Look Who's Blogging Now: Iran President Hits Web

Aug. 14, 2006 — -- The Iranian government has imposed severe blogging restrictions on citizens, but apparently that doesn't apply to the country's president. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched his own Web log and announced the news on state-run television Sunday.

The blog contains what you might expect from the conservative hard line President -- a lot of anti- American rhetoric blasting the U.S. role in Iraq and also in the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict. Ahmadinefad even asks visitors to the site to weigh in on a poll which asks the question, "Do you think that the U.S. and Israeli intention and goal by attacking Lebanon is pulling the trigger for another world war?"

Readers have a chance to answer yes or no. The blog is translated into Farsi, Arabic, French, and English although the site has been tough for some to access.

Rags to Riches

But the blog also contains some information you might not expect, like a personal look at the president's poor childhood. "During the era that .. living in a city was perfection, " he writes, "I was born in a poor family in a remote village. The son of a hard bitten toiler blacksmith."

But he quickly vaults ahead of his humble beginnings pointing out his university entrance exam scores in which he came in 132nd out of 400,000. Those humble beginnings however helped him secure the country's top job.

Ahmadinejad won a surprise victory in last year's election by appealing to voters as an "everyman" and as an "outsider" to Iran's ruling elite. He promised the country's poor a larger share of Iran's great oil wealth.

The launch of his own blog follows a highly publicized interview with CBS' Mike Wallace, which aired Sunday night on "60 Minutes."

The President proved adept at dodging tough questions and filibustering, even antagonizing Wallace. When the journalist asked Ahmadinejad about Iran's support of the militant group Hezbollah in its war against Israel, the President immediately fired back, "Are you the representative of the Zionist regime? Or a journalist?" Ahmadinejad went on to ask, "Are the Lebanese inside the occupied lands right now or is it the other way around?"

And when Wallace asked him about Iran's nuclear programm, which President Bush has vowed to stop, Iran's president claimed it was in the name of energy. "We want to have access to nuclear technology," he said. "Basically we are not looking for -- working for the bomb."

But he then went on to send a warning the president. "If Mr. Bush thinks that he can stop our progress, I have to say that he will be unable to do that."

Winning Admirers or P.R. Stunt?

The President's blog has been dismissed by other bloggers. Keivan Mehrgan, a Tehran-based blogger who as a critic of the Iranian government, writes at his own peril told the Associated Press that Ahmadinejad's blog is "nothing but a publicity stunt."

The government censors any Web site which posts anti-Iranian government messages. Iran has also shut down media that broadcasts any other voice than that of the Iranian government.

Analyst Saeed Laylaz told Reuters wires service that through blogging, the President "may be seeking to win support from abroad." Ahmadinejad has ridden a wave of popularity recently with his anti-American proganda and disregard over nuclear enrichment.

Even though many Iranians are highly educated and tech savvy, many of the clerics who support Ahmadinejad have shunned the use of tech gadgets. That hasn't stopped the President from trying to log on and communicate with the public, urging visitors to send him written messages through the blog's Web site: www.ahmadinejad.ir.