Ahmadinejad: The Hidden Imam Runs The World

In a speech to clerics in Mashad last month, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the appearance of the Hidden Imam, the Shi'ite messiah, was imminent, and declared, "The time has come for us to carry out our global duty... With God's help, Iran will become the center of [global] leadership... The Hidden Imam runs the affairs of Iran and of the rest of the countries of the world... and he is preventing the U.S. from taking over Iraq's oil and looting it."

The speech was broadcast on Iranian TV on May 5 (see clip at MEMRI TV).

Alam-al-Hoda, Friday prayer leader in the city of Mashhad, reinforced Ahmadinejad's statements, saying that nuclear scientists had told him that they had successfully overcome the technical difficulties of developing Iran's nuclear program by turning to the Hidden Imam.

In response, Assembly of Experts member and senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Madavi-Kani said that according to Shi'ite belief, the Hidden Imam, during the time he is hidden, is invisible and conveys no messages to anyone. He added that Ahmadinejad's statements were harming the image of the Hidden Imam, because Iran's economic problems were being attributed to him.

Sources: Tabnak, Iran, May 6 and 10, 2008; Raja News, Iran, May 9, 2008; Zaman, London, May 7, 2008

Iran in Preparations, Deployment to Withstand Possible Attack by West, Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 451 - Iran - July 3, 2008

"The Secret of Armageddon" – Iranian TV Series Affirms Protocols of Elders of Zion, Promotes Conspiracy Theories, Claims Jews Are Planning "the Genocide of Humanity" and Iranian Jewish, Baha'i Communities are Plotting to Take Over Iran, Special Dispatch Series - No. 1975 - Iran - July 2, 2008

IAEA Chief ElBaradei: Iran Can Produce Enough Enriched Uranium for a Nuclear Bomb in Six Months to a Year, Special Dispatch Series - No. 1967 - Iran - June 23, 2008

The Iranian Roots of Hizbullah, Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 448 - Iran - June 17, 2008

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