The Olympic Games reassured us of one thing: The Iranian government has not lost its rhetorical touch. After an Iranian wrestler won the gold medal in the 198-pound class, President HasheAl Rafsanjani — was he one of the moderates? — praised him for “rubbing the nose of America in the dirt.” The thing is, the wrestler had beaten a Russian opponent in the final, “despite all the mischief by the Americans to prevent this historic event in Atlanta.” “The flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Rafsanjani said, “was raised in the House of Satan.” Something tells us that the shah, upon his peacock throne, would have been much more gracious — and that the Games in Teheran wouldn’t be a whole lot of fun. Go get ’em, Great Satanists!
