Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the current president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the former mayor of Tehran. Since coming to power, on a campaign based on stamping out corruption, in 2005, he has pursued an agenda defined by support of Islamic fundamentalism, strong anti-Americanism, and anti-Zionism. Under Ahmadinejad's rule Iran has put a large amount of effort into producing nuclear technology, possibly for nuclear weapons, although Iran has not yet been successful in this endeavor. His politics are mixed as best, as he retains a strong, conservative view towards homosexuality, infamously stating that there are no homosexuals in Iran.

The AP photo

The inset photo taken 26 years prior shows a man looking very much like a younger version of today's Ahmadinejad at the time of the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis as someone involved with the hostage taking. Five former American hostages have stated that Ahmadinejad was one of their captors. A former US intelligence officer, said "I recognized him right off. … I remember so much his hatred of Americans. It just emanated from every pore of his body." However, some former hostages dispute this claim. Additionally, a number of terrorists who were actually involved in the hostage taking have denied Ahmedinejad's involvement. A CIA report was commissioned to determine whether or not Ahmedinejad was involved in the hostage taking, and that report determined that the evidence was at best inconclusive.

Ahmadinajed's foreign policies have been criticized by many within his country and government, who think he is too extreme and will cause their country to be attacked by the United States.

Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has often compared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Adolf Hitler.^{[Citation Needed]}