Ahmadinejad addresses the UN General Assembly – live

The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is to address the UN general assembly amid declining fortunes at home 3.37pm: Welcome to live coverage of Mahmound Ahmadinejad’s address to the UN general assembly, which is expected to begin at 4pm BST. Unlike last year, when he sought to grab international headlines, Ahmadinejad is likely to play to a domestic audience this year in an attempt to demonstrate his power and quash suggestions that a once powerful figure has already become a lame-duck president two years before his term ends in 2013. Last week, in the latest episode of his confrontation with the conservatives close to the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he failed to fulfil his pledge to release the US hikers immediately and take them to New York before his visit, and thus gain the credit himself for their freedom. Instead, he was embarrassed by the judiciary, which contradicted his remarks and insisted that they and not the president were in charge of the fate of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who were held in Iran as spies. But Ahmadinejad’s dilemma back in Iran is far more complex than the controversies over the release of the two Americans. After publicly challenging Khamenei over a cabinet appointment in April, Ahmadinejad abruptly lost his position as the protege to the Ayatollah, who holds the ultimate power in Iran. Since then, he has increasingly become isolated with only a handful of serious supporters on his side, losing the support of the elite revolutionary guards and the majority of his hitherto backers both in the parliament and the establishment. Supporters of Khamenei are worried about the influence of Ahmadinejad and his team in Iran’s politics and have accused them with everything from revolutionary deviancy to financial corruption and even sorcery. Ahmadinejad’s troubles were highlighted again on Thursday when it emerged that speculation is rife among Iranian MPs that there will be a move to bring back the position of prime minister instead of the current system of presidency. If this turns out to be the case, this would constitute an attempt by MPs to take power, as any prime minister would be appointed by them, unlike a president, who is elected by the people. Speaking at the general assembly will give Ahmadinejad a great opportunity, more than anything else, to fight back against his opponents. During his stay in New York, the president – who is bombarded by interview requests from the US media – has a great opportunity to garner publicity and distract attention from his political mismanagement in Iran, especially his appalling record of violating human rights. Ironically, Ahmadinejad this time is not receiving the attention he needs in his home country, with even some semi-official media giving scant coverage to his visit to the UN. To obtain that publicity, Ahmadineajd is likely to talk about a controversial subject which would help him to once again become the centre of attention. He may decide to talk about Palestinian statehood and president Obama’s support for the Israelis, or perhaps the US and Britain’s apparent lack of interest in the uprisings in Bahrain and Yemen. All eyes are once again on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Iran Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest United States Israel Nuclear weapons Haroon Siddique Saeed Kamali Dehghan guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 22, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.