060}}
* {{Twitter | name=Mahmoud Ahmadinejad}}
* {{Telegram|drahmadinejad_ir}}
* {{Instagram|drahmadinejad.ir}}
* {{IMDb name|2258253}}
* {{Guardian topic}}
* {{Haaretztopic|Mahmoud%20Ahmadinejad}}
* {{Jerusalem Post topic|Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad}}
* {{New York Times topic|people/a/mahmoud_ahmadinejad}}
* [http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570840,00.html People Who Mattered: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', 16 December 2006
* [https://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2009/06/the-results-as-they-came-in/200527/ The Results As They Came In], [[Andrew Sullivan]], ''[[The Atlantic]]'', 13 June 2009
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