AHMADINEJAD: DOWN, DOWN USA; COME TO JESUS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000332 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV SU IR SUBJECT: AHMADINEJAD: DOWN, DOWN USA; COME TO JESUS Classified By: DCM R. Powers, Reason: Section 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: In a speech March 1 at the Chinese-built Friendship Hall in Khartoum, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad excoriated the U.S. for its role in the region, support for Israel and opposition to Iran's nuclear program, as well as heaped criticism on the United Nations and Israel. Linking the teachings of Jesus to his call for social justice, he decried poverty, illiteracy, the lack of basic health care and drug abuse among youth. According to Ahmadinejad, the solution to problems bedeviling the world today lay in returning to the path of God, achieving Muslim unity and confronting oppressive powers, namely, the United States. End summary. -------------- NUCLEAR PROGRAM: NO TURNING BACK -------------- ¶2. (C) In his introduction of Ahmadinejad, Presidential Advisor Ghazi Salahuddin related a conversation between the two. Salahuddin had asked if Iran would ever give up its nuclear program. Ahmadinejad replied, asking "would man give up fire after its discovery?" He added that the Iranian nuclear program was the harvest of 29 years of scientific progress achieved by Iran's Islamic Revolution. The Iranian people were united on this question. Furthermore, Ahmadinejad claimed that Iran's pursuit of nuclear technology was for peaceful purposes only and within International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) norms. (Note: Ahmadinejad visited Khartoum on a two-day state visit February 28 ) March 1. The visit followed the January 2007 trips of the Sudanese Defense Minister to Iran and the Iranian Foreign Minister to Sudan. Sudanese President Bashir traveled to Iran in April 2006. End note.) -------------- CRITICISM OF US, UN AND ISRAEL -------------- ¶3. (C) Ahmadinejad charged that Afghanistan, occupied by U.S. forces after September 11, now produced twice the amount of opium as it did under the Taliban. He also criticized the U.S. invasion of Iraq, conducted on the basis of "fictitious allegations." That action has resulted in 150,000 killed and generated hundreds of thousands of refugees, he said. In addition, those who would defend their homeland are now accused of aiding terrorists. Decrying the hegemonic role of the United States, Ahmadinejad said that no region of the world was safe from "U.S. and Zionist plotting." Ahmadinejad condemned the continued development of nuclear arsenals by existing nuclear weapons states and criticized those nations that would seek to retain the benefits of science and technology for themselves while imposing poverty and war on others. Such powers even sought to deny medical technology from lesser-developed nations. ¶4. (C) Ahmadinejad also heaped criticism on international organizations, in particular the United Nations Security Council. The UN was created after World War II by the victorious powers to serve their own interests, Ahmadinejad said. Non-veto holding nations have no power in the Security Council. Ahmadinejad predictably railed against Israel (the "Zionist entity"). He charged that the Jews who settled in Palestine after World War II were not the survivors of the war in Europe but were from other countries untouched by war. Israel now occupied Palestinian, Jordanian and Syrian land and waged war in Lebanon, all under the complete protection of the United States. -------------- THE WAY AHEAD -------------- ¶5. (C) Ahmadinejad said that Marxism, Liberalism and other schools of thought had failed humanity. The solution to problems bedeviling the world today lay in returning to the path of Almighty God. Furthermore, all God-fearing nations must confront oppressive powers. Ahmadinejad's speech was interrupted at several times by the faithful in the audience echoing his religious sentiments. At one point, a Sudanese male in the audience stood up and repeatedly shouted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." Ahmadinejad stressed the need for Islamic unity, reliance on youth and said that the pursuit of science and technology was a duty. Islamic nations must not ignore the "tricky ways" of the enemies of Islam. -------------- SOCIAL JUSTICE: JESUS ON HIS SIDE -------------- KHARTOUM 00000332 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Throughout his speech, Ahmadinejad sounded familiar themes of social justice, the key to his landslide victory in the June 2005 Presidential election. Ahmadinejad decried poverty, illiteracy, the lack of basic health care and drug abuse among youth, problems afflicting all countries, rich and poor. Ahmadinejad related a story from a recent meeting with Christian leaders from the U.S. who were visiting Iran. Ahmadinejad said that he astonished the delegation by stating that "if Jesus were here today and he commanded me to do something, I would do it," for all devout Muslims consider Jesus one of God's appointed messengers. Ahmadinejad went on to ask if Jesus would stand with the oppressors or the oppressed? Would he be silent or speak out? ¶7. (C) Comment: The recent flurry of official visits signals a near-term expansion of Sudanese-Iranian ties. Moreover, increasing international pressure and isolation are likely to drive these two regimes that much closer in the future. End comment. HUME