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Iranian Diplomacy: UN General Assembly and the thirty-minute speech made by the leader of each country is one the most significant international events, taking place at the end of September in New York. Leaders explicate the viewpoints and strategies of their governments in their speech and hold meetings with the officials of other countries on the sideline of the five-day gathering in the United States.
United Nations’ 64th assembly will be one of the busiest in its kind, with many of the world leaders attending the convention later visiting Pittsburgh to participate in G20 summit. In one single day, UN General Assembly will not only hear the speeches of Barack Obama and Muammar Qaddafi, but also the addresses of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, The President of China Ho Jintao, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, President of the France Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, plus the speech of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ahmadinejad is a member of the controversial group of leaders attending the convention, including Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, whose country chairs United Nations Sixty-Fourth General Assembly. Ho Jintao will be the first Chinese president to make a speech in this annual gathering.
Different messages can be heard from this year’s meeting. Yesterday [Tuesday] Obama addressed the representatives of 192 members of the United Nations for the first time. Interestingly, Qaddafi –attending the convention after a forty-year absent- was planned to make his speech right after Obama.
The change-seeking president of the United States, Barack Obama is attending the UN convention for the first time and performing his debut diplomatic dance in the assembly. The American diplomatic apparatus will have busy days to make sure that their international star will not be disturbed by controversial leaders nevertheless.
It is the fifth time Mahmoud Ahmadinejad participates in the gathering as the Iranian president to explain the Islamic Republic’s stance on different international issues. Ahmadinejad visits New York while his earlier visits stirred a lot of controversy.
In his previous speeches in the United Nations, head of the Iranian executive generally addressed theoretical issues on global economy, talked of the liberalism crisis and announced Iran’s readiness to participate in management of the world. Ahmadinejad did not miss opportunities to pass on religious advice. In nearly all his speeches, he attacked Israel and questioned Holocaust, both of which infuriated Western countries. His presence this year will not be void of controversy. Western leaders have already threatened to walk out if he denies Holocaust in his speech once again.
This time, however, the uproar has started before his trip, with the initial host hotel canceling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s booking. Iran’s official news agency IRNA ascribed that to the correspondence between some U.S. president’s advisors and the hotel owners.
Ahmadinejad’s visit takes place amid increasing threats by Western countries to toughen sanctions against Iran. His visit also coincides with the 15th of September deadline set by the White House for Iran to make clear whether it is willing to start negotiations on its nuclear program or not. It will be Ahmadinejad’s first trip to a Western county since the July presidential elections. He attends the assembly while six world powers will start negotiations with Iran in the early days of December. While Ahmadinejad has said that Iran’s nuclear program will definitely not be on the agenda, American officials say that will be their key priority. Such a disagreement between Iran and Five plus One foreshadows the failure of talks.
In the least days of January, US President Barack Obama had said that Iran should make clear if it wanted to sit at the table of nuclear negotiations, otherwise it would face tougher sanctions.
Ahmadinejad has regularly attended the UN general assemblies since his presidency in 2005. His controversial speeches had even raised talks in the Western media about not inviting him to the 2009 gathering. Nevertheless, UN officials approved his presence and said formal protocols according to which all heads of states are invited to attend the general assembly are also true for Ahmadinejad. Ban Ki-Mon has already sent a letter of congratulations for Ahmadinejad after his second term of presidency.
In his last year speech in the general assembly, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacked Israelis and insisted on standing against United States’ pressures and Iran’s right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program. The Islamic Republic of Iran has frequently announced that its nuclear activities have a peaceful nature. However, assuming that Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons, world powers have regarded these activities as a threat for global peace.
Member of the Iranian Parliament’s Committee of National Security and Foreign Diplomacy Gholam Reza Karami has told Iranian National News Agency (IRNA) that Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York is a favorable opportunity for Iran’s public diplomacy in order to present its view on global issues. Karami has added that as the past four years, Ahmadinejad’s interactions and the issues he address will turn Iran into the headline of U.S. media and his remarks are welcomed by [American] media. On attempts to cancel Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York, The National Security Committee member said that: this is not the first time they do this. Such groups have always tried to demonstrate their power for the Iranian President’s who is visiting New York. Member of the parliament added that: such activities and campaigns are not that effective. Their apex was at the early developments taking place after the presidential elections.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki who is New York right now has told the Iranian journalists that Tehran seeks to build trust with and six world powers. Mottaki added that in his speech Ahmadinejad is going to promote peace, cooperation and justice and will be also presenting particular proposals to the General Assembly in order to achieve these goals.
Wall Street Journal writes that this year’s Ahmadinejad visit to New York is a turning point in his relations with Iranian Diaspora.
Iran’s special circumstances will add controversy to Ahmadinejad’s visit. We have to wait to see if Ahmadinejad’s trip includes the trademark dustup or no. We should also await Ahmadinejad’s response to strategies West has planned after Iran’s presidential election.
Keywords: UN General Assembly. Ahmadinejad. Iran-West relations.