Iranian President Spells it Out: WikiLeaks claims are 'psychological warfare' says Ahmadinejad
Iranian president claims that the leaks are part of a campaign of psychological warfare against his country
© Abedin Taherkenareh/EPAIranian TV highlighted evidence from state department cables that US diplomats are apparently engaged in espionage.
Iranian media also commented that the United States does not trust its "agents" inside the Islamic republic and alleged US links to the mass protests that followed last year's disputed election.
Press TV, the English-language Iranian TV channel, highlighted evidence from state department cables that US diplomats are apparently engaged in espionage - a charge that will have special resonance in a country where the empty US embassy is still routinely referred to as "the nest of spies".
Official media in Tehran are also expected to highlight the efforts the US is devoting to containing Iran and especially its nuclear programme.
Arab governments maintained a discreet silence but Arabic-language media highlighted Guardian reports that Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in particular had advocated military action against Iran to stop its nuclear programme. "The Arabs agitated against Iran," the Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV headlined its main story. Its rival, the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya, initially made no reference to King Abdullah's call to attack Iran "to cut off the head of the snake" or to similarly hawkish comments by King Hamad of Bahrain, but later changed its story to include these.
The Saudi paper Okaz zoomed in on warnings by the British government that the massive leak could endanger lives. Other Arab media headlined stories focusing on Israel's ability to attack Iran as well as Tehran's acquisition of long-range missiles. The Saudi Gazette reported the WikiLeaks story but without mentioning the kingdom. In Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, where crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan was reported as making bellicose remarks about Iran, the English-language paper The National did not report any local link to the WikiLeaks story.
In Israel the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that he felt vindicated by revelations about the extent of international and Arab concern about Iran and its nuclear programme. "Israel has not been damaged at all by the WikiLeaks publications," Haaretz quoted him as telling a group of editors in Tel Aviv.
"The documents show many sources backing Israel's assessments, particularly of Iran. Our region has been hostage to a narrative that is the result of 60 years of propaganda, which paints Israel as the greatest threat. In reality leaders understand that that view is bankrupt. For the first time in history there is agreement that Iran is the threat," he said, adding that he hoped leaders would now say openly what they had long been saying in secret.
Iranian media made no mention of a 2009 diplomatic cable saying that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has terminal cancer.
But one website, alef.ir, which is a website affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards, focused on suggestions of US links with Iranians protesting at the outcome of the 2009 election. "The interesting parts of this documents are those which show that the rioters in the aftermath of the election are linked to the American diplomatic service and they have been consulted by them."
The Spin
© Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Iranian TV highlighted evidence from state department cables that US diplomats are apparently engaged in espionage.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Iranian TV highlighted evidence from state department cables that US diplomats are apparently engaged in espionage.
Iran today lashed out at the WikiLeaks revelations, with the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, dismissing the controversial leaks as a "worthless" psychological warfare campaign against his country. But Israel said it felt vindicated by the public exposure of Arab and international concern over Iran's nuclear programme.
Comment: Notice how Iran's response has been heightened. "Lashed out" is so much more 'psycho' than 'hit back', isn't it?
"We don't think this information was leaked," the Iranian president insisted during a televised press conference in Tehran. "We think it was organised to be released on a regular basis and they are pursuing political goals."
Ahmadinejad told reporters that documents highlighting Arab hostility to Iran and its alleged nuclear ambitions would have no impact. "We are friends with the regional countries and mischievous acts will not affect relations," he said.
Comment: The particulars in the first article are nicely glossed over here.
Iranian media commented that the US does not trust its "agents" inside the Islamic republic and claimed there were US links to the mass protests and unrest that followed last year's disputed presidential election.
Press TV, the English-language Iranian TV channel, also highlighted evidence from the state department cables that US diplomats are apparently engaged in espionage - a charge that will hold special resonance in a country where the long-empty US embassy is still routinely referred to as "the nest of spies".
Arab governments maintained a discreet silence but Arabic-language media highlighted Guardian reports that Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in particular had advocated military action against Iran to stop its nuclear programme. "The Arabs agitated against Iran," the Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV headlined its main story. Its rival, the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya, initially made no reference to King Abdullah's call to attack Iran "to cut off the head of the snake" or to similarly hawkish comments by King Hamad of Bahrain, but later changed its story to include these.
The Saudi paper Okaz zoomed in on warnings by the British government that the massive leak could endanger lives. Other Arab media headlined stories focusing on Israel's ability to attack Iran as well as Tehran's acquisition of long-range missiles. The Saudi Gazette reported the WikiLeaks story but without mentioning the kingdom. In Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, where the crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, was reported by US officials as having made bellicose remarks about Iran, the English-language paper The National did not report a local link to the WikiLeaks story.
In Israel, the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, claimed vindication for the view that Iran constitutes the biggest regional threat and that its development of a nuclear capacity must be halted.
Despite anxiety in the runup to publication that the US embassy cables could cast Israel in a negative light, he said: "Israel has not been damaged at all by the WikiLeaks publications. On the contrary, the documents showed support in many quarters for Israel's assessments, especially on Iran.
"Our region has been hostage to a narrative that is the result of 60 years of propaganda, which paints Israel as the greatest threat," Netanyahu added. "In reality leaders understand that that view is bankrupt. For the first time in history there is agreement that Iran is the threat."
Comment: Mr. Netenyahu's full quote, beating the drums for war in Iran (which it has no intentions of fighting itself) is missing, along with the Haaretz link.
Many leaders and governments in the Middle East understood the threat, he said, though the documents revealed "a gap between what is said publicly and what is said behind closed doors".
Several Israeli commentators suggested that US attempts to get the stalled Israeli-Palestinian talks back on track will be put on hold while the administration concentrates on a damage-limitation exercise.
Comment: How perfect. The illegal settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem have been getting an awful lot of attention. Isn't it amazing how all these 'leaks' are so beneficial to Israel?
Iranian media failed to widely report mention of a 2009 diplomatic cable reporting that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has terminal cancer.
But one website, alef.ir, which is a website affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards, focused on suggestions of US links with Iranians protesting at the outcome of the 2009 presidential election. "The interesting parts of this document are those which show that the rioters in the aftermath of the election are linked to the American diplomatic service and they have been consulted by them," it said.
I'm not taking sides here, this regime is not without mistakes either,
but could it be that this is the only president left on the planet who generally speaks the truth??
It's sad to say, but our world, what we are told, what we believe has become one big lie.