User:EdH/sandbox

Relations with the United States

This section discusses only Amhmadinejad's role.

Iran and the US froze diplomatic relations in 1980 and for many years had no direct diplomatic contact.^[16] Iran has been on the U.S. list of state sponsors of international terrorism since 1984.^[17][18][19] The Bush administration considered it the leading such state, a claim that Ahmadinejad denied. Major issues between the two countries during Ahmadinejad's presidency have included Israel and Palestine, Iran's nuclear program and related sanctions, human rights, alleged Iranian military involvement in other countries, and naval standoffs and the release of each other's detained citizens.

The U.S. links its support for a Palestinian state to acceptance of Israel's "right to exist," but Ahmadinejad has said Israel should be moved to Europe instead,^[20] reiterating Muammar al-Gaddafi's 1990 statement.^[21] Ahmadinejad is well known for public statements antagonistic to Israel, described elsewhere in this article. Iran maintains the right to its "peaceful" nuclear program. Iran denied military involvement in Iraq, but President Bush warned of "consequences," suggesting to Iran that the U.S may take retaliatory military action against it.^[20] Iran resists external interference in its internal policies regarding human rights.

Ahmadinejad's publicly known communications to the United States include:

• A 8 May 2006 personal letter to President Bush on Iran's nuclear program,^[22] dismissed as a negotiating ploy and publicity stunt.
• An invitation to debate Iran's right to enrich uranium with Bush at the U.N. General Assembly, on 19 September 2006, promptly rejected.^[23]
• An open letter to the American people,^[24] characterizing US activities in the Middle East and elsewhere.^[25]
• In May 2007, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran was "ready to talk" to the U.S.,^[26] but Iran passed up a chance to do so at an Iraq conference in Sharm El-Sheikh.^[27]
• A 2007 speech at Columbia University, only after university president Lee Bollinger's introduction had excoriated him as anything from a "cruel and petty dictator" to "astonishingly uneducated."^[28]
• A September 2008 speech to the U.N. General Assembly prephesying American decline: "The American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road, and its next rulers must limit their interference to their own borders," he said.^[29]

In April 2008, Ahmadinejad described the September 11, 2001 attacks as a "suspect event" used later as pretext for invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. ^[30]

When asked by U.S.-funded Voice of America if Iran was supplying weapons to the Taliban, Ahmadinejad laughed and said the US did not want Iran to be friends with Afghanistan. "What is the reason they are saying such things?" he asked.^[31]

Two days after the 2008 US Presidential Election, Ahmadinejad congratulated Barack Obama, and said he "welcomes basic and fair changes in U.S. policies and conducts, I hope you will prefer real public interests and justice to the never-ending demands of a selfish minority and seize the opportunity to serve people so that you will be remembered with high esteem".

In his inaugural speech, Obama said :

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

Perhaps in response, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a speech with a list of grievances, including the 1953 coup, support for Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war, and the Iran Air Flight 655 incident.^[32]

Ahmadinejad's victory in the Iranian presidential election, 2009, the subsequent fraud allegations and widespread protests have provoked few official U.S. comments. However, the U.S. withdrew invitations, previously extended to many Iranian diplomats, to attend July 4th celebrations at US embassies.

the U.S. withdrew

Mrs. Vahid-Dastjerdi was born in Tehran in 1959. She graduated from Tehran Medical University in medicine and obtained specialized degree in nursing and obstetrics from the same university in 1988.

She used to be a faculty staff of Tehran University for 13 years, director of the university's Nursing and Obstetrics Department for six years. She was a Tehran MP in the fourth and fifth Majlis too.

Mrs. Vahid-Dastejerdi was also a founding member of Iran's Specialized Scientific Association of Reproduction and Sterility, a member of the American Scoiety for Reproduction Medicine (1993-2000) and a member of Health Minsitry's Family Planning Scientific Committee.

She headed Arash Hospital from 2004 up to present.

Mrs. Vahid-Dastjerdi told reporters after winning vote of confidence that inclusion of female minister in the Cabinet is important for the Iranian women.

They are certainly happy because a female minister in the Cabinet will pursue their demands and this is important for them. ^[1]