Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Uses Medium-Range Missile Launch To Bolster Presidential Election Hopes

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad obviously used Wednesday's medium-range missile launch to help to bolster his strength among the right wing voters in his country ahead of the June 12 presidential election. It was an attempt to make his country look powerful and strong to voters in his nation, although it only makes observers outside of Iran such as Israel and the U.S. look to use more resolve to shut down Iran's nuclear program. President Obama was able to buy a little more time with Israel to put off any possible future military on Iran's nuclear program by pressing Iran to meet a deadline to comply with the international community on the nuclear issue. However, the launch of the new Iranian missile with a claimed 1,200 mile range only puts more pressure on Iran to comply with international efforts to halt their nuclear program.

Ahmadinejad has really misread the resolve of the Obama Administration if they only continue to work on developing and testing missiles capable of hitting Israel or American bases within a 1,200 mile range in the Mideast. In Pakistan, the Obama Administration managed to prod the government into action against the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies there. And Iran should not rule out that the Obama Administration would take military action off the table if their missile program and nuclear weapons program threaten American interests.

The new Iranian missile is called the Sajjil-2, which refers to an account in the Quran in which birds supposedly defended the holy City of Mecca by dropping pieces of clay on enemy attackers like little bombs. Ahmadinejad seems intent on coupling Iran's military with his own extreme Islamic end-time philosophy views, while some reformer candidates running for president are concerned about this deliberate attempt to antagonize the United States and to provoke isolation and possible eventual military action.

Reformer candidates would like to strengthen the weakening economy of Iran, have more constructive relations with Washington, and less confrontation with the world community. By comparison, Ahmadinejad seems more intent on pursuing some extreme end-timer Islamic religious viewpoint. As mayor of Tehran, Ahmadinejad ordered the streets widened because he believed that some prophets from the Quran would need these wider streets to walk down once nonbelievers such as Christians, Jews, Hindus, etc. were destroyed in a religious war. The intent of Ahmadinejad still appears to be pursuing his radical end-timer religious views of creating a war to kill "nonbelievers" so those prophets he believes in will return to Earth and walk the streets of Tehran. This is why Ahmadinejad's intents to build a nuclear program are so suspect. They appear to be a further aspect of his radical religious philosophy to create a religious war on "nonbelievers".

Ahmadinejad has voter strength among the very poor and the religious right wing of his nation. However the middle class of Iran, interested in improved business and a stronger domestic economy only view Ahmadinejad as a huge failure and a poor leader with a failing economy and constant friction with the world community over the nuclear program. A win by a reformer in Iran might mean the end of Iran's nuclear weapons program and greatly improved relations if not trade with some nations such as the United States.