Ahmadinejad’s burning bridges

by Gareth Smith March 18, 2013

written by Gareth Smith March 18, 2013

Nowruz, or new year, makes much of March in Iran a joyful celebration of renewal, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is feeling the rising sap. The president was welcomed back from a visit to Egypt last month by chanting supporters waving banners saying “Viva spring”.The president’s opponents, however, were quick to smell a rat. Eagerly awaiting the end of Ahmadinejad’s second term, they sensed the president was launching a campaign in favor of one of his allies for the presidential poll scheduled for June 14. Chief suspect is Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, and indeed the presidential aide emerged alongside Ahmadinejad to accept the adulation at the airport as the pair returned from an Islamic summit. While Mashaei reportedly regards ‘viva spring’ as a reference to the awaited return of the 12 Shia Imams, in occultation since the year 873 AD (Gregorian), many in Tehran see only an election slogan. Ahmadinejad is constitutionally ineligible

Gareth Smith

Gareth Smith was a distinguished journalist who reported from the Middle East for over two decades. He served as the Financial Times correspondent in Tehran, where he was the chief Iran correspondent from 2003, following his earlier role as Lebanon correspondent. Throughout his career, Smith covered Middle Eastern affairs for leading media outlets, including The Financial Times, The Guardian, and the BBC. He also contributed as an editor to Executive magazine. His work as a freelance journalist in the 1990s, focusing on the politics of Iran and Iraq, paved the way for his appointment at the FT. In 2009, he relocated to the west coast of Ireland, where he balanced freelance journalism with his passion for nature and the land.

Ahmadinejad’s burning bridges

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