Opinion: Iran Lacking in Diplomacy

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad didn't really surprise anyone with what he had to say during a lengthy press conference on Tuesday. Two days before the deadline set by the UN Security Council, he strengthened Tehran's resolve not to bow to international pressure and freeze uranium enrichment. What's now being regarded in Washington and other Western capitals as a new affront on Tehran's part is actually the continuation of Iran's previous policy.

Iran -- and not just Ahmadinejad -- is convinced of its right to conduct nuclear research and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Such a right -- including the enrichment of uranium -- was committed to by the signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In Iran, it's seen as impermissible arrogance on the part of the United States that Iran should, as the only country in the region, be forbidden from doing what other countries who didn't sign the treaty are doing -- countries such as Israel, India and Pakistan.

Ahmadinejad's world view

Ahmadinejad has developed a very particular world view out of the situation -- the US and Britain are abusing their privileges to make the world bend to their will, and the Security Council is also run by them. The Iranian president is demanding a radical change of this status quo. And he is single-mindedly turning himself into the spokesperson for all those in the world who similarly feel themselves to be at the mercy of America's despotic rule -- especially in the Islamic world.

Ahmadinejad is deluding them into thinking that help will come from Tehran. He rather dramatically challenged US President George W. Bush to a televised debate about world politics, in which he would explain to the American people where the mistakes of their government lie.

This is not just posturing on the part of the Iranian president to improve his image in the Islamic world. At home, he is also trying to draw attention away from the fact that he has not made good on many of his election promises.

The Iranian president seems to be longing for the days of the revolution, when Iran believed it could get by without the rest of the world. In Tehran, the realization has long since sunk in that this doesn't work. That doesn't mean that the country has to give up its rights; it just means that it shouldn't forgo things like tact, diplomacy and manners -- things that Ahmadinejad always seems to lack.

Middle East expert Peter Philipp is Deutsche Welle's chief correspondent. (dc)