Iranian President to Arrive in New York Monday, Will Seek to Address United Nations

See Below for Expert Sources

Press Kit

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has said he wants to "wipe Israel off the map," is scheduled to arrive in New York City Monday for a three-day visit during which he will participate in the United Nations' 61st General Assembly. [1] On Tuesday he will seek to give a speech to the international body, of which Iran is a member. [2]

Iran, which has a long history of human rights abuses, is currently in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1696, which requires that Iran halt its uranium enrichment activities. Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terror, financing terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad at a rate of about $200 million annually. [3] It also has recruited more than 40,000 youths to carry out suicide operations around the world. [4] Ahmadinejad has boasted that divine powers gave him the presidency so that he could provoke a "clash of civilizations" in which the Muslim world, led by Iran, would defeat the West, led by the United States, in a slow, prolonged contest. [5]

Ahmadinejad has vowed that his country will pursue its nuclear program and share the technology with other Muslim countries. Iran has the capacity to hit European countries with its BM-25 surface-to-surface missiles that it received in April from North Korea. The missiles, which have a range of 1,550 miles, can carry nuclear warheads. [6]

Ahmadinejad's visit is part of an international tour scheduled to begin Sept. 13 in Senegal, followed by stops in Cuba and Venezuela. In Cuba, he will meet with top officials and take part in a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Ahmadinejad's visit is expected to be greeted by thousands of protesters in a rally organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and cosponsored by The Israel Project.

"President Ahmadinejad is playing a game of cat-and-mouse with the international diplomatic community while his country is developing nuclear weapons that threaten the world's stability and peace," said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project. "The time for strong sanctions is now so that there can be a peaceful resolution to this global crisis."

Last year, during a previous address to the United Nations General Assembly, Ahmadinejad called for the reemergence of the 12th Imam, [7] who will lead the world following a period of chaos, war and bloodshed that Ahmadinejad feels it is his duty to trigger. After the speech, the Iranian president said, "One of our group told me that, when I started to say 'In the name of God, the almighty, the merciful', he saw a light around me and I was placed inside this aura. I felt it myself. I felt the atmosphere suddenly change and, for those 27 or 28 minutes, the leaders of the world did not blink." [8]

"I am not exaggerating when I say they did not blink; it's not an exaggeration, because I was looking," he said. "They were astonished as if a hand held them there and made them sit. It had opened their eyes and ears for the message of the Islamic Republic." [9]

A few months later, Ahmadinejad made remarks in which he denied the Holocaust and suggested Israel be moved to Europe, prompting a condemnation by the U.N. Security Council. [10]Ahmadinejad also has called for Israel's destruction. Ahmadinejad's comments are consistent with those of other Iranian leaders such as Ahmadinejad advisor, Mohammad Ali Ramin, who said, "So long as Israel exists in the region…there will never be peace and security in the Middle East. So the resolution of the Holocaust issue will end in the destruction of Israel." [11] 

Ahmadinejad also praised Hezbollah after it abducted two Israeli soldiers and killed seven others while blanketing dozens of Israeli towns with rockets July 12. The attacks began a 34-day war, [12] during which Hezbollah fired almost 4,000 missiles into Israel from Lebanon. A day before Hezbollah carried out the kidnapping and assaults, Ahmadinejad said on television, "The rage of the Muslim peoples will not be restricted to the boundaries of our region... The waves of the explosion... will reach the corrupt forces [i.e. the Western countries] which support this fake regime." [13] While waging war on Israel, Hezbollah's arsenal included missiles made and supplied by Iran during its attacks on Israel.

Before embarking on his trip this week, Ahmadinejad said he wanted to debate President Bush, but the White House turned down the offer.

Expert Sources on Iran:

Ilan Berman, Vice President for Policy, American Foreign Policy Council and
Author, "Tehran Rising: Iran's Challenge to the United States" (2005)
Tel: 202-543-1006 (office)

Larry Haas, Visiting Senior Fellow, Georgetown Public Policy Institute, Tel: 202-257-9592 (cell); www.larryhaasonline.com

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, Founder and President, The Israel Project, Tel: 202-857-6644 (office); www.theisraelproject.org

U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., Member, Committee on International Relations; Ranking Member, Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights; Tel: 202-225-5911 (office); www.house.gov/sherman/about/

Ken Timmerman, President, Middle East Data Project, Inc.,
Author, “Countdown to Crisis: The Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran” (2005);
E-mail: timmerman.road@verizon.net;
Tel: 301-946-2918; www.KenTimmerman.com

[7] Manji, Irshad, "Armageddon? Great, bring it on," The Times (London), May 1, 2006

[8] Moore, Charles, "There's method in the Mahdi madness of Iran's president," The Daily Telegraph (London), Jan. 14, 2006

[9] Esfandiari, Golnaz, "Iran: President Says Light Surrounded Him During UN Speech," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , Nov. 29, 2005, http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/11/184cb9fb-887c-4696-8f54-0799df747a4a.html 

[10] "U.N. Condemns Iran Holocaust Remarks," CNN, Dec. 10, 2005, http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/12/10/iran.israel/index.html

[11] Shareie, Shervin, "Presidential Aide: Jewish People Are Historically Accused of Corruption," Rooz Special Report, June 9, 2006, http://www.roozonline.com/english/015942.shtml

[12] Lake, Eli, "Big Protest Rally Taking Shape to Greet Ahmadinejad at U.N.," New York Sun, Sept. 8, 2006, http://www.nysun.com/article/39308

[13] "Iran and the Recent Escalation on Israel's Borders," Middle East Media Research Institute, Special Dispatch No. 1204, July 13, 2006, http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP120406

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